Chapter 87 A Fierce Battle

He An finished his meal in a few bites, wiped his greasy mouth, and stood up: "Manager, please take a look at the account books for the past few days."

He took out the account book and presented it to Zhu Mingyue.

Zhu Mingyue couldn't recognize many characters, but she could understand the last page, which clearly stated one hundred and ninety-seven taels of silver.

Zhu Mingyue's eyes widened suddenly, so shocked she could barely speak.

"So many?"

He An calmly replied, "Not much. I inquired beforehand, and the restaurants in the county make over two hundred taels a month in profit. We've only made this much in forty days."

“Brother He’an said that our business is better than others, so there’s no reason why we should earn less money than them.”

Zhu Mingyue remained noncommittal. The restaurants in the county were much bigger than their tiny shop.

He An: "Our only drawback is that the shop is too small and can't accommodate more customers. The current revenue is not our limit, but the limit of the shop."

Zhu Mingyue took a deep breath and suppressed her excitement, saying, "I never realized you were such a business genius."

He An thoroughly understood and mastered the tricks of merchants from later generations, such as promotions, discounts, and free gifts to stimulate customer spending.

“So,” He An said seriously, “shopkeeper, I want to discuss something with you.”

Zhu Mingyue's heart stirred: "Go ahead."

He An exclaimed excitedly, "Let's expand the shop!"

Zhu Mingyue said with a troubled expression, "But we don't have enough manpower. Including me, we only have four chefs in our shop. You and Xiao Cui have to do the purchasing, entertaining guests, and accounting."

He An looked at him and said, "Manager, you've worked hard. Hire a few more people."

Zhu Mingyue was somewhat tempted. "Let's take another look. If we find a suitable shop, we can buy it first. As for the others, we can take our time!"

This can't be rushed. Putting aside everything else, it's not easy to recruit chefs, and training them takes time. This restaurant can't be expanded just like that.

He An asked, "Does that mean the shopkeeper has agreed?"

Zhu Mingyue nodded.

He An was overjoyed. He was heartbroken every time he saw his shop lose many customers because it was too small to accommodate them.

"By the way, I don't feel comfortable leaving the silver in the shop, nor can I take it home without permission. I have deposited 150 taels in a money exchange, and I always keep the banknotes on my person."

Zhu Mingyue's hand trembled slightly when he received the silver notes. He was incapable of saving money; as soon as he had a little silver, he would buy shops or build houses. Not only did he spend his own money, but he also spent Xie Pei's. When would he ever have so much silver in his hands?

He An knew he couldn't save money, so he advised him, "You should keep this money for yourself, in case something happens in the future."

Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll accept it. You all worked hard while I was away. At the end of this month, each of you will receive an extra tael of silver. He An contributed the most, so he will receive an extra two taels."

“Little Cui’s brother also has one.”

"I don't want to!"

Zhu Mingyue said, "You've worked hard too, take two hundred coins and buy some candy." He couldn't bring himself to ask a minor to do his free labor.

Zhu Mingyue made some arrangements for the next few days, and then said, "I would like to rest at home tomorrow."

He An expressed his understanding. Given his manager's physique, it was truly remarkable that he had withstood so many days of travel without falling ill. He really deserved a rest, so he said, "Don't worry, he can stay away for ten days or half a month."

Zhu Mingyue: ...You make it sound like he's dispensable. Well, he really doesn't serve any purpose anymore.

He glanced silently at the three honest and simple apprentices he had personally taught, tears welling up in his eyes. Clutching the silver notes, he couldn't help but ask himself, "Is this the legendary case of teaching apprentices to starve their masters?"

He won't starve to death; on the contrary, with He An, a business prodigy, his wallet will only get fatter and fatter...

Everything at home is fine, except that the furniture is covered in a thick layer of dust because it hasn't been cleaned for a long time.

Zhu Mingyue filled a basin with water and cleaned the house inside and out until it shone brightly before she stopped.

The house was clean and tidy, which made her feel much more comfortable. Zhu Mingyue took a short break at home before going to the village chief's house.

