Chapter 920: Sitting Together at Night

In the new refugee stockades along the eastern shore of Luoma Lake, grain was cheap and plentiful, but all other miscellaneous goods were expensive and scarce. Iron farming tools, which were relatively costly elsewhere, were abundant and cheap here — it felt strange whenever one thought about it. Grain couldn't fetch a good price, and giving too much of it away meant a loss for their own households. The refugees had all endured times of hunger and were loath to part with too much grain. And after so many years of hardship, they had long grown used to fending for themselves and were unwilling to trade grain for this or that.

Some refugee village guards began speaking to the stewards about it, and the stewards in turn reported it to Shi Manqiang. Cotton seeds, spinning wheels, spindle weights, and such were all worthless things and very easy to procure. Shi Manqiang didn't see this as anything important, only as a convenience for those below, and agreed on the spot.

Of course, not every place thought of this cotton. All told, it was only three refugee villages near Suqian that wanted to plant cotton and spin and weave their own cloth.

Elsewhere, farmland was scarce to begin with, and planting grain and planting cotton conflicted with each other — choosing one required careful deliberation. But here, there was no need to consider that. As long as you were willing to till the land, there was more than enough acreage.

No one treated this as a major matter. Everyone assumed it was not much different from the village guards growing vegetables. The guards grew and pickled vegetables originally to improve their own meals, and no one imagined they could be sold. But because the vegetables here were fresh and the salt was good, the market at Yutou Town was quite promising. Some even thought this cotton simply couldn't be grown.

No one expected the cotton to actually grow. According to the tenant farmers, the heavy mist here and lack of sun meant the yield couldn't match Shandong's, but it was still far better than they had anticipated. After that, spinning and weaving followed as a matter of course.

Trading this homespun cloth for various goods was far more cost-effective than trading grain for goods. From this, anyone could see the immense benefit to the refugee villages. Setting aside all the barter for sundries, just for the people's clothing needs each year, Cloud Mountain Trading and the Sun Family Trading House had to ship in huge quantities of cloth. Now that they could produce it themselves, who knew how much could be saved.

Shi Manqiang explained the whole story to Zhao Jin in detail. He didn't think it was any major affair, only that it could save the Zhao Battalion quite a bit.

Zhao Jin listened with rapt attention. Ji Xiang tried several times to interject but held back each time — after being together so long, he had a very good grasp of when to speak and when not to. Not far away, Zhuang Liu was also puzzled. By his reckoning, once they crossed the river, questions about the Prospering Dragon Society would be inevitable. Who would have thought Zhao Jin would fixate endlessly on such a trivial matter as homespun cloth? What was so special about homespun? In Xuzhou, in any hardworking household, the women always spun and wove — partly for the family's own use, and partly to sell for extra money.

"The cotton seeds and such are already arranged. Implements like spinning wheels will depend on the harvest, but those are very easy to procure in Qingjiangpu..." Shi Manqiang said in a muffled voice.

Zhao Jin shook his head while smiling. Every aspect of planting cotton, spinning thread, and weaving cloth was no great matter within the system of the Zhao Battalion and Cloud Mountain Trading — the sort of thing that would never be reported up to him. The inner guard retainers and various informants wouldn't pay it any mind either. Many even felt that spinning and weaving were women's work, and talking too much about it was a joke.

Seeing Zhao Jin's expression, Shi Manqiang, who had been waiting for praise, fell silent too. The moment he quieted down, Zhao Jin struck him hard with a fist and said with a laughing scold, "You fine fellow, you've really done it!"

Both were on horseback with some distance between them, so the punch naturally wasn't heavy. But the excitement, delight, and praise in Zhao Jin's tone were heard clearly by Shi Manqiang and everyone around.

Shi Manqiang grinned happily, but he and those around him — Ji Xiang, Niu Jinbao, Sun Dalei, Zhuang Liu, and the others — were all somewhat astonished and baffled. Was this little thing really worth such elation and abandon? Zhao Jin had been composed for so long; he rarely showed this side of himself.

"This is a major matter. This is a tremendous good thing. Shitou, you've rendered a great service." Zhao Jin said with a smile, and his manner continued to astonish everyone.

"Would planting the cotton a bit late delay the farming season?"

"... We'll have to ask someone who knows the trade..."

"If planting a bit late is workable, I'll bring people over from Songjiang to manage it — lay out the cotton fields, build workshops for spinning and weaving. There's still much to be done. If it's too late, then just plant what we have before us for now; don't let it be delayed." Zhao Jin laid out an entire slate of plans.

Shi Manqiang listened somewhat dumbfounded and hastily agreed, then added, "Big Brother, this is a small matter..."

"I said, this is no small matter. It is a major matter — a matter concerning the very foundation!"

Zhao Jin's next actions baffled everyone even more. He dispatched mounted couriers toward Xuzhou, Qingjiangpu, and Songjiang Prefecture. To Xuzhou, he summoned Ruhui and several shop managers below him. To Qingjiangpu, it was Zhou Xuezhi. And to Songjiang Prefecture, it was Yu Zhiyuan — he also had Yu Zhiyuan bring along people knowledgeable about cotton cloth. Zhou Xuezhi was likewise to bring stewards familiar with Qingjiangpu.

These arrangements clearly all related to the homespun cloth produced here. The scale of the undertaking grew larger and larger. But for mere cotton cloth — was it worth it? Everyone harbored this question in their hearts, but no one voiced it.

After making these arrangements, Zhao Jin questioned Shi Manqiang in detail again, and also summoned the tenant farmers who had planted the cotton for questioning. Every last detail had to be covered. Everyone could only bear with it and keep him company. It was nearly dark by the time it was all done.

