Chapter 20 Chapter 20
The hot meal was delivered quickly. Perhaps because of the strong man's instructions, the meal looked much more normal this time: a bowl of slightly gray steamed buns and a bowl of black pickles.
The steamed buns seemed to have just been steamed, and still had the unique aroma of pasta. Jiang Huai swallowed his saliva, and the others were also drooling at the food here.
Their life on the road of exile was even harder than Jiang Huai's. They had even less food in their stomachs. The food they ate in the military camp was just enough to fill their stomachs with water. They could still last for a while without moving. They had been trying to use their brains last night and were already dizzy with hunger. When they smelled the smell of normal food, they would have rushed to grab it if they didn't remember where it was.
"Move everything off this table." Jiang Huai pointed to a table.
Although the others didn't understand, Jiang Huai had the food as a hostage. Even though the others didn't understand, they still quickly cleaned up a clean table.
Jiang Huai blew away the dust on the table, then put the steamed buns and pickles on it and met the burning gazes of others.
Jiang Huai counted the number of steamed buns. There were nine in total. There were four people on their side, and if each of them got two, there would still be some left over.
After Jiang Huai made sure that the steamed buns were about the same size, he divided the pile of steamed buns into four portions, three portions of two and one portion of three.
No one cared that there was an extra bun in one portion. Their eyes were all fixed on the buns in the other portions. Although they could see that the buns were almost the same size, they still couldn't help but want to see which one had more.
After distributing the steamed buns, Jiang Huai looked at the pickled vegetables on the side. The steamed buns were easy for him to distribute, but for the pickled vegetables, Jiang Huai was not so confident in his ability to weigh them. If they were not distributed evenly, Jiang Huai met the burning gazes of the others and asked, "Who of you is willing to share this pickled vegetable?"
Before anyone else could speak up, Jiang Huai added, "Whoever is responsible for distribution will take it last."
As soon as these words were spoken, two of the three people fell silent. They knew their own abilities. They could eat more and take more, but as for distributing the food evenly, even if they were to do it themselves, they could not guarantee that they would be able to do it. What if they got the smallest portion, which was theirs? They would be so angry that they would die.
"Young master, I am willing to share." The oldest old man among the three stood up.
Jiang Huai made room for him, and the old man stepped forward and weighed the bowl of pickles. Since there were no extra bowls and chopsticks, the old man put the pickles directly on the steamed buns. The other two people stared at his actions, trying to figure out which one had more pickles.
After looking around, the two found that the old man dared to stand up and must have some ability. The pickles were divided so evenly that it was impossible to tell which portion had more.
"Sir, I have divided the food." The old man put down the bowl of pickles.
Jiang Huai took the first step and took the three steamed buns. Then he said, "Each of you can take one of the remaining ones. You go first."
Jiang Huai randomly pointed at someone. The other person had already prepared everything. As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly grabbed two steamed buns and started eating them. The other person also quickly took one.
The old man fell behind and picked up the last steamed bun and started eating it slowly.
For a moment, the only sound in the house was eating. Jiang Huai originally thought that he might not be able to finish three steamed buns, but after he ate them, he found that after being tired all night, his appetite really became bigger. He finished the three steamed buns easily.
Although it was not a good idea to sleep right after eating, Jiang Huai knew that he only had some time to sleep now. Once the soldiers found a new accountant, he would have to work non-stop.
Jiang Huai yawned and chose to lie down to sleep. He also told everyone else to go to sleep quickly, otherwise they would have to start working when the new people arrived.
…
After being advised by Jiang Huai, the attitude of the soldiers who were sent to find people who could do the accounting improved. After they explained the reasons clearly, several people volunteered enthusiastically. Considering that the number of accounts was indeed large, they also went to look for the prisoners who had come before and found more than ten people who could do the accounting.
Seeing so many people coming, the strong man was overjoyed and thought that things would be easier now.
If he was asked to manage these people, the strong man became impatient. Seeing Jiang Huai on the side, he directly grabbed him and said, "You are smart, so you will be responsible for settling the accounts of these people. Tell me when you are done."
After saying this, the strong man left in a hurry, but he remembered to leave two soldiers to guard the door to prevent Jiang Huai from being without help.
Being forced into a task, Jiang Huai felt a little awkward, but he still maintained a calm look on his face.
Jiang Huai didn't think that all these prisoners were good people. Or maybe there might be some good people, but they were definitely few. If they found out that he was easy to bully, they might have some bad intentions.
Although Jiang Huai had never done much accounting, he still knew a little about categorizing the accounts. He collected all the accounts and asked everyone to take a quick look to determine what the account records were. Only after the classification was clear did he start to assign people.
He is responsible for the statistical review of the entire account, including preliminary calculations, recalculation, and finalization. It seems easy, but the pressure is also great.
However, Jiang Huai didn't dare to delegate this task to anyone else. He was the person in charge, and if there were any problems, the military would still blame him. It would be better for him to shoulder the burden himself.
Although some people were dissatisfied with Jiang Huai, they had the strong man's words before them, and the two soldiers who stayed behind only listened to Jiang Huai's words, so even if they were dissatisfied, they had to obey him honestly.
