Frost for a Thousand Years

Chapter 320: Farming is a success!

"Where are the captain and the county magistrate?"

At the Jianxing banquet, all the city's dignitaries and celebrities were present to welcome the new official. The atmosphere was lively, with clinking glasses, melodious music, and a vibrant atmosphere. However, after the banquet began, Old Master Song became quite uneasy and inquired of the registrar who was accompanying him.

"Bravo!" The registrar, as if he had been drinking well from the start, blushed and cheered for the dancing woman, seemingly not hearing his own voice.

He could only look at Old Man Li across from him and wink at him.

This banquet was to welcome the Prefect. As the respected elders of the hometown, the two great-grandfathers were given great importance and arranged to sit in the innermost part of the hall, one on the left and one on the right at the very front.

However, the dancers in the middle kept jumping and weaving, making it especially difficult for the two old men to communicate.

Old Master Li only saw Old Master Song winking at him, but he couldn't even see the other man's face clearly.

"Grandpa, I have long admired your name. I am very excited to meet you today. Would you like to have a drink with me?"

Just then, a prominent figure from Jianxing City took the initiative to leave his seat, walked around to the side, bowed, and respectfully offered him a cup of wine with both hands.

"You're too kind." Old Master Li raised his cup in return, then covered his face with his sleeve and downed the wine in one gulp. After finishing, he asked with a smile, "Where are Commandant Jia and Prefect Ji?"

"This..." The man was a little confused. After looking around, he wondered, "It seems like they're really not here."

"Yes, where are these two gentlemen?" Old Master Li felt a strange sense of unease.

Presumably, this is what Old Master Song wanted to tell me just now.

These were Song Shi'an's right-hand men: one in charge of all the county's troops, and the other serving as his assistant in all matters.

It can be said that, apart from Song Shi'an, these two people are the most important in the entire Huai County.

How could they not be here?

It's fine as long as it's not at a banquet, but if it's not in the city...

Where could it be?
"Everyone."

Just then, Song Shi'an stood up.

"I'm sorry." Seeing this, the venerable one who came to offer a toast waved his hand, then quickly returned to his seat. After having the maid fill his cup, he stood up with a smile and waited with everyone for Song Shi'an to speak.

"The importance of Huai County lies in Jianxing, and the importance of Jianxing lies in you all," Song Shi'an declared with righteous indignation. "And land reclamation is of paramount importance to Dayu. I, Song Shi'an, am here today to complete this great undertaking of land reclamation on behalf of His Majesty and the Crown Prince. I, Song Shi'an, am but a humble scholar, newly appointed Prefect, and quite inexperienced. Therefore, I ask you all to understand me, befriend me, and support me. Please, do not drink this cup; I will toast you all first!"

"it is good!"

Everyone enthusiastically agreed, watching Song Shi'an drink it all in one gulp, and then they all applauded.

"Your Excellency has quite the capacity for alcohol!" someone exclaimed in praise.

"I, Song Shi'an, can only drink two ounces of liquor," Song Shi'an said with a smile, "but if I drink with you all, I'll drink a whole pound!"

"Great!" These words, as refreshing as a spring breeze, drew cheers from the audience.

“Then let us drink together from this cup.” Song Shi’an raised his wine cup. “To the Tuntian (military commander), to His Majesty, and to the Crown Prince.”

This time, everyone drank it.

After finishing his drink, Old Master Song finally had a moment to spare and gave Old Master Li a wink.

Old Master Li understood and nodded silently.

These moments were all quietly captured by Song Shi'an's eyes.

So after everyone finished drinking and sat down, just as Old Master Li was about to get up, Song Shi'an suddenly raised his hand and introduced them: "This Old Master Li and this Old Master Song are both my elders and relatives. Although you two are no longer in office, you still have students and former officials all over Sizhou. You are truly wise and virtuous scholars of your generation."

After he said that, everyone else looked over.

Immediately afterwards, a group of people who knew how to handle things got together and took the initiative to go over and offer a toast to the old man.

"..." Completely stuck like that, Old Master Li had no choice but to smile and return the toasts to these people. And because there were too many people coming to drink, he also said, "Old Master Song and I are both old men, so naturally we can't outdrink you young adults. If you don't want to drink, then we'll drink together."

"Lord Li of Song is a highly respected and virtuous man of Huai County, which is truly an honor for us," the leader said. "Shall we offer you both two cups of wine? Shall we drink together?"