The refugee villages were all thatched huts and shacks, so naturally there were no pre-built quarters to house a force of several hundred. Had they been government troops, they would certainly have forced the commoners to vacate their own dwellings. The Zhao Battalion had no such rule. As on the road, they pitched camp and slept in the open, maintaining a fully alert, combat-ready posture.

Still, this was their own territory, and they hadn't seen Shi Manqiang for many days, so the mood was somewhat relaxed. Shi Manqiang had specially prepared pigs and sheep, which were slaughtered and cleaned by retainers who knew the work. They were stewed and roasted over open fires right there in the wild. Salted fish from the east and local pickled vegetables were also brought out — a rather sumptuous meal. Since this counted as field marching, no alcohol was drunk.

Perhaps because Zhao Jin was in good spirits, that evening the retainers and scholar retainers did not line up for their meals as they had during the preceding days of march. Instead, they sat in circles around the large pots or roasting racks, in full picnic fashion. Everyone felt at ease, full of laughter and cheerful chatter, as if it were a festival.

But they were not seated according to unit organization — Zhao Jin personally arranged the groupings. For instance, the circle closest to Zhao Jin consisted entirely of men who had risen from company commander and squad commander. And these men were extremely disciplined; even in such a relaxed and pleasant setting, they remained utterly silent. No wonder they had become leaders.

Roasted mutton seasoned with pickled vegetables, rolled up in a coarse-grain flatbread — no one ate with dainty, slow bites; everything was devoured in a whirlwind. Zhao Jin glanced at Zhuang Liu's circle not far away but didn't hurry over. He simply said to Shi Manqiang, who had stood up to follow him, "Shitou, along this whole journey, I've seen the retainers and the militia here. They're not one bit inferior to those in Xuzhou. When you and Bingfeng are stationed out here, the thing I fear most is lax training. You haven't grown lax — very good!"

When he said this, there was none of the excitement he'd shown discussing homespun cloth; he was utterly solemn. Such praise made Shi Manqiang even happier. He had always been an honest man of few words, and he only said in a muffled voice, "I was only doing my duty."

Zhao Jin glanced at Ji Xiang. Ji Xiang's face showed a trace of defiance, but he often looked like that, so it was nothing unusual. The reason Zhao Jin wouldn't let Ji Xiang independently command a regiment, wouldn't release him to handle matters on his own, was precisely because Ji Xiang's mind was too restless — he was bound to grow careless in drilling and garrison duty, always trying to find shortcuts. Shi Manqiang was more honest than Ji Xiang and seemed less clever, but he was stubbornly conscientious. Whatever he was ordered to do, he would carry out to the letter. Sending him to guard this Barren Grass Flats had been the best choice.

"Is the militia reliable?" Zhao Jin suddenly asked.

Shi Manqiang paused for a moment, then answered with certainty, "Reliable. The ones serving as militia now are all from the households with the best living conditions — you could call them the top people here. They know that to keep their good lives, they have to maintain this state of affairs. So they're loyal and dependable, and they never talk about ties to fellow townsmen or kinsmen."

"They may not talk about it, but we cannot afford to ignore it," Zhao Jin said, his words cutting to the heart.

Shi Manqiang nodded and said, "Big Brother, you've said this before. I've always kept it firmly in mind. The militia are not to protect their fellow townsmen and kinsmen, nor the villages they come from. And they're not to be left stationed in one place too long."

Zhao Jin laughed again, a laugh of deep satisfaction. After laughing, he said, "The reason we brothers have been able to reach where we are today is precisely because we follow the rules. Once a rule is set, we never compromise on it. Shitou, you've done very well."

Chen Sheng, Shi Manqiang, and Dong Bingfeng were all meticulous in their work. Once a rule was agreed upon, they carried it out without the slightest discount. Ji Xiang needed constant reminders. And it was the same at Cloud Mountain Trading — even with Wang Zhaojing and the others keeping a close watch, the people below still didn't always execute things perfectly.

After saying this, Zhao Jin walked toward the circle where Zhuang Liu and the others sat. As he moved, Ji Xiang, Niu Jinbao, and the rest moved to follow, but Zhao Jin waved his hand and stopped them.

Though they were sitting on the ground, the earth was very dry, and the campfire had baked the surrounding area warm. With the aroma of stewed and roasted meat in the air, it was actually quite comfortable.

But Zhuang Liu and his group were all on pins and needles. From the moment they'd seen all their Prospering Dragon Society comrades during the march, each of them had sensed trouble. Now that they were here, they were even more uneasy.

Exchanging glances was unavoidable, seated so close together. Some thought to whisper and communicate in hushed tones, but Zhuang Liu immediately stopped this with a stern look. Who knew whether Lord Jin, not far away, could hear? Zhuang Liu even considered: had Lord Jin already planted informants within the Prospering Dragon Society? One extra word could very well be a crime.

Others might not know, but Zhuang Liu himself had turned this over and over in his mind. The reason he had organized this Prospering Dragon Society was his unwavering loyalty to Zhao Jin. Which brother in this Society hadn't performed outstandingly? From Lord Jin's perspective, it was no bad thing in any sense. The only fault was perhaps breaking the rules — forming a private association.

Lost in thought, he suddenly sensed a stir among the companions beside him. Turning his head, he saw Zhao Jin approaching. Zhuang Liu and the companions around him all hurriedly stood, ready to salute. But Zhao Jin waved his hand in an easygoing manner and said, "Everyone's tired. No need for so much ceremony. Sit and talk."

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