Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

Ji's father, who had just returned from outside the city to pick up his daughter, heard his wife's laughter and started laughing too, "What's so funny!"

The next second, he saw the guy he hadn't seen in a few days. What a liar! He even teased his wife!

After a stick of incense, with a piece of poison as witness, everyone suspected they were pregnant and began to retch from time to time.

Ji's mother seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit. She would vomit when she smelled something, and then she would smell it again after vomiting. She would smell it again and vomit again. She kept fighting and failed.

Seeing the person retching continuously, Ji's father pulled the person back and said, "Forget it, my wife, I can't do it. I can't do it at all. Vomit...vomit..."

The extreme stench and the extreme fumes instantly rushed to the top of my head, wave after wave, and my whole body was resisting and shouting, "Ugh!"

Even the jar was thrown away.

Normally, Wangshu tasted the food alone. It was smelly, but not like now. It was as if Ji's mother had triggered her retching mechanism. She was retching all the time and couldn't put the food into her mouth at all. She silently glared at someone who had no knowledge. It was all his fault!

Qin Xiuyuan was glared at: "Just glare at me, it's better than the women around him giving birth to children, and he couldn't sleep well at night..."

In autumn, the price of grain in Yaocheng doubled again. Although Youzhou, Yongzhou and other places were not seriously affected by the disaster, the northwestern states had already used up all their stored grain early after they launched two military campaigns against the Dashi Kingdom last year. Now that the summer harvest is not as good as in previous years, the landlords also have surplus grain!

I have no food and I feel anxious.

Even if the army was sent out to straighten the wheat hit by hail, add fertilizer, and extend the growth period, it was finally proved that it was broken!

"The yield you reported isn't even enough to pay for the last batch of fertilizer for the military fields!"

The general was so angry that he threw a stack of papers high up in the air, and they fluttered down and covered Qin Wen.

"How's your father-in-law doing?"

The northwest has no food, and the capital wishes it were completely destroyed. The southeast is in chaos, with fertile fields laid waste and victims everywhere. The only way to rely on the southwest is to rely on the southwest. The southwest has food, but unfortunately, there is Sichuan Province between the southwest and the northwest. Sichuan Province is still a royalist in name only, and it won't let the southwest and the northwest come together!

The first batch of grain passed through Chuanzhou, but was not approved. We returned home, and neither official negotiations nor private bribery were allowed.

The second group passed by from the south. The soldiers and bandits colluded with each other. After one group was destroyed, another group came. The grain delivery team turned into a bandit-killing and grain protection team. Halfway through the process, the grain was robbed one after another, and half of the people were gone, so they went back to report.

"My father-in-law said he has food and asked us to send people to get it." Qin Wen spoke the truth. His father-in-law, the Prince of Zhennan, was really willing to help him, but the journey was too long and the iron-clad Chuanzhou refused to give way. If they tried to bypass Chuanzhou, there would be soldiers, bandits, and disaster victims everywhere. The food team was too conspicuous and faced too many obstacles, so they were powerless.

The general remained silent for a long moment. This was the only solution.

“How is the conversion of private farmland to cultivation going?”

Qin Wen breathed a sigh of relief, the Juntian incident was finally over.

"Thirty percent of private farms have chosen to switch crops, with rice and sorghum accounting for half each. This summer wasn't as hot as in previous years, and the crops are currently growing well. If the good weather lasts until mid-October, half will be harvested, and if it lasts until November, the other half will also be harvested normally. Some have also planted vegetables, barely enough to fill their stomachs."

Mid-October! November!! Did I forget this is the Northwest?

It seems that we can only take risks to find food.

So the four sons and eight lieutenants gathered in the Hall of Virtue.

Qin Wenxian truthfully recounted the details of the two grain shipments, and unfolded the entire map of the Daliang Dynasty. The southwest was a square area, Chuanzhou was a round area, the northwest was a continuous area, Jingji and Chuanzhou were about the same size, and the southeast was the largest.

