"Mother, it's me," the voice of her daughter-in-law, Hu Ying, sounded from outside the door.
The door creaked open, and Hu Ying quickly slipped inside.
Zhang Ye hurriedly closed the door behind her.
Only upon returning home did Hu Ying finally relax. She took out a small bag of grain and two steamed buns that she had been guarding closely in her arms.
At noon, she couldn't bear to eat the steamed buns. Plus, her appetite wasn't large; that big ladle of porridge had made her half-full, which was already the most satisfying meal she had eaten in a very, very long time.
"Mother, it smells so good. What is it?" Li Yu sniffed the air.
Hu Ying handed him a steamed bun. "It's a steamed bun. Eat it."
She then handed the other steamed bun to Zhang Ye. "Mother, you eat."
Zhang Ye was startled. "Where... where did these steamed buns come from?"
Hu Ying's eyes reddened, but the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile. "It's from today's lunch, and there's grain too. Mother, look, a whole pound."
She opened the ragged, heavily patched small linen bag, revealing the coarse flour inside.
It was clean coarse grain, free of bran and grit. To them, this was already incredibly good food. In these times, apart from the nobles, few commoners could afford fine grain.
Zhang Ye's lips trembled. "They... they really gave it to you?"
Hu Ying nodded. "Yes, I can see those people keep their word. There should be more work tomorrow, so I'll go again."
A flash of sorrow crossed her eyes. "If only... if only Dalang were still here. The two of us could go work, and we could get two pounds of grain a day. It would be enough for us to eat."
Zhang Ye's heart ached as she looked at the steamed bun in her hand. Yes, if only her son were here. If only... if only those people had arrived earlier, her son wouldn't have gone up the mountain and been eaten by wild beasts.
She shoved the steamed bun into her daughter-in-law Hu Ying's hand. "You eat it. There might be more work tomorrow. You need to be full to have strength, so you won't be turned away."
Li Yu swallowed hard, but he also handed his steamed bun to Hu Ying. "Mother, you eat."
Hu Ying's tears fell, sliding down her fire-scarred face. "I'll go heat them up, and we'll eat together."
Zhang Ye took the steamed buns. "I'll do it. You must be tired after working all day. Hurry up and rest for a bit."
Despite her words, Hu Ying still followed her into the kitchen to help tend the fire. Soon, steam rose in the kitchen.
Zhang Ye asked, "Did everyone who went to work today receive grain? And they provided lunch?"
Hu Ying watched the firelight in the stove. "Yes, Mother. I feel like they are different from the people before."
Zhang Ye fell silent, smelling the aroma of the steamed buns. Perhaps, they were indeed different.
For people who had been starving for a long time, three people sharing two steamed buns was already very good. They didn't touch the grain, saving it for the winter.
Just as the sky began to lighten, shouts echoed through the city.
"At a quarter past the hour of Chen, the Quzhao county magistrate, Qu Chi, will be executed at the South Gate. The people of the city are welcome to come and watch."
"At a quarter past the hour of Chen, the Quzhao county magistrate, Qu Chi, will be executed at the South Gate. The people of the city are welcome to come and watch."
At the South Gate, Qu Chi was forced to his knees, glaring viciously at Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin smiled at him. She had the foresight to gag him; a dying man shouldn't be allowed to spout filthy words and ruin her mood.
With the precedent of giving grain for digging graves and burying bodies yesterday, the commoners no longer feared Jiang Jin's troops as they initially did, and had even developed a bit of trust. Looking out at the crowd that came to watch the spectacle today, there were actually two to three hundred people.
Dong Si coughed twice, stepped forward, and began to enumerate Qu Chi's various crimes.
The city's residents already had a deep, blood-soaked hatred for the Quzhao people. Hearing Dong Si passionately recount the monstrous crimes of Qu Chi and the Quzhao people aroused their anger and empathy even more. Many people began throwing small stones at Qu Chi.
Zhou Sui and Yao Ji stood on Jiang Jin's left and right sides, respectively. Seeing the commoners sharing a common hatred for the enemy, a hint of a smile flashed in their eyes.
