Chapter 51 Dumpling Making Contest

　　◎The Commander is coming back◎

　　"menu?"

　　He Yunchen was stunned for a moment, somewhat suspecting that he had heard it wrongly.

　　Seeing Madam He looking over, he quickly put away his surprise and said, "Show it to the child."

　　Mrs. He then scanned the rest of the letter and discovered that the writer's handwriting was really ugly. The more she read, the less clear it became about what was written.

　　Her eyes hurt after just a quick glance. At a glance, it seemed that the letter was indeed about how to cook. So she handed the letter to He Yunchen half-believingly.

　　He Yunchen took it with a normal expression and recognized it as Xiao Cheng's handwriting at a glance.

　　Xiao Cheng's handwriting is ugly, but He Yunchen, as his superior, can recognize what he writes better than anyone else.

　　It’s really a recipe.

　　But considering that this was written by Jiang Ting and Xiao Cheng together, it is not surprising.

　　"Hot pot base..."

　　He Yunchen was looking at the letter while rummaging through his bag and found the square-shaped thing described in the letter. He thought this was the thing that Jiang Ting mentioned for cooking hot pot.

　　Thinking of the hotpot he had at Xiao's house last time, he felt a little nostalgic.

　　"preserved egg……"

　　He found a package and felt it, and could tell it was a bunch of round oil-paper packages. Then he took out the spicy dried meat and sausages according to what was written in the letter and placed them on the table one by one.

　　After reading to the end, he carefully identified it and realized that this was not a pure recipe letter. Jiang Ting said to him at the end of the letter, "I wish you good health and all the best. I wish you a happy new year in advance."

　　Is she sure that he will stay in Beijing for the New Year?

　　This letter is really not up to standard. He has the opportunity to teach Jiang Ting how to write a letter.

　　He Yunchen put the letter away, put it in his arms, and said to Mrs. He, looking at her with a scrutinizing look, "This is food that a friend asked someone to bring to me. The letter tells me how to eat it."

　　After reading the letter, Mrs. He no longer had any extra thoughts. Although she was still curious about who Jiang Ting and Song Xia were, since He Yunchen obviously didn't want to say, she stopped asking and said:

　　"Your friend is very considerate to you. He even brought you some food on such a cold day, and packed it so carefully."

　　He Yunchen said softly: "Yes, he is a very considerate person."

　　Madam He told the maid, "It's getting late, serve the meal."

　　He Yunchen picked up the bag of spicy dried meat: "This can be eaten directly, the other types need to be cooked. I'll give some to grandma and the others to try tomorrow."

　　Somehow, when talking about these foods, He Yunchen felt a sense of anticipation. He was looking forward to other people's reactions after tasting them. If everyone thought that the food Jiang Ting cooked was delicious, he would also share the honor.

　　Madam He asked, "Is this food that is unique to the border?"

　　He Yunchen asked his men to prepare a plate and said, "Not really, it's just that my friend figured it out himself, and no one else can make this taste."

　　Mrs. He smiled and said, "Then I am in for a treat. Let's go to the dining room."

　　He Yunchen followed Mrs. He to the dining room with a bag of spicy dried meat. There were already three dishes and a soup on the table. Although the portions were not large, everything was exquisite. The cups and plates used were even handed down from the previous dynasty's court and were priceless.

　　After washing their hands, the mother and son sat opposite each other. The maid carefully opened the oil paper bag and poured the dried meat into the plate.

　　He Yunchen had eaten this spicy dried meat before, and he knew that Mrs. He had a strong taste and would definitely like it.

　　Sure enough, when Mrs. He smelled the spicy and fresh aroma, she was immediately attracted and couldn't help but smell it again. She felt her mouth watering and an appetite that she hadn't had for a long time came up.

　　Since the death of her husband and eldest son, she has lived a semi-secluded life, eating vegetarian food, chanting Buddhist scriptures and praying for the He family. Her diet has become increasingly plain. Although the doctor said that she should eat more meat to replenish her body, she has no appetite for the meals prepared in the big kitchen or small kitchen in the mansion.

　　"What is this food called? It looks strange."

　　He Yunchen helped to set the dishes and handed over the chopsticks. "It's spicy pork jerky, made of pork."

　　Mrs. He smiled and said, "This is a good name, concise and clear."

　　She picked up a piece of dried meat with chopsticks, put it in her mouth and tasted it slowly. She felt that the spicy, salty and numb taste was just right. Although it was called dried meat, it was not difficult to chew, but very chewy. The more she chewed, the more fragrant it became. There was a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste, mixed with the fragrance of sesame and other seasonings that she couldn't name.

　　He Yunchen asked casually: "How?"

　　Madam He glanced at him, pretending not to notice his look of seeking credit, and nodded, "Mm, it smells good, suitable as a snack or as a side dish for drinking. I think your grandfather and maternal grandfather will like it."

　　He Yunchen was satisfied and started to eat quietly with Mrs. He.

　　After dinner, the two went to the main courtyard. When Mrs. He saw him coming, she pretended to be sick.

　　She had a headband wrapped around her head and leaned against the headboard, sighing and crying, saying that she was sorry to the ancestors of the He family.

　　General He couldn't do anything to her, so he hid in another room early. Only He Yunchen's aunt and cousin were standing by.

　　He Yunchen has been back for so long that he has developed an indifferent attitude towards fame and fortune. No matter how others try to persuade him, he will not give in.

　　Old Madam He took the snake-head stick at the bedside and hit his leg, and He Yunchen quickly took two steps back.

The old lady angrily scolded, "Are you worthy of your dead father and brother? If you don't get married, do you want to watch me die without having a great-grandson? You rebellious grandson!"

　　Several female relatives were in a dilemma. After persuading the old lady, they came to persuade He Yunchen.

　　Auntie said, "Yun Chen, you are already twenty-two years old, it is impossible for you to stay single for your whole life, right?"

　　He Yunchen remained silent.

　　He had never thought about whether to get married or not. He just felt that it was not appropriate now and he did not want to delay the girl. Besides, he did not want to follow his parents' orders and the matchmaker's words and be with someone he did not like.

　　It’s pretty good now. I can be at peace without any worries.

　　My cousin's wife said, "Third brother, you have been at the border for many years, don't you have anyone you care about? If you do, bring her back. Even if she is a peasant girl, our He family will not say anything bad about her."

　　This really stumped He Yunchen. He had been at the border for five years and had never come into contact with a woman.

　　Moreover, he had no intention of going to brothels or other places of pleasure to have fun. When he thought about it unconsciously, he was stunned. Could it be that he had no interest in women at all?

　　He was shocked by his own guess and then immediately denied it.

　　He didn't have any thoughts about any woman, but he also didn't have any thoughts about the men around him.

　　To be honest... a person's face suddenly flashed through his mind.

　　"Chen'er, what's wrong with you? Your grandmother is asking you a question." Mrs. He tugged at his sleeve.

　　He Yunchen came back to his senses, cold sweat broke out on his back, and he clasped his hands and said, "Grandson just remembered some important things, and I was rude for a moment. Please forgive me, grandmother."

　　Who was the old lady? Her cloudy eyes saw through him at a glance and asked, "Who were you thinking about just now? Do you really have someone at the border?"

　　He Yunchen was stunned, and quickly denied it: "Grandson didn't!"

　　That person, that person is just his friend.

　　Just close friends.

　　The old lady naturally didn't believe it. She was an experienced person and could see everything. "If you have one, bring it back. Our He family doesn't care about family background. As long as it's a good girl, it's fine."

　　Knowing that her grandson might have someone in his heart, she just wanted to light some firecrackers to celebrate.

　　But seeing that He Yunchen's face looked strange, the old lady couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you? Your face looks so strange, could it be that... the other person is a married woman?"

　　Aunt and cousin: "Pfft."

　　He Yunchen: “…”

　　He said hurriedly: "No!"

　　He was going crazy. Dealing with a room full of women was harder than fighting in a war.

　　"Grandmother, please don't speculate. My grandson just wants to stay with the He family army. He doesn't have anyone in mind. It won't be too late to talk about marriage after we pacify the Northern Rong."

　　He cupped his hands and said, "Grandson has some important matters to attend to, so I will leave now. I will come back tomorrow to pay my respects to grandma."

　　After saying this, he almost ran away, and Mrs. He quickly said goodbye and followed him out.

　　The two of them walked out of the main courtyard one after another, and Mrs. He suddenly said, "Stop."

　　He Yunchen paused, stopped, sighed, and said in a deep voice: "Mom, your yard is on the other side."

　　Mrs. He walked up to him and looked him straight in the eye. "Mother thinks your grandmother is right."

　　He Yunchen tightened his face and looked like he didn't care what you thought, but he was actually a little devastated inside.

　　"Mom, please stop joking. How could I possibly date a married man..."

　　Mrs. He suddenly interrupted him, "If she is not a married woman, could it be... a man?"

　　He Yunchen: "..."

　　…

　　More than a month has passed since the first heavy snow fell, and the border has become a completely white world.

　　Every morning, the snow piled up higher than the knees. The soldiers stopped training and spent the whole day shoveling snow.

　　In addition to shoveling snow off the tops of the tents and in the camp, they also had to clear the snow on every road to ensure that the road from the barracks to the town was drivable.

　　In addition, the vegetable fields at the foot of the mountain are also the focus of everyone's attention. If the snow is too thick, the vegetables will be crushed, so every morning a team of soldiers will go to shovel snow from the vegetable fields.

　　The wheat was sleeping quietly under the snow, the radishes and cabbages were growing taller and taller, and the garlic sprouts were not to be outdone, they were straightening their thin waists and trying to shoot upwards.

　　These are the results of everyone's labor. The soldiers are looking forward to the day when they can eat the vegetables they grow with their own hands.

　　And recently, they have something even more to look forward to, and that is the winter solstice.

　　The news that the emperor has granted amnesty to the people has arrived, and the commander-in-chief's order has also arrived. This winter solstice, the whole camp will have extra meals, and ordinary soldiers can even eat mutton.

　　Of course, the Huotou Battalion only raised more than fifty sheep. Although there were many more lambs this winter, they were still not enough for all the soldiers in the battalion to eat. The meat of a sheep was much less than that of a pig, and it was good enough for everyone to have a bowl of mutton soup.

　　Even so, these rare lively days in the long winter still made the soldiers excited.

　　The newly appointed commander-in-chief and Lin Tongzhi, who was temporarily acting as the commander-in-chief, were both generous and caring towards their subordinates. They generously approved an allocation of four pigs and twenty sheep for the Fire Battalion.

　　Now every soldier can eat meat.

　　But the firemen's camp was in a dilemma. With so many mouths to feed, so much meat, and unprecedentedly abundant snacks, the workload was much more than the usual big pot meals. Wouldn't the firemen be exhausted to death?

　　Uncle Liang has been looking very worried these past few days, and he feels like he has a few more grey hairs.

　　He called all the firemen together for a meeting to discuss the matter of adding extra meals during the winter solstice.

　　"On the winter solstice, we have to cook these four pigs and twenty sheep into dishes to ensure that every soldier is well fed. This is the order from the two co-magistrates. There are 12,000 soldiers left in the camp now, and the fireman battalion has 136 people, which means that each fireman is responsible for the meals of about 100 people..."

Uncle Liang's voice became lower and lower as he spoke. He looked around at everyone and said, "I called you here today so that you can think about what dish is suitable?"

　　The small kitchen manager said, "Sour cabbage stewed with meat? This is what we eat during the New Year in previous years. It's quick to make and tastes good."

　　Zhou Dong said, "No, I'm eating pickled cabbage every day now, and I'm getting sour. I finally have an extra meal, why are you eating pickled cabbage again?"

　　The small kitchen manager said, "If not pickled cabbage, what else can we eat? The vegetables in the fields haven't grown yet, and there's nothing to sell in town. Not to mention our camp, the people at home also eat pickled cabbage every meal in winter."

　　Zhou Dong scratched his hair, "Ah, I just feel bad."

　　A fireman said, "It's rare to have so much meat. It would be a waste if we don't make something delicious. But the key is that we don't have enough manpower."

　　"The potato and bean rice that was served as a snack during the last military exercise was really good. How about having it again this time?"

　　"Where can I get beans now? Are we going to make pickled cabbage rice?"

　　"Ah, don't mention sauerkraut. We worked so hard to pickle those dozens of jars of sauerkraut. We usually just make some sauerkraut soup. I feel bad that we've eaten all of it in one meal."

　　"Will the things we usually sell, such as leek dumplings, pan-fried dumplings, and duck blood vermicelli soup, be okay?"

　　"Not so good. Normally we only sell a few hundred bowls a day, but this time we're making more than 10,000 at a time. We don't have enough manpower, and we can't buy that much food. It's so cold today, the roads are frozen."

　　Just when everyone had been discussing for a long time without any clues, Uncle Liang spotted Jiang Ting sitting in the corner and quickly asked, "Jiang Ting, do you have any ideas?"

　　Jiang Ting shook her head: "Not yet."

　　She thought for a moment and said, "Our current problem is that we don't have enough manpower and ingredients, so we can't make too complicated meals, but we can't be too perfunctory either. Besides sauerkraut, the most abundant item in the camp is..."

　　Uncle Liang suddenly realized: "Food and grass!"

　　The main food supplies include corn, rice, soybeans, and wheat. Corn is made into a big pot of rice every day, and everyone in the camp is eating so much that they vomit. Soybeans are often made into tofu or bean sprouts. The amount of rice is small and is for the generals. So only wheat is left.

　　Normally, wheat is mainly used to make pancakes. If you can combine flour and meat... the simplest thing is...

　　"dumpling!"

　　Uncle Liang said happily, "How about making dumplings?"

　　When Huotouying had a snack before, Jiang Ting had taught them how to make dumplings. Dumplings don’t require a complicated method and are a very pleasing dish.

　　Yes, dumplings are supposed to be eaten on the Winter Solstice, but they were thinking too much and overlooked such a suitable dish.

　　Zhou Dong said: "Although making dumplings is simple, it takes a lot of effort. Those people are really good eaters and may eat a whole bowl of dumplings in one meal. Wouldn't we be exhausted to death?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "I do have an idea?"

　　Uncle Liang looked at her and said, "What's your idea? Tell me now."

　　Jiang Ting said, "Since we don't have enough manpower, why don't we let the soldiers make and eat their own dumplings? We can have a dumpling-making competition, and whoever makes the best and fastest dumplings can win a prize. The prize could be an additional dish, such as braised lamb's head or something."

　　When the firemen heard this, they immediately praised: "This is a good idea. This way we can save a lot of time and effort. Hahaha."

　　Jiang Ting continued, "In addition, you can prepare several kinds of fillings for dumplings, such as sauerkraut oil residue dumplings, fungus pork dumplings, mutton dumplings, and mushroom pork dumplings. Don't waste the remaining sheep bones, you can use them to make soup. Have a bowl of steaming hot mutton stewed noodles, put some bean curd, vegetable leaves, chopped green onions in it..."

　　"Oh, stop talking, you're making me drool!"

　　"I've never eaten dumplings with so many different flavors in my life."

　　"Jiang Ting, you are the one who knows how to eat!"

　　Uncle Liang said with a smile: "I think it's okay, let's do it according to Jiang Ting's suggestion."

　　He narrowed his eyes and looked at Jiang Ting, who suddenly felt a chill on her back. Sure enough, the next moment Uncle Liang said:

　　"I'm sorry to trouble you again this time. You will be responsible for the extra meals during the winter solstice. How about giving you three days off after you're done? I'll ask the Tongzhi to approve your family leave so that you can leave the camp."

　　With so many eyes staring at her, Jiang Ting couldn't say no. Plus, the temptation of a holiday was too great, so she could only nod and say, "Okay, I'll do my best."

　　After everyone dispersed, Xie Ning said with a smile: "Jiang Ting, what we discussed last time actually came true."

　　Last time they were talking about not knowing what to eat during the New Year, Jiang Ting said they could eat dumplings of various flavors, and now here we are.

　　Qin Jue sighed softly and said leisurely: "Seeing the sheep I have raised for half a year being killed, I really feel a little reluctant."

　　Xie Ning said: "Oh? Then you will not be able to eat it, I can help you eat the mutton dumplings."

　　Qin Jue laughed and scolded upon hearing this: "I don't mean that at all."

　　Jiang Ting rubbed her face with her hands and sniffed, "Alright, alright, let's go back to the house. We are freezing."

　　Snowflakes were flying outside again, falling in large flakes on people's heads. After walking for a while, the three people became white-headed old men.

　　Jiang Ting looked back and saw a trail of footprints along the way they had come, which were soon covered by snow.

　　She thought, time passed so quickly and the winter solstice came so soon. She wondered whether He Yunchen would eat dumplings on that day.

　　…

　　Two days before the winter solstice, the fire camp began to frantically chop wood, boil water, and sharpen knives, as if they were ready to do something big.

　　The first thing to do is to kill the pig.

　　The huge pig-killing barrel, the sharp pig-killing knife, and the pig-killing stool stained with old blood were all in place. The four fat pigs that had been fed and well-nourished by the Huotouying Camp for a year screamed miserably, their limbs tied with ropes and they had to be dragged out of the pigsty.

　　Many soldiers came to watch the pig slaughter. They stretched their necks at the entrance of Huotouying and said excitedly, "Kill the pig! Kill the pig! We can finally eat meat!"

　　"Hey, have you heard? It seems that the Fire Head Battalion is going to do something different this winter solstice. I heard it from a Fire Head I know, but he's so secretive that he doesn't want to tell me."

　　"You're making me even more excited. No, I'll ask someone about it later."

　　As he was talking, all four pigs died. The butchers drained their blood skillfully. The blood flowed into a basin, steaming slightly.

　　The firemen rushed forward, lifted the pig into the slaughter barrel, poured buckets of boiling water over its head, and began to scrape the pig's hair with the hot water.

　　After scraping the pig's hair, the internal organs are taken out and the meat is chopped into large pieces and hung up with ropes.

　　The Huotouying worked for a whole afternoon before they got everything done.

　　The next day, what had to be done was to slaughter the sheep, and the entire fire camp was still involved.

　　After slaughtering the pigs and sheep, Jiang Ting led everyone to make braised meat in the big kitchen.

　　Braised pig's head, braised sheep's head, braised pork intestines, braised pig's tail, braised large bones, etc., anything that doesn't have much meat is braised.

　　In the other pots, lard was being refined. The refined oil was poured into huge jars and kept for cooking later.

　　Jiang Ting prepared the marinade herself. It is slightly spicy with a hint of sweetness, not too salty but not choking. The meat is very soft and tender, and any piece of it can be used as a side dish for drinking.

　　Everyone worked until late at night, and the next day was the winter solstice.

　　The weather was nice on the winter solstice. It didn't snow and the sun shone a little bit.

　　Uncle Liang gathered everyone together and asked them to follow Jiang Ting's arrangements.

　　Jiang Ting was wearing an apron with her sleeves rolled up high. She smiled and said, "Because we have the soldiers to help us make dumplings, our task today is much simpler. We just need to chop the stuffing, teach them how to make dumplings, and make mutton stewed noodles.

　　Everyone will try to make dumplings later. I will send those who are good at making dumplings to teach the soldiers in each camp. Now start kneading the dough."

　　A few days ago, the Fire Chief Battalion had already ground the necessary flour. More than a hundred firemen joined the battle and almost all the basins were used.

　　Pour flour, add water and knead the dough.

　　The firemen were already skilled at these tasks, and soon the dough in pots was rising.

　　The next step is to chop the stuffing. Chop the pork, mutton and oil residue, chop the sauerkraut and soaked mushrooms and black fungus, add the seasonings and mix thoroughly.

　　Yesterday, Zhou Dong and others went to the town to buy some things, mainly seasonings, green onions, dried mushrooms, dried black fungus, etc. At Jiang Ting's request, Zhou Dong also bought some coriander.

　　Coriander is a rare thing in this world. No one has cultivated it on a large scale yet. It is considered a wild vegetable that is hard to come by.

　　Jiang Ting likes to eat coriander very much. She decided to chop the coriander into pieces and add it to the dipping sauce for Xie Ning and others later, so that everyone can try the charm of coriander.

　　After completing the preparations, the firemen all tried to make dumplings. Jiang Ting selected dozens of people who were good at making dumplings and assigned them to various camps to teach the soldiers how to make dumplings.

　　The remaining firemen stayed in the fire camp to prepare mutton noodle stew.

　　The method of preparing mutton noodle stew is quite simple, the key is to make the base soup delicious.

　　The meat from ten sheep was used to make dumplings, and the meat from the remaining ten sheep was sliced ​​into slices.

　　Blanch the fresh lamb bones and put them into a large pot to cook. Add some spices and cook for more than half an hour until the soup becomes almost milky white.

　　While the soup was stewing, Jiang Ting and the firemen began to pull noodles. The whole kitchen was filled with heat, as if it was isolated from the ice and snow outside. The rich smell of mutton filled the kitchen, and the fire in the kitchen seemed to turn the sky red.

　　As Xiao Cheng walked into the Huotouying, he let out a "Yoho" sound.

　　Zhou Dong didn't like doing things in the kitchen, so he sat outside, took off his coat, and chopped wood with his arms swinging. A lot of firewood was needed today, so he had to prepare more.

　　When he saw Xiao Cheng, he stopped and wiped his sweat, "Why are you here?"

　　Xiao Cheng poked his head out and said, "I'm looking for Jiang Ting, call her out."

　　"I'm busy! Don't you know that the whole camp will have extra meals today?"

　　Xiao Cheng clapped his hands and said, "I came here just for this matter. Hurry up, I'm busy too."

　　Zhou Dong threw the axe and said, "Wait."

　　Xiao Cheng stayed outside for a while, and then saw Jiang Ting coming out with her hands wrapped in white flour.

