Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Whom to Choose
The glance of Heir Pei was fleeting, and Qu Fulan didn’t have time to see it clearly.
"You stay, there’s no need to shy away."
Qu Fulan continued to stay and massage Mrs. Pei.
"On my way back, I calculated the time and knew that Grandmother surely wouldn’t be asleep at this time, so I hurried back to pay my respects to Grandmother."
Mrs. Pei listened with a pained expression, "You are now busy with training troops at Lion Mountain, running back and forth every day is quite tiring. It would be better to reside at Lion Mountain for a while and not worry about me."
Pei Ji’an smiled, "Now that major affairs are settled, there’s no need to stay at Lion Mountain Camp as often as before."
"Is this true?" Mrs. Pei was instantly delighted, which meant her grandson could return home daily.
"Why would I lie to Grandmother?"
"Good, good, then this time you must stay at home properly and spend time with Grandmother."
The bond between grandmother and grandson is so deep, it’s no wonder Mrs. Pei loses sleep over her grandson.
Then Mrs. Pei inquired about the memorable events her grandson encountered in the training camp.
"At the start of the training, there was a soldier particularly dull. A simple horse stance, others could easily do it to standard and endure, but when he squats, he almost falls over, and his horse stance is much worse than others. As for running, while others ran dozens of laps effortlessly, he collapsed after two laps. He was known as the worst in the new recruits team. Guess what happened to him later, Grandmother?"
Mrs. Pei responded without hesitation, "He was surely assigned to be a cook."
Qu Fulan was not so sure. If it were so predictable, Heir Pei wouldn’t have brought it up; there must be another twist.
Perhaps her eyes were too obviously indifferent, causing Heir Pei to glance at her, so she immediately restrained her gaze.
Pei Ji’an withdrew his gaze and continued, "Grandmother guessed wrong. Would you care to guess again?"
Mrs. Pei found it very curious, "I remember you saying that useless soldiers in the camp are all assigned as cooks. Why is this an exception? Could he be the son of a Minister?"
"No, he was just a child from a very common, impoverished family."
"That’s odd. Stop keeping me in suspense. What happened afterward?" Mrs. Pei couldn’t wait to know the answer.
Pei Ji’an then turned to Qu Fulan, "Haitang, why not take a guess too? If you answer right, there is a great reward."
Qu Fulan didn’t understand why he suddenly cued her; perhaps her earlier gaze was too obvious and irritated the noble son, so he teased her.
"Haitang can’t guess either."
"In the face of great rewards, usually, there are brave ones. Now, faced with such riches, someone is indifferent. Is it that the monthly salary for maids in Pei Family is so high that it leads one to overlook such rewards?"
Those words were of significant consequence; if she answered carelessly, it might affect others’ salaries, and she would be blamed then.
Mrs. Pei saw her grandson had scared Haitang and said, "Why scare her? If she can’t guess, she can’t guess."
Heir Pei smiled, "Grandson just thought revealing the answer easily would be too dull."
Mrs. Pei saw the reason and said to Haitang, "Give it a try; I’m older and not as quick as you young ones."
"Well, Haitang will give it a try." Qu Fulan pretended to think for a moment and said, "Haitang thinks this soldier eventually becomes the most outstanding one in the new recruits camp."
"Hahaha." Before Heir Pei spoke, Mrs. Pei burst into laughter, "Haitang, ah Haitang, usually you seem clever, but this time your guess is too far off, not even close."
Mrs. Pei laughed so hard that tears almost came out.
Qu Fulan awkwardly returned a smile.
Pei Ji’an smiled mysteriously, "Grandmother, Haitang wasn’t wrong; she guessed correctly."
Mrs. Pei stopped laughing, utterly surprised, "How could this be, did the person really become the best in the new recruits camp?"
Pei Ji’an nodded, "Indeed."
"How did this happen, you must tell me."
Pei Ji’an looked again at Haitang, "Since Haitang could guess the result, what do you imagine the process was?"
She couldn’t possibly guess the process; she’s no clairvoyant, but she did have her thought process, "Haitang doesn’t know the specifics, only thought that for Heir Pei to find it memorable, it mustn’t be ordinary, it must be the best."
Mrs. Pei laughed again, "Your thinking is truly lucky, alright then, let you tell us the exact process."
Pei Ji’an didn’t keep them guessing this time and directly explained the process.
At first, Heir Pei did assign the soldier to the Fire Head Camp, but after just two days, he was brought out and underwent a changed training plan, indeed transforming into a talent.
The reason was that the soldier had a strong obsession with food; for a bite of food, he could unleash unlimited potential.
Sent to the mountains to gather ingredients, no matter how winding the path, he was never tired, no matter how steep the cliff, he could tread as if on flat ground.
Seeing this, Heir Pei began to teach according to individual strengths, using food to stimulate his potential.
For example, the first to complete a task could eat hearty meals, failing meant chewing vegetables, resulting in him always being the first.
Applying this to other aspects of training, he eventually became the top-ranked soldier.
Mrs. Pei laughed uncontrollably upon hearing this, finally summarizing, "Clearly, finding the right way is essential in life and tasks. You should bring that person to meet me next time; it sounds quite interesting."
Heir Pei agreed, then chatted with Mrs. Pei about various things, quite patiently, finally casually reminding Mrs. Pei, "Grandmother, you mentioned selecting a maid for me earlier, is there a result?"
Mrs. Pei then remembered the matter, "Grandmother has been busy with other matters lately and neglected this. However, I already have thoughts on it, planning to discuss with you when you have time."
Heir Pei naturally knew what Grandmother had been busy with recently. Although he wasn’t in the mansion, he knew about every incident occurring there and was only concerned with one topic.
"What arrangements has Grandmother made?"
Qu Fulan was a bit surprised, not expecting Heir Pei to proactively bring up maid-related matters, only unsure whom Mrs. Pei would choose. She guessed it might be Hai Yue, as her diligence was well acknowledged.
Considering it from another perspective, if she were Mrs. Pei, she would choose Hai Yue, for nothing else but true diligence.
Surely, Mrs. Pei would want a hardworking maid to serve her dearly loved grandson to feel at ease.
As for when others included her in their bets, that was merely a tactic at play.
Mrs. Pei then spoke, "I’ve thought of selecting that girl Hai Yue, who is very hardworking and enduring, do you have an impression?"
After all, it’s about choosing a maid for the grandson, his wishes are important.
Qu Fulan also looked at Heir Pei, she felt given Heir Pei’s filial piety, even if he didn’t remember such a person, he certainly would agree not to let down Mrs. Pei’s intent.