Jin Xiaoqi prepared to assign four teams. He first let the people from the two villages form their own groups, and then his men would be integrated into each team.
However, he hadn't expected that Grandpa Meng and the few old men would not be chosen by anyone.
It wasn't for any other reason than they were too old and feared becoming a burden to their teams.
If the Tatars came to raid their grain, the young and strong could fight the Tatars to the death.
What could the few old men fight with? Were they going to fight by claiming they were older than the Tatars' fathers?
Even if the old men were willing, the Tatars certainly wouldn't be. Who would want to raid for grain and end up with an extra living father?
"Tch!" Grandpa Meng wasn't discouraged by not being chosen.
He optimistically led the few old men, along with Meng Qicheng, Meng Qihua (the one who ran over later), Meng Qishan, Meng Yutang, and Meng Yuluo, to form a team. Qi He and Fu Xinci directly joined Grandpa Meng's team.
Jin Xiaoqi looked at the team formed by the second elder Meng with a headache. After all, they were all old or young. The only two strong laborers seemed a bit slow-witted.
Dan Xiaocong also had no team willing to take him, so he sheepishly ran over and asked Grandpa Meng, "Second Master Meng, can your team take in a humble servant?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, Second Master Meng."
"No need to thank me. We are all working together to resist the Tatars. Even if we are old and you are young, as long as we can all contribute our strength, even a little bit, we can fight the Tatars to the end."
Second Master Meng's words were so good, as long as we have strength, we contribute...
Others felt ashamed and lowered their heads, no longer daring to look at Grandpa Meng and the others.
Grandpa Meng paid no mind to that. Their team was officially formed.
Jin Xiaoqi was also moved by Grandpa Meng's words, so he named Grandpa Meng's team the first team, with Grandpa Meng as the captain.
Next, the first team began their first shift. Under Grandpa Meng's leadership, the first team quickly got into their rhythm. The people in the other three teams could rest in the garrison, conserving their strength.
Soon it was noon. Fu Yu arrived with a donkey cart, bringing food: golden cornmeal cakes, along with stewed wild boar and cabbage.
Such good food, let alone Dan Xiaocong, even the few old men were surprised and exclaimed, "Second Brother, I could eat three of these cakes in one meal."
"Eat as many as you can, no need to count your meals."
"Hehehe."
Dan Xiaocong felt too embarrassed to say that he could eat at least three of these cakes even if he just swallowed them dry.
Grandpa Meng glanced at Qi Xi on the large rock and asked him to come down for a meal.
Qi Xi refused, "Grandpa Meng can't come down, no one here can do without me."
Fu Xinci, seeing Qi Xi's single-mindedness, said with a smile, "Xi Zi ge, come down and eat. I'll go up and watch. I'll come down after you've eaten."
"Xinci, can you do it?" Qi Xi couldn't believe a young girl could climb so high.
"Xi Zi, you come down. Sister Fu can do it."
Qi Xi still had some doubts, but since Qi He said so, he decided to trust her for once.
However, after he carefully climbed down from the large rock, he watched Fu Xinci's agile movements, comparable to a monkey, and looked enviously at Qi He.
In front of so many people, he was too embarrassed to say that he wished he had such agility.
Qi He: "It's no use looking at me. My envy is no less than yours."
Qi Xi: ...?
"Sister Fu's martial arts were taught by her master. Haven't you seen the great saber my father recently acquired? That was found by Sister Fu's master."
When Qi He mentioned the new great saber that Uncle Yuanshan had acquired, everyone in the garrison who saw it went wild.
If it weren't for the urgency of the signal fire, these fellows would have rushed over to affectionately touch the great saber one by one.
Oh dear, I can't think about it anymore, or this delicious food won't taste as good.
Qi Xi, while biting into his cake, secretly nudged Qi He, "Xiao He, haven't you ever thought about having Sister Fu's master find you a suitable weapon too?"
Qi He had also thought about it, and he had thought about it countless times today.
But he looked down at his small frame and didn't dare to think further.
Now that Qi Xi asked, he didn't hide it, "When I grow up, at least as tall as you, I will definitely go and talk to Sister Fu."
Although the large rock was out of the wind, it was not warm. Fu Xinci, with her keen senses, heard their conversation. She said nothing, but her gaze was fixed on the distance.
To be honest, if there were no one here or only her grandfather and Qi He, she would want to climb to the cliff to see further.
Fortunately, Qi Xi didn't give her too much time to think. He quickly ate three cakes and a large bowl of wild boar stewed with cabbage.
Wiping his mouth, Qi Xi climbed back onto the large rock and replaced Fu Xinci.
Fu Xinci: Can the stomach handle eating at such a speed?
Qi Xi: I'm used to it. If I don't eat quickly, things will be snatched away.
When Fu Xinci came down, she saw her nominal father holding her portion of food and looking at her.
"Ci'er, come quickly and eat. It will get cold if we wait any longer."
"Yes."
The fine cornmeal cakes were precious food in those times.
To speak irreverently, even the imperial palace might not have them.
You must know that the cornmeal ground by a stone mill, even after several sieves, was not as fine as the cornmeal from Fu Xinci's space. That was corn that had its skin removed before being ground into powder.
Alas, there is no harm without comparison. Looking at the few old men cherishing the cakes, eating them in small bites, afraid of dropping any crumbs on the ground.
The scene of Meng Qihua and Dan Xiaocong taking large bites of the cakes was much more down-to-earth.
Especially Meng Qihua. His father, Meng Lao Liu, was from a concubine branch's concubine branch. Therefore, whether in the capital or here, they lived like invisible people, rarely appearing in public.
It was also because of Grandpa Meng's call today that the father and son came out into the open.
These four words seemed a bit harsh when applied to men. But that's how Grandpa Meng saw it. The family was cautious and likely had been bullied by the main branches when they were in the capital.
Meng Qihua had been educated by his father since he was a child: if he could avoid appearing before the main branch, he should avoid appearing before them.
When he had to appear before the main branch, he should try not to speak, so that the main branch would not remember who they were and they would be bullied less.
It was truly his second uncle's call that allowed them to appear in public today.
Their family had no financial backing. No matter how capable the father and son were, their woodshed was full, and their yard was piled high with firewood.
When the father and son went to the mountains to chop wood, they could also see some mountain goods, such as mushrooms and wood ear fungus.