June in Jiangnan was hot and stifling.
In the accounting room of the Xu Manor's backyard, the abacus beads clicked and clacked.
Xiaocui sat on a high stool, holding a writing brush, swiftly making marks on the account book.
Beside her was a half-foot-tall pile of purchasing lists.
"Zhang Family Village in the east of the city, two thousand catties of mustard greens, settled for twelve taels of silver."
"Li Family Hamlet in the south of the city, one thousand five hundred catties of radish tops, settled for eight and a half taels of silver."
"Wang's Lime Kiln in the west of the city, five hundred catties of quicklime, settled for three taels of silver."
"Oil-paper shop in the north of the city, two thousand sheets of moisture-proof oil paper, settled for fifteen taels of silver."
Xiaocui muttered to herself, her hands flying over the abacus.
The purchasing volume of the second batch of vegetables had doubled compared to the first.
Over the past few days, the vegetable prices around Jiangning Prefecture had been forcefully driven up by twenty percent by the Xu family.
Those shrewd brokers caught wind of the movement and flocked over, desperately holding onto their goods, waiting for the Xu family to offer high prices.
Xiaocui took out the silver and swept up all the green vegetables on the market.
The Eldest Miss was going to do great things in the Northern Frontier, and the supply of rations from the rear could not be interrupted.
However, this money... for the Xu family, was naturally not a problem.
Just as she was worrying, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.
"Miss Xiaocui! The Miss has sent a reply!"
Xiaocui slapped the writing brush in her hand directly onto the desk.
Ink splashed onto the account book, but Xiaocui did not care to wipe it, lifting her skirt and running outside.
Taking the oil-wrapped package from the servant, Xiaocui quickly untied the red string and peeled back the oilcloth.
Inside was a thick kraft paper envelope. At the seal of the envelope, two crossed paper strips were pasted.
A bright red official seal was stamped on the strips.
The official seal of the Commander-in-Chief's Office of Zhenbei City!
Xiaocui's hands trembled, almost dropping the envelope on the ground.
Xiaocui quickly steadied her nerves, tore off the seal, and pulled out the letter paper inside.
The letter was personally written by Xu Qinghuan, the handwriting elegant and upright.
Xiaocui skimmed down the lines, her breathing growing heavier the more she read.
"Jiangning dried vegetables have been entered into the Zhenbei Army's medical ration registry."
"Effective immediately, they are classified as a crucial wartime military supply."
"The Jiangning workshop must expand production immediately, multiplying the output by ten!"
Xiaocui stared at the words medical ration registry and ten times, her mind in a whirl.
Ten times!
How many vegetables, how much silver, and how much manpower would that require!
Xiaocui continued to read on.
On the back of the letter paper, there was a densely packed record of medical efficacy.
"Five severely wounded soldiers consumed green vegetable soup for three consecutive days; their gum bleeding has completely stopped."
"Ten night-scout cavalrymen consumed radish top soup for five days; their night vision has become clear."
"The wounded soldier camp is supplied with one bowl of vegetable soup daily; the sick soldiers' resentment has greatly decreased, and there is no longer any worry of mutiny in the camp."
The dried vegetable leaves that the Eldest Miss had come up with had truly become life-saving medicine!
Nanny Zhang, who was standing nearby, leaned over, but since Nanny Zhang could not read, she could only fret in anxiety.
"Manager Cui, what did the Miss say in the letter? Are the ordinary soldiers up north used to eating our dried vegetables?"
Xiaocui turned her head and looked at Nanny Zhang.
"Nanny Zhang, the dried vegetables we sun-dried have been entered into the military registry."
"The Commander-in-Chief personally gave the order to use them as medicinal herbs."
Nanny Zhang froze in place.
Her legs gave way, and she plumped down onto the wooden stool beside her.
The wooden stool let out a muffled creak.
"Entered... entered the military registry?"
Nanny Zhang stammered, rubbing her hands vigorously against her apron.
"My heavens!"
"The vegetable leaves we dried in our own courtyard have become a military supply for the imperial court?"
Nanny Zhang swallowed hard, her face full of disbelief.
"This matter is even more shocking than my youngest son passing the scholar exam!"
"Those soldiers, who usually eat meat and drink liquor, can they swallow these dry vegetable leaves?"
Xue Hong pulled up a chair and sat down nearby.
"The shocking part is yet to come."
"You didn't see the grand scene at Zhenbei City."
"When these dried vegetables were delivered to the main camp, the Commander-in-Chief directly dispatched his personal guards to keep watch."
"Whoever dares to steal a packet will have their head chopped off on the spot."
"When those ordinary soldiers drank this vegetable soup, tears of excitement streamed down their faces."
"But... Nanny Zhang, you must not spread this kind of thing to outsiders."
"Be careful not to lose your own head!"
Hearing this, Nanny Zhang was frightened and quickly agreed.
Xiaocui lowered her head and continued to read the last paragraph of the letter.
Sure enough! The Miss had put forward new requirements in the letter.
"Effective immediately, the dried vegetables must be packaged by grade."
