Chapter 178: Congratulations
General Yang was indeed sensible.
Pei Qinghe smiled and took the letter, opening it right away to read. Midway through, she suddenly looked at Yang Huai in surprise.
Yang Huai was tall, so even with his head lowered, Pei Qinghe could see the unwillingness on his face.
Pei Yan, unaware of the situation, leaned over to watch the fun.
Pei Qinghe moved nimbly and put away the letter: “Pei Yan, you first lead Young General Yang to settle in and rest.” She paused and added: “Young General Yang will stay in Pei Family Village for a few days; you entertain the honored guest on my behalf.”
Pei Yan boldly agreed in one breath and led Yang Huai and his group to settle in.
Pei Family Village kept recruiting refugees, houses were constantly being built, and there were never enough. This time in battle, the wall had several huge breaches smashed into it, and artisans were busy rebuilding the wall.
Pei Yan was mischievous and led Yang Huai and his group to the place where captives had been settled that day, grinning unkindly: “Young General Yang stayed here for about half a month, so he should be very familiar with it.”
Yang Huai didn’t know where his anger came from; his nose wasn’t a nose, his eyes weren’t eyes, and he lightly snorted: “We can settle ourselves; no need to trouble Miss Pei Yan for the next few days.”
“That won’t do.” Pei Yan boldly picked up the thread: “Cousin Sister Qinghe instructed me to properly entertain the honored guest. If I just left like this, Cousin Sister Qinghe would definitely blame me.”
Yang Huai was about to speak when Pei Yan impatiently rolled her eyes: “Chattering on, are you even a man? Hurry into the house and put down the luggage; I’ll take you to eat.”
That eye roll nearly reached the heavens, not putting him in her sights at all.
Yang Huai should have felt relieved, but for some reason, he felt even more stifled inside.
Yang Huai held back a breath of stifled feeling as he entered the house and threw his bundle on the couch. The soldiers who came with him didn’t know what madness their young general was having and exchanged glances.
Yang Huai said coldly: “What are you standing around for? Move faster, all of you. Also, for the next few days, behave yourselves. If you cause any trouble, no need for Pei Yan to act; I’ll lesson you first.”
The soldiers were sprayed with a face full of ash, not daring to say more, threw down their luggage, and quickly left the house.
Pei Yan led the crowd to the kitchen and said to Sister-in-law Shulan: “Sister-in-law Shulan, they are honored guests from the Guangning Army. Cousin Sister Qinghe said to properly entertain them. Have someone open a small stove.”
Pei Family Village ate from a big pot. Opening a small stove was for entertaining true honored guests.
Sister-in-law Shulan glanced at the tall and handsome Young General Yang, pondering for a moment in her heart. Could it be that Pei Qinghe changed her heart to co-opt the Guangning Army…
Sister-in-law Shulan grumbled in her heart but showed nothing on her face, warmly greeting Young General Yang and his group of over twenty to sit and wait.
There were now over sixty people in the kitchen; the crowd washed vegetables and cooked, stewed porridge and boiled meat, and in less than half an hour, steaming hot meals were served.
Pei Yan smelled the aroma and felt a bit greedy, leaning over to ask: “What’s the good dish today?”
Sister-in-law Shulan smiled lightly: “We’ve been eating horse meat for the past few days, and everyone was about to vomit. Today we slaughtered a few pigs, made braised pork, and also fried some meatballs. Do you want to eat?”
Of course she had to taste it.
Braised pork went without saying, one bite full of oil. Meatballs the size of a baby’s fist, Pei Yan ate one after another, savoring them delightfully.
Yang Huai glanced once, couldn’t help glancing again: “How do you eat even more than me? Do you have any of a miss’s demeanor left?”
Pei Yan sneered: “I eat my own grain; how much I eat is none of your damn business! Also, whether I look like a miss or not has nothing to do with you!”
Yang Huai was choked breathless, angrily picking up a meatball and stuffing it into his mouth. The meatball grew more fragrant the more he chewed, and the stifled feeling in his heart unknowingly dissipated by more than half.
The other soldiers buried their heads and ate hard.
One sighed while eating: “Compared to the Pei Family Army, what we eat in the barracks normally is like pig food.”
Someone immediately agreed sympathetically: “The cooks in our barracks can’t cook at all; as long as it’s cooked, that’s good. How can it compare to the Pei Family Army.”
In Pei Family Village’s kitchen, almost all the cooks were women. The women were clean, meticulous, and skilled in cooking, so even the big pot rice was delicious. When opening a small stove, it was even more delectable.
There was an even more important point. Normally in the barracks, they couldn’t come into contact with proper women. Now at a glance, there were women with smiling faces. Some were pretty, some fair and dignified, some charming… The soldiers ate while swallowing saliva.
After a few years in the barracks, even a sow would outshine Diaochan. Not to mention, there were quite a few beauties among the cooks in front of them. It was said some were truly Pei Family Womenfolk.
No wonder the Beiping Army soldiers were willing to marry into the family. If a woman took a liking to them, they would actually be very willing…
Yang Huai coughed heavily.
All soldiers reluctantly withdrew their gazes and buried their heads in eating.
After the meal, Pei Yan led the crowd to stroll around the village.
The more Yang Huai looked, the more shocked he was, and he couldn’t help asking: “There are many more people in Pei Family Village than before, and the storerooms have increased too.”
Pei Yan grinned smugly: “When was the last time you came? It was all a year ago. In this year, the refugees who sought refuge in Pei Family Village are countless. Several more storerooms were built to stockpile grain. Our military rations are enough for the whole village to eat for a year.”
Yang Huai was startled and looked at Pei Yan: “This is all grain sent by the Shi Family?”
Pei Qinghe had instructed to treat them as honored guests, which also meant there was no need to conceal and they could show the Pei Family Army’s true strength.
Pei Yan said with self-satisfaction: “The Shi Family has been buying military rations for our Pei Family Army. Also this year’s spring plowing, Pei Family Village had a bountiful harvest and collected quite a lot of grain.”
“Right, how is the Guangning Army? Could it be short of military rations?”
Yang Huai felt somewhat stifled: “Not short for now, but only one month’s stock left.”
How could this compare to the Pei Family Army?
The Guangning Army didn’t have a big grain merchant like the Shi Family fully supporting it, nor did it have its own fields for farming. The current military rations were all donated by the magnates. Once eaten up, they’d have to rob grain everywhere again.
Without a stable source of military rations, this was General Yang’s biggest headache. Gold and silver were easy to rob, but robbed gold and silver couldn’t turn into grain.
No wonder the Fanyang Army wanted to rob the Pei Family Army’s territory. With the Pei Family Army living such good days, who wouldn’t be envious!
The storeroom door ahead was open; the shrewd and capable Steward Shi was counting gold and silver while working an abacus. Dong Dalang and his brother, along with Zhou Shi and others, moved wooden crates in an orderly manner under Steward Shi’s command.
Yang Huai’s gaze fell on Shi Yan’s face. Shi Yan stole a moment from his busyness and nodded to Young General Yang.
The bit of jealousy and unwillingness in Yang Huai’s heart quietly faded.
If it were him as Sixth Sister Pei, he would value Steward Shi just the same.