　　"Brother Xiao, why are you here? What happened?"

　　Xiao Cheng pulled Jiang Ting aside and whispered, "There are two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which one do you want to hear first?"

　　Jiang Ting looked at him and said, "It's a bad thing."

　　Xiao Cheng said: "General Shenwei is here, he is already halfway, and he will arrive in half an hour."

　　Jiang Ting was stunned: "What? Such a coincidence?"

　　Xiao Cheng said: "What a coincidence, that bastard from the Northwest Camp is also here, he must have been the one who informed on us."

　　Jiang Ting frowned and asked, "Will the general blame us?"

　　Xiao Cheng said: "Not really. This is an order from the commander. I guess the general just thought it was strange and came to see the excitement and inspect it."

　　Jiang Ting nodded. "That's good. I'll talk to the kitchen manager later and ask him to prepare some good wine and food. By the way, what's the good news? What is it?"

　　Speaking of good news, Xiao Cheng became a little excited, "The good news is that the commander has already set off to return to the border town!"

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　I always procrastinate until very late to finish writing the daily update, so why not try to split it into two chapters tomorrow...

　　Chapter 52 Lamb Noodle Stew

　　◎Someone wants to steal her away◎

　　"He Yun... Ahem, the commander is coming back?" Jiang Ting was also happy and said with a smile, "That's great, I can celebrate the New Year with the soldiers."

　　Xiao Cheng said: "Yes, they set out yesterday and will arrive soon."

　　He pointed at Jiang Ting's face and said mischievously: "Why are you so happy? Now that the master is back, you have someone to support you, right?"

　　Jiang Ting quickly put away her smile, "No one is bullying me, do I need anyone's support?"
Xiao Cheng said: "That's right. I heard that the guy who fought with you last time is now your little brother?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "You mean Li Ze? Yes, I don't even have to wash my clothes myself now."

　　Xiao Cheng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Alright, I've got the message. I have other things to do, so I'll leave first."

　　Jiang Ting nodded and raised her flour-stained hands, "Brother Xiao, take care. I have to go back and continue pulling noodles."

　　Xiao Cheng turned around and smiled: "What do you want to eat today?"

　　“Dumplings, mutton noodles, braised pork.”

　　"Dumplings? What a good thing! I'll come over for dinner. The food in your Huotou Camp is the most delicious."

　　Xiao Cheng left happily.

　　Jiang Ting turned around and walked back, thinking that it had been more than two months since He Yunchen left the military camp, and it had been about a month since she last sent food there.

　　I don't know how effective the hot pot base is. I'll have to ask him when he comes back.

　　At this time in the camp, all the soldiers were gathered in the training ground.

　　The parade ground was large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people. The ground was covered with gravel and surrounded by a tall bamboo fence. There was also a wooden platform in the front.

　　At this time, the two commanders were standing on the high platform and speaking some inspirational quotes passionately, reminding the soldiers to always remember to defend their country and serve the court.

　　The soldiers were so tired of hearing these words that they pretended to listen carefully, but at the same time they couldn't help but glance at the large group of people walking in from the parade ground gate.

　　These people looked familiar; they were the firemen who delivered meals to them every day.

　　They were pushing carts with all kinds of pots, pans, and utensils on them, and some were carrying loads and basins on their shoulders, looking like they were moving the fire camp to the parade ground.

　　The soldiers became more and more curious about what the Huotou Battalion was going to do, making it so mysterious.

　　The two colleagues finally realized that it was time for them to step down. Perhaps the soldiers had already thrown rotten eggs at them in their hearts.

　　The two of them quickly said what they needed to say, and then smiled and said, "Today is the winter solstice, and the whole country is celebrating, so let's do something different in our camp."

　　The soldiers finally pricked up their ears. "Sir, what's different? What can we eat as a snack today?"

　　Everyone knows that the Huotou Camp killed four pigs and twenty sheep.

　　But they did not dare to ask for too much. The mutton was given to the generals, and they were satisfied with some mutton soup and a few bites of pork stewed with sauerkraut.

　　Lin Tongzhi said with great enthusiasm: "We are going to hold a dumpling-making competition. One hundred people will form a team. The team that makes the best and fastest dumplings will win the prize of this competition."

　　The soldiers all stared with wide eyes and asked in surprise: "Dumpling-making competition? There's a prize?"

　　Another commander laughed and said, "The lucky items are braised meats, including braised pig heads, braised sheep heads, braised pork intestines, pig tails, pig hearts, pig kidneys, and braised pork bones. We have prepared fifty lucky items in total."

　　One hundred and twenty teams, which means more than five thousand people can eat braised pork.

　　Lin Tongzhi waved his hand and said, "Bring it up."

　　A group of personal soldiers carried a dozen huge wooden barrels onto the platform and placed them in a row. Inside were various cuts of braised meat, and there was a pile of large bowls placed next to them.

　　The braised meat was just taken out of the pot and was still steaming hot. The aroma coming out of it made the two colleagues swallow their saliva.

　　Today's braised meat seems to be much more fragrant than the one made in the small kitchen on weekdays.

　　The soldiers had never seen so much braised meat in the barracks and were stunned for a moment.

　　Lin Tong knew: "Whoever finishes making the required dumplings first can come here to claim the prize after the firemen have checked them."

　　The soldiers were excited but also embarrassed, "But we don't know how to make dumplings!"

　　Lin Tong knew: "Every two teams will be assigned a fireman to teach you. Once you have learned it, you can start making dumplings. But we have to make an agreement in advance that if anyone tries to hurry up and is caught, they won't even be able to eat the dumplings!"

　　The soldiers were relieved and excited. They were ready to fight hard and they must win the braised meat today.

　　Another commander, in accordance with the prior agreement, ordered the soldiers to go back to the camp, wash the tables and benches, and bring them over to prepare for unpacking on the spot.

　　Everyone cheered and ran back.

　　Soon, large, brightly washed tables and benches were carried to the training ground, and the teams were quickly divided.

　　Uncle Liang led the firemen to distribute the ingredients. Each team could get four pots of stuffing, one pot of pork with mushrooms, one pot of mutton with chopped green onions, one pot of pork with black fungus, one pot of sauerkraut and oil residue, and two pots of kneaded dough.

　　The soldiers washed their hands and were ready for battle.

　　The fireman said, "First, let's divide some of you to roll the noodles and some to make dumplings. We need about 30 people to roll the noodles. Now I will teach you how to roll the noodles."

　　Upon hearing this, the people in the team quickly allocated the required number of people.

　　The fireman sprinkled a handful of dry flour on the table, took out a piece of dough, kneaded it vigorously, rolled it into long strips, and cut it into small pieces.

　　The soldiers followed suit clumsily, but fortunately this step was simple and nothing went wrong.

　　"The next step is to roll the dough. Take this rolling pin and roll it around like I did."

　　The soldiers followed suit, but this step was a little difficult. Some people found that no matter how they made the dough, it was still a thin pancake and could not be turned into the kind of dough made by the firemen.

　　The fireman quickly taught and corrected everyone one by one, and finally everyone was able to get the hang of it.

　　"Okay, now I'll teach you how to make dumplings. Switch to another person."

　　The soldiers assigned to make dumplings gathered around quickly. Each of them held the dough in an orderly manner, imitating the fireman's way of holding the dough in the palm of their hand, picking up a piece of slightly frozen meat filling with chopsticks, then putting some water around the dough and starting to pinch it with their fingers.

　　"Don't do that. It will explode if you cook it this way."

　　"You have too much stuffing. It won't be enough later."

　　"Pull the two sides together and make folds. Pinch gently and the dough will break..."

　　The fireman was busy correcting this and that.

　　The soldiers felt even more nervous than on the battlefield. They stared at each other, and put a lot of thought into treating the little thing in their hands.

　　This is related to whether they can defeat other teams and win the prize.

　　Finally, after a flurry of activity, the competition officially began.

　　All the soldiers were ready to go. Lin Tongzhi said loudly: "Which team finishes making 3,000 dumplings first can let the firemen inspect them. Now, the competition begins!"

　　General Shenwei and Commander of the Northwest Camp Li Changhong felt something was wrong as soon as they entered the camp.

　　Apart from the two commanding officers who came to greet him, four deputy commanding officers, some thousand-householders, centurions and the personal soldiers left behind by He Yunchen, there was not a single soldier in sight.

　　"Where are the soldiers in your barracks? It's almost noon, and everyone is still sleeping soundly in bed, right?"

　　Li Changhong laughed in a sarcastic manner.

　　He Yunchen was not at the border, so how could Li Changhong miss this good opportunity to take advantage of the situation? During the previous New Year and other holidays, the commanders of several military camps went to the border town to pay homage to General Shenwei, and it was He Yunchen who stole the show.

　　In the eyes of the general and several other high-ranking officials, He Yunchen was the most outstanding and the He family army was the most powerful, as if the people in the other military camps were just vagrant soldiers and a ragtag army.

　　During this winter solstice, Li Changhong got some good stuff and came to the border town specially to present it to the general. Who would have thought that the general thought that the He family army now had no commander, so he decided to come and inspect and comfort the soldiers to show his sympathy for them.

　　Li Changhong was so angry that he almost died.

　　The general is coming to the He family military camp, so he wants to go and take a look.

　　The general's sudden visit left Lin Tongzhi and others unprepared. Fortunately, the general's personal soldiers had told them in advance that they were coming incognito and there was no need for a grand welcome. Everything in the barracks was carried out as usual.

　　He Chenshi was a man with a hot temper and a straightforward mind. He hated Li Changhong the most and directly retorted:

　　"The soldiers of our He family army are not lazy. They can travel a hundred miles a day even in the snow. Commander Li has seen the battle with the Northern Rong last spring."

　　Lin Tongzhi said with a smile: "Master Li, you are joking. Today is the winter solstice. The whole camp has extra meals. The soldiers are all in the training ground."

　　Li Changhong narrowed his eyes slightly. Are the He family troops going to add extra food again?

　　The last time the two armies were training, he clearly ordered his men to trip the ox carts that were delivering food to the He family army, causing eight out of the ten ox carts to break down. This was to ruin the He family army's extra meals, and then disrupt the soldiers' minds, so that they wouldn't eat well and wouldn't be able to display their full strength in the competition arena.

　　Who would have thought that a fireman would appear and make some potato and bean rice.

　　The general ate the rice and praised it highly. When he returned, he asked the firemen in other military camps to learn from it and think of more ways to improve the food for the soldiers.

　　Li Changhong almost fainted from anger at that time.

　　This time the He family army added extra food... Li Changhong subconsciously suspected that it might be the work of the same firebrand army from last time.

　　He clenched his fists and saw Lin Tongzhi leading the general to the parade ground. He fell a few steps behind and whispered to his personal soldiers: "Go and find out what's going on with the extra meal this time..."

　　The general and his entourage came to the parade ground in a low profile. They thought the soldiers were training in the severe cold, but they were surprised by the scene in front of them.

　　There were many tables in the training grounds. The soldiers were not holding weapons, but rolling pins, dough, chopsticks, pots and pans. They were busy as if all the coldness in their bodies had disappeared...

　　The general was shocked, "What are they doing..."

　　Lin Tongzhi smiled and said, "The whole camp has extra food. The Fire Head Camp is short of manpower, so in order to save time, we held a dumpling-making competition. General, please look, the braised meat on the high platform is the prize."

　　The general came back to his senses and said with a smile: "This is a good idea. It can not only make the soldiers eat well, but also enhance the relationship between comrades. Not bad, not bad. Come on, take me in to have a look."

　　At this moment, all the soldiers in the field were busy. Their full attention was on making dumplings, and they didn't notice the general and others who were dressed in incognito at all.

　　The soldiers rolling the dough made the table clang loudly. If you didn't know, you would have thought they were fighting with the table. Fortunately, the tables in the barracks were sturdy enough.

　　The soldiers who make dumplings have already mastered this superb technique. Their technique is extremely smooth. Dumplings with thin skins and large fillings are quickly formed and neatly laid out in rows in the winnowing basket.

　　Soon, someone shouted excitedly: "Our team has finished the bag!"

　　The general and others were startled by the powerful roar. They turned around and saw a group of people who were very excited and were pulling a fireman to urge him to inspect the goods.

　　The fireman checked it and said, "No problem, no broken skin, no loose skin, all passed!"

　　"Ah ...

　　"Hurry, hurry, go up and claim the prize!"

　　“We can eat dumplings first!”

　　The leader rushed up to the platform, and the fireman waiting on the platform quickly picked up the big bowl, filled it with two large bowls of braised meat and passed them over.

　　Uncle Liang said with a smile: "We can start cooking dumplings now. Huotouying will send mutton stewed noodles soon. We will make sure everyone has enough to eat today!"

　　When they heard that there would be mutton noodles, the soldiers became even happier and wanted to hug the fireman and give him a kiss.

　　In the past, they looked down on the firemen, but now they wish they could treat them as their dearest treasures.

　　At this time in the Huotouying, Jiang Ting and others were so busy that they were dizzy. The cooked noodles and mutton soup were packed separately, and the soup and noodles were separated and sent to the training ground in a cart.

　　A temporary stove was built with stones on the parade ground. A big pot was placed on it, water was added, the fire was boiled, and the wrapped dumplings were poured into it.

　　According to the order in which they had received the prizes, the soldiers lined up with their bowls in hand.

　　At this time, the mutton noodles were also served.

Each soldier had a large bowl of dumplings with a variety of flavors, about thirty or forty of them, and a large bowl of mutton noodles.

　　The dumplings were steaming hot, and the mutton noodle soup was rich and fragrant, with cabbage leaves, green onions, bean curd, and a large amount of mutton slices.

　　After pouring out the soup, pour a colander of noodles into it and the bowl will be full to the brim.

　　The soldiers who had gotten their meals took their bowls to an empty table, sat down, and began to happily enjoy the fruits of their labor.

　　Dumplings of various flavors are mixed together, and you can’t tell from the outside. Eating each dumpling is like opening a blind box, with a sense of surprise, but each one is delicious, slightly juicy when you take a bite, and very satisfying.

　　If necessary, you can ask the fireman for some vinegar and soy sauce to dip it in, which will make it taste even better.

　　The mutton stewed noodles are full of ingredients. The soldiers who win the prize can also soak the cold braised meat in the mutton soup, and add the mutton slices already in the soup. The meat content in the whole bowl of noodles is very high.

　　Stir the noodles and fully blend them into the soup. Take a few bites of the side dishes first, then two bites of the meat. After your mouth is filled with the delicious flavor of the mutton, take another big bite of the noodles, and finally take a sip of the hot soup.

　　This feeling of happiness is so strong that it seems to turn the harsh winter into spring sunshine.

　　"It's so delicious, oh my god, this is the best meal I've had since I joined the army!"

　　"I'm not like you."

　　"What's the difference?"

　　"This is the best meal I've ever had in my life! I can only eat coarse food at home and I'm often hungry."

　　"Woo woo woo, the commander treats us so well, I will follow him till death!"

　　The soldiers who had not finished wrapping the dumplings became anxious when they saw that the people in front of them were eating them, and they started to speed up.

　　The general, Lin Tongzhi and others stood in the corner, watching the lively scene in front of them, and couldn't help but say:

　　"Okay, okay, this is how a festival should be celebrated. Yun Chen is good at managing his subordinates. No wonder the He family army is so united. Do you have more dumplings and noodles? I want to try some, too."

　　Li Changhong's face darkened when he heard this. The general was actually going to eat He's army's food again and praised He Yunchen again from a distance!

　　Lin Tongzhi smiled and said, "Yes, all right! General, please follow me."

　　The small kitchen prepared a table full of delicious food for the general and others. Lin Tongzhi also asked someone to bring a few bowls of dumplings and mutton noodles. Everyone ate while sweating and praised the food endlessly.

　　The general thought that this was a good idea and that all military camps should learn from it.

　　But no matter how delicious the food was, Li Changhong couldn't enjoy it.

　　His personal soldiers have already reported that this dumpling-making competition was the idea of ​​the fireman named Jiang Ting.

　　Damn it, this Fireman is simply his nemesis! He always ruins his plans!

　　After dinner, Lin Tongzhi led the general and others to inspect the military camp.

　　Li Changhong stayed behind on the pretext of having a stomachache. He sat in the tent arranged for him to rest by the He family army, waiting with a grim face.

　　After a while, the guard reported: "Sir, the fire brigade is here."

　　Li Changhong's expression turned cold, and he said, "Pass it on."

　　After a moment, a tall, thin, upright, and handsome young man walked in calmly, bowed and said, "I am here to greet you, Master Li!"

　　Li Changhong looked at Jiang Ting and his eyes lit up. He had thought that Jiang Ting would be an older man who stayed in the kitchen all year round, was greasy all over, and had a timid look.

　　He calmed himself down and said, "Today's extra meal, the dumpling-making competition in your camp, and the mutton stewed noodles, were all your ideas?"

　　Jiang Ting lowered her head slightly and said, "My Lord, yes."

　　"The same thing with the konjac last time?"

　　Jiang Ting: “Yes.”

　　"So you are the manager of the Fire Battalion now? You are so young, and you have a bright future ahead of you."

　　Jiang Ting frowned slightly, "I am just a granary manager."

　　Li Changhong looked at her with a half-smile, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became. He said, "Not bad, I admire you very much."

　　Jiang Ting clenched her fists and looked at him calmly.

　　But she knew that this man was the commander of the Northwest Camp and He Yunchen's mortal enemy. He definitely had no good intentions in summoning her today.

　　Li Changhong did not intend to hide his purpose and said directly: "I just ate the meal you cooked and I thought it tasted very good. I didn't expect that you are just a small granary manager. It's really a waste of your talent!"

　　"He Yunchen is really a bad person. You are such a good cook, but you are asked to manage the granary. How much silver do you make a month now? One tael? Two taels?"

　　Jiang Ting felt that this person was deceiving her more and more, and her heart was alarmed. She frowned and said, "I have only been in the Huotou Camp for half a year. I dare not ask for anything. I am very satisfied with my current life."

　　Li Changhong looked at her and said with a smile: "Come closer so I can take a look."

　　Jiang Ting clenched her fists and paced slowly. She was ready. If this man did anything wrong, she would punch him hard.

　　"Don't be nervous." Li Changhong's tone was gentle.

　　He whispered, "Why don't you come with me to the Northwest Camp and cook for me? You don't have to work so hard. I'll arrange the best tent for you and give you five taels of military pay every month. How about that?"

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　Xiao Cheng: Commander, please come back soon! Someone is trying to poach you!

　　Li Changhong: Every day I am either angry or on the way to being angry.

　　I came a little early today, hahaha, just to show off, there will be another update in the early morning.

　　Chapter 53 He's Back

　　◎Follow me and you will enjoy delicious food◎

　　Jiang Ting was stunned and subconsciously took a step back.

　　This guy actually tried to steal He Yunchen's girlfriend from the He Family Army? He is really bold.

　　Li Changhong saw Jiang Ting's reaction, sat up straight and distanced himself from her, and asked, "What? Are you scared?"

　　He stroked the jade pendant on his waist and said nonchalantly: "Don't worry, I can help you with the military registration issue. I will personally ask He Yunchen for the person, and he won't even give me this face."
Jiang Ting really wanted to curse. Isn’t this just like waiting for disaster to come to you while you are at home?

　　She just wanted to cook a good meal, but she didn't want to become a victim of the open and secret struggles between these two people.

　　She was not stupid enough to think that this Mr. Li was really impressed by her cooking skills.

　　Jiang Ting raised her hands and clasped her fists, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, sir, but I just want to stay in the He family's military camp. Please forgive me, sir."

　　Li Changhong narrowed his eyes, "You don't agree?"

　　How dare this little fireman refuse him?

　　Believe it or not, I can kill him with just one finger.

　　Jiang Ting said in a deep voice: "Yes."

　　Li Changhong's chest was boiling with anger, his hands tightly grasping the handrail, but he was concerned that this was in the He family military camp. The death of a firebrand was a small matter, but making enemies with the entire He family army was a big deal. What's more, General Shenwei was still here, so he had to endure it.

　　He waved his hand and said, "Get out, you ungrateful person!"

　　Jiang Ting immediately straightened her back and said, "Yes!"

　　She turned around and walked away without hesitation. Li Changhong looked at her back and slammed the table hard.

　　Damn He Yunchen, damn Jiang Ting! Damn He Jiajun!

　　Jiang Ting breathed a sigh of relief after she walked out of the tent, and her palms were slightly sweaty.

　　Although Li Changhong is stubborn and not very smart, he is able to become a third-rank commander and lead a military camp. In addition to his good family background, his personal strength must be strong.

　　She had fought with He Yunchen before. He Yunchen was injured that time, so he was at a disadvantage. Even if Li Changhong was not as good as He Yunchen, he would not be much worse. So if she and Li Changhong fought against each other, she didn't know who would win or lose, but her skills would definitely be revealed, and her peaceful days would be over.

　　She walked back with a gloomy face, cursing Li Changhong in her heart.

　　In the fire camp, the firemen who had taken a break were having lunch. Everyone held their bowls, slurping noodles and putting dumplings into their mouths. Xiao Cheng was also sitting in the middle, eating with great relish.

　　Zhou Dong looked at him with disdain: "Hey, can you eat slower? Are you a starving ghost reincarnated?"

　　Xiao Cheng was wrapping dumplings in his mouth and said incoherently: "Wow, you don't know how hungry I am. I was busy arranging things, and then I heard that General Shenwei was coming and ran to greet him. I was starving."

　　He looked at the dumplings in Zhou Dong's bowl and said, "Do you want to eat them? If not, give them to me."

　　Zhou Dong was so scared that he quickly walked away with the bowl.

　　Jiang Ting sat down next to Xie Ning and Qin Jue and breathed a sigh of relief, "Ah."

