From the moment she entered the village, Xiaoman's eyes kept wandering to the soldiers.
He was dressed in patched hemp clothes, and was not very old. He had come with Jiang Zhi, so he was not scolded. After they found out that he was delivering medicine and food, they let him in.
Jiang Zhi went to find the doctor Xu Dong and instructed Xiao Man to follow the handyman to deliver the rabbit and wood ear mushrooms to the kitchen of the clinic to see if they would accept them. If they didn't, she would think of another way.
Before Xiaoman could even walk over, she was already being watched.
Outside the medical tent, some wounded soldiers, whose injuries were gradually healing, were bored and gathered together to chat and pass the time.
Upon seeing two villagers carrying things, they naturally perked up.
As soon as Jiang Zhi went to the pharmacy, he immediately said, "Hey! Kid, what's in your basket? Bring it over so your brothers can see!"
Someone waved to Xiaoman.
Xiaoman couldn't wait and quickly ran over: "Brother Bing! I have a live rabbit here!"
"Rabbit! Look! Look!"
Upon hearing that there was a live rabbit, several wounded soldiers rushed over and hurriedly opened Xiaoman's basket.
Elsewhere, "seven hands and eight feet" is an adjective, but here it becomes a quantifier.
Several wounded soldiers had their arms in slings or were limping, and some were even missing an arm; none of them were alive and well.
Xiaoman didn't let the soldiers lift a finger; she herself showed them the contents of her basket.
Upon seeing the several large rabbits inside, as well as the smoked pheasants and rabbits, the group was immediately delighted.
"Hey! After sitting in this medical shed for half a month, my mouth is practically tasteless. Why don't we pool our money, buy this stuff, and have a meal together?" one of the burly men suggested.
Someone said, "Hey, this is for the medical tent. It's paid for by General Zhang from his public account. Why do you have to pay for it yourself?"
The man known as Xiang Tou spat: "Look at this, there's so little meat for everyone to eat, not even enough to fill a tooth gap. They drink medicine every day and only have coarse tea and plain food. That Zhang guy must have swallowed all that money."
Before anyone else could agree, another person said, "Let's think about the future. We're all injured, and it's uncertain whether we can even get back to camp. We'd be lucky to even have medicine. You think you can get a reward for your meritorious service?"
"If we don't perform meritorious service, see if Commander Zhang dares to give us any face."
We brothers risked our lives to fill Yuzhou Prefecture, and we'll be returning to camp eventually, so we'll have to find a leader for ourselves.
"I'm useless now, I just hope to get better, go home and farm a few acres of land, get married and have a few kids. When it's hot, I can lie on a cool chair and have someone fan me; when it's cold, someone can warm my feet! Hehe, that's how I can live!"
"Yes, King Zhou said that from now on, we only need to pay 10% of the grain tax, and the rest of the harvest will be ours. Life will be much better than it is now!"
In front of Xiaoman, the group talked unabashedly about how they had killed people to gain merit, discussed their future prospects, and even dreamed about what the future held. Xiaoman listened with a look of admiration, her eyes wide open.
After exchanging a few words, Xiang Junhan still thought about eating meat and said to Xiaoman, "Little brother, how much are these rabbits, pheasants, and wood ear mushrooms? We'll buy them all."
Xiaoman brings me back to my senses.
These people are capable of killing corrupt officials; they are incredibly bold. I must make friends with them.
"I admire you all for your injuries and hard work. These things... I'll sell them to you cheaply to help you recover!"
When the soldiers saw that Xiaoman was so young and wanted to sell this precious food cheaply, they were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Their food and lodging were provided by the medical shed, and they were never owed military pay. They just grumbled when they were bored.
Knowing that this child is passionate, I knew that if I took it upon myself to sell him cheaply, he would definitely suffer the consequences when he got back.
Besides, if we and a few others were to save money for the medical shed by eating for free, we would be the ones to bear the bad reputation of taking advantage of others, while the one who benefits would still be the one surnamed Zhang.
Xiang Junhan said directly, "Don't sell it cheaply. How about this? Your family definitely needs to exchange for grain, and we can also provide grain. We'll go to the kitchen and get it for you right now. Those cooks won't dare to disobey."
Since the matter had been brought up, Xiaoman naturally agreed. Soon, a cook came over and processed the rabbit into pieces, along with pheasant, to prepare a special meal for the group.
The group then paid the kitchen staff to allocate some grain, salt, oil, and seasonings.
The cooks in the kitchen had obviously received instructions from Commander Zhang. Knowing that these wounded soldiers who had just come from the battlefield were most irritable, they did not argue, but carried out the requests one by one, and then went to report to someone.
Xiaoman was overjoyed: "Brothers, you soldiers are all so straightforward. I truly admire you!"
He was happy to sell rabbits, and even happier to get close to these idols he admired.
The intense gaze in his eyes made the wounded soldiers feel as if they were under a blazing sun, making even the grown men feel embarrassed.
However, this heartfelt admiration made these grown men overjoyed. They were currently in a period of hurt and despair, and who would refuse the enthusiasm of a little fanboy at the lowest point in their lives?
"Come, young man, sit down and let's chat. What's your name? How old are you? Where do you live? You're from Xu Family Village, right? Then why didn't you run away with the other villagers..."
Several people surrounded Xiaoman and started asking her all sorts of questions.
Xiaoman told the most about her family, making it sound pitiful.
My family has elderly grandparents, an older brother who is paralyzed in bed, and a 3-year-old niece. If the whole family were to flee the famine, they would only die on the road. So, we hid in the mountains with our neighbors to survive.
Finally, he also talked about the wildfire and the murder of Uncle Zhao, saying that it was also dangerous to escape to the mountains.
The men felt sympathetic upon hearing this story, and marveled at it, saying, "It's right that you stayed and didn't wander off, given your family's situation. The roads aren't easy to travel on."
"But you all survived the fire in the dead of night and even found food in the wilderness; you're incredibly lucky!"
The soldier surnamed Xiang said, "Those people who burned the mountain should be soldiers who escaped from the nearby county town."
They usually oppress the people, and when trouble arises, they use refugees to raid several towns. Their method is to first have the refugees knock on the doors, then the defeated soldiers hide inside and enter the town to plunder and kill.
As a soldier, he naturally knew what had happened during that period.
Just as Jiang Zhi had thought, this place was indeed set on fire and killed by defeated soldiers, but the target of the looting and killing was not the hundreds of miles of Yuzhou Prefecture, but several neighboring towns.
Xiaoman's face turned pale: "What happened to the people in those towns?"
"What else could they do? They not only stole gold and silver, but also abducted many young women and wives. The defeated soldiers also occupied the mountain and became bandits."
"But don't worry, the medical tents set up along the way are just to protect the official road. There will be an official post station here in the future." Someone patiently explained, even revealing some inside information.
Xiaoman looked surprised: "So the medical shed was a rest stop!"
Now that bandits and outlaws are fleeing everywhere, and the new army is fighting the imperial court at the front, they are too busy to deal with them and have no manpower or resources to investigate.
In order to prevent further chaos caused by fires in the rear, and to ensure that every official road remained unobstructed, medical tents were set up along the way.
Some lightly wounded soldiers and guards could take on the role of the supply depot, and could also keep the wandering refugees who were running around aimlessly in place, so that they could voluntarily return to their hometowns.
Of course, if something happens at a medical shed, the military camps in nearby counties will naturally be dispatched to clear the mountain, which is truly killing several birds with one stone.
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