Chapter 59 The Candied Hawthorn Brother

After counting the number of people and arranging the patrol schedule for the day in the morning, Lin Changning returned to the garrison. The workload was not so heavy when it got hot. After waiting for the commander to finish the meeting, he helped organize the ledgers of military equipment and counted the newly received supplies. Then he had nothing else to do.

Before 9 AM, the work was already finished. There was no other reason than that Lin Changning was excellent at mental arithmetic. Her parents had sent her to an Olympiad math class for four or five years during elementary school. She didn't use it much in competitions, but she used it here. Before, when a group of people were tallying up the number of damaged equipment and the required quantity, she silently calculated it in her mind. Before she had even finished using the abacus beads, she blurted out the quantity. From then on, anyone who had anything to do with math and arithmetic loved to ask her for help.

Today I can go off duty, but I still remembered that I had to help the commander take care of his child, so I went back to the camp to prepare to bring the person home.

"Big brother~ I want to ride a horse to the grasslands~"

"no!"

"Good brother~ It's fine if we don't go to the grassland, can you lend me your Cloud Chaser to ride?"

"No! No way! Qi An'an! Can't you just shut up for a second!"

"Oh~"

"Can I go play at the stables, brother?"

"Qi! An! An!"

Before even reaching the tent, Lin Changning could already hear his commander's helpless and resentful roar. Lifting the curtain, he saw his commander's irritated face and couldn't help but laugh: "Second brother? What's wrong with you?"

Qi Rong looked up as if he had seen a savior, his eyes burning as he looked at Lin Changning: "You've finally arrived."

Seven or eight-year-old children are at an age that cats and dogs hate, and Lin Changning was secretly delighted: "He came over as soon as he finished his work."

Qi Rong pushed Qi An forward: "Qi An, from now on, Liu Lang will be your teacher. When he has free time, you can go and learn to read and practice martial arts with him."

He then pushed Qi An'an in front of Lin Changning: "Sixth Brother, I'm entrusting this brat to you. If he doesn't listen, beat him up."

After saying that, he turned around and suddenly pulled out a rather large deer leg from behind the desk and stuffed it into Lin Changning's hand: "This is a deer that was hunted yesterday. I left you a leg. Take it back and eat it. Thank you for your hard work."

Qi An'an watched her older brother bustling around, then looked up at Lin Changning, who was clutching her clothes, and said with bright eyes, "I recognize you, you're Tanghulu Brother."

Lin Changning couldn't help but chuckle: "It's kind of you that young master still remembers me."

Qi An'an bowed respectfully, her obedient face filled with joy: "Qi An greets teacher. My elder brother said that since we are in the military camp, there are no young masters or noblemen here. Teacher, you can just call me by my nickname, An'an."

The child with the innocent face but bowing so earnestly is just so adorable!

Lin Changning couldn't resist reaching out his sinful hand to gently pinch the child's face. Hmm, it felt quite nice.

"teacher?"

Qi An'an looked at Lin Changning with a puzzled expression.

Lin Changning looked at the child with a smile and said, "An'an is very cute. I am fifteen years old this year. Calling me teacher always feels old. I am the sixth child in my family. An'an can just call me Little Six Brother."

Just kidding. He's a young master of a duke's mansion, after all. If he were to call her "teacher," the Duke would surely kill him. She's definitely the one in charge of the lineage.

The child glanced at his older brother, and seeing him nod almost imperceptibly before breaking into a smile, he said in a clear voice, "Sixth Brother~"

Lin Changning responded, holding the child's hand and looking at the commander: "Second brother, my eldest brother has been captured and taken to an unknown Tartar camp. Please have our scouts keep a close eye on him. My mother is still waiting for my eldest brother to come home."

Qi Rong sat down at his desk and nodded: "You gave the instructions before you went home, Liu Lang. Don't worry, I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Lin Changning, holding the child's hand, said, "Then I'll take An'an downstairs. Second Brother, you can have Zhiqi come to my place to pick An'an up tonight."

Qi Rong breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief and waved his hand: "Go on, go on. I'll have Zhiqi pick him up for dinner tonight."

The two went outside, and Qi An'an looked at Lin Changning and asked, "Sixth Brother, where are we going?"

Lin Changning said with a smile, "Go to the stables, didn't An'an want to go?"

Qi An'an jumped up excitedly and cheered, "Brother Xiao Liu, I declare you the best person in the world, hahaha!"

Lin Changning remained silent, only smiling. She naturally wouldn't spoil the child. If he wanted to ride a horse, he had to work first. There's no reward without labor, isn't there?