　　"What's wrong? Why did that person come to you just now?"

　　Jiang Ting shook her head. "It's okay. He asked me to teach him how to cook."

　　She didn't want to tell Xie Ning and others about Li Changhong. It was useless to tell them and it would only add to their troubles.

　　Qin Jue pushed two large bowls over, covered with two bowls to keep them warm, "Eat quickly, the noodles are about to melt."

　　Jiang Ting rubbed her face, took the chopsticks and started eating. As she was eating, she suddenly remembered something: "Oh, by the way, I have been so busy these days that I forgot. Didn't Uncle Liang say that he would give me three days off after the winter solstice? I can go to the border town again."

　　Xie Ning was extremely jealous after hearing this and said, "Ah~ I want to go out too."

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "I'm going out. I can't help you for now, but I can bring you something. What do you want to eat?"

　　Xie Ning thought for a moment, "The cake from last time, and the dried sweet potatoes, and more..."

　　Jiang Ting nodded, indicating that she had taken note of it.

　　She looked at Qin Jue again, "What do you want?"

　　Qin Jue smiled gently and said, "I don't lack anything."

　　Jiang Ting asked: "Do you want to bring a letter to your sister?"

　　Qin Jue lowered his eyes and shook his head when he heard this. "No, I don't have much military merit in the barracks... There's nothing to write about."

　　Jiang Ting finally gave up, "Okay, then I'll take a day off tomorrow and leave the day after tomorrow."

　　She went to ask He Jing, Zhou Dong and others, wrote down what they needed, and finally found Uncle Liang to help her approve the leave.

　　This winter solstice extra meal was very successful. Even General Shenwei praised the He family army. The two commanders were very happy and generously approved Jiang Ting's leave and gave her a reward of one or two taels of silver.

　　Jiang Ting went to Xiao Cheng for help again and made an appointment with a scout who was about to go to the border town to carry out a mission. Early in the morning of the third day, she set off with her bag on her back.

　　Coincidentally, the scout who took her to the border town this time was the same one who brought her back from the border town last time. After the two recognized each other, they greeted each other, and the scout smiled and said, "It's you again."

　　Jiang Ting hugged her small bag tightly and said timidly, "Yes, thank you very much, Brother Scout."

　　The scout was afraid of the saddle and said, "Go, get on the horse."

　　This time the two of them could only ride one horse, the scout sat in the front and Jiang Ting sat in the back. Fortunately, she was dressed very warmly this time, wearing a plush hat, a rabbit fur scarf, and gloves on her hands, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.

　　The two men walked in the snow for most of the day and it took them half the time than last time to reach the border town.

　　The scout dropped her off at the gate of the border town, and the two went their separate ways.

　　After getting off the horse, Jiang Ting rubbed her frozen ears while looking around the border town she had been away from for more than two months.

　　The border town was still very lively in winter, and the people here had long been accustomed to the severe cold of winter. Jiang Ting walked and strolled, first eating a bowl of noodles and then two pancakes. As she walked, she felt herself getting hot, so she took off her hat and scarf.

　　At this time, several people were standing not far away. The man in the lead stared at Jiang Ting and asked, "Is it her?"

　　"Sir, it's her!"

　　Li Changhong touched his chin and smiled. "This is really a narrow road for enemies. He came to me on his own. I won't be polite."

　　He signaled to two of his personal soldiers and said, "Bring her to me after dark."

　　"Yes, sir!"

　　Jiang Ting was unaware that she was being targeted. After walking around and eating and drinking, she found an inn to rest.

　　This time when I came to the border town, besides playing around and relaxing, I also started preparing to renovate the house.

In the past few months, with the dividends and military pay, she already had seven or eight taels of silver in her hands, so there would be no problem in laying the foundation, but she did not have too much hope. It was winter now, and if it was not suitable to start construction, she could only do it in the early spring of next year.

　　Jiang Ting felt that she had eaten too much today. She had a problem where she would feel sleepy after eating too much, so she asked the waiter to bring her some hot water and prepared to simply wash up and go to bed.

　　It gets dark very early in the border town and the nights are extremely long.

　　Jiang Ting was taking off her socks when she suddenly heard some noise outside the window. Her expression froze, and the next moment, the window was forcibly broken open.

　　Two figures suddenly flipped in from the second-floor window and landed steadily in front of Jiang Ting.

　　Jiang Ting subconsciously pulled out a dagger from under her pillow, stepped on the ground barefoot, holding a sock in one hand, and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

　　Judging from the actions and aura of these two people just now, they were definitely not ordinary people, nor could they be thieves, and it was even more impossible that they had walked into the wrong house. They came here for her.

　　The two personal soldiers of Li Changhong were a little embarrassed. Although they knew that their commander sometimes had a bad temper, was narrow-minded, and even vicious, and as his personal soldiers, others would only think that they were birds of a feather, but what they were doing now was indeed not what gentlemen do.

　　Running into someone's house in the middle of the night and robbing a decent woman... Man, what kind of thing is this?

　　The personal soldier said, "Jiang Ting, my master wants to see you, please come with us."

　　Jiang Ting immediately realized who this adult was. Was this villain Li Changhong still haunting her?

　　"No time."

　　This was on the second floor. There was no floor heating, only a charcoal basin. She was almost frozen to death if she stepped on it barefoot. She glanced at the two men, put her feet on the edge of the bed, put on her socks with one hand, and then put on her shoes.

　　The guard said, "If you don't come with us, we can only kidnap you by force."

　　Jiang Ting didn't know how many people were on the other side. In a one-on-one fight, she would definitely win, but what if there were more than a dozen people on the other side? She didn't dare to take the risk.

　　Anyone who can become the commander's personal guard is outstanding and his skills are no worse than those of a thousand-householder.

　　She calmly asked, "Why do you want to see me? I am just a fireman."

　　The personal guard said, "It is not our turn to ask about this. Please go ahead."

　　Jiang Ting sighed and said, "Wait, I'll put the valuables in my pocket."

　　She quickly put her silver in her arms and threw the bag under the bed. She didn't know when she could escape, so she could only come back and get the bag when she had the chance.

　　After she had finished collecting the things, two bodyguards came forward, held her arms on both sides, and took her out of the window, landing on the street, and then dragged her forward.

　　There were few people on the street after dark, and shoes made a crunching sound as they stepped on the snow on the ground.

　　Jiang Ting looked around and said with a smile: "Two big brothers, you don't have to hold me so tightly. I'm just a fireman, how can I run away under your noses?"

　　Upon hearing this, the guards relaxed their grip a little, "Stop talking nonsense and move on."

　　Jiang Ting walked silently. After walking for a while, she suddenly looked ahead and shouted, "Commander-in-chief! Why are you here?"

　　The two were stunned immediately and subconsciously looked up and forward, but they only saw darkness.

　　At this moment, Jiang Ting struggled quickly, shook off the hands of the two soldiers, gathered her energy, slapped them hard on the chest, then quickly retreated, turned around and ran into the darkness.

　　The two bodyguards took two steps back, covering their chests and looking at each other in surprise. They never expected that a fireman could have such palm power.

　　He is pretending!

　　"not good!"

　　The personal soldier immediately blew a whistle, and the personal soldiers and scouts hiding nearby quickly rushed towards the direction where Jiang Ting escaped.

　　"Damn it." Jiang Ting ran a few steps in the snow and found that her shoes were either stuck in the snow and difficult to pull out, or she was stepping on the smooth ice and slipping like ice skating.

　　This made it impossible for her to run fast.

　　After her shoes got stuck in the snow again, she tried to pull them out twice without success, so she simply pulled her feet out, took a few steps to the side in her socks, and came under the eaves.

　　Then she took a breath, jumped up suddenly, climbed onto the window, and tensed the muscles in her arms, moving her entire body to climb onto the roof of the house.

　　She flew over the house, her arms exerting almost their limit of strength, while the soldiers chasing her were still struggling in the snow.

　　Thanks to the fact that she used Li Ze as a practice partner for the past two months, otherwise her level would not have been maintained so well.

　　Just as she was breathing a sigh of relief, an arrow suddenly shot from a distance, broke through the air, and appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.

　　Jiang Ting's pupils shrank, and she suddenly turned sideways. The long arrow penetrated into the wall behind her, and the tail of the arrow trembled wildly.

　　"Damn it." Jiang Ting gritted her teeth and was about to look for a way to escape when another thing flew over.

　　She thought it was some hidden weapon, but when she dodged it, she found it was an iron claw that hooked the eaves above her head, with a long rope connected to the claw.

　　She thought to herself that something was wrong. The next moment, a person swung over along the long rope, appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye, and raised his hand to grab her.

　　Jiang Ting grabbed the window frame with one hand and blocked with a dagger in the other hand. The opponent's hand paused in front of the dagger and then grabbed her shoulder.

　　Jiang Ting raised her arm and received it with her elbow. The two forces collided and both of them were shocked, feeling each other's strength.

　　The man flipped in the air and landed on the ground.

　　Jiang Ting squinted her eyes and saw that the man was actually Li Changhong himself.

　　Li Changhong had not expected that his personal soldiers would fail when trying to capture a fireman, forcing him to take action personally. Now that they had fought, he discovered something extraordinary.

　　It's really interesting.

　　"Does He Yunchen know that there is such a master hidden in his Huotou Camp?" Li Changhong smiled and looked at Jiang Ting with naked eyes.

　　Jiang Ting took a breath, knowing that she couldn't escape today.

　　Li Changhong's skills are not much weaker than hers. What's more, he has so many helpers, while she has already spent a lot of energy.

She has always been a person who knows how to deal with current situations. It seems that this Mr. Li doesn't want to kill her for the time being. It is better for her to save her life first and plan for the future.

　　Thinking of this, she dropped the dagger with a snap, loosened her grip, fell to the ground, rolled half a circle in the snow to release the force, and then stood up straight, looking directly at Li Changhong and said:

　　"What on earth do you want to talk to me about? If I remember correctly, I had nothing to do with you before."

　　Li Changhong smiled and said, "Originally, I just thought you were a good cook and wanted to snatch you away from He Yunchen. Who would have thought that you gave me a big surprise tonight? I am even more interested in you now."

　　"Psycho." Jiang Ting cursed and moved her feet.

　　She only had socks on her feet, and you can imagine how cold it was standing in the snow.

　　She glanced at Li Changhong and said bluntly: "Give me a pair of shoes."

　　Li Changhong looked down and realized that her shoes were missing. He laughed and said, "No wonder you were climbing on the window."

　　Jiang Ting had a cold face and said nothing.

　　Li Changhong spread his hands and said, "I don't have shoes. Come here, I'll carry you."

　　He opened his narrow eyes and looked at Jiang Ting with a smile.

　　Jiang Ting also smiled coldly, and simply fell down and lay in the snow.

　　"Forget it. I don't want to live anymore. Either have someone carry me away, or let me freeze to death in the snow."

　　She bet that this man had some intentions towards her, otherwise he wouldn't have talked so much nonsense to her.

　　Li Changhong's face turned pale and he became angry again. He ordered his two guards, "Take him back!"

　　Jiang Ting was carried to the guest room of the villa where Li Changhong lived. This was his property in the border town.

　　She felt a little cold, and Aqiu Aqiu kept sneezing. She said unceremoniously: "I want hot water."

　　The servants brought her shoes, hot water and ginger soup.

　　She felt her body warm up only after soaking her feet. She didn't dare drink the ginger soup because who knows if there was any medicine in it.

　　She sat on the bed, thinking about how to escape.

　　This Li Changhong is really a psychopath. She doesn’t even know what he is trying to do.

　　As expected, her room must have been surrounded like an iron barrel, and not even a sparrow could fly out.

　　She scratched her hair and thought irritably, if only He Yunchen came back now, He Yunchen should be able to beat Li Changhong, right?

　　Even if He Yunchen can't deal with Li Changhong, there will be absolutely no problem if she and He Yunchen join forces.

　　After a while, the door was suddenly pushed open. Jiang Ting sat up abruptly and saw Li Changhong walking in leisurely after changing his clothes.

　　He closed the door, walked to stand in front of Jiang Ting, squinted his eyes and smiled, "How is it, are you warm now?"

　　Jiang Ting said coldly: "It's okay."

　　Li Changhong lifted up his skirt, sat down on the edge of her bed, and said with a smile: "Relax, I won't hurt you. Why do you have to fight to the death? I just invited you to have tea."

　　Jiang Ting moved her butt to the side cautiously.

　　Who once, Li Changhong suddenly reached out and lifted her chin.

　　Jiang Ting was startled, she reached out and slapped his hand away, looking at him warily, her hands hidden in her sleeves clenched into fists.

　　Li Changhong's face darkened, he touched the back of his hand which was red from being beaten and gritted his teeth:

　　"I've never seen someone as ignorant as you. Don't think I can tolerate you just because you have a nice face!"

　　He said angrily: "Your mediocre kung fu is not good enough in my eyes! I have a hundred ways to kill you!"

　　He reached out and firmly grasped Jiang Ting's chin, saying viciously, "Don't you know who holds your life in your hands?"

　　Jiang Ting did not resist this time, she just looked at him coldly. She couldn't stand it anymore and retorted: "Kill him if you want to, stop pretending here, it's really disgusting."

　　"you……"

　　Li Changhong was furious.

　　He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, turned his head and saw Jiang Ting, and said: "I'll give you two choices. Either you die now, and after you die, your body will be thrown out to feed the wild dogs, or you follow me."

　　He touched Jiang Ting's smooth cheek.

　　Somehow, he was attracted to this face the first time he saw it. Seeing Jiang Ting giving him a sour face, he couldn't help but want to get her and straighten out her stinky stone-like temper.

　　He has tasted many beauties in his life, but has never met one with this kind of temperament. This makes him feel very challenging.

　　Jiang Ting was a little confused. "With you? Are you really that short of a cook? As a commander, have you never eaten good food?"

　　Li Changhong: "..."

　　He yelled, "Don't you dare pretend with me!"

　　He grabbed Jiang Ting's collar, pulled her over, stared into her eyes and said, "What I'm saying is, I want you to follow me and serve me in bed, do you understand?"

　　Jiang Ting was indeed stunned this time.

　　She had never thought about this question.

　　Can men do that with men?!

　　In a flash, she blurted out in shock, "So you got in through the backdoor?!"

　　Li Changhong: "..."

　　He was really angry, so he loosened his hand and raised his hand to punch Jiang Ting.

　　But Jiang Ting reacted quickly, rolled over and climbed into the bed.

　　Li Changhong narrowed his eyes at her and nodded, "Okay, very good, I like your personality. Just wait, sooner or later there will be a day when you beg for mercy."

　　He slammed the door and left.

　　Jiang Ting finally breathed a sigh of relief and lay down on the bed.

　　"Damn it, damn it! What the hell!"

　　She is a major in a military camp in the end times. It's bad enough that she was transported to this backward feudal dynasty, disguised as a man, and had poor food and clothes, but why is she being targeted by a stupid man now?

　　Let her serve him? She would cut off his penis!

　　Jiang Ting stayed in this room for two whole days and couldn't go out. There were people guarding her everywhere outside. They didn't give her food or water, and no one paid any attention to her, as if they had forgotten her.

But Jiang Ting remained calm, for she knew that this was a commonly used interrogation method, the purpose of which was to break through a person's psychological defenses and cause him or her to suffer physically and mentally.

　　She tried her best to stay calm, sleeping when she could and meditating when she couldn't.

　　Now we can only pray that He Yunchen returns to the military camp and finds that she is gone, and then runs to the border town to find her.

　　If she was even a little important to him.

　　If He Yunchen doesn't come, then she can only leave it to fate.

　　He Yunchen rode at full speed all the way and finally arrived at the border town on the eighth night. This day was the day Jiang Ting and the scout had agreed to return to the barracks early in the morning.

　　But Jiang Ting didn't show up yet.

　　The roads were slippery and difficult to walk on due to the snow, and it took longer to get back than before the snow. He Yunchen, exhausted, stayed in the He family villa. Not long after he sat down, a personal soldier came to report that a scout wanted to see him for important matters.

　　He Yunchen cheered up and asked someone to bring in the scout.

　　After the scout saluted, he briefly explained the matter, "I suspect that Jiang Ting had an accident in the border town. I and several of my comrades in the border town have been searching for him for a whole day, and finally..."

　　He Yunchen looked cold and said in a cold voice: "Go on."

　　The scout was frightened by He Yunchen's tone and said quickly: "I heard that two nights ago, someone saw several men chasing Jiang Ting on the street. Those men were very skilled, and one of them could use Eagle Claw. Jiang Ting was taken to East Street by them."

　　"Eagle Claw?" He Yunchen tapped the table with his fingers. "Li Changhong?"

　　The scout said: "I also guessed it was him! A few days ago during the winter solstice, General Shenwei and Lord Li came to our military camp, and Lord Li's villa is on the East Street! I went to investigate and found that the villa was heavily guarded. I dared not go in..."

　　He Yunchen quickly figured out the key.

　　It's not surprising that Li Changhong hates Jiang Ting, because during the last military exercise between the two armies, Li Changhong wanted to disrupt the He family army's extra meal, but was easily resolved by Jiang Ting...

　　He Yunchen stood up suddenly and grabbed the sword, "Follow me!"

　　Jiang Ting was lying dead on the bed at this time.

　　Although she had tried her best to conserve her energy, she was still very hungry after not eating for two days. She lay down with her stomach growling.

　　At this time, the door opened and Li Changhong walked in.

　　Jiang Ting was too lazy to pay attention to him and just closed her eyes.

　　Li Changhong said with a smile: "You still don't admit defeat? Get up and eat something?"

　　Jiang Ting turned over and faced him with her butt.

　　Li Changhong frowned, "It seems you are not hungry enough."

　　Jiang Ting sneered, "So? You came to see if I'm dead or not? I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Li. I'm alive and well. I'm going to die after you anyway."

　　"You..." Li Changhong clenched his fists, wishing he could beat Jiang Ting to death.

　　"What's wrong with you following me? I was born in the Li family, my father is in a high position, I'm only 28 years old and I'm already the commander of a battalion. If you follow me, I guarantee you a life of wealth and glory. Why do you insist on staying in that fireman's battalion as a fireman?"

　　At this time, He Yunchen, under the cover of his personal soldiers, quietly climbed into the villa.

　　Although the martial arts skills of Li Changhong's personal soldiers were not weak, they were far inferior to He Yunchen. He successfully sneaked onto the roof of the house where Jiang Ting was, lay down, gently lifted a tile and looked down.

　　Perhaps Li Changhong's attention was on Jiang Ting at the moment and he did not notice He Yunchen's arrival.

　　He continued: "I see, you just don't want men to serve other men, you think it's against the will of heaven? Actually it's not that difficult, there are so many gay men in this world, and they are still living well."

　　What do you mean by men serving men? He Yunchen frowned.

　　Could it be that this Li Changhong is...

　　His heart skipped a beat.

　　Then, he heard Jiang Ting say: "Yes, I just think you are disgusting."

　　Li Changhong said angrily: "Say it again?"

　　Jiang Ting sat up and raised her voice: "Are you deaf?"

　　"I say, you're a pervert who likes to play with men. You really make me sick!"

　　He Yunchen's hands trembled and his expression froze.

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　He Yunchen: As soon as I came back, I received 10,000 points of critical hit.

　　Chapter 54 Stay Away from Her

　　◎How can two men be so close to each other?◎

　　Jiang Ting's words "You pervert" almost made the person on the roof slip and fall off.

　　Fortunately, He Yunchen calmed down quickly.

　　Now is not the time to worry about whether or not we are manly. Let’s rescue Jiang Ting first.

　　This place is in a border town, and He Yunchen doesn't want to make a big fuss and let General Shenwei know about it, as no one would benefit from it if that happened.

　　It would be best to rescue Jiang Ting without anyone noticing, and then wait for an opportunity to avenge her.

　　After all, Li Changhong is the commander of the Northwest Camp. The two hold equal positions and have equal family backgrounds and status. On the surface, He Yunchen really can't do anything to Li Changhong.

　　But Li Changhong is such a shameless person. If you ask him directly for the person, he might get even more excited and won't let the person go. He might even hurt Jiang Ting.

　　He Yunchen was about to wait for Li Changhong to leave before taking action, when suddenly there was a noise in the room.

　　Li Changhong's patience with Jiang Ting finally ran out, and he shouted: "I think you are looking for death! You ungrateful thing!"

　　He punched Jiang Ting directly. Jiang Ting was sitting on the bed. She turned her head to avoid the punch and raised her hand to fight back.

　　Li Changhong knew that Jiang Ting was skilled in martial arts, so he was well prepared and quickly blocked her attack. The two exchanged several moves on the bed, each one was fierce and fierce, and it was evenly matched.

　　He Yunchen clenched the hilt of the sword and was about to jump down and break into the window, but the next moment, Jiang Ting suddenly seemed to be deflated and was slapped on the shoulder by Li Changhong.

　　She leaned back, huddled up in pain, and curled up at the end of the bed, gasping for breath, her face pale.

　　Li Changhong stopped, his face dark, and sneered, "You can't hold on after just a few moves? I thought you were so powerful."

　　Jiang Ting ignored him, stroking her chest and breathing heavily, her eyes staring blankly, as if she was about to die.

Li Changhong frowned, "Hey, what's wrong with you?!"

　　He looked at his hand. Could it be that the palm strike just now was so powerful?

　　He Yunchen frowned and put his eyes on the tiles. From his position, he could see the tops of Jiang Ting and Li Changhong's heads, as well as Jiang Ting's hand hidden behind her back, holding something in her hand.

　　This made him hesitate and he could only hold back his actions for the time being. Could it be that Jiang Ting had some plan?

　　Jiang Ting uttered a few words intermittently with difficulty, "I, have...heart disease..."

