The briquettes did fly in.

Yan Laoer and Mr. Xue Qi had just entered the county government office. They didn't take two steps before they came face-to-face with the government officials from Zaoban.

 The people on both sides were looking at each other, and there were two sounds of "clicking" outside the wall.

 A bag containing briquettes was thrown in against the wall.

　　It was "呲呲" twice again.

 Another bag.

 “呲呲” “呲呲”…

 The rules are very easy to summarize.

 Speaking of which, the people who delivered briquettes to the county government were not outsiders, but a few servants at the quarry.

 They were also county government servants, and because they were on duty at the quarry, they were not surrounded.

The people in the county government office couldn't get out, and coal consumption for heating and cooking stoves was huge. The delivery was too little to last for a few days. Besides, we couldn't take it too seriously because of the border troops surrounding the county government office. So they came in the middle of the night to deliver food, more than once. Send some.

“Yan...” The yamen servant reacted too quickly. He swallowed back half of the words and said excitedly: “He’s back!”

The fastest one sneaked into the backyard to deliver a message to the old man.

 The remaining few people gathered around Yan Laoer, as if they had endless things to say.

 They dare not speak too loudly yet.

General Xue Qi was squeezed out and followed behind. He couldn't hear what these people were saying at all. He saw a group of big men talking nonsense around Yan Laoer.

 …

“Teacher!” As soon as Yan Laoer saw Mr. Tian, ​​he rushed over and knelt down to hug him.

Hold his waist, and just about to speak, he savored the feel of the hand and swallowed the words "You have lost weight" with difficulty.

 It is really impossible to say such unconscionable words.

 He raised his head affectionately, "You are haggard!"

Who feels refreshed after being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night?

"It's okay to be a teacher, very good, but you, why are you back?" Mr. Tian really couldn't get enough of his students.

 “I heard that the county government was under siege, and I’m worried about you.”

"My teacher is an official of the imperial court. The man surnamed Wei can only surround me and not dare to do anything. The government office is protected by the prince. It's just that people can't get out. Everything else is as usual." Mr. Tian looked at it for a while. His student became darker and thinner, with a white circle around his mouth, and a red bubble under his nose. He felt sour in his heart: "God bless you, you have suffered."

He took Yan Laoer's hands and took a closer look. They were rough as if they had been polished with sandpaper.

I couldn't help but feel distressed. I turned my head away and stained my clothes with tears.

Mr. Tian ordered people to fetch hot water, took Yan Laoer, washed his hands and wiped his face, without using others' hands.

Yan Laoer’s face turned red.

His teacher held him tightly. The old man's hands were not trembling too obviously, but his whole body was clearly tense, especially his tearful eyes, which made him feel uncomfortable all over, and he felt as if he was soaking in a hot pot. Goo, goo, goo, cook him thoroughly from the outside to the inside, making it numb and warm.

"You want to give up your writing and join the army. I can't stop you as a teacher." Mr. Tian daubed ointment on Yan Laoer's face and hands.

 Thick coating.

Yan Laoer is honest and honest.

“Remember, the hardships you endure now are the steps for you to advance in the future. God bless you. Once you have made up your mind, don’t look back. Keep moving forward. The road ahead is at your feet.”

“Teacher, I didn’t suffer much outside. Really, everyone took good care of me. General Xue Qi also discussed with me. We beat the remnants of Beirong until they screamed..."

 There are two masters and disciples, one talks about the various things done outside, and the other talks about the daily life of being fed in the county government.

Yan Laoer drifted off to sleep while talking.

Mr. Tian arranged the sleeping position for him, blew out the candles, and returned the room to darkness.

 …  Early morning.

When Yan Laoer stood up, it was already bright.

 He put on his clothes, washed up, and rushed to the kitchen immediately.

I saw his teacher waiting there, waiting for the newly cooked millet porridge to be put into bowls and put into food boxes.

Seeing him coming, Mr. Tian smiled and wrinkled the lines at the corners of his eyes.

 “Teacher, I’ll get it.” Yan Laoer stepped forward to greet him.

Mr. Tian grunted, and the food box that no one else could touch changed hands.

Yan Laoer saw that there was still some pickles at home, so he poured out a plate, and the master and apprentice ate delicious millet porridge.

Suddenly, Mr. Tian took out an egg and knocked it on the table, rolling it in circles. Then he carefully removed the broken shell and put the white and tender hard-boiled egg into Yan Laoer's porridge bowl.

 Looked at him with a smile: "Eat more, there is not enough porridge."

“Teacher, why don’t you eat it?” Yan Laoer reacted, “Just one egg?”

"Chickens are all sent by the royal palace. They are not easy to come by at this time of year. I am considerate of them. I will eat one a day as a teacher. What's the point of missing a day?"

Yan Laoer thought for a while and swallowed it in one gulp.

 This is not an egg, this is the teacher's deep love for him.

"Mr. Xue Qi has gone to see the Crown Prince. It's no longer easy to be vague about your affairs. After dinner, I will accompany you there as a teacher." Mr. Tian said.

“Teacher, it’s better not to go. Lao Xue and I both agreed. He said to the prince, “Go, after all, he is the prince’s cousin. Close the door and we will be a family. We have something to say.”

　　If the prince doesn’t ask about our affairs outside in person, teacher, don’t even mention it, and you will pretend that you don’t know anything about it. "

Even though the waiter's letter made it very clear that his elder brother had figured it out, the county government couldn't take it lightly since the siege had not been relieved for a day.

Mr. Tian pondered for a moment and nodded.

"Teacher, I'm relieved that your place is safe. I have one more thing to do when I come back this time. I don't know where the things I asked you to help place are. I don't know where they are. Is there an account? I want to clear some of them and distribute them to the brothers in the militia. Points." Yan Laoer said.

These so-called things are cattle and sheep skins and other items, which are the trophies of the border army and militia of General Xue Banner.

Mr. Tian: "Is that the settlement allowance you mentioned?"

“Yes.” Yan Laoer nodded and said, “Beirong won the battle, but it was of no benefit to us, Huju, because most of it was taken by others.

The remaining ones are enough for us to make up for the holes we prepared for war. "

Yan Laoer said to himself that his brother could no longer be a fairy and could not make money. The current situation in Huju was still not optimistic, and he had never taken off the big label of two words - lack of money.

“The teacher knows best what’s going on in Huju. Many people have eaten up their crops and have no seeds. What will they sow in the spring? If we don’t know how to adapt and miss the spring sowing, how will the harvest be this year?!”

In just half a year, Mr. Tian has experienced so much, and Mr. Tian is no longer the same Mr. Tian.

With little hesitation, he said: "Take out the account you kept and let's compare it."

Yan Laoer took out his account book.

Pure straw paper with small charcoal characters written on both sides. Each piece was folded neatly. He opened it one by one and spread half of the kang.

Yan Laoer took the accounts recorded by Hu Ju and compared them one by one with what he had recorded.

 The cattle and sheep that were transported were slightly damaged. After all, I was not a professional. It was normal for me to lose a few of them because I didn’t know what to expect along the way.

Things did not go wrong. Although the people in the government office could not get out, they still did the work they should do.

 Temporarily recruited people from the city to guard the city gates, patrol the streets, keep watch, etc.

 Hucheng did not stop because the government office was surrounded.

 It’s just like Mr. Tian said: Everything is business as usual. (End of chapter)