Iron Ore 1
Chapter 31: Iron Ore 1
"How about sending my guards? They are better at martial arts and can go into the mountains to investigate more easily." This matter was of great importance. Sun Mingsi didn't want to get too involved in military and political affairs and make things difficult for Chu Huaibei, but seeing that she was so troubled, he wanted to help her.
"Okay, then I'll trouble Hu Zhi's people to help make a trip." Chu Huaibei looked into his beautiful eyes and saw his own figure clearly reflected in his pupils. He held his face with both hands and left a kiss on his forehead.
Chu Huaibei always subconsciously trusts Sun Mingsi. Perhaps at the beginning, it was because she knew that this person did not exist in the original novel and would not pose a threat to her. But gradually, she was moved by the fact that his heart and eyes were full of her, although she did not know why he was so affectionate.
Sun Mingsi wrote a letter to Jin Er, asking him to send a few guards who were good at making weapons, as he needed them urgently.
On the third day, Jin Twenty-One to Twenty-Five arrived at the palace. Sun Mingsi described the general address and conditions of the mine, and the five men knew there was hematite in the mountains. They frequently dealt with various iron mines, and the weapons and hidden weapons used by the guards had all passed through their hands.
The five people wanted to set off immediately, but were stopped by Chu Huaibei. He asked them to rest for a day and it would not be too late to leave tomorrow. The palace would help them prepare some necessary supplies, so they could feel at ease to enter the mountains.
Seeing that their master nodded in agreement, the five people stopped insisting and left the house to rest for a night in the neighboring house, and also to meet their brothers whom they hadn't seen for a long time.
This night was an eye-opener for the five people. First, Jin San brought them fine wine and alcohol that could heal injuries. Even the food was something they had never seen before. The five people loved steamed buns, flower rolls, dumplings and fried steamed buns. Twenty-three loved sweets and ate all the steamed buns stuffed with red dates on the table by himself.
But after finishing the meal, he came to his senses and regretted not leaving two for take away as he had to go into the mountains tomorrow. Jin San saw that he was a little dazed and patted him, telling him to eat quickly or the food on the table would be gone.
Twenty-three told him what he had just thought about and asked if there would be these for breakfast tomorrow. Jin San smiled and told him not to worry, saying that the prince would definitely prepare everything for them. Twenty-three saw Jin San's confidence and became even more curious about the King of Zhenbei.
All the guards had been surprised and delighted to receive their master's message. Some of them had been unable to leave for the Northern Territory, so they had only heard of him and were extremely curious about the rumors circulating. Now that they had finally met him in person, they all scrutinized the Northern Zhen Wang a thousand times, both openly and covertly.
The next day, Chu Huaibei personally handed them the items he had prepared: a cloth bag that could be carried on the back of a backpack, and a sheepskin bag that could be worn cross-body. It was the first time the five of them had seen this type of baggage, and to avoid appearing ignorant, they kept a straight face and acted serious until they left the palace.
"Huzhi, your five guards are very rigorous and seem to be very confident in their abilities. Well done, it's all thanks to them for the investigation." Chu Huaibei was very satisfied with this and praised them.
Sun Mingsi nodded in agreement embarrassedly. He knew that they were just pretending. Although his guards seemed serious and orderly in their work and could not make any mistakes, they were actually very lively in private. The demeanor of the five of them today showed that they were pretending to be serious.
As soon as the five men walked out of the palace gate, they flew onto the roof and jumped back to the house next door. They were really curious and wanted to open the two bundles to see what was inside.
Once inside the house, the five of them went into the main hall, put down their two bags, and examined them. Inside the large bundle was a large piece of cloth, likely used as a sleeping blanket, along with two cloth towels for washing. Then there were ten steamed buns and twenty pancakes wrapped in oil paper. As soon as they opened the bag, the aroma of meat wafted out, attracting the crowd who had been sitting and watching to gather around.
"Twenty-five, I got the last piece of fried bun for you yesterday. Can you leave this pancake for me to try?" Eleven ran the fastest, sticking close to Twenty-five, staring at the pancake in his hand and asking for it.
"No, this is a month's rations prepared for us by the prince." Twenty-five refused without thinking.
"Then half, break off half for me."
"When you come back, I'll leave some more wine for you."
“······Okay!” The wine was really delicious. Twenty-five swallowed his saliva.
I took out a pancake and a note fell out of the baking paper: "Preserved Vegetable Pork Pancake. It tastes better if you grill it over the fire." Note: The aroma from heating may attract carnivores.
Even without heating, it attracts carnivores...
Ershiwu broke off half and originally wanted to put the other half back into the oil paper package and eat it in the mountains. Looking at the filling inside, he stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jin Jiu had already reached out his hand.
Eleven took half the pie and took a big bite of the filling. The salty and fragrant flavor immediately invaded his mouth. How could the meat pie made by the palace be so delicious? Seeing Thirteen reaching out to grab the remaining pie, Eleven turned and bent down, passing between the legs of everyone, flew to the sycamore tree, and slowly savored it.
Twenty-five opened his mouth wide and ate half of the cake in two or three gulps. At the same time, he quickly wrapped it in oil paper and put it back into his bag. He had no intention of sharing it with his brothers. They were right next to the palace and should be able to get food whenever they wanted. The five of them were going to stay in the mountains and forests for a month.
Twenty-Three pulled out a small iron pot with a handle. The pot was thin and bucket-shaped, designed to lie flat on the ground, unlike the more common round-bottomed pots. Inside, there was a note: "It's best to boil water before drinking it in the wild. Invisible insects can be harmful to your health." Also: If the dried meat is too tough, boil it in water until softened.
