I Became a Sugar Mama to an Ancient General during a Famine! - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Longing to Stay in the General’s Mansion

The shoes arrived – fifty thousand pairs, packed in two large crates.

The big tent was filled to the brim, so full that some boxes tumbled out.

Ten officers were present, but Mo Fan was not among them…

He had taken snacks and shoes from Chen Kui’s residence and hadn’t returned to the military camp.

Chen Wu looked enviously at the boxes of shoes.

These were all shoes! His own boots were completely worn out, patched over and over, with layers of fabric sewn onto the surface.

The sneakers sent by the god yesterday were too precious for him to wear.

Who would have thought that today the god would send new shoes again?

He could hardly wait to open the paper boxes.

A pair of dark blue cloth shoes with embroidered flowers at the opening caught his eye.

The upper was made of thick cotton fabric, with a cushioned insole and a soft rubber anti-slip sole…

He took off his wooden clogs and tried on the cloth shoes.

Very comfortable, even more lightweight than the shoes sent by the god yesterday.

He walked back and forth a few steps, then jumped a bit.

“These shoes are great, comfortable and snug.”

“General, whether it’s sneakers or cloth shoes, they’re all better than our wooden clogs.”

The other deputy generals could hardly wait to try on the shoes.

Sure enough, as Chen Wu said, they fit comfortably.

Chen Junlin performed a set of spear techniques wearing the cloth shoes.

Wow, so soft and comfortable!

Zhan Chengyin chose a pair of black shoes with cloud patterns on the upper.

He put on the shoes and took a few steps.

Very light, so light he could hardly feel the weight of the shoes.

He liked them very much!

“The god sent a total of 50,000 pairs of shoes.”

“Everyone take two boxes back, and have the servants at your residence change into them.”

The soldiers were all very happy to hear this.

There were enough shoes, 50,000 pairs…

The old and new soldiers of the Zhan family army totaled 40,000 men.

One pair per person, with 10,000 pairs left over.

At that moment, Mo Fan had arrived, so Zhan Chengyin instructed Zhuang Liang: “Mo Fan’s household has many people, you choose four boxes to take back.”

Zhuang Liang bowed: “Thank you, General.”

He selected three boxes of men’s shoes and one box of women’s shoes to take back.

Zhan Chengyin said to Tian Qin: “You take a box of shoes back to the General’s Mansion, and have everyone in the household change into new shoes.”

“Yes, General.”

There were now over 80 people at Zhan Chengyin’s mansion.

Uncle Li had adopted thirteen orphans.

The old grandmother and granddaughter he had given rice balls to were now living in the General’s Mansion, voluntarily becoming servants.

Yang’er and her mother Wan Niang had also become servants at the General’s Mansion.

Wei Guang, who was recovering from illness, his six brothers, and Sun the Mute… all lived in the General’s Mansion.

These people had come to seek refuge on their own, saying the General had saved Wei Guang and Sun the Mute, and was their life-saving benefactor.

They came to repay the kindness of saving their lives, willing to serve the General!

Originally Uncle Li didn’t like these street ruffians.

But unexpectedly, Wei Guang was quick-witted and directed the thirteen orphans to clean the General’s Mansion spotlessly.

The damaged roof was repaired by Little Six and Sun the Mute.

The dilapidated General’s Mansion was actually restored bit by bit by them.

Uncle Li then saw that they weren’t just freeloaders, and didn’t say anything more.

These days Zhan Chengyin was in the military camp and hadn’t returned to the mansion.

Uncle Li was busy distributing porridge, and Wei Guang helped with many things.

For example: when there was trouble at the porridge stalls, people cutting in line, arguments breaking out…

Before, there were town guards, prefectural offices, or patrol garrisons to handle these matters.

Now, those people had fled, and the prefectural offices were full of refugees.

The General’s Mansion became the place for settling disputes.

Whether it was neighbors stealing grain or families accusing others of kidnapping and cannibalism during the famine, everything was brought up.

Cases involving human life were serious matters.

Previously, when everyone was starving mad, many residents in the city had eaten human flesh.

Now, the time had come to settle these accounts.

Some people were afraid of being held accountable, especially wealthy merchants, who offered large sums of money, wanting to bribe the General’s Mansion to let them off.

They wanted the matter to be kept quiet, so their reputations wouldn’t be ruined.

