"Uncle." Meng Changqing greeted him with a smile, "You worked hard all day in the military camp and yet you still personally delivered something to me. Changqing really feels guilty."
"No." Wei Fangyun got off his horse, "I should come here and take a look."
He brushed off the dust on his cloak and said, "Let's go, take me around your land."
"Uncle please."
Everywhere in the camp, there were either lit fires or people walking and working with torches. Although the night was dark, some things could still be seen clearly by the light of the fire.
"Are all those rows of houses kitchens?" Wei Fangyun asked.
"Yes, uncle, come forward and take a look."
When I got closer, I saw eight townhouses. The roofs were being laid. Soldiers were constantly coming in and out of the houses carrying things.
"The kitchen is still almost finished." Meng Changqing called Zhang Yuan at the side, "Zhang Lieutenant, how long will it take for it to be completed?"
Colonel Zhang lowered his head and replied: "Report to the two adults, it will take at most half an hour."
Wei Fangyun asked: "If it is built today, can it be used tomorrow?"
Meng Changqing didn't answer. Zhang Yuan saw this and said hurriedly: "It can be used immediately after it is built."
"Yeah." Wei Fangyun turned his head and asked Meng Changqing, "Is it okay for Zhang Yuan to work under you?"
"Captain Zhang has a stable character and is not afraid of hard work." Meng Changqing asked Wei Fangyun to go elsewhere. "There are many people here. Please take your Excellency to look elsewhere."
Wei Fangyun looked towards the northernmost kitchen and saw many people standing in a long queue at the door, "What are they doing?"
"Queue up to get food." Meng Changqing said, "Currently only one kitchen can be used, so people have to wait in line."
Wei Fangyun asked: "Why not let the servants build the kitchen together?"
"More than a thousand people are building seven houses. The number of people is enough. Any more will only cause chaos. Besides, the servants have their own work to do."
While talking, the two walked towards the city wall.
"Brother, look." A person at the end of the team bumped into the person in front of him, "Who are those people?"
"He is a big shot after all. Even officers and soldiers are not allowed to move around here at will. Those few walked around casually and no one has come up to ask. I'm afraid they are officials."
The person in front turned around and noticed that his third brother was pointing at those people. He quickly pressed his action and warned: "Don't point around, you don't want to use your finger anymore!"
"This place is really strange." The younger brother put his hands in his sleeves, "Brother, I have served a few times and have not seen much. Have you ever seen officers and soldiers doing anything before?"
"I've never seen it before," the elder brother said. "I've never seen it before. There's food to eat before work starts."
When it comes to eating, the third brother is hungry and there is a growling sound in his stomach, "I don't know what to eat?"
"What else can I eat? Porridge."
The third brother stretched out his nose and sniffed forward, but unfortunately he was far away and couldn't smell anything. "It would be great if I could have some cakes to eat and a bowl of salty soup."
"No matter what good thing you think of, you may not be able to eat cakes every time at home." The eldest brother swallowed his saliva, "As for eating well, I served in Hongjia County for one year, and I had cakes every three days. After the service ended, I didn’t even finish the food I brought home.”
"There should be some bread to eat this time." The third brother continued: "Didn't Li Zheng say that you don't need to bring food from home for this military service?"
"Do you believe what he said?" The eldest brother said he was an old man, "There are too many laborers this year, and the officials are afraid that if they recruit more people from the countryside, they will run away to the mountains, so they say something nice.
I'm just afraid that I won't be able to recruit people. Didn't even look at the women, hey, it really doesn't give us people a way to survive. "
The third brother is young after all, "But since the people above have spoken and some people believe it, what should I do if I really don't bring food?"
"Then starve to death. Some people must die every year in service." The eldest brother lowered his voice very low. "Anyway, the ones who die are not officials' family members. How can they feel heartache? Think about your second brother's legs. You’d better follow me closely, you know!”
"knew."
"Don't take it seriously..." The eldest brother was about to lecture someone when officers and soldiers walked by, so he had to hold back for the time being.
The officers and soldiers stopped next to the third brother. The eldest brother glanced secretly and squinted behind him, with cold sweat breaking out on his back. He was afraid that what he just said would be overheard by the officers and soldiers.
Seeing the officer and soldier suddenly raise their hands, the eldest brother grabbed the third brother and was about to kneel down. But at this moment, he heard the officer and soldier say loudly: "Everyone in our group should move forward."
The same voice came from the front of the team.
The eldest brother breathed a sigh of relief and moved forward with the people in front.
Someone from behind held a torch and led a long group of people forward, shouting as they walked: "Stand next to each other, no pushing! No chatting! Do you still want to eat?"
The officer and soldier standing next to the third brother turned around and said, "Your group is too slow."
"There are only so many tools. It will be too late to be assigned to our group." The soldier holding a torch in the back chatted with the people in front, "Brother, have you gone inside to see it?"
"It's not our group's turn yet, so we can't join in."
The soldier holding the torch asked again: "Do you know what's in it?"
"Why are you asking? Don't we have dry food with us? You haven't eaten yet?"
"I thought if there was salty soup in it, I could soak the dry food in it."
"There should be some salty soup." After he finished speaking, he saw his companion in front of him gesturing to him, "It's time to join our group. Brother, go in first and take a look for you."
"Move forward, don't crowd, don't make noise, and if you don't follow the rules, please stand outside."
When the people in the front of the group entered the kitchen, exclamations of exclamation kept coming from behind, "Millet rice! Eat millet rice!"
The third brother standing at the end of the group was excited, "Brother, let's eat millet rice here!"
"Don't worry, wait until you get inside."
I thought I would have to wait for a while, but I didn't expect that the people in front entered very quickly, and soon it was the turn of these two brothers.
As soon as I entered the gate, I was handed a big bowl.
"Go forward and line up in front of the stove." The officers and soldiers serving bowls kept repeating this sentence.
The two brothers came to the stove with empty bowls in their hands. Facing the candlelight, they saw that the big iron pot was full of millet rice.
The third brother tightened his mouth to hold back the saliva in his mouth.
They saw with their own eyes that the man in front of them stretched out his bowl, and the officer and soldier filled him with a full bowl of rice.
The eldest brother of Lao Jianghu has never seen this scene before.
Finally it was his turn, and he carefully stretched out his bowl. The officer and soldier didn't even pause. He took two more spoonfuls and gave him a big bowl of rice. "Go forward and get the pickles."
Following the people in front, they went forward and saw another officer and soldier standing in front of the jar, putting a small spoonful of salted diced radish on each bowl of rice.
The third brother held the rice bowl and started eating without waiting to sit down.
They were in the countryside, and their rice bowls wouldn't be so full during the Chinese New Year.
There was no one present who was not eager to eat. Even the officers and soldiers who were guarding them stood beside them with bowls in their hands to eat.
The officer and soldier who came in first ate the fastest. After finishing his meal, he approached the cook and said, "Brother, I have a big appetite. Please give me another spoonful depending on how much you have in the pot."
But the man who was serving food put down his spoon and handed it over to him, "Brothers from Hongjia County, today's meal is a reward from the county master. According to common sense, there is no reward. You should also know."
The begging soldier retracted his hand and said, "Okay, just pretend I didn't say anything."
"No, since you said you have a big appetite, I'll feed you more tomorrow." The person who cooked the meal deliberately raised his voice, "The reason why we have groups here is because the more work we do, the better the group will be. Eat first, and eat more, until you are full. Not only are you the guards, but the servants are the same."