This was another brilliant move, using hatred and empathy to draw the hearts of the people a step closer to Jiang Jin's side.
This was also the reason why Jiang Jin hadn't killed Qu Chi immediately.
The moment Qu Chi's head was chopped off, the crowd boiled over. Some cried, some laughed, but they all shouted, "Well killed!" and "Kill all the barbarians, kill all the Quzhao people!"
The body was quickly carried away. Waiting for the people's emotions to settle somewhat, Jiang Jin took two steps forward and shouted, "The barbarians invaded our Central Plains and committed monstrous crimes against us."
"They slaughtered wantonly on our land. Wherever they passed, lives were devastated, rivers ran with blood, and countless commoners were separated from their families and saw their homes destroyed..."
Her passionate speech left not only the commoners but even people like Zhou Sui with red eyes, simultaneously stirring up an even stronger sense of national and personal hatred toward the barbarians.
Jiang Jin's voice was sonorous and powerful. Changing the subject, she declared, "Though the country is broken, our mountains and rivers remain! We still have hope!"
Everyone's hearts trembled. Yes, the country was broken, but their mountains and rivers were still here! They still had hope!
Jiang Jin pointed into Gefeng City. "Since I have conquered Gefeng, Gefeng will be protected by me, Jiang Jin. I will not allow the barbarians to step another foot into Gefeng City!"
"To avoid becoming slaves of a ruined nation, to avoid extermination of our country and race, and for the rise of our Han people, I hope everyone will unite and stand together against the outsiders! Drive the barbarians out of our land! Starting right here from Gefeng!"
The crowd grew excited and chanted along, "We won't be slaves of a ruined nation! Drive the barbarians out of our land!"
Zhou Sui felt a surge of emotion in his chest. At this moment, he seemed to see everyone twisting together into a powerful force.
At this time, he didn't yet know that this was called cohesion!
Jiang Jin pressed her hands down to quiet them. "Since I could take back one city from the Quzhao people, I can take back two cities, three cities, and even all the cities of our Han people. However, we will also face a huge crisis. It is inevitable that the Quzhao people will attack Gefeng again."
"But, we have sturdy city walls, we have sharp weapons, and we have formidable soldiers. If I can kill them once, I can kill them twice!"
The commoners, who had panicked for a moment upon hearing that the Quzhao people would attack the city, suddenly felt filled with heroic spirit after hearing Jiang Jin's domineering words.
They all followed suit and shouted, "Kill them, kill them all, kill, kill, kill!"
Jiang Jin was very satisfied. "To better face the enemy, we need to build a barbican at the South Gate. Able-bodied young men who come to work will be provided with lunch plus a pound and a half of grain."
The commoners' eyes lit up. Whether they had worked yesterday or not, everyone already knew how good the lunch Jiang Jin mentioned was, and that they would truly be given the exact amount of grain promised.
That wasn't all. Jiang Jin continued, "Those between 45 and 55 years old who are capable of physical labor can also come to work. Lunch will be provided, but only half a pound of grain will be distributed."
"Those who previously worked in the armory can continue to come to work. Lunch will also be provided, and a pound and a half of grain will be distributed."
The crowd was in an uproar, followed by loud cheers.
With Jiang Jin's encouragement and the precedent of working for grain yesterday, even more people came to work today. Just for building the barbican alone, there were over 200 people. Almost everyone capable of working showed up.
Jiang Jin directly appointed Guo Li as the main person in charge, with Kang Sheng assisting.
Under their direction, the working commoners enthusiastically threw themselves into the construction.
Twelve people also came to the armory. Jiang Jin put Chen Xi temporarily in charge and had them continue making arrows.
With the addition of the blacksmiths Jiang Jin had purchased, the weapons forge grew lively, ringing with the endless clanking of hammers against iron.
Jiang Jin instructed Yun Ce, "The quarry team needs to pick up the pace. From the looks of things here, the foundation should be completely dug out in just a few days."
Yun Ce felt a sudden surge of pressure. "Understood," he replied, his mind already spinning with ways to squeeze more labor out of the captives.
