Lao Yan rode his horse to the threshing floor, but came back soon.
"Why are you back so soon?"
"Lao Yan, have you told the village chief to leave some better ones for our brothers?"
"How are the girls this year? Are they pretty?"
The veterans asked all kinds of questions.
"Everyone came back late, and all the girls have been picked."
Lao Yan replied with a wry smile.
"how come?"
The veterans were all a bit disbelieving: "When the escort team entered the village, there was never a large group of girls left. How could they have been picked out?"
"That was in the past, when life was difficult for everyone. If there were more people in the family, there would be more taxes and more mouths to eat."
Lao Yan said: "Now our life in Xihewan is better. If we have more people in the family, we will get more wages. So when the bride-to-be team came, all the girls were robbed."
"Oops, we're still late coming back."
The veterans sighed one after another.
In fact, they also think the same way. If there are more people in the family, they will get more wages.
"Don't worry, everyone. The village chief said that the bride-to-be team will come tomorrow. It will be the same when we choose again."
Lao Yan saw the veterans disappointed and said with a smile.
"Didn't you come today? Why are you coming again tomorrow?"
Tang Fei asked curiously.
According to the rules, the bride-to-be team comes twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn.
In all his years of living, this is the first time he has heard of the third visit.
"Captain, actually today this is the fifth time that the bride-to-be team has come here."
Lao Yan said with a smile: "We in Xihewan now have as many girls as we want. The county boss simply sent all the 'losing goods' in the county to us in Xihewan."
"Everyone heard it, the bride-to-be team will come tomorrow and deliver the goods to the warehouse. I will go and tell the village chief tonight that we will pick the girl first tomorrow."
Tang Fei smiled and said: "Old Yan, please make another trip and ask sir to come to the warehouse."
Except for Lao Yan, the scout, the other veterans all carried gold on their horses. Tang Fei did not dare to be careless along the way, not wanting anything to happen at the last moment.
"Okay." Lao Yan agreed and left on horseback.
Instead of going to Jin Feng's house, he went straight to the iron smelting workshop.
When I arrived at the workshop and asked, Jin Feng was indeed in the nearby laboratory.
After the veteran guarding the gate made the announcement, Jin Feng took Zhou Jin out.
Both of them wore thick pigskin gloves and masks, as well as special smocks.
"Lao Yan is back?"
Jin Feng took off his mask, took a deep breath, and asked, "Was the road going smoothly? Did you meet any bandits?"
"The bandits naturally encountered them, but we were armed with heavy crossbows and there were many people. We killed all the bandits and our brothers were not injured. Overall, it went very smoothly."
Lao Yan said: "The captain asked me to ask Mr. to go to the warehouse in the back mountain."
There are several warehouses in Xihewan. Things used for blacksmithing, textile-related raw materials and finished products all need different warehouses to store them.
But the most tightly guarded and safest place is the warehouse in the back mountain, where almost all of Jin Feng's belongings are stored.
"Going to the warehouse in the back mountain? It seems that Luo Lan made a lot of money in the capital this time."
Jin Feng smiled and pulled off his gloves.
Zhou Jin stepped forward sensibly and helped Jin Feng untie the belt of his blouse from behind.
"Old Yan, you go over first, I'll be there later."
Jin Feng is already busy enough in the laboratory and iron smelting workshop, and Guan Xiaorou and Tang Xiaobei have always been in charge of the accounting matters.
Now that I know that Tang Fei has brought money back, I must take the two of them there to count it.
Guan Xiaorou was putting away insoles at the table under the eaves. When she saw Jin Feng coming back, she sighed helplessly.
Every time Jin Feng comes back from the laboratory, his hair is always messy and his clothes are never clean.
"Run Niang, is there hot water in the bathhouse?"
Guan Xiaorou put down her insoles and prepared to go into the house to find clothes for Jin Feng.
Runniang came out of the kitchen and smiled when she saw Jin Feng's appearance. She wiped her hands on her apron and said, "Brother Feng, please sit down first. I'll boil water now."
"Don't worry, I'm going to the back mountain and I'll wash it when I get back."
Jin Feng called to Guan Xiaorou: "Xiaorou, Old Tang is back, call Xiaobei, and let's go to the warehouse in the back mountain together."
"good."
Guan Xiaorou entered the room and picked up Tang Xiaobei from his nap.
In the back mountain, at the foot of the mountain not far from where Jin Feng shot the tiger, there used to be a large forest.
Now all the woods have been cut down and turned into rows of brick houses, where most of the veterans with their families are housed.
It was a rest day, so the children did not have to go to school and were laughing and playing around the camp. Many women on the night shift were awake and busy with housework.
It looks like a small village.
"Sir, madam!"
Jin Feng's prestige in the village now has completely surpassed that of the village chief.
Seeing Jin Feng and the others entering the village, all the women and children came over to say hello.
"Sister-in-law Tang, I'm doing laundry."
"Aunt Liu, you can't educate your children just by beating them, what? This kid secretly went to the female soldiers' bathhouse? He has to be beaten, hang him up and beat him!"
Jin Feng never puts on airs in the village. Anyone who greets her will respond with a smile or two.
Passing through the veteran settlement area is a wall made of blue bricks.
There are also rows of brick houses within the wall, where veterans and female soldiers who have never married have lived and trained.
It can be regarded as the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau's camp in Xihewan.
Zhang Liang was at the training ground. When he learned that Jin Feng was coming, he immediately ran to the door with a female soldier.
The female soldier is named Ape. Like Xiaoyu, she is one of the first batch of female soldiers in Xihewan. Not only is she strong, but she is also not inferior to the male soldiers in combat. When she participated in the first battle, she killed several bandits with the cooperation of her teammates and was admired by Qing.
Lan praised him as a typical example.
Ape himself also strived for success. In the subsequent battles, he was very brave every time and his position became higher and higher.
Now that Qing Mulan is leading the Qingyuan Army and Changxin Army to suppress bandits, the female soldiers here in Xihewan are temporarily led by Ape.
"We went to the warehouse not to find you."
Jin Feng smiled and waved to the two of them, leading Guan Xiaorou and Tang Xiaobei straight through the training ground.
At the foot of the mountain at the rear of the camp, there are also two brick houses, which are the back mountain warehouses.
When Jin Feng arrived, Old Tang had already unloaded the things from the horse and piled them at the door of the warehouse.
It takes many days to go back and forth to the capital. The veterans are a little homesick. When passing through the resettlement area, many veterans saw their wives and children, but no one left. Instead, they all held crossbows or black knives.
, stay around.
"Sir! Madam!"
The veterans greeted Jin Feng and the others one after another.
"Thank you for your hard work." Jin Feng nodded in response.
"Sir, Miss Luo Lan asked me to bring this to you."
Old Tang took out an envelope from his arms and held it in front of Jin Feng with both hands.
"It's pretty thick."
Jin Feng smiled, checked the paint, and then tore open the envelope.