[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-956":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338161,4570,"Chapter 956: Military Households","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-956",956,"\u003Cp>White rice and meat were luxuries only eaten during festivals, eggs could be had occasionally, but never cooked together with meat like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Pan Yun’s cooking was mediocre, with enough oil and salt, and meat and eggs both present, she couldn’t make a bad dish—anyway, the children thought it was the best meal they’d ever eaten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One large pot of rice, one large pot of dish; Pan Yun and the other three ate only seven-tenths full, while the eight children each ate until their bellies were round and full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too full to move, they could only lie half-reclined to digest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun sat with them in the courtyard, basking in the sun to aid digestion, and chatted along.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that satisfying meal, the children regarded them as family; whatever Pan Yun asked, they answered freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they learned they were all military households, stationed at a garrison camp over forty li away, but their families were scattered nearby; all the land outside was owned by “the lords,” and they lived here solely to till the land for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun asked: “Since you’re military households, shouldn’t your land reclamation be for the garrison troops? Why are you farming for ‘lords’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the question was profound, the children were young—but not foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Adults always assumed they were too young to understand, so they spoke freely in front of them; in truth, even if they didn’t comprehend, they remembered—and came to accept it as normal, believing it was how things ought to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, the eight-year-old boy now said: “We don’t have our own land. The lords are noble and wealthy, so they bought us lots of land to farm. My father says, whether you farm for whom, life’s the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun asked: “How many mu of land does your family farm? How much grain do you harvest each year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t know how much we harvest, but we farm twelve mu of paddy, eighteen mu of dry land—everything’s planted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “With so much land, doesn’t your grandfather, father, and uncles have to work the fields every day?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, every day. If we don’t farm properly, we won’t have food. Even in February and March, our family eats two meals a day—one of solid food!” The boy spoke with particular pride; the other children looked at him enviously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun noted it all down; before the adults returned, they cleaned and put away all pots, pans, bowls, and chopsticks, and swept the courtyard clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing it would still be a while before the adults came back, she bid the children farewell, climbed into her cart, and set out directly for the fields to speak with the parents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On both sides of the road stretched rice paddies; from afar, people bent low in the fields, like tiny gray specks amid green—a sight easily overlooked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet it was these very gray specks that upheld the green, bringing order to the fields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking a while, the four spotted a family in a field below the road—so far, the closest family they’d encountered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun signaled Tao Yan to stop the cart; she walked to the field’s edge and called out: “Elder, I’d like to ask your direction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man in the field straightened slightly, squinting at her; after a moment’s glare through the glare of light, he finally recognized her, washed his hands in the paddy water, gripped his lower back with one hand, and slowly rose, leaning on his knee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His back, bent too long, refused to straighten fully, yet he still limped toward her, half-bent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Much of the paddy water had been drained; now only a thin film remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He crossed half the field, and only when close did he clearly see Pan Yun—realizing she was a girl, he looked up the road, saw the boy leading the horse; though young, he was male, and the old man relaxed: “Little miss, where are you headed? The wind disaster just passed; many refugees roam the roads, some even turn bandits. Be careful when traveling.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun replied: “Yes, we’re heading to the capital to visit relatives. We took a back road for a stretch, then rejoined the main road—wondering if we’re still on the right path, so I’m asking you, Elder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man climbed onto the field ridge, then stepped into the ditch beside it to wash the mud off his feet, casually swatting leeches clinging to his calves, then straightened up: “To reach the capital, follow this main road straight ahead. After another seven or eight li, there’s a fork: one path continues forward, the other turns north—oh, that’s the right-hand path. Turn right and keep going.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun saw the crushed leech writhing on the ground; before it could roll into the ditch, the old man smashed it with a stone, splitting it in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun, seeing he paid no further heed, frowned slightly: “Leeches are hardy. Even split in two, once they touch water, they revive—though weakened for a time, unable to feed, eventually one regrows a head, the other a tail, becoming two leeches.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man glanced at the leech at his feet, then casually crushed it again, indifferent: “Kill one, and countless more fill the fields and ditches. Leeches can’t be eradicated—so I don’t waste effort grinding them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But grinding them was no great burden—just a little extra work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “I heard leeches fear sunlight. If you take them out of water and leave them in the sun, they dry into leech jerky in a day—and can even be used as medicine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man paused, puzzled why she was so intent on leeches. After a hesitation, he asked: “Little miss, are you buying leeches?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun, equally startled, smiled: “If you’re willing to catch and dry them, I’ll pay a high price.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man thought seriously. He knew a pond, murky with mud, where water was scarce and the land low, so all surrounding runoff gathered there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time he worked nearby, his oxen drank and bathed there, making the pond teem with leeches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man thought seriously, knowing there was a pond with muddy water, but because that patch of water was small and the terrain low, all surrounding water converged there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His family was short on cash; gathering a handful of leeches might help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man immediately walked to the roadside grass, wiping his feet as he asked: “Little miss, is your family in the medicine trade? How do you take delivery of leeches?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun said: “My household employs several physicians who treat people everywhere, so we buy herbs. Leeches used medicinally are called shuizhi—they break blood stasis and expel clots. Because they’re valuable, we pay two hundred wen per liang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s voice cracked: “How much?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun smiled: “Two hundred wen per liang. If quality is good, we can pay more—in pharmacies, the finest shuizhi sells for two hundred and seventy wen per liang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man stared at the crushed leech at his feet, now filled with regret—it was money, after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Pan Yun had offered him a way to earn, he no longer hurried to leave; he sat on the grass and chatted with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun asked: “The wind disaster was severe—did the court reduce taxes? Can subsidies make up for losses?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man: “We’re military households—we don’t qualify. None of that concerns us.” (End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun asked: “With the wind disaster so severe, has the imperial court reduced taxes? Can subsidies make up for the losses?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder: “We are military households—we’re not included. That has nothing to do with us.” (End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1283,"2026-06-20T22:04:01.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","408fb7bd70904e2eeee8ba954e19b772b6cfdb5ef4f77719058a3456ff684cac","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-957","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-955",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]