The First Order

Chapter 1011 – The Lazy Ren Xiaosu

Yang Xiaojin's culinary skill was at the master level. Initially, Ren Xiaosu wondered what the dishes prepared by a master chef would taste like. Would it taste different from those that were whipped up by normal people?

But when he tasted the food, he realized that Yang Xiaojin's heat control while cooking was extremely precise.

Ren Xiaosu was a little curious. "Why are you such a good cook? You don't look like someone who was specially trained in cooking."

"My aunt hired someone to teach me during my assassin's training," Yang Xiaojin said.

Ren Xiaosu was shocked. "What does this have anything to do with assassination?"

"I could go covert either as a chef or kitchen help to kill a target by lacing their food when I get the chance." Yang Xiaojin said, "But I didn't even manage to put my culinary skills to use after my training as my aunt didn't allow me to go undercover in such a way."

"Why's that?" Ren Xiaosu wondered.

"When I first started learning how to cook, I was still young and growing," Yang Xiaojin explained. "I became prettier as I grew up, so Aunt said that I wouldn't pass as a cook with my looks."

Ren Xiaosu was left speechless for some time. The girl in front of him was praising her own looks, and she said it as naturally as sipping water.

"Can't you be a little more humble?" Ren Xiaosu asked.

"Aren't I telling the truth?" Yang Xiaojin replied.

"Alright, alright, you're not wrong." Ren Xiaosu said, "It's Tuesday today, so it's your turn to wash the dishes."

Yang Xiaojin corrected him, "I cooked, so you should wash the dishes. From now on, I'll cook at home and you'll wash the dishes."

Ren Xiaosu carried the cutlery into the kitchen while Yang Xiaojin remained seated at the table. She leaned her chin on her hand and gazed at Ren Xiaosu's back as he washed the dishes. "I think the peach trees are gonna bear fruit soon. I estimate we can eat them in another few weeks. These two trees have really been well taken care of, so they should bear lots of fruit. We definitely won't be able to finish them all."

"If we can't finish them, let's set up a stall to sell the excess. We can buy you a new wok with the money after that," Ren Xiaosu said.

"That'll be great. The current wok is way too small to cook with," Yang Xiaojin said.

"But when I went shopping for groceries today, I realized the prices of vegetables and other foodstuffs have increased by quite a bit. I thought that it was because the prices in the Northwest were different. But after I asked around, I found out it was due to the poor harvests in the past two years either due to floods or droughts in many places." Ren Xiaosu said, "I wonder if Mr. Zhang took any measures to mitigate the effect of the natural disasters."

Yang Xiaojin thought for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid it won't be easy to solve. I heard that in the trade agreement between the Northwest and the Central Plains, the goods provided by the Wang Consortium don't include food. The Wang Consortium had probably taken into consideration the situation in the Northwest at that time. Of course, there's many minerals in the Northwest that weren't made accessible to the Wang Consortium either. This was the strategy adopted by both sides against each other."

"I wonder if their wasteland recultivation efforts are proceeding smoothly or not." Ren Xiaosu muttered, "Didn't we see a lot of refugees cultivating the land on our way here?"

"I doubt it'll be easy." Yang Xiaojin analyzed, "You see, there's not many stable river basins in the Northwest, and the terrain has many gullies running through it as well. Crops planted in a place like that don't have any good growth conditions, so they'll have to work hard to solve the irrigation issues first."

"Yes, it's a heavy price to pay to recultivate the land. But even so, if we want the residents to have enough food to eat, we'll have to challenge the natural environment." Ren Xiaosu sighed.

…

While the two of them spent their days at home and enjoyed the peace together, all of the Northwest's higher-ups were thinking, 'Where has our future commander gone?'

It had been more than half a month since the assassination of the Zhou Consortium's three figureheads, so logically speaking, the future commander should have already come back.

Some high-ranking commanders had never seen Ren Xiaosu before. Although they heard stories about him, they did not have a chance to meet him yet. As a result, they were really looking forward to seeing him.

Therefore, they wanted to wait for Ren Xiaosu to return to Fortress 178 before rushing there to meet him. It wasn't exactly important, but they just wanted to get to know him first.

But after the Zhou Consortium's leaders were assassinated, Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Not even the Riders were anywhere to be found.

This left the Great Hoodwinker and everyone else absolutely confused, and they wondered if the future commander had run away.

Zhang Xiaoman had said at the press conference, "We confirmed him as the future commander so that he won't be able to run away."

At that time, many people thought Zhang Xiaoman was just joking. But the Great Hoodwinker and the rest knew Zhang Xiaoman was completely serious!

Wang Fengyuan even approached Zhang Jinglin specifically regarding this matter. "Commander, what should we do if Xiaosu doesn't want to come back? Should we go and look for him?"

But Zhang Jinglin remained calm. "There's no need for that. I would guess he's just lying low somewhere for a while to get some rest. Once he's ready, he'll naturally return."

When everyone heard Commander Zhang say there was no need to be anxious, they calmed down as well. They just had to patiently wait for Ren Xiaosu to return.

While many people did not object to Ren Xiaosu's candidacy as Commander Zhang's successor, they were actually still watching to see if any developments occurred.

In taking revenge for Jiang Xu, it indirectly reflected Ren Xiaosu's character. Disregarding how others might feel, the people in the Northwest found it really placated their anger.

Gradually, more and more people within the Northwest Army publicly supported Ren Xiaosu.

By taking revenge for Jiang Xu, he showed his character. Killing the Zhou Consortium's head was down to his capability. Honestly, he was truly impeccable other than being inexperienced at military strategies.

But with regards to that, he had poached P5092 and Wang Yun to mitigate his shortcomings in this area.

As the Northwest's commander, he did not have to be a military genius. Being able to command and deploy military geniuses effectively was also a skill, right?

Over half a month later, Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin got up early and went to the backyard to pick the peaches. The peaches in the Northwest were big and sweet. A blend of orange, yellow, and white colors suffused the surface of the fruits, making them look exceptionally beautiful.

After picking two basketfuls of peaches, they went to the marketplace to set up a stall. For this, they even had to pay a rental fee of five yuan for the space.

Ren Xiaosu said excitedly, "It's the weekend today, so more people will be coming to the market than usual. I think our peaches will sell out very quickly."

Normal people would find it difficult to carry a basket of peaches, but Ren Xiaosu could carry two baskets all by himself.

After settling down at the stall, Ren Xiaosu said to Yang Xiaojin, "We haven't had breakfast yet. I'll go and buy some buns to fill our stomachs."

"Mhm, I want the ones stuffed with chives and eggs," Yang Xiaojin answered with a smile.

But not long after Ren Xiaosu left, an acquaintance came to the stall. It was Hu Xiaobai.

Hu Xiaobai was stunned when she saw Yang Xiaojin. "You set up a stall here?"

Yang Xiaojin smiled as she picked up two peaches and stuffed them into Hu Xiaobai's hands. "The peaches growing at home have ripened. We thought the two of us couldn't finish eating them, so we came out to sell them."

Hu Xiaobai looked like she wanted to say something. Yang Xiaojin was confused by her behavior. "What's the matter, Mrs. Hu?"

Hu Xiaobai grumbled, "Your boyfriend has been in the Northwest for some time now. Instead of looking for a job, he's actually making a delicate girl like you sell peaches and support the family? Is this what a man should do? A beautiful girl like you will have no qualms finding a good man, so why stick to a lazy bum like him of all people…."

Yang Xiaojin was taken aback. Then she covered her mouth and laughed. "Mrs.. Hu, it's not like that at all."