Chapter 347: A Different Model

Chapter 347: Chapter 347: A Different Model

"Someone’s here from the military barracks?!"

At the sound of those words, Ji Huan was so shocked her heart skipped a beat.

’We can’t be this unlucky, can we? Our honeymoon isn’t even over, and they’ve already discovered Guan Shan is a deserter?’

Her first instinct was to look at Guan Shan, but she saw he wasn’t the least bit flustered.

"What do we do?" she asked.

Guan Shan asked in return, "What do you mean, ’what do we do’?"

Ji Huan was anxious and didn’t want to waste time dawdling with him. She pulled him through the main gate, hurried straight to the backyard, opened the corner gate, and started pushing him out.

"Go hide in the back mountain first. Hide well, and don’t come down until I come for you. But don’t hide *too* well, or I’m afraid I won’t be able to find you. That cave where you and Dabao stayed last time is pretty secluded... No, that won’t work. A lot of people found out about it when we went up the mountain to find Dabao. What if the men from the barracks ask around... Just find a good spot yourself! Wait, let me get you a quilt—it’s cold at night—and some food..."

Thanks to her previous experience on the run, Ji Huan could now be considered a seasoned pro.

She rattled off the long string of words in a single breath and was about to prepare some things for Guan Shan, but he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.

"Don’t be anxious. Let’s hear what Ximei has to say."

Hu Ximei had just caught up to them. "Wan, why are you running? Those men are asking about the dehydrated vege— Ah!"

She stopped in her tracks, stomped her foot, and covered her face. "You two... why are you two embracing in broad daylight?" As she spoke, she peeked through the gaps between her fingers.

When Guan Shan had pulled Ji Huan back, he’d used a little too much force. Ji Huan couldn’t stop herself and fell right into his arms. As she stumbled backward from the impact, Guan Shan wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.

The posture was indeed a bit...

Ji Huan had no time to be embarrassed. She pulled Guan Shan’s hand off her waist and walked toward Hu Ximei.

"What did you just say? The men from the barracks are here to ask about dehydrated vegetables?"

Hu Ximei moved her hands away from her face and nodded. "Wan, why were you so scared? Didn’t we do business with the barracks last year?"

Now that she mentioned it, Ji Huan belatedly realized her palms were slick with sweat.

Why was she so afraid? Naturally, it was because she had a guilty conscience.

Throughout history, every dynasty has despised and loathed deserters. In a major battle, momentum is everything. If deserters appear, morale will crumble, and a loss of morale can lead to defeat.

Thus, the court’s punishments for deserters were extremely harsh. For a minor offense, the punishment was death, with the body hung from the barracks gate as a warning to others. For a major offense, the entire battalion could be implicated, or even one’s entire extended family for three generations could be exterminated.

Ji Huan didn’t know the specific reason why Guan Shan had become a deserter, but she was sure it wasn’t because he was a coward who feared death.

Given the state of his injuries back then, it was a stroke of incredible luck that he had survived at all.

And there was still no telling whether the ones who dealt the vicious blow were friend or foe... Publicly or privately, returning to the barracks meant certain death.

If Guan Shan were captured, she would likely be charged with the crime of harboring a deserter.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have panicked, making a fool of herself without even stopping to ask for details.

Ji Huan sensed a gaze on her from behind and turned around abruptly.

Even though Guan Shan hid it well, Ji Huan still saw the smile fade from his lips.

She was fuming inside.

"I should just let them drag you away!"

Guan Shan said unhurriedly, "Widowed just three days after getting married. Your reputation would be sealed for good."

"What are you two talking about? Dragged away? Widowed?" Hu Ximei didn’t understand. She urged Ji Huan, "Wan, hurry up. The men are waiting at my house."

Ji Huan shot Guan Shan a glare. She held it in. ’I’ll settle the score when I get back.’

She took Hu Ximei’s hand and was about to leave, but then she stopped. "You just stay home and behave. Don’t run off anywhere."

’Even if they aren’t here to catch a deserter, what if he runs right into them by chance?’

"Mm," Guan Shan nodded. "I won’t go anywhere. I’ll wait for you to come back."

