Chapter 81

Qingshan Village was once again peaceful, and Jiang Xingchen also found a rare moment of tranquility. Apart from playing chess with the little girl, he was pondering how to continue fishing.

Generally, due to the large number of fish caught during winter fishing, a lake would only be fished once a year. Multiple fishing trips would leave nothing for the next year! However, in that vast wasteland, there were over a dozen lakes of various sizes. It wouldn't be a problem to supply the two large restaurants, even if there were a few more.

The old man had also calmed down. With the Sky-Shaking Mercenary Group busy delivering fish, no one was around to play chess with him. Playing chess with Meier was not enjoyable but rather a torment. At this point, his thoughts shifted back to food, and he went out to search for pheasant eggs in a proper manner.

With effort, the old man searched for two days and finally managed to find a nest of pheasant eggs, with over twenty eggs.

Excitedly, he rushed back to the lord's residence, repeatedly asking Jiang Xingchen what he planned to do. He remembered Jiang Xingchen's promise to satisfy him.

However, Jiang Xingchen simply said, "We'll see tomorrow," and walked away with the pheasant eggs, leaving the old man standing there, his eye twitching.

Inside the room, Meier watched as Jiang Xingchen busied himself by the warm kang (a traditional heated bed). She asked curiously, "Brother, what are you doing? Why are you laying down cotton cloth... the pheasant eggs can just be put in the kitchen..."

Jiang Xingchen chuckled and replied, "Brother is making a warm place to see if the pheasant eggs can hatch!"

"Kid! Don't even try!" Before Meier could speak, the old man walked in and looked at Jiang Xingchen with a teasing smile. "This method has been tried before. Apart from carrier birds and swift eagles, no other bird eggs can hatch... Hehe, I see why you were so eager to find pheasant eggs. What a wild idea! Do you think you're a beastman, planning to farm them?"

"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen hadn't expected that someone had tried it before, and his movements paused.

However, seeing the old man's teasing smile, he smirked and said, "So what if others can't hatch them? It doesn't mean I can't..."

Midway through his sentence, Jiang Xingchen realized it sounded ambiguous and quickly stopped, but it was too late.

First, Meier giggled, covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking. Then the old man pointed at him and burst into laughter, "If you can hatch them, I believe you, hahaha..."

Jiang Xingchen's face twitched, and he shouted, "Old man, you're the chicken..."

The next day, the old man finally got his wish. The night before, Jiang Xingchen had steamed rice and, after it cooled, made a large bowl of fried rice.

Jiang Xingchen usually made mostly noodles, and he had only boiled rice before. The old man, seeing the golden, fragrant fried rice, was so excited that he grabbed his chopsticks and dove in.

"Delicious, really delicious! The rice grains are plump and chewy... I never knew rice could be made like this! Such a simple method, and no one thought of it!" The old man, with his mouth full, chewed vigorously while giving his vague comments.

Jiang Xingchen rolled his eyes and said, "Simple! If there wasn't a bellows to control the fire, the rice wouldn't have steamed properly!"

Meier also ate with a big smile, her cheeks puffed out. "Brother, this is delicious! Can we make it again tomorrow?"

"Um! Um! Um..." The old man nodded repeatedly. Although fried rice seemed simple, it required precise control of the heat. If the heat was uneven, it wouldn't reach the level of plump, golden grains that Jiang Xingchen achieved.

"No way! The remaining ten eggs are for hatching! You said I couldn't hatch them, so I'll show you... If you want to eat, old man, you'll have to find more... Stop laughing!"

As Jiang Xingchen spoke in a huff, the old man and Meier couldn't hold back their laughter. However, with their mouths full of food, they were afraid of spitting it out and tried to suppress their laughter, their bodies trembling.

At that moment, there was a fluttering sound outside the door. Meier's smile immediately vanished as she swallowed her food and stood up happily. "My carrier bird is back!" She ran out.

A short while later, Meier returned with a letter in her hand.

"Sister Hongxian's letter, let me see!" Jiang Xingchen reached out.

"It's not for you, brother!" Meier handed the letter to the old man and said, "It's for the old man!"

"For the old man!" Jiang Xingchen was puzzled. Why would Sister Hongxian write to the old man? However, he didn't think much about it and threw the white silk to the old man, who was still laughing.

What Jiang Xingchen didn't know was that the old man wasn't laughing at his egg-hatching idea but was secretly pleased. This was definitely a letter from Tang Chuxue, and the girl must have been shocked by the three tons of fish caught in one net.

However, why didn't she send it directly to me? Oh, she must have used a carrier bird from the First Legion's base, which is too slow. She must have used a swift eagle to send it to Hongyuan City... Hehe, she must be quite surprised to use a swift eagle. This is to confirm quickly. This time, I'll write down the fishing process...

