Zhong Yan went out to summon Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu greeted him first, then sat down. “General, you asked about the situation. I’ll tell you about the situation in the north.”

General Bai gestured for him to come in, then poured himself a cup of tea. He wanted to see what the man before him could say.

Zhou Yu didn’t mince words. He poured some tea onto the table, dipped his finger in the water, and drew a line with the South River as the boundary. “I’ll tell you about the situation north of the South River.”

General Bai continued drinking his tea, but his eyes were fixed on the water stains on the table.

Zhou Yu recounted the information he had learned from Fang Tuiguan, drew the area occupied by the rebels, explained the distance between the rebels and the capital, and finally mentioned Jiang Wang and Emperor Jiang, emphasizing the business of Quanwei Restaurant.

Zhou Yu pointed to Pingzhou and looked directly at General Bai, saying, “Once the capital is breached by the rebels, the world will inevitably descend into chaos.”

General Bai chuckled. This young man had drawn up Pingzhou, not revealing much about Jiang Wang, yet subtly pointing out Wang’s intentions. He said to Zhong Yan, “Not bad.”

Zhong Yan replied, “I’m too old to teach Young Master Bai, but my nephew can.”

General Bai was quick-witted, not a reckless military man. “Gu Zhifu has been making frequent moves, and his powerful families have also seen through the situation. If chaos breaks out, Gu Zhifu won’t abandon Ruizhou. However, with me here, Xiang County won’t descend into chaos.”

This was a guarantee; as long as his son was properly trained, he could protect him.

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said, “A few days ago, officials from the prefectural city inspected the dikes and tried to take money from the county treasury.”

General Bai’s smile widened. “I’ve noted that down.”

If chaos broke out, he needed to ensure his troops weren’t swayed, which meant controlling the grain supplies. Only with grain in hand could he avoid panic.

The Zhou family’s courtyard wasn’t large, and Third Yang and the others had run out of space, so they moved to the front yard. Their courtyard was cleared out for General Bai to live in.

General Bai didn’t concern himself with the soldiers he brought; he wanted to see how the Zhou family would arrange their troops. If they couldn’t even handle this small matter, he’d have to think things over.

Yang Xi didn’t show up. Welcoming General Bai today was quite important, and she wouldn’t get involved just to show off. She was in the courtyard teaching the Wu sisters how to polish parts.

She wanted to make a model of a loom to test it out first; otherwise, she couldn’t make adjustments without a finished product.

So many soldiers had come to the village and even set up camp in front of the Zhou family’s open space. The villagers retreated home, and only after confirming there was no fighting or killing did they dare to leave their homes again.

The villagers near the Zhou family noticed that these soldiers had come because of the Zhou family. They saw Third Yang in charge of arranging the soldiers and horses.

The villagers were dumbfounded. Who was this Zhou family?

Hearing the news, Wu Shan, fearing for their life, also rushed over with his two sons. They found the Zhou family unharmed, and Third Yang and Zhou Xiaodi were chatting with a person dressed in armor.

Third Yang was very satisfied to see Wu Shan. The Wu family was indeed loyal and righteous; he and his brother-in-law hadn’t misjudged them. Ye Shun wasn’t home; the two Ye brothers were at the school. In contrast, no one from the Zhao family had come yet.

Zhou Xiaodi greeted Wu Shan, “We’re busy here. I was just about to ask Li Zheng to invite you, brother, to help, but you’ve come.”

Wu Shan asked softly, “What’s going on?”

Zhou Xiaodi didn’t hide anything. “General Bai of Ruizhou sent his only son to study here. The general’s safety is very important, which is why he brought so many cavalry. The one chatting with Third Yang is General Bai’s deputy.”

Wu Shan’s eyes widened, and he muttered in bewilderment, “Is the school already that famous?”

Zhou Xiaodi smiled. “It’s not because the school is famous, but because of Uncle Zhong. General Bai came for Uncle Zhong. Don’t worry, Brother Wu, it’s only good for us.”

