The Slender Waist-Chapter 127 - 99 Making a Minor Plan

As Feng Yun passed by, three craftsmen and several ox carts from the Tu Family Fort were arriving, hauling various tools and materials for production.

The villagers who came to watch were filled with pride and joy, while the villagers from the neighboring village who had come to help were green with envy.

"Life in Huaxi Village is getting better by the day."

"The abilities of the Village Chief’s wife are truly unmatched by others."

"Alas, I was too careless during the household registration. How good it would have been to be registered in Huaxi Village."

For this day, Feng Yun had specially bought two strings of firecrackers to set off.

She really liked this, the festive atmosphere, the bustle.

In the midst of the crackling firecrackers, Feng Yun loudly announced.

"The agricultural tool workshop of Huaxi Village is now open!"

Although it was called a workshop, the building was quite simple; it was surrounded by timber and stones, with wooden and stone pillars, thatched roofs, and a central hollow courtyard that looked like a large "return" character.

The craftsmen from the Tu Family Fort admired the simple yet practical design of the "return" shaped workshop after touring it, and said that when they returned, they would build one with a structure of blue bricks, asking Feng Yun for the blueprint.

Feng Yun smiled and agreed.

On one hand, she sent the craftsmen to survey the peach grove for the construction of the village school.

On the other hand, she sat down to discuss the manufacturing of agricultural tools with the craftsmen from the Tu Family Fort.

The Fort had experience and a complete production process; Feng Yun’s planning was just "armchair strategy," but the two senior craftsmen respected her a lot. Whenever they encountered something unclear, Feng Yun would draw diagrams on the spot to explain, and they, having been immersed in this field for a long time, understood immediately.

The communication was very pleasant.

After lunch, they began to prepare for work.

The recruitment for the workshop had been in preparation for several days.

The notice was posted under the three locust trees outside Changmen Village.

Feng Yun only needed twenty people for the initial phase, taking two from each li (unit of measurement).

But looking at the people summoned today, Yang Daniu’s li had four men, all from Zhang Erbing’s family—

Zhang Er, Zhang San, Zhang Si, Zhang Wu.

Tall and burly men stood there, dwarfing the lean and thin farmers by a whole size; no one dared to stand too close to them.

Feng Yun noticed the atmosphere in the crowd.

She slowly walked over, "What’s going on?"

The crowd was silent.

Zhang Erbing said loudly, "Doesn’t the Village Chief’s wife need people for blacksmithing? We brothers have plenty of strength to help you work."

In Feng Yun’s agricultural tool workshop, two meals a day were provided, and they paid fifty large coins daily, which was higher than the wages of craftsmen in Andu City before the war, let alone that most of those who came had to start as apprentices?

Because it was a lucrative job, two people per li were arranged.

Everyone was scrambling to get in, learning skills, earning money to buy rice. How could it sound like Feng Yun couldn’t find people to recruit when it came from the Zhang family?

"Why did four people come from the Zhang family at once?"

Feng Yun asked, but no one responded.

The head of the li, Yang Daniu, was not present; it was unknown whether he was intentionally avoiding the situation.

Feng Yun scoffed, looking at Zhang Erbing.

"You all go back."

Zhang Erbing immediately became angry, "What do you mean, Village Chief’s wife? Others can, why can’t we? We are all villagers from Huaxi Village, whom are you looking down upon?"

Feng Yun said, "Others come here in a fair and rules-abiding way, but you don’t. I have my own rules, and my agricultural tool workshop doesn’t lack loafers, nor does it need bullies or thugs."

Zhang Erbing inhaled sharply and rolled up his sleeves to step forward.

"Who are you calling bullies and thugs?"

Feng Yun stared at him, "I’m talking about you."

"You... women..."

As Zhang Erbing was about to take action, Ye Chuang had been by the entrance of the agricultural tool workshop and came over when he heard the dispute; he certainly wouldn’t give Zhang Erbing a chance to start a fight.

"Presumptuous!" Ye Chuang drew his sword and stood in front of Feng Yun, "Back off!"

Zhang Erbing shouted, "What now, are you going to kill someone?"

Ye Chuang laughed.

He thought this wretch should be thankful that the person standing here wasn’t Ao Qi.

If Ao Qi saw someone bullying Feng Yun like this, he probably would have already thrown his knife.

Ye Chuang considered himself a good man.

"I’ll say it one more time, back off. If you dare come within three feet of the lady again, I’ll have your blood splattered right here! Back off, do you hear me?"

Ye Chuang roared.

The workers in the workshop started getting active.

There were seven or eight strong men from the Zhang family. With their work power came fighting power. The villagers were afraid of this family for causing trouble and fighting fiercely, but Changmen Village had the troops of the Village Chief’s wife, the guards of General Pei; the entire Andu County had to listen to General Pei, could the Zhang family be more unruly than the general himself?

So they started accusing them as well.

"Don’t think that others don’t know, you stole the places that belonged to Maosan and Rat."

"We can put up with you bullying us, but now you want to bully the lady of the Village Chief..."

"The Village Chief’s wife is right in refusing them."

The crowd buzzed with comments.

Zhang Erbing’s face was stern as he pointed at them.

