Chapter 86

Jiang Xingchen ultimately did not cook for them. After more than ten days of back and forth, and three days of continuous work on the ice without sleep, he could no longer hold on.

After entering the house, he saw the wild pheasant eggs still by the warm kang (a traditional heated bed). Jiang Xingchen smiled bitterly, tapped Meier's head, and then fell onto the kang, falling into a deep sleep.

This sleep was so deep that he didn't even dream. When he woke up, it was already midnight, and he must have slept for over twenty hours.

Jiang Xingchen opened his eyes and found that the oil lamp was still lit in the room, and the area beside him was warm. Turning his head, he saw Meier, holding a doll, sleeping tightly next to him, her other hand still gripping his sleeve.

"This girl! She doesn't even extinguish the lamp when she sleeps..." Just as he thought this, Jiang Xingchen suddenly remembered that Meier had once said she would buy him the best oil lamp.

"Was I really that afraid of the dark before?" Jiang Xingchen muttered to himself, feeling a bit moved. This girl had been quietly taking care of him all along!

"Brother! You're not allowed to leave Meier for so long again..." Meier suddenly mumbled, then turned over, curling up in his arms.

"I won't, I won't..." Jiang Xingchen said gently, lifting his hand to smooth her hair. Since the little girl's condition had improved, she hadn't spoken in her sleep for a long time, showing how hard these ten days had been for her.

After a while, when Meier's breathing became even, Jiang Xingchen stopped, pulled the blanket over her, and slowly got out of bed. After sleeping for so long, he was a bit hungry and decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Putting on an extra layer of fur coat, Jiang Xingchen pushed open the door and quietly headed for the kitchen.

But just as he stepped out, he heard the old man's low shout: "Check! Ha ha, kid, this is called a belated move, you lost!"

Immediately after, Zhao Danqing's voice followed: "That doesn't count! I hadn't moved yet!"

"What doesn't count? Once a piece is placed, there's no going back. You touch a piece, you move it. That's the rule, understand?" the old man shouted.

"But when I took your chariot, you also took it back! And when you advanced your pawn, I..."

"Alright, alright, I'll let you take it back once, but no more next time!"

Jiang Xingchen's lips twitched, and he turned to look at the old man's room, thinking to himself: "It's already midnight, and they're still playing chess. This addiction is too strong... Zhao Danqing must have just learned, but playing with the old man, who is a lousy chess player, should be fine..."

Thinking this, Jiang Xingchen walked over and quietly pushed the door open to enter the room.

However, after just ten minutes, Jiang Xingchen came out with a dark face. These two were truly a pair of lousy chess players, unable to see obvious moves and missing checkmates. Moreover, they both loved to take back moves, and only stopped when both sides had no pieces left to cross the river.

"You two keep playing slowly. I give up. If you have the skills, play all night!" Jiang Xingchen muttered as he walked to the kitchen...

After eating, he returned to the room, lay down again, and tucked the blanket around Meier. Staring at the ceiling, he thought: "Helping the Seventh Legion capture Pingjun City should count as a great achievement! I also cured a terminal illness! Even if expanding the territory is hard to reward, with two achievements combined, I should be able to get that ten thousand acres of wasteland, right..."

Qingshan Village was just a small area in a mountain hollow. To develop it into the way Meier described was simply a pipe dream. The arable land, after taxes, couldn't even support the villagers.

If the food problem couldn't be solved, how could there be any talk of development? He couldn't support the entire village by himself, or they would become lazy.

"I'll write to the Marquis again tomorrow and ask if there's any hope..." Thinking this, Jiang Xingchen fell asleep again.

The next morning, as soon as Jiang Xingchen stepped out of the house, his lips twitched. He could still hear the old man's room echoing with "Advance the pawn, advance the pawn!"

"These two... really played all night!" Jiang Xingchen shook his head speechlessly and took out his toothbrush to start brushing his teeth.

At this moment, the members of the Sky-Shaking Mercenary Group came back laughing, clearly having just practiced, with rosy faces.

"Your Excellency!" Seeing Jiang Xingchen, they hurriedly saluted and looked at his toothbrush with envy.

They had seen this thing before and knew how to use it, but except for Xing'er, none of them had one. As Jiang Xingchen said, "With so many of you together, I'm afraid you'll mix up the toothbrushes, and disease can enter through the mouth!"

This statement made everyone shudder, and although they envied the old man's daily morning display of his toothbrush, they didn't ask for one, as the thought of disease entering through the mouth was disgusting.

"Did something good happen? You all seem to be in high spirits!" Jiang Xingchen asked.

