Chapter 1332: Innocent Words

Chapter 58: First Command of the ArmyChapter 1332: Childish Words

The convoy was moving at a decent pace.

Before leaving Beijing for long, Li Chen had already reached the area under the jurisdiction of Tongzhou.

He remembered that the batch of disaster victims he had placed last year was in the vicinity, so he instructed the convoy to slightly change direction and head to the village where the victims were settled.

Upon arriving at their destination, Li Chen instructed the others to remain where they were while he entered the village with Wan Jiaojiao and Xiao Chuanzi.

"The environment here is pretty good."

Wan Jiajiao looked around curiously. She saw that the newly built village was well-planned. Although it wasn't particularly prosperous, it had everything it needed. There were crisscrossing paths and fields along the road, and elderly farmers were tilling the land. The scene was quite beautiful.

Just then, a herdsman driving an old ox passed by. Li Chen called out to him, "Hey, that boy."

Sitting on the ox, a child in a loincloth and with pigtails high up, turned his head and said to Li Chen proudly: "Who do you call a kid I have a name! My name is Niu Bao!"

Li Chen had already forgotten how long it had been since someone had spoken to him so loudly.

He was dumbfounded, but helpless, so he could only admit his mistake and say: "Yes, yes, yes, I called your name wrong. I should call you by your formal name, Niu Bao, right"

That child became smug and said, “Yes, that’s right. What is it you want from me”

Li Chen asked, "Do you live in this village"

Niu Bao frowned and said, “You look so glamorous, yet all you say is nonsense. If I didn't live in this village, how would I come out from inside”

Li Chen: “···”

Wàn Jiāojiāo giggled uncontrollably.

She had only ever seen the Crown Prince's imposing demeanor, which intimidated everyone into silence. She had never witnessed him being talked down to before.

Taking out a candy almond from her bosom, Wan Jiaojiao shook it in front of Niu Bao and said, "Would you like to eat the candy in my hand"

Niu Bao's eyes lit up, and he immediately jumped off the ox's back, chasing after Wan Jiaojiao and saying, "Sister, pretty sister, I want to eat it, please give me some!"

Wàn Jiāojiāo giggled with delight, cast a glance at Lǐ Chén triumphantly, then squatted down to meet Shén Niúbǎo's gaze and said: “You can eat if you want, but first you have to answer your brother's questions properly. When you're done, I’ll give you candy.”

Niu Bao looked at the candy, then at Li Chen, and finally said firmly: "You ask!"

Li Chen didn't expect that he would be manipulated by a child one day, but since Wan Jiaojiao had solved the problem, it was naturally the best outcome.

So Li Chen asked, "Where are your parents"

"Are you asking about my parents My father works in the county, pulling a dung cart for an official in Tongzhou. My mother does embroidery work at a silk shop. Every month, they can earn eighty wen together!"

Niu Bao's crisp and lively reply filled Li Chen with joy.

Everyone has a job and income, that's the kind of life Li Chen wants for the people of Qin.

Moreover, this message also reveals an important point: this group of homeless disaster victims is gradually taking root in Tongzhou.

This is a good sign.

Leichen leaned forward slightly and asked again, "Then your family doesn't need to farm I remember the court has allotted land to every household."

"You want it."

Niu Bao nodded vigorously, but his eyes were still greedily fixed on the candy in Wan Jiaojiao's hand. He said, "I will help my grandpa plant it! My grandpa said that this year our family is going to grow sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have a high yield and are delicious. Many wealthy families in the county town will buy them. The sweet potatoes we grow will not only be enough for ourselves to eat, but we can also sell quite a lot. We'll save all that money to buy a wife for me!"itical affairs, being considered second only to the Ministry of Revenue (戶部). In times of war, the Ministry of War takes precedence; in times of peace, the Ministry of Revenue is more important. The...