Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 166: Seizing Land as Kings, Amassing Troops for Power
The other brothers in the Qi Family had long become used to the patriarch discussing important matters only with the second and fourth sons.
When it came to brains, these two were truly the only ones who could handle it.
But when they heard Qi Quanjin asking them to join in, Qi Dafu and Qi Sangui had no objections, honestly carrying things.
Yi Meng moved quickly, first preparing a bowl of tea for the four of them, then headed into the kitchen to make dumpling soup.
She picked two small green onions from the space, cut them into scallions, and poured oil into the pot. Once hot, she put in the scallions to stir-fry.
She added some soy sauce for seasoning and color, then added water.
While waiting for the water to boil, she deftly started making the dumplings.
It was all for the family, so the dumpling size didn’t have to be uniform.
She scooped a bowl of flour, while adding cold water and stirring with chopsticks. Once the water boiled, she poured in the dumplings.
When nearly cooked, she tossed in a small handful of spinach.
While not exceptionally delicious, having a bowl of hot dumpling soup on a cold day was indeed a joy.
Yi Meng didn’t just make it for the few there; she also made four extra bowls for Qi Quanjin to take to the elders’ room.
The elderly were light sleepers; when the patriarch entered, the elder lady would definitely wake up, so he might as well bring a bowl for them to chat over.
As for the fifth and sixth brothers, they were called into the fourth room.
The children on the kang were still sleeping soundly, so everyone’s voices were low.
Slurping down the remaining dumpling soup, everyone sat together to discuss the next arrangements.
However, the others were merely there to listen; the real discussion was between Qi Ercai and Qi Quanjin and his wife.
"Earlier, I saw a map at the government offices, and there’s plenty of wasteland. But since we’re settling down, we can’t be too far from the mountains or water, otherwise, it won’t be convenient."
Qi Quanjin said, "I’ve chosen two spots with my second brother, one near the mountains, another by the water. When it gets a bit warmer, shall we go take a look?"
Qi Dafu and the others nodded, showing no objections.
Qi Ercai was initially planning on this too, but Yi Meng frowned and said, "Can we go have a look right now?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
"Now?"
Qi Quanjin was surprised, "In this cold weather, with such thick snow, how can we see anything?"
Yi Meng frowned and gave him a glare, "Take Manbao with you, let her take a look."
Manbao was now the little Fubao of the household, and everyone had reached a consensus on this.
But Qi Dafu couldn’t help expressing his opinion, "In this cold weather, what if the child gets frostbite?"
"Yeah!"
"Yeah!"
Everyone else also felt the arrangement was inappropriate.
Yi Meng said, "We’re not going right away tomorrow. Second brother, Brother Jin, verify the specific place with the government in the next few days, and if necessary, spend some money to hire a government officer to guide the way. First and third brothers stay home and strengthen the carriage, make it more solid; lighten a brazier inside when traveling, and it won’t be too cold on the road."
"That could work, but..."
Qi Quanjin scratched his head, wanting to say it’s still easy to catch cold, but eventually shook his head, "Alright, I have no objections."
The others looked at each other and also shook their heads.
Yi Meng sighed, "I care for my daughter too, but think about it. The city has taken in many refugees and displaced persons. Can all these people be settled in other villages?"
"Even if they’re settled, won’t the villages seize the opportunity to ask for more land to expand?"
"Brother Jin, tell us, are the two locations you found far from other villages?"
With Yi Meng’s prompting, Qi Quanjin recalled seriously, then said, "Both have nearby villages. The wastelands are located downstream or very close to the mountains."
"See, there’s a village nearby. Wouldn’t they take such adjacent good places instead of asking for less desirable ones?"
Yi Meng sighed, "Not just when spring dawns, even if we check now, those two locations you have your eyes on might already be snatched away."
These words made everyone’s faces grow heavy.
Qi Ercai looked at Yi Meng, "Fourth sister-in-law, if you have more ideas, just say them!"
"I don’t have special ideas, I just think the sooner we settle, the better. Previously it was because we didn’t have enough silver, but now we’re better off, so hesitating might make us miss good opportunities."
Yi Meng frowned, "But even though we have silver now, I think we shouldn’t be too ostentatious. Second brother, Brother Jin, when inspecting land at the government again, try to choose more secluded places."
These words made everyone’s eyes widen.
Qi Quanli immediately blurted out, "Fourth sister-in-law, too remote a place is unsafe!"
"Unsafe, but it’s larger in area, and the price should be cheaper too."
Yi Meng patiently explained, "Forget good places; there will definitely be other villages. We’re building a new village. If we do it next door to their old village, wouldn’t they be uncomfortable with it?"
"Moreover, if chaos really breaks out, where can be considered truly safe?"
"Choosing a slightly remote place, at most it’ll be tough initially. Later when life gets going, we can build a wall around it. Even if there’s danger, wouldn’t others have to think twice?"
Yi Meng’s vision for a new village was essentially to establish a fortress.
Surrounded by high walls, with guards stationed, anyone intent on stirring trouble would have to reconsider.
But these words left all six Qi brothers utterly speechless in shock.
Qi Quanyin licked his dry lips and quietly asked, "Fourth sister-in-law, are you planning to... establish your own territory?"
"What are you saying?"
Yi Meng glared at him, "We’re still under the court’s jurisdiction, just gaining some self-defense capability. I’ve travelled to some places and seen several personal villages called fortresses or similar."
"Surrounded by a circle of high walls outside, and the people living inside are safe and prosperous. We’re not guarding against anyone in particular, say we’re guarding against wild beasts from the mountain, can’t we?"
Establishing their own territory and amassing military force—those were not good words, and Yi Meng would never let her family bear such a reputation.
"Yes, guarding against wild beasts is fine."
Qi Dafu suddenly sighed, "Back when we were at home, the village only had individual household walls. I remember when I was a few years old, wild boars came down from the mountain to wreak havoc on the villagers. The second son of the Chen Family, you all don’t know about him, right? He was gored to death by a wild boar that year."
This news stunned everyone.
Even Qi Ercai, who was young at the time, didn’t know this happened.
In the old days, the village elders did say not to wander, as there were wild beasts that would come down and eat children, but growing up, everyone thought it was just a tale to scare kids.
Who could have thought, it was actually true!