Wu Shan’s hands trembled slightly. In this world, the worst thing is to have no one to rely on. The Wu family relied on the Zhou family, and the Zhou family was even more capable. First, they had a xiànlìng, and then they had the garrison commander of Ruizhou!

Wu Shan rubbed his hands together. “Little brother, just tell me what you want my father and me to do.”

Zhou Xiaodi said, “My family started preparing as soon as we knew General Bai was coming. Third Yang bought a lot of bamboo curtains. The curtains need to be set up, but we don’t have enough now. Big brother, go to the village and buy as many as you can. Also, send some hay over. And find some villagers to cut some grass to feed the horses.”

Horse feed required grain, and these horses were very precious. The Zhou family had grain, but they lacked hay.

Wu Shan noted it all down. “I’ll go buy some now.”

With that, he took the silver from Zhou Xiaodi and left with his two sons.

Fortunately, it hadn’t rained recently, so the ground was dry. Soldiers were used to sleeping outdoors at night and didn’t have many rules. Because General Bai was polite to the Zhou family, the deputy general warned his soldiers to behave themselves.

Third Yang was good at socializing. He appropriately mentioned that his father was a seventh-rank garrison commander, which further strengthened his relationship with the deputy general, who then inquired about the chaotic situation in the north.

Zhou Xiaodi and his servants, including Li Zheng, were busy running around, while Third Yang was busy socializing.

As for Young Master Bai, he had already ridden around on horseback.

Zhou Xiaodi saw that the Zhao family father and son and the Wu family father and son had been gone for a while. Zhou Xiaodi had already made up his mind, but he didn’t show it on his face and continued to arrange tasks with a smile.

The Zhao father and son regretted arriving too late. They lived far from the Zhou family and, genuinely believing they had suffered misfortune, had stayed home for a long time before daring to venture out. Seeing Zhou Xiaodi looking perfectly normal, they finally relaxed.

Zhou Xiaodi thought to himself, “Free labor is free, so why not use it?” But this incident also revealed his true colors about the Zhao family; he’d better keep his distance in the future. After Zhou Xiaodi had made most of the arrangements, he found Third Yang. “I’ll arrange for someone to cook, and they’ll bring the food over later.”

Third Yang was also busy. He had bought a lot of old tables and chairs from the village; new tables were readily available, and those with means had replaced them. Third Yang had bought them cheaply, just in time for the meal.

Seeing how well Zhou Xiaodi had arranged everything, Third Yang felt a sense of satisfaction; his younger brother had finally matured.

The Zhou family invited Li Shi and Wu’s two daughters-in-law, and the small kitchens in the Zhou family’s courtyards were put to use.

Wu’s two daughters offered to help, and Yang Xi also wanted to help pick vegetables, but the two girls stopped her.

Yang Xi could only sit and watch. After the vegetables were washed, she didn’t see the Zhao family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrive, nor did the Zhao family girls show up.

Lizheng’s wife and her daughter-in-law came to cook, using all the pots and pans, and dish after dish was poured into the newly bought wooden bucket.

Yang Xi silently calculated the money; this month’s share from selling tables was gone.

The soldiers had three dishes and a soup: fish from the river, meat from three pigs, stir-fried vegetables, and finally, bone and bamboo shoot soup, with whole-grain steamed buns as their staple food.

The soldiers’ expenses weren’t high; the main expense was horse feed. Tsk tsk, raising horses, especially warhorses, every penny was painful.

Yang Xi smelled the aroma of stewed pig’s head, and her mouth watered. The broth for the stew came from a meat shop in town; she especially loved their meat.

Finally, it was mealtime, and Yang Xi’s first bite was of a pig’s head. Mmm, so delicious.

Madam Ye was pleased. “Eat as much as you like.”

The heads and offal from the three pigs were stewed, and there was pig’s head meat and liver on the table. Yang Xi ate quite a bit of liver; her appetite was good, so the child was getting enough nutrition.

After the meal, they ate wild fruits from the mountains—hmm, the nutrition was exceptionally balanced.

(End of Chapter)

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