Chapter 979 Fleeing Famine? There's No Way to Escape (26)
Seeing that it was almost noon, Er Lengzi pulled Ning Song to the No. 3 kitchen. "Let me tell you, when it's time to eat, hurry up and grab a spot, otherwise you won't get a single bite of the good food."
Those bandits, they're real bandits!
Ning Song: ...
The food in the military camp was very consistent. After all, ordinary people were tightening their belts to make ends meet, so it was already a good place if everyone could have enough to eat on the mountain.
When the cooks saw that people had arrived, they picked up their spoons and served them rice: brown rice and stewed cabbage, filling large bowls to the brim.
"Try it. This dish looks like it was stewed by Sanshengniang. It doesn't have much oil, but it looks shiny and smells delicious." After saying that, Erlengzi picked up a piece of pickled vegetable from the side.
Ning Song followed suit and picked up a piece with his chopsticks before finding a seat to start eating. Just as the two began to eat, the sound of hurried footsteps outside began.
"Eat quickly, if we're lucky we can get another serving later."
They were all grown men, so one bowl of rice wasn't enough for them. Anyway, Er Lengzi would get two servings every meal. If the food in the third kitchen ran out, he would just go next door to find something to eat.
Before the words were even finished, a large group of people rushed in, grabbing big bowls and serving themselves, even taking over the job of the old lady serving the food.
Ning Song picked up a piece of the cabbage and tasted it. The winter-stored cabbage had a sweet taste and a moderate saltiness, and it tasted really good.
He couldn't help but speed up his eating.
The two were indeed lucky. They wolfed down one bowl of rice, and then someone else snatched another bowl from them. This time, Er Lengzi ate much slower.
He was also in the mood to talk to Ning Song about the three leaders. He heard that the eldest leader came from a good family, but he was able to eat from the same pot as the people below.
The second and third leaders never sought special treatment; they ate the same food as their subordinates, and they never held banquets unless there were distinguished guests. You simply can't find leaders like that anywhere else.
“The three leaders of our mountain stronghold are all kind and righteous. You’re in luck if you join us.”
Ning Song nodded, and slowly ate all the brown rice and cabbage, feeling full.
"Come on, let's go back and introduce you to your three roommates. We'll go see your soldiers this afternoon."
Ning Song settled down at Sanhu Mountain. Although his three roommates were fierce, they wouldn't cause trouble as long as you didn't provoke them. As for the group of people under his command, he defeated all those who dared to challenge him, and they all became as obedient as docile cats.
He got what he wanted and received a lot of rewards. The Famine Relief System remained true to its original purpose, only giving Ning Song food, drink and gold and silver. In less than a month, he had accumulated a large bag of supplies.
As a junior leader, he had one day off a month, and he took advantage of that day to quickly deliver the items home.
Seeing their son, Ning Laoda, who had become darker but stronger, the couple felt sorry for him, but they still didn't stop him from returning to Sanhushan after having lunch at home.
...
After recovering from his injuries, Lord Li from the Lu family did not leave in a hurry. Ning Yan observed that his attitude towards her husband revealed a trace of respect.
Later, Ning Yan concluded from Lu Chengwen's few words that this Lord Li was Zhao Wu's man, and a very influential general at that. It was clear that Lu Chengwen had been planning this all along, but no one expected him to be so bold.
On February 24th, Lord Li left, and Lu Chengwen became busy, often away from home, and the transfer of money began to increase frequently.
Because Ning Yan had been conscripted by him again, she knew a great deal about these things.
On March 22, news came from the Northwest that General Sun had passed away. His sons all wanted to take over their father's army, and none of them would submit to the others, causing chaos in the Sun family army.
Upon receiving the news, Lu Chengwen was both surprised and delighted, and a secret letter was sent out by his confidant.
But his happiness didn't last two days before someone he didn't want to see came knocking on his door.
"Who did you say came?"
"Master Cheng Xuan of the Cheng family."
Lu Chengwen scoffed, "He came alone?"
"She also brought a female relative with her. This old servant thinks it looks like...that woman."
Our young master's wet nurse is still with that person.
Lu Chengwen's whole body turned icy cold. "She still dares to come? Go and invite Madam!"
The steward lowered his head. "Yes, this old servant will go and fetch him right away."
Lu Chengwen left the study and went to the front hall, while the steward left the study and went to the main courtyard.
...
In the front hall of the Lu residence, Cheng Xuan sat there drinking tea without feeling awkward at all. However, Cheng Yun, who was next to him, showed her nervousness even though her face was covered by a veil.
Behind her, the wet nurse had reverted to her behavior from six months ago, her neck held high and her eyes filled with disdain, as if her master had given her endless confidence, allowing her to once again swagger around in the Lu mansion.
When Lu Chengwen arrived in Yuecheng, he had the steward send the wet nurse away. Unexpectedly, she returned to her former master's side in the blink of an eye.
"Greetings to the master."
The servants inside and outside the hall greeted Lu Chengwen upon his arrival.
When Cheng Xuan saw his brother-in-law arrive, he stood up as well, and greeted him with a smile as if nothing had happened: "Brother-in-law, we meet again. It seems you've been doing well lately."
Lu Chengwen laughed as well, “I dare not accept such praise, Lord Cheng, you have mispronounced it. The heir of the Duke of Liguo’s mansion is your brother-in-law. I, Lu Chengwen, am just a merchant. It would be better if you did not address me indiscriminately, Lord Cheng.”
Cheng Xuan's face stiffened, and Cheng Yun felt even more ashamed, her head drooping as if she wanted to bury it in the ground.
When Lu Chengwen saw his old friend again, he felt no emotion whatsoever. He even wondered if he had been blind to have married such a woman, who was not even as good as a fingernail of his wife.
“Chengwen, Yun’er is still Xiaobao’s mother. Even if you two are no longer related, you still have a son. You don’t need to speak to me in such a sarcastic way.”
"You mean Xiao Bao's mother? Xiao Bao's mother died a long time ago. Back then, my Lu family even held a seven-day memorial service for her. Anyone in Yuncheng would know about this if they asked around, and even many people in the capital know about it."
Yuncheng is only two hundred li from the capital. When Master Lu was an official, the Lu family lived in the capital. Last year, Lu Chengwen sensed that things were not going well in the capital, so he took his family back to their hometown, Yuncheng.
Old Master Cheng was a high-ranking official of the second rank, and his marriage to the Lu family was a perfect match, a powerful alliance. However, no one expected that Old Master Lu would die young, the Lu family would weaken, and the Cheng family would no longer take the Lu family seriously.
Then, two years ago, Lu Chengwen decided to move back to Yuncheng. Cheng Yun strongly opposed this, urging Lu Chengwen to support the Third Prince of the current dynasty and provide him with financial support, demanding a staggering million.
Because the Third Prince's principal wife is the second daughter of Old Master Cheng, and this second daughter was recently found, if the two families had known about this marriage before the marriage was arranged, Lu Chengwen would never have agreed to the marriage.
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