sjar Chapter 113 Lu Zhan's Enlightenment
Chapter 113 Lu Zhan's Enlightenment
Although Lu Zhan was somewhat dissatisfied with the title of cook, he gradually accepted it as it was a way for him to stay in the military camp.
Everyone in the kitchen knew that these two young masters were from important backgrounds, and they brought servants with them. At first, the other veterans didn't dare to ask them to work, but when they saw that the two had been sulking for the whole afternoon and watching everyone working, they all came to help.
When they were at home, Lu Linlang would not let them have everything handed to them. But when they were out, the most important thing was to be able to take care of themselves. So the two of them did not feel embarrassed when they were working, and they did it properly.
"Little brother, don't worry. In the entire military camp, except for the generals' meals, ours is the best. But don't underestimate us cooks. When the army sets out, we have to rush to the front and cook for everyone. By the time they reach their destination, we have already prepared the meals. So the cooks are still very tired.
We're not very good at cooking, we learned from the chefs in the barracks. Anyway, the soldiers just have to eat whatever they want. This amount of food is already good. When we used to eat tree bark and grass roots, no one had any objections. You've finally caught up with the good times."
"Brother, are these the best foods you have ever eaten?" Lu Zhan looked at these black-flour steamed buns, which contained a lot of wheat bran mixed in them. They looked sore throats. At home, wheat bran was fed to livestock, and they ate rice, white-flour steamed buns, and big meat buns. However, these people enjoyed such food.
"That's right. Before I joined the army, there were seven of us in my family, and we only had two pairs of ragged trousers. My parents each wore one pair to work, and we kids had to hide in the only quilt in the house. It was okay in the summer, as we could just get some hay to cover ourselves and go outside to dig wild vegetables to eat. But it wasn't so good in the winter, as the whole family had to guard one acre of land. I remember that whenever there was only that little food at home, except for the ones shared by the elders, the kids would fight over it. My brother ate slowly, and was afraid that we would steal his food, so he deliberately spit in the bowl, which made others look disgusted and wouldn't steal his food.
Alas, if my brother could have survived that winter and followed me into the army, he would have at least had something warm to eat. Unfortunately, the snow was so heavy that year that he didn't wake up the next morning. My parents took him to the Children's Hill behind our house, and I haven't seen him since."
Lu Zhan, Yun Can and the people they brought with them were silent. The others had also had similar experiences of hunger, but these two had not. Even when the family was in the most difficult times, they ate well.
After hearing what others said and seeing the food, the two of them finally understood why their sister thought they couldn't make it.
"Don't worry, our Daqi will get better and better, and everyone will be able to eat rice in the future." Lu Zhan said sullenly, thinking of his sister who was studying rice.
"Eating rice every meal is something that even the landlords in our village dare not even think about. I'm afraid it's something they can only dream of. I only dream of becoming successful one day. When I return to the village, my parents will be so proud that they'll run to greet me from ten miles away. I'll lead them to a good life, a good life where they can eat meat during festivals and holidays."
When others heard his childish words, they also laughed and said that they knew it was impossible, but it was just to entertain the children and talk while working, so it wouldn't be that tiring.
"I'm serious, it will definitely come true. Just wait and see." Lu Zhan didn't continue to explain and washed the vegetables with Yun Can.
After a while, I saw that the way they cooked was to throw all the ingredients directly into the pot, add water and boil them. Then they carefully scooped a little bit of lard from a clay pot with a spoon and put it in. A light layer of oil floated on the surface, which was considered the oil and water.
Even Lu Zhan and his companions who were on the road had better food to eat, but they were greatly shocked to see the soldiers happily surrounding them when the meal started, and their excited looks on their faces at seeing that there was some profit today.
"Chef Liu, how come the food is so delicious today? It smells so good! Wow, there's so much salt in this soup, it smells so good! Since we defeated the Tatars, our lives are really getting better and better. We used to eat something like vinegar cloth. Will we ever have food like this again in the future?"
"The general said that the emperor is about to ascend the throne. General He has found a salt lake. We will never lack salt. You will have enough salt to fight. We had a great battle with the regent's army a few days ago. We will have such good salt to eat in the future."
Chef Liu scooped out a spoonful of salt and showed it to everyone. When they saw the snow-white salt, their eyes lit up.
"Great! If I could eat this kind of salt every day, I'd definitely beat up those wimps again. They're not as ferocious as the Tatars. I can beat two of them at once."
"The emperor will ascend the throne in a few days, and we'll have meat to eat then. I heard that we've been given several big fat pigs. The emperor gave them to the soldiers in our barracks. Now, brothers, we can all eat meat."
"Oh, there is meat to eat, that's great, I miss the smell of meat so much." Everyone cheered, and Lu Zhan and Yun Can were also swept up in this atmosphere and cheered along.
At night, the two of them and the people they brought with them rested in a tent. Listening to the snoring beside them, Lu Zhan tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.
"Lu Zhan, why haven't you slept yet?" Yun Can was also asleep.
"Yuncan, what do you call a good day? What are we fighting for?"
"A good life, isn't that the day with rice and meat? Look at those veterans today. When they heard there was meat, they almost jumped up. We really had enough of the good life in the past. We didn't understand the sufferings of the world at all. We didn't consider the hardships after joining the army. Now I finally understand why my sister agreed to let us come.
In fact, no one wants to fight, but life is unbearable. If there is no war, then life will not be able to continue. Many people fight to survive. Only those in power fight for power. Ordinary people just want to have enough food to eat.
We used to live under the wings of our uncle. Later, when he passed away, we were protected by our sister. We never suffered any hardship in the village. She had thought of and arranged everything for us, so we two ran away without knowing the consequences.
But now I feel that being in the military camp is not such a bad thing. At least, we are on the side of justice. Once we win the battle, defeat the rebels, and stabilize Daqi, we can return home to be with my sister.
Yun Can rested his head on his hands and said to Lu Zhan who was thinking beside him.
"I didn't understand why my sister liked farming before, but now I finally understand. Farming is the way to change the fate of these poor people. Only when they have enough food and warm clothes will they no longer be bullied and have nowhere else to turn. I originally thought I would take on the responsibility of supporting the family, but I was such a jerk before, and then I kept relying on my sister. What a jerk."
"Go to bed quickly. You have to get up early to work tomorrow. Be careful not to get up and get punished. That would be embarrassing for both of us." Yun Can didn't say anything else because he had so many insights just after arriving at the military camp. He still had to work tomorrow morning and if he didn't sleep now, he would not be able to get up.