She held two skewers of roast venison, the fat still sizzling.
"My lord, try these. These two skewers are from the tenderest cuts. They're sure to taste the best."
Zhao Chi smiled and took them.
He bit off a piece.
It was hot and fragrant.
The meat was tender, with a natural hint of sweetness.
But it also had a peculiar gamey smell.
Zhao Chi wasn't quite used to the taste.
Still, he wasn't a picky eater. He could swallow even the worst food.
Besides, Gu Qing had roasted this herself.
"How is it, my lord?"
"It's delicious. You're a good cook."
Gu Qing giggled. "You flatter me. All I did was sprinkle on some salt and turn them over. If you like them, I'll roast more for you in the future."
With that, she brought over several more skewers.
The roast meat tasted decent enough.
But none of the women ate very much.
They ate far less than they had at noon.
He had originally thought they would finish most of the remaining deer.
Unexpectedly, half was still left.
There was enough for at least another meal.
Zhao Chi specifically asked Tang Ruan, "Tang Ruan, you've only eaten five skewers of venison. Are you really full?"
Tang Ruan said, "Yes, I'm really full."
He looked at her belly again.
It was still smooth and flat.
It hadn't bulged at all the way it had at noon.
"Are you really full? Or are you too embarrassed to eat more? Or aren't you used to the taste? We have plenty of rice, so we can still make porridge. Don't let yourself go hungry."
Tang Ruan smiled. "I'm really full. Why would I let myself go hungry? Look, the others ate about as much as I did."
The other women nodded too.
"My lord, we really are full."
"Yes. At noon, we all had a negative status from being newly spawned, so we could eat a lot. Our appetites aren't actually that big."
"That's right, my lord. Don't worry about us. Have a couple more skewers yourself."
Gu Qing brought over two more skewers.
This time, Zhao Chi waved them away too. "No more. I've already eaten fifteen skewers. I'm stuffed. You can feed the leftovers to the dogs, or give some to the goblins."
Gu Qing nodded. "My lord, you should feed the two dogs. Their wild instincts have been suppressed, and they're both quite docile now."
Some of the meat on the deer wasn't fit for people to eat.
But it was fine for the two village dogs.
There was no need to cook it, either.
The two village dogs had long since grown impatient.
As soon as Zhao Chi approached, they began whining, their tongues constantly licking their noses.
Zhao Chi tossed them a few pieces, and they swallowed them whole without even chewing.
Then they raised their heads and looked at Zhao Chi expectantly.
Zhao Chi said, "You're my dogs from now on. You'll have to learn to guard the place, hunt, and track. Understand?"
The two dogs just stared at the meat in Zhao Chi's hand.
Their tails were wagging furiously.
Zhao Chi simply divided the remaining meat into two piles and tossed it all over.
The two dogs plunged headfirst into the meat and began gobbling it down with noisy snorts.
They were both black. Though they were called village dogs, they actually looked a little like German shepherds.
They were medium-sized dogs.
One was male and the other female. He wondered whether they could have puppies.
Zhao Chi tapped their stat screens a few times, but nothing happened. Apparently, he couldn't change their attributes.
The goblins were all tied to the surrounding trees.
As they smelled the meat, their drool pooled on the ground.
Gu Qing brought the goblins the skewers that had been burned or otherwise ruined during roasting.
The goblins scrambled to grab them.
They even attacked one another.
"All of you, stop!"
At Gu Qing's sharp shout, the goblins shuddered and stopped in unison.
None of them dared move again.
"Three skewers each, and no grabbing! Tomorrow, your food will be allocated according to how well you work. Fail to meet your quota, and you can go hungry!"
The resentment in the goblins' eyes was plain to see.
But not one of them dared say a word.
They all obediently ate the skewers in their hands, with no complaints about the quality of the meat.
Three skewers each only left them half full. They were still very hungry.
Keeping them hungry was necessary.
Using hunger to control slaves was a common method.
Zhao Chi was very satisfied with Gu Qing's performance.
Gu Qing was a born hero.
She had far more basic knowledge than Tang Ruan and the others.
Having her around really took a load off his mind.
Gu Qing was fierce with the goblins, but as soon as she turned around, her expression softened again for Zhao Chi.
Zhao Chi couldn't help praising her. "Impressive. With you here, I feel like I don't have to do anything. Otherwise, all this work would fall to me."
Hearing his approval, Gu Qing happily moved closer.
She said softly, "My lord, I don't know your personality very well yet, but I'll do my best to assist you. There's something I'd like you to answer honestly."
A question?
Zhao Chi looked at Gu Qing. "All right, ask away."
"How did I do today? Did you feel that I stole your spotlight? Or challenged your authority?"
"Huh?"
Chapter 27: Physical Condition
Zhao Chi was surprised.
He hadn't expected Gu Qing to ask a question like that.
Strictly speaking, Gu Qing had indeed overstepped a little.
For example, at the very beginning, Zhao Chi had told her to wait in the Lord's House until he returned.
Instead, Gu Qing had taken the women straight to the river to bathe.
Strictly speaking, that was disobeying an order.
During the battle, she hadn't stayed behind Zhao Chi the whole time, either.
Instead, she had led the women in a swift charge and routed the goblins.
Although Zhao Chi had told them to fight without holding back, Gu Qing had still taken the initiative to command the women to attack.
Then there was her taming of the village dogs and disciplining of the goblin captives.
That would make both the dogs and the goblins fear Gu Qing. If she rebelled, they might obey her and rebel alongside her.
Although Gu Qing was beautiful.
All of this was standard textbook knowledge.
Guarding against betrayal by subordinates was a required subject for every lord.
People's hearts were hard to fathom.
The hearts of a lord's subjects and subordinate heroes were just as hard to fathom.
Still, Zhao Chi didn't mind.
Although Gu Qing had acted on her own initiative in some matters, the results had all exceeded Zhao Chi's expectations.
Gu Qing had handled every task better than Zhao Chi had anticipated.
Constant vigilance and suspicion might be safer, but they could also hurt people.
Gu Qing's performance was beyond reproach.
There was no need to blow things out of proportion.
Before you continue