Hanhou

During the spring plowing season, border residents are always very busy.

More than a dozen young adults and more than 30 servants, led the cattle and plows, went out early and returned late every day, reclaimed the abandoned fields, and fertilized the fields according to the notices posted in the county.

The work of seed selection has been completed, and several craftsmen are busy making columbine carts.

Like Qu Yuanli, Zhao Jia only gave a general idea. The craftsmen consulted each other and kept exploring. Finally, they made the three-legged columbine cart before planting the seeds.

When the columbine cart is put into use, one person and one ox can complete the work of several people before.With the existing manpower and animal power of the livestock farm, the [-] mu of land can be sown in no time.

In order to catch up with the farming, in addition to young men and servants, women also took turns to go to the fields.According to Mrs. Sun, with new plows and carts, spring plowing is much less labor-intensive than before. Not to mention them, even half-grown children and old people are worth as much as a strong laborer before.

"With this farm tool in the early years, I don't know how much more wasteland can be opened..."

Uncle Xiong was squatting by the field, holding a wooden bowl in his hand, which was full of corn and rice, a whole rabbit leg, and sunflower pickled by his servant.

Several young and strong people walked to the edge of the field with the plow, and led the cattle aside to drink water.After washing their hands in the wooden barrel, each of them took a bowl of millet rice and munched on the rabbit meat and sunflower.

The women were busy unloading wooden buckets from the carts, adding rice to the bowls of Qingzhuang and servants.After the marinated rabbit meat is roasted, even without too much seasoning, it can be eaten by everyone without looking up.

"Woman, when are you going to make steamed pancakes again? It's delicious." A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy with a ring of fluff growing on his mouth asked.

"Corn and rice can't fill your stomach? You still have meat to eat every day, why don't you be dissatisfied!"

Before Mrs. Sun could speak, an older servant kicked the boy from behind.The boy staggered two steps, still holding the wooden bowl firmly.Looking back at the elder, he grinned in embarrassment.

"Aon, I know I was wrong."

"Shut up if you know, work more and talk less! For a master like Zhao Langjun, no matter how many people want to come to work, they can't do it!"

The older servant didn't use three points of strength, otherwise, with the strength he could bring down a steer, he kicked over, and the young man would have already been lying on the ground, how could he continue to hold his rice bowl and bury his head in chewing.

When everyone was eating, Gongsun Ao took Wei Qing and the three men to dig wild vegetables near the livestock farm.

Lu Xinwu wandered in the grassland all year round, and he knew more about what to eat and what not to eat than Gongsun Ao.Seeing the small baskets carried by the three heads, Alu curled his lips, walked up to Mrs. Sun, gestured twice, and pointed to the rattan basket that was about the same size as him.

"This is too heavy." Mrs. Sun said.

"You can move your back." Alu shook his arms, "I can carry a deer!"

"That won't work either."

For the five teenagers, the women were somewhat on guard, but it wasn't like when they first arrived, there were always people staring at them.As time went on, they were gradually accepted as part of the farm, and the women reprimanded when they should be reprimanded and cared for when they should be cared for.

"I can move!" Alu still wanted to fight, but was suppressed by the woman's force, and a rattan basket that was not too big or too small was handed to him.

Alu was very depressed, feeling that he was being underestimated, and bared his teeth like a wolf cub.

The women have long been used to it, and instead of taking it seriously, they laughed heartily.A woman even patted Alu on the back hard, and stuffed a piece of jerky into his mouth.

"Okay, let's go to work."

Alu's eyes widened, one side of his cheek puffed out, and he carried the rattan basket on his back reluctantly. When he turned around, everyone burst into laughter.

Lu Xin and Gongsun Ao, who were walking beside him, could clearly see that the boy who looked like a small beast was chewing the jerky vigorously, his face was not as fierce as before, but instead had a silly smile.

"There's a wild beehive in front!" Wei Qing ran over with a rattan basket on his back, holding a handful of wild vegetables in his hand, and said excitedly, "Aman is watching over there!"

Hearing the wild bee nest, both Gongsun Ao and Lu Xin's eyes lit up. Ah Man swallowed the dried meat in two or three gulps, licked his lips, and looked at Lu Xin excitedly: "Ah Xin, tell me, what are you doing?"

"Flint, do you have any?" Lu Xin looked at Gongsun Ao.

When wandering in the grassland, they dared not light a fire. When they encountered a wild bee nest, they either swallowed their saliva and avoided it, or tried to attract the honey-eating beasts and fought with them.

Now you don't have to worry about being shot by rangers and herdsmen, so you can't miss the opportunity to harvest the entire hive.

"Yes!" Gongsun Ao took out a flint and steel from his belt.

"Let's go over to light the fire and the smoke will rise, remember to cover your face with your clothes."

Wei Qing led the way, and Lu Xin and Gongsun Ao followed behind.Before he had gone far, he saw a few teenagers carrying wicker baskets, a three-headed body, and a big dog whose ears had been caught to keep it from barking.

"Find some hay, and this kind of weed." Lu Xin searched around, and quickly found the weed we needed.

