It's very stable and solid; the moment I sat down, my buttocks felt a sense of elevation.
If Yuwen Sheng sat here to work on weekdays, he would definitely be able to achieve twice the results with half the effort.
She suddenly remembered that she still had some things to do, so she kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't touch the stacks of official documents on Yuwen Sheng's desk. Instead, she pulled out a piece of paper from under the inkstone, then randomly picked out a brush from the brush holder, dipped it in some ink, and began to write seriously.
"This handwriting... still needs more practice. This calligraphy has no merits other than being legible."
She criticized her own handwriting.
Thinking of the other craftsmen's handwriting, which was exactly the same as hers, Zheng Quchi felt that although being a craftsman was not like passing the imperial examination, she still had to work hard and not let others look down on her.
"Madam, Runtu has come to deliver dinner."
Outside, a shadow was cast on the door curtain.
Zheng Quchi looked up: "Oh, okay, come in."
She quickly stood up from the general's chair and walked to the side, pretending to be nonchalant.
Runtu didn't care what the lady did in the main tent. Since the general had allowed her to enter the tent and was comfortable with her alone there, the remaining issues were not something a subordinate like him should worry about.
He carried the food inside, his gaze lowered at a 45-degree angle, his expression utterly empty. After putting down the food, he excused himself and left.
Regarding Zheng Quchi's matter, the general instructed him that he must do everything personally, no matter how big or small, and not delegate it to others. So even small things like delivering meals had to be done by him.
After Zheng Quchi thanked him, he sat down.
The spot where she was sitting was the very place where Yuwen Sheng had eaten earlier that day. She ate absentmindedly, her mind drifting from Yuwen Sheng to her car after only a few seconds.
To be honest, her expertise lies in woodworking and structural design; she only has a superficial understanding of the steel casting method.
She only knew the method, but had never tried it herself. If there were any difficulties or technical problems, she could only ask the old blacksmith for help. She didn't even know if she would succeed in the end.
If she can't make steel in the short term, what will she use to replace it later?
Having grown accustomed to Yuwen Sheng sleeping beside her, she felt no discomfort or discomfort at the bed he had slept on. The next morning, Zheng Quchi was full of energy. She told Runtu not to bother preparing breakfast, and she went to the camp's kitchen to get her own food.
Unlike Yuwen Sheng, she believed she wasn't picky about food and was perfectly fine eating communal meals with all the craftsmen and soldiers.
However, when she arrived at the kitchen and, like everyone else, took a bowl to get her food, she discovered that the food in the camp was truly "simple," as if it were food for refugees who had suffered a disaster.
...Has it gotten to the point where they have to gnaw on tree bark?
She patted the guy in front of her in line and asked, "Brother, why is there only one bucket of leaves?"
The guy in front, a soldier wearing a helmet and soft leather armor, turned around: "Are you new here? We eat wild vegetables in the morning, and sweet potatoes only at noon."
"No... Our soldiers in the military camp train hard, how come they only have sweet potatoes to eat? I remember, before it was a bowl of chestnut rice, three dishes and a meat dish, wasn't it?"
Wei Yao had taken her here to eat once before, and she remembered it clearly. It wasn't because he was a high-ranking official that he was served such a lavish meal; it was because everyone was treated like this.
The soldier shook his head, looking helpless: "They're long gone. These days, we not only eat sweet potatoes for lunch, but we'll probably have this for dinner too, or a bowl of millet and beans, the kind with the skin on."
"How could it just disappear?" Zheng Quchi stared wide-eyed.
The next person in line, judging from his uniform, was probably a menial soldier. Hearing Zheng Quchi's words, he whispered closer and said, "I heard that the imperial court hasn't been sending grain to the garrison in Fuxian for several months, so our camp is about to run out of food."
Zheng Quchi turned his head: "Has something happened?"
"How would we know? In short, food is scarce. Normally, we can't go out and can only eat this to fill our stomachs. But during our rest days, we can go out and pay for a treat ourselves."
"What about those who have no money of their own? They can barely afford the grain rations?" she asked in astonishment.
The soldier said, "That's right. It's not just that we're going to run out of grain. Let me tell you, every year Fuxian's grain comes from disaster relief efforts in other places. Otherwise, we would have run out of food long ago. You should know that Fuxian hasn't been able to grow wheat or chestnuts for several years. We can only grow some drought-resistant crops, which is not enough to satisfy everyone. I'm worried that this year the imperial court will really stop providing grain relief. Not to mention us, everyone in Fuxian will suffer."
"It's bad enough that we're out of food, but the water is almost dried up too. The water from the North Mountain can't reach our Fu County. Some are dying of drought, and some are dying of flooding." The laborer sighed as he spoke of this.
Zheng Quchi was stunned: "Is the situation this year really that serious?"
"You don't believe me? Let me tell you, I saw the camp organize soldiers to go up the mountain yesterday. Today they're eating wild vegetable porridge. Who knows, they might have gone to dig up wild grass and hunt. If they really had a way, they wouldn't have gone to this." The laborer gossiped to her in a low voice.
"It's almost your turn, hurry up and get to the front of the line."
Someone was urging us from behind.
Zheng Quchi immediately replied, "Okay, I'll be right there."
"Enough talk, hurry up and finish eating, we still have work to do," said the handyman.
Zheng Quchi finally made a bowl of wild vegetable porridge. The taste was... without oil or water, just a little salt boiled into a paste. When you poured it in, it was sticky and gooey, with the bitter taste of grass all over.
Two tears welled up in her eyes. It turned out that not only was she poor, but Fuxian County was also poor, and now even Yingzhai was poor along with her. In the future, she wouldn't even have a guarantee of food at her workplace.
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