Chen Dayong was at Sìmǔ Dì, helping to arrange seating for the villagers. Some had gone to Xiaowen's place to join the festivities.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, Chen Dayong waved with a smile, "Brother Xiaobei, which table would you like to sit at?"
Xiaobei pointed to the side, "Brother Dayong, I need to discuss something with you."
With that, Chen Xiaobei walked into a nearby room.
Inside, there was a table, and in the corner, a charcoal brazier with a roaring fire.
Chen Dayong looked at Chen Xiaobei with a hint of confusion and asked with a smile, "What's going on? You're being so secretive, you have to tell me in here?"
Chen Xiaobei sighed softly, "There's something I need to make clear to you beforehand. Brother Dachun approached me yesterday. He wanted to be Xiaowen's transport captain, but I didn't agree."
Upon hearing Chen Xiaobei's words, Chen Dayong nodded slightly, "Brother Xiaobei, if you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have brought it up either. He actually approached me as well."
Chen Xiaobei nodded gently, "I'm not just thinking about Brother Dachun, but also about so many others in the village. Especially with Xiaowen's situation, I think I was a bit short-sighted. If I had known Prince Regent would so readily send Hu Fan to deliver gifts, I wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to make Xiaowen a transport captain. It could all have been placed under your Village Guard's name."
Hearing this, Chen Dayong waved his hand, "That's nothing. Letting him be a transport captain isn't a big deal. But you're right, Chen Dachun came to me today, and someone else will come tomorrow. If so many people in the village come knocking, we'll be in trouble."
Listening to Chen Dayong's words, Chen Xiaobei nodded. Chen Dayong's perspective was indeed seasoned, the same as his own. The issues he worried about were now starting to concern Chen Dayong as well.
"Brother Dayong, I want to make it clear to the team members. Any future teams will be established based on our needs, not just for a mere title. After all, with the situation with Xiaowen, it won't be so difficult for people in the village to get married anymore!"
Chen Dayong nodded again at Chen Xiaobei's words.
"Yes, you're right. This needs to be clarified, otherwise it will be even more troublesome in the future!"
"As for what we establish later, that's for the future. For now, let's leave it as it is!"
Reaching an agreement with Chen Dayong brought Chen Xiaobei a sense of relief.
At least in this village, there was someone who shared his vision.
Soon, those who had helped Chen Xiaowen with his wedding returned. Once the bride was in the bridal chamber, their duties were done, and they were left with feasting and drinking.
Everyone was in high spirits today, so Chen Xiaobei saw no need to elaborate further with the crowd. Even if it were the most pressing matter, it could wait until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in a separate room nearby, Liu Rumei had ordered a table of food and drinks for herself. She explicitly told Cui Hongyu that she would pay for this meal, and it was unrelated to Chen Xiaowen's wedding banquet.
It made sense. Liu Rumei had no direct connection to Chen Xiaowen. If there was any connection, it was only that they were acquainted through Chen Xiaobei.
Furthermore, Liu Rumei was Chen Xiaobei's wife. If anything were to happen, Chen Xiaobei would be the one to face it first.
Chen Xiaobei listened to Cui Hongyu's explanation and found it strange at first. But upon further inquiry, he learned that Liu Tie and Liu Ce had returned.
They weren't that close to Chen Xiaowen either, having only symbolically contributed a few coins.
The meal Liu Rumei had ordered separately was to entertain Liu Tie and Liu Ce. Accompanying them were Liu Ziming and Liu Ziliang.
After they were seated and their wine cups were filled, Liu Ce spoke first, "Miss, everything went smoothly. There are no problems selling charcoal in Qingzhou. I also inquired privately, and as the weather gets colder, charcoal becomes quite scarce in Qingzhou."
Liu Tie quickly added, "Yes, Miss, there are no major issues in Shouchou either."
Liu Rumei nodded slightly, "That's good. We've already produced some charcoal. Brother Xiaobei even asked to separate the villagers' charcoal from ours. In the future, we'll have to find our own ways to do business."
"Oh, and in a couple of days, take the charcoal back with you. Also, help Brother Xiaobei ask if there's any need for cabbage. Brother Xiaobei still has quite a lot of it."
Upon hearing about Liu Tie and Liu Ce's return, the two exchanged a look. "Miss, didn't they give all their cabbage to Tian Wenhao? Where did it come from again?"
Liu Rumei sighed, "Alas, who would have thought? With the front lines facing a tight situation, Tian Wenhao and his men have already been deployed."
Liu Rumei then recounted how the soldiers at the front had drawn formations for Zhou Quan themselves.
After listening to her account, Liu Ce and Liu Tie simultaneously let out a sigh. "Who has our Great Cang Kingdom offended? The Great Earth Kingdom has attacked multiple times."
"Alright, we'll discuss this later. Let's eat first," Liu Rumei said with a smile, raising her wine cup.
After clinking glasses, they each drank a cup of wine. However, it was clear that Liu Tie and Liu Ce's spirits were not as high as before.
Liu Ce spoke with concern, "Miss, even though you drew the Four Spirits Eight Trigrams Formation for Zhou Quan, I still worry that you might have to personally intervene in the future."
Liu Rumei smiled slightly, "Alright, let's not talk about this now. Let's drink."
Liu Rumei neither explicitly agreed nor refused, and from this, Liu Tie and Liu Ce understood that Liu Rumei's heart was still on the front lines.
As they ate and chatted, time passed unknowingly, and the noise outside gradually subsided.
They all knew that Chen Xiaowen's banquet had concluded.
Liu Ce couldn't help but sigh, "Xiaowen must be returning to the bridal chamber by now."
At the mention of "bridal chamber," Liu Rumei's face reflexively flushed slightly.
She was suddenly reminded of her and Chen Xiaobei's experiences in the past few days.
Although she and Chen Xiaobei had cleared the air while visiting Huang Ying's grave, for various reasons, they had not shared a bed these past few days, let alone enjoyed the most wonderful joys of human existence.
Xiaoqing clearly understood Liu Rumei's thoughts, but she remained silent, gently nudging Liu Rumei with her arm.
Liu Rumei seemed to understand Xiaoqing's intention, but she deliberately put on a stern face and changed the subject, saying, "Xiaoqing, we should be going back too."
"Oh, Ziming, Ziliang, you two stay and help Sister Hongyu tidy up the tables."
Liu Ziming and Liu Ziliang, thinking that Liu Rumei was assigning new tasks to Liu Tie and the other two, readily accepted the task of cleaning up.
Liu Rumei, accompanied by Xiaoqing, Liu Tie, and Liu Ce, left Sìmǔ Dì and headed towards Hetou Village. Looking at the flickering lights in the distance, Liu Rumei sighed deeply again. "Alas, I fear we won't enjoy this peace for long!"
Liu Ce clasped his fist and said beside her, "Miss, as the saying goes, when the country is in trouble, every commoner has a responsibility."