It was the busy farming season, and the village chief's door was tightly shut. Zhu Mingyue patted the door a few times, but when no one answered, she had no choice but to go home.

As soon as he turned around, he bumped into Li Zhengyang's mother, who was carrying a water bag and a food box.

Li Zhengyang's mother was delivering food to the village chief when she saw someone lingering in front of her house in the distance, so she hurried back. When she saw Zhu Mingyue's face, she was overjoyed.

She walked briskly, exclaiming, "Oh my, you're back!"

“Auntie,” Zhu Mingyue greeted him with a smile, “I just got home. Brother Zhengyang asked me to give you a message, so I came to find you.”

“Zhengyang… Zhengyang asked you to deliver a message! This child…” Li Zhengyang’s mother was at a loss, and even stammered when she spoke.

After a while, she realized what was happening and slapped her forehead: "Look at your auntie, she's getting senile. What are we doing standing at the door? Come in quickly, your auntie will pour you some tea."

Li Zhengyang's mother poured him tea, then ran back into the house to get the snacks that Li Zhengming had given them as a token of his respect. "You must be tired from the journey. Have some snacks to nourish yourself."

The other party was too enthusiastic, and Zhu Mingyue couldn't refuse, so she could only pick up a piece and eat it in small bites with her tea.

After taking a couple of bites, he felt a bit overwhelmed by the richness of the pastries, so he put them down and took out a letter from his pocket and handed it over.

Li Zhengyang's mother wiped her hands and took the letter; her face was trembling with excitement.

Zhu Mingyue, knowing that Li Zhengming was not at home and that there was no one literate in the village, took the initiative to tell the other person some things about Li Zhengyang.

"What?! That silly boy Zhengyang can become an official!" Li Zhengyang's mother jumped up from her chair on the spot.

“It’s true, and…” Zhu Mingyue paused, then said with some difficulty, “He still has a lot of room for improvement.” He couldn’t bring himself to say the rest; it was too shameful to brag about someone else.

Li Zhengyang's mother was almost overwhelmed with joy: "I told him to behave himself after he went in, because his personality is too unruly and he would be punished if he didn't rein himself in. It seems I underestimated him; this kid does have some ability."

Zhu Mingyue almost choked, coughed a few times, and received a concerned greeting from Li Zhengyang's mother.

"Are you alright? The water isn't hot at all. Be careful when you drink it."

"Auntie, I'm fine." He covered the smile on his lips with a cough. It has to be said, mothers understand their children best. Li Zhengyang's bad temper had indeed caused him to be beaten with military rods several times.

He couldn't say any of this. First of all, he had promised Li Zhengyang not to complain to his parents. Second, given his aunt's condition, wouldn't it cause more worry if he told her?

Li Zhengyang's mother was overjoyed, and her fondness for Zhu Mingyue reached its peak. She then changed the subject and began to care about him:

"Mingyue, you must have suffered a lot on this journey!"

Zhu Mingyue shook her head: "It's alright, the brothers in the caravan are all very nice. I hitched a ride in a horse-drawn carriage along the way and didn't travel much."

Li Zhengyang's mother disagreed, saying, "Even if you don't walk, it's still exhausting. You must have suffered a lot on the road, sleeping poorly and eating badly..."

Just then, Zhu Mingyue turned her face, and when Li Zhengyang's mother saw this bright and rosy-cheeked little face, she couldn't bring herself to say the word "bitter."

She clicked her tongue. This child looks even fatter.

If she hadn't trusted that Zhu Mingyue had indeed gone to Jizhou, others would probably have suspected that he had just returned from a vacation.

Seeing that he hadn't suffered, she was relieved. This child's rare kindness and righteousness—traveling a long way and risking danger to visit his brother-in-law—was something she had initially disapproved of, and she had often worried about him these past few days.

Unexpectedly, he was quite capable and returned unharmed.

Li Zhengyang's mother was very interested in the affairs of Jizhou, and Zhu Mingyue, having nothing else to do, talked to him about it at length.

