For Feng Yong, this Northern Expedition meant that he had staked all his wealth over the years and had a hard time.
Moreover, the opponent's rank is very powerful. Even if he is not a god of gambling, he is at the level of an Asian gambling king.
So you can never be too careful.
Throughout the day, he led people back and forth to various places in Nanxiang to inspect Nanxiang's material preparations for the Northern Expedition.
It wasn't until the sun went down that he led the people back to the inner city from the workshop.
"These days, ask the canteen to cook more meat. Pig farms, pastures, and even dog farms can bring out some vegetable dogs and put more salt in the dishes."
Feng Yonglian ordered as he walked.
The greater the workload, the greater the need to replenish calories, and the taste is also strong. This is because of sweating, so the body is in urgent need of replenishing salt.
"My little brother understands."
Li Qiu nodded, but when he saw the direction Feng Yong was walking in, a strange expression flashed across his face, "Brother is not staying at the county government office tonight, do you want to stay in the big courtyard?"
"What do I do if I live in the county government office?"
Feng Yong didn't look back, so he naturally couldn't see Li Qiu's strange expression. He was so busy thinking about the Northern Expedition that he couldn't think about what Li Qiu meant by asking.
"Although I got the permission of the Prime Minister to come here this time, it is not in the name of inspection after all. I can live in the county government office. Besides, wouldn't it be more comfortable to live at home?"
"At home?" Li Qiu's expression became even weirder. He thought about it for a moment, and then suddenly showed admiration.
"Isn't it just a second home?" Feng Yong said, looking from the gate of the big courtyard, the lights were already lit inside, and he felt a little emotional at the moment, "Back then..."
At this point, he suddenly paused.
He thought for a while, then turned around and said to Li Qiu, "You are right, I think we should live in the county..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard a voice coming over, "Brother, where are you going? Dinner has been prepared in the courtyard. You have worked hard all day, aren't you ready to take a rest?"
In the thin night, I saw a girl, holding a lantern, standing at the door of the courtyard, like a young woman leaning against the door waiting for her husband to return.
Feng Yong sighed, glanced at Li Qiu, and murmured, "Remember to speak more clearly in the future."
Then he gritted his teeth, turned around, and shouted in surprise, "Why is Si Niang here?"
Zhang Xingyi walked over and smiled, like a flower with dew in its stamen, "My little sister is always here, just waiting for my brother to come back."
Meaningful, very meaningful...
Feng Yong's face was a little feverish and he didn't dare to look into Zhang Xingyi's eyes. He looked around and said, "It's too cold outside. Be careful of catching a cold."
"Brother is busy working on state affairs all day long, and my little sister just waits for a while, so what's the harm?"
Zhang Xingyi said softly, "Sister Guan sent me a letter two days ago, saying that my brother has been tired these days and has too much to do and eats too little. It seems like that is the case today. Brother, please go in quickly and don't delay here again, lest you be late."
The food is getting cold again."
After saying that, he looked at the people behind Feng Yong and asked, "Would you all go in and have something to eat too?"
Since ancient times, it is difficult for upright officials to deal with household affairs, not to mention that Mrs. Zhang still mentions Mrs. Guan. How can anyone dare to get involved in such a thing?
But the leader, Li Yi, coughed and waved his hand, "No need, brother is very tired these days, I won't bother you anymore. Please take good care of brother, Mrs. Zhang."
At the same time, I sighed in my heart, as expected, you still have to marry a virtuous wife.
"Yes, brother, remember to rest early." Li Qiu cupped his hands, "I will leave first."
Seeing everyone turn and leave without hesitation, Feng Yong felt anxious and grabbed Li Yi's sleeve, "You have been busy all day, aren't you hungry? Let's go in and have something to eat..."
"Ahem, brother, there is no need to worry about us. The small cafeteria in this workshop has people on call 24 hours a day. Brother, please don't let us down...well, Mrs. Zhang's kindness."
After saying that, he opened Feng Yong's hand and left with everyone.
After walking far away, Huang Chong asked in a low voice, "Wenxuan, is it really okay to do this?"
"What are you afraid of? One moment, another moment. Now my wife's surname is Guan, not Zhang."
Li Yi shook his head and said, "Besides, on the Yuexi side, didn't my brother also let the Mi family get a share of the horse farm in the Barbarian Girl Ranch? Miss Zhang..."
As he said that, he looked around and saw that there were indeed no other outsiders. Then he whispered, "After all, she is the queen's biological sister. My brother can't go too far, right?"
"Moreover, Miss Zhang is now the person in charge of the Zhang family's property in Nanxiang. She has the final say just for Nanxiang's mulberry silk. It really pisses her off..."
Li Yi thought for a while and didn't know what words to use to describe it. In the end, he just said, "Think about brother Xu Xun. We'd better not get involved. I think brother has his own sense of discretion."
"Brother is also in trouble..."
Huang Chong sighed.
One side is the royal family, and the other side is the powerful people who helped the Han Dynasty conquer the country.
