Jiang Jin smiled. "With this much grain, naturally I had to come see it for myself. Is everything ready?"
Sheng He made a gesture inviting her forward. "It's the agreed-upon amount. Please, take a look."
Jiang Jin walked further into the valley. She soon reached the interior, where the ground of the large valley had clearly been cleared. It was covered with neatly stacked bags of grain and horse feed.
There were also vats of coarse salt and several chests of gold.
Sheng He pointed at the supplies in the valley and said, "It's all here. Will you... will you be taking inventory yourself?"
One hundred and fifty thousand shi of grain and fifty thousand shi of horse feed. Even if one bag equaled one shi, that was still two hundred thousand bags—a massive quantity, not to mention the salt and gold.
Jiang Jin said casually, "You must have a ledger. Let me see it."
Sheng He shot a look at the steward behind him.
The steward hurriedly offered up the ledger in his hands with both hands.
Jiang Jin took it and looked down to read. The ledger was quite clear, detailing the amounts of rice, wheat, millet, and so on...
Jiang Jin nodded. "Tell me the quantities of these grains and where they are placed."
The steward glanced at Sheng He. Seeing him nod, he then honestly helped with the inventory.
Pointing to the nearest pile of grain bags, he said, "This pile is rice, a hundred catties per bag. This pile has a total of..."
An hour later, all the supplies were finally accounted for. This time, Ze'a Commandery hadn't tried any funny business; the amounts of money and grain matched up perfectly.
Jiang Jin handed the ledger to Yun Chengxuan behind her and said to Sheng He, "Alright, have your men withdraw. My people will come over later to transport it."
Sheng He bowed slightly. "City Lord, when will you execute the plan?"
Jiang Jin already had a plan in mind. "We will make our move in two days, three days at the latest."
Sheng He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They had nowhere left to retreat and could only defend the city to the death. If it dragged on any longer, the city would truly fall.
Sheng He bowed deeply. "I hope Ge Feng will honor its promise and help us repel the enemy. The Sheng family and all the people of Ze'a Commandery will be eternally grateful."
Jiang Jin's expression was also solemn. "Rest assured. Since my Ge Feng has accepted your money and grain, we will feign an attack on Shanguan County according to the plan. As soon as Qu Zhao redeploys his troops, you can launch a counterattack."
Sheng He nodded, took a reluctant look at the valley full of grain, gritted his teeth, and quickly led his men away.
Only when Sheng He and his men were out of sight did Yun Chengxuan casually take off the bundle on his back. "Auntie, let's eat something first."
Before they came, Zhou Sui had repeatedly instructed him to stay by Jiang Jin's side at all times.
Although they were confident that Ze'a Commandery wouldn't dare make a move against Jiang Jin at this time, they feared an accident.
With a lethal weapon like Yun Chengxuan present, combined with Jiang Jin's own formidable skills, her safety was basically guaranteed.
Jiang Jin shook her head and chuckled. It was hard on her eldest nephew to constantly guard her.
She took the pastry her nephew considered the best and began to eat it in small bites.
Speaking of which, Liqiu and Guyu were getting better and better at cooking. The pastries they made were sweet but not cloying, fragrant, soft, and glutinous. No wonder Yun Chengxuan loved them so much.
Jiang Jin looked at the slopes on both sides of the valley. "In a moment, you go up the left slope and I'll go up the right. Let's see if there's anyone around."
Yun Chengxuan nodded obediently, his mouth stuffed full. "Auntie, don't worry. I promise to look carefully. If there's anyone there, I'll beat the crap out of them."
Jiang Jin: "..." Looking at the yellowish pastry in her hand, she suddenly felt it wasn't quite as appetizing anymore.
Meanwhile, Sheng He led his troops out of the valley.
The steward asked unwillingly, "Are we just giving them the money and grain like this?"
Sheng He shot him a sideways glance. "What else? The family head said not to pull any tricks."
With a heavy sigh, he added, "We are in grave danger now. If Ge Feng can truly relieve our siege, giving them these things is not a loss."
If Qu Zhao really breached the city, let alone this grain and money, they would lose their very lives.
