CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 64: ARRANGEMENTS

Initially hesitant and timid, the voice grew louder, and finally, there was a powerful and resonant sound.

Jiang Shaohua raised the corners of her mouth and reached out to pull Kong Qingwan up: "Speaking beautifully is useless, I want to see how well you do your tasks in the future. If you do well, I, the Commandery Princess, will reward you generously. If not, I will not hesitate to punish you."

Kong Qingwan nodded vigorously, with tears in her eyes.

She was not someone who didn’t appreciate kindness. The Commandery Princess was backing her up and giving her the chance to carry herself with dignity.

Being captured by bandits was not her fault, and losing her innocence was not her crime. She would not choose a path of despair; she would live well and serve the Commandery Princess dutifully.

Jiang Shaohua observed the changes in Kong Qingwan’s expression and felt gratified. As long as one has some spirit, they will not reach a dead end.

"It’s almost dawn, go to the kitchen and listen to the orders of the chefs there," Jiang Shaohua instructed, "Tu Bai, take them."

Tu Bai responded and led over a dozen women to the kitchen.

In the military camp, with a thousand people to feed three meals a day, ensuring the meals were well-balanced with both meat and vegetables, the ten chefs were constantly busy. Now, with the sudden addition of more than a dozen helpers, they couldn’t be happier.

Yu Chef, who was in charge of the kitchen, was broad and burly with a somewhat fierce appearance, but he spoke kindly, "The kitchen is short of hands, please thank the Commandery Princess on my behalf, Miss Tu Bai."

In front of Jiang Shaohua, Tu Bai was honest and straightforward. When delivering orders on behalf of the Commandery Princess, she had a serious look, exuding authority: "The Commandery Princess said they are here to serve and work, feel free to order them around, no need to be polite. However, you must ensure they eat well before working. And make sure not to withhold anything; teach them how to work at the stove, don’t just make them do menial chores."

In the kitchen, fetching water and washing vegetables were considered menial tasks, while working at the stove involved tasks like steaming buns and stir-frying dishes.

Chef Yu agreed wholeheartedly.

After Tu Bai left, Chef Yu scanned the group and suddenly raised his voice, "You’ve all heard what Miss Tu Bai said. Anyone who knows how to knead dough and make buns, step forward. Those who can cook at the stove, take a step forward."

Among the women, before being taken up the mountain, there were both those from well-off families and daughters from poor ones, most of whom had cooked before. When Chef Yu asked, immediately half of them stepped forward.

Chef Yu was quite satisfied and assigned some to knead dough and make buns, others to cut vegetables and prepare for cooking. As for the rest, they were tasked with sorting, washing, and cutting the vegetables.

With so many helping hands, the speed of meal preparation in the kitchen more than doubled. The personal soldiers found that breakfast was exceptionally early and more sumptuous than usual.

The fluffy white buns were piled high in large basins, enough for everyone. The steaming hot meat soup was filled with large chunks of meat and vegetables, along with a stir-fry dish and a pickled side dish.

Even Jiang Shaohua herself was pleased with the meal.

Things went smoothly at the kitchen, but Lin Huiniang and others, who went to Sun Zelan’s side, had a much tougher time.

Sun Zelan led them into the wounded soldier camp and personally changed dressings for the injured while explaining carefully, "When changing dressings, you must clean the wound each time, like this..."

The bloody wounds were cleaned thoroughly, causing the injured soldiers to sweat from the pain.

The women’s faces turned pale, and one couldn’t help but vomit on the spot, filling the camp with a sour stench.

The woman who vomited felt both guilty and sad, crying, "Miss Sun, I’m sorry, I’m so incompetent."

Sun Zelan comforted her gently, "It’s normal to feel uncomfortable seeing a wound for the first time. When I first tended to an external injury, I vomited too. You’ll get used to it in a few days."

Lin Huiniang adapted the fastest. After watching for a while, she proactively stepped forward to assist. If she couldn’t do anything else, she could at least hand over clean gauze and wipe the sweat off Miss Sun, who was busy.

Sun Guangbai, standing by, looked on enviously at his sister surrounded by women.

The Commandery Princess, too, assigned tasks related to handling herbs to his sister. He could have done that too!

On second thought, these women were pitiful souls dragged out of a bandit’s camp; although their lives were saved, they were still shadowed by their experiences. As a grown man, it indeed wasn’t appropriate for him to be too close to them.

Sun Guangbai changed dressings for Meng Sanbao, then for Qin Hu.

After a night, Qin Hu had regained much of his energy. He sneaked a glance at Miss Sun and then asked Sun Guangbai, "Doctor Sun, how many more days does my injury need to heal?"

Sun Guangbai gave him a sidelong glance, "The wound is all healed; any more pampering and you’ll get fat."

Qin Hu: "..."

Meng Sanbao laughed heartily, "Stop dawdling here."

No need to stay and be an eyesore anymore.

Qin Hu glared at his good friend and then responded sheepishly, "Since Doctor Sun said it’s fine, I’ll go back to work today."

Sun Guangbai nodded slightly and moved on to change dressings for other injured soldiers.

...

An hour later, Qin Hu was already outside the Commandery Princess’s tent.

Yesterday afternoon, Xiao Tian, who went out to scout the route, had returned. Having endured through the night and half a day, Xiao Tian’s eyes were red, but his spirits were still high. After entering the tent, he reported, "Your Highness, I led people to scout the route. The place that bandit mentioned is correct; there is another bandit camp fifty miles from here."

"There are fewer people in this camp, only a little over a hundred."

"It takes most of a day to get there through the mountains. Using the paths at the foot of the mountain, it takes just two hours. However, the mountain path is steep, and it might be difficult to transport siege equipment up."

Xiao Tian came from a family of hunters, having hunted in the mountains since he was a child. Entering the forest was like returning home. This time, he was on the front line for scouting during the bandit extermination.

Jiang Shaohua praised Xiao Tian for his competence, causing him to blush with joy.

"Rest for half a day first, tomorrow we’ll set out to exterminate the bandits," Jiang Shaohua said with a smile. "We’ll need you to lead the way at that time."

Xiao Tian agreed repeatedly and left with a fist salute.

Jiang Shaohua said to Qin Zhan, "This small bandit camp will be taken down by General Qin leading six hundred men."

Qin Zhan’s eyes flashed with excitement, and he accepted the order with a fist salute.

Jiang Shaohua then ordered Liu Hengchang, "Someone must stay to guard this camp. General Liu, you will stay with two hundred men." She then turned to Song Yuan, "Commander Song will lead two hundred personal soldiers with me to Li County’s county government."

"Chief Historian Chen has already reached the county government; he sent word yesterday. I will first head to the county government to deal with County Magistrate Cai, while awaiting your good news."

After lunch, Qin Zhan led six hundred men out first, each carrying three days of dry rations.

Liu Hengchang remained to guard the camp, diligently organizing patrols inside and outside the campgrounds. A trusted aide at his side murmured, "The Commandery Princess still favors the Personal Guard Camp. All these good opportunities for achievements in bandit extermination go to them, never our Third Camp."

Liu Hengchang’s expression slightly darkened, "This bandit camp is deep in the forest; the siege equipment can’t be transported there. The Personal Guard Camp has the most capable and valiant soldiers; it should indeed be them who go."

"The Commandery Princess has a keen eye for people, and even better judgment in employing them. Speak nonsense again, and I’ll cut off your tongue first."