Chapter 16
After finishing her meal at the command post, Qingyun headed towards the sand dunes again. She hadn't forgotten about the seedling cultivation. She found a sandy area at the bottom of the Gobi Desert and had asked Song Chaoyun to assign a few people to build a thatched shed.
Mu Helian found it strange, so Qingyun explained that seedlings need a shady place to prevent them from dying. She also instructed that no one should be told about this yet, as it was only in the experimental stage. She had previously changed one of the water outlets in the canal to this location, which had puzzled others. Qingyun simply said that things would need to be planted here in the future.
Actually, she chose this place not only for shade, but mainly for seclusion, so that she could easily take out the saplings from the system. She and Mu Helian cleared out a small plot of land, and then they saw a figure walking towards them under the scorching sun. The person was Lin Wanjun.
She lowered her head shyly and said that she had bought some mung beans a few days ago and made mung bean soup to send to Qingyun. She placed a pottery jar in front of everyone. Lin Wanjun was actually worried about Qingyun, but Mu Helian could go to the Commander's Mansion, while she dared not go.
Qingyun knew she was afraid of running into Song Chaohua, so she quickly said she didn't mind. Lin Wanjun poured two bowls and handed them to the two of them, saying, "I'm short of money, so I only have these mung beans and water. I have no rice to cook, so I hope you won't find it offensive."
Mu Helian drank it with gusto, downing the whole bowl in the blink of an eye. She wiped her mouth and exclaimed, "Hey, these beans are good stuff!" Then, smacking her lips, she asked, "Did you put mint in them?"
Lin Wanjun lowered her eyes and nodded in agreement, concealing her face. Qingyun noticed that Lin Wanjun was actually a little afraid of Mu Helian. Although she had the air of a big sister, after getting to know her, she realized that Mu Helian was just like her, actually a goofball.
"If only we had ice," Qingyun said casually as she squatted down. She remembered how she used to add ice to her mung bean soup after cooking it in the office, and how it would be so refreshing to drink a sip after coming back from the woods.
“Ice is hard to come by; even royalty and nobles rely on His Majesty’s bestowal.” Mu Helian said with a sigh, holding a porcelain bowl and gazing into the distance.
Qingyun understood, and just as she was about to speak, Mu Helian suddenly put down her bowl and chased after her. She and Lin Wanjun, confused, quickly stood up and asked, "Where are you going?!"
Mu Helian had already run several meters away when the other party seemed to respond, but by the time the sound reached Qingyun's ears in the wind, it was already blurry.
Driven by curiosity, Qingyun decided to stop drinking and ran over. The three of them ran freely in the vast expanse of yellow sand. When she reached Mu Helian, she saw her squatting on the ground, fiddling with something in her hands.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed she had used a knife to nail a lizard to the sand pile. "Hey! What are you doing with that?"
The sunlight shone directly down, and Mu Helian squinted at the person behind her, "Eat!"
"Eat?" Qingyun's brain went blank for a few seconds.
Mu Helian nodded and repeated in a strong voice, "Yes! Eat!" As she spoke, she raised the lizard in her hand, which looked to weigh a good weight, "I'm trying to improve your diet, and you're complaining?"
She got up and walked back. "We're lucky with this today," Mu Helian said with a grin.
Ignoring the shocked expression on Qingyun's face.
In less than fifteen minutes, the lizard was skinned and its tendons removed, then roasted over a fire. Qingyun thought it would taste very fishy, since Mu Helian had roasted it without washing it after cleaning its internal organs. However, when it was actually handed to her, it didn't have any strange smell at all, only a unique meaty aroma.
She cautiously took only a small bite, and the aroma of protein filled her mouth. Qingyun thought it was simply because she hadn't eaten meat for a while.
Mu Helian also took a piece of Lin Wanjun's meat, but she waved her hand and said softly, "I haven't finished eating the meat that Lord Song bestowed upon me. You can enjoy it slowly."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun sensed something was amiss, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. She instinctively said, "If we don't eat it quickly in this weather, it'll spoil!"
Lin Wanjun bit her lip and replied after a long while, "I hung the mutton up to smoke, so it shouldn't spoil easily."
"What?!" Qingyun finally realized what was happening and jumped up immediately. Song Junwu really gave everyone meat?! And mutton at that! How come she didn't have a single thing at home!
Lin Wanjun quickly pulled Qingyun down from his shouting, looking around to make sure no one was being attracted. "You're unconscious, where are we going to send this meat?"
"No way!" Suddenly, the food in her hand lost its appeal—mutton! Song Junwu was really going all out! "I have to find a chance to ask him for it."
Upon seeing this, Lin Wanjun quickly offered to share some with her, but Qingyun replied that it was unnecessary. Song Junwu was a capitalist, and it was only right to ask him for what was rightfully hers!
She and Mu Helian finished off the rest of the food, wiping the grease off their mouths with satisfaction, thinking to themselves that it was indeed an improved meal.
Lin Wanjun and Mu Helian were going back to the sand dunes to work on killing longhorn beetles, while Qingyun was planting saplings. She wanted to use the land as cover, because she didn't want to waste time and time collecting saplings every day.
After a few days, she can tell Song Chaoyun that the seedlings have been successfully cultivated in this land and move the seedlings from the system out. Then she can plant as many as she wants, even until she's sick of it.