"well."

The two elderly people readily agreed and drank it down.

Just as he was about to sit down, another middle-aged man came to greet him privately: "Old Master Li, do you still remember me from back then? I am a former official of the Li family, and I was truly your student."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"You were an official back then, while I was just a mere county clerk... Please allow me to offer you this cup."

"Good good."

Unable to refuse such hospitality, the two old men couldn't stay idle after being prompted by Song Shi'an.

Drinking culture is the most profound and extensive aspect of Chinese culture.

Lord Song spoke up personally. He didn't remember who had offered him a toast, but anyone who hadn't was disrespecting him...

Excuse me, gentlemen.

Commandant Jia and the Prefectural Magistrate are not here.

They've already gone to steal from your house.

Their knives are indeed not sharp, even extremely dull, but I have left you all here, and the rest are some indecisive juniors from the family, so they don't need to be too sharp.

Flying bricks vigorously!

It's understandable that the commander is not here, since some military operations need to be carried out. Fortunately, they have been monitoring the situation closely for the past two days and there has been no news of troop movements in the city.

But the prefectural assistant is the governor's deputy.

In this highly centralized era, it could even be said that he is more like a secretary than the chief secretary.

His absence made the two old men very anxious.

After a round of drinking, about fifteen minutes had passed, and the two old men were both quite drunk. They decided to go directly to ask Song Shi'an.

Just then, Song Shi'an whispered to Song Gan beside him, "Where are the Commandant and the Prefectural Assistant? Haven't they arrived yet?"

"My lord, we're meeting with people from the county. It looks like things are going to get complicated."

"understood."

The two people were talking very quietly, but the two elderly people who happened to be sitting the closest to them could hear them.

Are they both in the city?
That's good.

Drink with peace of mind.

But another half hour passed, and the two still hadn't arrived.

Song Shi'an was already drunk and unconscious.

Furthermore, the two old men were also very drunk, and after being forced to drink so much, they had lost the ability to move.

"My lord, go back and rest." Song Gan came to help him up.

"I'm fine, just taking good care of the two great-grandfathers..." Song Shi'an waved his hand drunkenly, trying to sound tough, "Take them back to their quarters first, don't disturb them..."

Do not disturb.

.........

So drunk that no one dared to disturb them, the two old men didn't wake up until noon the next day.

As soon as Old Master Song woke up and saw the sunlight streaming through the paper window, illuminating most of the room outside the gauze curtains, he immediately called out anxiously, "Someone come here!"

Soon, a maid came in.

"What time is it now?" Old Master Song asked directly. Seeing his impatience, the maidservant was somewhat apprehensive and stammered, "It should be the hour of Si... just past noon."

"Why didn't you wake me up so late?" Old Master Song asked reproachfully, his heart filled with growing panic.

"The Lord said that both of the old gentlemen drank too much yesterday, and that they should not be disturbed by any social engagements today... This servant, this servant dares not," she said honestly.

It was Song Shi'an who said it...

Later on, those two people didn't come here either.

Where did you go?
He couldn't guess what these people were planning, but he understood one thing very well—they were using a diversionary tactic to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

If Song Shi'an were to withdraw his support at this point, the land reclamation project would be a complete success.

Furthermore, they had no strength left to resist.

But, how could that be!

Song Shi'an truly has no regard for family ties whatsoever, resorting to such vile fraud just to target his beloved relatives and friends.
He'll never go back to his hometown in his life?
He will never worship his ancestors again in his lifetime?
Or perhaps he doesn't want to be buried in the ancestral graveyard?
Just as the old man was pondering these four questions, Old Master Li came in leaning on his cane and said anxiously, "Shi An has already left; he went to inspect Zhou County."

"He was drunk yesterday and left today?" Old Master Song panicked completely. "Really?"

“Oh dear, it’s true that he’s gone,” Old Lady Li said fairly.

"Then who else will leave?" Old Master Song's heart sank.

"After Shi An left, I sent people to force them to ask, and finally they found out that Jia Guihao and Ji Zhi had already left the city on a mission." Old Master Li tapped the ground with his cane, utterly helpless. "They secretly slipped away the night we arrived!"

Although the two old men did not trust Song Shi'an, they still did not think that he would deceive his relatives to this extent.

However, after reflecting on those four questions, Mr. Song suddenly realized...

