A man with missing ears who was in He Zhou's army took off his coat and was only wearing a military uniform. He rounded the ax in his hand and struck the tree trunk, splattering a cloud of sawdust.
The ax was a logging ax purchased by Gongsun Yan at the trader. It was about three feet long, with a hickory wood handle that felt good to hold and an excellent steel mouth.
It's a pity that such a good weapon is used for felling trees.
The man with the missing ear thought with some regret, while twisting his waist and swinging his arm, he hit the tree trunk with a fierce blow.
If such an ax hits a person, it will definitely add another stroke to his military record.
They were implicated and beaten the day before yesterday, and they had another busy day yesterday, but everyone's morale was very high, and they no longer felt the reluctance of the first day.
The army has already issued orders to complete the tasks of making kangs and burning charcoal, and now there are fresh and curled noodles to eat like those in deserted villages at night.
After He Zhou kicked the door angrily that day, Gongsun Yan and Zhao Yun had a discussion while cooking noodles in the kitchen.
Gongsun Yan found that when designing the plan, he still misjudged the psychological condition of soldiers in this era.
In her era, the appearance of green military uniforms was almost equivalent to a sense of security, but this era is completely the opposite.
Neither party is so happy with the point-to-point poverty alleviation plan that Gongsun Yan takes for granted.
After discussing with Zhao Yun, she made timely adjustments to make up for it, and it was better to induce him with benefits.
So Gongsun Yan bought some instant noodles and announced that after completing the mission, he would reward the entire army.
When this news comes out, if the morale of soldiers can be visualized, they can immediately see that the morale value has at least doubled.
It's not that Gongsun Yan is willing to be a shady boss and use cheap instant noodles to fool him. It's still freezing outside, so she can't come up with anything too outrageous.
Moreover, instant noodles are only looked down upon by modern people, but they were actually very tempting to the ancients.
Seeing that the snow was about to stop, they were about to set off again. The Art of War said: The reward cannot last longer than the day.
The reward was chosen for tonight's dinner.
"Uncle, drink some water." A boy with a blue birthmark the size of a copper coin on his right forehead stood on his feet, raised the pottery bowl in his hand high, and held the water in front of the man with the missing ear.
Also after the Hezhou Incident, Gongsun Yan discovered that although the villagers were too thin to work outside in such snowy weather, if the soldiers were working outside and the villagers sat at home, it would indeed breed dissatisfaction among the soldiers.
So he told Li Kui Jiang Xing to pick a few smart people from the villagers to pour water and help deliver tools and do chores.
Jiang Xing, being a very old man, quickly understood what Gongsun Yan meant and picked a few clever boys from the villagers to do this job.
The boy who was selected was wearing layers of Gebu clothes that his family members had taken off, and he was carrying a water jug to pour water for the soldiers who were cutting wood and chopping firewood.
I didn't dare to do this before, but yesterday the kang tray was installed, and everyone in Yangqiu enjoyed a warm night without waking up from the cold in the middle of the night, or being afraid of freezing to death and being unable to wake up again.
As long as there is enough firewood at home, even if your clothes are thin, you won't have to worry about freezing to death while sitting on the kang bed.
So I gave all my clothes to the children who needed to move around.
The man with the missing ear wiped the hot sweat from his forehead and took the water from the boy.
He was wearing warm clothes and trousers issued by the army and thick-soled high-top boots. He was sweating hot after all the hard work.
He glanced at the boy, who was not much older. He was wearing a pair of clothes, and on his feet was a pair of big, wide, baggy Gebu shoes. He didn't know which of the adults in the family had shoes.
In the cold wind in the mountains, the boy blew his nose hard, rubbed his arms, and carried the clay pot filled with water to pour water for the next soldier.
"Hey!" The man with missing ears hesitated for a moment, then took off his coat hanging on a branch and threw it to the boy.
"I'll lend you something to wear first, and I'll give it back to you as soon as you get down the mountain!" The man with the missing ear explained to the stunned boy, "Don't break it! I won't let you go if I break it!"
The thick and heavy coat has not been washed for many days, so you can imagine the smell.
But the boy held it in both hands but did not dare to put it on his body.
"It's okay, just wear it!" The one who spoke was Ding Li, who was dressed like the man with the missing ear. He put a coat on the bewildered boy, pulled up the skirt, and taught him to button it up.
"Don't break it!" Official Ding patted the boy on the back of the head and emphasized again: "Remember to come back when you go down the mountain!"
The boy touched the clothes on his body with bright eyes, "Master Jun, can you wear such good clothes as long as you join the army?"
He had never experienced such a feeling of being protected from the cold wind and being wrapped in warmth, giving him a faint sense of security.
Official Ding smiled, continued to lift the ax, and struck a big tree that had fallen down.
While saying: "How is it possible? Only the soldiers under our Lady Gongsun and Captain Zhao can have such good clothes!"
Lady Gongsun, Captain Zhao...
The boy whispered silently, "Remember it! I want to join the army when I grow up."
The boy's innocent words made the official Ding and the man with the missing ear laugh at the same time.
How can anyone's ambition be to join the army and become a bad soldier?
The atmosphere on the logging hill became much more harmonious for a while.
On the other side of the hill, Xia Houlan was applying the last handful of wet mud to a small tomb-like charcoal kiln.
The chopped wood pieces are simmered and carbonized in this small closed charcoal kiln, and finally the impurities are burned away, turning them into pieces of black charcoal.
Looking around, there are hundreds of such small charcoal kilns on the northern hillside.
"This lady Gongsun is really generous." Xia Houlan exhaled and said to Zhao Yun beside him.
The first batch of charcoal from the experiment the day before yesterday has come out of the furnace and is piled neatly on the ground.
The quality is inferior to that of charcoal made by aristocratic charcoal craftsmen, but this low-cost method of making charcoal, whether for personal use or for sale, has undoubtedly given the people of Yangqiu a way to survive.
Zhao Yun rubbed his hands, and the dry mud fell down. He looked at the charcoal kiln from a distance, with a smile on his face: "That's it."
Xia Houlan raised her eyebrows when she saw his expression and said nothing.
He squatted down and asked the little girl holding a pitcher to pour water for him to clean his hands.
This little girl was the one who kicked the door and was pushed out by his parents.
At this time, she was wearing her father's wide cloth shoes, and she obediently poured water for Xia Houlan to wash her hands.
Li Kui Jiang Xing also heard about the incident. After thinking for a while, he added the girl to the group of people who came to the mountain to deliver water and do odd jobs.
This girl will be ready to marry in another year. If she can be taken away by the officers and soldiers in this team, she can't even think about becoming a wife or concubine. Even if she is a guest girl, the maid will be better than a maid.
It's strong in this ravine.
Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan both knew Li Kui Jiang Xing's move.
But they didn't have that intention.
People are divided into groups, and Zhao Yun, Xia Houlan and others are not such unscrupulous lechers.
So both of them couldn't laugh or cry about Li Kui's little thoughts.
But he also arranged to take care of her to avoid being bullied by the military gangsters. Once they got off the mountain, they had to return the little girl to her parents in one piece.
The girl also wore a coat. She poured water carefully and peeked at Zhao Yun from time to time.
The figure of the man in military uniform is very tall, with his hands and feet raised like a mountain, solid and steady.
The girl couldn't help but lowered her head and touched her face. When she got up in the morning, she washed her face well and combed her hair neatly.
If, like Grandpa Jiang said, the officers and soldiers can take a fancy to her and take her away...
The girl looked up at Zhao Yun, then lowered her head, with a hint of blush on her face.