After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

This made her a little embarrassed, so she could only make a flattered expression, and said with a cupped hand: "Master Sun's support, I will never forget it. It's just that I have a family to take care of, and the family has not been separated yet. It's really not good. Just left."

Sun Qingchen patted her shoulder. He frowned and felt that this boy was too thin, more like a girl.

"You send someone in tomorrow, I won't let anyone make things difficult for you. Again, Lan County is not a place to stay for a long time after all, so you should leave early."

Sun Qingchen also knew that what he said was hypocritical. Jinzhou was severely hit by the disaster this year, and only counties with higher terrain such as Lan County were spared. It was said that people in the county had left their buildings empty, and a large number of fields were abandoned, but he asked them to leave. Where can they go?

But as a parent official of Lan County, he has exhausted his efforts to protect the land of Lan County, let alone double the population out of thin air.

Xu Qingying looked like she was crying with gratitude, "I would like to thank Mr. Sun for these five thousand refugees."

Sun Qingchen curled his lips mockingly and remained silent.

Soon the city gate reopened.

All the refugees at the gate of the city wall looked over. Before Xu Qingying came, the city gate of Lan County had been tightly closed, but she was the only one who could actually enter the city gate to negotiate with the county magistrate.

Although there was no result, everyone saw a glimmer of hope.

Everyone looked at her with hope, hoping that she could bring back good news.

Miao and others all stood up, pointed at the city gate and said with joy on their faces: "Come out! Come out!"

Not only everyone in the Xu family, but also Lao Liao and the others came forward to greet him. He couldn't help but wonder in his heart, "What did you talk about with the county magistrate? Did he allow us to enter the city?"

"Don't panic about entering the city. Eating is the most important thing now. Now I need thirty capable women. They must be strong and strong, have families and children, be brave and careful, and go to the city tomorrow to buy food."

Lao Liao was stunned, "Buying food? Where do we get the money?"

"I do." Xu Qingying's tone was unquestionable, "I told you, I will take care of the money and food matters, you just need to follow my orders."

Lao Liao pursed his lips, feeling extremely curious about what Xu Qingying had told Magistrate Sun that he was willing to open a way for them to enter the city.

He couldn't help scratching his head and had to admit defeat, "Girl, what on earth did you tell Magistrate Sun? Can we enter the city? Don't worry, as long as we can enter the city, I promise to make my people behave themselves and never do bad things." "

"Don't think about entering the city for now, and take your time. I have my own arrangements."

Liao Chun couldn't help but get furious when he heard Xu Qingying's perfunctory attitude, but Lao Liao had already stopped him and said: "In that case, Miss Xu, don't forget your promise and mine. If we don't see the food tomorrow, we can Don’t blame me for not giving you face!”

Xu Qingying made a "please" gesture, and Lao Liao and the others retreated angrily.

Liao Chun then said to Lao Liao: "What on earth did this damn girl say to Magistrate Sun? It makes me feel unbearable. Look at how proud she is and how arrogant she is even though she hasn't got any food. We have 4000 or [-] people under our command. , it’s easy to get her, why do you need to look at her face?”

Lao Liao was silent and just said: "It's okay, let's see again. If she can really get food, I think she is capable."

"Since that damn girl has said that she wants to pay, then if she wants people, we will give them to her. If she wants women, there are plenty of them in our team."

"Choose a few capable people and let them keep an eye on what others are doing after they enter the city."

And Xu Qingying is already preparing manpower. The only people she can trust at present are the six or seventy people in the exile team. She has selected seven or eight people from them, and a dozen from the thousand and five hundred people, so that she can send them to Lao Liao. A few came and barely managed to gather 70 women.

Although her requirement was to be physically strong, they were all refugees, and they were all still skinny, but their eyes still looked a little alive, unlike some people who were completely mummy-like.

"Tomorrow you go to the city to buy things, mainly grain. The price doesn't matter. Let's buy one day's supply first, which is about five hundred kilograms."

The women immediately said, "Sir, where does the money to buy food come from?"

"Right now, there is a shortage of food in Lan County. I'm afraid the price will skyrocket!"

"Sir, what if they ask for a high price?"

Xu Qingying paused for a moment and then said word by word: "No matter how much the price is, just buy it. I have money in my hand. Early tomorrow morning, you will set off in groups. In addition to food, you must remember that I need other things. , that’s saltpeter. I’m afraid it’s not available in ordinary shops. You have to go to a cesspit or an old house. The white thing on the wall is saltpeter, and that’s what I want.”

