"Sit, sit," Ma Peng immediately shed his boss's demeanor, pulling Meng Jiu'er to sit on a stone stool covered with tiger hide.
"I came with my parents yesterday," Ajiu didn't want to waste words. "My mother caught a cold and has a high fever. You can take this sheep. It's small, but it can be stewed for soup."
Ma Peng's pupils contracted. "Caught a cold? Then just take it. I'm a rough man, I'm not afraid of the cold. If I get cold, I can just get up and practice with my saber in the middle of the night to warm up."
Saying that, he pushed the little sheep back to Meng Jiu'er.
His heart was surging at this moment. To build an army, military doctors and provisions were indispensable. He never dreamed, never, that Meng Jiu'er would be here.
This little sheep could make a big pot of soup. It would be good to give everyone a bowl to warm their bodies. Ajiu thought she could make it herself later and distribute it.
She tucked the little sheep into her embrace and picked up the tiger hide, then left.
The tiger hide was thick and heavy, but it had been softened and cleaned. Wearing it, she felt a slight sweat by the time she returned to her cave.
Ajiu quickly covered her mother with it, not noticing the discussions of the group outside the cave.
"Isn't this the boss's tiger hide? How did this girl take it?"
Suddenly, a group of new faces appeared, and it was inevitable that those who had followed the boss for several years would feel an indescribable distance.
"Exactly."
"That's the tiger the boss and his men spent seven days hunting back then. Two brothers died."
Lu Huifen bit her lip, her expression one of suppressed emotion. "My husband died then."
"Yes, otherwise we wouldn't have had a taste of tiger meat back then."
Ajiu watched her mother's complexion gradually turn from pale to rosy, and only then did she feel at ease.
"Mom, you rest for a while," Ajiu took the little sheep and left the cave.
She found Ma Peng again. He gritted his teeth. "Miss Meng, you really are stubborn. Why don't you keep it for yourself? Why share it with everyone? Last night, Brother Meng and Chu Lin went hunting. If they caught anything good, everyone would share it equally."
Ajiu smiled. "I'll go ask who is in charge of provisions here."
Guided by Ma Peng, Ajiu found Lu Huifen. "Auntie, the boss said you're in charge of provisions? Let's stew this little sheep."
Lu Huifen's eyes were filled with indifference as she scrutinized the dirty girl.
Then her gaze fell on the little sheep in her hand. "Just this little bit, how can everyone share it? The boss said we'll start cooking after the hunters return. And water isn't to be wasted."
Her words carried a hint of hostility.
Ajiu pretended not to notice. Seeing a large pot used for slaughtering pigs, she unceremoniously threw the little sheep in.
Then she went to inspect the back mountain. Three buckets of water had been collected overnight, and there were people specifically guarding it.
"Who are you..." The two looked at each other.
One emaciated person's pupils suddenly widened. "Isn't this our benefactor who treated us?"
The other person looked her up and down. My goodness, after not seeing her for many days, she was so dirty that she was unrecognizable.
"It's Miss Meng. Do you want this water? What for? The boss told us to watch this water, fearing someone would steal a drink in the middle of the night."
"To cook, to stew some lamb soup," Ajiu said with a grin.
"Wow, lamb soup! That's great... Wait, I'll go tell the boss. Gou Bao, you help Miss Jiu carry it over."
The person gave instructions and then dashed towards the cave.
"Thank you, Brother Gou," Ajiu said politely.
"It's no trouble," Gou Bao carried one bucket of water in each hand and walked towards the open space, saying happily as he walked,
"After more than a month, my strength has recovered quite well, hasn't it?"
Ajiu pursed her lips and nodded. "In a while, you'll be completely recovered."
From a distance, Lu Huifen's eyes widened. She thought her son wouldn't be able to get water, but unexpectedly, he was carrying it over himself.
"Gou Bao, what are you doing? This little bit of water is our communal lifeline."
Ajiu finally came to her senses. This auntie she'd never met seemed to have an issue with her.
"Mom, Miss Jiu said she's making lamb soup," Gou Bao smiled like a child. In fact, he wasn't old, at most eighteen or nineteen.
As he spoke, Gou Bao also helped pour a small amount of water in and then asked, "Is that enough?"
"Enough. We just need a little to boil and scald the wool." She wasn't willing to remove the lambskin now, so she'd put in the effort to remove the wool.
Lu Huifen frowned at the girl. While she was starting the fire, she quickly followed Gou Bao, saying as they walked,
"Why are you so good to her? Do you know the boss's tiger hide was taken by this girl? Do you remember how your father died? Why are you treating her so well?"