Chapter 63

"Grain! The carts are full of grain, all of them!" The eyes of all the villagers instantly turned blue. If it weren't for the fully armed soldiers around them, they would have rushed over without hesitation.

"Is the new lord bringing so much grain for us to survive the winter?" A villager swallowed hard, speaking with some excitement.

"It must be. Otherwise, why would he bring so much grain... It seems this lord is even better than the old duke. Our Green Hill Village is truly blessed!"

"Don't be too happy yet. Didn't you see those soldiers? They might be the lord's private army, and this grain is probably for them!"

No one knew who said this, but immediately, the mood of all the villagers sank.

"So many private soldiers, where will they stay... Will they take over our houses!"

"In such cold weather, if they take over our houses, we'll freeze to death!"

More and more villagers came out of their homes, gathering outside the lord's residence, joining in the discussion and speculation. The grain was tempting, but the thought of being driven out of their homes... they were all elderly, women, and children, and they might not survive even one night.

"Grandma! Is that big brother a bad person... Grandma! Will we really be driven out of our home? My little brother is still sick!" Nier hugged her grandmother tightly, asking weakly, scared by the neighbors' discussions.

"It won't happen!" Aunt Yun gently rubbed Nier's head and said softly, "Although we are under the lord's management, he can't disregard human lives. The empire has laws for tax collection limits, so how could he act without restraint!"

Big Brother Fu glanced at Aunt Yun, thinking to himself, "It's still my sister-in-law who has more knowledge, having lived in Hongyuan City, it's different..."

"Sister-in-law, with so many of them, if they won't take over our houses, where will they stay?" Big Brother Fu asked in a low voice.

"I don't know! I also can't figure out why the new lord brought so many private soldiers to the village... Perhaps, they are just protecting the grain along the way!"

"Click!" As Aunt Yun finished speaking, the gate of the lord's residence opened, and a young man walked out.

"Whoosh!" The scene instantly fell silent, and the voices of discussion disappeared.

"Grandma, this is the person who gave me the white flour pancake..." Nier whispered, then was quickly covered her mouth by Aunt Yun.

The young man cleared his throat and said, "My name is Han Xiaowu, and I am a private soldier of the Third-Class Baron Jiang Xingchen. Duke Jiang has regained control of the Qingfeng Mountain territory, and I have been ordered to return first to deliver grain to all the villagers..."

He paused, then, remembering the information given by his leader, added, "The duke's original name was Jiang Ling, and he has now changed his name to Jiang Xingchen!"

"Boom~" The crowd seemed to be struck by a bolt of happiness, their mouths slightly open, staring blankly at the young man, their minds blank.

The young man finished speaking, but the scene remained quiet, as if no one had reacted.

Gradually, people's expressions began to change, their smiles growing wider, their eyes brighter, and their sallow faces glowing.

Then, the crowd burst into cheers, and some of the snow on the eaves fell.

"Master Jiang Ling, it's actually Master Jiang Ling... So he succeeded... But wait, a few days ago, people from Hongyuan City came to check our identity cards, which clearly means..."

"The private soldier just said that Duke Jiang has regained control of the territory... This means that the territory was once taken away, but now it has been reclaimed by Jiang Ling!"

"Wait! Master Jiang Ling is now a Third-Class Baron, but when he left, he hadn't even activated his Origin Spring..."

"Why are you so surprised? Master Jiang Ling becoming a baron is a good thing... When he left, I knew he would succeed! Master Jiang Ling became a baron and first thought of us, just like the old duke. Even if he collects more taxes this year, it doesn't matter. If we had known this, we should have let him collect even more..."

"Yes! He practiced martial arts so diligently, how could he not succeed! But it's strange, why did he change his name..."

"Anyway, we can survive this harsh winter... Sob~"

Amidst the exclamations and praises, many people wept, overwhelmed by the sudden happiness. They had thought this winter would be difficult, but now Jiang Ling had not only returned but also brought grain to help the village.

Nier hugged Aunt Yun tightly, her face flushed with excitement, "Grandma, we have food now, and my little brother's illness can be treated!"

"Um!" Aunt Yun was also extremely excited and nodded forcefully, "Yes, your little brother will get better soon, and we will have food. Nier, you won't have to go hungry anymore!"

"Master Jiang Ling is indeed not a bad person! When he returns, I will apologize to him!" Nier blinked her eyes and said seriously.

"When you meet him, you should call him Duke, not Master Jiang Ling, remember that..."

As Aunt Yun taught Nier, Big Brother Fu spoke hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, what that person said is true. The new lord is Master Jiang Ling, and the grain..."

"Yes!" Aunt Yun responded, taking a deep breath, the cold air slightly calming her excitement, then said, "Master Jiang Ling is truly remarkable! We all misjudged him before... Although he was stern and aloof, disliking others' approaches, he is the most loyal! At just sixteen, he has become a Third-Class Baron and been granted a territory. There are many better territories to choose from, but he chose to return here..."