The teenagers and children gathered together, covering their mouths and noses with cloth, holding sticks in their hands, watching Lu Xin and Gongsun Ao light the fire, their eyes sparkling, with excitement that couldn't be concealed.

In the livestock farm, Wei Taishou and several county officials stood by the fence, looking at the black horse galloping and jumping inside the fence, all of them looked happy.

"A good horse, really a good horse!"

"It's so majestic, it's really rare to see."

"The racecourse has not seen such a good horse for many years."

While several people were talking, several people fell off their horses, including Chang Shi, who was quite good at riding.

"My son will try it." Wei Shang turned to Wei Yue and said.

"promise."

Watching Wei Yue take off his saber and jump over the railing, Chang Shi stood up from the ground without brushing off the grass and dirt from his body, pointed at the black horse with a rebellious appearance and said: "This The guy is strong enough, the third son pay attention."

Wei Yue nodded and walked towards the black horse step by step.

After being surrounded for a few days, all the other wild horses had already put on leather bridles and bits, but this one was the only one who could eat and drink, and his hair was fine. Whoever dared to hang some bits and pieces on his body would be 100% kicked on the spot.

Having seen dark horses go berserk several times, Zhao Jia was very thankful for his own wisdom, such a fierce temperament was indeed beyond his control.

Seeing that Wei Yue was getting closer and closer to the black horse, for some reason, Zhao Jia's heart began to pound, an unknown excitement surged in his chest, a chill came down his back, and the hair on the back of his neck was about to stand on end.

Animals have a keen sense of danger, and the black horse obviously realized that Wei Yue was not easy to mess with, and began to stomp its front hooves irritably, shake its thick neck, and snort constantly.

One person and one horse confronted each other for a while, Wei Yue suddenly flew forward, grabbed the thick rope left on the horse's neck with one hand, jumped up, and sat firmly on the horse's back.

The black horse neighed and repeated its previous actions, running and jumping in a limited space, trying to throw off the person on its back.

It's a pity that it is different from the previous few times. No matter how high it jumps or how fast it runs, it seems to be wasting its energy.

Wei Yue leaned forward, hugged the black horse's neck with one arm, and controlled the rope with the other hand, so strong that he forced the black horse to change direction and stood up.

"it is good!"

Seeing this scene, all the bosses, headed by Wei Taishou, clapped their hands and applauded.Chang Shi and others who had been thrown off the horse before clenched their fists, or picked up a short knife and slammed on the railing.

Hearing the bang bang, Zhao Jia immediately turned around and told Mrs. Sun: After these big guys leave, be sure to check the fence.After all, he is a fierce man who is so fierce that he can break a few wooden poles with his bare hands. If he breaks a few wooden poles, it can only be regarded as a trivial matter.

The black horse couldn't get rid of Wei Yue, but he didn't surrender willingly.

The two sides are completely competing for endurance and physical strength to see who will fall first and who can last till the end.

After bouncing on the horse for a long time, Wei Yue couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.There are a few strands of black hair at the corners of the temples, fine sweat dripping from the forehead, making the eyes darker and brighter, and the light-colored lips are also a little more rosy.

After a full two cups of tea, the black horse finally slowed down, changing from a gallop to a canter, changing direction with Wei Yue's strength, and finally stopped by the fence.

"it is good!"

Prefect Wei laughed loudly, and looked at the big brothers in the cloud with a very smug expression, as if to say: Did you see it?my son!

Everyone was stimulated by him, and wanted to say "it's not their own", and suddenly remembered the eldest son who died in the battle with the Huns and the second son who was in Chang'an, swallowed the words again, and turned to applaud with Wei Shang .

The black horse was given to Wei Taishou, and now it is Wei Yue's mount.The remaining three Mustangs were also included in the army.Wei Shang did not treat Zhao Jia badly, and exchanged it for Zhao Jia's silk at the price of the best war horse.

Zhao Jia didn't want silk, but offered some wheat instead.

"Mai?" Wei Shang looked at his colleague's master book, and the latter gave an affirmative answer before nodding to Zhao Jia.

For Bianjun, war horses and food are the top priorities.

Zhao Jia presented a good horse, so he should be rewarded.If it is silk and copper coins, Wei Shang will give more, and others will basically have no objection.When it comes to food, one must be cautious and make sure there will be no mistakes, so Wei Shang nodded in agreement.

Although there was not a single horse left behind, Zhao Jia felt that it was not a loss if he could exchange for a batch of grain.

Wei Yue got off the horse, fitted the black horse with a harness and reins, and asked Zhao Jia for some caramel to feed the new mount, which was still kicking at others.

Wei Shang summoned Qing Zhuang who was present that day, asked about the specific situation, then discussed with Chang Shi, and decided to send people to patrol the border of the county, and notified the various lieutenants, Wei Shi and Shi Shi to pay attention, and maybe they could find scattered wild horses.

"According to the report from the spies, King You Tuqi of the Huns raised his troops and slaughtered three other tribes," Chang Shi said.