’That’s more like it.’

Then she heard him add, "First, find out if the new general the court sent to guard the Northern Pass is the old General Han Wenguang. If it’s him, and the barracks wants to purchase dehydrated vegetables, you don’t have to refuse because of me... I just won’t show my face."

Ji Huan raised an eyebrow. "From the sound of it, this old General Han Wenguang is pretty decent?"

"A hundred times better than the Nie family father and son."

Ji Huan was curious. "And what about compared to General Kou Changqing?"

Guan Shan paused. His expression seemed to hold a trace of mockery, but upon closer inspection, it looked no different than usual.

"What does he count for..."

"What?"

Ji Huan hadn’t heard clearly, but Guan Shan was unwilling to say more. With Hu Ximei urging them on, the topic was dropped.

Three horses were tied up at the entrance to the Hu Family’s courtyard. Inside, just as expected, stood three soldiers. They were purchasers from the mess hall, and they looked unfamiliar—not the same group who had come to pick up the goods last time.

’Right,’ she thought. ’A new ruler brings new ministers. It’s no different in the army.’

The leader last year, Lu Danian, had "General" on his lips every other word. He was clearly one of Kou Changqing’s trusted men.

It wasn’t surprising that Kou Changqing would bring some confidants or personal attendants with him from Liaodong. But now that the crisis at the Northern Pass was resolved and Kou Changqing had returned to the Capital City, the men he brought had probably gone with him to the Capital City, or perhaps returned to Liaodong.

Ji Huan invited the men inside to sit down. Hu Ximei, ever perceptive, brewed a bowl of hot tea for each of them.

Although these three soldiers were not as hearty and approachable as Lu Danian, they seemed to be very disciplined men. Their purpose was also very clear: they were indeed here to purchase dehydrated vegetables.

Even though Kou Changqing and his personal attendants had left, many soldiers at the Northern Pass had eaten the dehydrated vegetables last year and were still thinking about them. From time to time, someone would go remind the mess hall staff, so how could the mess hall possibly sit still?

Ji Huan pretended to be casual and indirectly asked the question Guan Shan had told her to. The answer was confirmed: the one the court had sent to replace Kou Changqing was indeed General Han Wenguang.

When Widow Xie heard that men from the army had come, she left Guan Shan and Dabao at home and hurried over.

She greeted the soldiers, then pulled Ji Huan into the courtyard to discuss the matter.

"Didn’t you say you weren’t planning to make dehydrated vegetables this year?"

Ji Huan really hadn’t planned on making dehydrated vegetables.

Although it was quick money, it was truly exhausting. It meant waking up early and working late, spinning like a top for over a month. She was already too busy with the Spice Workshop, so how could she find time to be distracted by something else?

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to hire workers to help like last year, but it would still require her and Widow Xie to oversee everything. In that case, the Spice Workshop would have to halt operations.

’After thinking it over and over, it’s better to focus on the main business.’

Who would have thought that just when she decided not to do it, an order would come knocking on its own? And it was for an even larger quantity than last year.

Seeing that Ji Huan remained silent, Widow Xie, afraid the men inside would get impatient, pressed again, "So, are we taking this order or not? If we don’t, will we offend..."

Ji Huan paced for a moment with a frown, then finally made up her mind. "We’ll take it."

It really wasn’t a good idea to turn away business from the army.

It wasn’t just a matter of whether or not they would cause offense.

’Doing something for the army, aside from being a small gesture from a common citizen,’ Ji Huan thought, ’might one day, if Guan Shan’s identity is exposed, allow me to ask for a little leniency...’

’The chances are slim, but I have to try.’

The soldiers paid a deposit of sixty taels upfront. They didn’t even stay for lunch before taking their leave.

Sixty taels. Compared to last year’s procurement cost, it was exactly double.

Widow Xie had originally been worried about offending the barracks if they didn’t take the order, but now she was worried about how they could possibly manage such a large quantity in such a short amount of time.

Ji Huan did a quick calculation. They had actually started around the same time last year, only this year they were three days later.

"Following last year’s small workshop model, we definitely won’t have enough time. This year, let’s try a new model."