Chapter 420
Sweet potatoes had gone up in price, and so had wheat.
A year had passed; the cattle raised in the northwest should be slaughtered.
With the children not home and no one to play with, Fang Zichen felt extremely bored.
"Zhao Ger, let’s go see Xiao Feng, and on the way take you to eat steak!"
Beef cattle needed at least a full year before they could be slaughtered, but he’d heard it was especially cold in the north this year. Fang Zichen still decided to bring the cattle back early—otherwise, the common folk there would have a hard time getting through this winter.
Last time Xiao Feng hadn't gone with them to deliver goods, and it really had been a long time since they'd seen him. There wasn't much going on here at the moment, and the Qin family loved the three children — they definitely wouldn't send them back quickly. They'd have to stay at least ten days or so. Zhao Ger nodded.
The next day, Fang Zichen took Zhao Ger to Bei'an County. One to the south, one to the north — it was a long way, and the journey took a full four days.
Xiao Feng ran an instant noodle factory. He was usually very steady in his ways. Though he was still young and a ger, the people under him respected and trusted him greatly. But today, for some reason, their normally calm and composed young master came running out of the factory with a flushed face, urgent as if he desperately needed the latrine.
An older woman kindly pointed the way: "Young Master, wrong way, wrong way—the latrine is over here."
Xiao Feng: "..."
A horse carriage was parked on the open ground outside the noodle factory.
When Xiao Feng saw Zhao Ger and Fang Zichen, he thought he was dreaming. Just moments ago, the gatekeeper had come in to report that a couple had arrived outside, and the man had said he was there to take him away to become a monk. Xiao Feng froze for a moment, then ran outside, hardly daring to believe it. He stood dumbstruck in the doorway like an idiot, until Zhao Ger called out to him. Only then did Xiao Feng jump up with joy.
"Uncle Zhao, Uncle Fang, why are you here?"
"We came to see you," Zhao Ger said, feeling a bit guilty.
Xiao Feng rushed over and hugged his arm, a little embarrassed: "Uncle Zhao, did you miss me?"
Zhao Ger patted his head the same way he had when Xiao Feng was little: "Mm."
Xiao Feng smiled shyly and let him pat his head. After a moment, he stopped and looked around: "Where are Guaizai, Gungun, and Dandan?"
Before Zhao Ger could say anything, Fang Zichen said with a grief-stricken face: "We had some financial trouble at home a while back, so I sold them to the butcher in town. Your second brother wasn't any good—too short, and people thought his head was too big with no meat on him, so they only gave two taels of silver. Your third and fourth brothers did better—more fat on them—so they gave six taels. We couldn't make it at home anymore, so we had no choice but to come throw ourselves on your mercy."
Xiao Feng: "..."
Xiao Feng said unhappily: "Uncle Fang, don't take me for a fool!"
Fang Zichen exclaimed in surprise: "Oh my, even that can't fool you anymore! After a few months apart, you've finally grown a brain. I'm so relieved."
"Uncle Fang is so annoying."
Xiao Feng took them on a tour of the factory.
Fang Zichen listened to him talk for quite a while, nodding constantly.
The instant noodle factory was managed in perfect order by Xiao Feng. Nothing had gone wrong in the past year. He patted Xiao Feng's shoulder with great satisfaction: "You've really grown up." He shook his head and sighed: "Truly, time flows like water—gone in the blink of an eye. I remember when you first came, I still had to wipe your bottom for you. I worried so much about your little rooster problem that I couldn't eat for half a month, and my hair was about to fall out. Thinking back on it now feels like a lifetime ago."
Zhao Ger burst out laughing, clearly also remembering those days.
"..." This was his dark history. Xiao Feng's face turned bright red, and he gnashed his teeth: "Uncle Fang!"
Fang Zichen was chased all over the factory by Xiao Feng.
The two of them were always like this when together. Xiao Feng was a ger, but Fang Zichen always treated him like a little man.
Zhao Ger smiled and let them carry on.
Although the instant noodles sold well—other factories could just go back and mass-produce directly—the instant noodle factory here couldn't do that.
Xiao Li reported to Zhao Ger as they walked.
For the past two months, Xiao Feng had been sourcing Sichuan peppercorns and spices from Jizhou.
These weren't commonly used medicinal ingredients. Normally, medical halls kept only small amounts. Xiao Feng had learned that Beimang produced abundant pepper, cloves, bay leaves, and cumin. The medical halls here also sourced from Beimang. If he bought from the medical halls, they'd charge him over two taels of silver per catty—not worthwhile at all. In the end, Xiao Feng had taken Xiao Li to Jizhou himself. But Fang Zichen had sent him a letter beforehand, saying the situation there was unpredictable and might be unstable. Xiao Feng didn't dare go too far, afraid that if trouble broke out, he wouldn't be able to pull out in time.
He signed a contract with a merchant there, who could supply him steadily.
That solved the spice shortage, but Xiao Feng truly didn't know where to get beef tallow.
Fang Zichen had ordered all of Beilu County to raise cattle, but Xiao Feng couldn't guess the purpose. After all, the law of Da Xia prohibited the arbitrary slaughter of farm cattle.
That was the rule, but rules are dead and people are alive. When rules hinder development, you just change them. In this era of supreme imperial power, it was merely a matter of one word from Xia Jinghong.
Fang Zichen had already sent a letter to Xia Jinghong about this matter, and Xia Jinghong had approved it. Otherwise, Fang Zichen wouldn't have dared to break the law by bringing Zhao Ger over to eat beef.
The Bei'an County magistrate was well-informed. Fang Zichen had just stepped out of the factory when the magistrate was already waiting outside.
The magistrate was extremely excited: "This subordinate pays respects to Lord Fang."
"You've come!" Fang Zichen told him to rise, then took Zhao Ger and Xiao Feng with him back to the yamen. But the moment they got off the carriage, the Beilu County magistrate was actually standing right outside the yamen.
Fang Zichen: "..."
He had just arrived at Bei'an County, and the Beilu County magistrate had arrived right after. That fast? At this speed, the man must have been launched over with a rocket strapped to his backside!
But it wasn't surprising that the Beilu County magistrate was anxious.
After returning last year, Beilu County had forcibly ordered the common people under its jurisdiction to raise cattle. The people below complained endlessly. Moreover, after the factory was built, he had written to Fang Zichen, and Fang Zichen had only said: don't rush.
But how could he not rush?
Bei'an County, Beinan County, and Beiqu County had all made money. The common people were visibly prospering. Only his Beilu County remained poor and destitute. Earlier, when they planted wheat in the fields, it didn't grow well, but at least they could barely scrape together a bite to eat. Now he'd ordered people to raise cattle and plant grass. If Fang Zichen still didn't come, many would likely die again this winter.
The day before yesterday, his subordinates reported that people had been spotted lurking around his home carrying hoes. When the Beilu County magistrate heard this, he was scared out of his wits and hid inside his residence for several days, not daring to go out.
---
Winters in the north were relatively cold. By the middle of the tenth lunar month, snow was already falling. The biting wind howled as if drilling straight into your bones, cutting at your face like a knife.
These past few days, the snow fell thicker and thicker, the flakes growing larger and larger, weaving into a white net. Beyond just a few meters, nothing could be seen. Trees on both sides of the road stood pitifully bare, their branches stripped clean. The grass had withered and turned yellow. Everywhere was a scene of desolation.
This kind of winter was the hardest to endure.
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