Chapter 39: Internal Team Ranking

Wen Gu had people separate and pack the salt and vinegar refined by the Daoist Priest.

A portion of coarse salt set aside in advance, along with the refined fine salt, was packed by the children.

Practice makes perfect.

The experienced lead the novices.

When more people join the team in the future, if there are still children, they will be the ones to lead the new little ones.

Certain impurities produced during the coarse salt refining process were packed by Qingyi Daozhang himself. No one else knew what exactly those substances were.

As for the vinegar, those large jars of aged vinegar were, of course, not kept for eating.

Given the current conditions, how much could one even eat?

If there were a choice, freshly brewed vinegar would better suit Wen Gu's current needs.

They were not pursuing culinary flavors or thinking about health preservation right now, but rather seeking the effects of sterilization and disinfection.

However, aged vinegar would do as well.

Qingyi Daozhang refining vinegar was, in fact, just a rough purification, sorting through the remaining waste.

A portion of the sediment could be added to animal feed. This was handled by a professional.

Veterinarian Fu Bo inspected it personally, tried it out, and confirmed it was usable, so he kept it to supplement the meals of the team's three precious livestock.

As for the other waste liquids, they were used for the experiment of "vinegar-charcoal fumigation."

With so many people now, they spent most of their day living in this house. To save on Medicinal Herb, they did not use the Repelling Evil Incense refined by the Daoist Priest, but instead used ordinary plant smoke every few hours to mask the scent of humans.

Although most of the evil entities in the Town had been cleared, no one knew how many wandering outside might come sniffing the scent.

Half a day ago, an evil entity entering the Town from outside was spotted, and County Lieutenant Zhou killed it immediately upon discovering it while searching for supplies in the Town.

Therefore, Wen Gu decided to use vinegar smoke to mask the scent.

"When I was on a Study Tour, I saw a folk custom in many places called vinegar-charcoal fumigation.

"It involves immersing burning charcoal or stones into vinegar; charcoal belongs to fire, and vinegar belongs to water. When water and fire clash, the resulting vinegar-charcoal vapor is used for Exorcism and to ward off filth."

Upon hearing "Exorcism and warding off filth," everyone immediately perked up.

Yu Er came over holding a long-handled object that looked like a large iron spoon. It had been found in the kitchen of a restaurant in the Town and slightly modified by the blacksmith.

Now, Yu Er held this large long-handled iron spoon and, following Wen Gu's instructions, operated it to fumigate the room.

Wen Gu said, "We still have some aged vinegar left, all refined by Qingyi Daozhang. If the Repelling Evil Incense runs out in the future, we can use this method as a temporary measure."

In order to refine salt and vinegar and provide Qingyi Daozhang with Alchemy equipment, some team members participated in collecting parts and retrofitting, and some also saw them moving the vinegar jars over.

At this moment, Wen Gu was letting them know what the work they did was for and what benefits they had gained.

Sure enough, after Wen Gu finished saying this, satisfied smiles appeared on the faces of some who had previously been exhausted.

In the process of assigning tasks and arranging work for everyone, Wen Gu called Cheng Zhi to his side to ask about the distribution of nearby Villages, Towns, and the County Town, as he wanted to finalize the route for the journey ahead.

Even if Cheng Zhi had not been there, news was more widespread in the County Town, and the Scholars came from different parts of the county, so relevant information always leaked out.

Cheng Zhi recalled carefully and answered the questions Wen Gu raised. He relayed everything he had heard in the past directly to Wen Gu, regardless of whether it might have been exaggerated.

From this chaotic information, Wen Gu could summarize the underground water sources and geological terrain of the entire county.

It might not be accurate, but it could serve as a reference.

Cheng Zhi felt a sense of awe and, at the same time, deeply felt that it was the right choice for him and his family to follow Wen Gu and the others north.

Wen Gu could make so many inferences based on just this little bit of information; his ability was extraordinary! He had to stay by Wen Gu's side and learn more!

Even though his memory far exceeded that of ordinary people, he was, after all, human and not a machine; when his brain power could not take it, Wen Gu would let him rest for a while.

This precious brain had to be protected well.

Not far away.

He Da's two little followers were tidying up the cargo rack on the wheelbarrow.

This wheelbarrow was used by the original owner, a peddler, to sell goods and set up a stall; once the cargo rack was installed, more things could be displayed.

One of He Da's followers, a young man nicknamed "Zhugan," was staring at the cargo rack with a dazed, nostalgic look in his eyes.

He was from the same Village as He Da and his family was poor. When he was a child, what he looked forward to most was the peddler carrying his goods to the Village. Even if they little brats couldn't afford anything, they would run after him the whole way, wishing they could sit on the peddler's cargo rack.

Looking and thinking, "Zhugan" felt a sense of nostalgic sadness and turned his head to share it with He Da.

