The Slender Waist-Chapter 103 - 80 The Beginning of War

Feng Yun returned home with a full load, and by the time she arrived at Huaxi Village, it was already dark.

On the road, she encountered many villagers who stopped to greet her and then followed her to Changmen Village to join the excitement.

Therefore, when Xing Bing had some servants carry out the seeds and agricultural tools, the villagers’ eyes widened, full of envy.

Feng Yun said with a beaming smile,

"Once the agricultural tools are distributed, everyone can rent them. As for the seeds, they are also available for purchase in Changmen Village."

This was met with cheers from a crowd of people.

"The Village Chief’s lady is very capable, Huaxi Village won’t have to worry about the autumn sowing."

"It’s late today, tomorrow morning, let the neighbor head and steward head come to my estate, we have matters to discuss."

These villagers had received some benefits from Feng Yun and were not too afraid of her, asking openly.

"Is there any good news?"

Feng Yun smiled, "Great news."

Seeing everyone curiously crowd around, she didn’t waste any words and directly mentioned that she planned to open a workshop in the village to specialize in making agricultural tools, most importantly to forge iron agricultural tools.

Upon hearing this, the villagers sighed.

"The young lady means well, but we... how can we afford such good agricultural tools?"

Disappointment was written on everyone’s faces, but Feng Yun shook her head.

"You can all afford it," she said calmly. "Villagers can use them first and pay later, when the harvest is plentiful, you can repay with grain."

This excellent news, combined with the peasants’ desperate need for agricultural tools, brought waves of villagers pouring into Changmen Village. They stood at the entrance, unwilling to leave, bombarding with questions.

But Feng Yun was a bit tired today and let Xing Bing handle them while she turned to go back inside to eat.

She had brought dry food and clear water with her in the morning, and had resolved both meals on the road. Feng Yun had only tasted a few bites, which were unsatisfying. Now feeling famished, she sat down and asked Xiaoman to bring her meal.

After a good night’s sleep, the next day she led a few servants out the door, ready to look for a piece of wasteland near the Changhe River for the agricultural tool workshop.

No sooner had she reached the fields than she saw a familiar figure.

Ren Rude.

When he saw Feng Yun, he stepped forward to greet her with a bow, "We meet again, Lady of the Village."

Feng Yun raised an eyebrow and said in an understated tone, "Why has Mr. Ren come to Huaxi again?"

Ren Rude replied, "Thanks to the Great General’s new policies, I was also able to apply for a new household registration and received new land."

Feng Yun nodded as if in sudden realization and without much small talk, she returned the courtesy and simply said, "Mr. Ren, please go ahead with your business," before leading the others away. She then turned and summoned Xing Bing to give instructions.

Ao Qi, maintaining a discreet distance, followed with his men. Watching Feng Yun whisper something to Xing Bing, he felt uneasy inside.

Lately, he noticed that Feng Yun, apart from matters related to the Great General, talked very little to him...

He and Ye Chuang and the others were being kept at arm’s length by Feng Yun, not nearly as close to her as Xing Bing and Alou from her party.

Ao Qi felt a sourness bubbling up inside him. Turning back to look at Ren Rude, he noticed that Ren was also observing him. Raising his eyebrow, Ao Qi barked, "What are you looking at?"

Ren Rude politely bowed, "No offense, young man. It’s rare to see someone with such a lively spirit and handsome appearance. I couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. My apologies."

As the saying goes, one does not slap a smiling face. Although Ao Qi was haughty, he couldn’t be rude to a courteous gentleman.

He snorted and turned to tell Ye Chuang.

"Later, ask He Qia what’s going on with this man. Could he have been specially picked for settlement in Lady’s Huaxi Village?"

Ye Chuang curled his lip, "What if he is? It’s not like we can punish him for that, right?"

Ao Qi was displeased, "Then his intentions are malicious. I’ll take care of him."

Ye Chuang laughed dryly, "Xiaoqi, with the lady’s looks, how many men do you think can see her and not have wild thoughts? Ill intentions are the norm, it’d be suspicious if someone didn’t have any ideas at all."

"You..." Ao Qi suddenly scrutinized Ye Chuang from head to toe, making him feel prickly. Ye Chuang quickly jumped away, standing three feet apart before he stopped.

"I’m not talking about myself. I have no ill intentions, and you better not spout nonsense to the Great General, not... "

Ao Qi looked at him coldly and cut him off, "Don’t even think about making a move on the lady, or I’ll castrate you."

Ye Chuang felt a chill down there.

Truth be told, with the Great General above and Ao Qi below, it wasn’t his place to have any designs. Even if he had any thoughts, they would’ve shriveled long ago.

Nonetheless, Ye Chuang kept Ao Qi’s instructions in mind.

Right away, he went to find out about Yuqian Teahouse from He Qia.

