Chapter 98: Expansion
Silver flowed out like water, and large quantities of goods were continuously delivered to Pei Family Village.
The number of refugees who took the initiative to come down the mountain to seek refuge ascended at an astonishing speed.
Pei Qinghe took the initiative to enter the mountains for the first time, and in just a few hours, she took down White Tiger Stockade. The refugees hiding in the mountains heard the news and came like bees chasing flowers.
The simple thatched sheds outside Pei Family Village increased from two to five, then to ten. Even this was still not enough. Bian Shulan specially came to find Pei Qinghe: “Qinghe, refugees come to seek refuge in Pei Family Village every day now. The thatched sheds outside the village are not enough; we need to build ten more.”
Bian Shulan was the first young wife that the Pei Clan took in through marriage, and she gave birth to the first child born to the Pei Clan after coming to Youzhou. Pei Qinghe personally named the child Pei Wang.
Bian Shulan was wholeheartedly and unwaveringly loyal to Pei Qinghe. After coming out of the confinement period, she began to take charge of the errand of settling the refugees. She was meticulous in her actions and never made arbitrary decisions; she always came to report matters.
Pei Qinghe smiled and said, “This is a small matter; there’s no need to report it to me. You can make the decision yourself.”
Bian Shulan verbally agreed, but the next time there was a matter, she came to report it just the same.
Training those around her to take charge of a sector was not an easy task; it required gradual tempering. Pei Qinghe was not anxious and patiently instructed: “Every refugee must be registered in detail, and their background must be asked clearly. Have them vouch for each other; if one makes a mistake, several are expelled together.”
“For those with suspicious identities, pay special attention and send people to secretly watch them.”
When the woods are big, all kinds of birds are present. Among the refugees, there were kind and pitiable people, as well as vicious criminals who fled after doing evil. Pei Family Village had money, grain, fields, and houses, and those in charge were still a group of women. Kind and pitiable refugees would feel that Pei Family Village was stable and reliable. Those with malicious intent came with ill designs from the start.
The thatched sheds were built north of the village, and every refugee who came to seek refuge had to live in them for a few days. Once out of the thatched sheds, they could see the “gourd” hanging from the tree in the distance at a glance.
Hanging from the tree were thieves and looters, those who bullied women, those who wanted to set fires and kill, and mountain bandits whose identities had been exposed.
After a while, they were replaced with a new batch, and the hemp rope under the tree never rested.
This show of strength was enough to deter the newly arrived refugees.
Pei Family Village expanded rapidly, with the population more than doubling. Young Master Shi sent grain every half a month, and he was also amazed by the speed of Pei Family Village’s expansion.
Since they had decided to fully support Sixth Sister Pei, they had to ensure grain supplies for everyone in Pei Family Village. The Shi Family’s trade routes, operated for over a hundred years, were all put into operation. Shi Family branch disciples and stewards hurried everywhere, continuously buying large quantities of grain and sending it to Pei Family Village.
Pei Qinghe sighed with emotion once again; in her previous life, there had been no magnates supporting her so forcefully. She had racked her brains all day for the Pei Family Army’s military rations but still couldn’t let everyone eat their fill for a few days. Sure enough, raising military rations was something Young Master Shi was professional at.
With sufficient grain and supplies, Pei Qinghe had no worries and focused fully on training. Pei Clan women, regardless of age, old or young, all had to train troops.
Five hundred docile, obedient, and relatively healthy refugees were selected from among them, grouped into teams of ten, with a captain chosen from each. They ate, lived, and trained together. The fifty captains were all personally trained by Pei Qinghe.
The remaining refugees farmed and labored for half a day each day, and the other half-day they also practiced simple formations and queues.
In the evenings, everyone had to read and write.
The Pei Clan women were all literate, more than enough to teach literacy to the refugees who couldn’t even recognize large characters. As a result, the consumption of lamp oil, paper, and ink and brush was another astonishing amount.
Pei Qinghe picked up her pen and wrote a letter to Young Master Shi. Within a few days, Dong Erlang delivered several carts of lamp oil and coarse paper and charcoal pens.
“The Young Master asked me to bring a message to Sixth Sister: the price of lamp oil has already been pressed to the lowest. For practicing writing, good paper isn’t necessary; coarse paper and charcoal pens are enough. There’s also a batch of better paper, ink and brush coming in a few days. All at the lowest price, which the Young Master has negotiated. When the goods arrive, Sixth Sister can pay the silver.”
Even Wu Xiuniang praised endlessly in Pei Qinghe’s ear: “Young Master Shi is truly shrewd and capable, proficient in everything. With Young Master Shi taking action, we get more and better goods while saving a large sum of silver.”
Even the problem of lacking weapons was something Young Master Shi had a method to solve.
The Shi Family had close dealings with General Li of the Liaoxi Army. As long as enough silver was paid, usable weapons could be bought from the Liaoxi Army side.
This was of course taboo. However, everything the Pei Family was doing now went against the rules, so one more thing wouldn’t matter.
Buying weapons was a major matter, so Pei Qinghe specially went to the Shi Family for a face-to-face talk with Shi Yan.
It was now November, with chilly winds whistling. Pei Qinghe, being someone who practiced martial arts, was not afraid of the severe cold and still wore coarse cloth clothes. Her cheeks were slightly reddened by the cool wind, and her black eyes shone brightly: “Can the Young Master really buy weapons from the Liaoxi Army?”
The youth in a luxurious silver-gray mink fur brocade robe smiled faintly: “Others couldn’t, but if I go personally, General Li will always give me some face.”
Young Master Shi was truly handsome now.
A gleam of pleasure flashed in Pei Qinghe’s black eyes: “Then I won’t stand on ceremony with the Young Master. Please go to the Liaoxi Army; I’ve brought all the gold and silver. Buy as much as you can.”
The gold and silver obtained from raiding Black Bear Stockade, Wolf Fang Stockade, and White Tiger Stockade had been used quite a bit over the past year and a half, but more than half remained. It filled five full boxes.
After Shi Yan opened and inspected the boxes one by one, he said in a low voice: “Weapons have no fixed price; it’s hard to say how many these silver can buy now. But I will try my best to bring back as many as possible.”
At this moment and scene, saying thanks would be too distant and too superficial.
Privately buying weapons was a capital offense of beheading if caught. Shi Yan was risking his life in the cold weather to go to the Liaoxi Army; this favor was truly weighty.
No matter how thick-skinned or hard-hearted Pei Qinghe was, she was truly moved.
She looked at Shi Yan, and Shi Yan looked at her.
“Shi Yan,” Pei Qinghe called his name directly for the first time, clearly and explicitly telling him: “You know the rules of Pei Family Village.”
Shi Yan nodded: “I know. The women of Pei Family Village do not marry out; they only take sons-in-law, and the children born all have the surname Pei. Bian Shulan was the first to marry in through taking a son-in-law, and the child she bore is called Pei Wang. There are also quite a few women in the village who came down from the strongholds; more than ten have married, all through taking sons-in-law.”
“This is the rule you set, and you cannot and will not break it.”
“Fighting has already broken out around the Capital City. Besides the Beiping Army and Bohai Navy, two more armies have charged into the Capital City to remove the treacherous officials from the king’s side and rescue the Crown Prince. Who will win and who will lose is still unknown. Several rebel armies have emerged in Jiangnan, and a few county towns have been taken by the rebel army.”
“The world is about to descend into chaos. You have ambition and capability; the most important thing now is to expand your influence and stand firm, to plan for the future. You have no time to marry or take a wife.”
Shi Yan met Pei Qinghe’s eyes and slowly said: “Pei Qinghe, I know all this.”