Back when they were in Feng County, the few of them from the same Village would gather from time to time to reminisce about the past, having a shared emotional anchor.

Turning around, however, he saw He Da looking as if he were seriously pondering something.

He Da's attention was not on the cargo rack at all. He was currently mulling over what Wen Gu had said at the Cheng family's place regarding their future prospects.

He got up, fetched a pot of hot water, and went to find He Xiaodi.

If it were really as Wen Scholar said, that there were small imperial courts everywhere in Beidi, then with Wen Scholar's ability, no matter which side he went to, he would surely be able to become a high official, right?

After these few days of contact, He Da had already figured it out: County Lieutenant Zhou often listened to Wen Gu, surely also for the sake of his future.

Then, would they, the people following them north, be able to bask in the reflected glory when the time came?

Powerful figures always had subordinates around them, and when cultivating confidants, they would certainly prioritize choosing people they were familiar with.

He decided to show his strengths more in front of Wen Gu in the future.

And make his little brother show off more too!

He Xiaodi had been running around since morning, doing checks and writing records.

Even though the temperature was not high, a layer of sweat was seeping from his forehead, but his spirits were quite good, and he had much more energy when he spoke.

It couldn't be helped; sometimes if he didn't speak loudly, others wouldn't hear him. This courtyard was quite noisy.

"Come, little brother, drink some water."

He Da handed over the water bottle.

Seeing He Xiaodi holding a square wooden board in his hand, he asked curiously, "What are you holding in your hand?"

"This is a writing pad. Second Brother Wen asked Blacksmith Yu to make it; it's convenient to write with this!"

He Xiaodi excitedly demonstrated for He Da.

The wooden board had a long clip on it, which could be used to hold books, and there was also a groove on the side for a Charcoal Pencil.

"Wen Scholar said he saw others using this kind of, uh... office supply during his Study Tour. He said many merchant caravans and armies also have these kinds of portable wooden boards."

He Da took a look; the edges and corners of the wooden board had even been polished, so there was no worry about getting scratched.

It was just that the craftsmanship was far from exquisite, barely passable for use.

He Da picked it up with one hand to weigh it, looked at the front and back several times, and noted it was a bit thick; the blacksmith Yu's woodworking skills were not up to par.

He said critically, "Is it tiring to hold for a long time?"

"Not tiring!"

He Xiaodi's eyes were bright. He took two sips of water, glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned in and whispered to He Da:

"Wen Scholar also said that some high-ranking officials hold a Hu tablet in their hands when attending court; it follows ancient rites and also serves the function of recording memorials. Depending on their rank, some are made of bamboo or wood, some are jade, and others use ivory!"

When he used this board to write, or when he held this wooden board to report on work, he felt as if he were handling major affairs of state, a sense of mission welling up spontaneously!

He Da's gaze changed instantly.

The board he held in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand jun, and even the rough craftsmanship seemed to become magnificent.

He held the wooden board with both hands and returned it to He Xiaodi: "Practice more!"

What heavy, what heavy?!

How could it be heavy!

In the future, he would be holding even more precious Hu tablets!

"Little brother, this scholar's Study Tour is truly of great use! You should treat this northward flight as your Study Tour, just like that fellow Cheng, and follow by Wen Scholar's side to listen, watch, and record more!"

He Xiaodi nodded solemnly: "Mm!"

After He Da finished his instructions, he turned back around.

Zhugan came over to reminisce about the past with him, but He Da reached out and pushed him aside.

What reminiscing about the past? How long ago was that? Don't always look back; people need to look forward!

If one really wants to reminisce, that will have to wait until I've made a name for myself, returned home in glory, and then I can reminisce and be sentimental.

There's no time for that now!

I don't deserve it!

Haven't you seen that the competitors are increasing?

To hell with being sentimental, get to work!

Since many things were inconvenient to say out loud, He Da pointed at the ox cart loaded with plenty of goods, "We already have our own big cargo cart, why are you still thinking about small cargo shelves!"

After criticizing his follower, He Da calmed his heart and seriously analyzed the current situation within the team—

First, Qingyi Daozhang is excluded; the Immortal is not in this category.

In the future, the top confidant under Wen Gu will be Zhou Shan, he will be second, the scholar surnamed Cheng will be third; he didn't know about the others, but as for Yu Er... he wasn't as clever as him, nor as learned as the one surnamed Cheng, so he could rank at the end.

At this moment, Yu Er was also considering the same matter. He pondered rationally, referenced the personnel compositions he had seen in the yamen before, and ranked them:

Zhou Shan, Cheng Zhi, me, He Da.

This person He Da is glib and not steady enough, and his character is not as good as mine, so he only deserves to be ranked at the end.

(End of chapter)