In short, these horses may be wild horses, or they may be the property of other Huns, and they ran to the border county in the chaos.

"This is a wild horse!" Wei Taishou made a final decision.

The bosses looked at each other and nodded at the same time, knowing each other tacitly.

Since he ran to his own territory, it could only be a wild horse.Whoever dares to raise an objection will hit you until you shut up, and then we will reason.As a border county official, he is so reasonable and understands the essence of persuading people with reason.

When the bosses were talking, Gongsun Ao, Wei Qing and others had already returned with full rewards.In addition to the wild vegetables filled with rattan baskets, there are also wild bee nests that have been chopped into several pieces.

Seeing the beehives on the ground, even Mrs. Sun was startled, hurriedly pulled Wei Qing and the others to check carefully one by one, and after making sure that no one was stung, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Just when the boy and the three-headed body thought the matter was over, Mrs. Sun suddenly snorted coldly, grabbed the nearest three-headed body, pressed it on the leg and slapped it twice.Throw it away, and it will be the next one.

A few older women gathered around, the teenagers and children couldn't escape even if they wanted to, they all got hit by Wuzhi Mountain, even Gongsun Ao and Lu Xin couldn't escape.

Clutching his buttocks, Gongsun Ao blushed, and in a few years he could be engaged.Turning to stare at Lu Xin, why did he slap on the back? !

After taking pictures of the three-headed body, Mrs. Sun was refreshed and called the women to deal with the hive.The dug out bee pupae were roasted on the fire, sprinkled with some salt, and passed to the teenagers and children beside them.

Lu Xin held down Alu and Aman who were grabbing into the bowl, and waited until several boys had surrounded them before letting everyone stretch out their hands and distribute the food in the bowl evenly.

"Remember, obey the rules!"

Gongsun Ao looked at Lu Xin and snorted, he was still wary of this young man.

Wei Qing bit the bee chrysalis, gathered together with the three heads, and pulled across the grass with a wooden stick, recalling the words Zhao Jia taught yesterday, making sure he remembered them all, and the bee chrysalis was eaten, clapping his hands, the empty vines on his back basket, called a few big dogs, and continued to search for wild vegetables nearby.

Standing by the railing, Wei Yue stroked the black horse's neck with one hand, looked at Lu Xin and the others not far away, and said, "Hoduo."

"Ah?" Zhao Jia turned around.

"You bought them from the Wuhuan people?"

"Yes." Zhao Jia frowned and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"A wolf is not a dog after all, knocking out teeth and pulling out claws will not lose their wildness." Wei Yue raised the corner of her mouth, "But it's okay, after training, it can still help Ah Duo to look after the house."

Without waiting for Zhao Jia's reaction, Wei Yue called Wei Wu and asked him to point out two guards to stay in the livestock farm.

"These two are my children, they can be used to guard the livestock farm at ordinary times, and if something happens, they can be asked to look for me in Yuanyang City with a wooden sign."

"Thank you, Third Young Master." Zhao Jia considered for a moment, but did not refuse.

With these two people, the safety factor of the farm will increase again.What's more, they are called house boys, and they are actually no different from the army. In terms of riding and shooting, they may not be weaker than the frontier army.During the stay at the livestock farm, it shouldn't be a problem for them to teach Wei Qing and others.

No matter how you look at it, he earned it all.

Favors owed must always be repaid.

Remembering that Wei Yue was going to Yuanyang City to train troops, Zhao Jia hesitated for a while, then pulled Mr. Wei aside, drew out the short knife that he carried with him, and drew the shapes of saddle and stirrup on the ground.In order to make it more vivid, he even pulled the bay red horse, and gestured a few times with his hands on the horse's back and sides.

"A Duoke told others about this?" Wei Yue's expression changed from relaxed to serious.

"No." Zhao Jia shook his head.

"I will tell Ah Weng about this matter. Before I return from Yuanyang City, don't tell anyone else." Wei Yue wiped away the traces on the ground.

"Okay." Zhao Jia paused for a moment, then hesitated, "Third Young Master, don't ask me how I got it from?"

The stirrup is easy to explain, and there is almost only a layer of window paper between the rope buckle of the horse.Saddles are not so easy to justify.

"Aduo has been smart since he was a child, and he can find the method of taming a cow that no one else has noticed." Wei Yue took the short knife from Zhao Jia's hand, retracted the scabbard, and hung it on Zhao Jia's waist again.

Zhao Jia looked at Wei Yue, not sure if he was being perfunctory.

Wei Yue straightened up, stopped lifting the stirrup and saddle, took the black horse by the reins, and said to Zhao Jia, "Come with me for a run, how about it?"

Facing Hei Liang's eyes, inexplicably, as if the weight on his heart was suddenly removed, Zhao Jia smiled, strode to the side of the bay red horse, jumped on the horse, and rushed out first.

"Jia is one step ahead!"

Two horses, one red and one black, galloped out, startling a group of unknown wild birds.The marmot in the distance uttered a loud cry and got into the burrow quickly.After confirming that the alarm was lifted, he returned to the ground and continued to eat a few new grasses.