Reborn Together: The General and I Reach for Power
Chapter 29 - 28 Backing

Chapter 29: Chapter 28 Backing

Song Xian brought the grain bestowed by the court into the Chen Family Village.

He had been to Chen Family Village twice before. The first time was when the Liao people were causing trouble at the border. He led his troops past this village while defending the city. At that time, in the midst of chaos, defensive works were built outside the village, and villagers stood guard around it with wooden sticks.

The village chief of the Chen Family Village had been on the battlefield, relying on his familiarity with warfare to prepare the villagers for resistance against the Liao people.

The second time was when Xie Liangchen returned to Chen Family Village, and Song Xian secretly brought people to observe.

Unexpectedly, he came here for the third time so soon.

Chen Yongsheng had informed the villagers in advance yesterday, so when they saw a team of carriages and horses approaching, they weren’t too alarmed but rather stood by and waited for the village chief’s instructions.

As soon as Song Xian dismounted, Chen Yongsheng immediately led the people forward to pay their respects.

Chen Yongsheng had just bent down to salute when someone supported his left arm, causing him to stand upright involuntarily.

Chen Yongsheng raised his eyes, standing in front of him was Song Xian in official attire.

As his gaze fell on Song Xian’s face, Chen Yongsheng had a moment of realization. The bestowal of grain was a small matter; how could he have expected it to warrant Song Xian’s personal visit?

Song Xian instructed Chang An, "Have the grain brought into the village!"

Chen Yongsheng was about to kneel with the villagers to express their gratitude, but Song Xian spoke up to interrupt.

Song Xian said, "We already expressed our gratitude in front of Lord Li You yesterday; let’s skip it today." _{\n(o)v.e\l.com}

Song Xian shifted his gaze to the villagers standing nearby.

Behind each villager was a bamboo basket.

Song Xian asked Chen Yongsheng, "Going to collect herbs?"

Chen Yongsheng responded, "We’re collecting more today so we can deliver it to the paper workshop tomorrow." He had already sent a few people ahead to find herbs before daylight, allowing them to save time and deliver more herbs to the paper workshop ahead of others.

Song Xian said, "Then go ahead, don’t delay here."

Chen Yongsheng was once again taken aback.

Song Xian turned to look at Chen Yongsheng, "Chen Lizheng, stay behind to account for the grain sent by the government office."

Chen Yongsheng had never encountered such a situation before. Last time the government office sent relief grain, the entire village gathered to kneel several times; is it so simple today?

Seeing this, Chang An stepped forward to remind Chen Yongsheng, "Our lord has always disliked those cumbersome rites. Bringing the grain is meant to make life easier for you; if it delays the villagers from collecting herbs, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?" Besides, keeping so many people around just for show serves no real purpose.

Chang An nearly added that you’ll come to know our lord’s character over time when you see him more often.

He always felt that the lord had quite the affinity with this Chen Family Village, especially since Chang Yue had settled here; wouldn’t there be more opportunities to visit in the future?

While Chang An was speaking with Chen Yongsheng, Song Xian noticed a familiar figure lifting her skirt and running over.

She was dressed in a coarse cloth frock, her hair tied in two buns, with a layer of dark color on her face. From afar, she appeared no different from an ordinary farm girl.

Song Xian’s expression remained unchanged. She seemed to be able to adapt to and blend into her surroundings effortlessly wherever she was, making it difficult for anyone to notice anything unusual.

Looking closer, as she ran over, the way her dress swayed reminded Song Xian of those large moths camouflaged on trees, matching the color of the bark, usually resting quietly undetected unless closely examined, adept at pretense.

Xie Liangchen felt an oppressive presence overhead, lifted her head to look, and it was indeed her creditor.

The creditor’s face was devoid of expression, but she could sense his mood from that emotionless face.

Song Xian was not very pleased, but why? It couldn’t possibly be because of her, right? She behaved properly and honestly, without provoking him in the least.

Could it be they were displeased they arrived late? They had been tidying up the courtyard to store the herbs everyone collected when they heard Song Xian had brought carriages and horses to the village, so they quickly dropped what they were doing to come out and greet him, not wasting any time.