Wei Guang was very good at handling these matters. He knew exactly how much money the city’s merchants had in their pockets.

He would demand they bring out everything they had, leaving them just enough to return to their households, and in exchange, the issue of cannibalism would be buried.

The families of the victims would receive compensation of a bag of 50 jin of rice and a bag of 10 jin of flour.

This food could feed the whole family for three months, so naturally they wouldn’t make trouble again.

And so the matter would be settled.

Uncle Li felt that Wei Guang was quite talented.

He had him read Sun Tzu’s Art of War sent by the god, and the trilogy of time-travel books.

In just a few days, relying on his eloquence and personal charm, Wei Guang had established a firm footing in the General’s Mansion.

When the General had Tian Qin send a box of shoes back, Tian Qin felt that one box wasn’t enough for those orphans.

He took two boxes.

As soon as he arrived at the General’s Mansion, he saw Wei Guang standing at the door and gave him the boxes.

“Inside are shoes. Have everyone divide them up, one pair per person, store the extras in the warehouse.”

When Wei Guang saw the shoes, he looked at his own feet. It had been a long time since he had worn shoes.

Walking on the scorching sand every day, thick calluses had formed on the soles of his feet.

He was an orphan, no one had ever given him shoes before.

He said: “Thank you, General.”

Tian Qin glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Wei Guang carried the boxes inside, and a group of orphans ran over, surrounding him.

“Brother Wei, what is this?”

Wei Guang opened the boxes and saw pairs of beautiful cloth shoes inside.

The style of the shoes was different from those in the Great Qi Kingdom.

They had thick fabric uppers, with beautiful patterns and designs on the shoe surface.

He gently stroked the shoe surface with his dark fingers.

These shoes were so beautiful!

Even the shoe shops in the Great Qi Kingdom didn’t sell shoes as nice as these.

When the children saw the shoes, they couldn’t hold back their exclamations.

“Wow, they’re shoes, so pretty!”

“Brother Wei, did the General bring these shoes for us to wear?”

“I’ve never worn shoes before!”

The youngest, a three-year-old girl, happily pulled her grandmother over: “Grandma, shoes… pretty shoes.”

The old grandmother looked at the pairs of brand new embroidered shoes, wiped tears from her eyes with her fingers, “The General is truly a good person, even sending us shoes!”

Wei Guang also had reddened eyes as he squatted down.

“Come, one pair per person. Go fetch some water to wash your stinky feet, then put on the new shoes.”

The children happily went to the water vat to fetch water and wash their feet.

Water was a precious resource, but Wei Guang felt that Zhan Chengyin wouldn’t lack water.

The significance of these orphans’ first pair of shoes in their lives was immense.

They should wash their feet squeaky clean before putting on the new shoes.

After everyone had changed into new shoes, they began running and jumping all over the courtyard. For a time, the General’s Mansion was filled with laughter and happy voices.

Wei Guang, Little Six, and Sun the Mute sat on the steps of the General’s Mansion.

Little Six couldn’t take his eyes off the shoe surface, he had chosen the most beautiful sky blue shoes.

Sun the Mute touched the patterns on the shoe surface several times, embroidered with cute little tigers.

Wei Guang felt the soft touch of the shoes. He lay back with his hands behind his head, feeling very content.

“I never thought that I, Wei Guang, would one day be able to wear shoes. Mute, don’t you think we made the right choice coming to the General’s Mansion?”

Sun the Mute nodded with a smile. “Brother Wei, I told you there were gods in the General’s Mansion. These were sent by the gods.”

“Thank the gods for letting us eat our fill and have new shoes to wear.”

Little six became somewhat melancholy.

“The General has been staying in the military camp all this time. We tricked Uncle Li to get into the General’s Mansion. What if the General comes back and drives us out?”

Would they have to go back to being homeless children?

Sun the Mute wasn’t worried that the General would drive them away.

“The General is a good person, he won’t drive us out. Besides, Brother Wei is so capable, he’s helped the General handle so many troublesome matters.”

How was he capable?

It was just that he had no other choice and found a middle ground to mediate.

If the General came back and found out he had taken so much money and given out rice and flour from the storehouse as compensation.

Who knows how the General would punish him.

Sigh~

He really wanted to stay at the General’s Mansion, but what could he do now?