Zhao Liangcai's group only had Zhao Liangcai and his wife carrying baskets with some provisions.
The others had ropes around their waists, with biscuits for two meals tucked into their chests. The rest were weapons, medicine, water skins, and tinderboxes.
Two roe deer had been roasted, giving each person about two catties of cooked meat. This was enough for Qin Junyao for two meals, but for the soldiers, it only filled them halfway.
Before leaving home, Qin Junyao had asked Liu Rong to bake many thin pancakes, which she now took out to share.
"Yan Song, take these pancakes and wrap them around the meat to eat. I also have a jar of toon sauce and some green onions here, take those too."
Dengzitui, holding a stack of thin pancakes wrapped in white cloth, a small jar, and over ten green onions, stared curiously at Qin Junyao's basket.
How did Madam manage to keep the pancakes made that morning still warm? And were there other snacks in that basket?
He really wanted to lift the cloth covering it.
"Is it too much to eat? Should we give it to the villagers behind us?" Zhao Liangcai felt displeased seeing Qin Junyao constantly giving food to Dengzitui and the others.
Dengzitui's gaze shifted from the basket. He turned and walked away with the food, showing no reluctance.
"Return the jar to me after you finish," Qin Junyao reminded Dengzitui as he walked away.
"Yaoyao, what about mine?" Zhao Liangcai asked Qin Junyao, holding up the roe deer meat wrapped in white cloth.
Qin Junyao pretended not to hear, "What?"
Zhao Liangcai reminded her, "The pancakes, toon sauce, and green onions."
"There are none."
After speaking, Qin Junyao took chopsticks and a bowl from her basket and transferred the roe deer meat from the white cloth in Zhao Liangcai's hand into her own bowl.
It was neither cold nor hot, just perfect for eating.
Zhao Liangcai was amused by Qin Junyao's actions, feeling that because of one roe deer, she wouldn't give him food?
If he hadn't asked, would she have snatched it away?
He was behind Qin Junyao. With a long arm, he reached around her neck, grabbed Qin Junyao's right hand holding the chopsticks, which still held a piece of roe deer meat.
Qin Junyao watched helplessly as the roe deer meat she had picked up entered Zhao Liangcai's mouth.
The soldiers around them, wrapping pancakes with meat, collectively turned their heads. Their leader and his wife had such good feelings for each other, they even embraced while eating.
With a bowl full of meat, Qin Junyao only managed to eat the first bite. The rest of the meat was taken by Zhao Liangcai, who, holding her hand, fed it into his own mouth.
"What? You're reluctant to kill it but not to eat it?" Zhao Liangcai said provocatively, his arm still around Qin Junyao's neck.
He thought that with Qin Junyao's personality, she would stubbornly say that she would kill the roe deer herself next time they encountered one.
Unexpectedly, Qin Junyao didn't even look at him. She took another steamed bun from her basket, took a bite, and this time, it was she who looked at Zhao Liangcai provocatively.
Zhao Liangcai was truly at a loss with Qin Junyao. He raised his hands and pulled at her cheeks, "Are you here to hunt or to have a picnic? Why do you have so much food in your basket?"
"Let me see what else is inside!"
Qin Junyao, biting into the steamed bun, hugged her basket with both hands and feet, preventing Zhao Liangcai from looking. Her basket was filled with straw, which would reveal her secret if seen.
"Mmm~ mmm~ mmm," Qin Junyao, biting the bun, glared fiercely at Zhao Liangcai.
If you dare to look in my basket, I'll fight you to the death.
Zhao Liangcai snatched the steamed bun from Qin Junyao's mouth and stuffed it into his own.
"Don't be upset with me because of a roe deer. If you don't let me eat this much, I'll eat everything you take out," Zhao Liangcai said, pointing to his subordinates, "If I can't eat it, they can."
"Heh," Qin Junyao swallowed the remaining dried radish and lamb-filled steamed bun in her mouth. "Zhao Liangcai, who do you think you are? I'll do whatever you tell me to do?"
Zhao Liangcai grabbed Qin Junyao's shoulders, "I'm doing this for your own good."
"For my own good?" Qin Junyao pushed Zhao Liangcai's hand away and stood up, her voice rising, "Tell me, how is this for my own good? Are you saying I shouldn't eat meat, or I shouldn't eat at all?"
"Whether to kill a roe deer or not is my choice. I have the right to be angry. Why should I listen to you?"
Zhao Liangcai knew that if he didn't explain clearly, Qin Junyao would misunderstand him.
He took another piece of hide from his own basket, draped it over Qin Junyao, and pulled her back to sit on the hide they had spread on the ground earlier.
"Yaoyao, after the New Year, I will lead troops to the northwest city."
Before Qin Junyao could ask, Zhao Liangcai continued, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you."
"No matter how many people I leave to protect you, I still won't feel safe."
"You handle a dagger very well now, but you haven't killed a single chicken."
Zhao Liangcai looked into Qin Junyao's eyes, tightening his embrace around her with the hide, "I know killing people is different from killing animals. But if you can't bring yourself to harm these wild creatures, what will you do when half-grown children or the elderly attack you?"
"What will I do if something happens to you?"
Qin Junyao remained silent for a long time, organizing Zhao Liangcai's words in her mind. After thinking it over, she softly asked the question she wanted to know, "Are we going to war in the northwest city?"
"Yaoyao, this is not the time to discuss this. Let's talk about it when we get home."
Qin Junyao took a deep breath and nodded.
Zhao Liangcai observed Qin Junyao's expression and coughed lightly, "Yaoyao, are you still angry?"
Qin Junyao shook her head.
"Then, do you still have any pancakes to eat?"
Qin Junyao...
That night, Zhao Liangcai's men took turns on guard duty.
Qin Junyao slept in the spot where the bonfire had been. After the fire was removed, the ground retained some warmth. She slept soundly for half the night on the hide laid over it.
The next morning, after roasting the remaining roe deer, everyone continued their journey deeper into the mountains.
The villagers who followed were hungry, cold, and tired after the night. They were very unhappy with the well-fed soldiers.
However, when they encountered an adult wild boar that morning, they dared not voice any complaints.
If it weren't for these soldiers, the boar's tusks could have ripped open the bellies of several villagers.
The adult wild boar weighed over 400 catties. Zhao Liangcai decided to give the boar to the villagers and had two of his subordinates lead them back the way they came.
Eight brave villagers wanted to accompany Zhao Liangcai for a while. Zhao Liangcai did not object; having extra hands to help carry things was beneficial.
The military dependents' area had been allocated camel meat this year, so there was no strict requirement to hunt many game animals this time.
They stayed in the mountains for three days and two nights, bringing back a wild boar, two deer, and pheasants and rabbits hung all over their bodies.
Qin Junyao personally killed a deer and over a dozen wild rabbits and pheasants.
The pheasants and rabbits were fine, but the dying deer's large eyes kept replaying in Qin Junyao's mind.
Zhao Liangcai was right; seeing something was different from actually doing it.
During their journey as refugees, Qin Junyao had only seen corpses, with the stimuli coming from sight and smell.
Taking the initiative to kill added the sense of touch. As the dagger pierced through the somewhat tough hide and into the flesh, Qin Junyao could clearly feel a vibrant life disappear.
As Qin Junyao emerged from the mountains, she saw smoke rising from the chimneys of the village houses and felt a sense of having been through another life.
She had only killed some chickens, rabbits, and a deer, while Zhao Liangcai had been on the battlefield since he was a teenager, killing his own kind, living people.
Thinking of Zhao Liangcai's head ailment and the events that would unfold in the northwest city after the New Year, Qin Junyao felt immense sympathy for him.