Only after Old Mrs. Xu came out did she know what it meant to settle three thousand people.
She felt that although she was almost blown away by the strong wind several times, she really gained knowledge.
This also gave her a good psychological prediction in advance for receiving caravans in the future.
And it was not only Mrs. Xu who felt that she had gained more knowledge, but also Xu Tianxin, Xu Youcang and Sun Baotian, the younger son of the Sun family.
Xu Tianxin took one look at Mrs. Xu before she left the cave entrance and took the initiative to follow her.
Xu Youcang was worried about his mother and niece. He was about to catch up wearing rags, but he was grabbed by the boy from the Wan family. The boy from the Wan family hurriedly took off his clothes and threw them to Xu Youcang.
And Sun Baotian dared to speak in front of Shi'an before.
Liu Laozhu knew that Mrs. Xu had an injury on her knee and that it was windy and rainy outside. He finally felt a little normal before Mrs. Xu disappeared. He quickly ordered the boys from the Sun family to follow him quickly and take a look and help Mrs. Xu. Too much, I helped me remember the route, and asked me to be a bit discerning.
These four people were following Shi'an around to the side of the cave, and they realized that no matter how big the cave was, they should try not to cook in the cave.
Especially the natural cave where they settled today.
It is a natural cave that appears only if the geology is loose.
There are many people and poor air circulation, which makes it easy for carbon monoxide poisoning.
On the other hand, if a natural cave is exposed to fire, it will expand and contract due to heat and cold, and rocks may fall from above and hit people.
Although people here don’t understand the words carbon monoxide and thermal expansion and contraction.
But people like Huo Jiajun who have been away all year round are very experienced.
Therefore, Huotoujun's tent was temporarily set up outside the cave against the rocks, some distance away from the cave entrance. By visual inspection, there are six in total, one next to the other.
It is said that the number of six tents used to cover the stove is extremely low, and there is another stove on the side where the horses are placed.
As Shi'an explained, he was actually reminding Erdaohe and his group not to light a fire in the cave in disguise. The family members in the live broadcast room were still wondering:
Yes, such a simple truth, why have we never thought about it deeply before?
We clearly understand carbon monoxide and thermal expansion and contraction.
It must have been influenced by movies and TV shows. The hero and heroine often light fires in caves to keep warm and roast chickens to eat, so they think it’s okay.
At this time, Shi'an directly skipped the first two kitchen tents, which were used by his young master, officials of the Ministry of Rites, and generals of the personal guard.
Shi'an wanted to open the curtain with the word "Huo" written on it at the back and ask if Uncle Lai was there, but a strong wind happened to blow the curtain open, and he saw the person without opening it: "Uncle Lai, you are still busy. Here you go."
I just saw an old man sitting on a pile of small stones and writing notes.
Both sides of him were dug into earthen stove pits.
Mrs. Xu and Xu Tianxin were surprised to see so many earthen stoves.
It is roughly estimated that dozens of pots can be placed inside to boil water at the same time, or bake pancakes over a pit fire. Is it just that he is so old in charge?
What Mrs. Xu and the others don't know is that they must not underestimate Uncle Lai, the chief cook of the Huo family's army.
Because the Huo family's cook, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is well-known in the capital. He belongs to the Huo family's mysterious organization and is like a sweeping monk.
It is said that the cooks of the Huo family took Uncle Lai as an example. No matter how bad the environment was, Wen Neng set up camp as quickly as possible, and Wu Neng immediately abandoned his shovel and picked up his sword to kill the enemy, and he once chased the enemy all the way without forgetting to bring the pot. The pot is their armor.
A few years ago, when Huo Yunqian just arrived in Beijing, he was stopped and provoked by a certain prince's subordinates, who insisted on having a big competition to compare the strength of his subordinates.
The opponent mobilized elite soldiers and generals, so Huo Yunqian had to ask Uncle Lai to choose a few people to compete with. And Uncle Lai didn't pay much attention to the selection. He just randomly picked a few fried candies that were good at frying, but he won the opponent's favor and was so angry that he insisted on adding another game.
Uncle Lai said: "We have to wait. The pigs are about to be released. They are all raising pigs in the village and there is no manpower available." Only then did the opponent know that the ones who defeated them were the cooks in the Huo family's personal guard, and Uncle Lai was the strongest in martial arts.
So Shi'an didn't dare to show off in front of Uncle Lai.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Lai said without looking back: "Why are you here if you don't serve the general?"
Shi'an introduced Mrs. Xu and others.
Uncle Lai has always been harsh on officials. For example, several officials from the Ministry of Rites had to eat here and there on the road, saying that they felt unwell because they didn't get enough rest or eat well along the way.
He really wanted to tell his general's hidden inner thoughts: Should he eat shit or not? The imperial court is riddled with internal strife, and the national treasury is severely depleted. I wish that even the military rations for the guards would be left to be raised by the young master himself, and everyone has such a big face.
In comparison to ***, Uncle Lai is extra tolerant and courteous towards the lower class people.
Because the military rations for the generals in the four towns of east, west, south and north come from the grain taxes paid by the people at the lowest level.
Uncle Lai put away his little notebook and heard that Mrs. Xu and her group had been specially ordered to be taken in by his young master. He smiled like an ordinary little old man and said, "Let's go, let's go, fellow villagers, follow me." Come, there is no room to dig a stove in this tent, I will take you to dig a hole in another tent."
When leaving the tent, Mrs. Xu would have been blown down by a gust of wind if it hadn't been for the support of a boy from the Sun family.
Looking at the direction pointed by Uncle Lai, Mrs. Xu's eyes darkened. She never expected that the destination was so far away.