If Mrs. Zhang's identity has nothing to do with the royal family, no matter which aristocratic family she belongs to, or even the legitimate daughter of a powerful family, as long as her brother is interested, she can sleep with her. Anyway, it is a matter of mutual consent.
The worst case scenario is that the brothers will help arrange for someone to take over the broken house afterwards, are you afraid of this?
Stuffing some woolen brown sugar into her home will really make people taste the sweetness. I guess the other party will want to send another one.
If you don't want to... anyway, the powerful Han Dynasty officials and many aristocratic families in Shu think it's quite good, so you can make up your own mind.
Li Yi, Huang Chong, and Li Qiu were all descendants of aristocratic families. In their view, with their elder brother's current status, it would not be a big deal if Mrs. Zhang removed her status as the queen's sister.
Just a woman, what does it mean compared to everyone’s huge family fortune?
"Brother, please sit down first, and my little sister will help you get a bowl of water."
Zhang Xingyi welcomed Feng Yong into the wing of his small courtyard, helped him take off his coat, hung it aside, poured a bowl of water himself, and handed it to Feng Yong, "It's a little cold outside, brother, take a sip of hot water first, and have dinner later."
It'll be up soon."
Like a virtuous wife.
Feng Yong felt a little uncomfortable. He picked up the bowl and took a sip. Then he said "Hey" and looked at the candle. The color of the water was actually slightly yellow.
"Is this honey water?" Feng Yong asked in surprise, "Where did Siniang get the honey this season?"
Zhang Xingyi looked at him and said, "It seems that you have really experienced happiness and know about honey water."
"Didn't I tell you that I am from Shanmen? Do you know that honey is weird?"
Feng Yong took another sip, then put the bowl down and asked.
"Why are you bragging so much? Pretending to be the son of a refugee while claiming to be a descendant of a noble man, don't you feel exhausted?"
Zhang Xingyi said disdainfully.
She looks like Bai Fumei looks down on poor Diaosi with disdain.
Feng Yong clicked his tongue and waved his hand, "I can't explain it to you."
"If you don't understand, don't say it. It's okay to be confused."
Zhang Xingyi said quietly.
Feng Yong remained silent.
At this time, the door creaked open, and the maid came in with dinner.
Zhang Xingyi stood up, took the food, and placed it in front of Feng Yong himself.
"Taste it and see if it suits your taste."
Zhang Xingyi handed over a pair of chopsticks and asked with expectation in his eyes.
Feng Yong took it, picked up a piece of ribs and put it in his mouth, his eyes lit up.
"Is it delicious?"
Seeing Feng Yong's expression, Zhang Xingyi seemed to have a sense of accomplishment and asked with a smile.
"Hmm..."
Feng Yong nodded, spit out the bones in his mouth, and asked, "You have a lot of honey? Why do you even put it in this?"
Zhang Xingyi raised her little head proudly, "I am the only one among the big men who can eat honey water all year round. I can eat it whenever and as much as I want! How much honey do you think I have?"
"Did that person named Li really grow up?"
Feng Yong was greatly surprised.
Zhang Xingyi asked Li Mu's brother to come over, saying he would raise geese for her, and Feng Yongxin accepted.
Later I found out that she had used a trick to sneak into Chen Cang.
However, Feng Yong didn't care because he didn't know much about beekeeping and had no confidence in beekeeping in this era.
Now it seems that it has actually been developed, and the scale should be quite large, otherwise Zhang Xingyi would not have said such a thing.
Thinking of this, Feng Tuchel's eyes lit up, he moved his chair, got closer to Zhang Xingyi, and asked quietly, "My dear Si Niang, can you tell me how many bees Li Tong helped you raise?"
"Hey, go away!"
Zhang Xingyi pushed him, with a look of disgust on his face, "After running all day, I'm covered in stinky sweat!"
Then Bai Fumei's special look of disdain was activated again, "How much I raise is my business. What does it have to do with you? Don't worry about it!"
"No, why do you just say it doesn't matter?"
Feng Tibi came up to him shamelessly, "Look, which industry in Nanxiang haven't I given you a share of? I can't even ask you now?"
It's a good thing that Feng Tuchel didn't say this. As soon as he said this, Zhang Xingyi immediately raised his eyebrows and shouted in a sweet voice, "You also know back then? Where were you when I left Jincheng!"
Am I going to get a wife?
When Feng Yong heard this, he immediately withered, retracted obediently, and buried himself in eating.
Zhang Xingyi was furious when she saw him like this, but she didn't know what to say to him, so she glared at him, "If you really don't want money and food, just tell me directly, why do you do this?"
"No, I didn't say that money and food are not available..."
Feng Yong shrank his head and said dullly.
"Who else are you lying to? You even spent Sister Guan's dowry, and you are still talking so hard! Tell me, how much does it cost? I'll see if I can get it together."
"It's really not necessary. The Northern Expedition will begin in a few days. Everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared."
Feng Yong raised his head and said seriously, then coughed again, "I just want to know about beekeeping..."
Zhang Xingyi frowned and glanced at him, "Why are you always thinking about beekeeping? I don't know how many bees Li Tong raised, anyway, there are a lot."
