Chapter 274: Sense Of Security Lacking
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Su Ying rode her horse and covered one lap around the area. She discovered that this place didn’t just appear big. It was actually astonishingly large. If it could be cleared out, they could get at least a few hundred acres of land.
If they could plant food here, they would be able to spend a lot less money to buy food.
Cheng Ming checked carefully and finally confirmed that they could grow grain here. However, they would first have to develop the wasteland and fertilize it.
After nourishing the land well, only then would the grain grow well.
After Su Ying got Zhang Nuo to make markings on the map, she continued to search. This place alone was still not enough.
It wasn’t easy for them to come out. Su Ying had planned to go back after finishing her work, but Xiao Jin’s departure made the two children very uneasy. If she wasn’t back by nightfall, she was afraid that they would let their imagination run wild. Su Ying arranged for the pack of wolves to follow Cheng Ming’s group to continue the search and make markings on the map. After they finished searching, they would go back, but Su Ying would go back first.
By the time Su Ying returned to the city, it was already very late. However, when she entered the inner hall, the two children were staring at her with their big, round eyes.
“Mother, Mother! Mother is back!” Ling jumped up from the bed and ran towards Su Ying, throwing herself into her mother’s arms.
Su Ying squatted down and picked her up.
The older toddler Ji also looked at her with plaintive eyes. “Mother…”
Su Ying carried Ling to the bed and kissed Ji’s tiny face. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I’m waiting for Mother to come back and sleep together.” Ji tugged at Su Ying’s sleeve, his eyes filled with yearning.
Su Ying placed Ling back on the bed. “Wait for Mother to wash up. I’ll be back soon.”
“We’ll wait for Mother on the bed.”
Su Ying rubbed their tiny heads and went to the bathroom. The black-robed men had already prepared hot water.
Su Ying liked to soak in hot water, so they would prepare hot water every night.
After Su Ying entered the bathroom, cleaned up, and came out, the two little fellows were still waiting for her, their large eyes filled with longing for their mother.
Su Ying lay down between the two of them, holding one toddler in each arm. After she could feel their even breathing, she slowly closed her eyes.
Before she fell asleep, her mind was completely occupied with Xiao Jin’s battle situation.
After Xiao Jin returned, he immediately sent troops to fight with the Nan State’s troops for two days and two nights. General Wei Wu, who was good at swift battles, lost his patience with the prolonged battle. When he wanted to make a final charge, he was forced into a dead end after Xiao Jin’s troops outflanked his group. In the end, he was only able to escape after losing many soldiers.
When the military report of Xiao Jin’s initial victory reached the capital, Emperor Kangze wanted to laugh, yet he couldn’t laugh in a hearty manner. When the civil and military officials in the court noticed this, their faces were fraught with conflicting emotions.
With His Majesty looking like this, should they be happy as well or remain silent?
In the end, the group of people tacitly chose to remain silent. Only Xiao Jue secretly clenched his two fists.
Not only did Xiao Jin not die, but his legs had also been healed. Where did his luck come from?
Xiao Jue’s face clouded over the moment he stepped out of the palace.
“The people I sent to look for Xiao Jin and Su Ying haven’t given me any useful information till now. Yet Zhu Lin found them as soon as he went? What the hell am I keeping trash like you guys around me for!”
The trusted aide quickly glanced at all the ministers who had just passed through the palace gate and signaled the coachman to drive away quickly, lest other people overheard their conversation.
“Your Highness, please calm down. Those people have indeed been looking for him, but the northern wilderness is too big…”
“The northern wilderness is too big? Then why was Zhu Lin able to locate him whereas you guys can’t?”
The trusted aide choked and did not dare to say anything else.
Xiao Jue’s face turned even more ominous. “If he comes back victorious, won’t everything we’ve done before be in vain?”
“Your Highness, don’t be anxious. How can a war be so easy to win?”
Xiao Jue’s face turned even more unpleasant when he heard this. “Lian Shen is useless. He can’t even take down a mere Nan State with so many troops. What use do I have for him?”
“Don’t panic, Your Highness. Although the Emperor has no choice but to let Xiao Jin return, he may not be able to return to the lofty height he once occupied even if he wins the battle. If he atones for his crimes with war contributions, at most he will only have his status restored.”
“Isn’t restoring his status good enough?”
His trusted aide didn’t dare to utter a word anymore. Xiao Jue was in a fit of anger and the aide would be scolded no matter what he said.
“This won’t do. I have to be doubly prepared. Send a message to those guys over there. They must locate Su Ying and Xiao Jin’s two bastards, and bring them back.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Su Ying had handed over the job of developing the wasteland to Cheng Ming entirely. There were many people in the city now, so she said that everyone would get a share of the wasteland. She would provide the seeds and planting techniques, and the grain grown in the first year would belong to the individual farmers. In the second year, they would hand over the appropriate amount. It was similar to paying taxes, but the amount was very little.
Therefore, many people followed Su Ying to develop the wasteland enthusiastically. With farmland, they would not starve or freeze. That was the foundation of survival.
After the wasteland was developed, a large amount of grain seeds would be needed.
Even though Su Ying had some in her interspatial store, it was still far from being sufficient for the wasteland that had been developed.
Now that the Chu State and the Nan State were at war, it was not very likely she could get seeds from the Chu State at this point.
“City Lord, you can go to the Jin State,” Zhang Nuo suddenly suggested.
“The Jin State?”
Zhang Nuo nodded and unfolded the map in his hand.
As she looked at the map he drew, Su Ying praised him in her heart. It was really damn good. When she pored over it directly overhead, the map looked like it was a photo taken by a satellite.
“This is the Jin State, between the Nan State and the Chu State.”
Su Ying’s eyes followed his hand and gazed at that location. The Jin State was indeed sandwiched between the two states. It was further away from the northern wilderness.
“Do they also have criminals exiled here?”
“They do. Tiger Might and the others are from the Jin State.”
“Oh?” Su Ying had never asked them about this before.
“I can tell from their accent. Although I can’t enter their state, I stayed in the make-shift market outside and heard the Jin people speak. I can still remember it.
“The Jin State is not comparable to the Nan State and the Chu State in both land area and military strength. However, over the years, the Jin State has been living in peace with the other two states. They are not affected by the war between the two states. If we want to buy seeds, we can go to the Jin State. If we ride quickly and there are no hiccups, we can make a round trip in half a month.”
Su Ying calculated the time. It was already spring now, and the snow had already mostly melted. They could move faster than they did in winter. If they could return within a month to sow the seeds, they would still be in time.
Su Ying wanted to go personally, but she couldn’t abandon her children for so long without Xiao Jin around. These days, she had clearly felt that the two children’s sense of security was somewhat lacking. Whenever they didn’t see her at night, they wouldn’t sleep. No matter how Aunt Zhao persuaded them, they simply wouldn’t listen.
In order to educate the two little ones well, she even went to the interspatial store to specially look for child-rearing books. She knew that it was critical to build a sense of security in children at this age. Although she didn’t quite understand what this stuff was, she still decided to follow the books.
“Zhang Nuo, if I entrust you to go to the Jin State with Cheng Ming to buy seeds, can you guarantee that you will complete the task?”
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