Feng Yun sent the letter, but as expected, received no response from Pei Jue.
Alou felt indignant on behalf of his master.
He sent soone to investigate and found out that it was Tan Dajin who led the troops transporting the grain. Right underneath the granary that Feng Jingteng had destroyed, separated by layers of stone slabs, was an even larger concealed grain store. Alou wondered how Chunyu Yan had managed to do it and how much he had greased the palm of the previous Governor to turn the space beneath the granary into his own private storage.
Two hundred thousand stones of grain, that was a great achievent...
The Lady also distributed porridge in the General’s na, helping to regain the General’s reputation.
In Alou’s view, the General should reward the Lady generously...
How could this be treated as if nothing had happened?
Yet Feng Yun carried on as if it were nothing, not getting angry, tending to the Feng Family’s shops as usual, supervising Xing Bing’s training of the iling troops, and distributing porridge under the Great General’s na—
Alou, unaware of the Huayuejian incident, would occasionally have a few complaints.
Feng Yun would just tease him, telling him not to focus on imdiate gains and losses, but to look at the bigger picture.
Alou couldn’t see the bigger picture, but he was willing to listen to the Lady’s words.
Being a butler wasn’t easy. Alou didn’t know many characters and wasn’t good at accounting, so he had to start learning everything from scratch.
Fortunately, the Lady specially hired a butler teacher who taught him everything from bookkeeping to household managent.
Alou had never imagined managing a household required so much knowledge, nor had he thought that at his age, he would need to start learning how to read and do arithtic...
It wasn’t just him who had to learn; others in the residence were also pulled in to listen.
Moreover, the Lady didn’t keep her knowledge to herself. After giving the teacher so benefits, the teacher would conduct classes for all children from the troops’ families or the servant and nial workers’ families, regardless of gender, without requiring any tuition fee...
Who would have dread of such a great fortune in the past?
Literacy was a privilege of the gentry and nobility; could the sons and daughters of the poor also learn to read and do arithtic?
Alou could wake up laughing in his sleep.
He secretly asked the Lady why, with such a knowledgeable teacher available, she did not appoint the teacher to be the butler but instead spent ti polishing him, a blockhead?
The Lady simply smiled, "Because you are Alou, and others are not."
Alou couldn’t understand the Lady’s thoughts. But he guessed it might be because on that day when they went out of the city to surrender, none in the residence were willing to drive for the Lady; he was very scared but still stepped forward.
But the Lady didn’t know that he was pushed into it...
This was Alou’s greatest secret, one he dared not tell anyone, secretly working hard to learn, striving to be a good butler, and alleviating the Lady’s worries.
During these days, the changes in the residence were significant, beyond everyone’s expectations.
Who would have thought? A gentle and weak-looking Lady truly managed such a big place, establishing rules that were orderly and in good shape.
The rules set by the Lady were quite different from those of other households.
Eating, sleeping, work als, and even personal and communal hygiene in the residence all had strict requirents, with clear rewards and punishnts, with no considerations for private relationships, only following the rules and regulations.
The Lady was very kind and had no airs about her, but those who broke the rules would truly go hungry.
After a while, life beca more and more hopeful.
There’s no need to ntion the iling troops; they were the Lady’s private soldiers, each and every one of them loyal to her, willing to risk their lives for her. The female and male servants and the nial workers in the residence beca more active, all vying to perform well, hoping to receive the Lady’s reward. Even a word of praise from her could make them happy for a long ti...
Indeed.
In such tis, when people were dying of starvation, what did they have within closed doors?
They were not only provided with enough millet and wheat but also ate big pieces of at and large stead buns twice, as well as aty soup, with oil and salt available; just thinking about it made their mouths water...
Therefore, Alou listened to every word the Lady said.
Unexpectedly, he soon witnessed what the Lady’s "foresight" ant.
On the tenth day of the month, at noon, good news arrived.
"The Great General has dispatched an aide to Andu County to announce his decree, and all citizens are to gather outside the General Residence to hear it."
Andu City, which had been silent for many days, suddenly beca lively.
Andu City had been in disorder lately; the citizens were eager for a resolution and imdiately flocked over in groups.
The aide nad He Qia was from one of Jin Dynasty’s eight great noble families, He of Guangping. He was originally an army registrar and advisor to Pei Jue, sporting a small mustache and appeared to be in his forties, gentle yet formidable.
He Qia’s carriage stopped at the entrance of the residence, and he stood on the stone platform underneath the locust tree by the front gate.
Military Generals handle mundane affairs more efficiently than Civil Officials.
He Qia, facing the citizens who were packed several layers deep both inside and outside, began to shout loudly.
"I am He Qia, temporarily acting as the Governor, managing the affairs of Andu County, and providing protection for the citizens within my jurisdiction."
The populace had received porridge from the General Residence for a few days and were no longer as fearful of the Beiyong Army as before, but they also did not embrace them. In their eyes, the Beiyong Army had destroyed their peaceful lives, and deep down they harbored resentnt.
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