Chapter 91 Don’t Do It

It’s New Year’s Eve again.

This year, the people in Qingzhou have no intention of celebrating the New Year.

It would be lucky to survive, and it would be even more lucky if there was still something to eat.

Those who are unlucky will directly become someone else’s dinner.

In Anchang County, due to long-term siege, the county magistrate is not having a good life this year.

This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner seemed extremely shabby, with only a dozen dishes.

It's nothing more than tired chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs, not even fresh fish, let alone the delicacies from previous years.

He had lived for decades and had never experienced such a hard life before, and he felt as if there was a faint feeling in his mouth.

Unfortunately, those unruly people were still worried and kept complaining to him about hunger all day long, which was very annoying.

On the other side, at the foot of Shekou Mountain, there were no lights or fireworks, but it still looked extremely festive.

When three thousand people gather together to celebrate the New Year, it is already a lively and festive event.

Ergouzi asked people to prepare a batch of rice in advance. Today is the Chinese New Year, and everyone will eat white rice. They can eat it with an open stomach to keep themselves full.

As for the New Year dishes, they are even more amazing.

Ergouzi directly took out two donkeys. Only a little bit of meat was cut off the buttocks of these two donkeys, and the rest of the donkeys were still intact.

A few quick hands and feet had already skinned and deboned the donkey and cleaned all its intestines.

Use a big pot and cook about ten pots.

Sima Yi commanded several people to clean the donkey skin, and planned to boil it into glue and preserve it, which could be used as medicine and to satisfy hunger during times of famine.

At this time, Er Gouzi, Sima Yi, and Ji Cang each carried a big bowl and squatted in a row on the big stone, eating very deliciously.

Ji Cang was holding a large pottery bowl, which contained half a bowl of donkey meat and half a bowl of red pepper. He was sweating profusely from eating.

"These two donkeys actually have spiritual energy. Are they monsters? Where did you get them?"

"Of course such a good thing is stolen, how could it fall from the sky!"

Ergouzi said matter-of-factly that he stole a lot of good things in the back kitchen of Hongyan Tower last time.

After giving away some chickens, ducks and pork, there was still a lot left in the gourd.

The meat has been stored in the gourd for so long. Apart from the increase in spiritual energy, there has been no change. The freshness is the same as when it was first put in.

"This is the first time I've seen someone talk about stealing things so confidently."

Himekura couldn't help but sigh after eating a red pepper.

"I can't beat him again and again. I can't steal it openly. What else can I do if I don't steal?"

Ergouzi still spoke confidently and without any shame.

"By the way, I'm going to leave after the Chinese New Year, so let me tell you in advance." Ji Cang said after finishing half a bowl of donkey meat.

"Ah, are you leaving so soon?"

Feeling a little sudden, Ergouzi asked in surprise.

"Then what should I do if you owe me so much debt?"

"Don't cheat me. A small farmer like me can't compare to your big family, and I can't afford to lose."

He has so many IOUs in his hand. If Ji Cang leaves, who should he ask for them from?

Ji Cang looked up to the sky and sighed, and said: "Maybe I will come back. If I don't come back, you can take these IOUs to the Qingzhou Mansion Yamen and get the money."

"Or you can come to the capital to find me."

"Do you live in the capital? Have you ever met the emperor? Does he also use gold bowls and gold chopsticks to eat?"

This was the first time Ergouzi heard Ji Cang talk about it, and he was even more curious about the emperor in the capital.

When I was a child, I heard someone say that the hoes used to dig soil and the poles used to carry manure in the emperor's home were all made of pure gold.

Now that I think about it, it's probably just a lie. The county magistrate has never farmed. How could the emperor dig dirt and carry dung?

"The current emperor's full name is: wise and wise, civilized and martial arts, virtuous to the people, long life without borders, supreme Longxing Holy Emperor."

"If you call me "Emperor" like this in the capital, you will be treated as disrespectful and you will be arrested and beheaded."

"At least he should be called Emperor Longxing."

