Chapter 119

The Xia Kingdom has always attached great importance to the spiritual and moral development of its people, but reform cannot be accomplished overnight.

Although the Kush outpost is important, it is backed by the towering Baitou Mountain, which keeps most of the dangers out. Among the border outposts, it is already considered to have relatively good conditions. Therefore, many scarce resources will flow to outposts with more difficult conditions.

Kush used to have places like libraries, but they were destroyed in the war a few years ago and have never been rebuilt.

Jiang Wenxing's books were initially borrowed only by ordinary soldiers.

He initially thought his comrades were embarrassed not to take the books back to their dormitories, but later he discovered that, apart from the guides' dormitories, the sentries' and ordinary soldiers' dormitories did not have their lights on at night.

During the day, most soldiers have to participate in training and manage the life of the outpost, leaving them no time to read.

In resource-scarce places like Kush, every extra light bulb lit at night means less energy for the weapons depot.

Having spent over two years in Kush, Jiang Wenxing was well aware of Kush's resource reserves, with electricity being extremely scarce.

When night falls and the fog descends...

The wind in Kush is as cold as a knife; it comes from the snow-capped mountains and carries the bitter, cold air of the frozen plains.

Jiang Wenxing splashed his face in the cold water a few times, shivering as he wiped himself with a towel. He had worked late that day and hadn't had time to bring hot water.

The medical team was the first to finish training. When Jiang Wenxing arrived, Yano and Zhu Ning were washing their hair with the last bit of hot water. When they saw him, they were stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

Arno said, "Jiang, how did you get so dirty?"

Dirty? That's for sure. How can you not get covered in dust when working on the stove? Jiang Wenxing's face was dirty, his hair was dirty, his neck was covered in straw dust, and his hands were as black as coal. He was also carrying a broken thermos.

Arno was spotless, his shirt was snow-white, and his eyebrows and eyes were delicate and rosy, like a person in a painting. He glanced into the hot water room, dried his hair, and said, "Put some more water in, there wasn't much water left when we came."

Zhu Ning dried his hair and looked Jiang Wenxing over from head to toe, his face showing a hint of surprise. How could Jiang Wenxing have gotten himself into such a sorry state? It was even worse than when they were homeless. His lips moved, but he didn't make a sound. He turned his back and remained silent, intending to pretend he didn't see anything.

Arno, carrying a thermos, smiled sweetly and said, "Jiang, I still have some water here, do you want some?"

Should we boil more water?

The firewood was brought back by the sentries on patrol. Most of it was whole birch stalks, which were difficult to chop and burn. Moreover, heating the boiler again would waste a lot of firewood. Which new guide would dare to do that?

Arno was certain that Jiang Wenxing wouldn't dare. Given Jiang Wenxing's personality, he would probably be furious with him by now, so why would he still want his things?

Jiang Wenxing glanced down at the kettle, then handed over his own: "Thank you."

Arno's smile faltered for a moment, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. He quickly recovered, hurriedly put the kettle back, and said somewhat awkwardly, "This... I suddenly remembered that I don't have much left."

Just kidding, washing your face with cold water here would definitely make you sick.

Yano tugged at Zhu Ning, who was clutching the kettle tightly as she passed Jiang Wenxing, but remained silent.

Jiang Wenxing glanced back at Yano's retreating figure, snorted, and decided not to shower since he couldn't get hot water. He picked up the kettle and headed straight for Director Liu's office. He could vaguely see someone inside through the window, so Jiang Wenxing knocked on the door.

Someone inside agreed, and Jiang Wenxing pushed open the door and went in.

Two people were sitting in the room. Director Liu, wearing glasses, was bending over to look at the documents in Ilya's hand. Ilya wasn't wearing his combat uniform today, but rather the uniform of a border guard from Xia Country. The uniform was more fitted and crisp than his training uniform. Since ancient times, sentries have always been handsome men... The captain was as upright and dignified as ever! He was dashing and heroic! Jiang Wenxing's senses, which had been corrupted by Yano, were refreshed by his dignified and righteous aura.

Director Liu and Ilya looked over together, then fell silent.

Who is this soldier, who looks as if he has been roasted by fire and buried by charcoal?

"Director Liu, Captain!"

That voice? Jiang Wenxing? Director Liu adjusted his glasses: "Comrade Jiang, what's this...?"

Jiang Wenxing was immersed in the joy of his work, his face beaming with pride: "Reporting to the director, the mess hall made roasted naan bread today, enough for three days!"

The entire outpost has about a hundred people, three meals a day for three days. Haha, this is no small project. But the guide, such a capable and good guide, is being kept in the mess hall making flatbread. It's a waste of his talent.

But the old guide was so stubborn; he insisted that the young guide learn to be patient. Patient? What's there to learn? These days, you can't use the same tactics you use on the enemy on your own comrades. If this continues, this perfectly good guide will end up cooking in the mess hall!

Director Liu was inwardly distressed, but he couldn't say it aloud. He patted the chair very kindly and said, "Come, sit down first. What's your problem?"

“Yes,” Jiang Wenxing breathed out, rubbed his frozen hands, and sat down in the chair. “I want to put some tables and chairs in my room. Squad Leader Xiong said to ask the director.”

Director Liu was about to say "no problem" when, with a blink of an eye, he turned and tossed the keys from his waist to Ilya: "This matter? You can talk to... Ilya, I think I have a meeting with the old guide, I'll be going now."

Director Liu slipped away, leaving only Jiang Wenxing and Ilya in the room.

Jiang Wenxing was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the captain.

The captain had probably just returned from a meeting; there was no smell of blood on him, and his expression was serious but not stern, suggesting he was relatively relaxed.

"Captain, is it alright to go now?"

Ilya hummed in agreement, a slight smile playing on his usually serious lips. He stood up, holding the keys, and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the storeroom."

Jiang Wenxing followed behind Ilya, and as they walked, he couldn't help but measure his height with his eyes.

Jiang Wenxing himself wasn't short, only reaching Captain Ilya's shoulder. Although the other was a wolf-like sentinel with a slender build, he was a size larger than Jiang Wenxing overall.

Author's Note:

I'll update with 10 more coins tomorrow.