　　"Heart disease?"

　　Jiang Ting gasped in pain, pleading, "Give it to me, give me the medicine..."

　　Li Changhong walked forward cautiously and saw that Jiang Ting's expression did not seem fake and it was indeed the same as if she was having a heart attack.

　　Jiang Ting stretched out a trembling hand and grabbed the hem of Li Changhong's clothes, her eyes full of pain and pleading.

　　Facing such a look, Li Changhong was immediately amused, and his original suspicion was also reduced by 80%. He reached out and pinched Jiang Ting's chin, "Are you scared now? Beg me, beg me to save you."

　　Jiang Ting closed her eyes slightly, moved her lips and said something.

　　Li Changhong didn't hear clearly, so he moved closer and asked, "What did you say?"

　　The next moment, Jiang Ting suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed a piece of broken porcelain in her hand, and scratched it towards his neck.

　　Her dagger had been confiscated before, and the only pieces left in the room were the broken pieces from the teacups that could be used as sharp weapons.

　　Li Changhong's pupils shrank, and he tilted his neck back at the critical moment. Jiang Ting's porcelain fragment did not scratch his neck, but cut a cut more than an inch long on his face.

　　Suddenly, blood gushed out.

　　Li Changhong stretched out his hand and immediately became furious, staring with his eyes wide open, too angry to speak.

　　He didn't expect Jiang Ting to have such good acting skills and be so insidious and cunning!

　　Jiang Ting threw the porcelain piece away with a snap. She knew that the possibility of using this porcelain piece to kill Li Changhong was too small.

　　But she had no choice but to take the risk.

　　It turned out that she failed.

　　Jiang Ting pushed herself up with her hands, and while Li Changhong was still covering his face, she jumped off the bed, grabbed the things on the table with both hands and threw them at Li Changhong.

　　Her agility and strength were so great that even Li Changhong could hardly resist her. There was no sign of her being weak after being hungry for two days.

　　Li Changhong dodged left and right, avoiding the vases, teapots, cups, and stools flying towards him in a somewhat awkward manner... He was furious and shouted: "You have the guts to fight me head-on, but you're just smashing things like a woman?!"

　　Jiang Ting smiled coldly: "What a pervert."

　　“You… ahhhh——” Li Changhong was furious. “Jiang Ting, do you really think I dare not kill you?”

　　Jiang Ting calmed her breath and straightened her clothes. She knew that Li Changhong would not show mercy to her no matter what.

　　Let’s fight to the death.

　　But she still glanced at the doors and windows, looking for a chance to escape with the last glimmer of hope.

　　She hooked her finger at Li Changhong, "Come?"

　　Li Changhong's eyes turned red and he roared, about to use all his strength to make Jiang Ting bleed to death on the spot.

　　Suddenly, there was a loud noise above his head. Li Changhong subconsciously crossed his arms to block his eyes and quickly stepped back. A powerful internal force directly smashed through the roof and hit him on the head, knocking his heels against the wall before he stopped.

　　There was a crackling sound in the house, and a large number of tiles fell down, smoke and dust rose, and snow foam flew everywhere.

　　Jiang Ting covered her face with her hands and looked with her eyes wide open.

　　Li Changhong also stood up quickly and shouted angrily: "Who is it!"

　　He Yunchen's face was covered with a black cloth, his eyes were sharp and murderous, and the Wenchen sword in his hand cut through the smoke and went straight for Li Changhong's vital point.

　　Li Changhong immediately drew out the short knife from his waist to resist, but the short knife had a natural disadvantage against the long sword. He Yunchen's moves were ruthless, forcing him to retreat step by step.

　　He Yunchen had no intention of fighting with Li Changhong. He just wanted to save Jiang Ting and leave. But when he thought about how Li Changhong wanted to kill Jiang Ting just now, he couldn't help but fight back.

　　The two men fought fiercely in the dark, and all the furniture was affected by the internal force. Some were smashed into broken boards, and some were turned into slag directly.

　　Faced with He Yunchen's fierce offensive, Li Changhong had to resist with all his strength.

　　He didn't know who the visitor was at first, but now he has a guess in his mind.

　　Who else here has such strength?

　　Outside, He Yunchen's personal soldiers and Li Changhong's personal soldiers also started fighting. The yard was filled with the flashing of swords and the taut string suddenly broke out of control.

　　Jiang Ting kicked the door open, hid behind the door panel and took a look. Among the two people who were fighting to the point of almost overturning the roof, she recognized that the man covered with black cloth was He Yunchen!

　　He really came back and came to save her in person!

　　At this moment, she felt a sour feeling in her heart, as if a hand was tightening her heart, making her a little dazed for a moment.

　　But she quickly reacted and realized that it was not advisable to stay here for long, after all, this was Li Changhong's territory.

　　He Yunchen covered his face because he didn't want to reveal his identity. Otherwise, if the general knew about it, and He Yunchen broke into someone else's mansion late at night and fought, he would definitely be the one who suffered.

　　But she was just a small fireman, and no one would think that Li Changhong was committing a big crime by arresting her.

　　Li Changhong could hardly keep up with He Yunchen's moves, and both of them were injured to varying degrees.

　　Li Changhong gritted his teeth, held Wenchen Sword with his short knife, and squeezed out a few words from his teeth, "He Yunchen, you bastard, are you crazy?!"

　　If outsiders knew that the two commanders had fought, both of them would be in trouble.

　　He Yunchen's cold eyes were tinged with a hint of blood, and he whispered: "You shouldn't touch my people."

　　Li Changhong: "Bullshit!"

　　The two men stared at each other, infusing their weapons with their inner strength, and their swords and knives almost made a buzzing sound.

　　Jiang Ting was far away and couldn't hear what they were saying. She could only shout, "Stop fighting! Song Xia! Let's go!"

　　Li Changhong was stunned. What Song Xia?

　　The next moment, He Yunchen seemed to react. He raised his hand and knocked Li Changhong back with a palm, then turned and left without any desire to fight.

　　His figure was as fast as the wind. When he passed by the door, he grabbed Jiang Ting's arm. The two of them walked out of the door with swift steps and rushed into the darkness.

　　He Yunchen's leading guard blew a whistle, and the guards who were fighting hard quickly stopped and disappeared behind the courtyard wall.

　　Li Changhong chased to the door, holding his chest, and pounded on the door frame. His face was so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it, and his tone was like poison:

　　"He—Yun—Chen—!"

　　He Yunchen grabbed Jiang Ting's arm and fled out of the Li family compound, turned into an alley, and climbed into the waiting carriage before he rested.

　　Jiang Ting collapsed on the carriage seat, gasping for breath, her hands and feet weak, and sweat on her forehead.

　　He Yunchen followed closely and sat in, pulling off the cloth covering his face, and said in a deep voice: "Let's go."

　　The personal soldiers quickly drove the carriage to the He family's villa.

　　It was difficult to travel on a snowy night, and the carriage moved very slowly. He Yunchen had just come on horseback.

　　A gust of cold wind blew in. He Yunchen reached out to close the window, but found that there was still some air leaking in. He moved his body and blocked it with his back.

　　It was pitch black in the carriage, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you. The smell of He Yunchen's blood went straight into Jiang Ting's nose.

　　Jiang Ting shook her head and asked, "Are you hurt?"

　　He Yunchen said: "It's just a minor injury. The blood is from Li Changhong."

　　He was a little nervous. Perhaps Jiang Ting had guessed that he was not an ordinary scout. After all, which scout was so powerful that he could fight on equal terms with the commander of the first battalion?

　　If she asked him who he was, how would he explain what he had done?

　　But Jiang Ting didn't ask. She felt that it would be more comfortable to get along as friends without revealing their identities. If there was a shackle of identity between the two of them, it would alienate them from each other.

　　Jiang Ting leaned against the car wall and smiled softly, "You are really amazing."

　　The two hadn't seen each other for more than two months. Facing Jiang Ting, He Yunchen felt a little uncomfortable, especially after he suspected that he liked men and heard Jiang Ting say that people who liked men made her sick...

　　He was a little silent for a moment.

　　Jiang Ting didn't notice his strangeness and asked, "When did you come back? Did the commander ask you to save me?"

　　"Um."

　　"The commander is such a good man."

　　“…”

　　"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you talking?"

　　Jiang Ting was a little confused, but it was dark and she couldn't see anything clearly. She sat up straight, leaned out her upper body, and got closer to look at He Yunchen, "Are you injured, but you lied to me that your injury was not serious?"

　　She placed her arms on both sides of He Yunchen, face to face, and with the faint light coming through the oil lamp hanging outside the carriage door, she finally saw He Yunchen's face clearly.

　　This face, which always made her marvel at the Creator's wonders whenever she looked at it, now had his eyes drooped, his eyelashes trembling, his jaw tense, his lips tightly pursed, and beads of sweat on the tip of his nose. He did not seem to be in a very good mood.

　　As soon as Jiang Ting approached him, He Yunchen's heart skipped a beat and he almost didn't dare to raise his eyes. "No."

　　Jiang Ting asked: "No? Why do you seem a little strange?"

　　He Yunchen tilted his head and said coldly: "Sit back, how can two men be so close to each other?"

　　Jiang Ting: "Ah...?"

　　She sat down obediently, completely confused.

　　He Yunchen knew he had said something wrong, so he explained, "I told you to sit tight and be careful of bumps."

　　Jiang Ting: "Oh..."

　　But Jiang Ting was not a person who could keep her composure. After sitting for a while, she said, "When did you appear on the roof? I didn't even notice you. If I had known, I would not have acted and would have waited for you to save me."

　　He Yunchen said nothing.

　　Jiang Ting rolled her eyes, "Did you hear what Li Changhong and I said?"

　　"Um……"

　　Jiang Ting slapped her forehead and recalled in a not very pleasant mood: "This guy is actually a dead gay, and he wants me to serve him. I am so disgusted."

　　"What is...Ji Lao?"

　　Jiang Ting coughed lightly, "It's just a homosexual..."

　　He Yunchen's face turned pale.

　　In fact, Jiang Ting does not discriminate against any sexual orientation. That is other people's business and has nothing to do with her. If two people are truly in love, regardless of gender, she will of course respect and bless them. But if someone forces a normal man to do something like that, like someone like Li Changhong, she naturally hates it.

　　He Yunchen didn’t know what Jiang Ting was thinking. He only knew that his heart seemed to be blocked, making it difficult for him to breathe.

　　Jiang Ting rubbed her arms and glanced at He Yunchen, "Are you really okay?"

　　Why does it feel wrong?

　　He Yunchen shook his head, forcibly suppressed the emotions in his heart, and said coldly: "No."

　　Jiang Ting sighed, "You... I haven't seen you for two months. You and I have become distant after all."

　　He Yunchen: "..."

　　He tried to organize his words and managed to say, "Are you cold?"

　　Jiang Ting said: "It's true."

　　He Yunchen leaned over, opened the cabinet under the seat, took out a cloak, and threw it to her, "Put it on."

　　Jiang Ting wrapped herself up with a smile, "Thanks."

　　He Yunchen asked again: "Are you hungry?"

　　Jiang Ting immediately replied: "I'm hungry! I haven't eaten for two days and two nights. Li Changhong, that idiot, didn't even give me water to drink."

　　Having said that, she realized why she felt a little dizzy.

　　After being hungry for two days and having just experienced a fight and escape, she must have hypoglycemia.

　　This body cannot be compared with the previous life.

　　I thought He Yunchen was going to take some food out of a cabinet for her, but he just said briefly: "Hold on, it'll be here soon."

　　Jiang Ting: "Oh."

　　She leaned back with her arms folded, closed her eyes, and fell into sleep.

　　It was unknown how long the carriage had been traveling before it finally stopped. Jiang Ting woke up with a start and saw He Yunchen had swiftly gotten out, so she jumped down.

　　He Yunchen is now trying his best to avoid any physical contact with Jiang Ting, because he has decided that since Jiang Ting hates gay men, he will completely suppress his thoughts and just treat them as friends in the future.

　　He thought so.

　　So he stood beside the car and waited for Jiang Ting to climb out by herself, with no intention of lending a hand.

　　There would be no problem climbing out by herself, and there would be no problem jumping off the car, but Jiang Ting was a little dizzy now, and she overlooked one problem - the cloak.

　　According to the units converted from her previous life, Jiang Ting was about 1.72 meters tall, and He Yunchen was half a head taller than her. She had no experience wearing a cloak, and had never thought of throwing it behind her first.

　　The cloak was wide and long, and she accidentally stepped on the hem. Before she could react, she struggled in the air, but the cloak became tighter and tighter, and she fell to the ground.

　　"ah--"

　　There was no hero saving the damsel in distress plot because it all happened so quickly that no one could react.

　　The personal soldier who was pulling the carriage was stunned, the personal soldier who was lying on top of the carriage was stunned, and the personal soldier who was riding a horse behind was also stunned.

　　Jiang Ting's head hit the thigh of He Yunchen who was stepping forward. As a result, He Yunchen was knocked back two steps and she fell to the ground and rolled.

　　Jiang Ting's feet were towards the carriage and her head was towards He Yunchen's... shoes. It looked like she was about to kiss his shoes.

　　Jiang Ting: "..."

　　It's so embarrassing!

　　She just wanted to die right now.

　　Why not just let her get knocked out?

　　He Yunchen wanted to catch her the moment she fell, but he failed. Now he still had his arms stretched out, and his thigh felt a dull pain, which was caused by Jiang Ting's head.

　　He no longer cared about the little discomfort in his heart.

　　He squatted down and saw that Jiang Ting was not seriously injured from the fall, but her face was red and pale, her eyes were wandering, and she even seemed to be wrapping herself in a cloak like a cicada pupa.

　　He Yunchen finally couldn't help but reveal his first smile of the night, and reached out to rub Jiang Ting's soft head.

　　He just said he would stay away, but I didn't expect that he only lasted for a few breaths.

　　He sighed softly.

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　He Yunchen: The first day of pretending to be indifferent, failed.

　　Chapter 55 Bought a House

　　◎You are such a good person◎

　　Jiang Ting lay down in the snow and felt that she was no longer dizzy.

　　A group of personal soldiers came over and looked at her, "Are you okay?"

　　Jiang Ting shook her head awkwardly, "No, it's okay, I have too many clothes on."

　　He Yunchen took his hand back, stood up first, and said, "Get up if you're fine."

　　Jiang Ting quickly got up, pulled up the hem of her cloak and tucked it under her arm, "Your cloak is too long. It doesn't suit me."

　　He Yunchen raised his eyebrows, "So you blame me for falling down?"

　　Ever since he touched Jiang Ting's head just now, he couldn't let go of the soft touch, and the depression that had been pent up in his heart also dissipated.

　　He Yunchen seemed to have figured something out, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Jiang Ting was no longer as vaguely resistant as before.

　　Jiang Ting looked at him strangely, wondering why his mood changed again, men are really complicated.

　　She twitched her lips and said, "I don't dare."

　　The personal soldier said: "Let's go. You can stay in the He family's villa tonight and return to the barracks tomorrow."

　　Jiang Ting nodded quickly, clasped her fists and said, "Thank you all so much tonight, you came to save me overnight. I am so grateful. If I have the chance one day, I will repay you."

　　In front of the commander, the soldiers dared not act arrogantly. They all smiled modestly and said that it was just a trivial matter and nothing to worry about. After some polite exchanges, they went back to their rooms to rest.

　　Jiang Ting followed He Yunchen inside and asked, "Are you guys coming back today?"

　　He Yunchen said: "Well, we will enter the city after dark."

　　Jiang Ting tugged at her cloak and said sincerely, "Thank you so much."

　　He Yunchen didn't say anything.

　　Tonight, watching Jiang Ting sleeping against the wall of the car, her unconcealed haggardness, and her determination when she decided to fight to the death with Li Changhong, he felt more distressed than angry.

　　Jiang Ting was captured by Li Changhong, mainly because of the grudge between him and Li Changhong, and he could not hide his self-blame.

　　He couldn't imagine that Li Changhong dared to extend his hand to the He family military camp, which was really challenging his bottom line.

　　In the past, Li Changhong had played some tricks on him behind his back, but he had never bothered to pay attention to them. But this time, he was determined to teach him a lesson.

　　Jiang Ting touched her stomach and said, "Is there anything to eat? I'm so hungry."

　　He Yunchen came back to his senses and quickened his pace, "Yes, I'll ask someone to serve the food right away."

　　He led Jiang Ting to a guest room. The room was brightly lit and the heating had been turned on in advance. It was very warm. As soon as she entered the room, she felt a wave of heat.

　　Jiang Ting's face turned red and the tip of her nose almost became numb. It was not suitable to go out at night in the border town.

　　She rubbed her face and hands hard, then smiled and said, "It's so warm in the room."

　　She took off her cloak and hung it on the rack, tugged at her clothes, and said, "I have been locked up in that room. I have to take a shower later. I feel uncomfortable all over. By the way..."

　　She suddenly thought of something and looked at He Yunchen.

　　He Yunchen closed the door and looked back at her in confusion.

　　Jiang Ting said: "I haven't washed my hair for three or four days since the day I left the military camp, and you just touched my head. Huh."

　　He Yunchen: “…”

　　His face darkened and he sighed, "Let's eat first."

　　Soon after, a group of servants came with hot water and food boxes.

　　Jiang Ting and He Yunchen washed their hands and faces first, then sat opposite each other at the table. The servants brought out the dishes in the food boxes one by one. There were four dishes and one soup, all very light and suitable for nourishing the stomach.

　　He Yunchen placed a bowl of milk in front of Jiang Ting and said, "Drink some of this first."

There are many herdsmen near the border town. The people in this area combine farming and animal husbandry. Cow's milk tastes much better than goat's milk, and only rich people can afford it.

　　Jiang Ting took the bowl and drank it obediently, then looked at him eagerly.

　　He Yunchen asked, "Why are you looking at me?"

　　Jiang Ting thought to herself, she was living in someone else's house and eating someone else's food, so of course she had to wait for the other person to give the order before she started eating.

　　“Can I eat now?”

　　He Yunchen didn't know what to say, so he could only nod coldly: "Yeah."

　　Jiang Ting then picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

　　The chef in the villa was quite skilled. Jiang Ting ate two large bowls of rice, and most of the dishes went into her stomach. She has always had a big appetite, and she had been hungry for two days, so she started eating without restraint, which even scared He Yunchen. The food on the table was enough for four people, but in the end it was all eaten up by the two of them.

　　He Yunchen held the bowl and said politely, "Eat slowly, be careful of indigestion."

　　Jiang Ting had never had any trouble with indigestion, so she naturally didn't take this to heart.

　　Only after eating did she feel alive again.

　　She looked at the dark circles under He Yunchen's eyes, and remembered that he had just returned from the capital and had rushed to rescue her overnight. He must be very tired now. She couldn't help but feel a tenderness in her heart that she didn't even notice.

　　"You should go and rest."

　　He Yunchen was not in a hurry and asked: "Is there anything else you haven't done this time in the border town?"

　　Jiang Ting thought for a moment and said, "It's not necessary to do it. I mainly want to go to the family quarters to check on the foundation of my house. I have saved some money now, so I want to make a start."

　　In addition, she also wanted to go to the village where Qin Jue's sister lived. She wanted to find out what happened to the woman who followed her last time.

　　But she disfigured Li Changhong, leaving a big cut on his face, which used to be quite presentable. Now Li Changhong must be eager to cut her into pieces. She'd better not go out and take risks. It's best for her to stay put.

　　He Yunchen asked: "Do you really want a house?"

　　Jiang Ting said without hesitation: "Yes."

　　He Yunchen thought for a moment and said, "You can just buy the one we visited last time. I've never lived in it and it's not very old, so it's just sitting there empty anyway."

　　Jiang Ting was stunned. "Sell it to me?"

　　She still remembered that house. She liked its location, decoration style, yard outside, and furniture inside. She had even thought about plagiarizing the style of someone else's house.

　　She just wanted a house. She didn't care whether she built it herself or bought it from someone else. It just saved her time and effort.

　　She immediately looked at He Yunchen excitedly, "How much is it? Do you support installment payments?"

　　He Yunchen leaned back slightly to avert her burning gaze.

　　"What installments?"

　　Some of the words she said were always incomprehensible.

　　Jiang Ting explained: "It means that your house is too expensive and I can't take out so much money at once. Can you pay a little bit every month? I can give you interest, although you may not care about this little money..."

　　He Yunchen crossed his arms, thinking this idea was very interesting, and nodded, "Okay."

　　Jiang Ting continued to ask: "How much do you pay every month?"

　　He Yunchen had no idea about money. He didn't have to pay for food, clothing, housing, and transportation. He weighed the few times he spent money in the capital and compared it with the price of the house he sold before. He asked cautiously, "Ten taels?"

　　Jiang Ting's face turned green: "..."

　　You might as well sell me.

　　Her monthly military salary is only two taels!

　　Seeing Jiang Ting's unhappy expression, He Yunchen said, "I originally wanted you to pay it back as soon as possible, so that you don't have to bear the debt... How about one tael a month?"

　　Jiang Ting's expression eased a little, this is good enough.

　　"What's the total price and how much is the interest?" She smiled and said, "We are friends, is there a friendship price?"

　　"Including the things inside, it should be around thirty taels." He Yunchen said cautiously, afraid to see Jiang Ting's face change again.

　　In fact, he could have given it directly to Jiang Ting. Thirty taels was nothing to him, but he didn't want to do that. He felt that Jiang Ting would not accept it.

　　Jiang Ting nodded, feeling that it was about the same as she expected. After all, He Yunchen's house was much better than an ordinary farmhouse.

　　"What about the interest?"

　　"Need not."

　　"No? That's not good. It seems like I'm taking advantage of you."