If she wanted to let her speak her mind, she really wanted to say that it would be fine if she didn't eat or drink tonight.
But I heard that the mules and cattle in Erdaohe were placed halfway up the mountain, and there were many military horses and tents there. In this kind of weather, the mules, horses, cattle, and tents must be placed in suitable places to be safe from the violent storm. The old lady endured the pain in her knees and was too embarrassed to refuse Shi'an and Uncle Lai's kindness. He always couldn't let go, as if he just left the mules and cattle to Huo Jiajun and didn't care about them. He even refused to eat or drink, as if he was waiting for ready-made meals.
When climbing the mountain, the wind was too strong, so Mrs. Xu was helped up the mountain by a boy from the Sun family.
Uncle Lai also wanted to help Xu Tianxin with the rumbling thunder, and he comforted Xu Tianxin and said, "Girl, are you frightened by the thunder? Don't be afraid, our Huo Jiajun's tent will not be struck by lightning. I have already seen that the cave is very safe. If you can’t stand the cold in the cave, there is a place in the tent I will take you to later, and you and your grandmother can always take a nap there to warm up."
When Shi'an heard this, he suddenly couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Because when we were setting up camp today, those officials from the Ministry of Rites said that the cave was cold and getting colder as we walked inside, so it was better to live in a tent. Anyway, the tent had a copper roof nailed to the ground and would not be blown down by the wind.
Before his young master could say anything, Uncle Lai pretended to scold the young general in the army not far away. In fact, he was scolding the officials, otherwise he wouldn't have been so loud.
Are you saying you are women? I won’t have my menstruation, I won’t have a stomachache, and I’ll get sick sitting down, so what’s the point of making a fire? With such a strong wind and a heavy rain coming, how could the military leader, who had already brought the army account, be worried? Even the Chinese army's tent is used to protect the sweat-blooded horse from the wind and rain, and our generals have to go into caves. Are you more valuable than the generals? Don't weigh yourself.
The young master took the opportunity to ask what was going on with the noise in the distance.
Those officials from the Ministry of Etiquette were too embarrassed to make random demands.
Xu Tianxin was a little flattered. She saw that Uncle Lai was very old. She had wanted her third uncle to come forward and help her. She didn't expect that the other party would come to help her first. In such a strong wind, the old man walked calmly and comforted her. She hurriedly thanked him.
What Xu Tianxin didn't know was that Uncle Lai was a little surprised by Xu Tianxin's performance.
The little country girl in front of me, who looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, was not nervous and hid behind people when she showed up. She also did not show any fear or nervousness when she saw so many patrol soldiers wearing armor and coming out of the iron-blooded army. The conversation with him was never at a loss from beginning to end.
He is very attentive.
He observed from the corner of his eye that when he was just climbing the mountain, the stones under his feet suddenly became loose. At that moment, the little girl instinctively stretched out her arms behind her, as if she could protect him if he slipped. This shows his character. Pure and good. Then the little girl's uncle reached out to help him, but the little girl realized that he seemed to be looking at him as if he were walking on flat ground. He was still in the Huo family army at his age, so he secretly tugged on her uncle's sleeve and shook his head, which seemed a bit smart.
I heard that these people were out shopping for the village.
There are so many families in the village, and so many men are in charge. The villagers can choose these two old women to go out with their little granddaughter, and be cared for and listened to by both their own children, uncles and the strong men in the village.
Order, it can be seen that the reputation in the village and the love of the villagers.
Uncle Lai suddenly remembered what he had chatted with his men before.
He once said what happened to his poor family? In fact, there are many philanthropic families among our people, with a pure and beautiful family tradition. The most rare thing is that under limited conditions, with insufficient food and clothing, the elders in the family still teach their children with heart, and the children they raise are sincere and generous.
And for such a common people's family, according to the fact that he has traveled all over the country with his young master these years, compared to the dirty tricks in some wealthy families and the elaborate calculations between the so-called noble girls, who has a cleaner character and clean eyes? Make a judgment.
This may be arbitrary.
But Uncle Lai felt that maybe today he would encounter the real-life version of his example.
Because not long after he left, he heard that the grandfather and grandson and their entourage, Li Zheng, sent several large pots of sugar water to the soldiers who were badly hurt by the heavy rain.
The little girl’s grandmother also arranged for the young men in the village to help the soldiers dig nails into the ground in the rain, so that the tent would not be able to hold up due to a violent storm.
Shi'an also heard about what Mrs. Xu and her group had done.
He originally wanted to be nice to Mrs. Xu and the others.
What's more, there were two female relatives, an old and a young, who couldn't stand the autumn rain and cold. The cave was already cold, so they ordered people to heat up the extra pebbles they had prepared.
This kind of stone will not explode when heated and can continue to heat for a long time. In this way, using the pebble hot stones as bed boards and covering them with a layer of old hay clothes will keep you warm all night long.
These stones were prepared for his young master and several officials from the Ministry of Etiquette. They were quite well prepared, and Shi An felt that even some young masters would not say anything.
After he finished delivering, he went to report to Huo Yunqian.
"They didn't seem to have eaten at night. They were probably worried that the rainy weather would delay them for a few days and that their rations would be insufficient. But they boiled several large pots of sugar water and sent them to the tents where they were helping to take care of the mules and cattle, so that the soldiers could warm themselves up. Also, Before filling each pot with sugar and water, they took a few sips to taste it themselves, but no one warned them, and the soldiers did not guard against them."
Huo Yunqian looked at the map and asked, "Erdao River?"
"yes."