"Of course! With Zhao Danqing here, we don't have to accompany..." Han Xiaowu couldn't hide his smile, glanced at the old man's room, and said in a low voice.

"You're all good! I'm not! Do you know how much this guy can eat? He and the old man are not only a pair of lousy chess players but also a pair of foodies!"

Jiang Xingchen muttered to himself, waved them off to get busy, and went to brush his teeth.

After breakfast, just as Jiang Xingchen was about to write to the Marquis of Dingbei to ask about expanding the territory, Mo Hongxian and Wan Rou came over.

"The Marquis's letter! It's for you!" Mo Hongxian handed him a piece of white silk.

"Huh? I was just about to write to the Marquis, and he sent me a letter first. Could it be about what I wanted to ask?" Jiang Xingchen thought, reached out to take the silk, and opened it to read.

"Wow~" Seeing the content of the letter, Jiang Xingchen's eyes widened instantly: "It really is about expanding the territory... My achievements need to accumulate, and this time there will be no reward... The Marquis will propose the expansion of the territory, but whether it will succeed is uncertain, as the current achievements are a bit insufficient..."

Seeing the end, Jiang Xingchen couldn't help but smile, his eyes shining. He lightly slapped the silk on the table and said excitedly, "We can start the project!"

"What?" Mo Hongxian and Wan Rou were both confused, not understanding what Jiang Xingchen meant by this sudden statement.

"Ha ha! I have a big project, and now we can start it!" Jiang Xingchen explained.

"What big project? Is this related to the Marquis's letter... Also, what big project can this small village have? Even if we renovate all the houses in the village, it wouldn't be that much work!" Mo Hongxian clearly didn't believe him, thinking Jiang Xingchen was exaggerating.

However, when Jiang Xingchen led a group of people to the top of the small hill and pointed to a distant ridge, saying he wanted to dig a tunnel, everyone's jaws dropped.

"Jiang Xingchen, are you crazy? Why are you digging a mountain for nothing?" Mo Hongxian and Wan Rou couldn't help but ask.

"That ridge is at least a hundred meters long, all rock. How can you dig it?" Du Roshan asked, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Kid, have you been too tired these days? Are you running a fever?" The old man, who had just played chess all night, stepped forward and put his hand on Jiang Xingchen's forehead.

"Get lost, go play your chess!" Jiang Xingchen's forehead throbbed, and he slapped the old man's hand away.

Taking a few steps forward, Jiang Xingchen took a deep breath, and a surge of confidence welled up inside him. He pointed forward and explained, "This ridge separates the river. If we dig through it, the ten thousand acres of wasteland on the other side will never lack water!"

"Your Excellency! You really..." As soon as Jiang Xingchen finished speaking, Shiwazi and Grandpa Fu's eyes widened. The meaning of these words was clear: those ten thousand acres of wasteland would be theirs!

"Is it a matter of time?" Jiang Xingchen smiled and nodded.

"It's... what my father told you!" Wan Rou and Mo Hongxian finally understood, but were even more surprised. Expanding the territory hadn't happened in years.

Du Roshan, Han Xiaowu, and all the members of the Sky-Shaking Mercenary Group were stunned. They were all from noble families and understood the significance. Expanding the territory, even though Jiang Xingchen was only a third-class baron with a small territory, was enough to cause a stir throughout the empire.

Only the old man, unlike the others, had a serious expression and asked, "Kid, is this matter settled?"

Jiang Xingchen's achievements were known to him. If he were a seasoned noble, curing a terminal illness and helping capture Pingjun City would be enough for the reward of expanding the territory. But Jiang Xingchen was different. He had risen too quickly and lacked a foundation. The stubborn officials in the noble management department would never agree! And once they set their sights on you, they would create obstacles everywhere, making it hard for you to advance in the future.

"Not yet, but the Emperor has already suppressed my achievements!" Jiang Xingchen explained.

"Oh!" Hearing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor suppressing the achievements meant he was preparing to burst them all at once, blocking the mouths of the noble management department.

"However, before the reward for expanding the territory is granted, it's best not to start the project! To avoid trouble from those with ulterior motives!" the old man said.

"Ha ha! No problem!" Jiang Xingchen waved his hand confidently, "Let them come if they want to cause trouble!"

The old man frowned, wanting to advise further, but thought better of it and nodded lightly.

At this moment, Shiwazi finally recovered from his shock and said hesitantly, "Your Excellency, this wasteland is good, but we can't farm it all..."

Jiang Xingchen waved his hand again and smiled, "I'll take care of that too!"