Chapter 268 – Soft-Hearted
Although the contents of the oiled paper package had gone cold, they still emitted an enticing aroma.
At once, Wu Bin and the other two looked simultaneously at the package in her hand.
Wu Bin licked his lips and said: “Xiaosi, what delicious food do you have in that package?”
The three had just returned hastily with Long Yu from fighting a group of bandits at Mount Cangwu, and hadn’t eaten anything at all. At this moment, they were quite hungry.
Seeing the three with expressions of longing, Yan Xiaosi generously opened the oiled paper package.
“These are pan-fried small potatoes my mother made for me.”
Zhao Xi’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
“It’s good to have a mother. Mine passed away when I was very young, I don’t even remember what my mother’s cooking tasted like.”
Wu Bin said: “Wang Cheng and I have mothers, but we’re in the same situation as you.”
Wang Cheng nodded in agreement: “That’s right, we’ve been away from home for four years. Who knows when this war will end? If it continues for several more years, it’s hard to say whether we’ll see our mothers again when we return.”
In this era, medical standards were poor, and human life expectancy was generally not high, especially for commoners. Due to poverty, they endured minor illnesses and even major ones. When they truly couldn’t endure anymore, they could only wait for death. No wonder Wang Cheng and Wu Bin harbored such concerns.
Under these circumstances, Yan Xiaosi really couldn’t bear to eat alone.
“Brother Wu, Brother Zhao, Brother Wang, are you hungry? My mother’s pan-fried potatoes are very delicious. Try some.”
The three hungry men had been waiting for these words. Seeing her offer the package, each reached in and grabbed two or three potatoes.
They weren’t greedy though, leaving more than half for Yan Xiaosi.
Yan Xiaosi held the oiled paper package tightly and sighed wearily: “I have to go to the commander’s tent tonight to watch over the War King. You three don’t need to wait for me to return.”
The three men, who were eating the pan-fried potatoes, watched her departing figure with joy in their hearts.
Wu Bin said: “The War King really values Brother Xiaosi, even letting him keep watch at night.”
Wang Cheng said: “Of course, Brother Xiaosi just saved the War King’s life.”
Zhao Xi said: “In the future, we should maintain a good relationship with Brother Xiaosi. We might rise to prosperity alongside him.”
Wu Bin and Wang Cheng both rolled their eyes at him.
That goes without saying!
Long Yu had been lying ill for quite some time, thinking Yan Xiaosi was bold enough to abandon him and growing angry, when he saw Yan Xiaosi enter carrying an oiled paper package. His expression visibly softened.
“Why were you gone so long?”
Yan Xiaosi had no intention of approaching the bed, instead carrying the oiled paper package to a table some distance away and sitting down.
“I first went to the mess hall to wash my hands, then returned to the military tent.”
Seeing her keeping her distance, Long Yu frowned.
“Come here.”
This was an order. Yan Xiaosi had no choice but to move a chair to the bedside, but facing Long Yu at close range, she remained silent, silently opening the oiled paper package, taking out a cold pan-fried potato, and silently eating.
Long Yu hadn’t had time to eat tonight either and had lost some blood. Smelling the aroma of the pan-fried potatoes, his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“What are you eating?”
“I returned to Shaoyao Village today. These are pan-fried potatoes my mother made.”
Long Yu asked one question, and Yan Xiaosi answered with one sentence.
His Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably again. Long Yu greatly missed Ms. Zhong’s cooking skills and was quite displeased that Yan Xiaosi was eating alone, completely ignoring him, an injured patient in need of nourishment.
“Are you just going to eat by yourself?”
Yan Xiaosi glanced at him, seeing his expression of longing.
“Is the War King hungry?”
“Obviously. I didn’t eat tonight and lost so much blood.”
Yan Xiaosi quickly stood up, holding the oiled paper package.
“Then I’ll go notify the mess hall to prepare food for the War King.”
Long Yu did not want to eat the food from the mess hall. If he had, he would have already ordered the Dragon Guards to bring meals.
“I want to eat the potatoes in your hand.”
Ms. Zhong had only made a small amount of pan-fried potatoes. She had already given some to Wu Bin and the others in the military tent, and there weren’t many left. But seeing Long Yu’s yearning gaze, Yan Xiaosi suddenly felt a softening of her heart.
Even as she handed the entire oiled paper package to Long Yu, she couldn’t understand why she would soften toward a tough man, willingly offering her beloved midnight snack.
Long Yu lay in bed, his hands exposed outside the blanket holding the oiled paper package, clearly unable to care for himself.
Though he had only been struck by an arrow, his entire body felt paralyzed, so paralyzed he couldn’t move at all.
This was an after-effect of the anesthesia. Although he was awake, the numbing effect wouldn’t completely disappear for several hours.
“Is this how you serve as my attendant?”
He slowly raised his hand, returning the oiled paper package to Yan Xiaosi, and opened his mouth, indicating that Yan Xiaosi should feed him.
Yan Xiaosi observed his stiff movements and remembered that she had injected him with anesthetic.
Considering the anesthetic’s lingering effects, she took the package, removed a pan-fried potato, and placed it in Long Yu’s mouth.
As Long Yu ate the pan-fried potato, he slightly narrowed his eyes. The familiar taste made him feel as if he had returned to that dilapidated temple at the edge of Shaoyao Village.
While feeding him, Yan Xiaosi casually asked: “Were the bandits at Mount Cangwu formidable? Have the lost provisions been recovered?”
Long Yu said: “A group of bandits, a disorganized rabble—how formidable could they be?”
What was formidable was the person controlling those bandits.
“Some of the provisions were recovered, another portion was burned. The bandits of Mount Cangwu were completely eliminated.”
Yan Xiaosi frowned upon hearing this.
Provisions were extremely important to an army. Even a fierce tiger-wolf army, without sufficient provisions, would eventually starve into a flock of sheep.
“When you say a portion was burned, how much do you mean?”
Mentioning the burned provisions, Long Yu’s expression grew solemn.
“Half. When I led the troops there, the bandits were setting fire to the provisions.”
“So half the provisions were burned.”
Yan Xiaosi was puzzled.
“Didn’t those bandits rob the military provisions to satisfy their hunger?”
Long Yu answered with certainty: “No.”
If not for sustenance, then they were acting on someone’s orders, likely to disrupt the morale of Long Yu’s army.
Yan Xiaosi made this guess but didn’t inquire further, only saying: “With half the army’s provisions destroyed, what will happen now?”
Originally finding the pan-fried potatoes quite delicious, Long Yu suddenly felt the potatoes lost their flavor when Yan Xiaosi raised this question
“We will have to obtain provisions from the nearest city.”
“The closest cities to here are Xize County and Luo City, but this is the western frontier of the Great Chu Dynasty. Years of disasters and warfare have left the people impoverished, and commerce isn’t very developed. I’m afraid it would be difficult to gather so many provisions in a short time.”
As commander of the army, Long Yu had naturally considered this point as well.
