Although Gu Qingcheng was dressed ordinarily, his gentle demeanor and elegant bearing, a product of a refined upbringing, suggested he was not from an ordinary family.
Gu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Are people inherently noble or lowly? What you can do, I can do too. With one more person, there's more strength, and we can clean up the city and let the common folk start their lives anew that much sooner."
The Dapeng brothers couldn't articulate profound arguments, but Gu Qingcheng's words made them feel that perhaps it was indeed so.
With their simple minds and unburdened thoughts, they began their day as "cleaners" with Gu Qingcheng's help.
Gu Qingcheng noticed two shovels on the cart today and asked them why they brought shovels.
The two brothers said helplessly that the soldiers who dug pits yesterday had been reassigned to guard Jinshashan, leaving no one to dig. They still had to help with digging.
Only then did Gu Qingcheng realize that the military was severely short-handed, to the point of robbing Peter to pay Paul. It was no wonder her offer to help was welcomed by everyone.
Upon reaching the north of the city, soldiers from various units piled the transported "ice sculptures" to the side, and the Dapeng brothers took their shovels to dig pits.
Gu Qingcheng watched as they had only dug a few times when Dapeng's shovel broke. He picked up the broken shovel and said,
"My brother and I will return to the city to get a new shovel. You wait here."
"Okay," Xiao Peng replied sullenly.
Wang Dapeng then walked towards the city with Gu Qingcheng, pulling an empty flatbed cart.
On the way, they talked about their past lives. Dapeng said they were fishermen for generations, living on boats.
Later, the Great Zhou dynasty suffered a three-year drought, causing the riverbeds to become shallow, and some places even ran dry. Fishing alone could no longer sustain their livelihood.
As the drought persisted, they had no choice but to join the army to survive.
After three years in the army, they had lost contact with their parents back home. Shortly after they joined, their village had collectively fled south due to famine.
In an era of poor communication and transportation, if one changed their address and failed to notify others promptly, it was almost impossible to meet again.
However, fortunately, Dapeng later met a fellow villager in the city who was also serving in the army. This fellow villager told them that their village had collectively migrated south to a county town called Yongquan. If they went to Yongquan to search, they should be able to find their village.
Upon hearing they were fishermen, Gu Qingcheng's eyes lit up, and she asked,
"Can you sail boats?"
"Of course! Our family has lived on water for generations. Xiao Peng and I can sail any kind of boat. We have our own small fishing boats, larger cargo boats for our clan, and the community also sometimes asks us to help operate cargo ships."
Dapeng's eyes sparkled with confidence as he spoke of boats.
Gu Qingcheng's storage cabinet still contained 21 cargo ships. She had been worrying about how to operate them and had found them useless.
Gu Qingcheng then said, "After this period of severe cold passes, we are also planning to head south. Perhaps we can travel together?"
"Sure!" Dapeng was delighted. "If we travel with you, we won't get lost. After all, you are educated and know the way. People like us, roughnecks, can only ask for directions all the way. Sometimes, if we encounter unfriendly people, they might even give us the wrong directions."
Gu Qingcheng then gave Dapeng her family's address in Yishan, inviting them to visit when they had free time.
After two days of interaction, she found that the brothers were both simple and honest, the type of people who would do exactly what they were told, making them ideal subordinates in a superior's eyes.
They lacked initiative and possessed an obedient personality. Without someone to direct them, they would become lost and directionless.
Upon arriving at the military camp, Dapeng reported the damaged shovel to the quartermaster.
Gu Qingcheng was familiar with the quartermaster's office, located next to the courtyard where they had eaten the previous night. The person in charge of recording supplies was a man with a full beard.
He glanced at the shovel and said, "It can't be repaired, it's scrap. Take it to the scrap depot."
This man was quite lazy; shouldn't he be collecting the scrap himself? He made them do it.
Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but inwardly grumble.
"Yes, sir."
Dapeng received a new shovel.
Gu Qingcheng curiously asked him where the scrap depot was.
Dapeng said it was in the back mountain, there was a warehouse filled with old armor and various damaged weapons. It was usually cleared out every few months, but with the disaster, it was unlikely anyone had cleaned it for a long time.
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingcheng's heart suddenly pounded. Could it be? Was this a god-given opportunity?
No, don't get your hopes too high. Perhaps there were only a few dozen old weapons...
Gu Qingcheng thought this to herself, lowering her expectations, but when Dapeng led her to the scrap depot, she was still greatly shocked.
What was a scrap depot to others was a treasure trove to her.
Before her eyes lay a massive warehouse, filled with all the discarded armor and weapons.
This place should have had guards, as there was a thatched pavilion nearby for soldiers to stand watch. But now, there was no one on duty. Upon inquiry, she learned that all available personnel had been reassigned due to the shortage.
Besides, in this freezing weather, people were freezing to death; who would care about the junk here?
Dapeng casually tossed the broken shovel into the warehouse, closed the door, not even bothering to lock it as there was no lock to begin with, and left with Gu Qingcheng.
The two then continued their work in the camp, pulling carts of ice sculptures out of the city.
Upon reaching the north gate of the city, they saw a crowd gathered around the pit-digging area from a distance, the atmosphere unusual, as if something major had happened.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
A crowd had gathered to watch the commotion. Dapeng and Gu Qingcheng murmured amongst themselves.
But as they approached, Dapeng panicked. The person in trouble was none other than Xiao Peng.
Xiao Peng lay on the ground, his face ashen, his body convulsing.
"What's wrong? What happened to my brother?" Dapeng asked frantically.
"Brother Dapeng, I just gave him a piece of dried meat, and he might have eaten too quickly and choked," a soldier nearby said in a panicked tone.
Dapeng panicked and rushed forward, kneeling on the ground and shouting,
"Xiao Peng, wake up quickly, wake up!"
He patted his brother's face, his voice trembling.
Xiao Peng couldn't speak, his eyes rolling upwards. Everyone present was at a loss.
Dapeng could only weep.
Gu Qingcheng immediately recognized that his airway was blocked and knew he couldn't stay lying down like that.
Gu Qingcheng stepped forward, parting the crowd, and said,
"Dapeng, if you trust me, help me lift Xiao Peng. Everyone else, help lift Xiao Peng!"
As they were all in a state of panic, Gu Qingcheng's demeanor stunned them. They scrambled to follow her instructions, lifting Xiao Peng together.