The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2284 - 2259: Human Nature

Assistant General Nie leaned over to Bai Shan and asked, "Did you separate them and hide them in the hay? But how can you ensure the boxes containing them won’t get lost during the battle?"

Bai Shan pretended to be profound and said, "I can’t guarantee that. When fighting desperately, I can abandon all my luggage."

Assistant General Nie thought the same; they indeed abandoned all their luggage earlier. If it weren’t for Guo Zhao bringing reinforcements, all that luggage would have certainly been lost.

So...

Bai Shan said, "This is just to minimize our losses. If we weren’t facing a powerful force like the Tubo army, we could afford to abandon some and keep some. At that time, I can ensure that what we abandon are the items of least value, and what we keep are the most valuable."

Assistant General Nie suddenly realized and was deeply convinced.

Bai Shan was smart and had a good memory. Although he felt he couldn’t remember what was in each of the many boxes, let alone distinguish their values among similar-looking boxes, Bai Shan could probably manage it.

Manbao, who was listening nearby, couldn’t help but lower her head and smile. After all, once things were done, naturally, no matter how he explained it was fine.

It also seemed like she had discovered a new world.

It turned out that to avoid suspicion, one didn’t just rely on concealment and hiding; there was also the method of confusion.

If you don’t want others to suspect your real actions, then you need to give their suspicions a reasonable false front. Without needing further explanation, half-hidden hints like Bai Shan’s allow everyone to come up with a better reason themselves.

Thinking this, Manbao became excited, eager to try out her ideas.

She glanced at Bai Erlang and others who were sorting items according to a list and then deliberately went to Assistant General Nie with a serious expression, "I need to find a place and a few people."

She handed him a piece of paper she had just taken from Keke. Assistant General Nie received it, assuming she had kept it with her all along, and thus treated it more seriously.

On it was a place name and a long list of names.

Assistant General Nie couldn’t help but ask, "What is this?"

"It’s a village and the names of the people living in it. I want to find this village and the people there." Manbao paused and continued, "But this village is somewhat special. Three years have passed, and with Xizhou being unstable, I don’t know if they are still there."

Assistant General Nie, who had previously fought a battle with the Anxi army, had made a few friends in the short time, as they had shared life-and-death experiences.

He was perhaps better equipped to handle such matters than Zhou Man, especially since Guo Zhao was busy recently and might not come due to his father’s situation, avoiding awkwardness for both sides.

Assistant General Nie accepted the paper, smiling and assuring her that he would do his utmost.

Originally, they thought some of the treasure would be lost, or that the items hidden in that village could only be seen again upon their return, but now the items appeared before everyone, and the soldiers and guards were all excited.

The morale, dampened by heavy casualties, suddenly surged, helping them emerge from the pain of losing comrades. Even soldiers who had lost limbs were happy, deciding to carefully keep the gold and silver, as it was enough for a lifetime even if they retired after returning.

The shrewd ones encouraged them, "Bring the money back. What you have now will be what you have then. It’s better to buy some stuff, pass it through the capital, and at least make a profit."

"Don’t talk nonsense. What if we lose money?"

"How can we lose?"

"Why wouldn’t we?" the more cautious ones said. "Nothing in this world is certain. You can even get water stuck in your teeth; isn’t losing money in business common?"

He said, "I think this is enough. This is free money anyway. We’ll just take it back and settle down. It’s because Assistant General Nie is good to us, and Lord Zhou is kind-hearted. Otherwise, as broken soldiers, it’d be normal for them to leave us by the roadside or let us return to the capital by ourselves. Now, the officials are willing to bring us back, and once back to the barracks, there’ll definitely be settlement fees. Combined with this money, we can even support a family, so let’s not be too greedy, lest we stumble."

Many dismissed the tempting thoughts that had just arisen.

"Tsk, you’re too timid. In the capital, what aren’t they lacking, be it gemstones or spices? Although our money is little, if we stay in Xizhou for a long time, carefully picking up one or two items to take back, selling them to the nobles should surely be profitable."

"Hou San, if you want to do this business, do it yourself. Don’t instigate others," Cao Dade couldn’t help but say, "Where do you find nobles easily? If you buy stuff and can’t sell it back home, these gemstones and spices can’t be eaten or drunk, and especially spices, they lose their fragrance over time. They might break on the way, and then..."

He didn’t finish, but the soldiers understood: they would be worthless then and inevitably end up stuck with them.

Hou San grumbled a bit, muttering, "We might not know them, but Lord Zhou and the others do. Just like this time, we can return and hand the items over to them, letting them sell them when we reach the capital..."

Even the wounded soldiers who were tempted were silent. "Isn’t this biting the hand that feeds us? We can’t put the officials in such a difficult position."

Somehow this conversation reached Bai Shan’s ears. Bai Shan smiled and said, "Then go tell them, when we set off again, the trade routes should be open. Even if there are bandits, they likely wouldn’t dare to raid such a large convoy. Also, both gemstones and spices can be faked. If they can’t distinguish between real, fake, good, and bad, it’s best not to buy these."

"But it’s not hard to make money. They could consider buying some edible spices back, like pepper. It’s equally valuable and sells well in the capital."

A guard conveyed these words back, and the soldiers started to think it over.

Assistant General Nie came to Bai Shan to thank him and brought up the gold and silver left behind by fallen soldiers. At that time, Bai Shan compiled a list and handed the items along with the list to him.

Assistant General Nie initially thought to take this gold and silver back and distribute it to their families, but now couldn’t help wanting to do more.

"Their families are generally not wealthy. Some have not only elderly parents but also young wives and children. In the future, marriages will require considerable expenses, not to mention their daily lives. So, I was thinking instead of counting their money as shares, buying things, and selling them later to distribute the profits."

Bai Shan furrowed his brows, "What if you lose money then?"

Assistant General Nie laughed, "Didn’t you mention buying edible spices..."

Bai Shan said, "That’s only for small quantities. Moreover, these spices need proper preservation. If you transport such a large amount of spices to the capital, people can’t substitute pepper for rice, can they? It’s impossible to sell them all at once, but military families can’t afford to wait."