kvmb Chapter 688 Departure
Chapter 688 Departure
Seeing that she had truly come to her senses, Wenren Jing was genuinely happy.
The greatest prison a person can be is one that doesn't forgive themselves.
The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.
Wenren Jing pulled her up: "Come on, while they're busy, I'll show you how to relax. I had someone make a set of mahjong tiles. We were all bored on the boat before, so we all learned how to play. We didn't bring them with us when we came back, and now that the New Year is almost here, we're itching to play. Let's go play a few rounds."
"Huh?" Rong Xin was very surprised. How come they even made mahjong tiles?
Wenren Jing had already dragged her away without saying a word.
……
Everyone was busy during the New Year. Lu Yangyang dragged Wen Qingqing into the pharmaceutical research lab, so busy that they didn't even have time to eat. Wenren Jing, along with Rong Xin, gathered with everyone in the manor to play mahjong, which was also a lively affair.
She was busy until after the fifteenth of the lunar month when Jiang Zhiyi came to inform Lu Yangyang that the caravan was ready to depart. Only then did Lu Yangyang reluctantly leave the research room.
Seeing that she seemed to want to live in the research lab, Jiang Zhiyi laughed and said, "What the army needs most are common medicines like wound medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs. No matter how many you make, it won't be enough. Why don't you set up a pharmacy over there and take a few deputies with you? That way, even if you leave, they can still supply some of the medicine."
It was impossible to fully supply these pills to the Northwest Army; their production was far too limited. Although they seemed to have made a lot, it was still a drop in the ocean when it came to actual use.
Lu Yangyang's real reason for making these medicines was not only to supply the Northwest Army, but also to prepare for the subsequent Northern Expedition.
That's even less enough.
Lu Yangyang nodded, "You understand me best. I was just thinking about this. Fortunately, these past few months haven't been a waste of time. We've trained a group of people who can support one pharmacy, but we can't support more than that. That's what's troubling me."
“Take it slow. Look at Changyang County now. It’s completely different from when we first came here. You wouldn’t believe it, but in the month before the Lunar New Year, the number of newlywed couples in Changyang County was dozens of times more than last year. When you come back next time, you’ll probably see little kids running around everywhere,” Jiang Zhiyi said with a smile.
Thanks to their efforts over this period, although the population growth in Changyang County has not changed much this year, there are an unusually large number of new marriages. Not to mention the city, any village you go to is filled with joy during the Spring Festival.
Even decades later, Jiang Zhiyi would never forget this sense of accomplishment.
Lu Yangyang had already heard the music and celebrations from the nearby villages. Not to mention them, even in her own village, there were more than a dozen couples getting married at the end of the year, which showed how influential the new crops were. In previous years, people couldn't even get enough to eat. Most girls were either drowned or abandoned after birth. Even if they were raised to a few years old, they were sold to slave traders.
But when the new crop yield came out, the eyes of those veteran farmers were red with envy. Many of them worried that Lu Yangyang's plan to recruit people to plant and harvest medicinal herbs wouldn't last long, but they weren't worried about the actual grain produced in the fields, which was their lifeline.
Thinking of this, Lu Yangyang couldn't help but get excited: "Then I'd better hurry up and pack up and leave. I can't delay the spring planting. It will take more than a month to get to the Northwest from here, and by then it will be just around the time of spring planting."
Changyang County is located in the southwest, slightly to the west. Going northwest, you can head north, so it's not much farther than the capital.
It's just past the fifteenth of the lunar month now, and the journey will take more than a month. We'll arrive in the Northwest at the end of February, just in time for spring plowing.
Lu Yangyang was always a decisive person, so she didn't dawdle any longer. After making arrangements for the people going to the Northwest, she hurriedly said goodbye to the others and headed north with them.
Jiang Zhiyi was to stay in Changyang County, while Sheng Yunjiao, Wen Qingqing, and Wen Yu went back to the capital. Wenren Jing was busy with her money-making plans, so in the end, only Lu Yangyang and Mingxiu, along with two hundred female guards, went to the Northwest.
These people were selected and specially trained by Jiang Zhiyi since they were in Jiangnan. In the past six months, Luo Jing has been in charge of training them and many more people have been added. Jiang Zhiyi carefully selected two hundred people from them to form a women's army and gave them to Lu Yangyang.
This was a plan they had envisioned when they were in Jiangnan, and it is only now that it is gradually taking shape.
Wen Zhuo, who had been left by Zong Que to protect Rong Xin, would secretly escort Rong Xin and the others to the capital. Therefore, Lu Yangyang had nothing to worry about. She arranged everything in just two days and left Changyang County with Mingxiu and the caravan.
The two hundred female guards, led by Captain Yun Ying, did not openly follow Lu Yangyang. Instead, some dispersed among the caravans while others followed secretly to avoid being noticed.
The grain being transported by the caravan was of paramount importance. Jiang Zhiyi specially found two caravans: one was a merchant from the Northwest who had been traveling there for many years, to help them transport medicinal herbs, and the other was a caravan from the Tiancheng Trading Company, to escort the grain. Lu Yangyang and Mingxiu were with this caravan.
Tiancheng Trading Company's business spans the entire Dazhao Kingdom, with a branch in Beiyan as well. The team leader, Manager Song, is a native of the Northwest. He is tall and strong, and very generous, looking more like a head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) from a镖局 (escort agency).
Mingxiu listened intently as he recounted the customs and traditions of Northwest China and his experiences along the way.
The roads were ones they had traveled year-round, so the journey was almost entirely smooth. It was only mid-February when they entered Huangshadu in the Northwest. From there, it would only take five or six days to reach Yangguan City, where Sheng Junyao was stationed.
But Manager Song, who was always in a hurry to get on the road, unusually urged the caravan to find a village nearby to stay before dark.
Lu Yangyang couldn't help but ask, "Manager Song, if we hurry, we should be able to reach the nearest city, Wancheng, before tomorrow morning. Why do we have to stop so early?"
Shopkeeper Song frowned: "To be honest, Huangsha Ferry has never been very peaceful. Bandits roam around, and they've been particularly rampant lately."
"Bandits?" Lu Yangyang asked in surprise.
Shopkeeper Song nodded: "They used to be in the area further north. Later, the General led his men to wipe out the bandits, and those bandits were scattered and no longer a threat. Unexpectedly, they secretly lay low for a few years and moved to Huangsha Ferry. This place is right on the border between the two areas and close to the desert. After they finish a heist, those bandits just disappear into the desert, which is very annoying. But this place is far away and not under the General's jurisdiction, so it's not easy to bring troops over. So every time we pass by, we have to be very careful and try not to confront them head-on."