“Jizhou is all plains and the scenery is beautiful. Xie Pei even took me to see the peach blossoms, but unfortunately Brother Zhengyang couldn’t go because he had to go back to the military camp to train his men.”

Li Zhengyang's mother couldn't stop smiling: "The important thing is business; there will be plenty of peach blossoms to see later!" She never expected her rascal to become so mature after joining the army. Listening to Zhu Mingyue's description, he seemed like a stranger to her. Was this elite really her son? It all felt unreal.

"I have heard that the southern barbarians have invaded repeatedly, and the entire army is now on high alert."

Hearing this, Li Zhengyang's mother sighed. She was so focused on her son becoming an officer in the army and making something of himself that she almost forgot that they went to Jizhou to fight against the southern barbarians.

"I don't know when this battle will start or when it will end."

Zhu Mingyue understood her. This battle was like the guillotine on the guillotine, which was slow to fall. It might fall suddenly at any moment, or it might bring a pardon, but the process was always agonizing.

He still remembered the day he saw them off; both of them were dressed in military uniforms, looking ready to go to battle. Now, more than half a month has passed since they left Jizhou, and he wondered what had become of them since he left.

"Mingyue, what are you thinking about? Did Xie Pei and the others happen in Jizhou?" Li Zhengyang's mother asked cautiously.

Zhu Mingyue snapped out of her reverie and made up an excuse: "No, I was thinking about the shop!"

...

The setting sun cast a blood-red glow on the yellow earth outside Jizhou City.

The peach blossoms along the road were in full bloom, but there was no fragrance to be smelled; all the scents were masked by the heavy stench of blood.

A group of fewer than three hundred people, riding warhorses, formed a thin stream of people. Just as they were about to reach the fork in the road, Xie Pei suddenly reined in his horse and raised his hand, and the group behind him immediately stopped.

Everyone looked exhausted, and they remained silent, with only the heavy breathing of the warhorses and the sound of their hooves breaking the silence.

Xie Pei's sharp gaze swept across the two roads.

The road surface on the left side has obvious tire tracks and messy hoofprints. However, there are no traces on the right side.

Sun Kan frowned, pondered for a long time, then stepped forward and said, "My lord, there must be something amiss on the right side." He wasn't entirely sure either; battlefield tricks were ever-changing, and he couldn't possibly make a definitive judgment on this matter.

Zhong Hui dismounted, walked to the intersection, squatted down, picked up a smear of fine soil, and brought it to his nose to smell.

“There’s no smell.” He turned to look at the two of them, shook his head, and said with certainty. His nose was always very sensitive, and if a horse had trampled this place, he could still smell it even if someone had deliberately erased the traces.

A hint of doubt flashed in Sun Kan's eyes. "Could it be that we overestimated these southern barbarians? Did they really escape from the left side?"

Li Zhengyang echoed, "That must be it. It's not that you overestimated them, but that they anticipated your prediction. A road with obvious signs of escape and a road so clean it seems like no one has ever set foot on it would arouse suspicion in anyone."

“These southern barbarians are cunning. They want to make you doubt this clean road and misjudge us.”

Sun Kan rarely found his words reasonable, and he said seriously, "Sir, which way should we go?"

Everyone is waiting for Xie Pei's decision.

Xie Pei frowned, remaining silent, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the iron dart in his hand.

After about several tens of seconds, his expression gradually turned somewhat grim as he looked into the depths of the road, and he finally spoke: "Go back the way we came."

Li Zhengyang asked nervously, "Should we not chase them?"

Sun Kan and Zhong Hui both disagreed.

Sun Kan advised, "My lord, we have finally defeated these southern barbarians. We should press our advantage and pursue them now."

Xie Pei said sternly, "Don't forget, there are more than just these two paths."

Li Zhengyang was puzzled: "There are only these two roads!"

However, after being reminded, Sun Kan suddenly realized something and got goosebumps: "You forgot about the path we're standing on."

