Chapter 73

That night, the Cui family hardly slept, and neither did the people of Xishan Township.

In the first half of the night, Cui Lan and An Zhongzhi discussed the manpower needed for building the school. They were all neighbors, and it was hard to exclude anyone. Cui Lan, who was still very simple and honest, couldn't bring herself to play the role of a strict judge. An Zhongzhi could be stern, but he wouldn't do something that would needlessly offend people. After much discussion, they finally managed to gather a hundred people for the work the next day, and this number could still increase with more reserves. However, Cui Lan was unsure, so she and An Zhongzhi decided to have the reserves rotate in, with each person working for one day.

In the second half of the night, Cui Lan started dealing with the locusts. The people of Xishan Township brought the locusts they caught to Cui Lan's house, and she was supposed to count them. Cui Lan couldn't do it, so she called in Bian Fuzi. When Bian Ji heard that he had to count the locusts, he was so angry that his beard almost stood straight up. But since this involved the official, he reluctantly did it.

If Lin Bei knew that the people of Xishan Township caught nearly 5,000 dou of locusts in one day, he would probably feel a headache. 5,000 dou! That would be equivalent to 1,000 wild rabbits or mountain pheasants. And this was only because the locusts in the fields were almost all caught; otherwise, the number would have been even higher.

This was the first time Cui Lan was so busy. Since she didn't know Lin Bei's requirements, she had to open each dou of locusts to check if it was full and if there were any dead locusts. Many families also brought half-dou, and Cui Lan was unsure if Lin Bei wanted those, so she was very conflicted. By the time it was dawn, Cui Lan felt like she had aged several years, as the work was mentally and physically exhausting.

As the sky began to brighten, the work was finally done. Cui Lan, Bian Fuzi, and An Zhongzhi couldn't sleep, as the hundred people outside were waiting to start work, and they also had to meet the official. After a quick meal, they set off into the mountains. Bian Fuzi, with his old arms and legs, couldn't take this kind of strain anymore.

"I can't take it anymore," Bian Ji groaned, lying on the ox cart.

"Fuzi, this back-and-forth is too much for your health. Why don't we ask the official if you can stay with him?" An Zhongzhi suggested.

Bian Fuzi sat up on the ox cart, but then lay back down, groaning, "I don't know if the official will agree. I'm too old for this."

An Zhongzhi laughed, "The official should agree. Shall I talk to A Lan and have her inform the official?"

Bian Fuzi didn't say anything, so An Zhongzhi went to find Cui Lan.

Cui Lan was talking to a woman. When she saw An Zhongzhi, the woman bowed, "Greetings, Chief."

An Zhongzhi nodded. The woman was Ma Fengshi, whose given name was Xiangyu. She was from the Ma family, also a hunter in Xishan Township. Ma Fengshi had only been married for half a year, and her life was peaceful. However, her husband, Ma Sanlang, was bitten by a gray-headed snake and died shortly after being brought home. It was said that Ma Sanlang asked her to remarry, but she remained chaste and vowed not to remarry, now serving her bedridden mother-in-law. An Zhongzhi admired her greatly, as she showed remarkable character at such a young age.

Ma Fengshi came along because Cui Lan wanted to take care of her. Now, the Ma family only had an old lady and Feng Xiangyu, and they were in a difficult situation. Last night, when Feng Xiangyu came to hand in the locusts, the two women talked and found they were quite compatible, as they were both without husbands.

Ma Fengshi was very considerate and knew that An Zhongzhi and Cui Lan had something to discuss, so she bowed and was about to leave. An Zhongzhi thought for a moment and said, "Feng Xiaonü, don't worry about what A Lan said yesterday. The official is very kind and won't make things difficult for you."

Ma Fengshi bowed again and then left.

"This young lady is indeed very resolute," Cui Lan said.

An Zhongzhi nodded and then mentioned Bian Fuzi, "A Lan, you should talk to the official about this."

"I'm not sure if the official will agree. Although he is kind, this is different from before, as Bian Ji will be staying permanently."

"It's fine. I think the official values you, and it's best if you bring it up."

"I will talk to him. But if the official disagrees, we can have Fuzi stay at the school. Since there are many people today, we can build a room for him to rest in."

"There are many fierce beasts in the mountains."

"We can also have the hunters stay there, as someone needs to guard the place anyway."

An Zhongzhi nodded and praised, "A Lan, you are truly intelligent. No wonder the official values you."

Cui Lan just smiled and didn't respond.

With over a hundred people entering the mountains, the wild beasts didn't dare to attack. They arrived safely at the site of the school, and An Zhongzhi asked Wang Laicai to get everyone to start cutting trees. Then, Cui Lan and Bian Fuzi, along with Zhen Ding and a few others, drove the ox cart to Longtan.

Lin Bei had already noticed them and straightened up. Cui Lan and the others greeted him, and although Zhen Ding had seen many things, he was still startled by Lin Bei's massive size. Hearing the greetings, he quickly joined in.

"Indeed, it is a demon dragon," Zhen Ding secretly observed Lin Bei, becoming more and more amazed. This demon dragon could understand human speech and behave like a human. Bian Ji and the others were not afraid of the demon dragon and got along well with it. Zhen Ding marveled at this.

"Official, these are the locusts caught by the people of Xishan Township yesterday. Fuzi counted them. Please take a look," Cui Lan reported to Lin Bei.

Lin Bei had already seen the locusts on the ox cart and inwardly sighed. The baby snakes had grown to about fifty, and now the locusts were here, leaving him unsure what to do.

"Put them aside for now," Lin Bei could only say. Once the locusts died, he could grind them into feed. Even if they couldn't feed the baby snakes, they could feed other animals in the future. There was always a way to use them.

PS: Sister, Feng Xiaonü has appeared. She is also a relatively important supporting character.