Chapter 748: Must Maintain Discipline

Che Xiaoxiao did not pick up the conversation, but simply led everyone to the camp, then arranged for people to unload all the food and supplies and store them in the warehouse; now, their carts were completely empty.

Everything in the camp was very simple, and there was nothing to entertain with; mainly, everyone was already very familiar with each other, so there was no need to treat them like guests. The only special treatment was a large, sewn-together animal skin rug spread on the ground, which made sitting cross-legged a bit more comfortable.

Che said to Shaoyin, "Come, Shaoyin, sit down together, don't just stand there."

Company Commander Xiaoxiao did not speak, but Shaoyin had a good sense of propriety: "No need, I am currently executing a mission, I am just an ordinary Soldier."

Che looked at the Company Commander, who simply picked up the Tea Leaves canister, put a pinch into his cup, and waited for the water to boil so he could brew his tea.

Che suddenly laughed, then said, "Your army's discipline is strict indeed; this is a good thing. Our department is full of old roughnecks, used to being loose; keeping discipline is a good thing."

The Company Commander only then replied, "The army must keep discipline. You remember the events of those years—those who were killed were killed, those who were retired were retired. Our Prince personally took action to forge the kind of team we have now. Discipline must be kept in mind at all times; I do not want to see the events of those years repeat themselves."

The two older men spoke of the past, while the younger Soldiers who had enlisted later and were still young listened in confusion. However, they had indeed heard that the Huaxia army had once had a major incident, which led to a great reform. But at that time, they were either too young or not yet born, so how could they know? What they understood now was basically just things they had heard later.

The few sat and chatted, discussing the future of Xiao Town, while also following the plan to have the Soldiers set up Tents in the camp to rest there for the night. If they set off now, they would not have enough time to reach the nearest post station for lodging.

The two then mentioned that the Changle Prince had returned. Che slapped his head and said, "Oh, we have found quite a few things during this period. Some potted plants the Prince might like are now planted in pots; we will bring them when we go back. Also, we found a lot of wolfberries here; they are already seven or eight parts dry, and the quantity is not small—enough for the Pharmacy to use for a long time, even if just used for soaking in water, it will last a long time."

The Company Commander smiled and agreed; as long as they could bring such things back every time they came, they could save a lot on the cost of each trip. The main thing was not to make a wasted trip. Now that the Saltpeter had not yet been officially mined, there were too few things to bring back. Once Xiao Town was officially built, they could be fully loaded on both trips.

At this, the Company Commander suddenly thought of something else and immediately said, "Right, the Prince also gave an instruction, saying to let you look for any plants here that don't look familiar, and dig some up to bring back by the way; there might be some unexpected surprises."

"Oh, that, no problem." Che immediately agreed, then called over the woman accompanying him: "Hey, you, go take some women to other places and dig up those Grass and such by the roots; just dig two or three of each kind, the more varieties the better."

Seeing the situation, the woman knew there was an important matter to discuss. She was very sensible now and naturally did not say much; she hurriedly agreed, went to find people, and left with a small shovel.

Although she was from the Xuanyuan Tribe, who wouldn't like having a powerful man? The man she was accompanying now had power, ability, and lacked nothing in food or clothing. The time she had spent following him could be said to be the best life she had enjoyed in her first ten-plus years. She had already cast herself into the role of Che's woman and would not consider what the future might be like at all.

The Company Commander glanced at the woman and knew the situation, so he teased, "Your life is still the best; you can enjoy yourself even in the wild. Don't corrupt my Soldiers; you must ensure someone is on guard, and absolutely do not be careless."

Che was not embarrassed at all; this benefit was something they had fought for, and it was also given to them by the King, so he had no reason to push it away. He certainly understood the Company Commander's concerns.

"You can rest assured about that; the Soldiers' shifts are all arranged, and there will certainly be no situation of dereliction of duty. I believe they themselves know the stakes."

The Company Commander nodded: "Hmm, that's good. But why do you call her 'Hey, you'? Looking at her, I'm afraid she's been with you the whole time; why, are you still pretending not to be close?"

At this, Che was actually a bit shy: "That's not it; mainly she doesn't have a name, and besides, she isn't from Huaxia. I can't just give her a name, so I just call her 'Hey, you'. Anyway, she understands."

The Company Commander smiled and pointed a finger at Che, laughing heartily, but also advised him: "How you play is not my business, but the orders from above are very clear: don't get emotionally involved. When it's time for you to go back, or when they are supposed to go back, if another one comes out clinging and refusing to leave, you'll be in trouble. That would be a diplomatic incident, and I'm afraid there won't be such a good thing next year."

Che was also a bit guilty, because he felt that this woman seemed to have set her heart on him. Mainly, given his conditions, what woman who couldn't get enough to eat before wouldn't set her sights on him? Now he was stronger than the most capable hunter. Che had to say sheepishly: "That won't happen, it shouldn't. At worst, when the time comes, I'll pay out of my own pocket to give her enough food; that will surely send her away, right? She must want food, otherwise, would she talk to me about love? I don't even know what love is; could she understand it?"

Then, to change the subject, Che hurriedly said: "Right, when I went to expand the water source a few days ago, I found some strange things. I feel they might be useful. When you go back, give them to the King to see if they can be of great use, and what kind of things they are."

"Oh, what kind of things? Can I take a look?"

Che then stood up and walked toward his Tent: "Wait a moment, I'll go get them. They found some more in the last few days, and the quantity is quite large now."

Soon, Che brought out two large bags of things from his Tent. One bag contained a few relatively clean and transparent stones. The ones found before were more or less stained with red soil inside and didn't look good. Now these few had higher transparency and were larger, so he simply swapped them out. However, the swapped-out ones were also placed nearby and not thrown away casually.

The green stones now filled a whole bag, and there was still half a small bag in the Tent. Some of these stones were harder, and some were more brittle, but overall they were relatively small and fine, so they were all kept and bagged.