Lady Fang truly felt that things were absurd now.
She had never known that a person could spend money so excessively.
Lady Fang was not a stingy person; with a well-off upbringing, she never lacked money, and marrying into the Fang Family was like entering a treasury. Even if Old Master Fang and Old Master Fang encountered misfortunes successively, the troubles at home were only emotional and business fatigue; they were never short of money.
She had never thought of money as a matter to concern over, and she paid little mind to the lavish lifestyle of the children at home.
But she was still shocked by Miss Jun's extravagance.
The previous spending in the capital was for opening a store; as large as the input was, it didn't matter, for business is business. Lady Fang was not ignorant about business, and the subsequent vaccination was the same, despite the medical benevolence in saving lives. Besides, all of these had returns, including rewards from the dynasty, the reputation of Jiuling Hall, the small profits but high sales of the smallpox vaccine, and the high-price medicine everyone competed for.
The prior expenses had all been earned back by Jiuling Hall now.
Lady Fang had seen the ledger; the money initially paid by De Sheng Chang had already been repaid, and on top of that, a large sum of money had been saved.
Of course, the money currently saved in Jiuling Hall had all been spent, and De Sheng Chang was also channeling large sums of money to the northern lands again.
Especially recently, the amounts were so large that Lady Fang was astonished.
"This could buy a whole city," she said, "What on earth is she doing?"
"Just casually buying things," Fang Chengyu laughed, "Mother, you know the high prices in the northern lands nowadays, many things are hard to find, if urgently needed, you must splash the cash."
"The northern lands are already like that, what is she still doing there?" Lady Fang thought of another serious matter.
"There are always things that need to be done," Fang Chengyu laughed, "Mother, you don't need to worry."
How could she not worry! This girl has never let people be at peace, each time using more money than the last, how long will this continue? Surely not for a lifetime? Even if the Fang family were mountains of gold and silver, they couldn't sustain this.
Lady Fang recalled the words she blurted out when she was seeking treatment for Fang Chengyu.
"If Chengyu really survives, I am willing to give everything Chengyu deserves."
And she did not refuse, her expression cheerful.
"Alright," she said.
Lady Fang gave a wry smile; looking at it now, curing Chengyu was not a joke, and the entire Fang family being taken away by her was not a joke either.
"I just can't understand, why does a young girl need to spend so much money." She sighed and said, "What on earth is she planning to do?"
"People live to do things," Fang Chengyu said earnestly, "Otherwise, it's a waste of life, just like money made is meant to be spent, otherwise it's also made in vain. I think doing things and spending money are the simplest, no need to think too clearly about it."
Lady Fang scoffed.
"What's the use in understanding, whatever she asks you to do, you'll do," she said.
Fang Chengyu reached out and held Lady Fang's arm.
"Mother, I've been sick for so many years, endured so much suffering, so now I understand," he said sincerely and earnestly, "The life I want to live is a happy one. If she's happy, I'm happy, and Mother, Grandmother, and the sisters are happy too. Spending money to buy happiness, isn't it very simple and worthwhile?"
In the past, despite having money, they couldn't buy happiness; compared to that, it really was simple and worthwhile. Lady Fang gave a bitter smile and looked at her son's face.
"As long as you're truly happy," she said.
"Of course, I'm truly happy," Fang Chengyu laughed, "Anyone who knows Jiuling would be happy."
Lady Fang glared at him.
"Lucky you're not married, with your attitude, no mother-in-law would like this daughter-in-law," she said.
Fang Chengyu laughed heartily.
"Mother, you underestimate Jiuling too much," he said, "If she is willing, she can win anyone's favor."
If she's unwilling, in just a few words she could infuriate you to death, like Eldest Madam Ning.
Lady Fang pursed her lips in a smile, patted Fang Chengyu's shoulder and left.
Fang Chengyu sat back in front of the table, opening the latest letter he received.
