The Humble Family's Daughter Has A Spatial Pocket!-Chapter 1035 - 873, Grain Arrival

The Border Army took away the food, which surprised Xia Jianren, "Even if they brought a large amount of supplies when they came, given the Xiao Residence’s generous spending, they should have nearly depleted their resources by now."

The aide beside him chuckled, "It’s better that they gave it away. After all, the Border Army is a regular military force with discipline, and they won’t easily make trouble unless they’re truly desperate. Refugees are different though; if they run out of food, each one of them would fight for their lives."

Xia Jianren smiled, "That’s true. Now that the Border Army has taken the food, there’s less for the refugees. We’ll just wait and see how long the Xiao Residence can hold out."

Saying this, he pondered for a moment, then instructed his aide, "Keep a close watch on the porridge shelters these days. As soon as they run out of food, contact those hooligans Mr. Wei had found."

The aide nodded with a smile, "Don’t worry, sir. I will take care of it."

...

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve.

Celebrating New Year’s at the border was naturally not as lively as in Beijing, but Daohua had prepared everything necessary, and the residence was decorated in a festive and cheerful atmosphere.

Daohua thought about how the servants in the residence had all left their homes to follow them to this remote and harsh land. Early in the morning, she gave each person an extra three months’ worth of stipend.

In the residence, it was only her, Xiao Yeyang, and Gu Jian. Although it was not boisterous, the three of them sat together, eating steaming hot food and chatting about their experiences since coming to Xiliang, creating an especially warm and happy atmosphere.

On the first day of the New Year, after Daohua and Xiao Yeyang had given their New Year greetings to Gu Jian, she looked at the kitchen preparing the roast whole lamb and, after some thought, called Dexi over and had him send two sheep to the porridge shelter.

There were many herdsmen in Xiliang, and as long as one had silver, one need not worry about not being able to buy beef or mutton.

Meanwhile, on the city walls, Xia Jianren’s aides didn’t accompany their families but braved the snow and wind to keep an eye on the refugees.

When they saw that the refugees’ porridge even contained bits of meat, their hearts felt cold.

"Is the Prince Residence always so extravagant?"

Not enough to serve porridge, but they’re giving meat to eat?

"Exactly how much supplies did the Xiao Residence bring?"

Given the current situation, it seemed that the goal of the Vice Minister to drive away Mr. Xiao would be indefinitely delayed.

In contrast to the aide’s sober mood, the refugees holding their bowls of thick porridge with bits of floating meat felt their eyes welling with tears.

Many of them had come to Ganzhou City with the mentality that they had nothing to lose since they couldn’t survive at home. If there were no food here, they would only have to find some deserted place to be buried in the snow and ice.

Never did they expect, they actually survived.

Some elderly and children, after suffering from the cold, managed to persevere after taking medicine.

Today, being the first day of the New Year, they even got to drink meat porridge!

"Mr. Xiao and Madam Xiao are truly good people!"

Some elderly people, while sipping their porridge, wiped tears with their hands; many of them could not even afford to have meat during the New Year at home.

The hooligans hiding among the refugees, who were prepared to take the opportunity to incite trouble, felt a sense of guilt rising within them as they witnessed this scene.

"Shall we... just leave?"

They were hooligans, but they hadn’t completely lost their conscience; it was indeed difficult for them to bring harm to someone who was relieving the people.

The ringleader of the hooligans looked at the porridge shelter, then at the soup medicine being prepared nearby, and gritted his teeth, "As long as the newly arrived Mr. Xiao can help these people make it through the fifteenth of the first lunar month, we’ll leave."

"But how will we explain ourselves to the Commander?"

"Xiliang is so vast, if we don’t return to Liangdu, won’t that resolve it?"

...

"Wasn’t the food issue resolved? Why are you still frowning?"

Daohua, holding the medicinal cuisine, returned to her room and saw Xiao Yeyang sitting in front of the desk, lost in thought. She set down the medicinal cuisine, walked over, naturally wrapped one arm around his neck and sat on his lap.

Xiao Yeyang clutched Daohua’s hand, "I’m thinking about the military supplies."

"Although the Imperial Court doesn’t pay much attention to Xiliang, this is still a border region, and each year they still allocate funds for military training and replacement of weapons and equipment."

"Since arriving in Xiliang, I’ve visited several border posts and found that not only are the soldiers malnourished, but their weapons and equipment are also worn and tattered. I don’t know where the Imperial Court’s allocated funds have gone!"

