Chapter 152: Questioning
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran was domineering and even a little childish. However, he was able to quickly gain the morale of the army. Other than his ability and personal charm, the most important thing was that he unconditionally accepted the veterans and injured soldiers that were eliminated from the various battalions.
Some of these soldiers nearly forgot where their hometown was. Many of them didn’t have the courage to return to their hometowns, let alone those injured soldiers. If the troops were willing to let them stay, it was a way out for them. They were naturally extremely grateful to Qi Haoran, who accepted them unconditionally. Before Qi Haoran came, those injured soldiers didn’t receive such treatment. Most of them were sent home after their wounds healed.
These soldiers could do what they could in the 5th Division, but there were too many injured and disabled soldiers. Now that the 5th Division’s kitchen had to be tended to by the disabled soldiers, they could not go into the mountains to hunt or train on the drill ground. Those who lacked arms or legs could only hand over bricks when building houses. However, they would be more or less despised by others in the military camp. This was especially true of the new recruits, who had yet to develop sympathy with one of its kind. They simply felt that these people would snatch food from them and loathed them from the bottom of their hearts.
Mu Yangling’s suggestion to let these people farm would only make them feel that they were still very useful and not freeloading. When the other soldiers in the military camp saw that they were working for Qi Haoran, they would also restrain themselves.
Fan Zijin did not have any extra feelings for those disabled soldiers. Other than his mother, Qi Haoran, and cousin, to him there were only two types of people—the useful and the useless.
However, since Qi Haoran had such determination, although he did not agree, he would try his best to help him achieve it.
Mu Yangling pulled the plow to and fro twice. Seeing that Qi Haoran was a little down, she put the rope on his shoulder and said, “You do it. I’ll go plant the seeds.”
Only then did Qi Haoran snap out of those feelings and pull the plow forward forcefully. Zhuang Dawei, who was holding the plow behind, shouted, “Stop! Stop!”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he looked back. Seeing that the gully was curved and sometimes shallow and sometimes deep, he said with a bitter expression, “Little General, you’re walking too fast. Look, the ground you plowed is curved.”
Qi Haoran turned around and saw that it was indeed so. He said in confusion, “That’s how Mu Yangling did it.”
“Miss Mu moves at a uniform speed. Also, she walks straight and has great strength. I just needed to press down. How is that the same as what you did?”
Fan Zijin narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, “Pulling a plow requires technique and ordinary people can’t do it? Then, does supporting the plow require technique?”
Zhuang Dawei replied with a smile, “Of course. There’s more to supporting the plow than pulling the plow. I’m afraid you young masters will have to put in a lot of effort to learn it.”
“How long did it take you to learn how to plow?”
Zhuang Dawei scratched his head innocently. “I’ve been helping my father hold the plow ever since I could remember. I mastered it at the age of 12. It’s hard to say how many years it took me to master it. However, farmers all know how to do such work. Little General, just walk according to the line plowed by Miss Mu and walk forward at a slower speed.”
Fan Zijin gave Qi Haoran a look. Qi Haoran successfully interpreted it and asked casually as he pulled forward, “Then who pulled the plow in your fields back at home?”
“My cousin and I took turns.”
“You don’t have oxen at home?” Fan Zijin asked in confusion.
Zhuang Dawei smiled. “Other than the rich, very few people in the village can afford oxen. In our village, only the village chief’s family has one. Everyone else pulls a plow.”
Fan Zijin said, “That’s indeed quite tough. Haven’t you thought of doing something else to change the current situation? For example, doing business.”
“What business can we do when the mountains and roads there are dangerous? We don’t have the capital.”
Fan Zijin said, “I heard that the red jujube in Baoshan County is very famous. You can plant some red jujube and transport them to Baoshan County to sell. You shouldn’t have a problem finding customers there.”
Zhuang Dawei shook his head. “The road from our village to Baoshan County is even harder to navigate than the road to Mingshui County.”
Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran looked at each other and feigned a casual tone. “It’s a long walk from your village to Mingshui County. What about Baoshan County? Are there no other villages on the way?”
After a night of rest, Zhuang Dawei had lowered his guard against them. Also, Qi Haoran had indeed brought a military doctor to treat his mother last night, whose diagnosis was similar to the one they received at Benevolence Hall. The military doctor even prescribed medicine for her. At this moment, he was filled with gratitude. Hence, he answered whatever the two of them asked. By the time Qi Haoran walked for 20 rounds, Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran had roughly grasped the information about that path.
Qi Haoran happily threw the rope to Mu Yangling before leaving. “I’ll go back and get some men to help you.”
Qi Haoran ran away like a wisp of smoke. Mu Yangling had just picked up the rope and put it on when he ran back and shouted at Mu Shi, “Mu Shi, return to camp in advance.”
Qi Haoran would only call Mu Shi’s name in the military camp or on missions. Mu Shi could only respond loudly, throw down his things, and chase after him.
Shortly after Mu Shi left, more than ten people came to help. Although they were disabled, they had all farmed before. Other than the fact that they were still getting used to this at the beginning, they slowly got the hang of it.
Mu Yangling was concerned about their disability, so she let everyone rest for 15 minutes every hour. Great-aunt understood Mu Yangling’s concerns, so she didn’t work. Instead, she sat at the edge of the field with the children or went to check the wheat fields.
A few veterans also went to plow the wheat field. Since they were farmers before joining the army, they had special sentiments for the land. Just as they started plowing, someone exclaimed, “The seeds have germinated.”
Mu Yangling jumped up and ran over to take a look. Seeing that the dug wheat had already sprouted tender buds, a smile immediately bloomed on her face. “That’s great. I wonder how the other spots are doing.”
The veteran who had dug up the soil stood up with a smile. “Young lady, since I’m lucky today, I’ll help you dig up another spot.”
“Alright, then let’s go somewhere else.” Mu Yangling led him to dig three spots in a row. The wheat seeds inside had all germinated. This time, the veteran could not hide the smile on his face.
Digging the soil to check the seeds was a matter of luck. It was obvious that he was very lucky to discover germinated seeds three times in a row. He felt that his luck would definitely be super good these days.
Envious of the veteran’s good luck, the other soldiers expressed to Mu Yangling that they wanted to join in the fun in hopes of having some of that good luck rub off on them. Not knowing the significance of this matter, Mu Yangling felt that this was merely something normal. Before her great-aunt could speak, she waved her hand and said, “Go ahead, uncles. Just remember to bury the seeds well after uncovering them.”
“No problem.”
Everyone found a spot to dig. Some dug up wheat seeds at every try, while others only succeeded once every three times. As they dug up many spots, Mu Yangling had a certain understanding of the sprouting situation.
As for the veterans, they had more or less dug up germinated wheat seeds. Feeling lucky for doing so, they were all overjoyed.
Because of this matter, Mu Yangling got along more harmoniously with them. In addition, she was a soldier in her previous life and did not mind their roughness. The veterans weren’t so restrained afterwards. In just two days, they helped Mu Yangling plant corn on all 28 acres of inferior land. Mu Yangling kept the remaining few catties of seeds and planned to see how the planted seeds grew first. If the harvest was found to be lacking, she would make up for it when the time came.