Comes with a sealable bamboo water bottle.
Finally, I took out a large oil paper bag and opened it to reveal air-dried pork strips. This one didn't have the overpowering aroma of pancakes. There was still a note: Five-spice air-dried pork strips, can be stored for two months, it is recommended to be eaten last.
This dried meat is similar to Mongolian air-dried beef and is durable in storage. It's not that Chu Huaibei is stingy. According to the laws of Daxia, oxen cannot be slaughtered unless they die of old age. If they are sick, they will be treated by ox officials. The ox officials do not charge the people for their treatment and there are performance appraisals. If they kill three oxen within a year during their tenure, they will be dismissed. The salary of the ox officials is more than that of the seventh-rank officials. In order to keep their official positions, the ox officials take care of the cows a hundred times more than people.
Jin Jiu quickly grabbed a piece of dried meat from Twenty-Three and started chewing it. Although the meat was quite hard, the more he chewed, the more fragrant it became, making him quite addicted. Jin Jiu began to envy these five people. If he had known earlier when they were competing for skills, he should have learned a few more tricks. He wondered if there were any more in the palace kitchen. He asked Jin San to go and find out.
Twenty-Five was the first to open the sheepskin bag. Inside was a roll of clean white cloth, a small knife with a scabbard, a pair of flints, a tinderbox, a bottle of salt, a bottle of wound medicine, a bottle of detoxification pills, and a bottle of alcohol. A note was left inside the bag: "Alcohol is strictly prohibited. This is used to scrub wounds and help them heal quickly." The detoxification pills can only partially detoxify and delay the onset of the poison. If poisoned, return to the palace for treatment immediately.
Chu Huaibei specifically asked Deng Ran to make detoxification pills. Who knows what poisons might be in the mountains? He always had to be prepared. However, these pills could only neutralize common poisons or delay their onset. Ever since the alcohol was created, Deng Ran had been working tirelessly on her research, which Chu Huaibei greatly admired, though she also couldn't understand. Deng Ran had noticed from the time Chu Huaibei was still young that she was incredibly interested in medicine, a rotten tree that couldn't be carved, and she quickly gave up on the idea of her inheriting his legacy.
After reading the bundle, the five people and the others were silent for a long time. This King of Zhenbei was truly thoughtful and made people willing to do things. It wasn't that the master was bad, but no one taught him these things because of his status as a master, and he was taught the art of governing and ruling the world. The style of the master and the prince was completely different.
"Let's go quickly and be careful once you enter the mountain." Jin Jiu broke the silence and gave careful instructions.
"Okay, let's go." The five of them put on their bags, went out and headed towards Qizhou away from people.
Leaving their horses at the inn at the foot of the mountain, the five of them set out into the mountains. As night fell, their vision became obstructed, so they stopped searching and found a suitable spot to build a fire.
Twenty-one took out a pancake and two steamed buns, preparing to eat them together. He was reluctant to damage the surface of the pancake, so he cut two branches to use as long chopsticks, and used them to bake the pancakes over the fire.
After a while, the pancakes, which were already very fragrant, emitted an even stronger aroma after being heated, which made the five people's saliva secrete rapidly.
Twenty-one saw that the crust of the pancake had begun to turn yellow and crispy, so he didn't care about the heat and took a big bite. The crust of the baked pancake was crispy, and the fat in the filling melted and soaked into the dough. The taste was varied and layered, and it was ten times more delicious than cold pancakes!
The brothers were already tempted by the aroma, so they took out their pancakes and sat by the fire to bake them.
Twenty-three was anxious, so he cut a branch and skewered the pancakes. As they were roasted in the high temperature of the campfire, the greasy soup inside dripped onto the burning wood, making the aroma even more intense.
Twenty-three, who was about to eat the pancake just as the crust turned yellow and crispy, was interrupted by a loud shout: "Draw your sword, something is coming."
With no other choice but to stick the sticks of pancakes into the ground, the five of them quickly approached with swords in hand. In the dim light of the fire, pairs of eyes flashing green appeared around them. Very good, the King of Zhenbei had really encountered what he said...
There were about thirty wolves in this pack, quietly surrounding them, ready to strike when the opportunity arose. However, the one they encountered today was not an ordinary person, and the roles of prey and hunter quickly reversed.
After killing the last wolf, Twenty-Five felt extremely heartbroken when he saw the pancakes that the wolf had taken the opportunity to bite into pieces during the fight.
The five men picked the smallest wolf for dinner, leaving the rest where they would be, for other animals to snatch up. They found a spot in the woods near a water source, skinned the wolf, cleaned it, and skewered it on branches before roasting it. They sprinkled a small bottle of salt for flavor while they cooked the wolf's hind leg in a small pot. This job provided them with food and drink, and was even more enjoyable than staying in the city, where they didn't have such delicious pancakes and dried meat.
"It would be perfect if I could have a pot of good wine. I can stay in this mountain for a year." I was inspired on the 24th. What a wonderful day.
"You wish. You drank alcohol while on a mission. Jin Yi will kill you if he finds out." Twenty-two ruthlessly shattered his fantasy.
"Jin San is really dishonest. He never mentioned the fine wine and food in the palace in his previous letters. He is so petty. Is he afraid that we will rob them?" Twenty-five complained angrily.
"If he writes everything down, the people left behind will make a fuss and demand to take turns on duty. Do you think Jin Yi will agree?" Twenty-two asked back.
"Jin Yi will definitely agree," the remaining four said in unison.
"That's it. He doesn't want to leave the palace." After saying that, Twenty-Two took the baked bun and cut it open with a knife, then put the roasted wolf meat slices in the middle. He took a bite and it tasted pretty good.
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