My Antique Mirror Is A Portal To Another World-Chapter 85: Join The Army

After a few days of feeding, many people recovered their strength and spirits. They became more energetic and began to rebuild their homes.

Seeing this scene, Feng Xiyan smiled. With Heaven’s blessing and Bai Hanyun’s help, there were no more people lying on the street waiting to die.

After two years, the desolate Xiqiang City also slowly came back to life.

By the time Feng Xiyan and Xue Ruhong arrived at the porridge stall near the Great General’s mansion, most of the porridge and fruits had already been distributed to the citizens.

When Huang Wenping saw Feng Xiyan approaching, he hurried over and greeted him. "Young Master."

Feng Xiyan nodded at him and asked, "Uncle Huang, is there enough fruit? If not, this general will send people to deliver more."

Huang Wenping smiled and replied, "Answering the Young Master. General Tan has already delivered more than enough fruit this morning. There is still some left in storage. This servant plans to distribute the rest of the fruits at lunch."

Feng Xiyan looked at the smiles on everyone’s faces and was satisfied with Huang Wenping’s decision.

Looking back at Huang Wenping, he instructed, "Good. Uncle Huang, if you need more grains or fruits, just send a servant to inform General Tan. He will know what to do."

Huang Wenping clasped his hands and replied, "Yes, Young Master."

While the two of them were talking, they didn’t deliberately lower their voice, so many commoners overheard their conversation.

Squatting by the roadside, a group of young men waited until Feng Xiyan and Xue Ruhong had left before one of them asked, "Brothers, did you hear what the Great General said to Steward Huang just now?"

The other six men nodded in unison at his question.

Seeing the thoughtful expression on the speaker’s face, one of the others asked, "Niu Ge, what are you thinking about?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Niu Ge looked at them and asked, "Do you guys remember the conscription notice from two days ago?"

At that, the smartest one among them seemed to catch on and asked, "Niu Ge, do you want to join the army?"

Niu Ge nodded and explained, "Based on what I have seen these past few days, the Feng Army seems to have plenty of supplies. Before, I doubted whether they could afford to pay us. But now that they are even distributing fruit to the people, they must have more than enough to pay the soldiers."

After he said that, one of the others added, "I heard that after their victory against the Yuezhi Tribe this morning, the Great General rewarded the soldiers with two jins of vegetables."

When his words fell, Niu Ge and the others were stunned.

After a moment of silence, the youngest one came back to his senses and asked doubtfully, "Rumors are usually exaggerated. Are you sure that news is true?"

The man who’d made the claim quickly replied, "Of course it’s true! Do you remember the grandma living in the small hut near my house?"

The others nodded, and the man continued, "Her grandson joined the army two days ago. This morning, I saw him returning with a cloth bundle. Out of curiosity, I watched from outside. Guess what I saw."

The others shook their heads in unison and waited eagerly for him to continue.

Seeing they were hooked, he cleared his throat and added excitedly, "He brought back two huge cabbages! Each one weighed at least six jins! He also brought back his salary. In just two days, that family has more than enough to eat for a month!"

"What’s even more shocking is that not only did he get all the promised food and vegetables, but he even received a small pack of fine salt! The salt was so white it sparkled like stars under the sunlight!"

After he said this, the others couldn’t sit still any longer.

Niu Ge quickly finished his porridge and stood up.

Just as he took a step, the others asked, "Niu Ge, where are you going?"

Niu Ge turned to look at his friends and replied, "I’m going to join the army. Even if it’s dangerous, it’s worth it!"

Seeing that he had already run back to the porridge stall to return the empty bowl, the others quickly gulped down their porridge and followed him.

"Wait for us, Niu Ge!"

While the group of young men rushed off to enlist, their conversation had already been overheard by others.

Although the Great General’s mansion provided porridge twice a day, it was not a long-term solution. In their current circumstances, food had become a hard currency—something money alone couldn’t buy.

As more people heard about the army’s rewards and salary, a long line formed at the recruitment office.

That day, six thousand men signed up to join the army.

Those who didn’t enlist joined the team to repair the city walls and forge weapons. Even women and children who can work also joined the city wall repairing teams.

The food provided by the army was far better than what most people normally ate.

Even during festivals or the New Year, not many families could afford meat. But working for the army meant eating three meals a day, with each meal including a meat dish, two vegetable dishes, a bowl of soup, and sometimes, they could even eat fruits.

In the past, when there was no war on the western border, the rich ate white porridge while the poor had nothing but bran cakes.

For most people, steamed white rice was a luxury they might never taste in their lifetime.

So when they saw what the soldiers were eating for breakfast, they couldn’t help but sigh and lament that the lives of these soldiers were better than the Emperor’s living in the imperial palace.

While more and more people were drawn to join the army, Feng Xiyan and Xue Ruhong had just finished their patrol around the city.

As they returned to the barracks, one of Xue Ruhong’s subordinates came running toward them.

"G–General Xue!" The soldier shouted breathlessly.

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