Chapter 234 He Lingchuan's Shop

A little snow fell on He Chunhua's shoulders, and He Yue's cloak was holding a small piece of dead branches, obviously they had walked a long distance. He Lingchuan waited for the two men to approach before asking: "Dad, second son, why don't you take the car back?" It was freezing cold.

"Take a walk, just take a rest." He Chunhua exhaled a breath of white steam, "Also clear your mind."

For an official with cultivation, his face was too haggard. He Lingchuan found that He Yue had a pair of dark circles under his eyes, and there were also bloodshot in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you kid, getting up in the middle of the night to steal chickens?" He walked the two men home.

I don't know if it was an illusion, the two men originally had an unspeakable tacit understanding, which was broken by He Lingchuan standing between them.

"I have been auditing the account books all night in recent nights." He Yue yawned, "I have to audit the military farms tonight, and the situation is not optimistic."

The father and son were both wilted like eggplants hit by frost, and He Lingchuan himself was full of energy, which was quite embarrassing.

"Why are you not optimistic?"

"Xiazhou's military farms are distributed in five counties, and the number I got is eight military farms in total." He Yue frowned, "This is too few. My father found me the original book from 45 years ago, which clearly recorded that the total number of military farms in Xiazhou is 20!"

He looked at his father with a little admiration. He could find such hidden original materials.

He Chunhua coughed lightly: "I asked someone to get it."

He doesn't fight unprepared battles.

He Yue looked at He Lingchuan counting on his fingers and kindly explained: "Each military farm is 50 hectares, which means that 600 hectares have been lost in 45 years!"

Military farms are one of the public fields. They were originally unowned wastelands controlled by the state. Later, local soldiers or civilians were organized to cultivate and harvest food to supply military supplies.

The He family has experience in fighting and knows the principle of food and grass before the army moves. They transport food for thousands of miles and eat 70% of it themselves. Now that Xiazhou has become the front line, military farms must be valued by the government. Producing and delivering food here can greatly shorten the time and save losses during transportation.

However, more than half of the military farms in Xiazhou are missing. What does this mean?

He Lingchuan said, "Has it been occupied again?"

"Well, for so many years, officials and gentry have colluded to sell the military farms into private farms." He Yue rubbed his eyes, "Another bad debt, we have to speed up the investigation today and tomorrow."

"Dare to sell military farms?" He Lingchuan gave a thumbs up, "Awesome."

"Previous state governments have borrowed money from wealthy and powerful families. When the harvest was bad, the part that could not be repaid was paid back with military farms." He Yue checked the accounts these days, from the initial shock to now only numbness, "Of course, this is just one of the reasons."

He Lingchuan saw that the two of them looked tired but had light in their eyes, and couldn't help saying, "Dad, do you think there is anything I can do?"

"I was just about to ask you." He Chunhua looked him up and down, "Have you made another breakthrough?"

"Yes."

He Yue's eyes were full of envy: "Brother, you are unreasonable. You only made a breakthrough once when Emperor Liujiang descended last time, and now you have made another breakthrough..."

"Is there ever any fairness in this world?" He Lingchuan laughed, "My sword has been thirsty for a long time. Next time there is a big battle, I must go on the field!"

"You have plenty of opportunities." He Chunhua also laughed, "After sorting out Dunyu's mess, I will tour Xiazhou, especially the northern front. You can go with me."

As the governor of Xiazhou, he must inspect the local customs, human feelings, governance, and public opinion in various parts of the state. Especially now that the war is looming, the new governor needs to tour around to calm people's hearts.

He Lingchuan clenched his fists and made a crackling sound: "Okay."

He Chunhua smiled and said: "I will assign you a task in a few days."

￥￥￥￥￥

Returning to Panlong City in his dream, the snow in the small courtyard of the wooden house was over his calves, and He Lingchuan felt resistance when he pushed the door.

He picked up a broom, piled the thick snow in the corner, and began to practice martial arts.

Eighty percent of the gifts that had originally piled up into a small mountain disappeared, and the remaining ones were neatly placed in the kitchen, with the last two jars placed next to the water tank.

This should be the work of Sun Fuling. She promised to help him donate the piled-up thank-you gifts - if it wasn't her, it must have been emptied by the little ghost who stole the fish.

He Lingchuan called twice, but there was no response from the next door, and she seemed to have gone out again.

But every time the wind blew, there was always a delicate sound of ding-ding-ding. He Lingchuan leaned over the wall and saw that Sun Fuling's yard was simpler and emptier than his. There was nothing except a chair and a ladder, but there was a string of wind chimes made of shells hanging under the eaves.

The colorful shells picked up from nowhere were polished smooth and round, and they were particularly pleasant to the ears when knocked together in the wind.

He Lingchuan recognized that this was one of the thank-you gifts from the people of Panlong City. It seemed that Sun Fuling had left it herself.

However, the snow in her yard was even thicker. It seemed that she had not been at home for at least the past three or four days.

Maybe she lived somewhere else?

He Lingchuan shrugged his shoulders and regained his mind to practice martial arts seriously. The focus of today's practice was the hook rope. He also bought a plate in Panlong City. Of course, it was not a magic weapon and was not as useful as the one made by Li Fubo.

