Exquisite Jade Box

Military Camp.

Chen Sanshi familiarized himself with the men under his command.

Starting tomorrow, they would officially begin their "work."

As for the job description.

Wang Zhi wasn't around; he'd disappeared somewhere. Commander Liu, however, came over and meticulously explained everything to Chen Sanshi.

Commander Wang's ninety-odd men were primarily responsible for the "defense" part of the "seven parts farming, three parts defense" mandate.

In the morning, they would undergo collective formation drills in the barracks. Warrior Recruits also needed to participate before their promotion. In the afternoon, they would go to the Great Wall for watch duty, or they might be dispatched to patrol the County Town.

The military colonists spent half the day training and the other half working.

Only the military officers had more freedom.

They could spend most of their time cultivating.

"The signal fire rises, the horn sounds."

Commander Liu pointed to the sky in the north. "If you see black smoke rising, it means the Barbarians are attacking. Everyone needs to assemble immediately. However, in this area, we haven't seen smoke signals in many years."

"Also, do you have a place to stay yet?"

Chen Sanshi nodded. "When I enlisted, the officer in charge told me there were no spare houses."

"There are none for ordinary soldiers, but there are still a few houses for military officers. Come with me."

Commander Liu led the way.

Within the Military Colony, the vast majority of houses were as simple as those in Yanbian Village, mostly mud-brick and tile structures.

However, about two miles west, where the military officers lived, everything changed. They were all independent courtyards made of blue bricks and solid wood, varying in size according to rank.

"This is a house for a Hundred Household Commander, isn't it?"

Stopping before a two-courtyard house, Chen Sanshi said, "It's not appropriate for a mere Squad Leader like me, is it?"

"What's not appropriate about it? Who knows, you might be a Hundred Household Commander yourself before long?"

Commander Liu said, "Besides, it's empty anyway. Lord Thousand Households won't bother, and even if he knew, he'd just turn a blind eye."

"Alright."

Chen Sanshi understood it was a gesture of goodwill and didn't refuse further.

Firstly, running back and forth between the military camp and Yanbian Village every day was troublesome and wasted precious time.

Secondly, their home environment was truly simple. Moving to a better house would also make Lan Jie'er's life more comfortable.

Borrowing a horse-drawn cart used for transporting grain from the military camp, Chen Sanshi returned to Yanbian Village to move.

"Little Stone, you really became an official?!"

"Definitely, look, he's even moving with a horse-drawn cart."

"Once you become an official, you won't care about us anymore!"

"The bald guy might actually be right this time."

"..."

When Chen Sanshi's horse-drawn cart entered the village, the villagers were happy to watch the commotion. But gradually, the smiles on their faces disappeared.

Becoming an official.

It meant they were no longer people of the same kind.

"My uncles and aunties are joking. I'm just a Squad Leader without any rank. What kind of official am I?"

Chen Sanshi didn't know how to respond.

There wasn't much at home, just a few bedding sets and pots and pans. The horse-drawn cart seemed almost excessive.

"This house is quite nice."

Arriving at the new residence, Gu Xinlan was also very happy and busied herself tidying up.

Chen Sanshi didn't rest. After finishing the last two catties of braised bear meat at home, he began practicing his spear technique in the courtyard.

After cultivating Qi and Blood.

The effect of the bear meat was far less than before.

It was equivalent to eating ordinary livestock before cultivating Qi and Blood.

Technique: Basic Soldier Spear Technique (Novice)

Progress: (72/500)

Effect: Fierce spear momentum, astonishing stamina.

He only gained twenty points of progress in the entire afternoon.

"It seems I still need to buy things like Bear Heart for significant replenishment."

"And the medicinal soup!"

As an Officer, Chen Sanshi could receive a bowl of Blood Replenishing Soup every three days. He wondered how effective it would be.

He looked up at the sky, realizing it was already dusk.

At this hour, the pharmacy staff should be done boiling medicine.

Since he had nothing else to do, he sat there and flipped through a book for a while.

It was still the same book from Great Sheng.

When he read about the current emperor's great-grandfather, it mentioned that he loved designing things and had invented many ingenious devices. One of them was a wooden box specifically used for transmitting information, called the Exquisite Jade Box.

This box had a built-in mechanism and could only be opened by a specific Jade Key. Otherwise, it would burn from the inside out, destroying the information.

However, it was lost after the emperor's death.

"Isn't this the box in my hand?"

Chen Sanshi was glad he hadn't tried to force it open, or he would have truly lost a treasure.

Skill: Reading (Minor Accomplishment) Progress: (51/800) Effects: Seven Orifices Exquisite, Spirit Revitalized, Eidetic Memory

The next day.

Chen Sanshi finally didn't have to rush, and after breakfast, he strolled to the military camp. He practiced archery for a while, then practiced spear fighting for a while.

Estimating that the time was about right, he went to find Xu Bin.

It was fate, as Xu Bin was also under Wang Zhi's command. However, after searching for a long time, he couldn't find him and had to ask other officers for directions.

"Old Xu? Yesterday afternoon, I saw Commander Wang beat him up, and then I haven't seen him since."

"Commander Wang?"

Chen Sanshi was stunned.

He realized.

The reason Commander Wang had chosen Xu Bin during yesterday's competition was likely because he wanted him to go easy.

"There's no need for that."

Chen Sanshi was a bit speechless.

If he had gone easy, it wouldn't have benefited either of them.

He asked for Xu Bin's address and then went to find him.

"Binzi, you're being foolish!"

Old Xu came from the county town today to bring a hen to his pregnant daughter-in-law. As soon as he entered, he saw a huge slap mark on his son's face.

Normally, Xu Bin would go to the military camp to practice early in the morning, but it was almost noon and he hadn't moved.

He knew immediately that something had happened.

After repeated questioning, he finally learned the whole story.

"Little Stone is our fellow villager. If he makes a name for himself in the future, it will only benefit you!

How could you try to kill him? You deserve to be beaten, you deserve to be beaten!"

Xu Bin lowered his head, not saying a word.

In fact, ever since he was chosen for the assessment, it had been a difficult task.

If he had gone easy, wouldn't Lord Thousand Households have seen through it?

If he didn't go easy, he would offend Commander Wang.

The only good outcome was to be taken seriously by Lord Thousand Households.

As expected, he ended up with the worst outcome.

Afterward, Wang Zhi casually found an excuse to slap him and said he had to pay twenty taels of silver, or he would be beaten every time he saw him.

His military pay was all used for martial arts practice, and with his daily expenses, there was nothing left. Where would he get twenty taels of silver?

"Go find Little Stone."

Old Xu urged him, "Quickly, apologize to Little Stone and have him sort this out for you!"

"Dad, it's no use."

Xu Bin had no face to do so.

During the competition, he had fought with all his might.

Swords and sabers have no eyes; it was possible that blood could have been drawn.

It would be good enough if the other party didn't make things difficult for him in the future, so how could he possibly speak up for him?

"Bang bang bang—"

The sound of knocking interrupted the father and son's conversation.

Immediately after, a warm and gentle voice rang out.

"Is Brother Bin home? It's me, Chen Sanshi."