　　He Yunchen couldn't help wanting to laugh, "Let's use the meal you cooked to offset it."

　　Jiang Ting nodded repeatedly, "That's right, you are such a good person! I love you so much!"

　　She never thought it would be so easy to own a house, and in installments with no interest. She would wake up laughing in her dreams.

　　The more I look at He Yunchen, the more I like him. I feel that he is the best person in the world.

　　He Yunchen was shocked by Jiang Ting's words "I love you so much", but he knew that Jiang Ting was just saying it, so he coughed lightly and said, "As long as you like it."

　　"I like it so much!" Jiang Ting looked at him with burning eyes, which made He Yunchen feel creepy.

　　He stood up and said, "It's not suitable for you to show up these days. I'll have someone send you back to the barracks tomorrow. You can go look at houses again during the New Year."

　　Jiang Ting sent him to the door and smiled, "Can I still come to Border Town during the New Year?"

　　He Yunchen turned around and said softly, "Well, I'll bring you here."

　　The next morning, Jiang Ting returned to the inn and took out her bag from under the bed. She climbed out the window quietly while the innkeeper wasn't noticing, and then went to the street to buy all the things she had agreed to bring for Xie Ning and the others.

　　She just didn't believe that Li Changhong would dare to do anything to her if she went out on the street openly, and He Yunchen's men would definitely follow her.

　　After buying the things, the three scouts escorted Jiang Ting back to the military camp. Jiang Ting was flattered and kept treating them to the things she bought. She called everyone "big brother" and made the scouts laugh so hard that they accepted her as a brother on the spot.

He Yunchen temporarily stayed in the border town to deal with some backlog of military affairs, and sent people to investigate what Li Changhong had done at the border over the years.

　　The scouts easily found out that Li Changhong had kidnapped the son of a clothing store owner in the border town in July this year. The owner chased him all the way to the Northwest Camp and begged him to spare his son, but in the end he only brought back his son's bruised and battered body.

　　The boss had nowhere to turn to for help, and his shop and warehouse were destroyed by fire overnight, leaving his family completely devastated.

　　Li Changhong relied on his father's high position and power, and the fact that the Li family is a century-old family with deep roots, so he always behaved arrogantly. If one was willing to investigate these things, it would not be difficult to find evidence.

　　He Yunchen had the evidence collected and three copies were prepared, all of which were sent back to the capital.

　　One copy was sent anonymously to the Li family, one copy was sent anonymously to Li Changhong's father-in-law's home, and another copy was sent to the Censorate. He did not intend to do anything to Li Changhong. After those people in the capital learned about this, they would naturally make sure that Li Changhong would not be able to live a comfortable life in the short term.

　　It was already dark when Jiang Ting returned to the military camp that day, and Xie Ning and others were anxiously waiting for her to come back.

　　"Where have you been these past two days? You said you would be back yesterday, so we thought something happened to you."

　　Xie Ning looked at her eagerly, not even paying attention to the things she brought back. He just kept looking at her, "Are you okay? Did you meet the Beirong people?"

　　Qin Jue and He Jing also looked at her with concern. Jiang Ting felt warm in her heart and said:

　　"I'm fine. I'm fine. The scout who brought me back had something else that delayed him for a day, so we came back today."

　　She patted Xie Ning's head and said, "Look, I bought all the things for you."

　　Xie Ning and the others then breathed a sigh of relief, happily took the things from her back, put their arms around her shoulders and walked into the tent.

　　There was a charcoal basin burning in the tent, and a few roasted sweet potatoes were buried in the firewood. Qin Jue used a shovel to take out the soft and glutinous sweet potatoes, patted the ashes and handed them to her: "Here, warm your hands with them."

　　"Thank you, Brother Qin Jue." Jiang Ting quickly took it and held it in her arms. She grimaced from the heat and tossed it with her left and right hands. It took her a while to get used to it.

　　Xie Ning came back in the snow and wind with a lunch box and brought her some still warm food, while He Jing sat silently at the door, boiling hot water for Jiang Ting in a copper pot.

　　"Come, come, eat quickly. I asked the kitchen manager for some and he heated it up for you." Xie Ning brought out the food, placed it on the table, and urged Jiang Ting to eat.

　　Jiang Ting felt warm in her heart and said, "Thank you."

　　"What are you talking about? We are all brothers in the same tent, and you brought back so many things for us."

　　Xie Ning rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "You have a roasted sweet potato in your hand, warm your hands first, or should I feed you?"

　　Jiang Ting stood up suddenly, "No need! I'll eat right away!"

　　While Jiang Ting was eating, Xie Ning and Qin Jue went outside the tent and shoveled the snow on the top of the tent.

　　The wind and snow are not strong tonight, so if we shovel the snow now, we can use it until we get up tomorrow to shovel it again.

　　After Jiang Ting finished her meal, everyone divided the things she brought back, then washed up and climbed into bed.

　　Jiang Ting curled up in her quilt, feeling extremely warm and secure. Her doghouse was really the best.

　　When she gets the new house, she will also decorate it to make it comfortable. It would be great if she could invite Xie Ning and the others to the warming room and have a housewarming toast.

　　Thinking this way, wouldn't she have to cling to He Yunchen again? If she could make He Yunchen happy, maybe she could approve a leave for Xie Ning and the others?

　　Xie Ning wanted to go to the border town very much. She still remembered his envious look before she left a few days ago.

　　Last time, it was the three of them who went to the border town. He Jing didn't go, so they couldn't leave him behind this time.

　　She was thinking about all sorts of things in her mind, feeling an inexplicable sense of excitement.

　　But then she turned sideways and looked at Qin Jue who was lying quietly beside her with his eyes closed, and sighed silently.

　　…

　　Everyone is very idle in winter. There is nothing important to do in the granary except hunting mice and recording how much grain is used for cooking every day. Jiang Ting doesn't have to worry about the fields. During the day, she either sleeps in or thinks about what to eat.

　　After resting in the tent for a day, she was so bored on the third day that she decided to go to the big kitchen to help cook.

　　But the cooks in the kitchen didn't dare to bother this great Buddha. Everyone in the military camp knew Jiang Ting's name. Since the winter solstice, Jiang Ting had completely topped the popularity list of the He family military camp.

　　The first one is naturally the wise and brave commander.

　　The people in the big kitchen "drove" her out, so she could only go to the small kitchen.

　　The newly appointed small kitchen manager was quite capable and very polite to Jiang Ting. He also told Jiang Ting that if she wanted to cook in the future, she didn't have to cook in the tent, but could come to the small kitchen and use the ingredients and the big pot as she pleased.

　　Since people were trying to curry favor with her, Jiang Ting was not stingy and taught the chef in the small kitchen to cook one or two dishes every few days. This made them very happy and they wanted to worship her as a bodhisattva.

　　"Manager Jiang, what would you like to eat today?" The small kitchen manager asked attentively, "I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard that you took a few days off."

　　Jiang Ting said: "Yes, I have been to the border town for a few days. What good dishes do you have today?"

　　The small kitchen manager said with a bitter face: "Just the usual dishes."

　　Jiang Ting followed him to the cellar and rummaged around, finding a piece of frozen pork tenderloin. "Then I'll make some sweet and sour pork. You guys can learn from me."

　　The small kitchen manager was delighted: "Great! I'll ask them to prepare it right away!"

　　Jiang Ting was busy in the small kitchen, making a dish of sweet and sour pork, scooping a big bowl of pork ribs soup stewed in the small kitchen, and carrying it towards the tent.

　　Xie Ning and the others had not returned yet, so there was no one in the tent for the time being, but Jiang Ting saw Li Ze standing at the door waiting for her.

　　Li Ze felt wronged when he saw her, "Master, why haven't you seen me for several days? I've come to see you several times."

Jiang Ting smiled awkwardly. She really forgot to tell Li Ze in advance that she was going to the border town.

　　But she always had a great image in front of Li Ze, so it was impossible for her to apologize. She coughed lightly and opened the tent. "You are still breastfeeding, why do you look for me all day? Can't you train by yourself?"

　　Li Ze: "I, you..."

　　He was unconvinced and said, "I have already practiced that move last time!"

　　Jiang Ting nodded and put down the lunch box. "Okay, let's stretch our bodies before dinner."

　　The two men went to the open space outside and got ready.

　　Li Ze has never been able to defeat Jiang Ting in one go. His goal is to defeat Jiang Ting three times first. So far, he has been able to defeat two of them.

　　The two men began to fight, but this time Jiang Ting was not in a hurry to discourage Li Ze's enthusiasm. Instead, she deliberately slowed down the pace, breaking down Li Ze's moves one by one, and giving him a few pointers from time to time.

　　Li Ze was extremely alert and tried his best to absorb what Jiang Ting said.

　　When He Yunchen walked into the Huotou Camp with a bag of things, he saw the scene in front of him, and he felt a sting in his eyes.

　　He was stunned for a moment, then stopped and stood there watching, holding his breath and waiting for Jiang Ting to finish her instructions.

　　He brought some things today, which he brought back from the capital. He forgot to give them to Jiang Ting in the border town a few days ago.

　　But as he watched, he was unexpectedly immersed in it.

　　He discovered that Jiang Ting was not only skilled herself, but also very good at teaching others martial arts, better than many veterans, as if she was born to be a coach.

　　But why did he feel so displeased when he saw that boy being taught by Jiang Ting?

　　He Yunchen deliberately concealed his presence. Jiang Ting did not notice He Yunchen's arrival. She was concentrating on teaching him a new move and then started sparring with Li Ze.

　　This time she showed no mercy and used ruthless moves. Li Ze was defeated after just two or three moves and was kicked in the waist by her.

　　Jiang Ting didn't use much force with this step, but the ground was icy and very slippery. Li Ze didn't stand firmly and slid a long distance.

　　Then with a bang, he fell into a broad embrace.

　　Jiang Ting raised her eyes and looked over, "..."

　　He Yunchen looked at the person in his arms, "..."

　　Li Ze was confused: "......?"

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　I'm a plot person, so why do I feel so uncomfortable when writing romance scenes?

　　Chapter 56 Eating Pastries

　　◎Is it because Xiao Cheng isn't handsome enough?◎

　　After Li Zegang and Jiang Ting finished their sparring, they were all hot, which was a good source of warmth.

　　But He Yunchen didn't need to keep warm. His heart was shocked, especially when he met Jiang Ting's mischievous eyes, he really wanted to throw the thing in his hand away.

　　However, according to reliable information, this boy is really Jiang Ting's apprentice. It would be too inhumane to let him go. He had no choice but to exert force with his hands, pinch Li Ze's arm and help him stand steadily.

　　Jiang Ting chuckled, walked over and asked happily: "Why are you here?"

　　Li Ze looked back and saw a tall and handsome man standing behind him, with his head slightly lowered and looking at him with a very subtle look.

　　If this man hadn't caught him just now, he might have had a bump on his head. So Li Ze raised his hand gratefully: "Thank you for your help, brother. I am really grateful."

　　He Yunchen hummed lightly, ignored him, and took a few steps towards Jiang Ting.

　　This obviously distant attitude made Li Ze, who was usually sociable, feel a little embarrassed. He looked at Jiang Ting with some confusion.

　　Jiang Ting explained: "This is my friend Song Xia, a scout, and this is my apprentice, Li Ze, from the infantry battalion."

　　He Yunchen and Li Ze looked at each other, and both had a thought in their hearts: When did you get this apprentice/friend?

　　He Yunchen looked away and looked at Jiang Ting, expressionless, "Have you finished practicing?"

　　Jiang Ting tugged at her collar, "Yeah, it's still pretty hot after moving around a bit."

　　She said to Li Ze, "Okay, Master has something to do today, so I won't keep you to wash clothes or sweep the floor. You can go back first."

　　Li Ze was indignant when his friend came and was chased away, but on the surface he lowered his head and looked submissive. He said "oh" and stole a glance at He Yunchen, "Goodbye, Master."

　　After walking for a while, he turned back and saw Jiang Ting and He Yunchen standing together talking about something.

　　As expected of a scout, he was different from an ordinary soldier. Li Ze shuddered when he recalled the look in He Yunchen's eyes just now.

　　Jiang Ting looked at what He Yunchen was holding and asked with a smile: "What is this?"

　　He Yunchen picked up the bag and handed it to her, and Jiang Ting quickly hugged it.

　　"It's so heavy, what good stuff is it?"

　　He Yunchen said calmly: "I brought it back from the capital."

　　"By chance?" Jiang Ting blinked and said with a smile, "So many by chance?"

　　He Yunchen glanced away uncomfortably, "If you don't want it, give it back to me."

　　"of course yes!"

　　Jiang Ting held her bag and raised her chin towards the tent. "Have you eaten yet? Let's go. I made sweet and sour pork."

　　He Yunchen looked at the tent with hesitation in his eyes.

　　"Let's go, they won't be back for a while."

　　He Yunchen then followed Jiang Ting inside. He suddenly remembered that Jiang Ting had slept in his tent for a night. Although she slept on a chair, she was very tenacious and did not fall down the whole night.

　　Jiang Ting opened the felt cloth and the windows to make the room a little brighter, put the bag on the table, and invited He Yunchen to sit down.

　　He Yunchen's tall stature stood out in the tent, and it seemed that he could reach the ceiling of the tent with his hand.

　　He folded his arms and looked around the room. He saw a long row of beds with four quilts. The beds were all covered very thickly, especially the outermost one, which looked very warm.

　　Jiang Ting said: "The outermost one is mine. Thank you for giving me those furs. I have a mattress, a hat, gloves, a scarf this winter... Anyway, I am not afraid of the cold anymore."

He Yunchen looked at the simple stove at the door and the copper pot on it and asked, "Is this where you usually cook?"

　　Jiang Ting: "Yes, I did before. Now I can go to the small kitchen to cook. I'll keep this pot to heat water."

　　She unpacked the bundle and saw some things inside that were also carefully wrapped in waterproof oil paper.

　　There were exquisite pastries and food, finely crafted clothes, some gadgets that young people in the capital liked, a low-key yet luxurious belt, and a short knife that looked very expensive.

　　Jiang Ting was a little stunned. Even if she had no good eyesight, she should have known that these things were very valuable.

　　He Yunchen looked at her calmly, but he was actually a little nervous inside.

　　Some of these gifts were prepared by him, and some were bought with the help of his cousin. His cousin is not much older than Jiang Ting, so he should understand better what men of eighteen or nineteen like.

　　But Jiang Ting has always been open-minded. Even if it is expensive, so what? If He Yunchen is willing to give it to her, then she is willing to accept it. She can't let him down.

　　"This dagger is so nice. It just so happens that I lost my last dagger."

　　Jiang Ting grabbed the scabbard of the dagger and saw that it was completely black, engraved with complex patterns, and was exquisitely crafted. When she pulled out the blade, a cold light flashed. The blade was very thin, and Jiang Ting had no doubt about its sharpness.

　　He Yunchen thought that the first thing Jiang Ting saw was indeed the dagger he had chosen for her.

　　"This is made of black iron. It can cut iron like mud. You must put it in the scabbard when you are not using it."

　　Jiang Ting nodded repeatedly, bent down to pick up a piece of firewood, and with a light cut, the wood as thick as her wrist broke.

　　She exclaimed in surprise: "That's amazing!"

　　A smile also appeared in He Yunchen's eyes, "As long as you like it."

　　Jiang Ting exclaimed: "I love it so much!"

　　He Yunchen said: "Let's eat first and watch later?"

　　"good."

　　Jiang Ting put away the dagger, washed her hands, and packed the things one by one. When she saw the package of pastries, she couldn't help but be fascinated by the exquisite patterns.

　　The small pastries can be made into lifelike flowers and animals, which make people reluctant to eat them.

　　She took out the cake and placed it on the table. "It looks really good. Are all the cakes in Beijing so exquisite?"

　　He Yunchen opened the food box and brought out the dishes, "Yes."

　　In fact, this pastry was made by the He family’s chef, whose father was the imperial chef in the palace.

　　His mother, Mrs. He, felt that since he accepted the food Jiang Ting brought, he should reciprocate and bring some food back for Jiang Ting.

　　The two of them sat opposite each other, and Jiang Ting smiled and said, "Did you cook the hot pot base I brought you according to my instructions?"

　　He Yunchen paused and hummed vaguely.

　　What he didn't dare say was that he only ate one meal of the hotpot, and the rest of the hotpot base was taken away by his grandfather, who shouted that he wanted to give it to his old friends.

　　Just when he was stunned while recalling what happened, he raised his eyes and found that Jiang Ting actually picked up a piece of cake and tried to put it into her mouth.

　　It was made eight days ago and frozen hard. Even if it wasn't spoiled, it should have been steamed before eating.

　　For a moment, He Yunchen felt like an old mother who found her child eating leftovers.

　　His hands reacted faster than his brain and he raised his hand suddenly to stop Jiang Ting.

　　But Jiang Ting is not a child.

　　Her subconscious reaction was also quick. As soon as her hand moved, it collided with the hand that He Yunchen extended to her. Then the pastry that was supposed to be fed into her mouth was stuffed into her nose.

　　This pastry is very soft and not very hard even after being frozen. Jiang Ting just wanted to take a bite to see if it tasted like sorbet.

　　It turned out to be true, a pile of ice debris fell from the tip of my nose.

　　Jiang Ting: "Puff——"

　　She wiped her face with her hand and even tasted the pastry crumbs.

　　He Yunchen's hand quickly retracted, his expression changing unpredictably.

　　Jiang Ting was now very shameless in front of He Yunchen, and laughed, "This tastes pretty good."

　　He Yunchen was so embarrassed that he wanted to die. He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and gave it to her, looking away, "Sorry, I... wipe it quickly."

　　"oh."

　　Jiang Ting took it but didn't rush to wipe it. She stuck out her tongue and licked the pastry stuck on her lips, with an expression of slight enjoyment on her face.

　　This was brought from the capital city thousands of miles away. It would be a shame to waste it. Even if it is just ice chips, it tastes very good.

　　He Yunchen looked at her movements unexpectedly, as if struck by lightning. A tingling sensation rose from his spine, spread throughout his body, and finally rose to his face and some unknown place, making him look like a prawn soaked in boiling water, red from his ears to his neck.

　　He swallowed with some difficulty and said in a hoarse voice: "Don't eat!"

　　Jiang Ting was startled by him, thinking that he disliked her for being too unsightly, so she quickly wiped her face with a handkerchief and coughed lightly, "It was just an accident just now. Come on, come on, let's eat."

　　He Yunchen took the chopsticks she handed him stiffly and said, "Aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache if you eat cold food?"

　　Jiang Ting sat upright, looking like she was listening to a lecture obediently. "Yes, yes, I know I was wrong."

　　Considering that this old man had just given her so many valuable things, what else could she do but flatter him and make him happy.

　　She pushed the sweet and sour pork in front of He Yunchen attentively: "Remember, sweet and sour pork, it was the first dish you ordered in the new recruits' camp."

　　He Yunchen's expression eased slightly when he heard this. He nodded modestly and said, "You eat too."

　　"Hey!" Jiang Ting smiled and started to eat.

　　He Yunchen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she didn't seem to notice anything. Fortunately, his misbehavior just now was not noticed.

　　After dinner, Jiang Ting estimated that Xie Ning and the others would be back soon, so she escorted He Yunchen out of the tent. "Should we still deliver meals every three days as before?"

　　He Yunchen nodded, "Okay."

　　Jiang Ting felt a little hot from the meal she had just eaten, and there was a charcoal basin in the tent, so she didn't wear an outer coat. Now she was standing in the snow, feeling a little cold and shivering. She wished He Yunchen would leave quickly.

She folded her arms and shivered, "Okay, I won't see you off. Go away now."

　　He Yunchen looked at her steadily, suddenly reached out and rubbed her head, then withdrew his hand, turned and left.

　　Jiang Ting was slightly stunned, frowned, and muttered: "Is rubbing other people's heads a common problem for tall people..."

　　He Yunchen pretended to be calm all the way back to the commander's tent. Xiao Cheng, who was sorting out his belongings in the tent, saw him and said hurriedly, "Sir."

　　He Yunchen nodded and sat down behind the desk with a gloomy look on his face.

　　He glanced at Xiao Cheng, looking him over from head to toe.

　　Xiao Cheng is about thirty years old this year. He has a straight-looking face, is tall and strong, and has a nice face. He is a tough guy type, the kind that women like very much.

　　He Yunchen looked at Xiao Cheng's slender legs, perky buttocks, and very sharp shoulder lines, and his heart was calm. He even secretly felt that the other party was far inferior to him.

　　Is it because Xiao Cheng is not handsome enough? Is he too old? Does he have a wife and children?

　　He Yunchen's mind flashed with Jiang Ting's face, and he said in a deep voice: "Xiao Cheng."

　　"Hey, sir."

　　"Call Tao Jun."

　　Tao Jun, as his name suggests, is a very handsome personal soldier, the most handsome among the personal soldiers. He is not very old, about 25 years old, and the most important thing is that he is not married yet!

　　Tao Jun came over quickly with his long legs. He looked respectful and bowed, saying, "Sir."

　　He Yunchen stood up, walked up to him, and looked him over carefully.

　　Tao Jun was extremely nervous. He Yunchen's look made cold sweat break out on his forehead.

　　He Yunchen stretched out his hand, put it on Tao Jun's shoulder, and moved closer to him.

　　Tao Jun's hair stood on end, and he stammered, "Sir..."

　　He Yunchen was silent, no one knew what he was thinking, and Xiao Cheng also stood aside, not daring to speak.

　　After a while, He Yunchen patted Tao Jun on the shoulder and said, "Not bad."

　　After saying that, He Yunchen turned and left, leaving Xiao Cheng and Tao Jun with confused faces.

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　Xiao Cheng: Who would understand if I was disliked for no reason?

