Chapter 167 The Crisis Behind It

Chapter 167 The Crisis Behind It

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Yutang rushed to the department store and Yiwu Small Commodities Market to replenish his stock and also acquired a lot of tools needed for breeding.

She made a special trip back to the hospital to visit her grandfather. He was in good spirits, which put her mind at ease before she left.

Back in the rented warehouse, Jiang Yutang put away the chicks, lambs, and goods, took a deep breath, and focused on opening a book.

The next moment, she was already standing on the open space behind the shop.

Before them lay mountains of supplies, and lambs and chicks huddled nearby, bleating softly.

She glanced around warily, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she made sure no one was around.

"I knew it! It was bound to work..."

Before she could finish speaking, a violent wave of dizziness hit her, and she collapsed to her knees, her chest tight and unable to breathe, her vision blurring.

After what seemed like an eternity, I could faintly hear anxious shouts.

Jiang Yutang opened her eyes with difficulty and found that Yun Shi and Jiang Shengan were squatting beside her, looking at her with worried expressions.

Yun's eyes reddened: "Tang'er, what's wrong? Don't scare your mother!"

"I...I'm fine."

Jiang Yutang smiled weakly, her voice barely audible: "I was probably too busy counting the goods to keep track of everything."

The two men helped her to sit down with concern and told her, "Rest here for a while, I'll go with your father to check the goods."

She nodded, leaning against the wall, breathing slightly heavily.

It must be that the items carried during the time travel exceeded the carrying capacity, which caused this overdraft reaction.

Looking at the supplies and live livestock in front of her, Jiang Yutang recalled how she had carried and transported goods step by step.

It seems that those pigs, cattle, and sheep will have to be brought over in several trips.

Jiang Shengan looked at the lambs and chicks at his feet with a puzzled expression: "Whose sheep and chickens are these? How did they get here?"

"Oh, this..." Jiang Yutang quickly chuckled awkwardly to smooth things over.

"Maybe it was a chicken from Aunt Li's house next door that ran over. I picked it up and was just about to return it. This lamb was delivered by the caravan this morning. I'll take it to my second brother later so he can get used to it."

As instructed, Yun took the chick to Aunt Li's house, while Jiang Shengan found a hemp rope, led the lamb to a tree, tied it up, and let it graze on the grass in the open space.

After resting for a short while, and as her complexion gradually regained its rosy hue, Jiang Yutang joined the two in sorting out the newly arrived goods.

Just as I put the cookies and candies on the shelves, a familiar voice called out from the shop entrance.

"Mrs. Cheng, do you still have the soap I asked for last time?"

"I want two packs of spicy strips. My son cries for them every day!"

Early in the morning, the area in front of the small shop became lively as people lined up to buy things, keeping the three of them extremely busy.

Jiang Yutang smiled and agreed, and after helping to greet a group of guests, she took the lamb and went to find Jiang Jiuzhe.

Just as they arrived at the door, they bumped into Jiang Jiuze, who was coming out. His eyes lit up instantly when he saw the little lamb.

"This is too fast! They just said they wanted to raise sheep last night, and they've already brought them here today?"

"Just lucky," Jiang Yutang said, half-jokingly. "When the caravan came to deliver goods today, they also brought a few cubs. I took one for you to test the waters, and the rest will be delivered in batches."

Jiang Jiuze patted her shoulder with satisfaction and immediately called someone over.

"Uncle Wen, take this lamb with you and raise it for now. Take good care of it."

After Uncle Wen led the sheep away, he called to Jiang Yutang and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see the farm."

After following Jiang Jiuze for about half an incense stick's time, a spacious fence appeared before them, but the fence was rusty and overgrown with weeds.

Jiang Yutang peeked inside in surprise: "Isn't there a place right here? Why do we need to apply for one?"

Jiang Jiuze sighed and pointed inside to explain.

"This is an abandoned farm from a few years ago. That year, there was a swine fever outbreak, and almost all the livestock here died. The disease also spread to the surrounding people, and many of them did not survive that winter. This land has been abandoned ever since. Everyone is afraid that the residual disease has not dissipated, so no one dares to use it again."

Jiang Yutang waved his hand: "That's easy. I'll bring some medicine when I go back to the caravan next time. Spraying it a few times will get rid of the illness and ensure safety."

Jiang Jiuze nodded, his brows furrowing even deeper.

"There's an even more pressing problem: nobody wants to be a zookeeper."

Jiang Yutang gave a puzzled "hmm": "Logically speaking, it shouldn't be difficult to recruit men from poor families..."

She suddenly realized what was happening and rubbed three fingers together to make a "money" gesture.

"Is this part not in place?"

Jiang Jiuzhe nodded with a wry smile: "It's okay to lend a hand occasionally, but we can't keep bearing the burden all the time, can we? The fertilizer you brought before must have cost a lot of money. I reported this to my superiors, but those officials just made excuses and pretended to be stupid, and they refused to pay us back at all."

Jiang Yutang suddenly realized: "So it turns out there are corrupt officials causing trouble in Danzhou."

She frowned, starting to think things through.

It's fine if you pay out of pocket once or twice, but if it happens too often, you'll not only have to bear all the costs yourself, but you might also become a "fat sheep" for corrupt officials to exploit.

"This matter cannot be left unresolved."

Jiang Yutang's eyes darkened: "I'll have to talk to Lanzhou about this later. Maybe we can teach these corrupt officials a lesson."

"Although Lan Zhou has power in Danzhou, he can't interfere in everything."

Jiang Jiuzhe gazed at the distant camp area, his brows furrowed: "The matter of corrupt officials involves local governance. If a military captain like him interferes too much, it will inevitably attract attention, and he might even be implicated in a case."

Jiang Yutang then realized his recklessness; he had overestimated Cheng Lanzhou and failed to consider the threat that lay ahead.

Recalling Cheng Lanzhou's cold tone when he mentioned troop deployment in the capital last night, she felt a tightness in her chest.

On one hand, there are corrupt local officials causing trouble, and on the other hand, there is an inexplicable summons from the capital. Every single thing is filled with unease.

Seeing her suddenly looking worried and avoiding eye contact, Jiang Jiuzhe quickly asked, "Did something happen?"

Jiang Yutang bit her lip and hesitated.

This matter concerns Cheng Lanzhou's safety and is also involved in court intrigues; it should not be easily circulated.

But Jiang Jiuze once served in the imperial court and was someone who could speak with the emperor. Perhaps he could glean some clues from the slightest hints.

After hesitating for a while, she pulled Jiang Jiuzhe to a secluded spot and, in a low voice, told him everything about the troop mobilization in the capital.

"The northern border is in dire need of attention, yet troops from Danzhou are being mobilized?"

Jiang Jiuze's face instantly darkened, and his fingers unconsciously began to rub together as he fell into deep thought.

After a full half-incense stick's time, Jiang Jiuze finally spoke slowly with a solemn expression.

"Over the years, the Gu family has enjoyed the emperor's deep trust in the court. At the height of their power, even the promotion of the top scholar Gu Wenxiao was done by the emperor according to the Gu family's wishes. Cheng Lanzhou has always been regarded as a thorn in their side. This troop mobilization was most likely proposed by the Gu family behind the scenes."