Li Xiao didn't mince words, "Right now, it's just food, force, and manpower. What else could it be?"
Cheng Shaolin smiled and nodded when he heard her say that.
"That's right. Whoever controls the grain has the power, and whoever has the military can control everything. That's true. It's just that here, it seems that everything is scattered and not centralized."
Yu Yanbin nodded in agreement; this seemed to be the current situation at the Qizhou base.
With power fragmented and each holding onto their own possessions, it's unclear whether they're acting independently; otherwise, things would be even more complicated.
It was only then that Tian Tian understood why everyone was racking their brains, and she saw them all frowning and not saying a word.
Cheng Shaolin looked at Li Xiao, who was sitting to the side looking bored, and asked, "Xiao Xiao, what do you think is the best course of action?"
Li Xiao turned her head to look at him, bewildered. "Ask me? How can I decide this?"
When asked about Cheng Shaolin's serious attitude, he replied, "Yes."
Li Xiao was even more speechless. What was wrong with this person? Could she really make that decision?
"Go ahead, it's alright. Do you think it's better to go or stay?"
Everyone stared blankly at Cheng Shaolin, then turned to look at Li Xiao...
Li Xiao stared at him with her big eyes, and Cheng Shaolin let her look at him, a faint smile on his lips.
"Listen to me?"
"Yes, you're absolutely right." He said this with a meaningful look on his face.
Li Xiao was a little confused. What just happened? What did she just say?
...Uh, oh, this.
Recalling what she had just learned, Li Xiaowei glared at Cheng Shaolin. Honestly, she used that on herself. Fine.
Making a decision isn't difficult; practice makes perfect, and there's always a first time.
"Then I'll tell you."
"Hmm~" Cheng Shaolin nodded with a slight smile.
Yu Yanbin, standing to the side, was also curious about what kind of riddle Cheng Shaolin was playing.
Amidst the curious and bewildered looks of everyone, Li Xiao spoke up: "Well, I think, since it's so complicated, let's just leave. We're going to be collecting supplies anyway, so it doesn't matter where we stay. Why stay in such a troublesome place?"
...
He rattled off a string of words without checking if they were right or wrong; once he was done, that was it.
Cheng Shaolin then turned to look at Yu Yanbin, "Is that alright?"
Yu Yanbin looked at him with a half-smile, "What do you mean?"
"Yes. That's what I meant."
"Pfft, this isn't what Xiaoxiao meant?"
“What she means is what I mean,” Cheng Shaolin replied earnestly.
Yu Yanbin was so angry he almost laughed. Did it have to be so obvious?
Li Xiao also heard his words and couldn't help but roll her eyes a few times.
Tian Tian chuckled to herself. Then, a little embarrassed, she quickly covered her mouth. Seeing the smiling faces of everyone around her, she relaxed and lowered her hand.
"What do you think?" Cheng Shaolin asked.
Yu Yanbin remained silent, still pondering the possibilities.
The others looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
"Speak your mind. Now is the time to express your opinions and come up with the best solution."
Shao Jie coughed lightly. "I think it's feasible. This place is too complicated. If we're just staying temporarily, what if we're forced to join one side? I've overheard their discussions, and it seems like everyone has to take sides or something. If I listen closely, it sounds like they're all wary of me."
"Oh? Is that true?"
"Hmm, I wanted to ask again, but the person stopped talking. It seems like they let something slip, and then they changed the subject and left."
At this moment, Xiao Peng, who was sitting next to me, chimed in, "It's like this, I overheard someone talking and thought I heard this, but it was just a faint sound."
Yu Yanbin's expression calmed down. "It's good enough that they heard a little bit. They don't want to spread it around. It seems they don't want people to know."
"That's troublesome."
"How about this, let's go out and see if there are any suitable towns around. If the environment is suitable, we can stay there for a while. What do you think?"
Yu Yanbin shared his idea and looked around to see what everyone thought.
"Uncle Meng, you're older, what do you think? Is this feasible?" Yu Yanbin asked Meng Yang, who had been quiet all along, when he saw that no one else was speaking.
Meng Yang snapped out of his thoughts. "From what I've gathered, this base is a bit complicated. We can't see any problems yet because the conflict hasn't escalated. But when the various forces are locked in a tug-of-war, things will get complicated."
Everyone listened to his analysis, and it was indeed true.
“In that case, we might as well do as Captain Yu said and find a suitable town to stay in. We’ll always be looking for supplies, so we don’t necessarily need a fixed place to live. We’re not going to stay here permanently, so it’s not appropriate for us to get involved in the base.”
"That's true, so let's leave it at that?"
No one else had any objections, and the matter was decided.
"Alright, now that we've made the decision, let's make plans for what comes next." Yu Yanbin relaxed, his previous seriousness gone.
"When are you leaving?" Shao Jie asked.
"Hmm, would you like to stay a few more days?"
"Why stay here if there's nothing to do? We might as well find somewhere else." Shao Jie stared wide-eyed at Yu Yanbin.
"Then let's do it as soon as possible."
Everyone nodded.
I rested until evening with nothing to do, simply cooked some porridge, stir-fried some shredded potatoes, and made a big pot of mung bean soup. That was it.
After resting, Zhou Lingyu came downstairs and saw the pitiful two dishes on the table, one of which was that salty dried pickled vegetables. Her face immediately darkened and she looked unpleasant.
"Ha, going to such extremes. Was it really necessary? It's just a meal, is it really that big of a deal?"
Xiao Peng was still stirring the bottom of the pot by the stove, afraid of burning the mung bean soup. He had just added sugar.
He was immediately displeased, his face covered in sweat. "What kind of person is this? He'd cook something special just for you? Who do you think you are? You're crazy."
"As for whether you want to eat, please leave. If you want to eat something good, find your own way. We're not just serving you." Xiao Peng is usually honest and quiet, not talkative, and doesn't stand out much, but that doesn't mean he's stupid or has no temper.
Zhou Lingyu never expected to be confronted by Xiao Peng this time. It's true that a good horse is ridden by others. Thinking that she was about to leave, anyone could step on her.
"Well, Xiao Peng, you're something else. I didn't know you could be so good at judging people by their status. Now that I'm leaving, what, you think I'm easy to bully?" Zhou Lingyu was furious, and her voice rose considerably.
Upon hearing the noise, people gradually came out of the room.
"Who bullied you? I'd rather rest than waste my time. Are you blind or pretending to be confused? Can't you see I'm busy? Go away, get away from me."
Xiao Peng was also furious. He was busy in this heat and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when this woman kept nagging and complaining in a harsh voice, which only made him more irritable.
When Zhou Lingyu saw Xiao Peng telling her to leave, she was furious and wanted to hit him.
This is also because Xiao Peng usually gives people the impression that he is too harmless, which gave her the wrong idea that she could mess with him.
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