Although she felt she hadn’t done anything wrong, she had to bow her head under the eaves.

Xie Liangchen put on her customary smile, stood up straight, and saluted Song Xian.

Song Xian nodded and then walked straight ahead.

The people of Chen Family Village divided into different tasks, with Chen Yongyi leading the majority up the mountain to collect herbs.

Chen Yongsheng accompanied Song Xian to inspect the courtyard where the herbs were stored.

Chen Zigeng grabbed Xie Liangchen’s hand, worried she might be scared upon seeing Song Xian, and whispered, "Sister, don’t you think General Song is a good official?"

Xie Liangchen knew Song Xian was a good official, but when facing her, he might not always be a good person.

Chen Yongsheng ushered Song Xian inside and discussed their future plans with him.

Old Mrs. Chen, along with the village women, boiled water. Since the village lacked teacups, they used large bowls to serve water to the officials.

Xie Liangchen placed wild mint in each bowl, and as hot water was poured over, the wild mint expanded, releasing a faint, fresh fragrance.

Song Xian’s gaze fell on the busy Xie Liangchen outside and saw as she brought him a bowl of water.

Xie Liangchen bowed her head and said, "General Song, please have some water."

She appeared shy and fearful, her eyelashes fluttering as she dared not look at him directly.

Old Mrs. Chen shuffled over to replace her granddaughter, "The village doesn’t have anything good, so please don’t blame us, General. What’s in here is wild mint picked by my granddaughter. Wild mint can dispel and cool the body; it’s mild in effect and beneficial to drink regularly. If you don’t mind, please try it."

Old Mrs. Chen had long observed that if General Song didn’t drink the water, the soldiers outside wouldn’t either, so she stepped forward to persuade.

As Old Mrs. Chen finished speaking, Song Xian, without much hesitation, picked up the bowl and took a sip. The water had a refreshing fragrance, unlike tea, but with its own unique taste.

Old Mrs. Chen’s face broke into a smile.

Once Song Xian drank the water, the soldiers in the courtyard followed suit.

Chang An also took a bowl to drink, finding the water remarkably thirst-quenching with just a few leaves added.

After drinking, Song Xian got to the point: "Apart from making a decoction, do you know anything else?" The words spoken by the village chief Chen were presumably taught by her, so he thought it better to speak directly to her.

Xie Liangchen stepped out from behind Old Mrs. Chen, "General, this humble girl knows other medicinal herbs too. There are many kinds of herbs in this mountain, and if we can harvest and sell them, we won’t have to go hungry."

Song Xian had long suspected that what Xie Liangchen was really concerned about was more than just making two kinds of decoction.

Song Xian said, "You intend to sell other herbs too?"

Chen Yongsheng, hearing this, couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious, fearing that Liangchen might say something wrong in front of General Song.

Xie Liangchen nodded, "I want to sell all the herbs from the mountain, but not to the medicine merchants."

Song Xian knew why, but he still asked, "Why?"

Xie Liangchen replied, "The medicine merchants offer too little silver coins; they take advantage of our ignorance of herbs. It’s not easy for everyone to pick herbs; we just want a fair price."

Xie Liangchen bit her lips slightly as she spoke, looking at Song Xian expectantly, "I want to start with collecting the Yangtao Vine and Huang Shu Kui first."

Everyone’s eyes were on Song Xian and Xie Liangchen.

Song Xian stood up after a moment, "I’ll give you ten days. During these ten days, the paper workshop won’t take any herbs from the medicine merchants."

Xie Liangchen stood there in disbelief, staring at Song Xian in a daze before she snapped back to reality. Her eyes sparkled with a strange light, and a joyful expression gradually spread across her face.

Looking at him with such joy, it was as if he was a deity descended from heaven.

Song Xian saw his reflection in her eyes, noticing no particular gratitude or expectation, but only the sight of a moth flying towards him.

Needless to say, she had no idea he would agree.

What a convincing act it was.