"I heard from him that there is a lot of alfalfa in Hanzhong, so it is easy to raise bees. I went to Huangzhuang to see it. There were many trees placed there, and there were all bees in the distance. I don't know how many there were. I didn't dare to go up and take a closer look.
Afraid of being stung."
"The candles in my courtyard are all made of beeswax, and there is no end to them."
Feng Tubiao drooled after hearing this.
Big loss, big loss!
These Li siblings are all talented people!
I only found one Li Mu, but unexpectedly I lost one Li Tong.
"Such a waste!"
Feng Yong said with some sadness, "No wealthy person would be so wasteful by lighting so many candles!"
"None of your business!" Zhang Xingyi snorted, "I'm happy to!"
"Sister, I have a lot of oil there, which is good for lighting lamps. Can you sell this beeswax to me in the future?"
Feng Yong begged humbly.
When Zhang Xingyi saw Feng Tulie like this, his eyes rolled, a smile appeared on his face, and he asked softly, "Brother, if you want these beeswax, do you also want to make candles?"
"No. I use it for...well, well, there are other uses."
"Is it important?"
"Well, it's very important." Feng Yong nodded vigorously.
"How much?"
"There is no exact number, of course the more the better!"
When Zhang Xingyi heard this, the smile on his face became even brighter, "Brother is about to follow the Prime Minister to the north. Now that I'm talking about this, could it be used for the Northern Expedition?"
"That's not true."
"Then what brother means is that it will only be used after returning from the Northern Expedition?"
"right."
"Okay." Zhang Xingyi's voice became more and more gentle, "Brother, let's go to the Northern Expedition with peace of mind. I'll let Li Tong prepare more first, okay?"
"well!"
Feng Yong was overjoyed, "This thing is just Siniang's apiary, I'm afraid it's not enough..."
Zhang Xingyi interrupted him, "How about we discuss this matter with my concubine after my brother returns? Don't be distracted by the Northern Expedition now."
Feng Turtle was like a chicken pecking at rice, "Chengcheng! I will come back to Siniang then."
The smile on Zhang Xingyi's face finally fully bloomed, and he pushed the food on the table towards Feng Yong, "Brother, please eat, don't starve."
Feng Yong got an important raw material and immediately had a big appetite.
Seeing that he was eating well, Zhang Xingyi personally helped him add a bowl of rice and asked, "Brother, do you know about the Zhongyi Temple?"
"How could you not know this?" Feng Yong was a little surprised that Zhang Xingyi asked this, "Li Xinhou asked me about this first, and then I asked the prime minister, and then I was allowed to build it."
Zhang Xingyi nodded, "In this Zhongyi Temple, Uncle Guan and your Excellency are worshiped. Your Excellency can enjoy the sacrifices of the common people, and I also contributed a lot. My younger sister thanked you first."
"It doesn't matter, the two old princes Guan and Zhang are the people I admire the most. It is my heart's wish to build a shrine for them."
"In this Loyalty Temple, those knights have also contributed a lot. One of them, Han Long, is the first advocate. Although they are all reckless people, they can be regarded as loyal and loyal. I think the younger sister is right.
right?"
Zhang Xingyi looked at Feng Yong and asked tentatively.
"What Siniang said makes sense." Feng Yong was a little confused as to why Zhang Xingyi mentioned this, "Why did Siniang suddenly mention this?"
Seeing that Feng Yong agreed with what he said, Zhang Xingyi breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes were like stars, shining brightly, and said with a smile, "That's it, I want to ask my brother for something, which is related to loyalty."
It’s related to the temple.”
"Sister-in-law, please tell me."
Feng Yong felt a little guilty, thinking that maybe my pen name had been leaked?
"The founder of the Zhongyi Temple was a man named Han Long, who had a disciple named Liu Hun, also known as Polu, who was a Huns. He was the grandson of Qubei, a descendant of the Emperor Guangwu, Liu Jinbo, the general who conquered the Liao Dynasty.
after."
"He is loyal to the Han Dynasty and wants to serve in the army, but he can't find a way. Therefore, his master Han Long begged me. But I can't accept this favor, so I want to ask my brother."
"Go to humiliation?"
Feng Yong pondered, "This name seems so familiar."
"Of course we are familiar! Qubei is a senior member of the Tiefu tribe of the Xiongnu. In the first year of Jian'an, he was ordered by the emperor to personally lead his troops to fight against Li Jue and Guo Si, helping the emperor of the Han Dynasty escape from Chang'an."
"So, Liu Hun is still the Queen of Zhongyi?"
"How else would my little sister dare to beg my brother?"
This time it was Zhang Xingyi's turn to lean over and explain in a low voice, "This Liu Hun admires the great Han culture. He traveled in Guanzhong and Liangzhou in his early years and is very familiar with it."
"He doesn't ask for any high official, he just wants to be a pawn. If brother can't trust him, it would be great to just let him be a guide."
Zhang Xingyi spoke softly and was full of tenderness. Under the light of the candles, Feng Yong looked at her like this and felt that she was really as human as a flower. He was stunned for a moment.