The account books were cleared one by one, and Jiang Huai recorded the items one by one. However, the more he calculated, the more he found that there seemed to be some problems in the accounts. The withdrawals and consumption seemed normal, but they were too normal, which made him realize that something was wrong.
Just thinking that this account book was in the military camp, especially since the previous accountant had an accident, Jiang Huai pretended not to see it. He couldn't get involved in this matter.
Especially he couldn't let anyone else find out that he knew about this.
Jiang Huai felt extremely miserable. Although there were not many problems at the moment, this matter was obviously a bomb. It might explode or it might not. But it was hard to say whether it would explode or when it would explode.
Jiang Huai wondered if, as a cannon fodder in the original text, he had some kind of halo about him. Otherwise, he would have gotten involved in such a thing just by entering a military camp. Could it be that God wanted to kill him?
Although he was in a heavy mood, Jiang Huai did not dare to show it on his face. He calculated the accounts and statistics normally, and then asked the soldiers to report.
When Wang came in, he saw that the account books had been settled. He glanced through them and felt that there was no problem. He looked at Jiang Huai with appreciation.
"You're a good kid. The army is currently short of an accountant. Although it's not a full-time position, you can get a salary, which is better than doing anything else. Even if the position is taken, you might be able to help out and earn some money."
Wang Jin knew how these newly exiled prisoners would be arranged. If nothing unexpected happened, they would be sent to guard the border and settle there. Looking at the physique of the boy in front of him, he knew that if he really did this, he would not survive long, and even if he survived, it would be very hard.
It would be fine if I didn’t know about Jiang Huai’s talent, but now that I know it, it feels like such a waste.
"Sir..." Jiang Huai opened his mouth to refuse.
"By the way, what's your name?" Wang Jin asked, not caring at all about Jiang Huai's attempt to refuse.
"My name is Jiang Huai." Jiang Huai said.
"Jiang Huai?" Wang Jin murmured. The name was a bit too elegant, and he seemed to have heard of it somewhere.
Someone brought the information of the latest batch of prisoners. Wang Jin quickly found Jiang Huai's name and then fixed it on it.
For people in the border areas, the Wei family is a family they are very familiar with, and the Jiang family is not very well-known. Even though Old Tutor Jiang is the prince's teacher, there are many people around the prince, so the Jiang family is naturally not conspicuous.
But this was before. After the Wei family was accused of treason, the Jiang family was also sentenced to exile because of the prince's treason. As a border general, although he did not know the reason, because of the prince, the Jiang family became a family that people on the border often talked about.
But why were the Jiang family exiled to Anyuan Prefecture? The information they heard was clearly that it was Huaixing Prefecture. The two places are extremely far apart, one in the north and one in the south. How could they be sent to them?
However, Wang Jin didn't think much about it. He just felt that since he had discovered this, he had to take good care of Jiang Huai.
It just so happens that I can use the excuse of settling the accounts just now to take care of Jiang Huai.
Wang Jin looked at Jiang Huai's thin appearance, and the more he looked, the more he felt that Jiang Huai needed to be well nourished, otherwise he would have a hard time getting through the winter.
Jiang Huai didn't expect that Wang Jin knew his name, and his attitude became much better after he looked through it. This improved attitude made Jiang Huai wonder if the other party was an old friend of the Jiang family. However, the Jiang family didn't seem to have any old friends who served in the army!
However, even though he might be taken care of by Wang Jin in the army, Jiang Huai still did not give up the idea of leaving.
Jiang Huai knew very well that in the army, apart from soldiers, there were prisoners. It would be better for him to stay here while Wang Jin was around, but once the other party left, he would still be a prisoner after all. If someone ordered him to do something, as long as the other party was tough, he would not be able to refuse. It would be better to be free outside.
If it weren't for the account book issue, Jiang Huai might have hesitated, but with the account book issue here, Jiang Huai didn't dare to stay in the army any longer.
"Sir, it's not that I don't want to serve you, but my arithmetic is average. Now that I can do the account books well, I rely on the help of others. I'm afraid I can't do it alone." Jiang Huai refused again.
He was just testing the waters this time. If it really didn't work, he could only agree first and then make preparations. After all, he didn't know when the crisis would start. If he refused directly now, there would be a crisis now.
Although Wang Jin didn't know about the problem in the account book, after knowing Jiang Huai's situation, he became more cautious in his attitude towards him. He found that Jiang Huai seemed reluctant to stay and sensed something was wrong.
Although working in the army is also tiring compared to working at home for Jiang Huai, he was able to survive the road of exile and arrive at Anyuan Prefecture alive, so he should not be the kind of person who cannot endure hardship. But now he has declined twice, so there is obviously something going on.
"You don't do this, so there must be a reason." Wang Jin asked, "Don't repeat the one you just mentioned. Give me another reason."
Jiang Huai was silent for a moment. "I have already made an agreement with someone. He will use silver to redeem me. After I get out, I will find a way to do something and earn some money to redeem my annual prison sentence."
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