"The severely wounded soldier camp will be exclusively supplied with pure green vegetable packets, sealed with red thread."
"The night patrol scout camp will be exclusively supplied with radish top packets, sealed with black thread."
"The cooks' communal meals will be supplied with mixed vegetable packets, sealed with white thread."
"The various vegetable packets must be strictly categorized and must not be mixed up."
Xiaocui folded the letter paper and tucked it safely into her bosom.
"Nanny Zhang, don't just sit there, get up and get to work."
Nanny Zhang quickly stood up and patted the dust off her behind.
"Manager Cui, just give the order!"
Xiaocui walked to the center of the courtyard and clapped her hands.
The older women and wives in the workshop all stopped their work and gathered around.
"The Eldest Miss has sent a letter."
"From today onwards, the rules in our dried vegetable workshop have to change."
Xiaocui held up three fingers.
"Washing, blanching, smoking, drying, and sealing, these five procedures will be divided into three shifts."
"Two shifts during the day, one shift at night."
"We don't have enough hands, Nanny Zhang, go to the city right now and recruit people."
"As long as they are nimble and clean-working women, we will take as many as come."
A few mutters arose from the crowd below.
"Miss Xiaocui, staying up late for the night shift will be too much for our bodies to handle."
Xiaocui cut them off directly.
"Those on the night shift will get double wages!"
"And every night, an extra meal of meat buns will be provided as a midnight snack!"
As soon as these words came out, the courtyard instantly became noisy.
Double wages and meat buns to eat!
Such a good thing was extremely rare.
The few older women who had just been complaining cheered up immediately.
"Manager Cui! I sign up for the night shift!"
"I'll do it too! I have a strong body, I can stay up!"
Xiaocui pressed her hands down, signaling everyone to be quiet.
"Don't rush, there is a share for everyone."
"Nanny Zhang, take some people to the storehouse to fetch red, black, and white cotton threads."
"From now on, when bagging, use red thread for green vegetables, black thread for radish tops, and white thread for mixed vegetables."
"Whoever bags them wrongly or sews with the wrong thread will have three days' wages deducted!"
Nanny Zhang nodded repeatedly and led a few managing women running towards the storehouse.
The entire backyard of the Xu Manor instantly turned back into a busy workshop.
The chopping sounds of vegetables and the shouts of the women intertwined.
Several rough-work women poured baskets of mustard greens into large wooden tubs, washing them repeatedly with well water.
On the stoves on the other side, the water in the large iron pots bubbled and steamed.
The washed vegetable leaves were poured into the boiling water, blanched for a moment, and immediately scooped out to drain.
In the dozen or so newly built earthen kilns in the backyard, sulfur smoke floated up along the flues.
Heat waves rolled in the drying rooms, where several shirtless long-term laborers were adding firewood to the hearths.
For the final procedure, the women packed the dried vegetable leaves into oil-paper bags, tossed in a packet of quicklime, and sewed the seals with different colored cotton threads.
Xiaocui stood under the veranda, watching this bustling and energetic scene.
She suddenly felt a sense of peace in her heart!
Eldest Miss, you are fighting a war in the north.
Xiaocui will risk her life to supply you with these rations from the rear!
...
The scorching sun was high in the sky in the imperial envoy's study.
Xu Qinghuan stood in front of that massive sand table, tracing out routes.
Just then, the study door was pushed open.
Li Sheng ran in, covered in sweat, almost tripping over the threshold.
Without bothering to wipe his sweat, he rushed straight to Xu Qinghuan.
"Eldest Miss!"
"Word has come from the Raid Camp!"
Li Sheng panted heavily, his face flushed with excitement.
"The men have all been selected!"
"Fifty of the fastest veteran rogues. Two horses per man, all equipped with light bows and short swords."
"Those guys were so eager to grab the gear that they almost started a fight on the drill ground."
"Old Wu, whom you know, is also coming along. That old man has a remarkably sharp nose. He can smell the mutton stench of the Helian people from ten miles away."
"Dry rations and water skins are all strapped to the saddles."
Li Sheng swallowed hard and raised his voice.
"They said everything is ready!"
"They are just waiting for your order to head straight out of the pass and raid the steppe!"
But Xu Qinghuan's single sentence left Li Sheng dumbfounded.
"Ready?"
"Fifty men, equipped with light bows and short swords."
"When they encounter the Helian heavy cavalry, do they plan to use short swords to tickle them?"
Li Sheng froze.
"Eldest Miss, we are fighting a hit-and-run battle. If we can't win, we run."
Xu Qinghuan was speechless.
"You need to be alive to run."
"The Helian warhorses are faster than ours, and their bows have a longer range."
"If they really get pinned down on the open plains, they won't even have a chance to fight back."
Li Sheng scratched his head, half of his excitement fading away.
"Then what should we do?"
"We can't exactly carry heavy cannons on our backs to go raiding, can we?"
Xu Qinghuan did not reply.
Instead, she gently lifted an object out of a long mahogany box with both hands.
"We are still missing this."