　　Chapter 57: Adultery

　　◎What you are doing is what we are doing◎

　　In the blink of an eye, it is already the twelfth lunar month. With less than a month left until the Chinese New Year, the military camp has begun approving home leave.

　　The soldiers have saved up vacation time for several months, and with the five-day New Year holiday, they can take more than ten days off at a time, which is enough for them to have a good New Year at home.

　　But the military camp must be empty during the holidays, so the Tongzhi, who was in charge of logistics, was extremely worried and tried hard to coordinate the vacation time of the soldiers to ensure that there were enough people to guard the camp and patrol the border.

　　This time of year is what the soldiers look forward to the most, as they can return home with their annual military pay. Those who have served in the army for three years can even find a wife, and who knows, they may even have a big fat son next year.

　　But this time of year is also the time that the firemen envy the most, because apart from taking care of things, ordinary people like firemen have no holidays.

　　On this day, Jiang Ting, Xie Ning and others were carrying baskets on their backs and picking garlic sprouts and green onions in the vegetable garden behind.

　　In addition to radishes and cabbages, they also planted a lot of condiments. Jiang Ting planned to plant some coriander next year because there were more people around her who liked to eat coriander than those who did not.

　　Now is the season for eating garlic sprouts. Huotouying usually picks some and adds them to dishes to enhance the flavor. Jiang Ting is preparing to make some garlic sprouts and pork.

　　The soldiers in charge of maintaining the vegetable fields today had arrived early and were shoveling snow in the fields with shovels.

　　"Oh, I'm so envious of them having a holiday."

　　While pinching off the buttocks of the pulled out garlic sprouts, Xie Ning looked at the soldiers who were shoveling snow with a melancholy look.

　　The firefighters beside him also sighed, "Alas, it was because we were not strong enough that we were sent to the Firefighters Camp. I have been here for four years and have never been home. I may have to wait until I am 35 years old before I can return home."

　　"My mother was in poor health when I joined the army. I don't know what happened to her in all these years..."

　　"When I left, my wife and I had only been married for a few months. It's been more than three years now. She might have run off with another man. I don't blame her, alas."

　　Talking about sad things, everyone was in a bad mood and sighed while pulling garlic sprouts.

　　Xie Ning asked: "Jiang Ting, you have been getting very close to your scout friend recently. You even often bring him food. Did he do anything good for you?"

　　Jiang Ting squatted beside Xie Ning, her hands also covered in mud, and was picking up shallots and radishes. "The cakes and food he brought from the capital last time were what he brought."

　　Xie Ning said: "That's not what I meant, I just said... hehe..."

　　Jiang Ting glanced at him and asked, "Are you talking about him taking me to the border town?"

　　Xie Ning nodded, "I also want to have a friend like this."

　　Jiang Ting glanced around and whispered, "Let me tell you something."

　　"What is it?"

　　“I’m about to own a house…”

　　Xie Ning's eyes widened: "Really?"

　　Jiang Ting said: "Shh, keep your voice down. I'll ask you to go to the greenhouse when the time comes. Do you want to go?"

　　Xie Ning nodded repeatedly and said in surprise: "I want to! But how do we get out?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "Just help me cook a good meal."

　　Xie Ning was confused, "What do you mean?"

　　Jiang Ting said: "I will help you bribe more scouts."

　　Xie Ning was immediately motivated when he heard this, his eyes lit up, "Really? Really?"

　　Of course that was fake. Bribing He Yunchen alone was enough.

　　They carried their backpacks back to Huotouying, first washed the plump garlic sprouts that were thicker than fingers, and then cut the plump white radishes into pieces.

　　Although it is cold here, the land is very fertile. As long as you keep the crops warm, the quality of the vegetables you grow will be very good.

　　The time for harvesting radishes and cabbages has come. Before the soldiers officially start their vacation and leave the barracks, Jiang Ting plans to prepare a snack for the entire camp and eat hotpot together.

Today is the day to deliver meal to He Yunchen. Jiang Ting prepared three main dishes: twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, lamb stewed with radish, and steamed spare ribs with fermented black beans.

　　It’s great to cook in a small kitchen, with a big pot, a big fire, and abundant ingredients. She cooks by the pot, and the people in the small kitchen learn beside her.

　　As the saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

　　No, that's not right. It's wrong. It should be "Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win every battle."

　　She now understands He Yunchen's taste very well, or it can be said that He Yunchen is too easy to feed. He is basically not picky about food and cherishes food very much.

　　Jiang Ting used her best skills to prepare the three dishes today. After making them, she quickly packed them in a lunch box and went to find He Yunchen excitedly.

　　It has been almost a month since He Yunchen returned from the capital, and during this month they have maintained the frequency of delivering meals every three days.

　　Jiang Ting could feel that He Yunchen's attitude towards her was getting better and better, and it seemed that he really regarded her as a friend.

　　She has always been a person who treats others with sincerity. If others are good to her, she will repay them with all her heart. This is true for Xie Ning and others, and even more so for He Yunchen.

　　At first, it was difficult for her to empathize with anything when she traveled from the end of the world to this feudal society, and she didn't want to go to the battlefield for a feudal dynasty. But after half a year, she received a lot of sincerity and had many people she wanted to protect.

　　If there really is a life-and-death battle with Beirong in the future, she will definitely try her best to save them, especially He Yunchen who died two years later in the original novel.

　　When Jiang Ting walked out of the scout camp carrying the insulated food box, He Yunchen just arrived.

　　He Yunchen has been at the border for five years and has adapted to the climate here. Compared with him who simply put on a cloak, Jiang Ting is much warmer.

　　Her entire face was covered by a scarf, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. She wore a bulky cotton coat inside and a thick fur coat outside. She had fluffy rabbit fur gloves on her hands and a rabbit fur hat on her head. She looked like a ball of fur moving in the snow.

　　He Yunchen looked at Jiang Ting with a gentleness that he himself did not even notice. He was tall, and he raised his hand and easily helped Jiang Ting brush off the snow on her hat.

　　"Hurry, hurry, hurry." Jiang Ting was very anxious, afraid that the food would get cold.

　　She grabbed He Yunchen's sleeve and said, "Come on, go in."

　　As for why she grabbed He Yunchen, it was because she suffered a loss last time. She walked too fast and her foot slipped, and she almost flew out with the food box. Fortunately, He Yunchen pulled her back in time.

　　He Yunchen was now disguised very convincingly, and he even prepared a tent for himself in the scout camp. Now that Jiang Ting had come to deliver meals, the two of them no longer had to sit outside in the cold like idiots.

　　When He Yunchen looked at the three dishes in front of him, he asked directly: "What do you want to ask of you today?"

　　Jiang Ting paused while taking the hat and said frankly: "Yes!"

　　He Yunchen nodded and said seriously: "Having this meal means I agree to your request?"

　　Jiang Ting laughed awkwardly, "Look at what you said, you're being too polite."

　　She sat down opposite He Yunchen, offered chopsticks with both hands, and said with sincere eyes: "But I really need your help."

　　He Yunchen nodded modestly, "Go ahead."

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "The camp will soon have a family visit holiday, and didn't I say that I would take over your house during the Chinese New Year? And we should celebrate moving into a new home, and then..."

　　He Yunchen smiled and said, "Then you want to invite your friends?"

　　Jiang Ting nodded.

　　He Yunchen: "And they can't get out?"

　　Jiang Ting continued to nod.

　　"And you want me to help?"

　　Jiang Ting pounded the table with her fist, as if she was pounding him, "Can you please stop imitating my speech?"

　　He Yunchen asked: "And you were still rude to me?"

　　Jiang Ting's momentum weakened, and she argued: "How could I be rude to you? I just told you to be more normal."

　　She sighed and rubbed her face. "Alas, the firemen don't have leave to visit their families. Many of them have been in the barracks for five or six years and can't leave. Can they also..."

　　He Yunchen paused after hearing this, lowered his eyes, and said softly after a while: "But I'm just a scout, what can I do?"

　　Jiang Ting secretly clenched her fists, thinking, you kid, keep pretending.

　　"You can help pass the message to the commander. We are insignificant and have no chance to see him."

　　He Yunchen had a different idea and asked, "Why don't you ask Xiao Cheng for help?"

　　Jiang Ting choked and said, "Of course, it's because I know you better. In my heart, you are the most powerful one. It's more reliable to go to you than to go to Xiao Cheng."

　　She gave a false smile.

　　But He Yunchen was easy to coax and didn't see through her. He just said with satisfaction: "That's good enough. I will talk to the commander about this."

　　Jiang Ting was delighted and quickly flattered: "Brother Song Xia, you are amazing. It is my blessing to know you. Come on, eat. I prepared this especially for you."

　　After the two finished their meal, Jiang Ting squatted beside the charcoal brazier and roasted sweet potatoes for He Yunchen.

　　This tent is decorated in a very realistic way, as if someone really lives here.

　　He Yunchen asked: "When are you going to cook the hot pot?"

　　Jiang Ting turned her head away from him and said, "Before the holiday, we have to wait for Uncle Liang to go and ask the Tongzhi to approve the date."

　　He Yunchen: "Do you prepare the hot pot base in advance?"

　　Jiang Ting nodded, "I have this idea, but..."

　　"how?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "The last time I made you a hot pot base, the amount was small, so I used very good ingredients. The seasoning alone must have cost me several hundred coins. But this time we are giving the whole camp a snack, so I am only going to make a hot pot."

　　She went on to explain: "To put it simply, it's like having a hot pot meal, but the soup base is not as fragrant."

　　She shrugged. "It can't be helped."

　　Although it’s not as delicious as regular hotpot, it has their own grown cabbage, radish, garlic sprouts, chili sauce, and pork, so it won’t taste bad. Isn’t the purpose of eating hotpot to feel lively and warm?

She took out the baked sweet potato, tossed it left and right, and put it in his hand. "It's hot, eat slowly. Oh, don't eat too much at once, otherwise..."

　　He Yunchen asked: "What will happen?"

　　“I fart.”

　　“…”

　　It was already dark outside. Jiang Ting put on her hat and pulled open the felt cloth. The cold wind rushed in, making her shiver.

　　She picked up the oil lamp and food box and said, "I'm leaving now."

　　He Yunchen put the gray roasted sweet potato into his pocket without any disdain and stood up. "I'll take it to you."

　　Jiang Ting said: "No need, I have walked this way back dozens of times."

　　But He Yunchen still insisted on sending her off.

　　He was afraid that she would slip and fall while walking. A soldier broke his leg in this way a few days ago.

　　Jiang Ting said: "Oh, you are really... I am a grown man, how can I be so delicate? I am not afraid of the dark."

　　He Yunchen ignored her, put on his cloak neatly, and took the oil lamp.

　　The two of them walked into the wind and snow. You know what, the feeling of having someone walking beside her was better than when she went back to the Huotou Camp alone.

　　When they were passing through a relatively remote area, they suddenly heard faint voices coming from the front.

　　Jiang Ting listened carefully; the voice sounded familiar.

　　She tugged at He Yunchen's sleeve, pointed to the front, and whispered, "Go and take a look."

　　He Yunchen had no intention of eavesdropping, but seeing Jiang Ting so excited, he could only cooperate.

　　The two men approached quietly and hid behind a haystack. They poked their heads out from the left and right and saw two people standing not far away. The shorter one had his head down and seemed to be sobbing, while the taller one stood silently opposite him.

　　Jiang Ting frowned, having a bad feeling in her heart. Sure enough, the short man said, "Why did you expose me? Can't you pretend you know nothing? Can't we just get along like before?"

　　This is Kong Xiao's voice.

　　So the person in front of her must be Zhao Qinghong, right?

　　Zhao Qinghong said: "I...how can I pretend to know nothing? Kong Xiao, I'm sorry, I can't bear your affection now. I joined the army to avenge my parents. I swear to use the blood of the Beirong people to sacrifice the souls of the thirteen members of my Zhao family. I really don't have any other ideas now... Besides, you are a man..."

　　Jiang Ting was shocked when she heard this.

　　She never expected that by such a coincidence, she would hear such a bloody plot.

　　According to the original novel, the relationship between Kong Xiao and Zhao Qinghong should have reached the stage of mutual affection. Kong Xiao is brave and straightforward, but Zhao Qinghong carries a blood feud and is unwilling to be dragged down by feelings.

　　Moreover, he felt that he would die on the battlefield sooner or later, and he didn't want to harm Kong Xiao.

　　Zhao Qinghong is now appreciated by his superiors, who are planning to transfer him to a better camp, so Kong Xiao is forced to separate from him.

　　So in a hurry, she expressed her feelings as a man. Not surprisingly, Zhao Qinghong rejected her.

　　He Yunchen was confused at first, but that didn't stop him from using his smart brain to analyze the meaning of the two people's words.

　　He suddenly looked at Jiang Ting. Jiang Ting looked back helplessly, pointed behind her, and mouthed: "Let's go."

　　At this moment, Kong Xiao suddenly became excited, rushed over and hugged Zhao Qinghong's waist, saying:

　　"Qinghong, can you wait for me for a year? I will definitely catch up with you in a year!"

　　Jiang Ting and He Yunchen couldn't help but stick their heads out to take a peek. Gossip is indeed human nature.

　　What man would not feel soft-hearted when seeing his beloved hugging him and crying so aggrievedly?

　　Zhao Qinghong sighed, touched Kong Xiao's face, lowered his head and said: "What should I do with you."

　　Jiang Ting's heart suddenly started to ring with alarm bells.

　　According to the bloody routine of the original novel, the two lovers confessed their feelings to each other in the middle of the night, hugged each other, and were attracted by each other. The next step should be...

　　Should……

　　Ahhh—she didn’t dare to think further.

　　Sure enough, Kong Xiao leaned in Zhao Qinghong's arms with his head tilted up. Zhao Qinghong slowly lowered his head, and the distance between their lips got closer and closer...

　　Jiang Ting subconsciously felt that such inappropriate things for children should not be seen by He Yunchen, so she turned her head and tried to pull He Yunchen's upper body back.

　　Unexpectedly, the two of them were in sync with each other. He Yunchen retracted his upper body by himself. Jiang Ting's hand, which tried to grab his shoulder, missed and fell to the ground with a thud.

　　"Who?!" Zhao Qinghong was startled, let go of his hand, blocked Kong Xiao behind him, and shouted in a low voice.

　　Jiang Ting was really panicking. If Kong Xiao knew that she had eavesdropped on them and saw such an embarrassing scene, how would she face Kong Xiao in the future? !

　　She made a prompt decision, quickly got up and wanted to run, and He Yunchen also stood up right after her.

　　But Zhao Qinghong had already rushed over nimbly while she was hesitating.

　　This guy is worthy of being the male protagonist. He has made rapid progress in just a few months and is here in the blink of an eye.

　　"grass."

　　Jiang Ting cursed, twisted her body, and threw herself into He Yunchen's arms, pushing her head in hard to cover her face.

　　He Yunchen was stunned and subconsciously put his arm around Jiang Ting's shoulders.

　　Jiang Ting said anxiously: "Don't let them recognize me."

　　Zhao Qinghong stopped in front of the two men and looked at them sternly.

　　"Who are you? Why are you eavesdropping? What did you hear?!"

　　He Yunchen looked indifferent, not at all embarrassed about being discovered eavesdropping.

　　But that was only on the surface. In reality, it was because he didn't care what Zhao Qinghong was saying. His attention was all on the person in his arms.

　　He felt a burning sensation in his chest, as if something was about to break through his defenses.

　　Zhao Qinghong asked again, "Speak, who are you?"

　　He looked at He Yunchen's face, then at Jiang Ting, who had buried her entire head in her cloak.

　　Kong Xiao also looked at them in fear.
Gay relationships are strictly prohibited in the military camp. If discovered, the person will be beaten with fifty military sticks and expelled from the camp.

　　He Yunchen finally gave him a look and said coldly: "We will do whatever you are doing."

　　Zhao Qinghong was stunned and pointed at himself: "We are...?"

　　He Yunchen chose his words carefully. This was obviously beyond his scope of cognition and knowledge. He thought about it and concluded: "Private transfer, or, adultery?"

　　Jiang Ting: "..."

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　Jiang Ting: If you don’t know how to speak, you can just shut up.

　　Chapter 58 Indifference

　　◎I don't accept gays◎

　　Zhao Qinghong was stunned and speechless for a moment.

　　He then said angrily: "What are you talking about? What about private transactions? What about Gou... Gou... It's just nonsense!"

　　Private transactions are used to describe men and women, and adultery is even more nonsense!

　　He and Kong Xiao just... just hugged each other, which was not as intimate as the two people in front of him.

　　The person hiding in the cloak hasn't dared to show his face until now. Who is the one who is secretly giving and receiving things?

　　Zhao Qinghong pointed at He Yunchen and said, "You even cursed yourself?"

　　Kong Xiao felt a little happy and nervous, and asked carefully: "You two are also..."

　　He Yunchen looked at them coldly and ignored them.

　　Zhao Qinghong was a little irritated by He Yunchen's attitude, and said in a deep voice: "Can't you two put your mouth together?"

　　Jiang Ting quickly tugged at He Yunchen's sleeve.

　　He Yunchen pondered what he had just said and felt that it was indeed inappropriate. He said in a cold voice: "We didn't hear what you said just now. If you don't tell anyone about what happened tonight, we will keep our mouths shut."

　　Zhao Qinghong then softened his attitude and asked, "Do you keep your word?"

　　He Yunchen asked back for the first time: "Are you so afraid of others knowing?"

　　He glanced at Kong Xiao and knew that this was Jiang Ting's friend. He had figured it out a long time ago. Since Jiang Ting cared about her friends, he would accept her friends. Jiang Ting's friends were the ones he should help and protect.

　　Zhao Qinghong's expression changed. "What does it have to do with you? Aren't you afraid?"

　　He Yunchen said coldly: "If you are afraid, don't start."

　　Jiang Ting nodded secretly after hearing this, and very much agreed with He Yunchen's point of view.

　　In the original novel, Zhao Qinghong and Kong Xiao were entangled for millions of words before they finally got married. It was a bumpy road, largely because Zhao Qinghong was wavering between love and revenge .

　　Zhao Qinghong clenched his fist and said, "Mind your own business first. We are all gay. Do you think you two will have a good ending if you are discovered? Take care of yourself!"

　　He Yunchen's face darkened and he tightened his arm around Jiang Ting.

　　"Let's go." Zhao Qinghong pulled Kong Xiao away.

　　Jiang Ting patted He Yunchen's arm and said in a muffled voice: "You can let go now."

　　He Yunchen quickly let go of his hand.

　　Jiang Ting took two steps back, freed her head, and took a few breaths of fresh air.

　　It was true that He Yunchen's arms were warm, but also stuffy, mainly because of the smell of roasted sweet potatoes.

　　"Oh, I was so suffocated that I finally left."

　　She pointed to He Yunchen's pocket and said, "This roasted sweet potato smells so good. It makes me want to eat it."

　　He Yunchen felt a little uncomfortable as his arms felt empty, as if something had been pulled out of his body, and he felt lost.

　　Zhao Qinghong's words just now were like a heavy hammer hitting his heart.

　　Yes, what if Jiang Ting found out about his feelings for her? Even if they could understand each other, what if outsiders knew about it?

　　not to mention……

　　Jiang Ting seemed to only treat him as a friend.

　　He took the baked sweet potato out of his pocket. It was still warm. "Want to eat?"

　　Jiang Ting said decisively: "Eat."

　　He Yunchen broke the fist-sized sweet potato into half, giving each person half. The inside was orange-red, still steaming, sweet, fragrant and soft, and sweet enough to touch one's heart.

　　The two men walked towards Huotouying while eating sweet potatoes.

　　Jiang Ting pondered over what to say.

　　Although she felt that it was just a temporary measure and there was nothing wrong with a hug between good friends, He Yunchen was a conservative person and she didn't know if he would be angry if someone called him a homosexual.

　　So she ate the sweet potato silently, and after a long while she managed to say, "Don't take what Zhao Qinghong said seriously."

　　He Yunchen was trying hard not to think about the feeling of hugging Jiang Ting and the scent coming from Jiang Ting.

　　On the premise that Jiang Ting has no affection for him, he must not cross the line of friendship.

　　Hearing Jiang Ting's words, He Yunchen came back to his senses and nodded, "Yeah."

　　He turned his head to look at Jiang Ting and saw her holding the sweet potato and chewing it awkwardly with her gloved hands.

　　He probed: "Didn't you say before that you hated gay men? Then why are you so…" to your friends?

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "I can't control other people's affairs."

　　He Yunchen added: "But you don't accept being gay, right?"

　　Jiang Ting said decisively: "I don't accept it."

　　Because she is a woman, how can she accept it? Wouldn't that be a waste of the boy's love?

　　Jiang Ting's words dealt another heavy blow to He Yunchen's heart.

　　He paused, his mind going blank for a moment.

　　The cold wind was howling and the snowflakes were flying, but they were no match for the coldness in his heart.

　　"It's delicious. My skill in roasting sweet potatoes is amazing." Jiang Ting finished eating half of the roasted sweet potato, burped, licked her lips, and was still unsatisfied.

　　"What's wrong with you? What are you thinking about?" Jiang Ting then realized that He Yunchen was two steps behind.

　　She turned her head and saw the roasted sweet potato in his hand and took a bite.

　　She felt that He Yunchen was becoming more and more unpredictable recently.

　　"Your sweet potatoes are cold. Give them to me if you don't want to eat them."

　　He Yunchen was slightly startled, "I have eaten it."

　　Jiang Ting rolled her eyes. "Who told you not to like it? Don't waste it."

She leaned forward and pretended to take a bite of He Yunchen's hand.

　　The next moment, He Yunchen came to his senses, quickly picked up the sweet potato, and ate it in one bite, then choked.

