A shield weighs at least 10 kilograms, and hundreds of shields would be over 400 jin. Military armor is about 30 kilograms. Collecting over 20 sets of armor amounts to nearly 600 jin, bringing the total to over 1000 jin, close to half a ton.
In just this moment, her gains exceeded a full day's work in the city.
Gu Qingcheng felt a surge of satisfaction and renewed energy.
It was then that Gu Qingcheng realized that not only ordinary citizens but also those in the military had become victims of the extreme cold.
Although soldiers had better provisions in terms of food and clothing compared to common folk, they were still flesh and blood. Without adequate preparation against the severe cold, they too could not endure.
Prince Xia commanded 20,000 elite soldiers, and it was estimated that more than half of them perished in this disaster.
After Prince Xia regained his composure, besides dispatching personnel to maintain order in the city and clear the bodies of the deceased civilians, there were also many internal clean-up tasks within the military that needed to be addressed.
Gu Qingcheng offered her assistance. With the severe shortage of manpower, these soldiers naturally did not stop her when she willingly helped.
Despite her young age, Gu Qingcheng was very capable. During their back-and-forth transport of goods, she got along very well with the Wang Dapeng brothers.
Through their conversations, the brothers recounted that on the day of the extreme cold, they were in the stables feeding the horses. The temperature felt wrong, and there was commotion in the military about the unusual weather. So, they quickly huddled together with the horses for warmth.
Many horses died, but their body heat helped the brothers survive.
Gu Qingcheng noticed that their complexions were not good either, with bluish lips and unfocused eyes. They seemed to be at the absolute limit of physical exhaustion. She said:
"Brothers, why don't you both take a rest? There's no need to rush so much."
"That won't do. The commander has ordered us to finish clearing the camp by today. If we don't complete it, we'll face military punishment."
Wang Dapeng replied with a simple, honest smile.
Gu Qingcheng had nothing more to say.
Military orders were paramount.
Thus, she cooperated with the brothers, helping them with their tasks:
They carried the frozen soldiers from the barracks onto carts and transported them outside the city.
This task had been ongoing for seven days, starting from the third day after the extreme cold. The pit was already densely packed with bodies.
If one were to witness such a scene for the first time, they would surely be terrified, but Gu Qingcheng could now handle it with composure.
Today alone, she had collected nearly two tons of iron from this spot.
Indeed, people find opportunities when they are active.
It was like a stagnant pool that could never nurture fish. Only when the water flowed could it attract fish and provide a chance to catch them.
However, she dared not collect any more. If she took too much, it would cause trouble if discovered.
After a day of hard work, their tasks were completed. Dapeng and Xiaopeng invited Gu Qingcheng to join them for dinner in the military camp.
Gu Qingcheng did not refuse. To understand them better, she needed to be closer to them. She felt there were other opportunities to be found.
She said she would go back first to inform her father and then meet them at the military camp, as her father would likely be worried, not knowing where she had gone for the entire day.
The military camp and the medical clinic were separated by only one alley. When Gu Qingcheng returned to the clinic, she found that, well, her dear father was not looking for her at all. He had likely forgotten he even had a daughter.
Gu Chaobei was incredibly busy and had not stopped working. He was currently performing an amputation surgery on a patient and had no time for anything else.
Gu Qingcheng shrugged, feeling like a dissolute idler. She spoke to a nearby orderly, asking him to inform Doctor Gu when he was free that she had gone to the military camp for dinner.
As she swayed her way towards the military camp, she saw Dapeng and Xiaopeng waiting for her at the main gate. These two were truly honest, and it was fortunate she hadn't lied to them.
The military mess hall was also outdoors. A large iron pot, half-covered to retain heat, was filled with wild vegetable soup. Each person received a piece of coarse grain cake, which was quite large, the size of Wang Dapeng's face, and substantial enough to fill one's stomach.
Gu Qingcheng then understood that the brothers had probably brought her along to share their meal, perhaps fearing she would have nothing to eat. Regardless of anything else, these two were indeed quite kind.
Having grown accustomed to delicacies, Gu Qingcheng, to be honest, found the coarse grain cake a bit difficult to chew. However, she could not refuse their good intentions. She tore half of it and gave it to them, saying she had a small appetite and couldn't finish it, asking them to share.
Gu Qingcheng observed as the soldiers began returning for their meal. They were not wearing armor but thick padded jackets.
She wandered around casually. After all, she had a waist token, so she wasn't worried about being questioned.
As she rounded a corner, she saw a sign on a wall: "Warehouse Area, Unauthorized Personnel Keep Out."
Her heart skipped a beat. This was exactly the place she was looking for.
She walked a few more steps and saw a large storeroom before her. As she was observing it, the storeroom door suddenly opened, and a man with a short beard emerged. A large ring of keys hung from his waist. As soon as he stepped out, he closed the storeroom door behind him and locked it with a key from his waist.
Gu Qingcheng retreated first.
The man subsequently came to eat. The Dapeng brothers took the initiative to greet him.
"Lord Zhuang, why are you so late for dinner today?"
Ah, so it seemed these three had a good relationship?
At this moment, Gu Qingcheng deliberately took out a jar of osmanthus wine from her backpack and said:
"Brothers Dapeng and Xiaopeng, you've worked hard all day. This is some osmanthus wine I got on my way back. Have some to relax."
Upon seeing the wine, the Dapeng brothers' eyes widened, their faces filled with surprise.
In reality, Gu Qingcheng had already added 52-proof sorghum wine to the osmanthus wine, along with some fast-acting sleeping pills.
Gu Qingcheng also took out some boiled peanuts for them to go with the wine.
With good wine and snacks, the two brothers beckoned the short-bearded man nearby to join them for a drink.
The four of them found a small pavilion nearby and began drinking from bowls.
The jar of osmanthus wine held five jin. Gu Qingcheng merely pretended to drink, while the other three, having not had alcohol in a long time, were enticed by the aroma and eagerly drank bowl after bowl, unknowingly getting drunk.
As the sky darkened, all three were heavily intoxicated, their eyelids heavy. They slumped onto the table and fell asleep.
Gu Qingcheng nudged the short-bearded man. Seeing that he was unresponsive, she unhooked the storeroom keys from his waist.
She crept along the wall to the storeroom and quietly opened the door.
Indeed, it was an arsenal. Armor, shields, sabers, spears, and lances were piled everywhere. It was possible that due to the natural disaster, many weapons had been confiscated and not yet organized, leading to a chaotic mess.
Gu Qingcheng seized the opportunity and collected over 20 sets of armor and more than 30 shields. It took her about two minutes. She dared not take more, adding nearly another ton of iron.
Exiting the storeroom, Gu Qingcheng quickly locked the door and returned to the pavilion, hanging the keys back on the short-bearded man's waist.
After completing everything, Gu Qingcheng also pretended to be drunk. However, fearing that they might freeze to death if they slept outside for too long, she quickly shook Dapeng.