The soldiers were lucky if they could fill their stomachs on weekdays and occasionally have a treat.
Almost everyone is experiencing such a delicious and visually appealing meal for the first time.
They ate with gusto, their mouths agape, and whenever they had a spare moment, they would shower the food with compliments.
"My sister-in-law is absolutely amazing! Her cooking skills are incredible!"
"Exactly, exactly, even the imperial chefs are probably only this good!"
Li Laosi was extremely proud: "My wife's ancestors were imperial chefs. You know Xiankelai Restaurant in the city? That's my elder brother's restaurant. My wife cooks her own dishes there. They only serve one table every five days, and the reservations are booked until after the New Year!"
The crowd couldn't stand his boastful attitude, and since they were all brothers in arms, they didn't hold back and started criticizing him directly.
"You've said it so many times, we can recite it backwards!"
"That's right, that's right, it's your sister-in-law who's powerful, what does it have to do with you?!"
"Hmph, that's right, we thank Sister-in-law Xie, not you!" Wei Erniu added憨憨地, which made Li Laosi snatch the chicken leg from his hand and eat it in one bite.
Everyone was laughing and joking, and the courtyard was so lively it felt like a pot had boiled over.
The village chief couldn't help but sigh, "When we were young, we were just like these lads. Back then, Old Zhao was the most mischievous, and we wanted to beat him up every day. Now, we're really getting old!"
"Uncle isn't old at all. Putting aside everything else, our whole village relies on you for everything!" Li Lao Er quickly changed the subject and asked about village affairs. "Uncle, we've almost bought all the stone and timber. Shouldn't we build a new house for the village boy?"
As Li Lao Er asked the questions, he poured wine for the village chief.
The village chief nodded and replied, "Uncle, I had something to discuss with you since you weren't coming back today. There are about a hundred guests visiting the hot spring valley every day, and they all have to pass through the village to get in and out. This isn't ideal."
“If one of those guests has malicious intentions, we really can’t prevent it. What do you think? Why don’t we open another road that bypasses our village and goes directly to the hot spring valley?”
“When a young man in our village gets married and builds a new house, we arrange for him to live at the intersection near the archway. That way, if anyone comes to visit or cause trouble, they won't just rush to the door; someone will stop them first, right?”
These words reminded Li Lao Er that the road leading to the hot spring valley passed through the village and indeed posed a potential danger.
Anything happening in the village is easily discovered by outsiders, making it easy for them to exploit loopholes.
Furthermore, with the young men of each family getting married, the row houses, which were not spacious to begin with, became even narrower after the addition of side rooms.
When several generations live together, conflicts are inevitable, and arguments and discord are likely to occur.
It would be a great idea to assign young people to the crossroads and build a small village there, so they could guard the crossroads and the melon fields.
"The uncle is right. After we finish eating, let's go for a walk over to the intersection and see if there's a suitable place to build a house."
Li Lao Er agreed, which made the village chief beam with joy and nod repeatedly.
Soon, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, and it was time to part ways.
Li Yong also wanted to go to the Wei family's wedding banquet, but firstly, he had just arrived home not long ago, and secondly, his child still had a low-grade fever that hadn't subsided, so he was worried about him.
So he called Huiniang home to fetch two pieces of cloth and a silver ingot as his congratulatory gift, and asked Li Laosi to take them over.
The soldiers mounted their horses one after another. The things prepared by the Li family were properly packed into baskets and distributed to several steady soldiers to carry, and then they set off.
Tao Hongying led people to tidy up the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks, while Li Lao Er and Li Lao Tai followed the village chief to the archway to check the terrain.
Jiayin, of course, tugged at her godfather's sleeve and skipped over to the next room to whisper something.
The shrimp porridge she had been cooking for most of the morning was also taken away.
There were many people at the banquet, so they didn't eat much.
Right now, the father and daughter are sitting under the eaves, chatting and slowly drinking porridge, both looking content and happy.
"Fu Niu'er, your second uncle said you've been learning martial arts from Doctor Zhang recently?" the Marquis asked.
Jiayin thought for a moment. She figured she couldn't hide the matter in the palace from her godfather, and she didn't want to hide it either. So she said, "Yes, before, I just wanted to learn about medicinal herbs with Grandpa Zhang. I wanted to try planting them, especially the main herbs used to make hemostatic medicine."
"Grandpa Zhang was free at the time, and he taught me a lot of tricks. When I went to the palace to deliver melons, the Third Princess bullied me, so I punctured the acupoints on the soles of her feet, and she was in so much pain that she looked like a pig being slaughtered."
"After I got back, I told my second uncle, and he advised my grandma to let me learn more from Grandpa Zhang. Grandpa Zhang agreed to teach me properly, but then he wanted to research some strange prescriptions and thought I was wasting his time, so he threw a medical book at me and made me memorize it..."
Jiayin was a little frustrated, pouting as she complained, "That old man is really unethical. He ate so many good things from our family, and then he wanted my second uncle to build him a courtyard. And then he complained that teaching apprentices was too much trouble!"
The Marquis found it amusing, ruffled her hair, picked out some shrimp from his bowl and gave them to her, saying, "Come with me to Xindu for a day tomorrow. You don't need to worry about Doctor Zhang; your godfather has a way to make him treat you like an ancestor from now on."
"He'll teach you whatever you want to learn! Even if you don't want to learn, he'll chase after you and beg you to learn!"
"Really?" Jiayin's eyes sparkled, and she grinned, showing her missing little teeth. "Godfather is amazing!"
"Eat quickly, and after you finish, go back and find some nice clothes and jewelry. Dress up beautifully and go into the city with your godfather tomorrow. Also, have you neglected the business of the Marquis's mansion for a long time? Organize the accounts, and give me half of the profits." A dark cloud settled over the Marquis's eyes.
He finished his porridge, put down the bowl, and said, "Of the soldiers who went to war with me this time, more than 500 died, 200 were seriously wounded, and more than 600 were slightly wounded. The national treasury is empty, and the compensation money will not be much. I will make some private contributions."
Jiayin's heart tightened, and the porridge she was eating suddenly lost its freshness and aroma.
It wasn't that she was heartbroken about the money, but rather that she couldn't help but sigh with sadness.
She was overjoyed when her adoptive father and father returned victorious.
But in the pursuit of victory, many people remained on the land north of the Yangtze River, or became disabled like Grandpa Zhao and his comrades.
War is always cruel; there is no beauty in it whatsoever…
"Father, my second uncle's Hundred Flowers Garden was almost destroyed by bad guys before, and I've been looking for a few guards. If there are any suitable soldiers among the wounded this time, could you please help my second uncle choose a few?"
"My uncle's fleet heading south also frequently encounters river bandits and needs protection. My uncle also needs to buy a house in Quanzhou to take care of the family business, so he must be short-handed."
"If all else fails, we can leave more people in Zhengjiazhuang. In a year or two, I'll have a lot of work that I need help with in Zhengjiazhuang, and I'll need manpower for all of it..."
Jiayin spoke in a hurry, wishing she could settle the wounded soldiers as soon as possible, not wanting these heroes who shed blood and sacrificed for the country to shed tears for having no one to live on.
As the marquis listened, he began to smile. The heaviness in his heart gradually dissipated in the sight of the chubby girl's eagerness...
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