The old man smiled and opened the white silk, but after just a few glances, his expression turned serious.

A moment later, he put the letter in his chest and stood up abruptly, saying solemnly, "Jiang Xingchen, come with me quickly. We need to go to the Seventh Legion. They are out of food, and you need to use winter fishing..."

He explained quickly and then grabbed Jiang Xingchen, pulling him out the door without even finishing the fried rice.

Jiang Xingchen was still confused and didn't understand what was happening. The Seventh Legion was short of food, so they should send someone to transport food. What did it have to do with winter fishing?

Meier also protested. She didn't understand the details, but she knew her brother was going to the battlefield. Three years ago, her uncle went to the battlefield and never returned.

"No! Old man, you can't take my brother to the battlefield. He doesn't know martial arts..." The little girl clung to the old man tightly.

"Ah!" The old man slapped his forehead, realizing he hadn't explained clearly. He quickly told Meier that it wasn't going to the battlefield but to fish for emergency supplies!

"Oh! I see!" Hearing the old man's explanation, the little girl sighed in relief.

At this point, Jiang Xingchen finally understood the situation and his face turned grim.

"Old man, it's not that I don't want to go. Our net has large holes and can't catch small fish! How many big fish can there be in one lake to feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers... The lake we fished in the other day is only fished once a year. If we fish more, there won't be any next year..."

The old man waved his hand to interrupt him, "That lake was just a small pond! The place we're going is hundreds of miles in circumference, full of fish! Stop talking nonsense and let's go!"

"But how do we carry the fishing gear? Just the 400-meter net weighs over a thousand pounds, plus the winch and poles..."

"Besides the net, everything else is manageable. Let's go!" The old man couldn't wait any longer and dragged Jiang Xingchen out the door.

"I can't ride a horse..."

"Kid, shut up!" The old man's eyes were blazing with anger.

"Brother, be careful..." Meier ran to the door to warn him.

"Don't forget to take your medicine every day..." Jiang Xingchen also turned back to remind her.

Next, Jiang Xingchen was left in amazement as he finally truly understood the power of a top expert.

The 400-meter fishing net, when folded, was a large bundle weighing over a thousand pounds. The old man lifted it with one hand and carried Jiang Xingchen with the other.

As for riding a horse, there was no need. The old man simply ran, and Jiang Xingchen felt the wind in his ears, the cold wind stinging his eyes so much that he could barely keep them open.

Now he truly admired the old man. Defeating assassins and jumping seven or eight meters high were nothing compared to this. Carrying over a thousand pounds and running faster than a horse was simply superhuman.

"Looks like I really need to make the old man a pair of red shorts. If he stretches his arms straight up, he could fly..."

While Jiang Xingchen was lost in thought, in the tent of the Seventh Legion besieging Pingjun City, Wu Tianfeng was in high spirits.

"Jiang Xingchen, it's Jiang Xingchen again... In the middle of winter, he caught three tons of fish in one net... The Bi Bo Lake, which is hundreds of miles in circumference, is forty miles away. The fish caught will definitely be enough to feed my army of hundreds of thousands... As long as the soldiers can eat their fill and regain their strength, we can take Pingjun City in a few days!"

Just as Wu Tianfeng was feeling elated, a soldier entered the tent to report, "Commander, we only have enough food for five more days. Should we reduce the rations further?"

"No need! Keep the current rations. If we reduce them, the soldiers won't even be able to walk!" Wu Tianfeng waved his hand.

"Yes, sir!" The soldier, seeing the commander's determination, immediately responded and bowed out.

Wu Tianfeng stood up, lifted the tent flap, and walked outside, looking toward Hongyuan City. He murmured, "Old man, hurry up..."

At the same time, in the capital's military department, the marshal looked at the white silk in his hand and laughed heartily. "This Duke of the North, he really doesn't take any losses. We just borrowed Jiang Xingchen, and you're demanding that the food be left in Hongyuan City..."

A subordinate asked, "Marshal, how should we respond?"

"As long as he helps us take Pingjun City, leaving the food for him is no problem!" The marshal stood up and ordered loudly, "Send a message to the logistics officer immediately. Follow the Duke of the North's instructions!"

The subordinate was stunned, clearly not expecting this result. Giving away military food! But he quickly recovered, knowing that if the marshal decided, it must be done...

Half a day later, in the Duke of the North's residence in Hongyuan City, Zhao Danqing's mother, the Duke of the North, and a refined middle-aged man sat together.

"Your Excellency, you really left the military food behind?" The other two were surprised, finding it hard to believe that military food could be left behind while the front was still in battle.

"Hehe! The marshal gave the order personally! Don't worry, there's no problem..." The Duke of the North confirmed and then chuckled darkly, "Those scoundrels who were inflating food prices, once I turn the tables, you'll be in trouble. With so much food in your hands, you'll go bankrupt!"