Everyone looked shocked. One woman covered her nose and said with some disgust: "Sir, what do you want with that thing?"

"You don't care what I do. Anyway, if anyone can get that thing, I will give her an extra bag of grain. The more saltpeter, the better, but it must have a white layer on the surface. I don't want more. I will give you every tael. A bag of grain, but you must keep it secret and no one can tell it. If you tell it, not only will the bag of grain be gone, but your family will also get the least share of the grain I bought."

Xu Qingying was afraid that they would leak the secret, so she slapped everyone, especially the women brought by Lao Liao, "I hope you know that I am the one getting the money now, not Lao Liao. I am also the one giving you food. I paid it. Grain, you have to know who to listen to.”

The women quickly expressed their stance, wishing they could swear not to tell anyone and begged Xu Qingying not to lose their family's food.

"You remember to stay hidden and don't let the soldiers at the city gate notice anything unusual. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, again, I can only deduct your food!"

Xu Qingying knew that for this group of people whose eyes were glowing green because of hunger, threatening them with food would be most effective. As expected, these people immediately obeyed and took the matter of collecting saltpeter seriously.

After the others left, Xu Qingying specifically emphasized to a few women selected from the exile team, "I can't trust them, so I can only leave the matter to you. Remember, buying food is just a pretense. What we really want to buy is Saltpeter, as well as charcoal and sulfur. After entering the city, you first buy food, and then divide into two groups. One group is responsible for buying charcoal. This charcoal should be made of softwood, such as poplar and eucalyptus. One group of people Responsible for buying sulfur."

Xu Qingying tried hard to think of the formula for black gunpowder. It was very simple and did not require much effort. The main reason was that alternative raw materials were difficult to find.

"Bring me two baskets of soil with chicken manure, a scale, and a few pots." After Xu Qingying finished her explanation, she looked at the women in front of her who took the initiative to ask for help, and repeated, "Do you hear me clearly?"

The few people looked panicked, but they nodded, "I understand. Buying food is just a cover, mainly saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur."

Someone immediately asked out of curiosity: "What is the girl going to do?"

"Is it like the soap last time, we have to make something new to make money?" Everyone suddenly became energetic.

Xu Qingying smiled lightly, "I have a recipe, but this time it's not soap, this time it's food. When you buy the things, I'll make them for you to see."

Everyone immediately had an expression of understanding.

This is the secret of their exile team and must not be known to others.

It's just that Xu Qingying didn't expect that the Miao family, the Lian family, and the second wife would take the initiative to go to the city. The three of them didn't seem to expect that someone else would ask to go to the city, but they came to Xu Qingying to talk about it at the same time. The three of them looked at each other for a while, quite embarrassed.

Miao's reasons are very good. She said that prices in the city must be soaring. If the prices are too high, someone needs to make a decision.Furthermore, most of the money they made from selling soap was in the bank. She had to go and withdraw the money in person with the paperwork, and Miao would not feel comfortable handing it to anyone else.

Lian had always felt guilty because Xu Lezhi had leaked the news about Xu Qingying's murder last time. She was afraid that Xu Qingying would take the incident out on them and her daughter, so she always wanted to find an opportunity to repair the three of them and Xu Qingying. relationship, now is the time for Xu Qingying to hire people, how can she be timid?
However, Lian thought this in her heart, but said on her face: "There are 30 or [-] people entering the city this time, and they are full of talk. If you want to get the raw materials for a new recipe, there must be someone in there to grasp the overall situation."

Aunt Chun spoke honestly, "Sixth girl, you have been taking care of our second house, but you haven't done anything. I feel really bad about it. I also thought that there is no danger in going to the city to buy things, so why not let me do it?" I also contribute.”

Aunt Chun said it politely.

But Lian sneered inwardly.

She still doesn’t know who Chunhe is?She just looks kind, but in fact she is the shrewdest of the three aunts. I am afraid that Chunhe is just trying to curry favor with Xu Qingying.

However, she and Chun He both wanted to go together, so naturally they were embarrassed to expose Chun He's little thoughts.

But if you want to take credit from her, that's not possible.

So Lianshi said: "Sixth girl...oh no, Zhenying, please tell the second aunt in detail what the specific requirements are for the things you want. Just like our soap, are there any standards?"