When they arrived at the stable, Lin Changning was about to call out to Old Liu at the top of his lungs, but he suddenly stopped himself. He had a child with him, so it was better to be polite.

"Grandpa Liu! Grandpa Liu! I'm back!"

Old Liu was feeding the horses when he heard this and quickly came out, exclaiming with delight, "Little Six? You're back! Is everything settled at home?"

Lin Changning nodded: "It's all settled. That's why I came to help you with the work today since I had some free time."

Old Liu looked at the two, one big and one small, with a broad smile: "Who's the little one?"

Lin Changning patted Qi An: "He's my younger brother, he's here to help you with the work, right An'an? After we finish, can we take a horse out for a spin?"

Qi An'an stared wide-eyed at Lin Changning in disbelief. Riding a horse meant doing chores? No wonder his older brother didn't want to take him along.

Thinking of this, Qi An'an patted her little chest and said righteously, "Yes, An'an can do it, Grandpa~"

Old Liu found it amusing to look at Lin Changning, who was grinning slyly. As a centurion, why would he need the permission of a horse feeder to ride a horse? This little rascal was trying to trick the child into doing chores for him. Old Liu pretended to be reluctant: "Oh, you're so capable! Well, Grandpa can't refuse. After you finish the work, I'll let you take one of the horses out."

After saying that, Lin Changning led Qi An'an to help Old Liu feed the horses. The little boy was only a little taller than the trough, and he followed behind Lin Changning with his short legs, huffing and puffing as he carried hay to put it into the trough. Lin Changning praised him, saying, "An'an is so capable," and "Wow, An'an is too amazing." He worked even harder with his bottom sticking out.

Old Liu watched Lin Changning coax the child with a smile, turning his back to chuckle. In the end, he also praised Qi An'an, praising her so much that her short legs almost left afterimages.

There wasn't much work to do, and the job was finished before the sun was even high in the sky. Lin Changning was fine, but Qi An'an was so exhausted that she lay sprawled on the haystack, panting heavily, her delicate face covered in sweat.

Lin Changning led Moyun out of the stable and walked up to An'an with a smile: "An'an, get on the horse. Grandpa Liu brought out the best horse for us."

Qi An'an sat up abruptly, looking at Mo Yun with delight: "A horse as good as Yun Zhui?"

Lin Changning nodded: "Of course, Mo Yun is a wild horse that many people can't tame. An'an, would you like to come up and give it a try?"

Mo Yun let out a matching neigh, and Qi An'an's eyes practically overflowed with joy: "Yes! Yes! Yes!!!"

Lin Changning helped the person onto the horse, then, leading Mo Yun and carrying the deer leg, he and Old Liu headed out. It was almost noon, and it was time to go home for lunch.

"Grandpa Liu, I'm roasting venison for lunch. Come to my house for dinner."

Old Liu shook his head: "I have some work to do this afternoon, so I won't go. Let's do it another day."

The three men walked out of the garrison. Old Liu saw the market and said, "Wait for me."

After saying that, he ran towards the market, took a candied hawthorn from a vendor, and ran back. Qi An'an looked at Old Liu with longing eyes.

Old Liu handed a candied hawthorn to Qi An'an, who was excitedly riding on horseback: "An'an, you've worked hard today. Grandpa is rewarding you with a candied hawthorn. Try it, it's very sweet."

Qi An'an glanced at Lin Changning, who was also smiling, then took the candied hawthorn, her big eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a shy smile: "Thank you, Grandpa Liu."

Lin Changning joked, "Grandpa Liu is so biased! An'an got candied hawthorns, but Little Sixth Brother doesn't!"

Old Liu glared at him: "You brat, how old are you to still be eating candied hawthorns? Arguing with a child like that, what a disgrace!"

Qi An'an hadn't eaten yet, and with a hint of reluctance, she held the candied hawthorn to Lin Changning's lips: "Sixth Brother, you should eat some too~"

Lin Changning casually picked a candied hawthorn and popped it into his mouth: "Oh, An'an really cares about her brother. Thank you, An'an. I'll roast a deer leg for you when we get back."

Old Liu glared at Lin Changning: "You're a centurion now, and you're fighting with a child for food? You're really setting yourself up for failure! Go back now!"

Lin Changning leaped onto his horse, hugged Qi An'an, and chuckled, "That's all I'm good for. Remember to buy me one next time, Mr. Liu, hahaha, bye, Mr. Liu."

Old Liu shook his head and chuckled, then turned around with his hands behind his back and slowly walked home.