Chapter 119: Big Sis
Xiao Simo led the Eastern Capital Army away from Jin Prefecture, and he also took Xiao Yanyan with him.
Without the deterrence of these twenty thousand troops, Jin Prefecture’s land instantly lost some of its grim atmosphere.
It was as if an invisible shackle had been broken, and smiles began to appear more on the faces of the common people of Jin Prefecture.
Of course, more importantly, it was because the time for the grain harvest was approaching.
It was already September, and the entire Jin Prefecture seemed to have been dyed a golden hue.
A gentle breeze stirred, and waves of wheat rippled, like a vibrant brocade spread across the land.
Carrying the unique fragrance of wheat, mixed with the aroma of the earth, wisps of it entered the nostrils, refreshing the mind and spirit.
The joy of harvest spread like a spring breeze to every corner, bringing vitality to this land.
Hedong Fort!
Standing at the edge of the wheat field, all the villagers were immersed in the busyness and joy of the autumn harvest.
“Fort Master, no, Chiliarch~”
A middle-aged man turned to look at Luo Ping not far away and loudly called him Fort Master.
But he immediately realized he was mistaken and then addressed him as Chiliarch.
This slip of the tongue caused others to laugh heartily.
Of course, they weren’t laughing at the man, but with a camaraderie that stemmed from their close relationship.
It wasn’t just this man; many others were also unaccustomed to the title of Chiliarch.
“Hehehe~”
Luo Ping also laughed and bantered with these old brothers.
He said jokingly, “What kind of Chiliarch is this? It’s an official appointed by the Khitan, meant for outsiders to see.”
“For us brothers, we’ll continue to call each other as we always have.”
After Luo Ping finished speaking, another man laughed loudly, “Then we’ll still call you Yangfengdan!”
“Hahaha~”
The others roared with laughter.
Yangfengdan was Luo Ping’s childhood nickname, and it had been many years since anyone had called him that.
However, Luo Ping quickly shook his head, “That won’t do. I’m about to become a grandfather, so I need to save some face.”
The group of old brothers chatted and laughed, then dispersed to their respective fields to prepare for harvesting the grain.
Besides their own family members, each household had one or two special individuals.
Slaves.
They were all enemies captured during previous wars.
“You all watch carefully. I’ll only teach you once.”
“If any of you can’t learn, I won’t keep you around to waste rations.”
Luo Ping, riding his horse, looked down at the five slaves in front of him and said fiercely.
These five slaves were four women and one man: two Geluolu female slaves, two Naiman women, and one Naiman man.
“Harvesting grain is actually very simple.”
“Bend over, use a sickle to cut it at the base of the stalks, and then pile it up.”
Fearing a language barrier, Luo Ping personally demonstrated several times for the five slaves.
If anyone still didn’t understand, he would whip them, forcing them to learn.
Actually, nomadic peoples also grew grain.
However, their methods were very primitive; they would simply scatter seeds in a certain area and then leave them.
They didn’t fertilize or weed, letting the crops grow freely, and would harvest them after a few months.
The yield of grain harvested this way was very low.
But it was still enough to provide herdsmen with some rations.
Therefore, with some basic understanding, after Luo Ping taught them a few times, the slaves basically understood.
Afterwards, Luo Ping allocated a plot of land to each of them.
He instructed them to harvest all the grain in their plots before noon.
Whoever didn’t finish would not be allowed to eat.
“With these five slaves, this year’s grain should be harvested two days earlier.”
Luo Ping’s wife, also holding a sickle, was harvesting grain in another plot.
Looking at the five slaves in the distance, although they weren’t skilled yet, they could at least make things easier for their own family.
Then she shook her head and said, “It’s a pity there are too few male slaves.”
Thinking of this, she felt a little unhappy.
Although the Jin Prefecture Army had brought back mostly female slaves from this war,
at Luo Ping’s place, all four female slaves he brought home were young and beautiful.
She knew without even closing her eyes what this scoundrel Luo Ping had been up to.
He had already finished with these four female slaves.
However, in this era, male dominance was still paramount.
Even if Luo Ping wanted to take concubines, she couldn’t stop him.
Moreover, for now, he was just messing around with a few female slaves.
It really wasn’t a big deal.
Now, she just hoped these female slaves wouldn’t get pregnant.
Otherwise, she truly didn’t know how she would treat the children born.
Would they call her mother?
The thought alone made her feel disgusted.
“Xiao Simo kept all the male slaves, so we didn’t get many.”
“Furthermore, if there were more male slaves, we might not be able to control them all,” Luo Ping said with a slight shake of his head.
In the war against the Naiman people, they had captured over ten thousand Naiman soldiers.
However, most of these were taken away by Xiao Simo.
Only a small portion remained in Jin Prefecture.
Although female slaves could be used for pleasure and procreation, in terms of cost-effectiveness, male slaves were more valuable.
This was because male slaves worked more efficiently.
However, from Luo Ping’s perspective, female slaves were also good.
At the very least, these four female slaves were very useful.
They could be made to work when there was work, and made to do it themselves when there wasn’t.
In short, they wouldn’t be idle.