Xu Qingying gave the three of them detailed instructions. The three of them also knew that this trip was important, so they worked hard to deal with it.

Feng'er originally wanted to go, but Xu Qingying said that she had more important things to give her tomorrow, so she had no choice but to give up.

Not long after everything was calm, Fang Ruyu came to her anxiously in the evening and told her a bombshell, saying that Fang Ruyu was missing.

In the middle of winter, Fang Xun was so anxious that he was sweating all over.

The same goes for Xu Qingying. She originally saw the imperial list yesterday and expected that with Fang Ruyu's stubborn temper, it would be reasonable to cause some trouble.

Unexpectedly, after being quiet for a day, they suddenly disappeared.

"Zhenying, we have searched around here, but there is no one. We have also asked people everywhere, but she disappeared in the afternoon, but at that time we were still busy negotiating with Mr. Sun and didn't pay attention to where she went!"

Fang Xun looked anxious and said without being polite at all, "It's freezing cold, where can a girl like her go?!"

Uncle Fang turned pale with anxiety, "This girl... where has she gone? It's getting dark, the snow is so thick in the mountains, and there are bandits. She's just a little girl..."

Mrs. Fang was so anxious that she began to cry. She kept wiping her tears with a handkerchief, looking like she had no idea at all.

The Fang family is also interesting. Uncle Fang is obsessed with mental arithmetic and ignores worldly affairs. Mrs. Fang is gentle and virtuous but simple and soft-hearted. The two of them have no independent opinions when things happen. In the family of four, Fang Ningmo is probably the calmer one.

In fact, both Fang Ningmo and Fang Xun had bad suspicions in their minds, but Xu Qingying had always disliked Fang Ningmo, so she didn't dare to say anything in front of Xu Qingying.

Unexpectedly, Xu Lezhi was pulled over by Lian who was crying. Lian first glanced at the anxious people, then apologized and saluted everyone, "There is no need to look for it, the eldest lady of the Fang family has left Lan County."

Fang Ningmo's face instantly became extremely embarrassed.

Lian Shi pulled Xu Lezhi, and Xu Lezhi just shed tears and shook his head without saying a word, but everyone had already roughly guessed it.

The eldest daughter of the Fang family has a good relationship with Xu Lezhi. What does Xu Lezhi's behavior mean now?
Lian was so angry that she grabbed Xu Lezhi's arm, "Look at how anxious Mrs. Fang is. What do you know, why don't you tell me quickly!"

Xu Lezhi had no choice but to tell the whole story hesitantly: "The eldest lady of the Fang family has been in a trance since she saw the imperial list. This afternoon, I saw her sneaking out with a baggage on her back. I thought she was going back to Ye County. Looking for Mrs. Fang. I thought that my grandmother was still in Ye County, and I was worried about her health, so I wanted to go with her. But she said she was going to Qiongzhou and asked Prince Ming to find out! I advised her not to go. , she didn’t listen, and begged me not to tell anyone, and asked me to pretend I didn’t know anything..."

Lian knew that she didn't tell the truth, why did she care about Huang's health? She didn't understand Xu Lezhi's temper, he was afraid of the world being in chaos.

Since being exiled, Mrs. Lian has seen through Xu Lezhi. Among the three daughters, the eldest daughter is Huizhi Lanxin, the younger daughter is charming and cute, but the second daughter is the only one whose temperament and personality are very similar to Xu Deyuan's. Even this indifferent look has been imitated.

But since Fang's family was here, Lian couldn't bear to question Xu Lezhi in public, so she had to suppress it.

When Madam Fang heard this, her body went limp, her vision went dark, and she almost fainted.

Fang Ningmo was so anxious that she cried, holding her mother's hand and saying, "Mom!"

"Ruyu, how could she just walk away..."

There were still people in the Xu family who were unclear about the situation. Monk Zhang Er was also confused. Huang Cui'e asked directly: "Why did she go to see Prince Ming? Could it be that Prince Ming thought she was dead and was going to marry someone else, so she had to rush there." Explain it to Prince Ming?"

Everyone was also shocked.

Everyone in the Fang family looked frightened and uneasy.

Thanks to Xu Qingying's favor, only the Fang family in the exile team knew who the real murderer of the last bandit attack was.

Fortunately, they had an unpleasant quarrel with Xu Qingying last time, thinking that Xu Qingying was deliberately trying to embarrass their family members.