There were many people, but little work; the royal guards left some to protect Farmer Zheng Bo’s family, while the others went hunting in all directions.
Although the royal guards have been protecting Farmer Zheng Bo’s family for several years now, these guards actually rotate every six months.
That is, every half year, a new batch of people comes over, allowing the current group to return, and the same process repeats six months later.
Moreover, while secretly protecting the family, they also never forget to train themselves.
Therefore, these people are well-trained, proficient in horseback archery, spear, and sword, and naturally, hunting is no problem for them.
The remaining people went around looking for some dry firewood, with a few already holding sickles, headed to the village to trim the lawns.
A few soldiers found a clean well in the courtyard of a dilapidated large mansion, where the collapsed beam roof perfectly covered the well.
They cleared the well, drew water from it, and found the water very clean, just right for cooking.
Er Niang and the others were also helping, while Xiao Mi grabbed Wei Ziang, borrowed a bow and arrow from one of the soldiers, and the two ran to the riverside to catch fish.
They left without thinking much, without bringing their own bows and arrows, and couldn’t directly pull them out of the space now.
"This water is so cold."
As soon as she reached the riverbank, Xiao Mi took off her shoes, stepping into the water barefoot.
"Put your shoes back on." Wei Ziang grabbed her shoes and hurriedly chased after her: "Be careful not to cut the soles of your feet on the stones."
"Oh." Xiao Mi obediently returned: "I should’ve bought a pair of straw sandals to bring yesterday."
Back in Fu’an Village, whenever she went to play by the river, she wore straw sandals, but after living in Xiangmu Village for years, where there was no river, she had forgotten about them.
The space did have flip-flops, but just in case someone came by later.
Wei Ziang looked around: "You play first, I’ll go weave a pair."
Xiao Mi was surprised: "Brother, you know how to weave straw sandals?"
She thought only her parents and second sister knew how.
Wei Ziang, helplessly: "In our family, only you don’t know how."
During summer rains, sometimes you couldn’t go out, and Father would weave bamboo baskets while Mother made straw sandals; everyone else would learn along.
But Xiao Mi couldn’t manage, even after many attempts, still couldn’t learn.
Or rather, she could barely make something resembling it, but it fell apart not long after being worn, and over time, others dissuaded her from learning.
Xiao Mi stuck out her tongue, embarrassed: "Like that, huh."
She placed the embroidered shoes she was about to wear back to the side: "Thanks, brother."
Then she sat on a big stone by the riverbank, rolling up her pants, her feet in the water, occasionally kicking up splashes to scare away the small fish around.
Near the riverbank, there were many small fish the size of fingers.
These little fish, if you remove the guts, make great fish for drying, soup making, or coating with flour to fry until crispy.
However, they are quite troublesome to catch, and even with much effort, it’s uncertain whether one meal could be made.
Thus, Xiao Mi’s target was not these.
Xiao Mi sat on the stone, still holding up her bow and arrow, quickly scanning the flowing river with her gaze.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and the arrow in her hand swiftly shot out, making a "splash" as it entered the water.
And after the arrow entered, it created only two ripples before the water’s surface returned to calm.
A moment later, a big fish floated to the surface, carrying the arrow Xiao Mi had shot.
"Wow, such a big fish!"
Xiao Mi was delighted, then stepped on a stone nearby, lightly exerting force; she seemed to fly like a bird, quickly leaping forward.
As she approached the fish, she bent over, reached out, and as her toe touched the water surface for leverage, she swiftly leaped upward, flipped twice, landing back on the stone where she’d sat.
"The fish in this river are so large, almost four to five pounds!"
The fish she held was a grass carp as long as her arm, and it wasn’t completely dead yet, still waving its tail.
Xiao Mi pulled out the arrow and threw the fish onto a stone near the riverbank, where there was still some water to keep it fresh; she proceeded to aim at the water surface, searching for the next one.
By the time Xiao Mi caught the second fish, Wei Ziang had made a pair of straw sandals and brought them over.
Made from fresh thatch, they were green and verdant.
Xiao Mi took one, fondly touching it: "This color is so pretty, looking like jade carving from a distance."
"Sit down." Wei Ziang stood by the riverbank.
Xiao Mi, without thinking much, obediently sat down.
Unexpectedly, Wei Ziang squatted before her, lifting one foot to help her put on the shoe.
Xiao Mi sluggishly realized: "Brother, I can do it myself..."
"Miss Jiang, such great skills!"
The voice of Commander Yang sounded simultaneously.
Xiao Mi’s words were interrupted; instinctively, she looked up, just in time to see Commander Yang clasping his fists, accompanied by a few others, all looking at her in surprise and admiration.
With a slight thought, it was clear her earlier fish-catching move had been seen.
"Practiced since childhood, I’m not as good as my brother."
Wei Ziang took the other shoe from her hands, Xiao Mi didn’t notice.
Commander Yang looked at Wei Ziang, just in time to see him pull down Xiao Mi’s pant legs.
Commander Yang didn’t think much, only astonished: "Chiliarch Wei, so young yet possessing such talents, admirable!"
He had heard General Song speak of it before--after all, the valley matter was a major event in Lishi City, hard to ignore.
But before, it was just hearsay, and since the interaction time was not long either, he hadn’t personally witnessed the skills General Song mentioned.
He had incidentally spotted Xiao Mi catching fish earlier, having heard of Miss Jiang’s abilities, all taught by Chiliarch Wei, and naturally didn’t doubt Xiao Mi’s words.
"Commander Yang, you flatter me."
Xiao Mi noticed her shoes were put on for her, didn’t care and dragged Wei Ziang directly into the water.
Stepping on the riverbed this way was indeed more comfortable, without worrying about sharp stones cutting her feet.
"Brother, let’s catch more; the fish in this river are so big."
Xiao Mi casually left Commander Yang and the others behind, inviting Wei Ziang to catch fish.
Wei Ziang clasped his fists to Commander Yang, as a way to apologize, then followed Xiao Mi on.
With people watching, Xiao Mi didn’t show off blindly; she only showcased her archery skills, leaving the fish-catching to Wei Ziang.
Indeed, as she claimed, Wei Ziang, tempered by years on the battlefield, though not having continual spiritual energy supplementation like Xiao Mi.
Yet, as Xiao Mi herself said, Wei Ziang was still far more skilled.
Even in the same fish-catching method, one could see Wei Ziang was more relaxed than Xiao Mi.
Similarly, Xiao Mi’s arrows hardly ever missed, sometimes even before Commander Yang saw anything, the fish had already surfaced.
The skill of both directly astounded those by the riverbank, leaving them dazed until Xiao Mi called them, then they snapped back to reality.
"Commander Yang, lend a hand; there are too many fish, it’s slow for us two to handle."
In just that brief moment, there were thirty or forty fish, large ones reaching four to five pounds, small ones two to three pounds.
"So many indeed."
Have to admit, these two siblings were genuinely impressive.
However, Commander Yang also somewhat doubted, were these two truly just siblings?