Jiang Jin was quite satisfied with the Sheng family's straightforwardness this time. She and Yun Chengxuan walked around the slopes and the surrounding area.
After confirming everyone had withdrawn, she instructed Yun Chengxuan, "Go guard the mouth of the valley. If anyone comes, stop them."
Yun Chengxuan didn't suspect a thing. Holding his weapon, Foxin, he headed out of the valley.
Jiang Jin stored all the supplies into her spatial dimension. After making sure nothing was left behind, she leisurely walked out of the valley.
Thinking of her eldest nephew's obedience, she took out two cups of boba milk tea and a small strawberry cake from her space.
She had almost forgotten about the food in her space, mainly because she wasn't a glutton, and she found the authentic, natural food of this era to be quite good.
From afar, she saw Yun Chengxuan pouring water from a waterskin into a large bamboo bowl to feed the horses.
Little Red took two licks, Yun Chengxuan took two gulps, April took two licks, and Yun Chengxuan took two gulps, muttering non-stop.
"Two gulps for me, two licks for Little Red, two gulps for me again, two licks for April. Hehe, my turn for two gulps again..."
Jiang Jin: "..."
The veins on her forehead throbbed. "Yun Chengxuan, didn't I tell you not to drink water with the horses?"
The person and the two horses looked up at her in unison. Their expressions, if not exactly identical, were cut from the same cloth: purely foolish and bewildered.
Yun Chengxuan hurriedly chugged the rest of the water in the bamboo bowl, grinning broadly. "We didn't drink together! I drank it all by myself."
Jiang Jin: "..."
She massaged her forehead, feeling that looking after a child was indeed exhausting.
Yun Chengxuan's eyes lit up. "Auntie, what's that in your hand?"
Jiang Jin handed him the cake and a cup of boba milk tea. "A reward for you."
Yun Chengxuan quickly wiped his hands and accepted them reverently with both hands.
He could already smell the sweet aroma. He had never eaten it before, but it smelled so good—the kind of good that made him drool uncontrollably.
Jiang Jin handed him a straw. "Look, like this. Poke it in, and you can suck it up to drink."
Yun Chengxuan hastily sat down, carefully placed the cake on the ground, and mimicked Jiang Jin by inserting the straw. He took a sip, and his eyes instantly sparkled.
"So delicious! So sweet and fragrant."
Jiang Jin smiled. "Try the cake then. It has cream on top; you should like it."
Yun Chengxuan didn't know what cream or cake was, but he knew Jiang Jin was referring to the beautiful food he had placed on the ground.
He looked up and asked, "Auntie, don't you want this?"
Jiang Jin shook her head. "I'm not eating it. Remember, this is our secret. You can't tell anyone else."
Yun Chengxuan nodded repeatedly. "Okay, I'll listen to you, Auntie. I promise I won't even tell April."
April, standing to the side: "..."
Yun Chengxuan couldn't wait. He scooped up a bit of cream from the cake with his finger and put it in his mouth, exclaiming, "Wow, so delicious! So fragrant!"
"Hey, what's this red stuff? Fruit? A little sour, so good, so good..."
Jiang Jin shook her head with a smile and finished her milk tea amidst Yun Chengxuan's constant marveling.
Once Yun Chengxuan finished eating and drinking, Jiang Jin asked him to hand over the trash.
Yun Chengxuan was extremely reluctant. He hadn't even had the chance to lick the empty cup of the thing called milk tea.
Jiang Jin was speechless. "If you are obedient, I'll reward you again next time."
Yun Chengxuan immediately and obediently handed the empty milk tea cup and the cake plate he had licked completely clean to Jiang Jin. "Auntie, I am very obedient."
While he wasn't looking, Jiang Jin slipped the items into her space.
Turning around, she saw Yun Chengxuan showing off to Little Red and April again. "My auntie treats me so well. Do you guys have an auntie?"
Jiang Jin sighed helplessly. "Let's go. Time to head back."
Yun Chengxuan hurriedly packed up his bundle and vaulted onto his horse. "Auntie, can we go hunting in the mountains on the way back? I feel like I haven't had meat in ages."
"No," Jiang Jin replied. "We have things to do when we get back."
