For business, one always had to stay close to the source of goods. On the sixteenth, Xiao Feng set out for Beian County, taking Yang Ger and his son, Xiao Li, and four imperial guards with him. Before they left, Guaizai was sobbing pitifully, and Gungun and Dandan clung to Xiao Feng's legs, crying until their noses bubbled, tilting their heads up with tear-streaked faces, begging their big brother not to go.
Xiao Feng's heart softened—he almost said he wouldn't go. He couldn't bear to leave his little brothers either. Zhao Ger tried to pull the two children away, but they held on tight to Xiao Feng and wouldn't let go.
"Gungun wants brother."
"Dandan wants brother too."
Zhao Ger wiped the children's tears. "Be good. Brother Xiao Feng is going to do important work."
Dandan sniffled. "What's important work?"
"Earning money," Zhao Ger said.
Xiao Feng patted their heads too. "That's right. Brother is going to earn money to buy you candy later, okay?"
Candy?
Candy can't fill me up. It's not even as tasty as meat. Father says if I eat too much I'll get worms that bite my teeth. Without teeth, I can't eat anything at all — just like the grannies and grandpas in the village, who can only drink congee, get thin and weak, and have to lean on canes. So pitiful.
Daddy only gives me one piece a day. What good does buying more do?
"No, Gungun doesn't want candy." Gungun hugged Xiao Feng's leg tightly, rubbing his chubby face against it, and said in a milky voice, "Just want brother."
Dandan nodded. "Yes, want brother, not candy."
These two little ones were gluttons by nature—who knew they'd say this now...
Xiao Feng was deeply moved. Just then, Fang Zichen was in the courtyard banging a gong and shouting, "Meal's ready! Meal's ready!"
Gungun and Dandan's eyes lit up instantly. Without a moment's hesitation, they let go and bolted toward the courtyard.
Brother? Who's that? Right now, their minds were filled only with food.
The doorstep was too high for the two little ones to climb over. They stood at the door anxiously calling for Fang Zichen.
Seeing that his little brothers had already forgotten all about him, Xiao Feng let out a wry laugh.
Zhao Ger urged him, "Hurry up and go! Otherwise, once they come to their senses, they'll cling to you again and won't let you leave."
"Mm!" Xiao Feng's eyes reddened slightly. "Uncle Zhao, please take good care of yourself."
Zhao Ger smiled, though he felt a little reluctant too. "I know. When you're out there, it's not like being at home. If you're not used to it, just come back, and I'll send someone else over. You're a ger, so be careful—wherever you go, make sure to bring Xiao Li and the imperial guards with you."
"Mm! I got it." Xiao Feng patted Guaizai's head, still feeling reluctant to leave. Guaizai's eyes were already red. "Brother Xiao Feng, Guaizai is going to miss you so much!"
Xiao Feng pinched his cheek. "I'll miss you too."
Guaizai clutched his hand tightly. "Then don't go, okay? Stay home—Guaizai will cook noodles for you every day."
Xiao Feng: "..."
"Making noodles is hard work. I can't bear to see you tire yourself out."
Zhao Ger watched Xiao Feng practically flee onto the carriage and couldn't help but laugh.
Guaizai blinked, thinking how thoughtful Brother Xiao Feng was—he really cared about him and didn't want him to get worn out. He ran over to the carriage and called out, "Brother Xiao Feng, don't worry about me getting tired—really, don't! Making noodles isn't tiring at all, it's super easy. Please stay!"
Xiao Feng urged the imperial guards, "Hurry, let's go!"
Yang Ger and Xiu Ger covered their mouths and giggled.
Gungun and Dandan had just finished their meal when they finally remembered Xiao Feng again. Earlier, Zhao Ger had been busy, and Xiao Feng was the one who looked after them the most. Now that they knew he was gone, the two little ones ran outside, sat on the doorstep, and cried. They even begged Fang Zichen to ride his big horse to go chase after their big brother and bring him back—they wanted their big brother.
Fang Zichen couldn't be bothered with them. After a couple of half-hearted attempts to soothe them, he whipped out his secret weapon, and the two little ones instantly stopped fussing.
—Meat buns were just too delicious.
Back when the paper mill and the chemical fertilizer factory were first being built, Xiao Feng had always followed Zhao Ger around to learn. Over in Beian County, Fang Zichen had already given the county magistrate a heads-up in advance. So this time, with Xiao Feng heading over, Zhao Ger wasn't worried at all.
Even though Xiao Feng was only in his teens, kids from poor families grew up early—he was steady and reliable! Way more reassuring than Fang Zichen.
At the end of the month, Fang Zichen and Zhao Ger took the kids back to Pingxiang Village.
Xia Jinghong hadn't replied yet, but Fang Zichen figured that as long as the man wasn't an idiot, he'd agree. So he went ahead and issued another official order—this time, for military conscription.
Earlier, they'd only recruited from four counties: Shunan, Anhe, and Anping. This time, the order went out to both the north and the south.
During the New Year, people were visiting relatives and catching up, so most people probably already knew about some of these matters.
But now, after hearing the officials lay it all out, something felt off.
What's this about "military priority"?
Family members of soldiers could get discounted medical treatment?
This... could it really be this good?
Last time, things had been rushed, and many of the regulations hadn't been fully implemented. This time, along with the official directive, a whole set of policies—including military priority—were being rolled out.
Fang Zichen was pulling out all the stops to get the common people on board.
After all, the number of recruits he needed was enormous.
If the incentives weren't eye-catching enough, too few people would show up.
And even though these new recruits would get over a hundred copper coins a month, when one really did the math, that came out to only about four coins a day—way less than what factory workers made.
Other prefectures didn't have policies like this. But Fang Zichen was a modern person at heart, and having spent a lot of time around his grandfather, he deeply respected these soldiers. When parents entrusted their children to the nation, that was an act of trust in their country.
Once their children left, they wouldn't be around for the holidays or important family occasions... "If you give something, you should get something in return."
By now, everyone was familiar with the conscription process. In less than half a month, the rosters were compiled.
This time, they'd recruited over 36,000 people. Add that to the previous 3,000 or so, and the total came to nearly 40,000.
Zhao Ger was reviewing the list beside him when he noticed something off. "Tang Daniang? Gu Xiaoya? Qin Xiaocui? Fan Ger? These—these are names of women and gers!"
"Yes."
"How did that happen?"
The story was actually pretty amusing. Fang Zichen said, "Your son recruited them."
An'an County wasn't far from Anping County. When conscription started, they were short on manpower, so Fang Zichen sent Guaizai to handle it, promising him some rewards. Guaizai thought it didn't seem too hard, so he slung a bag of instant noodles over his shoulder and went.
But on the second day of registration, a young woman showed up.
No comments:
Post a Comment