Feng Jiu’er smiled, stood up, bent down, and helped the little girl to her feet.
“Come, once you finish your sweet potato, let’s go take a look at this lake you’ve all told me about. I have a better way to catch fish.”
“Xiao Hu, you eat something too. I promise, there will be meat for everyone tonight.”
The two children sat back down, giggling, and Madam Niu said nothing, though her expression, too, was one of joy.
She wasn’t sure why, but meeting such a warm, unassuming Princess had rekindled a spark of hope in her otherwise despairing heart.
Perhaps her husband would come back after all.
After the midday meal, Jian Yi rode off on horseback, while the rest of the group led Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao toward the hills behind the village.
Half an hour later, on a stretch of grass not far from the lake, Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao taught the women how to weave fishing nets, hand over hand.
Nearby, the elderly and the children sat among piles of grass, pulling long green strands out of the freshly cut reeds.
Not bad at all — the same materials, the same technique.
If there were fish to be had, why should anyone go hungry?
With more than a dozen farmwives working busily together, the fishing nets gradually began to take shape.
“Princess, it really does look like it’ll work.”
One of the farmwives stood up and stretched out a net that was starting to look like the real thing.
“Of course it’ll work.”
Xiao Yingtao stretched her arms.
“When we’re out on campaign and need to forage for food, we use this method all the time.”
“As long as the net is long enough and wide enough, no lake is too big a problem.”
“Don’t worry.” Xiao Yingtao glanced at the swordsman walking back toward them and curved her lips slightly.
“The Princess isn’t just here to teach you how to fish — she’s going to teach you some hunting skills as well.”
Xiao Yingtao walked up to the group and looked them over carefully.
“The three of you, and these two sisters here — you’ll be in charge of hunting, how does that sound?”
“Sounds good.”
“Sure, that works.”
“Of course!”
Five of the sturdier-looking women stood up, one after another.
Jian Yi went out and came back not only with hunting equipment, but also with three fellow soldiers.
To be precise, three sisters-in-arms.
Since most of the able-bodied laborers here were women, Feng Jiu’er had Jian Yi bring female soldiers along.
Time was short, so Feng Jiu’er instructed the three women to stay behind and teach the villagers how to fish and hunt before they prepared to leave.
The town they were in alone had more than a dozen villages, and Feng Jiu’er hoped she could visit as many places as possible.
The crowd gathered together to see Feng Jiu’er off, reluctance written on every face.
“Sister Princess, won’t you stay?
Weren’t we going to eat meat together tonight?”
“Sister Princess, thank you. We’ll miss you.”
“Sister Princess, will you come back to see us again?”
After spending half a day together, it was the children who were most reluctant to see them go.
“Sister Xiao Yingtao, you must come back and visit us.”
“Sister Xiao Yingtao, let’s pinky promise, okay?”
Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao gave away as much food as they could spare and promised that in the next couple of days they would send more medicinal herbs before finally leaving.
From this village, the three of them headed straight on toward the next.
On New Year’s Eve, a village that would otherwise have been swept by cold, desolate winds was warmed, however slightly, by the people rushing back and forth through it.
Not only were the villagers able to eat a full meal, the village itself grew livelier as well.
The soldiers who had stayed behind treated the sick, helped gather in the grain, and taught fishing and hunting techniques — wherever they could help, they did.
In contrast to the rare liveliness in the village, one particular room in a certain manor felt strangely cold and quiet.
A woman with long hair spread across her shoulders woke up, glanced around the room, and immediately frowned.
“Still not back?
Didn’t he say he’d be back by nightfall?”