"Very well, you’ve got backing, do you? We’ll see how long you can feign strength," he sneered.

With that, he turned and called over his brothers.

"Let’s go!"

Ye Chuang sheathed his sword, muttering "Bad luck."

Running into this sort of trouble on the opening day was indeed a bit of bad luck.

But Feng Yun, watching Zhang Family’s brothers strut around without restraint, smiled slightly and dismissed the thoughts she had before.

Given Xiao Cheng and Ren Rude’s way of doing things, they wouldn’t have arranged for such brainless fools to make things difficult for her. People from Qi would be cautious in Jin Country and not show off like this.

They came to Huaxi Village and didn’t give Feng Yun the slightest bit of face.

There was only one possibility:

They believed their master was more powerful than Pei Jue...

And these people must usually act so overbearingly because they’re not used to restraining themselves...

Feng Yun had her answer and soon concocted a plan.

_ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

After sorting out the affairs of the tool workshop, she went straight to Ren Rude’s home.

Before she even got close, she saw Jin Ge and Tie Ma amidst a crowd of people.

They were leading a group of workers building houses against the river wind.

Old acquaintances already.

But Feng Yun still had to pretend she didn’t know them.

"Is this Mister Ren’s home?"

Jin Ge and Tie Ma, looking around twenty, dressed like attendants, remained as silent as the air itself.

Ren Qin stepped forward to greet her, bowing with impeccable manners.

"My father is in the city today, taking care of the tea house. Does the village chief seek my father for something?"

Feng Yun returned the bow and said, "I have a small favor to ask of the gentleman. If he’s not here, we can discuss it when we meet another day."

Ren Qin replied, "I will inform my father."

Feng Yun thanked him and paused to take a longer look at Ren Rude’s house.

But until she left, neither Jin Ge nor Tie Ma raised their heads to glance at her.

-

The next morning, Ren Rude came to her.

"My son returned to the tea house last night and mentioned the village chief was looking for me. May I inquire as to what guidance you seek?"

After sending everyone away from the room, Feng Yun spoke to Ren Rude:

"Firstly, it’s about the village school. I’d like to discuss with Mister Ren how many rooms to build and the appropriate size for the times. We’re measuring the land today, and if Mister Ren is free, you could accompany me to see the site."

Ren Rude readily agreed, "I hear from the village chief there is a second matter?"

Feng Yun took a sip of tea and her eyes reddened considerably, looking somewhat sorrowful.

"It’s quite an inconvenient matter, and I regret speaking impulsively about it yesterday..."

Seeing her state, Ren Rude bowed slightly, "The village chief needn’t hesitate to speak."

Feng Yun let out a sigh, "I hope you won’t laugh at me for what I’m about to say, Mister Ren. And whether or not you can help, I implore you to keep this a secret and not let the general know."

Ren Rude’s thoughts flickered as he made more than just an agreement.

Feng Yun said, "I have a dear sister in Tai City, with whom I’ve shared everything since childhood. Unfortunately, she married early, and I also moved to Andu with my father, and we haven’t seen each other in a long time. It was only this January that I learned her family had met with disaster; thieves broke in one night and killed more than a ten of her family members, including her husband. She was left with only a two-year-old child..."

Her eyes welling up again, she glanced at Ren Rude.

"Before the New Year, I asked people to inquire, only to find out that she and her child were driven out by her husband’s family. Her own family was unwilling to take her in, and her life became hardship. But my letters fell on deaf ears..."

Ren Rude felt a bad premonition and asked hesitantly:

"How may I be of assistance to the village chief?"

Feng Yun managed a wry smile, "I had thought, with Mister Ren’s extensive connections, you would be the most capable person to ask for help. I wanted to ask if you could find a merchant who travels between the north and south, someone who could bring two people here..."

Ren Rude fell silent.

The lady knew how to use his words to strike at his heart.

To refuse would mean his grand words were just boastful talk, making it difficult to be taken seriously in the future.

To help wasn’t an easy feat.

He knew people who traveled between the north and the south, but telling Feng Yun would mean exposing this concealed connection to her...

Ren Rude inquired, "Does the village chief wish to bring this close friend to Andu?"

Feng Yun smiled faintly, "I know it’s difficult for Mister Ren. Let’s pretend I never mentioned it. Just forget I ever brought it up."

After a moment of silence, Ren Rude asked, "May I know the name of this friend and where her family resides? I could write and ask my friends in Tai City to provide aid."

Feng Yun shook her head, "Better not to say. The troubles she’s been through are unlike anyone else’s, and if she cannot be brought here to be reunited with me, it would only bring her more trouble if we rashly approached them."

Ren Rude did not commit, nor did he refuse; he simply said he would inquire.

They went to the peach grove to confirm the location and layout of the village school. Feng Yun kept a worried look throughout.

Ren Rude noticed and the next day brought good news—

He had an old friend named Weng Li who specialized in trading goods between the north and the south. He led a security team; they didn’t make much, but he was very righteous and could possibly help.

He also reminded Feng Yun that with the Jin and Qi armies facing off in Xinzhou, and the Qi Army currently mobilizing large numbers of troops, a large battle could break out at any time. To move people from Tai City to Andu, speed was essential.