"All the money has been converted into gold and silver cash. For the current northern lands, only cash is useful; she must be using it on the spot anytime, anywhere. Spending more on the journey than in Zhangqing Mountain, indicates an increasing number of people and continuous expenses," he muttered to himself, "What kind of escort would do this? Could the escort merely be for that one woman?"
...........................…
Whooosh, a gust of wild wind carrying snow scattered around, immediately causing a group of people on the wilderness to stagger and fall, including two or three children who fell to the ground and cried out.
They were in tattered clothes, dragging their families along, clearly refugees who were on the brink of collapsing at the slightest breeze, indicating the direness of their situation.
What was even more tragic than hunger and severe cold was the faint trembling of the ground, accompanied by the rapid sound of horse hooves. This sound instantly panicked the group of refugees.
"Get up, get up quickly."
"What is it? Are soldiers passing by?"
"Are the Jurchen people coming?"
Fearful discussions erupted among the crowd, making them even more restless. Wanting to flee but having nowhere to go, they stood rooted to the spot, and soon a large troop of horsemen appeared in their view.
Under the dim sunlight, the armor shone brightly, and flags fluttered. From their attire, it was easy to distinguish that they were Zhou Soldiers.
Not the Jurchen people.
If it had been the Jurchen, they might as well have awaited death, but seeing that it was Zhou Soldiers, the people's expressions still showed no joy or relaxation; they watched the approaching troops warily.
These days, a lot of soldiers passed by, supposedly government soldiers ordered to retreat south. These soldiers not only ignored the refugees but sometimes even robbed them.
The troop of horsemen, upon seeing them, halted following a gesture from their leader.
"Where are you from? Where are you headed?" the leading man shouted loudly.
The crowd of fleeing people stirred and retreated further.
"Don't ask anymore, they look very frightened."
A woman's voice was heard.
At the same time, a black horse came forward, ridden by a woman whose face was covered with cloth, giving her an eerie appearance.
The refugees looked somewhat surprised.
A woman could be in the military?
Before their surprise settled, they saw the woman gesturing.
"Come and get some hot porridge."
Hot porridge?
The refugees felt like they were hearing things in a dream, then they saw a cart rush from behind the troop, from which several women jumped down.
Although they were women, they too wore cotton armor, and their hair was tied up inside hats, also dressed as government soldiers.
"Come, come, two pots of hot porridge, come and eat," they called chaotically.
In the cold wind, two large pots were placed on the ground, steaming and instantly scattering a delicious aroma.
This wasn't a dream!
This aroma instantly made the group of refugees lose all reason as they swarmed forward.
"Don't fight, there's enough for everyone to eat," the women shouted, "Line up."
Amidst the chaos, under the intimidation of the soldiers, the refugees formed a line and even selected two people to distribute the porridge.
After doing all this, the troop of horsemen moved forward again, not uttering any unnecessary words. It seemed as if they had stopped merely to leave these two pots of hot porridge.
And they didn't wait around, leaving behind even the pots and utensils as donations.
Although a bowl of hot porridge seemed simple, it was enough to support these people safely to the next town during this winter day.
"Which troop of government soldiers are these benefactors from? We've never seen such soldiers before," several refugees muttered, holding their bowls and watching the distant horsemen moving along the main road.
No troops had ever distributed porridge while on the move; even during the distribution, apart from those women, the rest remained mounted and sternly static, never shifting their posture.
Moving on command, stopping on command, with no hint of arbitrariness.
This was completely different from the passing soldiers they had seen these days, perhaps because they were retreating. Whether defeated or ordered to retreat, retreating always seemed to cast a vague shadow of anxiety over these soldiers.
Their expressions were uneasy, their formation chaotic.
Such soldiers could not bring a sense of security to the people, only more panic.
"There are words on that flag." An old man, his voice trembling and his white beard stained with porridge, pointed to the fluttering flag in the distance, reading one word at a time, "Qingshan Army."