After Fu Zhenhai left, Jin Shanyao and Fu Congzhao continued walking forward, just as they encountered several wounded soldiers.
They were staring intently at the Jin Shanyao when they bumped into each other without noticing. "Ouch..." one of the injured men clutched his arm, wincing in pain and wanting to curse.
Fu Congzhao's face darkened. "What are you looking at? Go back and heal your injuries!"
The soldiers blushed and hurriedly lowered their heads to move forward. "Ouch!" came another cry, as one of the soldiers with an injured leg fell straight forward.
Jin Shanyao out to support him, and a putrid smell filled her nostrils. She frowned. "How long has this leg been injured?"
"Half, half a month..." the soldier stammered.
"Give me a penny."
The soldier had never seen such a beautiful woman before. As if possessed, he took out a coin. Jin Shanyao took it and took out a bottle of medicine from her satchel and handed it to him.
"Take it once a day, and it will get better soon."
The soldier, clutching the medicine bottle, stared blankly as she walked away. It took him a long while to come to his senses, then he turned to his comrade, "Who... who is she?"
His comrade stared at him with a dark look, and answered irrelevantly, "You dared to hide military pay from us? Didn't you say you used it all to buy food?"
"Why waste words with him? Just take the money from me."
The soldier then realized his secret stash of money had been exposed, and clutching his money bag, he shouted, "Let go! This is the money I gave my fiancée to buy her some velvet flowers!"
"You already have a fiancée, don't listen to him, snatch her away..."
Several soldiers with injured arms and legs looted the young soldier... A moment later, the young soldier, disheveled and with a blank stare, sat on the ground holding a bottle of medicine.
It's over... all the military pay he'd saved up for half a year was stolen by these bastards!!!
Jin Shanyao and Fu Congzhao walked around for a while, and on their way back, they saw a group of people pushing and shoving Fu Zhenhai at the entrance of the military camp. "These small yellow croakers may not be many, but they are good for your health... You must take them."
Fu Zhenhai said helplessly, "Sister... you risked your lives to salvage this seafood. Why not take it back, sell it for some money, and buy some food to fill your stomachs?"
The woman cried out anxiously, "They can't be sold, nobody's buying them..."
"Drying fish will do too."
"You dry fish in the dead of winter?" Before she could finish speaking, she was drawn to Jin Shanyao and Fu Congzhao, and quickly straightened her clothes, smiling, "Young General, is this your fiancée?"
Fu Congzhao was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands, "No, no, this is my great-aunt..."
"Grandma?! "Fu Zhenhai turned to his nephew in disbelief. "Wait, you call her Grandma, what am I supposed to call him?!"
Taking advantage of Fu Zhenhai's distraction, several women took off running, shouting as they went, "Don't forget to return the soil basket to us!"
"Sigh..." Fu Zhenhai turned around to stop them, but it was too late.
Jin Shanyao forward, looked at the frozen fish in the earthen basket, and then at Fu Zhenhai...
Fu Zhenhai sighed, " Dengzhou is located by the sea, and the land is mostly saline-alkali, making it unsuitable for cultivation. In ordinary years, we have to rely on grain transported from the inland to make a living."
Fishing in the summer is somewhat better, but the sea conditions are worst in winter, with large waves and hard ice, and three out of ten fishermen never return; in addition, Japanese pirates burn ships and kill people, so countless souls have perished on the sea or frozen in the ice."
He called a soldier to carry the earthen basket into the camp, and together with Jin Shanyao, they walked back. "They're not just bringing fish, they're bringing their own rations."
The group returned to the main hall, Fu Zhenhai sent his personal guard to the general's mansion to deliver a message to Madam Fu, instructing her to prepare some food to send to the people.
He then turned to Jin Shanyao, "This time, besides the soldiers, we are also performing a ritual to help the civilians who were killed by the Japanese pirates..." He paused, then added, "Just tell me what you need me to do."
With Jin Shanyao, she said, "I need to go to the scene myself."
"No problem... Congzhao will be with you during this time. You can contact him anytime if you have any questions."
Fu Zhenhai instructed Fu Congzhao, "It's getting late. Take the master to the General's Mansion to rest."
"No need... Just find me any room in the barracks."
Fu Congzhao immediately retorted, "How can that be? The military camp is full of men; it's inconvenient for a woman like you..."
"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to hit them... If you're worried, you can stay with me," Jin Shanyao said, looking at Fu Zhenhai. "Get me two blankets; my nephew will stay in my room tonight."
Fu Zhenhai was stunned. He quickly pulled Fu Congzhao aside and whispered, "What's going on? Are you hiding something from me?"
"Uncle... don't misunderstand, when Grandma said 'sleep,' she just meant 'sleep,' nothing more."
"You've been sleeping?"
Fu Congzhao instantly exploded, "What do you mean I slept with her? Don't talk nonsense! Go and arrange a room for my great-aunt right now, I'll sleep next to her tonight..."
Fu Zhenhai looked at him with suspicion for a moment, then gave the room where he was taking a nap to Jin Shanyao, while he and Fu Congzhao squeezed into a cubicle to sleep.
After settling in and finding suitable accommodations, it was time for dinner.
Fu Congzhao walked in carrying a bowl of white rice and pickled fish. "Grandma... quickly try the pickled fish from Dengzhou Prefecture. It tastes completely different from the one in the capital."
Jin Shanyao and said, "Have you eaten? Let's eat together."
"Okay, I'll go get another set of bowls and chopsticks."
A moment later, Fu Congzhao sat down opposite Jin Shanyao with a bowl of rice in his hand.
Jin Shanyao, remembering the child's hard life since childhood, picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of fish in his bowl. "Eat... Grandma doesn't like fish, you can have it all."
Fu Congzhao almost vomited when he looked at the fish in the bowl. In the military camp, especially in winter, they ate fish three times a day, with the same dish every meal.
It was only after seeing the Jin Shanyao that the kitchen staff specially added some pickled cabbage to enhance the flavor.
Seeing Jin Shanyao Fu Congzhao staring at the fish in his bowl, Jin Shanyao assumed he was moved and placed another piece of fish on top, saying gently, "Eat up, I won't touch this fish, I'll leave it all for you."
Fu Congzhao stammered, "Grandma, you should eat some. Fish is quite delicious."
Jin Shanyao smiled, her eyes crinkling with affection as she looked at him. What a good child... He even knows to let his elders eat fish. Why doesn't the Fu Household like him?
Thinking of Fu Congheng in the capital, plump and well-fed, and then looking at the dark-skinned Fu Congzhao, a pang of sadness Jin Shanyao inside me. Could this be what the books meant by the older generation being unable to bear seeing the younger generation suffer?!
Jin Shanyao sighed secretly, picked up some pickled cabbage and placed it on top of the rice, "Grandma just loves vegetables, they're delicious..."
After saying that, he shoveled food into his mouth right in front of Fu Congzhao, making Fu Congzhao swallow hard.
He stared at the fish in the bowl, thinking: Eat it... fish dipped in sauerkraut soup is quite delicious.
He was delighted at the sight of the pickled cabbage soup. "I can just make some soup for myself, you can keep the fish."
As he was about to pick up the bowl of food, a pair of chopsticks pressed down on it. Jin Shanyao affectionately and said, "Child, tell your aunt the truth. Does the Fu Household make you eat soup with every meal and not give you any vegetables?"
Fu Congzhao quickly explained, "No, the Fu Household has treated me very well..."
"What's the point of making soup or eating without you...?"
As he spoke, he placed the entire fish into Fu Congzhao's bowl, "Eat... Remember, don't suck the juice off the fish bones."