The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

It was five days later when the heated kang bed, toilet, kitchen, bathhouse, and dining hall were mostly set up.

Everyone has worked hard these past few days, and many have injuries on their hands. Shen Lian gave everyone three days off and even paid them a month's salary in advance. The resettlement allowance was also distributed so they could go home and settle their families.

Shen Lian had the logistics department spread the word in advance, and now all sorts of oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages were gathering outside Dezhou City, all wanting to come and pick up soldiers to make a quick buck.

"Brother Tie Niu, hurry up! Otherwise, they'll buy all the good stuff." Shi Tou kept urging them on. They had received ten taels of resettlement allowance and two taels of military pay. Naturally, they needed to buy some things to take home.

"Here I am!" Zhang Tieniu straightened his clothes again, but unfortunately, they were already worn out.

I heard that I'll get new clothes when I get back. I'll have my mom alter these old ones so my younger brother can wear them too.

The purchasing power of more than 10,000 soldiers is astonishing, especially since most of them are receiving so much money for the first time.

At this moment, the city of Dezhou was bustling with people, and merchants from various prefectures and counties filled the streets with their goods.

Everyone was shouting and hawking their wares, trying to empty the soldiers' pockets.

The instructors Shen Lian brought back from the capital were all deployed to the streets, patrolling everywhere to prevent the soldiers from causing trouble.

Huang Sheng is currently in charge of garrisoning the city, and he is personally leading his soldiers to maintain order. He is deeply grateful to Shen Lian for promoting him to such an important position.

Zhang Tieniu, carrying Shi Tou, went directly to one of the Shen family's grain stores. Shen Lian had already given prior notice that grain must be supplied to the soldiers at a fair price. He had also informed the soldiers of the locations of the various grain stores.

Despite the Shen family's affordable grain supply, the price of grain in the city did not rise significantly. Most soldiers still trusted the Shen family more, and at this moment, every grain store was crowded with soldiers buying grain.

After waiting for quite a while, it was finally Zhang Tieniu's turn. Zhang Tieniu ordered twenty jin of wheat flour and thirty jin of cornmeal. If it weren't for the distance, he would have liked to buy more.

"I want fifty catties of flour!" Stone shouted.

"Why did you buy so much flour? Can your grandma finish it all by herself?" This kid has never managed a household; he squanders any money he has.

"I want Grandma to eat white flour buns every meal!" Shi Tou said, raising his head.

Zhang Tieniu slapped him on the head; "Do you think your grandma would eat all this every meal? This flour can't be kept for long, it'll get worms and spoil. Even if you have money, you should spend it sparingly."

"Brother Tie Niu, how many do you want to buy?" Shi Tou scratched his head.

"Buy twenty catties! That'll be enough for her for two months. Give her the money then and let her buy it herself."

"Fine!" Stone reluctantly bought twenty catties of flour.

The two carried the grain out, looking at the various stalls along the way.

"Sirs, sirs! Take a look at this cloth! This is top-quality Songjiang cloth, I guarantee you can wear it for years without it wearing out. Several sirs have already bought some, and they all say it's great!" A cloth merchant saw Zhang Tieniu's eyes fall on his stall and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

"How much is this cloth?" Zhang Tieniu stopped and touched the cotton cloth in front of him, thinking that his whole family hadn't worn new clothes for several years.

"Sir, cotton cloth is 500 cash a bolt, and linen cloth is 300 cash. Go and ask around at these prices; they are definitely the most affordable. I, Wang Defu, have been doing business in Linqing for many years, and I absolutely do not cheat anyone, young or old."

"Give me a discount, and I'll buy one of each!" Zhang Tieniu gritted his teeth; he had too many family members to help him.

"Me too! I want a bolt of cotton cloth too!" Stone shouted from the side.

"Do you even know how much a bolt of cloth costs? And you dare to ask for a whole bolt!" Tie Niu tried to slap him on the head again, but Shi Tou quickly dodged away.

"Gentlemen, how about this, I'll give you an extra twenty coins per horse. I really can't go any lower, unless you want a whole horse. If I sell it in smaller quantities, I'll lose money," the merchant said with a pained expression.

"Alright! Thanks, boss! Just give me one bolt of each, and ten feet of cotton cloth for him." Zhang Shitou often traveled outside and knew a bit about prices. This boss wasn't overcharging.

"Alright! Thank you for your patronage, gentlemen!" The merchant happily helped them wrap up the cloth.

The two paid, took the cloth, and continued walking.

"Candied hawthorn berries, how much is a skewer?" Shi Tou called out immediately when he saw the candied hawthorn berries vendor. He had heard of them before, but had never tried them!

"Two coins! Sir!" The old man selling candied hawthorns immediately came over.

"Give me a skewer, Brother Tie Niu, do you want some?"

"I won't eat it. I'll buy two skewers for Xiao Niu and Ya Ya!" Zhang Tie Niu said, his throat bobbing.

"What do you want to buy? These two skewers are on me, it's for the two little ones." Stone handed over six coins without waiting for a reply.

Zhang Tieniu didn't refuse; a few coins weren't much to them these days.

After walking a little further, Zhang Tieniu spotted a roadside stall selling rouge. Remembering that his wife hadn't used it in a long time, he bought a box.

Zhang Tieniu squeezed the silver ring in his pocket, and thinking of his wife's surprised expression, a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

The two then bought some pastries before hurrying out of town to the carriage shop. Several fellow villagers who had arranged to return together were already waiting there.

The group pooled their money and rented a horse-drawn carriage to head towards Haifeng County.

Traveling by horse-drawn carriage is so fast! It took them two days to get there, but only half a day to get back. Before Shi Tou could even finish his ride, the carriage had already arrived in Haifeng County.

The two bid farewell to their companions and agreed to meet here again in two days. They shouldered their belongings and hurried home. By the time they reached Zhangjiaba Village, where they lived, it was nearly dusk.

"Brother Tie Niu, I'm going back now." At the village entrance, Shi Tou said goodbye, picked up his bag, and walked away excitedly.

Zhang Tieniu straightened his clothes and checked his belongings. He shouldered the grain and carried the bolts of cloth in one hand, striding home.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, the house was quiet. "Mom, I'm back!" Zhang Tieniu said as he walked inside.

A loud crash was heard from inside the house, as if something had been knocked over. A young woman rushed out and, upon seeing Zhang Tieniu, was overjoyed.

"Honey, you're back?"

"Yes! I'm back!" Zhang Tieniu nodded with a smile and strode into his house.

"Where are the children? Are Mother and my younger siblings alright?" Zhang Tieniu asked as he put things down.

"Good, good! Ah! Husband, what did you buy?" The young woman's excited scream startled the old lady inside the house.

"Is Tie Niu back?" a hoarse voice asked.

"Mother, Tie Niu is back!"