RYEY -Chapter 428 Third-Class Military Merit

During the time she spent waiting, Cheng Qiao went to the lounge to take a shower, washed all her clothes, and tidied up the general store. She placed everything she would need separately so it would be easy to grab later.

Oh right—there was also that blind bear in the courtyard. Kept in her space, it was incredibly fresh, as if it had just died, the meat still springy and elastic. She would have to take it out later.

And there was also that big tiger. Cheng Qiao really wanted to skin it right now, carve off the meat, soak the tiger bones in liquor, and make a mattress out of the tiger hide.

But thinking about how they were still on the road, she suppressed all those ideas. She entered the medicine-making space once more. The drawer holding the Rebirth Pills was already open, and this time Cheng Qiao happily harvested thirty Rebirth Pills.

There were plenty of small redwood boxes—every one of them made by Uncle Niu. Of course, she had paid him properly for them. Carefully, she placed the Rebirth Pills into the boxes one by one, then stored them away in the medicine-making space.

With a flash, she exited the space, bringing the blind bear out with her as well. Li Huan happened to be stretching lazily. When he saw Cheng Qiao appear, carrying a blind bear with her, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Cheng Qiao set the bear down. Before Li Huan could say anything, a large wooden tub filled with steaming hot water—space water—appeared in the middle of the small wooden cabin.

“Truly, the one who understands me best is my wife. Having you in this life—I don’t know how much virtue I accumulated over several lifetimes.”

The corners of Cheng Qiao’s lips lifted slightly. It wasn’t about virtue from several lifetimes—it was because in her previous life, he had paid for her with his own life. So in this life, she was determined to let him live safely and peacefully until the end of his days.

When the truck stopped, Cheng Qiao directly tossed the blind bear onto the roof above the cab. That way, in just a few hours, the bear would turn into a frozen bear.

Hearing a noise above his head, Xiao Dan quickly looked up and saw a pitch-black blind bear lying on the roof, while Cheng Qiao was tying it securely to the top of the cab with ropes.

“Second sister-in-law, what are you doing?” Xiao Dan asked, looking confused.

He had forgotten about his blind bear. And when they set off, there definitely hadn’t been a bear on the roof. Where had his second sister-in-law gotten this one from?

Hu Lata glanced at Xiao Dan and told him that he was the one who had thrown it up there earlier. It just hadn’t been tied properly. Cheng Qiao noticed the problem and climbed up to secure it again.

Uncle Niu also found it strange. Xiao Dan had indeed carried a blind bear down the mountain back then, and the entire village had eaten their fill of rich meat. But no one had said this kid had another blind bear.

“Uncle Niu, this one is my gift to Xiao Dan, so I didn’t take it out earlier,” Cheng Qiao explained.

Hearing her explanation, Uncle Niu immediately believed her. Two years ago, Huan and Cheng Qiao had already brought two blind bears down the mountain. They thought they’d kept it well hidden, but he had known about it all along.

Seeing the blind bear, Xiao Dan felt, for the first time, how blissful long-distance travel could be. Three meals a day—and if they drove late at night, there was even a midnight snack.

When he was really tired, he could take a nap in the small wooden cabin in the truck bed. Even his naps were filled with dreams—dreams of his parents selling the blind bear, earning lots and lots of money, and using it to marry Xiao Niu back home.

Whenever Uncle Niu and Xiao Dan went to sleep, Cheng Qiao would go to the front cab to chat with Hu Lata. Hu Lata would also remind her that once they reached Hexi, she must never casually trust any strangers, and so on.

Cheng Qiao naturally kept all of this in mind. She also urged Hu Lata to go rest in the back. Staying up for one night was fine, but going several nights without sleep could be fatal.

Seeing that Hu Lata still wasn’t at ease, Cheng Qiao would perform a bit of “magic,” disappearing without a trace in a single second. Only then could Hu Lata finally relax and get some rest.

A week later, the truck finally entered Hexi territory and arrived at the gate of the garrison. Upon receiving the news, Qin Daqiang hurriedly appeared in front of the military vehicle.

Ignoring the intense soreness in his legs, Xiao Dan jumped out of the truck, went up to Qin Daqiang, stood straight, and gave a crisp salute.

Qin Daqiang sneered at Xiao Dan. Originally, he wanted to lose his temper and lock him up for two days—for going out so long without organization, discipline, or any news.

But when he saw Hu Lata also get out of the truck, all the words got stuck in his throat. No need to say it—Xiao Dan must have been commandeered by Hu Lata during this time.

Sure enough, Xiao Dan handed over his itinerary. Though the handwriting was crooked, every day’s activities were recorded—especially the part about escorting the spy to the capital, which was written in particularly large characters.

“Brigade Commander Qin, sorry about this. I requisitioned your soldier without your approval. This is my compensation—take a look.”

Hu Lata had already seen Xiao Dan’s writing and found it amusing. This little guy didn’t have much ability, but he had plenty of tricks—playing word games, no less. Since that was the case, he’d give him a small lesson.

Following the direction of Hu Lata’s finger, Brigade Commander Qin looked over—and saw a blind bear. He was startled and instinctively reached toward his waist.

But Xiao Dan let out a wail, boldly shooting Hu Lata a resentful glance. These days he’d been running all over helping him, gained no benefits at all, and now even the benefit that was already in his hands had been taken away.

Hu Lata let out a cold chuckle. Little brat—still daring to glare at him? This time he was definitely picking a fight with him. Want a blind bear? Go hunt one yourself.

“What’s going on? Why are you crying now? This blind bear—you hunted it yourself.”

Brigade Commander Qin was rough but perceptive. He already understood the key point and snorted at Xiao Dan.

Xiao Dan choked. He hadn’t hunted it himself—but he *had* picked it up himself! How was he supposed to say that out loud?

Brigade Commander Qin glanced at Hu Lata, who was wearing a roguish grin, and immediately understood his meaning. He waved his hand and summoned several soldiers, ordering them to untie the black bear and send it to the mess hall. Today, the entire unit would be eating bear meat.

However, Brigade Commander Qin was still biased in favor of Xiao Dan. Not only did he announce to the entire army that the bear had been brought back by Xiao Dan, he also expressed great satisfaction with the mission Xiao Dan had carried out and recorded a third-class military merit for him.

With that, all the grievances in Xiao Dan’s heart vanished. This was his first time earning military merit since joining the army. He believed that once his father heard the news, he would surely kowtow to their ancestors in gratitude.

“Cheng Qiao, you’re here too. My goodness, who built this wooden house? How did they make it so well?”

Uncle Niu appeared at just the right moment. Who built it? Of course, it was him. But no matter how thick-skinned he was, he couldn’t bring himself to boast like that. Fortunately, Cheng Qiao understood his intention and pointed at him with her slender fingers.

“Uncle Niu, do you still remember me?”

“How could I not? When your son came to our village to ask for Lele’s hand in marriage, you came along too. But you must’ve been promoted and made a fortune by now—just look at your uniform, even the fabric is different.”

Qin Daqiang’s expression stiffened slightly. His promotion this time was truly hard to put into words. Still, since he was already sitting in the position of brigade commander, he naturally had to perform well.

“Uncle Niu, could it be that you’ve come to build wooden houses for our military district? But our district…”