Ren Rude was from Linchuan, a tea merchant who came to Andu three years ago and was registered as the owner of a teahouse, but the Yuqian Teahouse had been leased to locals for the past three years and was only recently reclaimed.

When registering his household, Ren Rude claimed that his ancestors served as Central Secretary during the previous dynasty, and it was only during the founding of the Qi Dynasty that they fled with their family.

According to him, the Ren Family holds an old grudge against the current Nanqi Court.

Registered in Huaxi Village, seeking refuge in Jin Country, there was nothing to fault in his actions.

After all, he said himself that he had an old connection with Feng Jingteng.

Ao Qi, however, was not entirely reassured, "This old rascal... We need to be extra cautious and must not let him harm the young lady."

—

Feng Yun chose a plot of land, personally measured it out with a rope, drew up blueprints, and then set about building houses.

Having family made things convenient, as they could do most things themselves, but apart from simple tasks like making clay bricks, the overall structure of the building still required experienced carpenters to oversee.

She was only armchair strategizing, after all.

Feng Yun had Xing Bing ask around and quickly found Shen Er from the neighboring Shen Family Village.

Shen Family Village was a clan village, nearly everyone in the village was related, and they were closely united. The village had both a clan hall and an earthen fortress for defense, virtually a small fortified settlement. During wars, unlike Huaxi Village where large tracts of land were owned by elite families who would flee with their people at the first sign of conflict, leaving nine out of ten homes empty,

in contrast, Shen Family Village had a large population.

Feng Yun met with Shen Er in person.

Her demands for the farm tools workshop were not high, but she was spending more time in Huaxi Village lately, and intended to continue doing so in the future. She wanted to renovate and reinforce the estate, installing wooden flooring in the living quarters, and building heated kang beds, as she could not endure the cold winters.

She was prepared to pay Shen Er a hefty sum.

To her surprise, Shen Er did not discuss the price.

He simply said, "I’ve spoken with the clan leader before coming to Huaxi Village. Right now, it’s the time for autumn sowing, and the village is short on labor. Therefore, you’ll be responsible for the labor, but we’ll provide the carpenters and bricklayers... You just need to provide two meals a day, no wages required."

Shen Er added, "But, we’d like to purchase some iron farm tools from your village."

Feng Yun looked at him, "Sure, that can be arranged." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Joy appeared on Shen Er’s face, "You can rest easy, Mistress of the Village Chief. We’ll buy at the standard price, not taking advantage of Huaxi Village."

The Imperial Court of both north and south controlled resources like iron and salt very strictly, normally restricting their sale through limited quantities and fixed prices by the court. It was difficult for ordinary farmers to purchase these, unlike fortified settlements that could secretly operate private mines. Feng Yun’s simple "Sure," was therefore quite enticing.

The news of Huaxi Village opening a farm tools workshop couldn’t be contained by the villagers’ excitement and had spread far and wide.

Feng Yun had not planned to keep it secret, so she readily agreed.

Of course, Feng Yun dared to do this because she was exploiting loopholes and Pei Jue emboldened her.

Didn’t he enjoy being called ’husband’? Then he had to back her up.

The Imperial Court’s monopoly on salt and iron had yet to reach Andu, and if it ever did, she would turn to General Pei.

She had also decided, once the farm tools workshop was up and running, to share some of the profits with Pei Jue.

The oxen should not only till the fields but must be allowed to graze as well; she had to give Pei Jue some benefits.

After finalizing related details, Shen Er did not linger any longer and stood up to leave and make arrangements.

With a major issue resolved, Feng Yun sketched and planned on paper, then sent Xing Bing to ask around the village for anyone who had experience as a carpenter, a mason, or a blacksmith. She had decided that to forge iron, one must be strong themselves; it was necessary to cultivate artisans in various skills.

Regarding Yutangchun, she had Wen Hui post a notice to recruit skilled craftsmen to the village.

No sooner had Xing Bing left than Ao Qi arrived.

"Miss, battle is about to begin. I’ve just received word—the Qi Army is marshaling troops to cross the river!"

The young man was visibly excited, his fervor palpable in the air, his eyes burning red as if ablaze.

"The Beiyong Army is stationed on the northern bank. They actually dare to cross the river and mount an attack? Just wait for their defeat."

Feng Yun slightly furrowed her brows.

Why would this happen?

If the Qi Army were to cross the river to attack the city, hoping to resolve the battle quickly, it would be impossible. Once the conflict became prolonged, Xiao San’s ascent to the Dragon Throne would require no small effort...

She believed she hadn’t misjudged Xiao Cheng.

The opportunity was right before him, he surely couldn’t contain his ambition and would seize power through a palace coup in Tai City.

The Qi Army must only be feigning an attack; they would not truly cross the river—

Feng Yun glanced at Ao Qi’s eager eyes and called for Xiaoman to help her change clothes.

"Let’s go to Andu City."