"That's pretty much it. The artist will copy the second topographical map as soon as possible."

General Qin looked at his four sons. Whenever he led the troops, he always let his sons go first.

"You will be given a thousand elite soldiers and my seal. No matter what means you use, bring the grain back to me from the Prince of Zhennan. I will reward you handsomely according to your military merit."

The four brothers Qin Wen, Qin Wu, Qin Shuang and Qin Quan, along with their eight adjutants, immediately knelt down and begged for orders.

"Very good. Gather here tomorrow morning. Here's the map. Please each come up with a plan for me. Steward, notify the five generals to gather tomorrow morning."

A group of twelve people were memorizing the topography of the map in the study, and some of them copied one side on the spot.

Qin Shuang was impatient. After seeing Qin Xiuyuan trace the map, he immediately went out and went to his own small study.

Before he even sat down, he shouted, "We've got this job."

Adjutant Zuo Jun touched his nose and said, "Got it."

Qin Xiuyuan spread out the topographic map.

"The eldest son has external support when he arrives. The King of Zhennan might send him five hundred or eight hundred guards. He is very powerful. I estimate that there are two thousand elite soldiers. The ordinary soldiers and bandits looked at him, shook their heads and left."

"Second Young Master, I think he plans to fight his way through and then fight his way back. He still has dozens of men and two bags of food. The great general's reputation is spreading along the way."

"The Fourth Young Master has a lot of ideas in his head, and I don't know what he's going to come up with. It's a pity that his subordinates are not good enough. One of his two lieutenants just became a father, and the other is about to get married. Each one is richer than the other. They are rich kids, and they don't have much interest in making achievements."

Zuo Jun analyzed it and decided that as long as their plan was better than the eldest son's, they would be able to catch up with this trip.

To transport grain, small paths wouldn't work, climbing mountains and wading through water wouldn't work, only flat roads were possible. How could we transport it without being robbed, and how could we avoid being seen by soldiers and bandits as much as possible?

The three of them got together and came up with a rough plan. Seeing that the next shift was about to end, Qin Xiuyuan asked to leave.

"We still need to work out the details. Why don't we come back tomorrow half an hour early to finalize them?"

Qin Shuang's mouth was dry, and he was also feeling a little impatient. "No more dragging your feet. Next shift, next shift. Everyone should analyze it tonight and make some changes when we meet tomorrow morning. Let's go!"

As soon as he returned home, Tang Bo brought shocking news: Ji's mother was pregnant.

Wangshu set up two tables at home, and everyone from both families ate together to celebrate. When Qin Xiuyuan arrived on horseback, everyone except Zhang San, who was guarding the house, was waiting for him.

"My uncle is here, hurry up and prepare the food."

All the specialties of Ji and Qin's families, glutinous rice boxes, chicken feet, chicken and duck products, braised meat, steamed dumplings, wontons, stir-fried meat with pickled cabbage, pork meatballs, blanched bean sprouts, and Persian egg soup, filled up two tables.

It was a rare sight that Ji's father sat close to his wife, whose belly was slightly bulging, serving her well, picking up food for her, and asking her about her well-being. Unlike usual times when the couple sat on either side of their daughter, Qin Xiuyuan had to look at them from across the table.

My mother-in-law is doing well in her pregnancy.

"My lady, bean sprouts are refreshing, eat more."

"Madam, this is chicken thigh meat, come here."

"Madam, are you tired?"

“My wife…”

Wangshu looked up to the sky and sighed, "Ah, my wife, my wife, my wife, my wife, my wife, my wife~, my wife~~~~~" he repeated over and over again. The last note had many twists and turns, and everyone at the two tables laughed.

"Dad, you're too long-winded!"

Mother Ji nudged her husband with a loving look on her face, "That's right, my daughter's ears are all calloused!"

"Who told you to only discover it after several months? It's because I'm careful!"