After she finished her work here, she returned to the sand dunes to clean up the longhorn beetles. However, she found that many people were not doing it correctly and were often just going through the motions. "You have to pour this medicine into the trunk. If you're not careful, it will all spill out, and that won't work."
Upon hearing this, the man who had been looking down stood up and looked down at Qingyun. "This thing isn't handy, so it's unavoidable that this kind of problem would occur," he said nonchalantly, tapping the gourd ladle in his hand.
Upon hearing this, Qingyun pointed to Lin Wanjun beside him and said, "Although this thing has many flaws, it's always better to be careful." The implication was that if others could do it well, why couldn't you?
As he spoke, Qingyun scooped up a ladle of water and poured it into the pillar as a demonstration.
Of course, Qingyun also noticed the drawbacks of the gourd ladle and thought that he really needed to make a better tool. But the man deliberately poured half of it and spilled the other half. Wasn't that obviously looking for trouble?
The man didn't seem to care much. As Qingyun spoke, he casually picked at his ear and concluded, "Do it if you want to." The man looked at Qingyun and said, "Besides, you're not in charge. You're trying to meddle with me!"
Qingyun patiently explained, "You're just trying to catch the moon's reflection in the water. Do you need someone to teach you how to do something well?"
The man just scoffed, "Stop with your nonsense. When this tree grows up, will I get a share of the good fortune? Won't it all be given to young ladies and gentlemen like you to enjoy?" His words were full of sarcasm, which made the people working around him cover their mouths and chuckle.
Qingyun knew that these people had nothing to say except to mock her previous identity and gender, and she wouldn't get angry over such a trivial matter.
But looking around, he saw that many people were doing the same thing, and he immediately realized that it was probably that old man who was behind it all.
Qingyun looked at the man, smiled with her eyes lowered, and made a decision in her heart.
Before anyone could react, they slapped the man hard across the face. A bright red mark appeared on his dark skin, so striking and obvious that everyone gasped and stopped what they were doing, turning to look at them.
Qingyun: "Don't you dare do anything stupid!"
Before the man could react, he realized what Qingyun had done when he noticed the stares around him and the pain on his face. "You bitch!" he yelled, raising his fist to retaliate without saying a word.
Qingyun stood calmly in front, unafraid at the sound of the fist hurtling through the air. She simply shouted, "Mu Helian!"
The next second, the fist actually stopped. The fist, filled with murderous intent, was pressed against Qingyun's face, just millimeters away from hitting her.
Following the fist upwards, she found another hand gripping the man's arm. Mu Helian tightened her grip slightly, and the man winced in pain as he pulled back, crying out, "Lord Mu...!"
This must be what it feels like to have someone backing you up. Qingyun stood there smugly. She had just noticed Mu Helian not far away. As if they were on the same wavelength, she looked at her, and their eyes met. Only then did she remember that Mu Helian was considered a minor manager here.
She only gave her a look, and Mu Helian understood what she meant.
Mu Helian turned to the others with a cold face and said in a firm voice, "You've all given yourselves too much face, haven't you? You came here to do your jobs well and do them beautifully. Did I call you here to sunbathe?" As she spoke, she kicked a man to the ground and made him kneel down.
"I suppose you've been given too much kindness lately, and now you think you're some kind of god." Mu Helian drew a jet-black dragon whip from her waist, and the next second, the tip of the whip lashed across the man's broad back, the chilling sound echoing in the air.
The man gritted his teeth, his face flushed, but he refused to beg for mercy.
Mu Helian stepped on the man's tailbone, exerting force in her hands. The ruthlessness was palpable; she was truly whipping him with all her might. Even Qingyun, watching from the side, couldn't help but swallow hard, trembling with fear.
But this is meant to make an example of someone; if you don't punish them severely, someone will always cause trouble.
A quarter of an hour later, Mu Helian didn't care that the whip was still stained with blood. She neatly put away the Black Dragon Whip, and she didn't even pant after finishing all that.
Looking at the man, he was soaked to the bone, his clothes on his back were torn and tattered, and his skin was torn and bleeding.
Now, he was completely devoid of his previous arrogance, motionless as if he had completely passed out. The people around him dared not breathe. Mu Helian pointed at the group of people and said in a deep voice, "If you're going to work, you should act like you're going to work. If you cause any more trouble..." After saying that, she paused and pointed at the half-dead man on the ground, "This is what will happen to you."
"Guards!" Mu Helian ordered, "Take him back with you."
This lesson reminded everyone that they were just commoners who had been demoted here, the lowest of the low. From the very first day they arrived, they were given rules: fighting privately would be punished, not working properly would be beaten, and anyone who committed a crime would be whipped.
Qingyun was the one who struck first, but Mu Helian only punished the man. Her intention was clear: to tell everyone that this woman was under her protection, and that even if she was biased, so what? Anyone who dared to cause trouble for Qingyun should be prepared to be beaten.
Mu Helian coldly surveyed the group, and everyone silently lowered their heads. After this incident, they all realized that Mu Helian was right. These days, she had been busy keeping an eye on Qingyun and naturally had no time to care about everyone else. She was usually as cold as ice and never showed any mercy when she took action.
Those who received the orders were truly caught in the middle, feeling conflicted. They thought to themselves that no matter what, when Qingyun, that little vixen, looked over, they had to put on a good show.
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