In the Blink of an Eye

The rich, tender pork knuckle was wrapped in freshly grilled flatbread. To cut through the greasiness, chopped chili sauce made with green peppers and garlic was added. Just looking at it made one's mouth water.

Chen Mo took a bite. The slightly soupy pork knuckle oozed its juices, slowly dripping onto his hands, making his fingers a little sticky.

Having a home certainly had its benefits. Chen Mo was off duty today and didn't have to spend money at small eateries. Having Zhao Yu help cook the meat at home undoubtedly cost much less than before.

Previously, he could only go to restaurants, and restaurants were in business to make money. Now, cooking the same dishes at home allowed him to eat more meat for the same cost.

"Eat slower, there's more in the pot," Zhao Yu said with a smile, bringing over a small basin full of braised pork ribs.

As for the pot, there were still two large chunks of stewed mutton.

Chen Mo devoured the food on the table like a whirlwind, clearing about eighty percent of it. Even the gnawed bones piled up into a small mound on the table.

Zhao Yu didn't eat much, but her complexion had improved considerably during this period. She was still very thin, but her face had finally become rosy.

"Do you still have money on you? Can you lend me some?" Seeing Chen Mo finish his meal, she mustered her courage and asked somewhat shyly.

"What, did you run out of the money I gave you before?" Chen Mo asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"No, I want to set up a stall in town to sell some food. My cooking skills are decent, and I should be able to earn some silver, but I'm still short on starting capital," she explained her idea.

If she just stayed at home, doing nothing and eating for free, it would inevitably become tiresome.

Finding something to do, even if it was hard and tiring, would at least provide an income and allow her to support herself.

"How much more do you need?" Chen Mo asked with a serious tone, wiping his hands with a damp towel and taking out his money pouch from his embrace.

He did have quite a bit of money on him now, but he hadn't brought it all.

"About one tael and two mace should be enough," Zhao Yu stated a precise amount, indicating she had carefully considered this matter beforehand and it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Alright." Chen Mo counted out one tael and five mace of silver and handed it to her.

"Even small businesses need more capital. Consider this my investment in your venture," he said with a smile as he passed the money over.

Chen Mo truly acknowledged that Zhao Yu's cooking skills were excellent. While perhaps not comparable to the master chefs in the big restaurants in the city, her dishes were certainly much better than those in the many small eateries in town.

If she were to sell food, even if she didn't make a fortune, she certainly wouldn't lose money.

"Thank you," Zhao Yu said with a gentle smile.

She knew Chen Mo was looking out for her. Borrowed money had to be repaid, but an investment in a business didn't require repayment even if it failed.

Even for the sake of his trust, she had to do a good job.

Chen Mo ate two meals at home and returned to the military camp before the curfew.

Chen Mo had now been assigned to a squad like the other new recruits. He took orders from Mo Dao and was responsible for patrols and security within the camp.

This was a relatively easy job because there were many people responsible for patrols, and it was only his turn to patrol for about an hour each day.

This gave him more time for further training. Since he had to take the military examination, he needed to study literacy, military books, and strategy. Not only did he need to read them, but he also needed to be able to write and adapt his knowledge to different situations.

Fortunately, the military examination only tested strategy, requiring candidates to provide relatively reasonable solutions to problems, unlike the civil service examination which required specific approaches to breaking down and analyzing topics.

Otherwise, even with three more years of study, Chen Mo might not have passed the military examination.

He also needed to practice and learn archery, mounted archery, and spear techniques.

The Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist was also steadily improving, but even with Chen Mo's aptitude, breaking through from the third to the fourth level was not easy.

By his estimation, it would take at least two to three months.

In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed.

Chen Mo galloped his horse across the military training grounds, repeatedly trying to tame the horse beneath him.

There were twenty to thirty horses in the stables, and he could ride any of them except this one, which was wild and untamed.

Currently, it obeyed no one except General Sun. He had tried to tame this horse several times, but each attempt had ended in failure.

General Sun had declared that whoever could tame this horse would be gifted it.

Others had also tried, but currently, Chen Mo was the only one still attempting it.

He wasn't very skilled at taming horses, but he possessed great strength and endurance far beyond that of ordinary people. As long as he could wear down the horse's spirit, he would eventually be able to ride it.

"Thirteenth Brother!" a clear shout echoed from a distance. Chen Mo looked up and saw Mo Hu waving at him from afar.

He immediately stopped trying to tame the horse and found an opportunity to dismount.

"What's up, Fifth Brother?" Chen Mo walked over to him and asked with a smile.

"I met your sister-in-law in town. She said now that the weather is getting warmer, she made two sets of light clothing for you and asked me to deliver them," Mo Hu said, tossing a package over.

Inside were two new cotton robes. The stitching alone indicated that the person who made them had put a lot of effort into it.

Chen Mo was slightly surprised. These two cotton robes were not cheap, costing at least five to six mace of silver.

However, his expression remained calm, as it wasn't a big deal for his wife to make clothes for him.

"I must say, you're a lucky fellow to have such a good wife," he said, his tone carrying a hint of envy.

Chen Mo was his Thirteenth Brother, but he was already married, while Mo Hu was still single!

"Ask Father for leave later and go back to your hometown. Or, if you prefer, Father can help you find someone in Xingyuan Prefecture," Chen Mo suggested with a smile.

Given Mo Hu's status, finding a wife would not be difficult. Even if he couldn't marry a daughter from a noble family, marrying a daughter from an ordinary wealthy family would be no problem at all.

"Let me pass the military examination first," Mo Hu said with a confident smile. He was taking the exam this year and clearly felt he had a high chance of passing.

At that point, the kind of girls he could find would be completely different from now.

"Fifth Brother, Thirteenth Brother, the General needs you for something. He wants you to go see him immediately," a personal guard reported hurriedly.

Chen Mo was General Sun's thirteenth adopted son. The other new recruits addressed him as Thirteenth Brother, just as they did Mo Hu.

"What happened?" Mo Hu asked urgently. The personal guard shook his head, knowing nothing about it.

"Let's go see our foster father first," Chen Mo said, pulling him along.

Normally, their foster father wouldn't summon them without reason. Something must have happened today, and it was likely urgent.

The two hurried to the study, where they found Mo Dao, Zhao Yuncheng, and two of General Sun's nephews also present, awaiting orders.

Chen Mo quietly greeted them. They nodded slightly in response, not saying much.

"You fled here from Qing Province. Did you pass through this area?"

Sun Shouren beckoned Chen Mo over. A map was spread out before him, with a small area already marked.

"I did indeed flee from this region. What's wrong, Foster Father? Did something happen here?" Chen Mo asked after glancing at the map.

At the time, he wasn't sure exactly where he had fled from. But with Qingmu County on the map and the town where he had eaten hot soup noodles as markers, combined with the direction he had fled, he could estimate.

He must have escaped from this area; otherwise, he wouldn't have reached that town.