Traveling through troubled times: Princess disguises herself as a man and becomes a soldier to earn

Everyone's eyes were bright and they nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Patriarch, we will listen to your arrangements. We will do whatever you say."

The old man said with relief, "Okay, this is the temporary transition. Ten days or so is enough. We can't waste any more time. We can't afford to delay. When the workshop is ready, we will all go to work."

"The amount of money is a small matter. We must go just to provide food and drink. As long as food and drink are provided, we can survive this cold winter. If anyone has difficulties, please speak up and we will help solve them together."

"After we survive the cold winter and plant crops in the early spring, we old guys can be of some use. It doesn't matter if we don't have much strength, as long as we can still use our brains. We all came from Los Angeles, so we are all family. We need to help each other survive."

Everyone said in unison: "Yes, don't worry, Chief. We are not lazy and want to eat and do nothing. As long as we work hard, we will definitely find a way to survive."

*

From that day on, the people of Los Angeles were organized into several teams and went out to find work. The children gathered together and walked towards the horse farm. After explaining their purpose, they were taken there.

The soldier in Qiguo military uniform pointed at the pile of hay and said gently, "Kids, do you know how to shovel the hay? Press the shoveled hay with this thing and then put the pressed hay into the bag."

Xiao Mu was at the leading position, and he smiled brightly when he heard this: "Don't worry, big brother. We are all from poor families. We have been working since we were three years old. We know these jobs. Why don't you take a look? If you have any questions, just tell me."

"Haha, that's fine, show me how to do it."

"Okay, you can watch it."

Xiaomu waved his hand, and according to what had been agreed upon in advance, the three people who were at the gate of the hay, the three people who were responsible for pressing the hay, and the rest who were loading and transporting the hay cooperated closely and worked very quickly.

The soldier's eyes lit up, and when they finished, he praised them generously: "You are great, little ones. You did a good job. You should all come here in the future. We consume a lot of fodder every day."

"Look, I'll give you five cents a day, and I'll provide you with two meals a day, morning and lunch. You can dry the horse manure and take it back to use as firewood. If you think it's okay, come here starting tomorrow."

"Okay, we'll do it. As long as we have food, anything is fine. By the way, big brother, if we've finished the work of fodder, do you have any other work for us?"

The soldier laughed: "Of course there are. We have too much work in Qiguo, but too few people. Don't worry, there will be no shortage of work for you. The really busy time is still spring. Winter is actually not so bad."

"Captain Wang said that the court has specially arranged work for you. Once the workshop is built, you will be able to settle down and work every day. You will get money and food. No matter how old you are, as long as you want to work, there will be work for you."

"It's just that different jobs are assigned to different people based on their age, and the money they get is also different. Children of a certain age have less strength, so they do easier jobs, and they get paid less."

Xiaomu was confused by what he heard, but he understood one thing, that is, as long as you are willing to work, there will be endless work to do = there is a lot of money, and you don’t have to worry about food and clothing. It’s really good here, no wonder so many people in Yancheng have rosy complexions.

The soldier raised his chin with a proud look on his face: "If you work hard, you may be able to get some land in the future. As long as you have land, your life will get better and better. When you grow up and join the army, you will have good food and clothing."

"Look at my clothes, they are all made of very good material."

"...Oh, it's true. I'm really envious."

Xiaomu kept working as he spoke, and he was busy until noon. His stomach was growling with hunger, but they didn't dare to stop. This was the best job they could find.

The soldier came over and shouted, "Children, you can come over and eat now."

"Hoo, Boss Mu, we can go eat now. I don't know if we can have steamed buns for lunch. Even black steamed buns will do. I'm so hungry that I don't have any strength left. Let's go eat quickly."

"Okay, be careful later. Don't act like a starving ghost. People will look down on us from Luocheng. Got it? Watch your eating manners. Let's pack up and go."

Xiaomu brought a dozen half-grown children and followed the little soldier. As they got closer, the aroma of food and meat kept blowing into their noses, making them so greedy that they drooled and wished they could eat a whole cow.

The soldier greeted him skillfully: "Master Huo, I can smell the aroma of bacon from far away. It smells so good. Give me some. It smells so good, much better than what we eat at home."

The fat man said cheerfully, "That's right. We have bone soup today. Come forward, kids. Uncle Fatty will serve you food. There will be plenty of brown rice. Eat as much as you want. Work hard and you will have rice, meat, and bone soup."

Gulp, gulp, the sound of swallowing saliva continued to be heard.

When Xiaomu met their gazes, he couldn't hold back his expression. He blushed and covered his stomach, looking embarrassed: "I, I'm just hungry. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

"Haha, it's okay. I'm a person who has been through this and I understand. Just step forward. You guys should work hard to get enough food. Don't feel embarrassed. Got it?"

"Well, thank you, Uncle Fatty, you guys are so nice."

He raised his hand and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. He liked it here.

The fat man prepared food for everyone, gave each person a spoonful of bacon, and pointed to the wooden barrel next to him: "That's the bone soup. If you want, you can use a bamboo bowl to serve it. You can drink as much as you want, but you can't take it away."

Xiaomu nodded repeatedly: "Okay, thank you uncle."

a moment later

A group of half-grown children sat at the table and began to wolf down their food. Xiao Mu glared at them and shouted in a low voice: "What did I say before? Pay attention. Don't eat so ugly. It's so embarrassing."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of clean cloth from his bosom, carefully picked out the bacon, put it into the cloth, folded it, and put it back in his bosom, with a satisfied look on his face: "Uncle said that the soup cannot be taken away, so I can take my portion of the meat back."

"Why are you looking at me like that? Grandpa is old, he can only eat meat a few times. I am still young, and there will be many opportunities to eat meat in the future. I want to let Grandpa have a taste so that he can replenish his body."

When the other children heard this, their eyes were full of greed. Finally, they took out the cloth and wrapped the meat in it. Boss Mu was right. They were still young and able to work. They could eat it later. It would be better to give it to grandpa.

When the soldier heard this, he smiled and said, "You are all good children, you are really filial. Everyone will get a portion of meat, no one can be special. But you can ask for broth, that is allowed."

Xiao Mu hummed, feeling a little guilty: "Well, thank you, big brother."