Chapter 557: War is Cruel!

。The village head called out to Tao Hongying, "Hongying, you've been taking care of Mrs. Cui and Mr. Wen, look through this pile of things and see what's needed at the small cave, pick those out firs...Soldiers were content if they could fill their bellies and occasionally get a bit of excitement.

Such a delicious and visually appealing feast as this, almost everyone has encountered it for the first time.

They were savoring the flavor with gusto, chewing with such relish. When they paused for a moment, they couldn't stop praising it.

"Your sister-in-law is incredible, she's such a talented cook!"

"That's it, that's it! The kitchen master's skill is probably only this level!"

Li Lao Si was extremely proud. “My daughter-in-law’s ancestors were imperial cooks! Do you know the fairy guests in town That's my eldest brother's restaurant, and my daughter-in-law cooked private dishes there, one table every five days. All the reserved customers lined up until after the year!”

Seeing his ostentatious display, everyone couldn't stand it. Since they were brothers who had gone through thick and thin together, there was no need to hold back and they directly started criticizing him.

"How many times have you said this already We've all memorized it!"

“That’s right, that’s right. It's your sister-in-law who’s amazing! What does she have to do with you!”

"Humph, that's right. We appreciate Sister Xie, but not you!" Wei Erniao added with a goofy grin, causing Li Laosi to snatch the chicken leg from his hand and gobble it down in one bite.

Everyone was laughing and joking, the courtyard was as lively as if a pot were about to be opened.

The village head sighed, “When we were young, we were just like these kids. Back then, Old Zhao was the most mischievous. We wanted to beat him up every day! Now look at him, he’s really old!”

"Uncle isn't old at all. Let me tell you, everyone in this village relies on Uncle to take care of things!" Li Lao Er quickly changed the subject and asked about village affairs, "Uncle, we've almost bought all the stone and wood, shouldn't we start building new houses for the young men in the village"

Li Lao'er poured wine for the village head while chatting with him.

The village head nodded and replied, "Uncle, I was looking for you today because there's something I want to discuss. The guests at the Hot Spring Valley come in and out of the village every day, numbering in the hundreds. This is becoming quite inconvenient."

"If any guest has bad intentions, we really can't prevent it. Look, shouldn't we open another road, bypassing our village and going directly to the hot spring valley"

When a boy in our village gets married and builds a new house, we arrange for them to have their gate placed by the road near the archway. That way, whether someone is visiting or causing trouble, they won't go straight to the doorstep. Someone will stop them first, wouldn't that be better

This did remind Li La Er, the road to Onsen Valley passed through the village, indeed there was a risk.

In the village, whatever happens falls into the eyes of outsiders with little privacy and is easily exploited.

Moreover, as each family's son is getting married, the already cramped courtyards become even narrower with the addition of new rooms.

When several generations live together, conflicts and disagreements are inevitable.

If young people are stationed at the crossroads, and another village is built there, they can guard both the crossroads and the melon fields. That's a really good idea.

"As the uncle said, after finishing this meal, let's go for a walk to that intersection and see if there's a suitable place to build a house."

Li Lao'er agreed, which made the village head beam with a smile and nod repeatedly.

Soon, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, and it was time to part ways.

Li Yong also wanted to go to the Wei family for the wedding feast, but on the one hand, he had just arrived home, and on the other hand, his child was still running a low fever and hadn't come down. He couldn't rest assured.

So he asked Hui Niang to bring back two pieces of cloth and a silver ingot as his gift, asking Li Lao Si to deliver it.

The soldiers mounted their horses, and the supplies prepared by the Li family were carefully packed into baskets. Several reliable soldiers carried them on their backs, and then they set off.

Tao Hongying led people to tidy up the tables, chairs and tableware. Li Laer and Li Lao Tai both followed the village head to the archway to check the terrain.

Of course, Jiayin tugged at her godfather's sleeve and skipped next door to whisper.