Ji Cang kindly reminded him that if this kid ignorantly went to the capital one day to demand debts, and was caught and chopped, he would be in trouble.

"Is the capital so dangerous? If I speak in a place with few people, he can still hear me."

"The dynasty has eyes and ears all over the world, especially in the capital city. There is a pair of eyes watching you everywhere at any time."

"Don't talk about places like the capital. Even when you go to cities like Sanyang County and Qingzhou Prefecture, you have to be careful about what you say and do."

Ji Cang solemnly warned the two people that people in the mountains could easily violate certain people's taboos by accident.

"Speaking of the current Emperor Longxing, I have indeed seen that he does not use gold bowls to eat, but is carved from more expensive chalcedony, and there are even more expensive ones."

Ji Cang just smiled and stopped talking about anything related to the capital and the emperor...

The next morning was the first day of the new year, so Himeura left.

Ergouzi has accumulated a bunch of IOUs, so he can only keep them carefully and hope that Ji Cang will not default on his debts.

After the New Year, Ergouzi arranged for his men to start reclaiming wasteland on two barren mountains.

There were many of them, men, women, old and young, and they worked very quickly. They could level more than ten acres of fields in one day.

Ergouzi cultivated a group of saplings on the top of Shekou Mountain, mainly three types: persimmon trees, jujube trees, and oak trees.

Irrigated with water from the gourd every day, the saplings grow quickly.

Because after land reclamation, there will always be some edges and corners in the fields that cannot be planted.

Especially some places on the mountain that are all stone, which are even more impossible to cultivate.

He planned to plant trees in these places that cannot be cultivated.

The fruits of these three trees can provide food, but persimmon trees and jujube trees are not easy to survive in too harsh an environment.

Oak trees are different. They can grow and survive even in a stone gap that is only one finger wide.

Acorn trees can start to bear fruit after more than ten years. An adult tree can pick several buckets of acorns every year.

However, this thing tastes bitter and astringent, and it needs to be repeatedly rinsed with clean water for many days before it can be eaten.

But in years of famine, it is life-saving food.

More than 3,000 people worked at the same time and the speed was very fast. It took only more than two months to reclaim the two barren mountains.

There are more than 400 acres of land in total, and 20 acres of ponds are used for water storage.

Most of them are dry land on the mountain, and they are new fields. In the first few years, only some beans can be planted, and the yield will not be very high.

It still can't support more than 3,000 people.

Just when they had cleared the wasteland and were ready to start spring farming, Ji Cang came back again.

This time, Ji Cang came back with a serious injury.

"Why are you injured again?"

Er Gouzi used some common wound medicine to apply externally and internally to Ji Cang, and wrote an IOU by the way.

"I met a cult master and didn't win."

Ji Cang said with a wry smile.

"In addition, I also got some bad news."

"What news?"

"The army of Qingzhou Prefecture was also defeated by the cult rebels."

"Ah? Isn't it said that there are many masters in Qingzhou Prefecture?"

Sima Yi was a little unbelievable. He still knew some dynamics and situations of the government.

"It is said that there are several Jindan-level masters in Qingzhou Prefecture. How could they be defeated by the cult? Is the cult so strong?"

"The cult was not strong originally, but after a year or two of rapid development, it has also cultivated a large number of masters."

"At the same time, the Wan Yao Kingdom also sent a group of people to attack the border, which tied up many troops and masters in Qingzhou Prefecture."

"Now it's not just Qingzhou. Several neighboring prefectures and counties have also begun to revolt, and there are signs of the rebellion spreading."

Ji Cang said this with a bitter smile.

"Er Gou, I want to ask you for something. I will write you an IOU."

"What is it?"

Er Gou was very curious. What did this guy ask him for again, and he took the initiative to ask for an IOU.

"I want you to form an army to wipe out the rebellion in the surrounding areas."

"No!"

Er Gou refused immediately. He had just reclaimed the wasteland, and now was the season for spring ploughing. Why go to fight?

Rebellion has nothing to do with me.