The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2346: Chapter 2321: The Return Journey

Bai Shan and his group were bustling about, getting ready to go home. Of course, since there were a lot of them, they simply stood around in the courtyard, basking in the sun and directing the guards and soldiers to pack their luggage.

This time, on the return journey, Manbao decided not to store things in Keke’s space. Apart from the jewels and jewelry she had carefully picked out and was fond of, only Bai Erlang’s cat’s-eye gemstone remained in the space.

All other items were kept in plain view.

Of course, they wouldn’t open their boxes for others to see. Everything was well concealed inside the boxes.

But having fought bandits together, dug for treasure on the mountain, and divided spoils on the grasslands, and even exchanged treasures, everyone knew what each other had.

It was only the residents of the opposing courtyard, Dayu and his group, who weren’t very familiar. They were astonished at the luggage Zhou Man’s crowd was taking back. "You’re taking too much stuff! What all are you bringing?"

Manbao said, "We have a bit of everything: beautiful jade, gemstones, various jewelry, and even medicinal herbs."

"Medicinal herbs?"

"Exactly," Manbao replied, "There are some herbs here that you can’t find in the Central Plains, so I bought a bit more to take back."

Dayu was a bit tempted, but thought better of it. He didn’t have much money left, and herbs weren’t very useful in their Small Town. After all, good herbs require good doctors to make the most of them, right?

If they were to sell them in Shazhou, they didn’t have the connections, unlike gemstones and spices, which could easily be sold to any trader they found, and they also had their own contacts.

Dayu suppressed his thoughts as he had come to discuss the return journey with Bai Shan and his group.

With trade routes reopened, there were far fewer bandits and horse thieves on the road. Moreover, General Ashina led the grand army back to the capital, returning borrowed troops across Suzhou, Liangzhou, and finally past Xiazhou before heading to the capital, so they didn’t need protection on the way, which meant they could negotiate the price...

Bai Shan said, "We’ll separate from the grand army in Shazhou, return to Liangzhou through your Small Town, and we can only pay for your escort from Shazhou to the Small Town. Of course, if you escort us all the way to Liangzhou, the fee can be discussed further."

Dayu said, "...You’re not traveling with the grand army?"

Bai Shan replied, "No..."

Because General Ashina, after sending the grand army back to Shazhou, was going to have his men return troops to each state.

At the start, each state sent assistant generals with General Ashina to lead the troops. Except for those who died in battle, the rest were to be returned to their original armies. The achievements and honors of each general would be decided by the court upon General Ashina’s return to the capital, and then sent to each state.

After hearing about General Ashina’s journey, Bai Shan’s group was less inclined to travel alongside him, as he planned to take twelve days to travel from Shazhou back to the capital.

When Bai Shan’s group learned of his schedule, they immediately said they probably wouldn’t travel together, planning to part ways in Shazhou without inconveniencing General Ashina.

General Ashina couldn’t understand why all were heading back to the capital but not together, until the day of departure.

He saw their convoy, stretched out with a long line of carts and wagons... and even cattle carts.

General Ashina looked at the boxes on the wagons and carts, then at the old soldiers and wounded on the cattle carts, and after a moment of speechlessness, turned away to bid farewell to Commander Chai, who had come to see them off.

Commander Chai was also taken aback and made small talk with General Ashina. After everyone had set off, he stroked his beard and said to his confidant, "Though they’re a bit young and lively, they’re quite steady." Mostly, they were kind-hearted.

After all, they had prepared so many cattle carts, which was quite commendable.

General Ashina also directed his gaze away from the cattle carts, unable to resist commenting for the first time, "No wonder they wanted to separate from us in Shazhou. With cattle carts transporting the troops, even with an additional half of the time, they might not reach the capital."

Currently, it was a large military expedition and triumphant return, so they were not in a hurry. With cattle carts among them, they didn’t seem slow; but when General Ashina only brought a few subordinate generals and guards back to the capital from Shazhou, forget the cattle carts, even the luggage-laden mules might struggle to keep up.

He wasn’t wrong. Manbao’s group certainly couldn’t reach the capital in twenty-four days, but they could return to Xiazhou in that time.

Dayu and his group escorted them all the way to Xiazhou. Indeed, they traveled through Liangzhou, escorting them to Xiazhou without any charge from the Small Town to Xiazhou.

Because they hadn’t sold their goods in Shazhou but intended to bring them to Xiazhou for sale. Bai Shan and Zhou Man agreed to introduce them to merchants to sell their goods.

Moreover, there were more Han people in Xiazhou, and he might even find a Han bride to take home.

As they arrived under the gates of Xiazhou City, Dayu couldn’t help but alongside his companions let out a "Wow" sound. They thought they were awed because they hadn’t seen such a vibrant scene, but unexpectedly a "Wow" also came from nearby.

Dayu and his group turned to look at them, curiously asking, "It can’t be that you’ve never seen such a bustling city?"

Manbao closed her mouth and shook her head, "No, the capital and Yizhou City are much more prosperous than Xiazhou City, it’s just..."

"It’s just that Xiazhou City was quite lifeless before. Unexpectedly, in just over half a year, so many people are entering and leaving Xiazhou City," Bai Shan chimed in, "And this is just the North City Gate."

This was the north gate facing the grasslands.

Mr. Zhuang also lifted the curtain to look outside, and seeing the familiar Xiazhou City Gate, he let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they had returned.

Their carriages queued to enter the city, and the guards presented the documents for registration. Soldiers immediately ran to report to the magistrate’s office, and after Manbao’s convoy entered the city and traveled a short distance, Wantian came to greet them leading some people.

He quickly spotted Bai Shan, Zhou Man, and others on horseback, jumped off his horse, ran up to block the convoy, and bowed deeply, saying, "Greetings to Young Master Bai, Miss Man, Young Master Bai Er..."

"Alright, alright, how long will it take if you greet each person by name?" Bai Shan said with a smile, "Did Scholarly Senior Brother Yang send you to greet us?"

"Yes," Wantian’s eyes squinted with his wide smile, "The post station has been prepared for your rest..."

He glanced at the long convoy behind them, his smile widening even further, "If the post station isn’t enough, there are inns nearby where you can stay."

Thus, the group first went to the post station to settle down. Wantian didn’t assign rooms to Bai Shan’s group and, once Assistant General Nie and his companions were settled, immediately had the carriage carrying Zhou Man’s luggage transported to the magistrate’s residence. He invited Bai Shan’s group, "When I was about to leave, the master informed the madam, who should have everything ready by now, and I invite Mr. Zhuang and the young masters and ladies to stay at our residence."

Bai Shan’s group had no objections; after all, during their last visit to Xiazhou, they stayed at the magistrate’s residence.

Thus, the group moved to the magistrate’s residence.