Chapter 34: In the Blink of an Eye

The thick, succulent pork hock meat was wrapped in a freshly griddled oil pancake; to prevent it from being too greasy, some chopped chili sauce made from green peppers and garlic was added. Just looking at it was enough to make one's mouth water.

Chen Mo took a bite, and the slightly soupy pork hock meat seeped out juices, which flowed slowly onto his hand, making his fingers feel slightly sticky.

Having a home did have its benefits. Chen Mo was off duty today and didn't need to spend money at a small eatery; buying some meat to take home for Zhao Yu to help cook undoubtedly cost much less than before.

Previously, he could only go to eateries, and eateries certainly had to make a profit; now, cooking at home, he could eat more meat for the same amount of money.

"Eat slowly, there's more in the pot," Zhao Yu smiled, bringing over a small basin filled to the brim with braised pork ribs.

As for the pot, there were still two large chunks of mutton stewing inside.

Chen Mo swept through the food on the table like a wind clearing away scattered clouds, and soon he had cleared most of it, with even the gnawed bones piled into a small hill on the table.

Zhao Yu didn't eat much, but her complexion had improved a lot during this time; though her figure remained extremely thin, her face had finally become rosy.

"Do you still have money on you? Could you lend me some?" Seeing Chen Mo finish his meal, she finally gathered her courage and spoke with a hint of bashfulness.

"Why, did you use up the money I gave you before?" Chen Mo asked, feeling puzzled.

"No, I want to set up a stall in this town to sell some food. My cooking is decent, so I should be able to earn some silver, but I'm short on capital right now," she explained her idea.

If she stayed at home all the time doing nothing but eating, it would inevitably become annoying to others.

Finding something to do, even if it were bitter or tiring, would at least provide an income and allow her to support herself.

"How much more do you need?" Chen Mo asked in a low voice, wiping his hands with a wet towel and taking a purse from his Huai.

He did indeed have quite a bit of money on him, but he didn't carry it all.

"Another one tael and two mace should be enough." Zhao Yu stated a specific amount; it seemed she had considered this carefully beforehand and it wasn't just a momentary impulse.

"Alright." Chen Mo counted out one tael and five mace of silver and handed it to her.

"Small businesses also need more capital; consider this money my investment in your venture," he said with a smile as he handed the money over.

Zhao Yu's cooking was indeed good, a point Chen Mo acknowledged quite readily. Not to compare her to the master chefs of the big restaurants in the city, but the taste was certainly much better than many of the small eateries in town.

If she went to sell some food, even if she didn't make a fortune, she certainly wouldn't lose money.

"Many thanks," Zhao Yu smiled and thanked him.

She knew Chen Mo was looking after her; borrowed money had to be repaid, but an investment in a business meant she didn't have to pay it back even if it failed.

Even if only for this trust he placed in her, she had to make the business a success.

Chen Mo ate two meals at home and still returned to the military camp before the curfew.

Chen Mo had now been assigned to a squad like the other new recruits, and he took orders under Mo Dao, responsible for patrol and security within the camp.

This was a relatively light job, as there were many people responsible for patrols, and the time allotted to him for patrol each day was only a short hour.

Therefore, he could have more time to do more training. Since he had to take the military examination, he not only had to read and write, but also study military strategy and policy essays; he had to be proficient in reading and writing them, and even more so, be able to adapt according to the situation.

It was fortunate that the military examination only tested policy essays; as long as one could provide a relatively reasonable response to the questions, it was sufficient, and there was no need to break down, point out, or stick to the theme like in the civil examination.

Otherwise, even if Chen Mo studied for another three years, he might not be able to pass this military examination.

Foot archery, mounted archery, and spear techniques all required him to practice and learn slowly.

The Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist was also constantly improving, but even with Chen Mo's aptitude, breaking through from the third layer to the fourth was no easy task.

According to his estimation, it would take at least two or three months of effort.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month drifted by.

Chen Mo galloped on horseback within the military camp's Drill Ground, constantly attempting to tame the horse beneath him.

There were twenty or thirty horses in the Stable, and he could ride any of them at will, except for this one, which was fierce and difficult to tame.

Currently, it obeyed no one but Sun Jiangjun; he had tried to tame this horse several times, but always ended in failure.

Sun Jiangjun had declared that whoever could tame this horse would be gifted the horse.

Others had also tried, but currently, Chen Mo was the only one still attempting it.

He was not very skilled at horse taming, but he had great strength and his endurance far exceeded that of ordinary people; as long as he could wear down the horse's temperament, he would be able to ride it sooner or later.

"Thirteen!" A loud shout came from afar, and Chen Mo looked over, seeing Mo Hu waving at him from a distance.

He stopped taming the horse for the moment and found an opportunity to flip down from the horse's back.

"What is it, Fifth Brother?" Chen Mo walked to his side and asked with a smile.

"I went to town and ran into your wife; she said the weather is getting warmer now, so she made you two sets of thin clothes and entrusted me to bring them to you." Mo Hu tossed over a parcel.

Inside were two new cotton robes; one look at the tailoring and seams showed that the person who made the clothes had put in great effort.

Chen Mo was slightly surprised; these two cotton robes were not cheap, costing at least five or six mace of silver.

However, his expression remained calm; after all, his own wife making him clothes was really not a big deal.

"I say, you kid are truly lucky to be able to marry such a good wife." He said this with a tone of slight envy.

Chen Mo was his Thirteen, yet he was already married, while he himself was still a bachelor!

"You can ask for leave from our foster father later and go back to your hometown; otherwise, having our foster father help you find one in Xingyuan Prefecture would also work," Chen Mo suggested with a smile.

With Mo Hu's status, it would definitely not be difficult to marry a wife; not to mention marrying the legitimate daughter of a prominent family, marrying the daughter of an ordinary wealthy family was by no means difficult.

"Let's wait until I pass the examination for the provincial graduate title," Mo Hu revealed a rather confident smile. He was going to take the examination for the provincial graduate title this year, and clearly, he felt he had a very high probability of passing.

By then, the girls he could find would be completely different from now.

"Fifth Brother, Thirteen, the General has something for you; he wants you to see him immediately," a Personal Soldier came to report in a hurry.

Chen Mo was the thirteenth foster son of Sun Jiangjun, so the other new recruits addressed him as Thirteen just as they addressed Mo Hu.

"What happened?" Mo Hu hurriedly asked, but the messenger Personal Soldier shook his head, knowing nothing about it.

"Let's go see our foster father first." Chen Mo pulled him along to set off.

Usually, if there were no matters, their foster father would not suddenly want to see them; today, it seemed something had happened, and it might be a rather urgent matter.

The two of them rushed to the study together, only to find that besides them, Mo Dao, Zhao Yuncheng, and two of Sun Jiangjun's nephews were also there awaiting orders.

Chen Mo greeted them in a low voice, and they nodded slightly in response, none of them speaking much.

"You fled from Qingzhou to escape disaster, so did you pass through here?"

Sun Shouren beckoned to Chen Mo; a map was laid out before him, with a small area already marked on it.

"I did indeed flee from this area, what is it, Foster Father? Has something happened there?" Chen Mo glanced at the map and said.

He had not been certain at the time where he had fled from, but with Qingmu County on the map and the town where he had eaten hot noodle soup as markers, he could estimate based on the direction he had fled from back then.

He must have fled from this area, otherwise he could not have reached that town.

(End of chapter)