Before Aunt Yun finished speaking, Big Brother Fu slowly squatted down, his hands covering his face, tears streaming down. The village had been deceived in a grain exchange, leading to a famine, and the risk of starvation was real.

Now that Jiang Xingchen had regained control of the territory and brought grain to save them, his guilty conscience was finally relieved, and he could no longer control his emotions.

Seeing the villagers' emotions getting out of control, Han Xiaowu felt both sympathy and a bit of pride. The feeling of saving people from dire straits was truly wonderful...

Next, the most exciting thing for the villagers happened. Han Xiaowu waved his hand, and several soldiers carried down bags of white flour and two half-sides of pork from the carts.

"Villagers, come into the yard first. Let's make a meal and fill our bellies!" Han Xiaowu chuckled and turned to enter the lord's residence.

"White flour, and... meat!" The crowd's eyes widened, and they swallowed hard. They could hardly eat meat more than twice a year.

Then, the soldiers unloaded the rice and flour from the carts, carrying them into the yard, where Han Xiaowu had already prepared rooms.

The villagers followed, and the soldiers had already set up stoves and started the fire. The pork was cut into large pieces...

In no time, the yard was bustling with activity. One of the villagers started helping, and soon a large group of people took over from the soldiers.

If Jiang Xingchen saw this, he would be speechless! The white flour was used to make white flour pancakes, and the pork was cooked in the same way Mei had demonstrated.

The large pieces were thrown into boiling water, and a handful of salt was added, and that was it.

However, despite the crude cooking method, Han Xiaowu and the others felt their appetites increase as they watched the villagers eat.

The villagers ate with great relish! They could eat a white flour pancake in two bites, and a fist-sized piece of meat could be stuffed into their mouths whole, as if they hadn't eaten for half a month.

"How long has it been since these villagers had a full meal!" the soldiers thought to themselves.

Han Xiaowu, holding a piece of raw pork, quietly walked to Nier's side and handed it to her.

The little girl, the youngest, was struggling to bite a piece of fatty meat, her small face covered in oil, afraid of eating too slowly and missing the next piece, her eyes fixed on the large pot on the stove.

However, when she saw the pork in front of her, her eyes narrowed, "Thank you, big brother!"

"Thank you very much!" Aunt Yun also stood up and hurriedly thanked him.

Han Xiaowu said it was no trouble, then noticed that the old woman holding the little boy was different from the others. At least she was using chopsticks to eat!

However, he didn't think much about it. Noticing the boy's flushed face, he quickly said, "This child is sick and can't stay outside. Get him inside quickly!"

As he spoke, he called for someone to start the fire...

While the lord's residence was bustling with activity, on a nearby hill, over twenty strong men were panting heavily, struggling to walk toward the village.

"Out for five days, and we didn't bring back any food, sigh..." The young man at the front sighed.

"Shiwa, don't think too much. We have to go home and see! Otherwise, the village will worry to death. Your family has only Aunt Yun with two children!" A young man behind him said.

"But, with nothing to bring back, how will we survive when we return!" Shiwa frowned deeply.

"If we can't, we'll come out again. We have to let our families know we are safe..."

"Hey?" Before this person finished speaking, Shiwa at the front suddenly exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" The group gathered around.

"Look, our village..." Shiwa pointed, and the direction was the lord's residence, where a lot of smoke was rising.

"The lord's residence! A new lord has come, let's go back and see!" The group quickly rushed down the hill...

Ten minutes later, over thirty men stood dumbfounded in the lord's residence yard, their eyes fixed on the bustling scene.

Beside them, their families were overjoyed, chattering about what had just happened.

Nier also ran to Shiwa's arms, her oily face rubbing against his clothes.

"Master Jiang Ling! He's back... a Third-Class Baron! And he brought so much grain... This is too incredible..."

It took these men a long time to finally confirm this fact, then, looking at the steaming pot, they kept swallowing saliva. When Han Xiaowu smiled and nodded, they burst into cheers and rushed over...

At the same time, Jiang Xingchen and his group stopped again on their journey. Grandpa Tang had a new discovery, which made Jiang Xingchen extremely excited.

[bookid=3144773, bookname=《The Last Warrior》]

The confrontation between martial arts and spirit techniques, the competition between body cultivation and mind cultivation!

A homeless child thrown into the arena to await death unexpectedly gains the memory fragments of a supreme demon from another time and space, along with the demon's strongest martial arts and the ultimate treasure "Swallowing the Stars."

Martial and spirit, two paths to the same goal, swallowing the heavens and shattering the stars, in the world of spirits, becoming the last warrior!

A fantastic masterpiece by Master Garlic, absolutely a classic of passion and blood!

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