Chapter 154

Huo Jiang's face showed fatigue, his beard unkempt, it was clear he hadn't groomed himself these past two days.

But his eyes remained astonishingly bright, exuding an aura that could pierce people's hearts.

"Gu Xixi, are you thinking of setting up some livelihoods for the Dependents Village?"

Huo Jiang was somewhat displeased, "I have never owed military pay, and the Northwest Army's regular soldiers' pay is higher than that of any garrison in the Great Enterprise."

"Gu Xixi, saying that makes it seem like you're blaming this general for mistreating the troops."

Gu Xixi nodded, "General, please calm your anger; I did not mean to blame you."

"The stipend you give is not small, but over a year there are always several months when it's not enough."

Huo Jiang is not a stubborn person; he furrowed his brows, "Go on."

"The women and children in the village, relying on the military pay sent back by the household head, certainly won't starve, but whenever it's around the winter festivals and before the summer wheat harvest, grain prices in the Northwest always rise by several tens of percent."

"To fill the family's stomachs, they can only be frugal, buying coarse grain and bran, digging wild vegetables to mix with fine grain. Families with only one or two children are manageable; the hardest are those with three or four children."

"Being a mother is truly difficult; each day she must carefully calculate the edible rations, fearing a miscalculation will cause the food to run out before the month's stipend arrives."

Huo Jiang's expression gradually grew solemn.

After Gu Xixi finished speaking, Huo Jiang suddenly stood up and solemnly bowed his hands to her.

"Thank you, Gu Xixi, for telling me these today; my earlier rude remarks, any offense, please forgive!"

"As expected of the Northwest's king, his apology was booming, even resonating from his chest."

Gu Xixi's ears rang from the shock; she hastily waved her hands, "General, you love your soldiers like children, and when provisions run short you'd rather pay out of pocket; you just misunderstood, I understand."

Huo Jiang, however, did not want to shirk responsibility; he said guiltily, "It's my fault; every time I ask these monkey rascals below if they have any trouble, they all say no. Now I think they were just afraid I'd worry."

"But as their commander, I neither investigated thoroughly nor ever visited the Dependents Village in person; that is my dereliction of duty."

He walked to the long table, poured a cup of warm water from his personal double-layered insulated kettle, and personally handed it to Gu Xixi.

Then he reseated himself, adopting an attentive posture.

Although Gu Xixi wasn't thirsty, she didn't want to spurn Huo Jiang's kindness.

She held the bowl with both hands, took a sip, then said, "In the Dependents Village there aren't any contiguous fields, but the women still planted vegetables in every nook and cranny. This time you gave them wages, and they're as happy as if it were New Year."

Huo Jiang pondered, "You mean these dependents themselves also want to find some work to do?"

"Hmm," Gu Xixi nodded, smiling, "I heard that some want to make new clothes for their husbands, some want to use their earnings to buy tasty food, waiting for their husbands to come back and eat together with the children, and some are saving money to send their children to school."

Huo Jiang thoughtfully, "Sounds like all good things."

He recalled why he established the Dependents Village: in the army there is no distinction of rank, allowing the families of soldiers who have the means to come here to move in and reside, which counts as a welfare for the soldiers.

A deeper reason is that it also benefits stabilizing military morale.

At this moment, Huo Jiang had already worked out a series of benign effects in his mind.

First, it resolves the dependents' living difficulties, naturally leading more and more families to be willing to stay long-term, which is beneficial and harmless to army morale.

Furthermore, when the dependents have money to spend and work to do, their mood improves, the atmosphere in the soldiers' homes becomes good, and naturally there are no worries behind them.

Huo Jiang, while pondering, kept nodding, and a satisfied smile inevitably appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Boss Gu, don't mind me, keep going!"

Gu Xixi said, "This time digging the goat madness grass, the military families helped a lot."

"They learn quickly, are willing to put in effort, and are nimble; if you only keep them at home washing clothes, cooking, and minding the children, wouldn't that be a waste?"

Huo Jiang had completely discarded his prejudices; upon hearing the string and song he immediately understood the refined meaning, smiling and asking, "Boss Gu, do tell, how would it not be a waste?"

Gu Xixi said, "First, my Pinpo fruit trees are planted over there; constantly running back and forth isn't a solution, so I want to entrust the orchard to the military families to tend."

"Second, the oat fields that the army has reclaimed, there are several dozen mu near the village; could we allocate each household in the Dependents Village a plot of land? To supplement household expenses—no need for much, just one mu per family."

Huo Jiang laughed loudly, "Boss Gu, you really dare to say that."

"This is the first time someone has, to my face, asked me to spit out a bit of what I've already eaten."

Gu Xixi showed no fear, "Anyway, you've been subsidizing these years; just consider it an advance subsidy you're giving people to support their families—you don't have to plant the land yourself, nor harvest the oats yourself; it's a good deal."

Huo Jiang was amused to the point of slapping his thigh and laughing loudly.

Gu Xixi lifted her gaze to look at the inner chamber of the tent behind him, her eyes deep.

Just as Huo Jiang looked over again, Gu Xixi had already withdrawn her gaze and was drinking water as if nothing had happened.

Huo Jiang waved his hand and said, "The oat field matter is easily handled; we have plenty of land now! But..."

He wore a playful expression, "Boss Gu never works for nothing; first clarify exactly how the Pinpo fruit trees are to be used."

Gu Xixi had already worked out the plan before coming, "The method is the same as in Huachi Du Cun: those who wish to claim the fruit trees must sign a contract with me; upfront I take no payment, treating it as a loan of the trees. When the Pinpo fruit is harvested and the silver obtained, each year I will collect my share according to the ratio stipulated in the contract."

"After the trees bear fruit successfully, upon completion of five years, the trees belong to the claimant, counted from the first year they bore fruit."

Huo Jiang nodded, "I only heard from Xiao Meng that you plant fruit trees like deploying troops."

"Now hearing the details, I realize his words were not empty."

He laughed and praised, "This arrangement is indeed elaborate, helping others without shortchanging oneself."

Gu Xixi slightly bowed, courteously, "General, you overpraise me."

Huo Jiang finally gave it some thought, then hammered the decision, "Then let Boss Gu see the Buddha off to the west; you go back and talk to those women in the village, as long as they're willing, this matter is up to you to decide."

Gu Xixi's purpose achieved, she delighted, "With these words from you, I dare to go back and tell everyone."

After the business was concluded, she immediately rose to take her leave.

Huo Jiang still had military affairs to attend to, so he didn't keep her as a guest, and called the sentinel outside to see her off properly.

As Gu Xixi reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped, turned, and smiled, "I'm not a hungry tiger in the mountains; why should I hide?"

Huo Jiang's expression tightened, a bit embarrassed.

"Boss Gu, who are you referring to?"

Gu Xixi smiled at Huo Jiang and said, "Please ask the General to pass on to that person: when using medicine for a long time, it's best to find a way to wash it clean; otherwise, while hiding, it's easy to be discovered."