"Even among the military households in the stockades, there are but a few who are strong and able-bodied."

He said, and with that, he huffed.

"Moreover, I have discovered that there is a great deal of passive defense among some of the border troops and garrisons."

"How can they fight in such a state?"

"It’s only because Xiliao has also been struggling these past two years. Otherwise, if the people of Xiliao attacked, we wouldn’t be able to withstand them at all."

Daohua, not wanting him to worry, frowned, "Don’t be too anxious, the situation in Xiliang wasn’t built in a day. We’ve just arrived in Xiliang; things need to be addressed one by one."

Xiao Yeyang, "I know that, but I am worried that Xiliao won’t give us the time. The cavalry unit I encountered last time were all brave and good at fighting."

As he said this, he looked toward Daohua.

"I have already petitioned the emperor, my uncle, asking that the military funding allocated to Ganzhou Guard be directly sent here, bypassing the Commandant Office."

"The iron mine we discovered before is managed by my Uncle, the Prince. I used the military funding to purchase a batch of military equipment."

"After the fifth day of the first lunar month, I am going to select a group of military households from the garrisons and start training troops. I’ll have to rely on you to manage affairs in the residence."

Daohua, "You just relax, I will handle everything in the residence properly."

...

Shiqukou, where Daohua and her group had been robbed by the Wang Clan people.

Wang Qi stood on the mountain, looking down at the grain convoy passing below.

Wang Wu stood beside him, and immediately recognized the guard squad escorting the convoy, as the same ones who had defeated him and his clansmen without a chance to fight back.

"Teacher, it’s them. They are the guard squad of the new official, Xiao."

"Goodness, where did they get so much grain from? If only they could leave a few carts behind for us."

No sooner had he spoken than Wang Qi gave Wang Wu a hard knock on the head.

"A man should not be too greedy."

Wang Qi looked seriously at Wang Wu until he shrank his neck, then lifted his gaze toward Liangdu, "Greed can lead to falling into an abyss."

Wang Qi quickly withdrew his gaze and looked again at the grain convoy.

The convoy moved swiftly, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

Wang Qi had heard about Ganzhou City distributing porridge and saw the surge of refugees into Ganzhou City with his own eyes. He became concerned for a while for the new official, Xiao.

But seeing the grain convoy that had just passed by, the anxiety he held was alleviated.

Such a grand act of relief for the refugees, this official Xiao was much better than he had expected.

...

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, as carts laden with grain entered Ganzhou City, the refugees outside the city gates were extremely quiet. The previously numb and hollow faces began to show signs of life.

On that day, Xia Jianren was on the city wall and when he saw the long queue of grain caravans, his jaw dropped in surprise. He quickly called his staff over, "Go find out where the Xiao Residence purchased the grain from."

After his staff left, Xia Jianren couldn’t help but sigh heavily. The task assigned by Mr. Wei was not going to be easy.

In the garrison, Fan Tong, upon hearing the news of the grain convoy, couldn’t help but swallow hard, "Mr. Wei was right—perhaps the Princely Heir of the Wang Residence truly has a mountain of gold and silver."

In addition to his amazement, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

If the Xiao Residence truly stopped distributing porridge, it was very possible that the refugees outside the city would cause trouble, and once they did, he would have to lead the garrison soldiers to suppress them.

He had no problem dealing with people from Xiliao, but against those desperate civilians outside the city... he really couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Commandant Office.

Wei Hong had not yet received news of refugees causing trouble in Ganzhou City, but instead heard that Xiao Yeyang had brought in another batch of grain, which made him even more frustrated and wary.

The advisor beside him glanced at Wei Hong’s expression, thought for a moment, and suggested, "Sir, perhaps we should not interfere with Ganzhou Guard for the time being."

"Young and full of vigor, Xiao Yeyang must want to accomplish something now that he has arrived in Xiliang. If we interfere too much, it will only ignite his fighting spirit. Let him be."

"The climate in Xiliao is harsh—cold in winter, hot in summer, and the land is barren with scarce resources. Perhaps he will leave on his own when he can’t bear it any longer."

Wei Hong frowned slightly, "That’s all we can do for now."

Xiao Yeyang’s status was evident, and he had also received news that the Emperor’s uncle, the newly-appointed Duke of Auxiliary Nation, had come as well. He could make some subtle moves behind the scenes to encourage Xiao Yeyang to give up, but he could not openly antagonize him.