Chapter 57: Return Gift from the Border
After taking Yanmen County at the border, the Xiao family army has been resting during this period, cleaning up the barbarian politicians and businessmen, and providing porridge and daily necessities to the people.
Wait for a new batch of sleeping bags to arrive before continuing to attack Shuozhou.
After all, the further north you go, the colder it gets.
They didn't dare to gamble with the lives of their soldiers anymore.
When Jiang Qian'an personally brought supplies from Xiurong to Yanmen County, the people along the way saw him and knelt down to kowtow, their red eyes full of excitement.
The extreme cold froze the crops and people to death. The barbarians treated them like animals. It was only when the Xiao family army attacked the city that they rescued them.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my life!"
"With His Highness here, we no longer have to suffer from hunger, cold, or worry!"
"Long live His Highness!"
“…”
Jiang Qian'an is used to such scenes, but he still feels slightly moved.
Once the people on the border receive a little favor, they will forget the previous oppression and exploitation by the court and regard the royal family and the court as their heaven.
Then he should hold up the sky for them...
After pacifying the people, General Xiao brought people out to greet them.
Jiang Qian'an followed them into the temporary general's residence and listened to their report on the situation in Yanmen County.
"All the quilts have been distributed, and the death toll in the city is decreasing. But the city's recovery is slow, and without warm clothing, people still can't live a normal life."
Even going out to get porridge is risking one's life.
They simply distributed food so that they would go out less temporarily.
Jiang Qi'an nodded. "Yanmen County suffered relatively little damage, so there's not much work for the people. It's okay to wait for a while. Miss Chen's workshop is already working hard on the production of clothes."
General Xiao agreed, then carefully asked, "What about the sleeping bags and cotton shoes used during the march..."
"All sleeping bags will arrive today, but Miss Chen hasn't said anything about cotton shoes yet."
"It shouldn't take long! Her workshop is amazing. Even the imperial court may not be able to acquire such a large amount of supplies so quickly!" General Xiao praised Chen Jinyue's shop with a filter, and was very skilled in praising it without thinking.
However, as soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
General Xiao and several deputy generals all knew that someone was coming from the capital.
Only people came, but they didn't bring any food or supplies. The only few carts were provided privately by Lord Sang.
This clearly shows that the court has abandoned them.
But Jiang Qi'an is resisting...
This was the first time General Xiao had met Jiang Qian'an since the arrival of the people from the capital. He studied his expression and opened his mouth to say something when Jiang Qian'an suddenly gave an order to his attendants.
"Bring the things in."
"yes!"
The attendant walked out quickly, and soon a large and exquisite box was carried in.
In the past, except when they went to the store to buy things that needed to be packed in exquisite boxes, their things were not so valuable at other times.
Seeing this, General Xiao looked at Jiang Qian'an in confusion, "Your Highness, are you collecting this for Miss Chen?"
Jiang Qian'an shook his head, "This is a gift from Miss Chen."
General Xiao, “???”
Jiang Qianan opened the box, and inside were colorful things in various shapes and small pieces.
General Xiao's expression became even more confused. "What is this...?"
Jiang Qi'an skillfully opened one and handed it to him, "Try it."
General Xiao looked at the round thing with a serious expression. He took it in his hand and squeezed it calmly. It felt very hard.
He didn't understand what was going on, and met Jiang Qian'an's expectant eyes. He put it into his mouth doubtfully but cooperatively.
The next second, his stern brows relaxed.
"Caramel?!"
"Yes, Miss Chen heard that you like sweets, so she asked me to bring it to you."
General Xiao looked at the box full of various kinds of malt candy, shocked and terrified. "So much?! How can this be? This is too expensive!"
Jiang Qian'an had calmed down at this moment. Seeing that General Xiao's face was as shocked as his own at the beginning, he explained patiently in a gentle voice.
"Miss Chen said that malt sugar is not expensive over there. Ordinary people can afford it. It's a common thing."
“…”
General Xiao tasted the sweet taste in his mouth and reached out to pick up each one to examine carefully.
After a long while, he slowly said, "Okay! Okay! Okay!"
My chest felt congested and my cloudy eyes became blurry.
A shop owner he had never met before respected his preferences, but the emperor, to whom he was loyal, was suspicious of him.
Xiao Chengyu knew how his father felt at the moment, but he didn't know how to comfort him.
He just turned to look at Jiang Qian'an and suddenly joked, "Your Highness, Father Marshal has a gift, do I have one?"
“Nonsense!”
General Xiao subconsciously scolded his son for not knowing the rules.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Qian'an actually replied, "You have it too."
Xiao Chengyu just asked casually, jokingly, but he didn't expect it to be true, "What do I have?!"
Jiang Qi'an said, "Miss Chen gave you a large cup of milk tea. It's a drink. It has a strong milky aroma and a sweet taste. It also contains many filling ingredients, some of which melt in your mouth, and some of which have an excellent taste..."
He described it for a long time, and Xiao Chengyu couldn't help swallowing his saliva. Then he changed the subject and said with a hint of apology.
"But it's best eaten while it's hot. Since you're not in Xiurong City, I've given it to Lord Sang."
“…”
General Xiao's mouth twitched.
Looking at his son who always committed insubordination, he inexplicably felt that it was retribution.
Xiao Chengyu also realized that something was wrong, "Your Highness!!!"
He was only concerned about one thing, "You said I would accept it if you ate it, so how are you going to give it to him?!"
That Sang Heyuan, with the face of a profiteer, was full of cunning schemers. As soon as he arrived at the border, he started asking around and seemed to be staying put.
No matter how he looked at him, he felt disgusted.
"I already had one, so I gave it to him." Jiang Qian'an answered honestly.
Xiao Chengyu, "..."
After chatting and laughing for a while, Jiang Qian'an asked General Xiao to clean up a room. He went directly from the general's mansion to the shop to pick up the batch of sleeping bags.
Everyone worked quickly, and when everything was ready, General Xiao suddenly called out to Jiang Qian'an who was about to enter.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment."
He pulled out a cloth bag from his bosom and carefully took out a comb from it. "This was given to me by my wife when I left Beijing. I wanted to keep it as a souvenir, but if it weren't for Miss Chen, tens of thousands of loyal souls of my Xiao family army would have been buried on the border long ago."
He put the comb back into the bag and handed it to Xiao Chengyu. "Your Highness said that Miss Chen is short of money and may be facing difficulties. My husband and I, as elders, are giving this back to Miss Chen. I hope she can get through this smoothly."
Seeing this, Xiao Chengyu also went back into the house and took out a leather bag. "Miss Chen gave me a drink, so I'll treat her to a drink as a return gift!"
This is the only thing he can come up with.
The accompanying team of soldiers had been thinking about returning the favor since they drank the milk tea bought by Miss Chen that day.
But they didn't dare to speak up because they didn't have any precious treasures.
Now I see that the general and the major general have taken out the return gifts. Although they are not very precious, they are treasures that I treasure.
"Your Highness, I actually have a gift in return! This is a jewelry box I made myself, polished bit by bit from a piece of old wood. I hope you can pass it on to Miss Chen."
"Your Highness, I have one too! This is the book my son studied. It's my hope for survival in countless desperate situations, and it's my most precious possession!"
"Your Highness, I made a small windmill..."
"Your Highness, I made a cute puppy out of snow..."
"Your Highness, I saw a plum blossom in full bloom by the river..."
"Your Highness, this is a stone I picked up. It's very beautiful..."
A group of young men came up and took out the things they thought were most precious.
Muster up the courage to give back the cup of sweet milk tea you received in the snow.
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