　　"Um, cough cough..."

　　"I'm not really competing with you, why are you so anxious?" Jiang Ting said with a smile: "We've arrived at the Huotou Camp, it's done, I'm going back first."

　　He Yunchen handed her the food box and oil lamp while trying hard to swallow the sweet potato.

　　Jiang Ting's fingers lightly touched the back of his hand and found that his hand, which had been exposed to carry things, was icy cold.

　　"I don't want the oil lamp. You still have to walk at night, so you take it. Thank you for sending me back tonight."

　　Thinking of this, Jiang Ting took off her gloves again and waved at him.

　　"Here, put them on. Your hands are very cold."

　　He Yunchen lowered his eyes and looked at the fluffy gloves, his brows twisted into a "川" shape.

　　"Come on, take care of your health when you are young, so that you won't have so many minor illnesses when you are old."

　　Jiang Ting didn't know what he was thinking. Seeing that he was holding the oil lamp in his right hand, she slung the food box over her elbow, reached out and grabbed his left hand to help him put on gloves.

　　She didn't think there was anything wrong with it because she and Xie Ning and others often helped each other wipe their hair, put on clothes, etc. in the tent.

　　Jiang Ting's hands were warm, her fingers were long and slender, and she easily grasped He Yunchen's hand.

　　He Yunchen was startled, and felt as if his hand was burned. He pulled his hand back suddenly, and even subconsciously took two steps back. He looked alert and said coldly: "No need."

　　Jiang Ting was stunned. "What's wrong with you tonight? Are you in a bad mood?"

　　He Yunchen pursed his lips: "No."

　　His mind was in a mess now, and he didn't even dare to look at Jiang Ting's eyes.

　　Just like that, he turned around and ran away without even taking gloves.

　　Only Jiang Ting was left standing there, lost in thought.

　　…

　　The Chinese New Year was getting closer, and all the soldiers on leave had been counted and arranged to leave the camp. Uncle Liang went to find the Tongzhi to approve the time and prepare extra meals for the entire camp.

　　This extra meal is equivalent to the New Year’s Eve dinner in the military camp.

　　The Huotouying Camp was granted five pigs, ten sheep, and all the vegetables.

　　Uncle Liang and Jiang Ting discussed it and decided to have the meal in the training ground, which was more convenient. However, they had to choose a day without snow, and they also had to set up some temporary tents.

　　The entire battalion was mobilized for the family reunion dinner. The soldiers set up tents several days in advance, and the entire parade ground was like a temporary camp.

　　This shed cannot block the wind, but it can provide shade, keep out rain and snow. It is usually found in every camp and can be used to store carts, firewood, sundries, and even as a cattle shed.

　　That day, Uncle Liang suddenly called Jiang Ting over and said happily, "Didn't you say a few days ago that there wasn't enough seasoning for the hot pot? Guess what?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "You look so happy, what's the good news?"

　　Uncle Liang held a bill in his hand, and his voice rose eight degrees. "Great news! The commander said that the soldiers had worked hard this year. In order to have a good New Year for everyone, he paid out of his own pocket and approved 500 taels of silver to give us extra meals."

　　"Five hundred taels?!"

　　"How much? Five hundred taels!"

　　The firemen screamed as if they were going to blow the roof off the house.

　　The monthly salary of an ordinary fireman is 600 wen, and Jiang Ting’s monthly salary is 2 taels. 500 taels is an astronomical figure for them, enough to make people faint.

　　But the He family has been prosperous for hundreds of years and has a rich financial background. The industries they have in the border town alone are countless, not to mention those in the capital.

　　Jiang Ting silently calculated that if she didn't get promoted, it would take her more than 20 years without spending a penny to save up 500 taels, not to mention the money earned by an ordinary fireman.

　　Uncle Liang smiled and said, "Yes, in addition to the pigs and sheep raised by our camp and vegetables, what else do we need to cook hot pot? Jiang Ting, please go with Zhou Dong and the others to buy some."

　　The firemen finally reacted and shouted, "Can we buy lots and lots of meat so that everyone can have enough to eat?"

　　Uncle Liang said, "That's wishful thinking. It's impossible for us to spend all the five hundred taels approved by the Lord at once. It's enough to have enough for food. The rest can be saved for the next meal. There are Lantern Festivals later. Besides, if we spread it out evenly, each soldier will only have a few dozen coins."

　　But everyone was still very happy, because they could buy two kilograms of meat with just a few dozen cents.

　　Jiang Ting took on the task without hesitation, and went to discuss it with Zhou Dong and other purchasing men, and made a long list.

　　She decided that since the money was in place, she must put the matter of making hot pot base on the agenda.

　　When making a list of spices, Jiang Ting suddenly thought of why He Yunchen paid 500 taels out of his own pocket to provide extra meals for the soldiers. Was it because she complained to him some time ago that she didn't have enough money to make hot pot base?

　　Thinking of this, she sighed and laughed.

　　A group of firemen got together and discussed for most of the day, and finally made a list.

　　There are two portions in total, one is the ingredients for cooking the hot pot base that will be used soon, and the other is the ingredients needed for cooking the hot pot on that day.

　　The next morning, before dawn, Jiang Ting yawned and climbed onto the ox cart with Zhou Dong and others and set off.

　　She hadn't gotten out of bed early for a long time, and she had her period these two days, so she felt more tired and a little sleepy than usual.

　　When the firemen drove the ox cart, she wrapped herself in a large fur coat and scarf, leaving only her nose exposed to breathe, and fell asleep as the ox cart moved forward.

　　While she was sleeping, the ox cart suddenly stopped. She heard voices around her, and then she felt someone standing next to her.

　　She didn't care, thinking it was Zhou Dong and the others.

　　The next moment, someone patted her on the shoulder.

　　Jiang Ting opened her eyes, pulled her scarf down, and found that the person coming was He Yunchen, whom she hadn't seen for some time.

　　She gave him a cold look.

　　"Why are you here?"

Come to think of it, I don’t know what’s wrong with this kid.

　　After being caught eavesdropping that night, He Yunchen's face changed inexplicably. The next day, he asked someone to tell her that he was very busy and there was no need to send her food.

　　It’s okay if you don’t have to send it off, Jiang Ting just enjoys having some free time.

　　But after almost half a month, she finally suspected that He Yunchen was deliberately avoiding her.

　　She didn't know how she had offended him. She hated troublesome people the most, especially troublesome men.

　　A man’s heart is as unfathomable as a needle in the sea. It is really true.

　　She looked around.

　　They discovered that a dozen cavalrymen and several scouts were surrounding the purchasing team.

　　When He Yunchen met Jiang Ting's eyes, his heart ached. He said expressionlessly, "Some Beirong people have sneaked in. We are here to escort them."

　　Jiang Ting asked: "The Beirong people are coming again?"

　　He Yunchen said calmly: "It happens every year."

　　After all, the Mojin Mountain stretches across hundreds of miles, and its branches are countless. It is easy to avoid the patrol troops and sneak over the Mojin Mountain.

　　The patrol troops could only prevent a large number of Northern Rong troops from sneaking across the border.

　　Many Beirong people came to Daying to find food because they could not survive in the winter.

　　Jiang Ting lay back down, "Okay, I'm so sleepy."

　　He Yunchen frowned and said, "Don't sleep, it's very cold."

　　During the march last year, many soldiers fell asleep in the snow and never woke up.

　　Jiang Ting tried hard to open her eyes and sneered, "Who cares?"

　　He Yunchen's face changed and he left without saying a word.

　　This made Jiang Ting so angry that she jumped up from the ox cart and shouted, "Stop!"

　　He Yunchen paused, turned around, and let the cold wind blow his hair around his face.

　　For some reason, Jiang Ting felt that He Yunchen in front of her looked a little pitiful.

　　Seeing that the surrounding firemen and cavalry were looking over, she frowned, jumped off the ox cart, walked a few steps closer, and whispered: "I'm talking to you, what's wrong with you?"

　　He Yunchen said nothing.

　　He felt that since Jiang Ting did not accept homosexuality and he could not suppress his own feelings, he could only stay away from Jiang Ting.

　　But after moving away, the situation didn't seem to get any better.

　　He hated himself now.

　　So he decided to continue to keep his distance from Jiang Ting and be just ordinary friends. He could not embarrass Jiang Ting, nor let Jiang Ting know his thoughts.

　　So he said coldly: "No."

　　Zhou Dong came over and put his hand on Jiang Ting's shoulder, and said with a smile: "Jiang Ting, is this your friend?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "Yes, from the scout camp."

　　Zhou Dong rubbed Jiang Ting's head. "Are you awake? I saw you were sleeping like a pig, so I didn't have the heart to wake you up. I just put an old piece of clothing on you."

　　Jiang Ting said gratefully: "I was wondering where that dress came from. I guess it's yours, Brother Dong."

　　He Yunchen looked at the intimate interaction between the two and felt that his emotions were about to explode.

　　He clenched his fists, turned and walked away.

　　Zhou Dong said: "Hey, that kid seems to be in a bad mood."

　　Jiang Ting nodded, "I'll go ask him what's going on."

　　After that, she quickly chased after him and grabbed He Yunchen's sleeve, "Stop, what's wrong with you recently? Why are you so abnormal?"

　　She walked half a circle around He Yunchen, stopped in front of him, and looked up.

　　"Hey, what's wrong? Why are your eyes red?"

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　Chapter 59 Candied Haws

　　◎Ting, you should take care of yourself◎

　　He Yunchen looked at Jiang Ting steadily.

　　He didn't know whether he was angry or his eyes were red. Anyway, his eyes were very sore and he felt very uncomfortable.

　　Jiang Ting used to be very warm and gentle to him!

　　He had never seen her cold face, and her indifference was so painful.

　　Jiang Ting touched her chin, "Why are you crying?"

　　He Yunchen was startled, he reached out to wipe his eyes, and said dully: "Who is crying?"

　　"Oh." Jiang Ting looked at him with amusement, "I really don't know what you are upset about."

　　He Yunchen moved his lips but couldn't utter a word.

　　Jiang Ting reflected on herself: "Did I offend you in some way? Can't I change it if you tell me?"

　　He Yunchen shook his head.

　　Jiang Ting did nothing wrong from the beginning to the end. It was he who was wrong. It was he who had the problem.

　　Jiang Ting sighed, "Oh, that's enough, don't cry. I'm a soft-hearted person. I don't know how to comfort you."

　　The main thing is that she is now confused and bewildered.

　　"No matter how I offended you in the past, or how you offended me, let's just get over it, okay?"

　　Come to think of it, she was almost thirty years old when she died in her previous life, and He Yunchen was only twenty-two. She felt that she had reason to give in to him a little.

　　What's more, He Yunchen had just paid five hundred taels to the Huotouying.

　　"Then I'll apologize to you. I shouldn't have treated you like that just now."

　　She looked at He Yunchen sincerely.

　　He Yunchen was in a very complicated mood.

　　The more magnanimous Jiang Ting acted, the more despicable, petty and unreasonable he felt he was.

　　"Look at you, you're not wearing gloves, are you really not afraid of the cold?" Jiang Ting took He Yunchen's hand and rubbed it.

　　These hands are very beautiful, with distinct joints, slender and strong fingers, and some old scars that tell of the glorious past of the owner of these hands.

　　He Yunchen didn't refuse this time. I don't know what he was thinking.

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "Okay, put your hands in your pockets."

　　She pulled his cloak over his hands and wrapped them around them.

　　He Yunchen obediently let her do whatever she wanted. After a while, he finally managed to say, "It's not cold."

　　Jiang Ting: "...your signal receiver has a serious delay."

　　He Yunchen: "What?"

　　Jiang Ting laughed, took two steps back, and looked at him sincerely, "Thank you, I'm really lucky to meet you. If you have hidden something from me, I won't blame you."

She thought He Yunchen was uncomfortable with him pretending to be a scout, so she gave him a warning that she would treat him as always regardless of whether he was willing to tell her his true identity or not.

　　He Yunchen frowned, "Really?"

　　Jiang Ting nodded.

　　He Yunchen finally felt relieved, "Okay."

　　Jiang Ting said: "Come on, I'm not sleepy anymore, let's go for a walk, it's warm."

　　So she walked beside He Yunchen with her hands in her pockets, while He Yunchen led the horse.

　　A group of scouts around were watching closely, wondering who this fireman named Jiang Ting was.

　　Not only did she win the hearts of all the soldiers in the battalion with her cooking skills, she also had such a good relationship with the commander.

　　Zhou Dong looked at the two of them hesitantly, feeling something was wrong.

　　No, I have to go back and discuss this with Xiao Cheng.

　　The sky gradually brightened and the group finally arrived in town. Zhou Dong and others went to order meat and vegetables from the butcher shop, while Jiang Ting and some firemen went to buy seasonings for the hot pot base.

　　The main ingredients used are lard, dried chili peppers, Sichuan pepper, various spices, etc.

　　He Yunchen followed her the whole time, going wherever Jiang Ting went.

　　Jiang Ting took the account book and settled the bill while asking the fireman to load the things onto the ox cart.

　　He Yunchen also tried to move it, Jiang Ting was startled and quickly stopped him.

　　If they let the big money sponsor do this physically demanding work, their Huotouying will really shorten their lifespan.

　　"No need! Don't move!" Jiang Ting pointed to the side, "Just stand there and take a rest."

　　He Yunchen didn't dare to make Jiang Ting angry now, so he stood back obediently, following Jiang Ting's movements with his eyes.

　　Some of the ladies who came to visit the shop couldn't help but glance at He Yunchen.

　　"What a handsome young man! Who is he from?"

　　"Are you married?"

　　"This tall man will definitely give birth to a tall baby too."

　　"What are you standing here for? Waiting for your wife to finish shopping?"

　　He Yunchen smiled and said nothing.

　　Jiang Ting chuckled and stuck her head out and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, that's my brother. He's a mute. Don't tease him."

　　When the ladies heard this, they immediately showed sympathy.

　　He Yunchen had no choice but to move and find a corner to stand.

　　After Jiang Ting and others finished shopping and loaded several large carts, they met up with Zhou Dong and others, drove the ox carts to the patrol army, and then they could move freely.

　　Jiang Ting asked: "Have you been to the town before?"

　　He Yunchen said: "I've been here, but I haven't been around."

　　Jiang Ting smiled and said, "Let's go and eat something."

　　She looked at Zhou Dong, "Brother Dong, do you want to join us?"

　　Zhou Dong was standing aside with his arms folded, looking around. He was still hesitating whether he should go with Jiang Ting's friends. When he heard this, he immediately said, "Okay!"

　　Among the three people, only Jiang Ting was enjoying the shopping.

　　Although the town is not as prosperous as the border town, it has a large population and is very lively as the New Year approaches. Jiang Ting walked around and bought some food.

　　"Finally I met Tanghulu!"

　　She liked to eat this in her previous life, but she had never seen anyone selling it after traveling through time. She was delighted and quickly went over to buy three skewers, one for each person.

　　"Here, Brother Dong, you like sweet things, this one is the biggest."

　　Zhou Dong took it with a smile, "Our Jiang Ting is really caring."

　　Jiang Ting gave the smallest bunch to He Yunchen, "You don't seem to like sour food. This one is the smallest. If you can't finish it, give it to me."

　　He Yunchen: "..."

　　He sighed, told himself to be magnanimous, took it calmly, tasted it, and a sour and sweet taste burst out, so sour that he frowned.

　　He really doesn't like sour food.

　　Jiang Ting and Zhou Dong quickly finished their own skewers. Seeing that He Yunchen still had half a stick left, Jiang Ting smiled and said, "Let me help you finish it."

　　He Yunchen still couldn't accept sharing something with others, and the next moment Jiang Ting took the candied haws, bit one and pulled it out horizontally.

　　She took the hawthorn into her mouth, licked her lips, and said with satisfaction: "Your bunch is a little sweeter than Zhou Dong's."

　　He Yunchen was stunned. When had Jiang Ting ever eaten Zhou Dong's candied haws when he wasn't paying attention?

　　Zhou Dong said: "Really? Let me try it."

　　Jiang Ting stretched out her hand: "Come here."

　　He Yunchen was too late to stop him as he saw Zhou Dong had already put the candied haws in his mouth.

　　He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, turned around and left.

　　Zhou Dong mumbled, "He's in a bad mood again. Where did you find such an ancestor?"

　　Jiang Ting snorted, "Who cares?"

　　The three of them found a small restaurant, ordered some side dishes, and after eating, they went back to reunite with everyone and drove the ox cart back to the military camp.

　　It got dark early and it was pitch black when they returned to the military camp. He Yunchen went back to the commander's tent for something, while Jiang Ting went back with a bunch of food she had bought to share with Xie Ning and the others.

　　The next day was the day for slaughtering pigs. Just like last time, many soldiers came to watch the slaughtering. Fresh pork fat was quickly sent to the big kitchen and used to make lard together with the pork fat purchased yesterday.

　　Large pots of lard were quickly refined over a high fire. The fragrant lard residue was scooped out, drained, sprinkled with a little salt, and served to the soldiers who were watching the fun outside. It was soon snatched away.

　　Jiang Ting first asked everyone to cover their mouths and noses with cloth towels, and then began to add the seasonings in the order of making the hot pot base last time.

　　Soon, the rich aroma of the hot pot almost broke through the roof, and was even blown everywhere by the north wind, floating over the entire Huotou Camp.

　　"Oh my god, this smell is too overbearing!"

　　"It must be Jiang Ting making something to eat again!"

　　"Go and find out! I want to know first-hand information!"

　　Soon, the news that Huotouying had developed a new hot pot base spread to everyone.

　　It is said that if you throw a small piece of this thing into a pot and cook it, you can make a hot and spicy soup. You can put the meat and vegetables in it and eat it.

The hot pot, which had made the soldiers wait from cabbage sowing to harvesting, finally revealed its mysterious veil.

　　On the same day, a meat delivery convoy from the town arrived. Together with the four pigs and ten sheep in the Huotou Camp, there was definitely enough meat for everyone to eat.

　　In the morning, Jiang Ting prepared the hot pot base, poured it into a basin and waited for it to solidify. In the afternoon, she took the firemen to the fields to pull radishes, cabbages and garlic sprouts.

　　This was the day everyone had been looking forward to for a long time, and many soldiers came to help.

　　Let us all experience the joy of harvest together.

　　When there were only a few people left in the Huotou Camp, Zhou Dong secretly left the Huotou Camp and went to the Wujiang Camp.

　　When Xiao Cheng learned that Zhou Dong came to see him, he was a little surprised. He invited him in, served him hot tea, and said, "What's the matter? No one comes to visit you for no reason. Did something happen in Huotouying?"

　　Zhou Dong sat down, holding a cup of hot tea and said worriedly: "I want to tell you something, please help me with some advice."

　　Seeing Zhou Dong's strange expression, Xiao Cheng also became serious, "You say."

　　Zhou Dong said: "Do you know the scout who was close to Jiang Ting?"

　　Xiao Cheng was stunned and stammered: "No, I don't know him."

　　Zhou Dong looked at him suspiciously, "You really don't know me? We've been playing together since we were wearing open-crotch pants. I know what you're going to say when you stick your butt out. Tell me the truth."

　　Xiao Cheng dodged his gaze, and finally sighed and said with difficulty: "I know him, he's from the scout camp, his name is Song Xia, what's wrong?"

　　Zhou Dong stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes, "This kid is not simple."

　　Xiao Cheng was startled, thinking that He Yunchen's identity was exposed. The next moment, he heard Zhou Dong patting the table and saying, "I think he is probably plotting something bad against Jiang Ting!"

　　Xiao Cheng: "Puff——"

　　Zhou Dong frowned and said, "The way he looks at Jiang Ting, and the way he always makes trouble, there is something wrong! There is definitely something wrong!"

　　Jiang Ting is as close to him as his own brother, how could he tolerate a homosexual being attached to her!

　　Xiao Cheng felt very uncomfortable and asked, "Really?"

　　In fact, what he didn't dare to say was that he had the same idea!

　　Especially after the commander came back from the capital, things between him and Jiang Ting changed!

　　Zhou Dong was very worried. "Jiang Ting is a silly boy who knows nothing and seems to be very happy all day. He doesn't know that he has been targeted by others for a long time. Those who can become scouts are all very cunning. I am worried that Jiang Ting will suffer."

　　Xiao Cheng said: "Then what do you think we should do?"

　　Zhou Dong slammed the table and stood up: "I'm going to remind Jiang Ting to stay away from him!"

　　The next moment, he lowered his head and asked in confusion: "Xiao Cheng, why are you hugging my thigh?"

　　Xiao Cheng almost called him grandpa, he put his face against Zhou Dong's thigh, looked up and said: "Don't go! You can't go!"

　　Are you tired of living so much that you dare to interfere in the commander's affairs?

　　Zhou Dong kicked him away and said, "Get lost."

　　Xiao Cheng: "I don't——"

　　Zhou Dong and Xiao Cheng came to the vegetable garden stealthily, ambushed in a secluded place and watched.

　　Zhou Dong's heart sank. He raised his hand and pointed at the person squatting next to Jiang Ting not far away.

　　The man was wearing a black brocade robe and holding a small hoe in his hand. He didn't care at all that his expensive shoes and the hem of his clothes were covered in mud. He was digging green onions enthusiastically.

　　"He he he...he really came..."

　　Zhou Dong wanted to pinch his philtrum madly.

　　Xiao Cheng patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, I know you are doing this for Jiang Ting's own good, but given our status, I'm afraid we can't say a word."

　　Zhou Dong never expected that the scout who followed Jiang Ting all day long was actually the commander-in-chief, and he was so blind that he tried to snatch a candied haws from him.

　　Now the commander-in-chief has condescended to come and pull out the radishes. Doesn't this prove that he truly loves Jiang Ting?