“Now, our family is different from before,” Luo Ping said to his wife while working, painting a rosy picture.
“Your husband has become a high official, his status is different.”
“A mere few slaves are nothing.”
“In a few years, our family will have even more slaves, and then I’ll arrange for two female slaves to serve you exclusively, so you won’t have to do any work.”
“So you can also enjoy the blessings of an official’s wife.”
Luo Ping said with a smile, knowing his wife was displeased with these four female slaves.
However, the relationship between Luo Ping and them was pure.
It was all about labor, without any true emotions involved.
His wife was his true love, and he would sometimes patiently appease her.
As expected, upon hearing Luo Ping’s words, his wife chuckled.
“My life is destined for hard work.”
“I’m probably not used to a life where everything is done for me yet.”
“You’ll get used to it slowly; the good times are still ahead!”
“As long as the Li family stands, your son and your grandson will not fare worse than me.”
As the couple talked and laughed, a lot of wheat stalks had been piled up behind them.
After all, they were experienced farmers, and their working speed was even much faster than the combined efforts of the five slaves.
Before they knew it, it was noon. The scorching sun baked the land, making everyone sweat profusely, even the air they exhaled felt dry.
At this moment, the sound of hooves could be heard from a distance.
Luo Ping’s wife looked up and immediately exclaimed.
“Oh no, what’s wrong with Da Feng?”
“I told her long ago to just rest at home, and I would go back and cook later.”
“Why did she come over?”
Saying this, Luo Ping’s wife threw down her sickle and hurried to meet her.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa~”
The horse slowly stopped at the edge of Luo Ping’s field, and a woman carrying a basket dismounted.
She called out to the approaching Luo Ping’s wife, “Mother~”
The woman looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, like a flower just blooming on a spring branch, exuding vigorous energy.
Her appearance was quite striking, her eyebrows like distant green mountains, their curved arc resembling a new moon in the night sky, exuding gentleness and liveliness.
Her large eyes were clear and bright, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, as if she would break into a charming smile at any moment.
Her features bore a slight resemblance to Li Xiao, but with an added feminine softness.
This was none other than Li Xiao’s eldest sister, Li Dafeng.
“Oh, Da Feng, I told you to stay home and not come to the fields. You should just stay at home.”
“You child, you just don’t listen!”
Luo Ping’s wife said with a tone of reproach.
She quickly took the basket from Li Dafeng’s hand, and seeing that she seemed fine, she put her mind at ease and said, “You’re not alone now, you have a child!”
“You must be careful.”
Li Dafeng said helplessly, “Mother~”
“Am I that delicate!”
“Don’t other women work when they’re pregnant?”
“If I always do nothing, people will gossip.”
Li Dafeng was four months pregnant, and her belly had already begun to show.
However, she too had been deprived of the right to do heavy labor.
She wasn’t even allowed to harvest wheat.
This was a level of treatment she hadn’t even enjoyed at her maternal home.
Of course, Li Dafeng was also well aware that the special treatment she received was not only because of the child in her womb but, more importantly, because she had a good younger brother.
Her maternal family was powerful.
In her memory, her eldest brother was still that snot-nosed little brat.
Always leading a group of children, running and shouting around Hedong Fort.
Acting like a ringleader.
But who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the ringleader had become the true ‘King of Jin Prefecture’.
Her eldest brother was now the Deputy Governor of Jin Prefecture.
He held high power and commanded countless troops.
On the Naiman battlefield, he had killed countless enemies, personally slain a Naiman general, captured a Naiman prince alive, and even the Naiman Great Khan had been routed by him.
These achievements always made Li Dafeng feel as if it were unreal.
How had her younger brother become so formidable?
Even her father-in-law had benefited from her brother’s rise, and was now a Chiliarch.
That was a high official in charge of a thousand households of herdsmen, much more powerful than the former Hedong Fort Master.
Moreover, as the status of the Luo family had undergone a dramatic change, Li Dafeng’s own status within the Luo family had also risen sharply.
Other women, even when pregnant, had to work in the fields.
But Li Dafeng was treated as if she were carrying a golden nugget, doted upon with good food and drink, and didn’t have to do any work.
Although this life was comfortable, it made Li Dafeng feel uneasy.
After all, she hadn’t been pampered since childhood.
So, under the guise of bringing food, she came to the fields to see if she could help with any work.
However, Luo Mu spoke imperiously, “Anyone who dares to spread rumors, I’ll rip their mouths open.”
“Da Feng, don’t listen to those old women talking nonsense. After I’m done with this, I’ll go talk to them.”
“For now, you just go home and stay there. Don’t take this lightly.”
“You haven’t seen the daughter-in-law of the Liu family, it was just a couple of years ago.”
“After working all day and then riding a horse, the child in her womb was directly jolted out.”
“It was terrifying.”
Luo Mu said with a warning tone.
Anyway, with the addition of five slaves to the household, there was no shortage of people to do the work.
Li Dafeng was made to rest whenever possible, and not do any work. Otherwise, if something were to happen.
Wouldn’t that affect the relationship between their Luo family and the Li family!
Doesn’t this affect the relationship between their Luo Family and the Li Family!
