Chapter 53: A Chance for Promotion
“Don’t worry about it. Once we open this thing up, everyone will know what it’s for and won’t have time to suspect anything,” Ye Jiamei, the old fox, said casually, leaving Yu Luo speechless once again.
“What did you guys find? You’re making such a fuss! Let me see!”
As the mother and daughter struggled to drag the custom-made tent out from the bushes, Mu Chunfang, with her daughter-in-law Liu Lan, rushed over faster than anyone else. They didn’t seem at all hindered by the iron chains on their feet, their eyes glinting with curiosity and excitement.
After all, the third branch of the Yu family had previously picked up some new cotton-padded clothes. Mu Chunfang was still green with envy about that! Even though Yu Luo had said they were gifts, Mu Chunfang didn’t buy it for a second.
Turning around, Yu Luo caught the undisguised envy and greed in Mu Chunfang’s eyes. This woman was clearly here to take advantage of them.
—Too bad for her, she’d be disappointed.
Concealing her inner contempt, Yu Luo put on a blank look and shook her head.
“I don’t know. It’s pretty heavy—feels like a sack or something!”
“Yeah, it does feel like that. But who’d leave such a thing in the middle of nowhere?” Ye Jiamei chimed in, pretending to be puzzled. Meanwhile, she and Yu Luo continued to struggle as they dragged the thing toward the resting area. Before long, most of the Yu family had gathered around, even Yu Yingying and Yu Miaomiao had come over out of curiosity.
“What is this? How is it so thick? Is this… cowhide?
Ye Shi, your luck is really something! This cowhide can be made into boots, and we wouldn’t have to worry about freezing our feet in the snow,” Mu Chunfang exclaimed as she peeled back a bit of the tent and saw the thick cowhide lining.
Ye Jiamei rolled her eyes internally.
This tent alone cost her over a hundred taels of silver just for the raw materials, not to mention the labor. And this woman was already eyeing the cowhide! Wishful thinking!
“Let’s open it and see. If it’s just cowhide, why would it have a layer of oil paper on the outside? I have a feeling it might be a tent. Oil paper would definitely help with waterproofing,” Yu Luo said, feigning surprise.
To her surprise, the mention of a tent sent a ripple of excitement through the crowd—so much so that even some of the officers couldn’t help but gather around, lending a hand to open the thing up.
“Look! There’s even a door here! It really is a tent!”
Ye Jiamei, the one who had designed the tent, naturally knew how it worked. To hurry things along, she pointed to the entrance of the tent with an exaggerated look of surprise.
“If it’s a tent, that’d be great! At least we wouldn’t have to freeze in the wind and snow tonight!” Yu Liang, who had moved closer, ran his hands over the thick fabric of the tent, his voice full of awe and longing.
His words struck a chord with the crowd. One by one, they reached out to feel the thick fabric, their faces lighting up with hope. With a tent this sturdy, even the wind and snow wouldn’t be much of a problem!
“If it really is a tent, then set it up quickly. Everyone can sleep inside tonight,” Wu Dahai commanded, strolling over leisurely with a flask of wine in one hand and a sword at his waist. The flickering firelight cast long shadows, but the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth was unmistakable.
Nobody wanted to sleep outside in the freezing cold—officers included. They were all human, after all.
With Wu Dahai’s approval, everyone got to work with unprecedented enthusiasm. Prisoners and officers alike threw themselves into the task, all barriers between them temporarily forgotten. For a moment, it was less like a group of exiled criminals and more like a bunch of travelers working together to set up camp.
Yu Haojie watched the scene with a flicker of admiration. This tent was a lifesaver! Only his delicate wife would have the foresight to arrange for something like this.
As men from both the Yu family and the officers’ ranks pitched in to set up the tent, it quickly took shape. Once it was fully raised, the space inside was so vast that everyone stared in shock.
“It’s huge! Who could have possibly left such a thing behind? With this tent, we won’t have to fear the wind and snow on our way to the wastelands!” Yu Yingying’s eyes gleamed with undisguised excitement, her pampered young-lady attitude threatening to resurface.
“Eh? What’s this? Why are there such big iron stakes attached to the ropes?” Yu Luo pretended to be puzzled, holding up one of the ropes and pointing at the iron stakes attached to it.
“Maybe they’re for staking the tent to the ground to stop it from being blown away? That seems a lot more secure than just weighing down the edges with dirt,” Yu Qiang guessed, stepping forward to take a closer look. Though already in his fifties, years of farm work had kept him spry and sharp-witted. His guess was spot-on.
“Ah! If it’s really for securing the tent, then that’s brilliant!”
A few people quickly moved to stake the tent down. The previously shaky structure immediately felt much more secure.
Wu Dahai was the first to step inside. The biting chill outside was instantly replaced by a comfortable warmth, and to his delight, the floor was lined with an extra thick, waterproof mat.
This tent… if it were used by soldiers on snowy battlefields, it would undoubtedly boost morale and preserve lives. A few slabs of stone to insulate the ground and some charcoal braziers inside—this tent would practically turn into a mobile fortress!
If he could present the blueprints for this tent to the emperor, there would surely be rewards and promotions waiting for him.
The more Wu Dahai thought about it, the more excited he became. By the time he stepped back outside, he could barely suppress the grin on his face.
“With so many people, it’ll be a bit cramped, but it’s better than freezing outside. Gather some charcoal and find some sturdy stone slabs. We’ll need the warmth tonight,” Wu Dahai ordered briskly, his tone practically overflowing with satisfaction.
At his command, everyone sprang into action, gathering charcoal and finding stones.
In less than an hour, after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they brought their clay pots filled with burning charcoal into the tent.
Tonight, for the first time since the start of their exile, they would have a warm place to sleep.