For Song Shi'an, none of these—his beloved relatives and friends, his hometown, ancestral worship, or burial—was a weakness.

He's willing to gamble away even his own parents!

"Let's go back quickly."

Old Mrs. Song, still wearing her robe, was about to leave.

"Clothes, clothes, don't get cold," said Old Master Li. "If we die on the road, that would be even worse."

"Yeah, then that kid will get it all!"

Old Master Song held his breath and dressed himself.

"Grandpa, I've come to serve you..."

"Get out of my way!" Old Master Song shoved the maid aside and cursed, "Go complain to your master! We country folk don't like living in his mansion!"

.........

Inside the carriage, Song Shi'an, dressed in a cotton-padded coat and wearing a fur collar, sat with his back to the carriage, enjoying the cold wind, a relaxed smile on his face.

"You look happy?" Xin Yue asked from the side.

"If they hadn't come here, it would have taken me half a month to persuade these relatives back home, and I still might not have succeeded."

“Why don’t you have people from your hometown come and farm the land, or become officials?” Xin Yue said. “Anyway, there will always be people who want to be officials, and there will always be people who want to be corrupt.”

"Did they give me even a single penny of the money they embezzled?"

Song Shi'an countered with a question.

"You're clearly a good person," Xin Yue couldn't help but complain, "but you always make people feel like you're being mean."

What do you mean by "give me a penny of the money you've been greedy for"?

There's no integrity or uprightness to be found, only the fury and anger over the unfair distribution of spoils!

"It's not that it feels bad," Song Shi'an finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, "it's just that this move is really too wicked."

“Moreover, once the Song family follows suit…” Xin Yue said, “other families will not be able to offer any resistance.”

"After all, further resistance would be tantamount to a riot."

.........

Both Grandfather Song and Grandfather Li were prominent families in Huaiyang County.

They do have some branches and businesses in Jing County, but the main ones are in Huaiyang.

The two of them were also traveling home together in their carriages.

The first to arrive were the fields belonging to the Li family.

However, before they even got home, they realized something was wrong.

"There are too few people, far too few," Old Master Li bluntly stated. "Even as winter approaches, there shouldn't be only this many people!"

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Old Master Song was already anxious and quickly gave orders.

And so, they hurriedly brought the two of them to the Li family mansion.

"Father……"

As soon as they arrived, people came out of the house to greet them.

When Old Master Li saw his son, he was about to speak when the son said, "The Prefect has sent someone to say that you have already discussed the land reclamation with him. After counting the fields and tenants, he has taken all the people away."

Upon hearing this, the two old men nearly fainted.

"Who said...who said it was discussed!" shouted the son of Old Man Li, a member of the clan's youth team. "How dare you make a decision on your own when Grandfather isn't here!"

"..." Seeing everyone so terrified, the son was also dumbfounded. He quickly took out a map and said, "This is the land that the county has newly allocated to us. It's compensated at one and a half mu for every mu... The official told me that we were given priority for the good land, and if we hesitate any longer, it will go to someone else!"

"What a wonderful place!" Old Master Li immediately lost his composure, picked up the map, and threw it on the ground. "I'm not going anywhere! I'm not going anywhere!"

"That bastard Song Shi'an, he actually dared to..." Old Master Song clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and his eyes widened.

"Grandpa, is our land gone?"

As soon as the others finished speaking, he retorted sharply, "What? Is the Song family any different? He dares to treat the Li family like this, so why wouldn't he dare to treat us? The Li and Song families are one family!"

If we don't unite the Li family now and allow the two families to split, then we're doomed.

"But do we still have a home now?" Old Master Li immediately retorted. "They finally moved us away, and the new land they gave us, will it be the same as our home?"

He knew it was true without even thinking.

The others also suddenly realized.

The Song and Li noble families were separated!

"You unfilial son, what a truly unfilial son!"

In a fit of rage, Old Master Song slammed his cane to the ground.

After he did this, everyone else lowered their heads and trembled.

The old man throwing away his cane means he's about to get angry.

It could even be said that he committed murder.

"Seven days later, a grand sacrificial ceremony will be held, and all members of the Song clan must participate."

Song Shi'an may not care about his loved ones and friends, but he still cares about his reputation. This is the harshest retaliation from Old Master Song: "Anyone who fails to appear will be expelled from the clan!"

(End of this chapter)