They were all deceived by the southern barbarians, their minds confined to the two paths before them. Even he, standing at this fork in the road, was only thinking about which one to take, completely forgetting the one beneath their feet.

Zhong Hui's eyes widened: "The enemy's routed troops didn't pass through here, so these two routes..."

Sun Kan said in a low voice, "I don't know, but I have a feeling that the road is deep and dangerous, and there may be an ambush. No matter which path we take, the result will not be good."

Having said that, is there anything else you don't understand? Li Zhengyang is skilled in martial arts, Zhong Hui is good at investigation with his keen ears and nose, and only Xie Pei and Sun Kan are truly intelligent.

Without a second thought, the three mounted their horses in perfect unison and shouted, "Let's go back the way we came!"

Before long, several hundred cavalrymen quickly changed direction and spurred their horses to return along the same route.

A cloud of yellow sand rose up and then fell back down.

A group of more than ten soldiers remained at the fork in the road.

"Brother Li, are we really not going with them?"

Li Ding, the leader, raised his chin arrogantly: "We came here to pursue the Southern Barbarians, but we've turned back the way we came. What do you think that means?"

The honest-looking man beside him replied weakly, "Because you don't want to pursue her anymore?"

Li Ding slapped the man's helmet. "Qian Dazhuang, I think you've become stupid under that idiot Li Zhengyang's command!" He casually pointed at someone and said, "Explain the reason to him."

The man accused hurriedly replied, "Those southern barbarians are clever. They didn't take either of those routes, but instead used some clever trick to return in the original direction. Captain, you must have discovered their scheme and gone back to pursue them."

Li Ding looked satisfied and nodded, praising, "Not bad."

Qian Dazhuang was still somewhat bewildered: "Then why don't we go back with them to hunt down the Southern Barbarians?"

Li Ding glanced at him with disdain, as if he were an idiot, and said, "I'm asking you if you still want to live."

Qian Dazhuang nodded hurriedly, thinking, "Yes! No one goes to the battlefield wanting to die." It was his first time fighting against the Southern Barbarians, and these Southern Barbarians were really fierce, fighting like they didn't care about their lives. Several times he had the thought of deserting, but he held back in the end, only daring to hide behind his comrades and flee in panic.

Even if they eventually defeat the enemy, what difference does it make? More than twenty of their own people have died, and the ground is littered with corpses dressed in the same clothes as him and with familiar faces. This has already shattered his psychological defenses.

So when Li Ding told him that following him would save his life, he agreed without any hesitation, as if grasping at a lifeline.

Li Ding looked down on his timid and honest appearance, but he still had too few followers and couldn't be too picky.

He thought that once he had gathered all of Li Zhengyang's idiot subordinates under his command, he would mercifully give such brainless bastards to Li Zhengyang.

He cleared his throat, adopting an air of officialdom: "Listen to me, those southern barbarians have all returned. Xie Pei and his men are going back to pursue them. I ask you, do you want to go back with them to fight the southern barbarians again, or stay here?"

Everyone was tempted. Pursuing the fleeing enemy troops sounded easy, but it would inevitably lead to another fierce battle, and casualties were unavoidable.

"But what if they discover we're hiding here?"

The Li Dynasty punished deserters very severely. In times of war, if a deserter was caught, he would usually be beheaded in public as a warning to others.

Li Ding waved his hand dismissively. Since he dared to stay, he must have thought of a way to avoid desertion.

"We can confirm that there are no enemies on these two roads ahead. Let's choose one and say that we were too eager to pursue the enemy to hear the orders."

That's certainly a good excuse. Even if you break military orders, you won't be beheaded. At most, you'll get a beating, which is still better than fighting to the death with the southern barbarians.

"Which one should we choose?"

Li Ding raised his hand in mid-air, moving his fingers left and right. After a while, his fingertips settled on the road on the right.

He personally witnessed Sun Hui smell the soil and immediately shake his head. This indicates that no one has ever walked this way before, and wouldn't it be safer if no one had walked here?

Li Ding was smug about his foolproof decision.