Chapter 18: Quite Easy To Raise
The house, lacking people, looked extremely dilapidated.
As for spending money to buy a servant to look after the house and such, was that something a poor general like him, who was so impoverished he wouldn’t even throw away tattered underpants, could do?
Xie Chong immediately dispatched a team to renovate the house, primarily because it was free.
A group of burly men worked efficiently, moving out the broken furniture. They repaired what could be mended to make do, and anything beyond repair was chopped up for firewood.
They climbed onto the roof to inspect the tiles and eaves…
The General’s Mansion instantly became bustling with activity.
Xie Chong went into the room to inspect the house.
The General’s Mansion didn’t have many rooms; three rooms and one main hall.
The courtyard took up the most space, with a large courtyard in the front and another large courtyard in the back.
After the broken furniture was moved out, the entire house felt very spacious, and some things needed to be completely replaced.
For example, the bedding.
So, he still had to take Qin Wanwan to buy bedding and other similar items.
Xie Chong, along with his men, went onto the roof to hammer and patch the leaky bricks and tiles.
Qin Wanwan squatted in the courtyard, while Little Fatty poked at the ground with a branch.
She discovered an ant nest in a corner and was currently poking a small green worm she picked from the grass to feed the ants.
Keke stood on Qin Wanwan’s head and said, “Some mushrooms grow near ant nests. We can see if we can identify mushroom varieties another day; they’re very delicious.”
Qin Wanwan guarded the ant nest, preventing the uncles from stepping on it, as she wanted to eat the delicious mushrooms Keke mentioned.
After Xie Chong finished repairing the roof, he brushed the dust off his clothes, washed his hands and face, and took the little cub out to buy things.
The fabrics sold here weren’t very good; they were basically coarse cloth.
It could be said that anyone with a bit of money wouldn’t run to the border pass.
Coarse fabric was fine for adults or other children, but for Qin Wanwan.
Although Xie Chong was a rough man, he was also a meticulous rough man at heart.
He had a feeling that these fabrics, if put on Qin Wanwan, her delicate skin would not be able to tolerate it.
Fortunately, besides fabric, there was one specialty here.
There were many animal hides.
This area had many animals, and the local customs were also fierce, which led to many hunters, and thus many animal hides.
Moreover, their leather-tanning skills were also very good.
Shahe City had large temperature differences between day and night, so buying some animal hides to take back was perfect.
There was also a special wool product here, wool felt.
However, this item had too strong a smell, which couldn’t be washed away no matter how much it was washed. It was also made rather crudely, so it only had some market in the north; it couldn’t be sold elsewhere at all.
Xie Chong bought some fabric and animal hides, but not the wool felt; Qin Wanwan really disliked that smell.
Then there were pots, bowls, ladles, and pans, which were basically daily necessities.
He specifically brought a carriage to haul these items.
He bought things very quickly. Because his identity was known, the merchants basically gave him the lowest prices, so Xie Chong didn’t haggle.
Of course, this cartload of goods still cost him over twenty taels of silver.
Even though animal hides were common here, they weren’t much cheaper, especially the soft and precious ones.
Qin Wanwan, following her daddy, basically made a tour of the city and showed herself off.
When the merchants heard the little one calling her General Xie daddy daddy, their expressions were somewhat shocked.
Their general actually had such a big child!
As soon as they left, the merchants gathered and started whispering and discussing.
“General Xie is a father, and that child looks at least three years old.”
“The child is really good-looking. She doesn’t look like a child raised in our area; her skin is fair and tender, her eyes are big, and her voice is soft and tender. She’s truly beautiful, more beautiful than any child I’ve ever seen!”
“Isn’t that obvious? She’s our General’s child. So, has the General already married? His wife, could she be a noble lady from Shangjing?”
“Why didn’t she come with the General?”
“How could a noble lady endure our hardships here? She must be staying in Shangjing. It’s a pity our General is so young and separated from his wife.”
Everyone discussed it as if they knew the whole story, relying entirely on their imagination.
The crucial part was that their imaginations were quite accurate.
Yet, not a single person thought in the direction that Qin Wanwan might not be Xie Chong’s biological child.
If Xie Chong and his followers weren’t absolutely certain that Qin Wanwan was picked up as a scamming encounter halfway, they would probably have believed their General had a biological daughter.
It took three days to completely renovate the General’s Mansion from top to bottom.
During these three days, Qin Wanwan slept in tents with her daddy at his military camp every night.
The little girl was quite carefree and could sleep soundly everywhere, without fail.
She seemed spoiled and difficult to raise, but she was actually quite easy to care for.
Even when Xie Chong was busy, at mealtime, Qin Wanwan would run to the military camp’s dining hall by herself to find food.
The uncles in the kitchen staff all liked her very much and would often secretly give the little one extra food.
The baozi were large, with plenty of meat or sugar filling inside.
When serving dishes, there was also plenty of meat.
Daddy was also very busy today. After Qin Wanwan woke up, she yawned and spaced out for a while, and at Keke’s urging, she put on her little skirt herself.
Then she walked out of the tent to find the patrolling uncles to get water to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Afterwards, she took her small comb and ran with small steps to find the older sisters to do her hair.
The older sisters here were those rescued from the bandits.
Their living quarters were not far from the military camp; Xie Chong had arranged houses for them.
But it wasn’t a free arrangement. They were responsible for mending or washing the clothes for the warriors, and of course, they received wages.
Now that they had come this far, these girls no longer thought of suicide, but their lives still seemed somewhat numb.
But today, the place where the older sisters lived was exceptionally lively.
When Qin Wanwan arrived, many of the older sisters had cleaned themselves up, looking beautiful, with faint smiles on their faces, and a mixture of apprehension and expectation in their eyes.
“Wanwan is here.”
Seeing Qin Wanwan, the young ladies immediately surrounded her.
“How about Sister Qin combing your hair for you today?”
Qin Wanwan nodded her little head and very proactively sat on the small stool.
“Thank you, Sister Qin.”
The older sisters smelled nice and spoke very gently.
Qin Wanwan liked them, and they also really liked Wanwan.
The young ladies sat around together. The environment here was simple, but they didn’t complain or show disdain.
After all, they were in this situation, and General Xie and the warriors here had never disdained them.
Moreover, when doing some heavy work, many warriors would come to help.
From being afraid and ashamed to show themselves initially, they had now gradually emerged from that terrifying shadow.
“I wish I could have a child as good-looking as Wanwan in the future.”
The young lady combing Qin Wanwan’s hair suddenly said with emotion.
“Yes, if I had a daughter as good-looking and beautiful as Wanwan, I would like her even if she wasn’t a son.”
In this era, there was a preference for sons over daughters, but some people didn’t truly dislike girls; it was just that girls had a difficult life in this world.
Just like them.
Girls did not have a home that truly belonged to them.