She had cooked a bowl of prawn congee for most of the morning, and it was also taken away.

There were many people at the banquet, but they didn't eat much.

At this moment, the father and daughter sat under the eaves, chatting idly and sipping porridge leisurely, both feeling content and happy.

"Fu Nier, your second uncle said that you've been learning from Zhang the Divine Physician recently" The Marquis asked.

Jia Yin thought for a moment, about the matter in the palace. She estimated that it wouldn't be possible to hide it from her adoptive father, and she didn't want to keep it from him either. So she said, "Yes, before, I just wanted to follow Grandpa Zhang to learn about medicinal herbs. I wanted to try growing them, especially those used in hemostatic medicine."

"When Grandpa Zhang was free, he taught me many little tricks. Coincidentally, I went to the palace to deliver melons and that Third Princess bullied me. So I poked at her acupoint on the sole of her foot, and she screamed like a pig being slaughtered."

"After I returned, I told my second uncle. My second uncle then advised Grandma to let me learn from Grandpa Zhang. Grandpa Zhang also agreed to teach me well, but he was researching some strange prescriptions and thought I was wasting his time, so he gave me a medical book to memorize..."

Jia Yin was a little dejected, pouting her lips and complaining: "This old man is really not righteous. He has eaten so many good things from our family, and he still wants my second uncle to build him a courtyard, and then complains that teaching the disciples is troublesome!"

The Lord found this amusing, he rubbed her hair and picked the shrimp from his bowl to give her, saying: “Tomorrow, let's go to Xin Du for a day trip. You don't need to worry about Zhang Shen Yi here, your godfather has a way to make him treat you like an ancestor in the future."

"Whatever you want to learn, he'll teach! Even if you don't want to learn, he'll chase after you and beg you to learn!"

"Really" Jia Yin's eyes sparkled, showing off a gap where one of her front teeth was missing, as she giggled and exclaimed, "Father is so amazing!"

"Hurry up and eat. After that, we'll go find some nice clothes and jewelry. Tomorrow, you'll be dressed beautifully to accompany your stepfather into the city. Also, the business at Hou Mansion, have you been neglecting it for far too long Take care of the ledgers, collect the profits, and give me half." A dark shadow appeared in the Marquis's eyes.

He drank up the porridge in his bowl, put it down, and said again, "This time, over five hundred soldiers who went out with me died in battle, two hundred were seriously injured, and over six hundred were lightly injured. The national treasury is empty, and there won't be much money for condolence silver. I want to make up the difference privately."

Jia Yin's heart tightened, and the porridge in her mouth suddenly lost its flavor.

It wasn't that she felt sorry for the silver, but rather that she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness.

Her stepfather and father returned victoriously, and she was overjoyed.

But for victory, many people remained on the land in Jiangbei, or became like Grandpa Zhao and others, broken and incomplete.

War has always been cruel, with nothing beautiful to say about it...

"Father, my uncle's Hundred Gardens was almost destroyed by bad people before. He has been looking for some guards. Among the wounded this time, if there are any suitable ones, please help my uncle choose a few."

"Also, Uncle's fleet sailing south often encountered pirates and needed protection. Uncle also had to buy a courtyard in Quanzhou to manage the family business there, which definitely required manpower."

"It really won't do, we need to keep some more people at Zhengjiazhuang. Within a year or two, I'll have a lot of work that needs help from Zhengjiazhuang. I'll need manpower..."

Jia Yin was speaking in a hurry, wishing she could place all the wounded soldiers immediately. She didn't want these heroes who had bled and sacrificed for their country to cry over their lack of livelihood.

The Lord listened and started to laugh. The heaviness in his heart, fueled by the anxious chatter of the chubby girl, slowly began to dissipate…e shelled beans and pods went flying, showering Old Mrs. Yan with a clatter from the bamboo basket!At this moment, the door was also opened by Hui-niang. Jia Yin staggered and brought a basin of water...