After this incident, Fatty Zhao lost all his enthusiasm for being a teacher. Then, the conversation turned to topics men liked: romance, love affairs, and courtesans. Waves of lewd laughter and cries filled the room.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone left the restaurant, bowed goodbye with bleary eyes, and left.

"You're not drunk, are you?" Zhang Junneng glanced at Fatty Zhao and teased, "Do you want to go have some wine?"

Fatty Zhao waved his hand and said, "It's just one day off, so I should go back and wash up and have a good sleep."

Zhang Junneng nodded and said with some emotion, "Xiaobao went to Liaodong with the observation group. I wonder how he is doing?"

The trio became a duo, and Fatty Zhao also felt a little strange. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of someone shouting something nearby attracted his attention.

"Thirsty water, thirsty water, sweet and sour thirsty water." A half-grown girl was shouting, and a middle-aged man was busy next to her. What caught Fatty Zhao's attention was the girl's Liaodong accent.

The so-called "thirst water" refers to fruit and vegetable beverages in the Ming Dynasty, including ringo (sand apple) thirsty water, papaya thirsty water, schisandra thirsty water, bayberry thirsty water, etc.

Zhang Junneng's eyes flashed, as if he guessed what Fatty Zhao was thinking, and said with a smile: "I'm thirsty after drinking. Let's go and have a couple of bowls."

Fatty Zhao hesitated for a moment, but still walked over and asked for two bowls of bayberry water.

"Are you from Liaodong?" Zhang Junneng asked casually while drinking thirsty water.

"Yes, yes!" The middle-aged man stopped and forced a smile on his silly face.

Zhang Junneng nodded and asked, "How is it? Is it okay?"

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands and said, "We are living with relatives. We have relatives to help us and we can even have enough to eat."

Fatty Zhao drank up the water he was thirsty for, looked at the girl deeply, threw a piece of silver into the big bowl for collecting money, turned around and left without saying a word.

"Sir, you gave me too much." The middle-aged man stretched out his hand to greet and asked for change.

Zhang Junneng waved his hand vigorously and said, "Keep it. I told you to keep it. No need to look for it."

After a few quick steps, Zhang Junneng caught up with Fatty Zhao. He put his arm around his good brother's shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's go find a place to have a few more drinks. I heard there's a barbecue restaurant in the east of the city that's delicious."

Fatty Zhao readily agreed, his smile a bit forced. "Come on, you don't know how much I can drink, right? I can easily drink two rounds of yours."

The two men walked away talking and laughing, and the middle-aged man's voice of thanks could be faintly heard behind them.

………………

It’s almost autumn, but it’s still so hot!

Zhang Zhuzi stopped in front of the wooden gate, raised his arm to wipe the sweat off his face, and then called out, "Is anyone home?"

Not long after, with a crisp response, Yingzi walked out of the house with wet hair. She recognized Zhang Zhuzi through the fence and gate, and hurriedly quickened her pace.

"Brother Zhang, come in quickly." Yingzi opened the gate, smiled and let him in. She rubbed her wet hands on her clothes twice and was about to take the bag that Zhang Zhuzi was carrying.

"Don't take up your hands. I'll put it at the door for you." Zhang Zhuzi walked over and put the bag of rice by the door.

Yingzi hurriedly took a stool, poured a bowl of water, and took out a wet towel to wipe Zhang Zhuzi's sweat.

"The grain is being distributed really quickly." Yingzi asked with some surprise after finishing her work, "I thought it would be after autumn!"

Zhang Zhuzi took two sips of water, wiped his mouth, and said, "I heard it was shipped from the South China Sea, not from our Ming Dynasty."

Nanyang? I don't know what that place is. Yingzi smiled and didn't ask any further questions.

Zhang Zhuzi pulled a paper bag from the cloth bag at his waist, handed it over, and said, "This is medicinal herbs, prepared for the army. I asked someone to get a bag, boil it and give it to you, old man!"

Yingzi took it and thanked him repeatedly, "Brother Zhang, thank you for taking care of me. I really don't know how to thank you."

"Why thank me? We're all just from the same village." Zhang Zhuzi stood up and said, "I heard the imperial court is going to send a large ship here to catch whales. We should work harder fishing and farming."

Suddenly remembering something, Zhang Zhuzi quickly said, "Oh right, let's build a shed or a small house at home. The court is sending a batch of ducks to the islands, so we need to take good care of them. From now on, life will get better and better."

Yingzi nodded vigorously. Seeing a hole in Zhang Zhuzi's clothes, she smiled and said, "Don't leave yet. I'll get some needle and thread and mend a few stitches on your clothes."

"Don't bother." Zhang Zhuzi glanced down and said nonchalantly, "I still have to inform others. The army is expected to be back soon, so I need to make more preparations."

"Did we win?" Yingzi stopped and asked with wide eyes.

Zhang Zhuzi smiled and nodded, saying, "Although we don't have exact information yet, Lushun Fort is definitely held. I estimate that the Jiannu will suffer a lot of casualties."

Yingzi grinned and said, "Those ditches we dug are useful. I know they're useful because of the thunder-like noises during military training."

Zhang Zhuzi nodded repeatedly, waved with a smile, turned around and limped out of the yard.

Staring at the limp but strong figure in the distance, Yingzi pursed her lips and stood there for a long time until the swaying figure disappeared in the distance.

………………

Outside Lushun Fort.

On the battlefield, shouts and screams filled the air, which were occasionally drowned out by the loud noises of explosions and musket fire.

One side was attacked from both sides, while the other side bravely resisted stubbornly. The fighting was extremely brutal.

As one soldier fell, another took his place. The spears flickered and the swords gleamed coldly. Each living life seemed fragile and disappeared in an instant.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!