The initial goal was to knock down the branches of the jujube tree, and it was necessary to hit any branch.

He had a hunch that this thing would be of great use in the future, and he had to practice it as soon as possible.

Speaking of which, he had more and more skills to practice, and he felt that there was not enough time to practice day and night.

The feel of the rope was completely different from that of the knife and bow. It was soft and difficult to bear force. He Lingchuan had only practiced a few times, and the hook head was hung on the tree branch, and he couldn't pull it off.

At this time, footsteps were heard outside.

The footsteps stopped at his door, and then a letter was stuffed under the gate.

Then, the man left again.

He Lingchuan picked it up and saw that it was an official letter with a wax seal.

It turned out that the Pengcheng Office urged him to close the shop.

Last time, he used all his rewards to exchange for a shop on Panlong Main Street, and then forgot about it. There are still many sundries in the shop, which he needs to clean up before renting it out.

He Lingchuan has been very busy, but the Pengcheng Office does not intend to let him drag it down. The shops on Panlong Main Street are all golden chickens that lay eggs, so the management is also very strict.

The shops belong to Panlong City, and he only has the right to rent them. The official urged him to open quickly, so he could only open quickly.

He Lingchuan had no choice but to find the shop key and took a donkey cart to the main street.

In fact, the main street of Panlong City is a standard "cross" shape, and the south is Wanglin Street, which is where He Lingchuan's shop is located.

Unexpectedly, it was not yet at the corner at the end of the street. Although the store was not big and the wooden door was closed, there were pedestrians in front of the door, and the traffic was considerable.

If the store was opened in such a place, everything would be easy to sell, right?

There was actually a patrolman standing by the door. When he saw him take out the key, he stepped back two steps and made a "please" gesture.

He Lingchuan also saw a yellow seal on the door.

He had to ask the patrolman: "Excuse me, what's going on?"

"There are always people who want to break in illegally." The patrolman saw him remove the seal and immediately said, "From now on, this shop is under your management."

The task was completed, he turned around, called it a day, and left.

He Lingchuan looked at his back and shook his head, unlocked and pushed the door.

"Squeak", the two doors opened, and the gray mold came towards him.

He Lingchuan couldn't help coughing twice, pinched a wind summoning trick to blow away the gray haze.

I heard that this was originally an antique shop and a grocery store. When he walked in, he saw that there were fragments that had not been moved yet, the furniture was tilted, and there was a thick layer of dust everywhere.

There were a few footprints on the ground, and it was obvious that someone had visited here not long ago. No wonder there were patrol guards at the door.

He Lingchuan covered his mouth and nose with a towel and flipped through it casually. As expected, he didn't see a single valuable thing.

The most expensive thing in the whole place might be the mahogany eight-treasure cabinet and chairs hidden in the inner room. It was probably because the store owner was in a hurry to move and forgot them here.

These things are probably not important at all. The key lies in the store itself.

He was just complaining when two mice jumped off the eight-treasure cabinet with a "squeak", slipped along the wall, and ran out of the store in a hurry.

This place has been closed for a long time, and even mice come to make nests.

They ran away quickly, but they knocked down a basket. Several things inside fell to the ground with a thud.

He Lingchuan took a look and found that they were a few books.

Most of them were storybooks, two were myths and legends, and the other five were bedtime action literature, with bold and unrestrained words and sentences, and illustrations. Even a shameless person like He Lingchuan would feel heartbroken after reading them.

Such harmful things cannot be left behind, take them back.

Food, sex, and sexual desires are the greatest desires of human beings. It is not surprising that grocery stores sell such things. Maybe they were the best sellers in the past.

In addition, there is a map and a thin booklet.

The map is annotated on the eastern part of Panlong Desert. The painting is crude, and only a few main roads in the east and several important geographical landmarks are pointed out, such as the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. It was also the first time that He Lingchuan saw the full picture of Chiba Plateau.

This is probably what merchants and travelers walking in the desert will need.

As for the last thin booklet, He Lingchuan picked it up and saw that it said "A Collection of Hundred Fragrances" on the cover.

He thought it was a piece of literati's sloppy writing or a groan without illness, but when he opened it, it turned out to be not the case. This is actually an introduction and preparation of edible spices.

However, this booklet is full of holes, and it is covered with dust when you turn it over. It also smells of old mold. The author's signature at the back is blurred and can't be seen clearly, so He Lingchuan doesn't know who wrote it.

But it is rich in pictures and texts.

For example, the spices such as cardamom and angelica that He Lingchuan is already familiar with in another world are not only described clearly in the booklet, but also have pictures that teach people to recognize them. He Lingchuan can only say that the painting skills belong to the level of soul painters, but the author's intentions are good after all.

The most valuable part is the second half, which describes in detail the various combinations of spices, as well as their effects and application scenarios.

Isn't this, isn't this...? He Lingchuan's eyes lit up when he saw it, and he put it away without hesitation.

To be honest, it is useless for ordinary residents to get this booklet. They cook very simply. Salt is good enough, and it is a bit extravagant to put soy sauce. It is impossible to make these complicated seasonings.

But can he, Mr. He, be an ordinary person?

It seems that the grocery store is not full of garbage. At least he has found a treasure.

At this moment, the light at the door dimmed and someone came in.