Hearing Xu Mingxuan's words, Chen Lan's mood immediately brightened! So she cheerfully suggested, "Brother Mingxuan, since Battalion Commander Liu is so supportive, shouldn't we show him some appreciation? Shouldn't we thank him properly!"
Xu Mingxuan asked in confusion, "Appreciation? Thanks? Lan'er, appreciate what? Thank for what?"
Chen Lan was momentarily at a loss for words! He was a typical straight man of this era, certainly unaware of the profound mysteries of Chinese banquet culture.
China has always upheld the traditional concept of "food is the primary necessity of the people," demonstrating the importance Chinese people place on eating. Therefore, the derived "banquet" is a means to achieve social, political, and business objectives through dining, using meals to foster relationships and ultimately reach goals and consensus.
What seems like a simple meal actually contains a wealth of information. The typical banquet case of "Two Peaches Killing Three Warriors" shows banquets filled with bloodshed. In this banquet, Yanzi utilized the vanity and pride of the other three men to divide their ranks, achieving victory without bloodshed. Sudan Novels.
Thinking this, she clapped her hands like her mother-in-law and declared, "I've decided to invite Battalion Commander Liu to our home for drinks and a feast tonight. Brother Mingxuan, what do you think?"
Xiang Xi also chimed in, "Little Lanzi, I also think we should invite Battalion Commander Liu for this meal. Brother Mingxuan, having someone who trusts you so implicitly to work with, without all the scheming and nonsense, saves you so much trouble! Moreover, it's much easier to strengthen your relationship at the dinner table."
Er Zhuang nodded in agreement, "Brother, that's right. Battalion Commander Liu is indeed a very easy person to get along with, and he's very cooperative with your work. His sole focus is on training soldiers; he's not interested in power struggles or personal gain."
Seeing that all three agreed to invite Battalion Commander Liu for dinner, Xu Mingxuan pondered for a moment before preparing to accept. Just as he was about to speak, Chen Lan made a shushing gesture and whispered, "Little Watermelon, Er Zhuang, quickly take your bowls and hide behind the ox cart to eat. A pack of wild boars is coming down from the mountain opposite."
With that, she took out two crossbows and twelve carbon steel bolts from the system's inventory and handed a crossbow and six bolts to Xu Mingxuan.
As Xu Mingxuan reached out to take them, Xiang Xi snatched them away, exclaiming, "Little Lanzi promised these to me!"
Hearing Xiang Xi's words, Xu Mingxuan, who was about to reach out to discipline him, immediately retracted his hand. He then instructed, "Er Zhuang, go teach him how to use them."
Er Zhuang cheerfully agreed, "Got it! Brother, I'm going now." With that, he put down his chopsticks and bowl and quickly ran after Xiang Xi.
Chen Lan was also startled by Xiang Xi's actions. There was no time to deal with him now, so she immediately handed the crossbow and bolts in her hands to Xu Mingxuan. While doing so, she mentally opened the system and placed another order for a crossbow, quickly assembling it from the system's inventory. Just as she loaded the six carbon steel bolts, a herd of wild boars had already descended the mountain. Chen Lan roughly estimated that there were more than twenty of them, of various sizes.
Now that they were facing the wild boars head-on, Chen Lan put aside all other thoughts and quickly pressed the launch button. Almost simultaneously, Xu Mingxuan pressed his launch button.
The couple exchanged a look of perfect understanding. Chen Lan mentally retrieved two hoes, the kind used for digging artificial lakes, from the system's inventory and handed one to Xu Mingxuan. Then, raising her hoe, she charged towards the wild boars. Xu Mingxuan followed closely, also brandishing his hoe.
Caught by surprise, over a dozen wild boars in the pack instantly fell. The herd erupted in chaos. As the remaining boars prepared to charge towards Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan, Xiang Xi and Er Zhuang seized the opportunity and hunted several more. The confusion among the boars intensified, and they lost all will to fight, scattering in all directions.
Chen Lan and the others did not pursue. The group excitedly began to clean up the battlefield, truly embodying the saying: "You don't need to search high and low; it appears when you least expect it." Xiang Xi, while collecting the carbon steel bolts, said gleefully, "Little Lanzi, today's great harvest is truly heaven-sent! In just this short while, we've acquired over a dozen wild boars."
Chen Lan retorted, "Little Watermelon, how dare you still talk! That was so dangerous just now! You absolutely cannot do that again next time, or I'll never speak to you again. I'll disown you."
Xiang Xi grinned, handed the cleaned carbon steel bolts to Chen Lan, and said obsequiously, "Little Lanzi, don't worry, there won't be a next time. If I hadn't known you had a solution, how would I have dared to do that?"
Chen Lan haughtily accepted the bolts Xiang Xi offered and snorted, "Don't try to fool me. I'm not falling for your tricks."
At this moment, Xu Mingxuan called out, "Lan'er, Xiang Xi, what are you two dawdling about? Hurry up and pack up, we're going back."
Xiang Xi quickly darted over to help.
Chen Lan immediately put all the carbon steel bolts and the three crossbows into the system's inventory, then cheerfully replied, "Brother Mingxuan, understood. Coming right away."
The four of them, with their own hands, carried and hauled. Over a dozen wild boars, plus the six roe deer they had hunted earlier and the remaining five wild goats, were too much for the ox cart. Furthermore, the road was difficult to navigate, making it strenuous even to walk, let alone pull so much weight!
Just as they were anxiously trying to figure out a solution, Xiang Xi suddenly said, "Little Lanzi, could you trouble Grandpa to lend us a hand?"
Xu Mingxuan echoed in agreement, "Yes, yes, how could I have forgotten about this! Lan'er, let Father help out!"
Chen Lan feigned hesitation, nodding her head. "Alright! I'll ask him for you."
Chen Lan lowered her head for a moment, then raised it and nodded. "Grandpa has agreed." Before her words had even finished, all the items on the ox cart instantly vanished. Although they had been mentally prepared, this was still too unbelievable.
Xu Mingxuan steadied himself and spoke first, "Lan'er, let's go quickly! Weren't we supposed to treat Battalion Commander Liu to dinner? We still need to hurry back and make some preparations, right? Plus, we need to get these hunted animals to the mess hall before dinner, so the people there can prepare them in advance for an extra meal for the soldiers tonight."
Chen Lan cheerfully agreed, "Alright! Let's go! Brother Mingxuan, there's quite a lot of game. I'll prepare some salt and pickling spices for the mess hall as well. That way, they can marinate the game, and you can eat it slowly."
Xu Mingxuan said dismissively, "Lan'er, please help the mess hall with more salt, but I don't think we need pickling spices. It's so cold outside now; things won't spoil immediately, so there's no need to waste good ingredients."
Chen Lan could only agree with some regret.