Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 1071 - 343: Kindness_4

Chapter 1071: Chapter 343: Kindness_4

Xiao Ruiyuan wasn’t upset either. Casually withdrawing his hand, he flipped back a corner of the blanket and slid in, yet he didn’t snuggle up to Mo Yan, worried that the chill on his body might make her cold.

The room was fairly warm, and since they were lying under the covers, Mo Yan didn’t feel particularly cold. She moved closer on her own initiative, "Why did you come over so late today?"

With just that turn, the corner of Mo Yan’s blanket at her back lifted, and a draft whistled into the covers. Xiao Ruiyuan’s hand quickly reached over to tuck in the corner of the blanket and pulled her into his arms. Seeing that her body was not as cold as he had thought, the last bit of his discontent melted away.

"Nothing special, I just wanted to see you." Feeling the delicacy of Mo Yan’s face, Xiao Ruiyuan spoke in a tender voice, "I had planned to come over with my cousin this morning, but there was an urgent report from the border, so I didn’t come. My cousin told me you personally treated those soldiers, weren’t you tired?"

Mo Yan shook her head, "I just assisted. The most exhausted were Master and those doctors."

Although her pulse readings were highly accurate, she wasn’t confident enough to prescribe medication by herself; after all, taking a pulse wouldn’t kill someone, but prescribing the wrong medicine could. Her Master wouldn’t allow her to prescribe, and she herself lacked the confidence to do so.

Xiao Ruiyuan examined Mo Yan’s complexion carefully and, seeing she was indeed not in bad shape, believed her words. A trace of relief appeared on his face, "Every winter, there used to be old and frail soldiers who died of illness or froze to death. Maybe this year it won’t be the same."

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan thought of the large ring of red characters that had appeared on the Merit Pearl and said with certainty, "Don’t worry, they surely will have a happy twilight years!"

Meanwhile, as the two lay in bed chatting like an old married couple, on the other side, the three hundred soldiers housed in the temporary shelter were also not asleep, standing en masse on the open ground outside the buildings despite the cold night wind.

Three hundred people scattered around didn’t seem like a lot, but when they all gathered together, the space barely accommodated them. They formed five circles of varying sizes, the larger encompassing the smaller; those who could stand were standing straight, while those who couldn’t sat on chairs.

They were looking solemnly at the person in the center, who exuded an aura of unwavering determination, without a hint of defeat.

The man standing in the middle looked young compared to the group of people over fifty, about thirty years old at a glance. If it were daytime, one could see that his complexion was not good, pale with sickness, thin to the point of appearing as if he could collapse at any moment.

This man was named Zhao Mu, and in fact, he was not yet twenty-five years old. Because he had sustained severe internal injuries on the battlefield last year, even though the military doctors saved his life, his internal organs were left with serious damage, making it impossible for him to wield a sword and return to the battlefield or do heavy labor.

Zhao Mu was an orphan, and even his name had been given to him by a clerk in the army after he enlisted. Because he was cheerful and righteous, he enjoyed considerable prestige among retired soldiers. This time, he had been elected by others as the squad leader, responsible for the large and small matters concerning the daily life of three hundred soldiers. Under the pale moonlight, Zhao Mu’s somewhat rough hands rubbed against his clothes for a moment before he spoke the first words of the evening, "I have grown up without ever having worn such warm cotton clothes. Do you all feel the same?"

"Yes, I do, these cotton clothes are even thicker and nicer than the ones my mother makes; they’re good enough for getting a wife to wear," said a somewhat sturdy middle-aged man with empty pant legs, chuckling as he spoke. The calm moonlight shone on his face full of simple smiles, making it appear extraordinarily lively.

"Haha—" A friendly burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, unusually loud in the quiet night.

Zhao Mu laughed as well and gave the middle-aged man a thumbs-up, "That’s the spirit!"

Despite the average age of these three hundred being quite high, the number of them who had ever been married could be counted on one’s fingers. Even with their physical disabilities, their yearning for a better life has never changed.

The middle-aged man’s face turned red as he waved his hands and ducked back into the crowd, unwilling to come out again. The laughter gradually subsided, and everyone’s attention returned to Zhao Mu, waiting for what he would say next.

Zhao Mu did not keep them waiting long before he stated the purpose of gathering them that evening, "This time, thanks to Princess Hejia’s kindness, we have found a place to settle. I know you may be reluctant to accept this favor, but now that we are here, consider it a debt we owe Princess Hejia. Once we regain our health and manage this orchard well, we can repay Princess Hejia’s kindness, so don’t feel burdened in your hearts."

Just as Mo Yan had thought, even though these soldiers no longer possessed healthy bodies, they didn’t want to be seen as worthless people incapable of taking care of themselves.

These men had willingly followed Qi Nan the long distance to Liu Yang Village because Qi Nan said there was work they could do, work that would allow them to support themselves with their own hands and feet; otherwise, they wouldn’t have come, no matter what. But after arriving here, they found that everything they had received in just one day seemed impossible to repay in a lifetime.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, these men were nearly without life, making their perseverance seem meaningless. But each person had his own thoughts. They valued their dignity above all else, and to them, this was not a futile stubbornness.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.