Li Wannian's stamina was much better now than before, and after drinking the ginseng soup this time, his energy was overflowing.
The Female Military Leader, who lived next door, also felt agitated and hot.
“You scoundrel, how shameless!”
The Female Military Leader cursed in a low voice next door, but she had to admit that the sounds indeed made her muscles and meridians feel alive. Perhaps by just listening to the sounds for one night, she would be able to get out of bed.
However, the sounds only lasted until the latter half of the night before stopping. The Female Military Leader suddenly felt an emptiness in her heart, and after waiting for a long time, there was still no movement.
Li Wannian hadn't fallen asleep yet. Instead, he saw that the Family Register within him had changed again, with the names of new spouses appearing in the Family Register.
Patriarch: Li Wannian
Combat Power: 4 (Equivalent to the combat power of four adults)
Spouses: Lin Wanxian, Lin Wanyan, Lin Wanqing
Talent: Twenty-Zhang Treasure Seeking
Estimated Lifespan: Sixty
Offspring: None
He saw that this change seemed less significant than the previous two; his lifespan only increased by one year. Following this trend, the next spouse might provide less than a year of additional lifespan, and there would likely be no improvement to his talent.
He guessed that perhaps it was because these three women came from the same family bloodline, leading to a diminishing return in the improvements they brought him. However, it was good that both his lifespan and combat power had increased somewhat.
The combat power of three adults was already very impressive. One adult could easily lift 100 jin of heavy objects, while the combat power of three adults was enough to easily lift 300 jin of heavy objects. On the battlefield, with one slash from him, virtually no one could stop him.
Feeling the urge to urinate, he walked outside to relieve himself.
“Splat!”
A powerful stream of waste shot out, and it was all done in less than a minute. Thinking about how he had dripped in the wind for ten minutes a while ago, he couldn't help but sigh, “It’s good to be young!”
Entering the house, he looked at the Female Military Leader's room and felt that he still had the strength for another round, but after thinking about the consequences, he decided not to go in. The three Lin women were enough for him for now.
......
He slept until dawn. He got up and quickly went to the washbasin to observe his condition. His complexion was indeed a bit better, but not as much as the previous times. He still looked like he was in his forties, but at least he wasn't a decrepit old man anymore.
There were only about ten days left until he had to report to the County City, so he had to speed up the process of continuing the family line. He guessed that once he had offspring, he might receive even greater rewards.
Therefore, these next ten days must yield results with the three women, otherwise, he didn't know when he would be able to return home next time!
“Wanxian, I'm about to join the army. Please help me stir-fry more dried millet these next few days so I can eat it in the military camp!”
Li Wannian knew that soldiers here had to bring their own dry rations. Of course, the military camp would also provide some military food, but the quantity was limited and the quality was also limited. Most of the rations had to be self-provided.
“Okay, is twenty jin enough?”
“That's enough!”
Li Wannian knew that stir-frying too much would be troublesome to carry, and such a large amount of food would easily attract attention. If it wasn't enough to eat, the military camp would also add a meal daily, and he could also buy some with his money, which would be enough to keep him from starving.
But before he left, he still had to leave some silver for his family and buy some millet so his wives wouldn't go hungry.
In the morning, he carried a basket on his back and went to Ping'an County City, planning to buy some more things. Firewood, rice, oil, and salt, everything cost money. For example, the mountain where he collected ginseng also had an owner, but no one was guarding it, otherwise, he wouldn't even have the chance to collect ginseng.
As soon as he reached the village entrance, he saw a group of people dressed in official uniforms and military uniforms arrive. Village Chief Li Zhiming was waiting at the village entrance to greet them.
These people were driving donkeys, and several people were lying on the donkey carts. He knew all these people; they were all from Li Family Village, mostly his descendants, and they had all gone to be soldiers. They had left the village standing, but returned lying down and lifeless.
“My husband!”
“Father!”
The peasant women and children whose family members had died cried bitterly while holding the bodies. After all, these were the pillars of their families, and now that they were dead, it meant these families were ruined.
The soldiers didn't care that these women and children of Li Family Village were crying so sadly: “The bodies have been brought back. This is your compensation, five dou of grain per person!”
After speaking, these soldiers were about to turn and leave, because there were many more donkey carts behind them, all carrying dead people. Clearly, intense fighting had occurred at the border, resulting in many casualties. Combined with the white-robed female general at home, he felt that the situation might be even more complicated than imagined.
However, he didn't need to worry for now. The first two or three months would mainly be military training, and by then, the fighting would probably be over.
“Military Inspector, sir, wasn't it ten dou of grain and some silver?”
Li Zhiming saw the tragic state of the families whose clan members had died in battle and wanted to ask for more, but this sentence directly ignited the soldiers' anger:
“Slap~”
The soldier directly whipped Li Zhiming's shoulder with a donkey whip, making Li Zhiming grimace in pain.
“Damn it, I dragged your corpses back from the front line, don't I deserve a hard-work fee?!”
Li Zhiming nodded repeatedly: “The Military Inspector is right, he is right!”
Seeing Li Zhiming's appearance, Li Wannian also felt a surge of emotion. In this world, the poor always make things difficult for the poor. The soldier's family background was probably ordinary too, but he showed no mercy when dealing with people of his own class.
Li Wannian could only shake his head until these soldiers left.
“Xiao Ming, are you alright?”
Li Wannian saw Li Zhiming frowning in pain and stepped forward to show concern.
“I'm fine, I have thick skin. It's just tough for these few families! Alas! When will this war end?”
Li Zhiming was very helpless.
“Who knows!”
“Where are you going?”
“To the County City, to buy some things. After all, I'm about to enlist, so I need to make some preparations!”
“I suggest it's best to go and get a handy weapon yourself. The weapons provided by the army aren't good!”
“Okay, Xiao Ming!”
“In the village, please address me by my official title!”
“Okay, little official!”
Li Wannian patted Li Zhiming's shoulder, then headed towards the County City, the sounds of crying from behind him carrying far away.
The city was only about ten li away, and with his current foot speed, though not as light as a swallow, he could certainly be described as walking as fast as flying. With the strength of four adults, walking was no problem for him.
Upon reaching the County City gate, the number of soldiers at the gate and on the city walls was much higher than half a month ago. It seemed that the war situation at the front was not good, causing widespread alarm in the rear as well.
According to his understanding, this place was less than fifty li from another city on the border, which was about a day's journey.
After inspection, upon entering the city, he found that the population here was even larger than before. He walked onto the main street, and his vision could see the shame of everyone and the glow in their arms. One woman walked towards him, and the glow on her chest made him stare intently.
“You pervert, what are you looking at?”
The woman felt Li Wannian's burning gaze and immediately covered her chest, cursing.
Li Wannian didn't explain. He just saw two large silver ingots on the woman's chest. One who didn't know might think her breasts were large, but in reality, it was the silver ingots that were large!
He walked straight ahead and soon arrived in front of a pleasure house. Some heavily made-up women kept waving at passing men.
“Sir, won't you come in and sit down? Sir.....”
The women worked hard to flirt, but most people walked away without looking back. After all, the consumption here was too high!
“How pitiful. I really want to help them!”
He was very curious if spending some money there would increase his lifespan, combat power, and even his talent.