　　Xiao Cheng sighed, "Forget it, just pretend you know nothing."

　　He dragged Zhou Dong back. Zhou Dong looked at Jiang Ting's back with empty eyes, thinking: Ting~ He is in a high position and has great power. I really can't help you. You should take care of yourself~

　　"Yes, that's right, that's it, pick it up from the root, otherwise it will be pulled off." Jiang Ting patiently instructed He Yunchen how to dig vegetables.

　　The backpack baskets behind them were already filled with lush green cabbages and plump, white radishes.

　　The soldiers and firemen were also working hard.

　　Xie Ning held a carrot that was almost as big as his head and screamed, "It appears! The King of Carrots!"

　　Everyone laughed, "Your carrots are enough for two meals!"

　　Jiang Ting also smiled and said, "Our land is surprisingly fertile and very suitable for growing vegetables."

　　"Then we can continue to grow vegetables next spring. Let me dig the ground then. I've already learned how to do it!"

　　"I'll do it, I'll do it! I eat less and do more!"

　　"I can choose not to eat!"

　　"You are still awesome."

　　Everyone was laughing and joking, and soon they finished harvesting all the vegetables from a large field.

　　At this moment, a soldier suddenly came over bravely and asked, "Jiang Ting, where are you from?"

　　Jiang Ting looked up and thought for a moment, "From the border town."

　　From now on, her house will be in the border town, so she will be a border town person.

　　She didn't want to bother with her original body's family.

　　The soldier smiled and said, "That's great! My family is also from the border town. Can I come to your house as a guest during the New Year?"

　　Jiang Ting was about to answer yes, but suddenly she received the look from He Yunchen, and she quickly changed her words: "Alas, I'm a bit busy during the New Year, so I may not have time to receive you properly."

　　The soldier looked at He Yunchen with some doubt and said, "Oh, okay."

　　He rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "Actually, I wanted to ask you, now that you are in charge, you can take a vacation and get married, so do you... want to get married? I have a girl, who is sixteen this year, she is very pretty and very capable..."

　　The people around him started to make fun of him, "Oh, here comes our brother-in-law!"

　　"You know what, Jiang Ting is so handsome and capable, if I were a woman, I would marry him too!"

　　"Shit, can you please take a piss and look at what you look like!?"

　　Jiang Ting laughed along and asked curiously, "Can I get married? I didn't even know about this."

　　He Yunchen's face darkened when he heard that, and he dug with the hoe in his hand, accidentally splitting a poor radish into two halves.

　　Jiang Ting was just about to say that she wasn't planning to get married yet.

　　He Yunchen said coldly: "Why did you only introduce someone to Jiang Ting and not to me?"

　　【📢Author has something to say】

　　Zhou Dong: Look at him, he's always doing this!

　　Chapter 60: Camp-wide Hotpot Banquet

　　◎Do you have any thoughts about that scout?◎

　　The soldier who was proposing marriage to Jiang Ting was stunned. He looked at He Yunchen and wanted to say, "I don't know you well, but considering that he is Jiang Ting's friend, the soldier scratched his head and said, "Brother, can you get married now? Then I will ask someone to introduce you to someone later."

　　He Yunchen turned his head and said coldly: "No need."

　　The soldiers looked at him in confusion: "Then what did you say?"

　　Jiang Ting coughed lightly and said with a smile: "Thank you for your kindness, brother, but I am still young and not ready to get married."

　　After hearing this, the soldiers left somewhat disappointed, "Oh, okay."

　　Jiang Ting picked up the rotten radish that He Yunchen had dug up, and said regretfully, "Alas, such a juicy big radish, I can only eat it today."

　　She threw the radishes into the backpack.

　　He Yunchen felt a little guilty and continued to work in silence.

　　Jiang Ting smiled and asked in a low voice: "Hey, how many years have you been in the military camp?"

　　"Five years."

　　"Wow, you are a veteran then, why aren't you planning on getting married yet?"

　　By the way, in the original novel, He Yunchen had not married until he died in battle at the age of 24. He will be 23 after the Chinese New Year. He is the only child in the He family now. Isn’t there a rush?

　　He Yunchen stopped and asked, "Then why aren't you planning to get married yet?"

　　Jiang Ting said naturally: "I'm still young."

　　He Yunchen: "I'm still young too."

　　"I'm only nineteen, three years younger than you."

　　He Yunchen thought for a moment and said, "Then if I work hard and live a few more years, it won't make any difference."

　　Jiang Ting's expression froze when she heard this.

　　Somehow, when Jiang Ting heard his words and thought of his miserable ending, her heart seemed to be gripped and a sour feeling surged to her brows.

　　She was someone who was used to seeing life and death and had countless lives on her hands, but she was actually sad about the death of a supporting character in a book.

　　But now, He Yunchen is not just the three short words in the book, but a living person standing in front of her.

　　Seeing that Jiang Ting stopped talking, He Yunchen turned his head to look at her, "What's wrong with you?"

　　"It's okay. I was just thinking..." Jiang Ting put away her emotions and smiled, "I was thinking about what your future wife looks like."

　　He Yunchen paused, his brows slowly frowned, clearly expressing his unhappiness.

　　Jiang Ting looked at him and blinked, "What's wrong with you?"

　　He Yunchen said: "You think too much."

　　Jiang Ting immediately became alert. "Wait, before you get angry, please allow me to ask, did I say something wrong just now?"

　　He Yunchen choked and uttered a "hmm" from his nose.

　　Jiang Ting was determined not to give him a chance to lose his temper. "Then I take back what I said just now. I shouldn't have imagined my brother's wife... Hey, why does it feel a little wrong to say this? I didn't mean that at all..."

　　He Yunchen looked at her insincere look, and he was so upset that he didn't know what to do. He simply turned around and continued to work.

　　Then with a snap, another radish was dug up.

　　As it was getting dark, the soldiers carried all the harvested radishes, cabbages, garlic sprouts and onions to the Huotou Camp, carrying them in backpacks, shoulder poles, baskets and on carts.

　　A large shed has been built in the Huotouying camp to store vegetables.

　　Uncle Liang, Jiang Ting and the small kitchen manager led the firemen to count all the vegetables and then covered them with straw to prevent them from freezing at night.

　　Everyone worked until late at night, and hot water was boiled in the big kitchen for everyone to use.

　　Jiang Ting and Xie Ning carried hot water back to the tent to soak their feet. They happened to meet Qin Jue coming back from another way, and the three of them met at the door of the tent.

　　There were snowflakes on Qin Jue's head and clothes, and the tip of his nose was red from the cold, as if he had been outside for a long time.

　　Xie Ning asked: "Qin Jue, where have you been? I haven't seen you all night."

　　Qin Jue raised his hand and patted the snow on his shoulder, and said with a smile: "I went to the sheepfold to check. I killed a sheep this morning, and the other sheep were scared."

　　His tone was normal, but Jiang Ting still noticed that his expression was a little stiff, and said, "There is still hot water in the big kitchen, go and get some."

　　"Okay, I'll go right away." Qin Jue said, then turned around and walked into the wind and snow.

　　Jiang Ting quickly caught up with him, "Wait."

　　Qin Jue paused, turned around and asked gently, "What's wrong?"

　　"The roads are slippery in the snow, so carry a lantern."

　　Jiang Ting handed over the oil lamp in her hand. Although it was only a small lamp that could only illuminate the road a few steps away, it seemed particularly warm on this winter night.

　　Qin Jue took it and said with a smile: "Well, thanks, let's go back, it's cold outside."

　　Jiang Ting breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the tent. Xie Ning had already brought in the hot water for her.

　　Jiang Ting dragged her bucket to the bed, soaked her feet in the slightly hot water, and let out a comfortable sigh.

　　As Xie Ning was soaking in the water, he said thoughtfully, "Why do I feel like there's something wrong with all of you?"

　　Jiang Ting looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

　　Xie Ning said, "He Jing is not right. I haven't seen him lately. Qin Jue is not right. Since he ran away to herd sheep, I always feel that he has something on his mind. You are even more wrong!"

　　Jiang Ting was confused, "What's wrong with me?"

Xie Ning came over and asked mysteriously, "Tell me, are you interested in that scout?"

　　Jiang Ting just picked up the hot tea and took a sip, but spat it all out when she heard the words.

　　"Ahem...don't, ahem, talk nonsense."

　　She firmly denied it: "How could that be possible?"

　　Xie Ning snorted, "It's called being in the know, and being a bystander is what it's all about. Anyway, I think you treat him very well. You always bring him food, and you're so gentle to him. You even treat him as your best friend."

　　Jiang Ting scratched her head, "That's because I want to please him."

　　Xie Ning said: "I don't think so. Besides, he is so handsome. If I were a woman, I would definitely have some feelings for him."

　　Jiang Ting bent her fingers and tapped Xie Ning's head, "But I'm a man."

　　Xie Ning covered his head, "Anyway, you treat him the best. I don't agree because I'm jealous of him! If you don't like him, you should treat us equally."

　　Jiang Ting held her forehead and pushed Xie Ning, "Then can you take me to the border town and sell me a house?"

　　Xie Ning: "Oh, you dislike me."

　　Jiang Ting: "No fake crying."

　　Xie Ning's expression changed, he crossed his arms, and said seriously: "But——"

　　He looked at Jiang Ting: "If you keep treating him like this, there's no guarantee that he won't be tempted. Look at you, you're so handsome and capable, and there are no women in this barracks...ah - I told you not to hit him in the head, it'll make you stupid!"

　　Jiang Ting grabbed Xie Ning's head and said, "You observe so carefully all day long, I actually doubt..."

　　She narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled.

　　Xie Ning asked: "What do you doubt?"

　　Jiang Ting said: "I suspect you have a crush on me."

　　"Bang..." There was a noise at the door. Jiang Ting and the others looked up and saw Qin Jue standing at the door with the basin in his hand rolling to the ground.

　　He bent down to pick it up and said, "My hand slipped."

　　Xie Ning shuddered, "Who has a crush on you? You are so shameless."

　　Qin Jue came over and asked with a smile: "What are you talking about?"

　　Xie Ning shouted: "Jiang Ting said I have a crush on him! Bah, I don't like men!"

　　Qin Jue looked at him and then at Jiang Ting, and said seriously: "Yes, you two don't look a match."

　　Xie Ning: “That’s right.”

　　Qin Jue added: "Besides, there is still me standing between you two."

　　After that, he came over with a bucket, sat between the two of them, and started soaking his feet.

　　After the three of them had gone to bed, He Jingcai came back covered in snow.

　　He looked very haggard, as if he had been hit by frost.

　　Xie Ning rubbed his eyes, "He Jing, what's wrong with you?"

　　He Jing limped down on a chair, leaning on a crutch, trembling all over, with bloodshot eyes.

　　In response to Xie Ning's question, he just lowered his head and said nothing.

　　Xie Ning got anxious, jumped off the bed, and patted his shoulder, "What's wrong with you? Speak."

　　He Jing shook his head wearily.

　　Qin Jue said: "He Jing, what happened? Tell me and we can find a solution together."

　　Jiang Ting also poked her head out from the bed and said, "He Jing, we are all brothers in the same tent, and we share the same difficulties. If you tell us, we can help you."

　　He Jing took a breath, and suddenly his expression collapsed: "I can't help, my mother is seriously ill, the doctor said she can only hold on for two months at most. The letter was sent more than ten days ago, but I can't rush back to see her for the last time."

　　He grabbed his hair and lowered his head. "Unless I ask to leave the barracks and return home, I will never be able to come back."

　　When he injured his leg, he had only two choices: one was to serve as a logistics soldier, which included being a fireman, and the other was to return home with the pension.

　　Becoming a fireman meant that he would have no holidays, but he was unwilling to return home.

　　He has been running around these days, trying to find help from his former comrades, but no one can do anything.

　　Upon hearing this, Xie Ning and the others all looked gloomy. In fact, He Jing was not the only one who encountered this situation. Many firemen did not have time to go back to attend the funeral of their loved ones.

　　Xie Ning looked at Jiang Ting and said, "Jiang Ting, what you said before..."

　　Jiang Ting had previously said that she would bribe the scouts and take them out of the camp to the border town during the New Year to attend her housewarming party.

　　Jiang Ting said in a deep voice: "He Jing, how many days will it take to go back to your house?"

　　He Jing was stunned when he heard this and said, "It will take three days for a fast horse."

　　Jiang Ting looked at his legs: "Can you still ride a horse?"

　　He Jing gritted his teeth and held down his stump, "Yes."

　　Jiang Ting nodded and said, "We'll have to wait two more days for this matter."

　　Xie Ning asked: "Wait two days? Why?"

　　Jiang Ting lowered her eyes and said with an ambiguous tone: "Because I believe in him."

　　There are still two days before the soldiers leave the camp for vacation. She believes that He Yunchen will not forget what he promised her.

　　The next morning, at dawn, the fire camp became lively. Half of the people started cutting meat, and the other half started washing vegetables.

　　Pork and mutton are cut into thin slices, some are cut fresh, some are pickled, and the internal organs and some scraps are saved for making braised meat and stews later.

　　The old leaves of the cabbage are broken off and fed to pigs, while the tender leaves are washed, broken off and piled in a winnowing basket.

　　These cabbages were grown using pure natural fertilizers, and the soil was fertile, so they grew very well. However, there were a lot of pests, and many leaves were eaten with holes here and there.

　　But no one dislikes it. If insects can eat it, why can't humans eat it?

　　Half of the radish was cut into balls for hot pot, and Jiang Ting prepared the rest to be made into dried radish and pickled radish.

　　What was bought from the town was not only meat, but also some vermicelli, bean curd, dried black fungus, dried shiitake mushrooms, etc., all of which were soaked in hot water and kept ready.

　　The garlic sprouts and green onions are washed and arranged neatly in bunches, which is pleasing to the eye.

　　While the firemen were preparing the food, the soldiers were also busy. They shoveled the snow on the training ground, wiped the tables and benches, brought in a lot of stones and firewood, and built a temporary stove under the shed.

Because the large and small kitchens in the Huotou Camp only have about eighty pots in total. Although the pots are very large and can cook meals for hundreds of people at a time, there are too many soldiers and so many people cannot sit down at one meal, so today's hot pot is eaten in two batches.

　　After one group of soldiers finished eating, they washed the pot, added water and hot pot base to cook the soup base again, and then let the second group of soldiers eat.

　　As for which camp will go first and which will go later, in order to be fair, the centurions and thousand-man households will draw lots to decide.

　　The soldiers who got the first bite cheered, while the soldiers who got the last bite were envious.

　　After the temporary stove was built, large pots were carried to the training ground and placed on the stove.

　　Buckets of hot pot base were brought over, and the soldiers gathered around curiously to see what this hot pot base was.

　　In the bucket were lumps of solidified reddish-brown lard mixed with various chili peppers, peppercorns and other condiments, which looked very spicy.

　　The solidified hot pot base was cut into pieces with a knife. Jiang Ting directed the firemen to light the fire, heat the pots, and then put a large amount of hot pot base into each pot.

　　The soldiers stared intently and saw the hot pot base slowly melting in the hot pot. The fireman threw a handful of onions, ginger and garlic into it, and soon the strong aroma of various seasonings swept over.

　　"Aqiu! Aqiu!"

　　Soon, the sounds of sneezing began one after another.

　　The firemen smiled proudly, thinking back to when they were making the hot pot base, they also sneezed non-stop because of the fumes. Now it was the soldiers' turn to taste it.

　　"Damn it, it's so choking!"

　　"Hey! That's right! That's the smell! That's the smell that came out of the Huotou Camp that day!"

　　"Oh my God, I really can't imagine how delicious the food will be."

　　Soon, the hot pot base was fried and melted. Water was added and waited for it to boil. Uncle Liang called out, "Everyone can prepare the bowls and chopsticks!"

　　The soldiers took their own bowls and chopsticks and moved their stools to sit around the big pot.

　　All the meat and vegetables were brought to the training ground. When the red soup in the pot was boiling, the fireman poured pork and mutton into the pot, stirred it with a large spoon, and said with a smile:

　　"Wait until the meat floats up and you can eat it! Add whatever dishes you want to eat later."

　　"Quick, add some more wood! Make the fire bigger!"

　　Lin Tongzhi walked back and forth on his inspection, shouting at the top of his voice: "We've already agreed that you are not allowed to guard your food. There's plenty of meat today, so you can eat as much as you want. Eat up the meat in your bowl first, then take more!"

　　Under the fierce fire, the pot soon began to gurgle and the meat slices rolled over. The soldiers quickly took up the pieces with their chopsticks. The meat slices wrapped in the red soup were extremely tender and steamed as soon as they came out of the pot. The tempting aroma made people drool.

　　As soon as the meat slices enter your mouth, the first thing you taste is the spicy and fresh flavor of the hot pot base. Then when you chew it again, the aroma of the meat bursts out and blends with the spicy taste. These flavors stimulate your taste buds in every possible way, making you unable to stop once you start.

　　"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Add more meat! This is so damn delicious!"

　　"More rain, more rain!"

　　"I want to eat radishes and cabbages. We grew them ourselves! We've been waiting for this day for months."

　　Soon, meat slices, radishes, cabbage, garlic sprouts, vermicelli, mushrooms and other ingredients were put into the pot.

　　The radish was crisp and slightly sweet, the cabbage was fresh and refreshing, the vermicelli had absorbed the soup and became particularly tempting, and the mushrooms floated in the soup, round and slippery. With one chopstick, they slid away, and with another chopstick, they fell in mid-air.

　　"Fuck, this thing is against me!"

　　"Phew, it's so hot. I'm sweating. Take off this outer layer."

　　"I guess my whole body will smell like this after I finish eating. From now on, I will eat while smelling my clothes."

　　"Hahaha, it smells like sweat. Are you disgusted?"

　　The soldiers ate and talked and laughed, sweating profusely, and said it was so delicious that the whole parade ground was filled with the smell of hot pot.

　　Many years later, many soldiers of the He family army could still clearly recall the scene of their first time eating hot pot.

　　That year they tried to grow their own vegetables for the first time, ate mutton dumplings and mutton noodles on the winter solstice for the first time, and ate hot pot before the New Year for the first time. The soldiers drank tea instead of wine and raised their glasses together to celebrate the arrival of the New Year in advance.

　　In the fire camp, the firemen also sat together and ate with relish, as if all the frost and snow of the entire winter had melted away.

　　In the afternoon, the firemen were busy cleaning up the dishes and carrying the iron pots back to the fire camp for cleaning, when several soldiers dressed in the uniforms of the commander's personal guards came.

　　"The commander has an order!" The personal guard held up the token. Upon seeing it, the firemen quickly put down their work and gathered around, waiting anxiously for the personal guard to pass on the order.

　　It must be a big deal that could have caused the commander's personal soldiers to come and deliver the message. Could it be that their hot pot banquet today was not good enough?

　　The firemen lowered their heads, their hearts tense.

　　The personal soldier shouted loudly: "From now on, all logistics soldiers, like regular soldiers, can take home leave after two years in the camp, and can get married after three years! Those who want to leave the camp tomorrow, immediately register with the fire camp manager and hand in the roster before dawn tomorrow!"

　　As soon as the personal soldier finished speaking, the Huotou Camp was in an uproar.

　　Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, wondering if they were hallucinating, "We, we can take a vacation too?"

　　"Did I hear you right? We can go home too?"

　　"Am I dreaming? Pinch me... Ouch, it hurts! It's real! It's real!"

　　"Can I go home? I can go home! I can go home... woooo... I can go home, Mom and Dad -"

　　Many old men cried for joy, while others broke down and cried when they thought about how they had passed away and did not see their loved ones for the last time.

　　The guards looked at each other and left quietly.

　　Jiang Ting and the others standing aside also smiled, as if relieved. "He Jing, you can go home now."

He Jing looked a little dazed and asked uncertainly: "Is this true?"

　　Jiang Ting smiled and held his shoulder, "Really? Go and register now."

　　Uncle Liang was instantly surrounded by a group of firemen. He shouted, "Zhou Dong! Zhou Dong, come here and help me!"

　　Zhou Dong covered his ears and said in pain: "Uncle Liang, I can't read, how can I help you?"

　　He rolled his eyes and grabbed a strong man, "Qin Jue! Come here! Help with the registration!"

　　Qin Jue gave Jiang Ting and the others a helpless smile, "I'll go help first."

　　He Jing also hurriedly followed.

　　Uncle Liang shouted, "Let's make it clear first! We have to take turns during this holiday. We can't have no one cooking. Don't crowd, don't crowd, come one by one!"

　　"You have to have been in the camp for more than two years. Get out of here, you new recruit!"

　　Xie Ning was so excited that he turned around and said, "That's great! We can go to the border town for the New Year! Ahhhh, I'm so happy!"

　　Jiang Ting also laughed, "Yeah, not bad."

　　After Xie Ning calmed down, he thought of something. "Hey, what on earth did you do? Didn't you say you were going to bribe a few scouts to take us out? How come the entire Fire Head Battalion is on holiday now? I can't believe it."

　　Jiang Ting scratched her head and pretended not to know. "Oh... I just mentioned it to Song Xia, and he said... he would help... I don't know anything else."

　　Xie Ning looked at her suspiciously: "Really?"

　　Jiang Ting looked innocent: "Really? Maybe he knows a more powerful general, and that general reflected our wishes to the commander. The commander has always been sympathetic to the soldiers, so he waved his hand and approved it."

　　Xie Ning nodded, "That should be the case. The commander is really a good person."

　　"But..." He changed the subject and stared at Jiang Ting, "Song Xia has done such a big thing for you and helped us so much. He is so good to you and so young and promising. You really..."

　　Jiang Ting was stunned, and had a bad feeling, "Really what?"

　　Xie Ning narrowed his eyes: "No idea about him?"