Chapter 13 Garrison

After resting overnight, Lin Changning was woken up early the next morning.

The days for returning to the garrison were fixed, and the timing was strictly enforced. Lateness was not allowed except in special circumstances, so everyone got up early to prepare for the journey.

We traveled for two days and were checked at various checkpoints for two days as well. Even with soldiers and officers leading the way, the checks were extremely thorough.

They carefully checked the dental tags and road permits of the group of people before letting them on the road.

Wang Xiaoqi was quite trustworthy; among the group of three horses, he directly gave up his own horse to Lin Changning.

Lin Changning was alright, but the shoes of that era were particularly rubbing against his feet, and he developed several shiny blisters in the first two days after he left.

I endured the pain and pricked it at night, then continued walking the next day. The taste was incredibly sour and pungent, but after two days I got used to it.

In the following days, I was able to ride a horse during the trek, and apart from some chafing on my inner thighs, everything was fine.

On the third day, Shiro, who was a doctor in the family, couldn't take it anymore. He had to rest after walking for two days, and his little face was pale with exhaustion.

Lin Changning simply asked Wang Xiaoqi, and after receiving his consent, he helped Lin Shilang onto the horse, while he himself walked with Wang Xiaoqi and his group.

Shilang studied medicine with Uncle Lin for several years. While he might not be skilled enough to treat serious illnesses, he was adept at treating minor ones.

After being helped onto the horse, he thanked Lin Changning and Wang Xiaoqi. During the rest, he also found some common herbs in the forest and distributed them to the group.

They were all ordinary herbs for reducing internal heat. When they learned that Shiro's family had been doctors for generations and that he was accompanying Lin Changning to the garrison, they were all a little surprised and their attitude towards the two of them softened considerably.

In this day and age, nobody wants to offend a traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

When the constable got sick with diarrhea, Shilang checked his pulse and bought two doses of medicine while passing through the county town. He prepared the medicine for him and the constable was cured. The people treated the two brothers even more kindly afterward.

After walking for several days, the scenery changed from forest plains to boundless grasslands, and Lin Changning finally breathed a sigh of relief.

We're almost at the northern border! These past few days of long journeys have worn the soles of my shoes almost completely shredded.

Thanks to the care of Wang Xiaoqi and others, who provided horses and rest stops, the journey would have been very difficult.

The towering city wall drew ever closer to the group. The rammed earth walls were etched with the marks of time, and the surrounding winding walls formed a golden Great Wall, keeping the Tartars at bay.

The northern frontier in March was still cold, with strong winds stinging one's face. The soldiers guarding the city wall saw them and rubbed their hands together: "Not many have come this time, little flag. Not enough?"

Wang Xiaoqi handed over the travel permit token: "That's enough. The county government reported that there really weren't that many people. This is all we have this year."

The soldiers guarding the city carefully checked each soldier's identity, their rough, red faces filled with melancholy: "The Tartars just came and looted us a couple of days ago. The harvest is bad, so they're coming much more frequently this year. Sigh..."

Wang Xiaoqi also sighed: "It's not easy for anyone."

The soldier glanced at Lin Changwen and the rather delicate-looking Lin Changning: "Why did you bring two skinny monkeys? They're as skinny as little girls, how are you going to kill the Tartars!"

Wang Xiaoqi suppressed a laugh: "Go away, go away, this is Lin Liulang, and that is Shilang. One is a scholar who joined the army to avenge his father, and Shilang is a doctor who followed Liulang in the army. Don't look down on him. I'm taking Liulang back to the garrison."

The soldier exclaimed, thinking to himself that Wang Xiaoqi seemed to have lost his mind. Wasn't he afraid of getting beaten up for bringing back such a skinny slacker?

Their commander, Lord Qi, despises pedants the most. If they bring such a pedant back, Lord Qi will probably give him a hard time. He is the kind of person who cannot tolerate any nonsense.

After muttering to himself for a while, he looked at Lin Changning with great admiration again: "A scholar? He avenged his father and even joined the military?"

The soldier clicked his tongue twice: "Your courage is commendable, but you are indeed a bit frail. But it's alright, you'll get stronger after training under our Lord Qi. Alright, go ahead."

After entering the city, Lin Changning and his group were led by Wang Xiaoqi to the Health Department for registration and verification.

After a group of soldiers were checked, they were led to the garrison by others. Most of these soldiers lived in the large communal sleeping area of ​​the camp.

Lin Changning was already a military household member, so he was entitled to a residence and land in the city.

Aside from training and playing, he can spend the rest of his time at his residence doing farm work, such as planting crops and vegetables.

Shilang became Lin Changning's servant, so he could live with Lin Changning in their assigned place. Whether he was farming, growing vegetables, or helping with cleaning, his life was not in any danger.

Wang Xiaoqi, satisfied, ushered the man into his garrison and left him with the words, "Take a day off tomorrow to tidy up your room. The day after tomorrow, take your waist token to the garrison to report. After reporting, it'll be time for training."

Lin Changning responded and waited for Wang Xiaoqi to leave before taking Shilang Changwen back to their residence.

Their assigned residences were not too far from the garrison, located in the eastern corner of the city, but it seemed that few people lived there, and the houses were somewhat dilapidated.

Lin Changning and his group were covered in dust as soon as they entered the house. Fortunately, the house was fairly well-furnished, with a room on each side. The kitchen was to the right of the door, and there was an outhouse at the back.

Lin Changning coughed a few times and waved his hand to open all the doors to the house.

Seeing Shiro standing with his hands on his hips, he said, "Tenth brother, let's tidy up first. There's too much dust in the room. Go borrow a broom and rag from the neighbor next door and clean it up so we can move in tonight."

The young boy replied, "Okay, Sixth Brother."

He then turned and went out the door.

Lin Changning looked the room up and down. It was definitely big enough for two people, and the furniture was quite complete. However, there were a few leaks in the roof that needed to be repaired to prevent the house from leaking when it rained.

While thinking about what else was needed, Lin Changning started cleaning the house.

When Shilang returned, Lin Changning had already thrown out a bunch of discarded items.

Seeing that his sixth brother was already working efficiently, Shiro decided to join in and sweep as well.

Lin Changning watched as Shilang did a good job and went out by himself. He found a few relatively intact tiles behind the house, and in a few quick movements, he climbed up the wall and onto the roof.

He carefully patched the leak in the roof, but after patching half of it, he realized he didn't have enough tiles. He poked his head out and called to Shilang, "Tenth brother, go to the back of the house and find me five or six more tiles. The roof is still short of tiles..."

"Sigh, I'll go to Sixth Brother's place now."

Perhaps the noise was too loud and startled the neighbors, for the door on the right creaked open, and a woman came out, peeking in their direction. She looked up and saw Lin Changning, then smiled and asked, "Are you new here?"

Lin Changning moved to the right, looked down, and waved: "Auntie, I just reported to the garrison today. I'm new here. My name is Lin Changping."

The woman racked her brains but couldn't recall any of the military households with a young man surnamed Lin. However, adhering to the principle of not slapping a smiling face, she smiled back and said, "My surname is Fan, and my husband's surname is Hu. I serve in the garrison. Young man Lin, you just reported for duty today, right? The house next door has been empty for a year. If you need anything, just come and borrow it. Auntie has everything."

Lin Changning replied with a smile, "Then thank you, Auntie..."