Chapter 971 Supplies have arrived!

Chapter 971 The supplies have arrived!

It was already dark, and candles and lanterns were already lit in the rescue station.

There were several pots of charcoal fire burning in the tents in the yard, all of which were smokeless charcoal that Qiao Ran had the escort agency send over.

Compared to the black charcoal with a lot of smoke that they originally made by chopping wood in the mountains, this smokeless charcoal with almost no smoke is really much better!

The wounded were also covered with thick, warm down quilts and silk quilts, so they didn't feel cold even on this cold winter night.

Qiao Ran was very pleased that these luxurious items that were looted from the homes of corrupt officials and that only the rich and powerful could enjoy were now available to the soldiers who were defending their country.

"Unfortunately, there are still too few. We can only focus on these injured soldiers first. We will 'drop' more tomorrow."

Qiao Ran thought so.

When they returned to the palace, the old prince was able to get out of bed and was waiting for them to come back for dinner.

When he saw them coming back, the old man greeted them with a smile:

"Girl, you've worked hard! You came back so late, you must have saved a lot of injured soldiers, right? Grandpa Mo thanks you on behalf of the entire Dingbei Army! We have received the food and supplies you sent. Grandpa Mo asked them to take those carts of quilts and medicine to the rescue center without your consent. You won't blame Grandpa for acting on his own, right?"

Qiao Ran said quickly:

"No, no, why would I blame Grandpa Mo? Those things were originally given to the Dingbei Army, and they are all left to Grandpa Mo to deal with."

"Good! Good! Good kids! Come and wash your hands. The food is ready. We can eat as soon as you come back."

"Grandpa Mo, have the other stuff distributed quickly as well. Try to get them to everyone as soon as possible. There should be several more batches arriving in the next two days. We'll try to ensure that everyone has enough food, warm clothes, and new weapons."

"Is it really possible? You actually sent so many supplies over? Won't it attract that person's attention?"

The old prince couldn't believe it. How many carriages would be needed to feed and clothe hundreds of thousands of soldiers and equip them with new weapons?

Wouldn't such a grand scale attract attention all the way? How could the person in the capital not know about it?

Qiao Ran just smiled and said nothing. Mo Beihan said:

"Grandfather, we have our own way to conceal the truth and quietly deliver the supplies to Northern Xinjiang without attracting anyone's attention. As long as we block the news about Northern Xinjiang, it won't get out."

The old prince looked at the two of them with his wise eyes and smiled in relief:

"That's good! That's good! I said Ran girl is blessed, and then grandfather will be relieved."

Then he said to Qiao Ran:

"If you need anything from Grandpa, just tell me and Grandpa Mo will arrange it for you."

Qiao Ran felt relieved and smiled:

"Thank you, Grandpa Mo! Please arrange dozens of carriages to Wulipo, the southern suburbs of the city, tomorrow. I will ask the escort agency to deliver the goods there. The quantity will be large tomorrow, so dozens of carriages may have to go back and forth several times."

The old prince nodded happily:

"Okay, grandpa will personally take some people there tomorrow, and the people he'll select are all reliable people who keep their mouths shut and focus on their work."

Seeing that Grandpa Mo was so concerned about this matter, Qiao Ran felt relieved.

After breakfast the next day, Qiao Ran said that she wanted to go outside the city to meet the escort agency, so she and Mo Beihan went to Wulipu in the south of the city first.

The old prince immediately went out, personally selected more than a hundred people, and drove more than sixty horse-drawn carriages to Wulipo.

An hour after Qiao Ran and Mo Beihan left, the old prince and General Duanmu arrived with more than a hundred soldiers, only to find that the empty flat land on Wulipu was actually filled with supplies.

Bags of food, clothing, medicinal materials, boxes of weapons, charcoal, etc. were piled up like small mountains.

There were also some pots and ingredients they had never seen before, and even hundreds of baskets of fresh vegetables, fruits and melons.

Many of them, let alone eating them, have never even seen or heard of them, and they can't even pronounce their names.

The soldiers, who had not eaten vegetables, fruits and melons for half a year, stared at the baskets of green vegetables and white radishes. The tempting colors made their saliva flow, and they wanted to pounce on them and take a few bites.

Even General Duanmu couldn't hide his excitement. Despite his high status, he had never seen so many kinds of fruits and vegetables. He couldn't recognize many of them. He felt that many of them were not what they should be in this season.

The old prince was still calm. Seeing that everyone was stunned and motionless, he waved his hand and shouted:

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and load them onto the truck and take them back to the city! Don't let these fresh vegetables and fruits get frozen!"

Everyone came to their senses at this point, jumped off the carriage, and rushed over shouting and started moving things.

There were two or three soldiers on each carriage, and everyone worked hard to move the things.

Worried that the fruits and vegetables would be frozen, everyone unanimously loaded these fruits and vegetables, which were more precious than gold in northern Xinjiang, onto trucks and shipped them back.

General Duanmu and the old prince did not put on airs at all. They got off the carriage and started moving things with everyone.

Although General Duanmu had thousands of doubts in his mind, the old prince had already told him on the way not to ask anything and just follow orders.

As he carried the fruits and vegetables onto the carriage, he looked around.

On the official road heading south, the snow was trampled into a mess, making it look like many horse-drawn carriages had passed by.

However, the official road was soon hidden in the snow-covered woods, so it was impossible to see whether there was a convoy in the distance.

She glanced at Qiao Ran, who was also moving things. She was even stronger than the soldiers, carrying a large basket of heavy fruits and vegetables in each hand. There was no strange expression on her face.

General Duanmu retracted his gaze, lowered his head silently and picked up a basket of round, earth-yellow balls that he couldn't tell whether they were fruits or vegetables.

Who cares? As long as there’s something to eat, it’s fine.

Even if someone told him that these things were sent by the gods in heaven, he would believe it without hesitation.

When the first batch of vegetables, fruits and melons carried by dozens of horse-drawn carriages entered the city, they became the focus of attention of the entire city from the moment they entered the city gate.

The pedestrians on the street, whether they were ordinary people, merchants, hawkers, or even generals and soldiers, all followed the carriage involuntarily, drooling at the fruits and vegetables on the carriage.

When the supplies were delivered to the cooks' camp, the long line of people following the convoy reluctantly dispersed.

All the soldiers from the cook camp ran over, were greatly shocked, and then hurriedly and carefully helped to move baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables down from the carriage.

"What are these? Are they vegetables or fruits? I have never seen them before. How do I eat them?"

"Is this the winter melon from outside? I heard from my aunt's brother's father-in-law that he had seen foreign merchants selling this kind of large winter melon with green skin and red flesh. I heard that one cost several taels of silver! I heard from foreign merchants that this melon is very sweet, full of juice as sweet as honey! It's so sweet that it goes to your heart when you take a bite!"

"Shh! So expensive? There are several baskets of these melons here! Doesn't it mean that all the money I earn in my lifetime can't buy these melons? I heard that the future Crown Prince's Consort had someone send them here. The Crown Prince's Consort is so awesome!"

"I can already smell the fragrance of these melons. They are sweet and fragrant. I wonder if we, the little soldiers, can have the honor of having a small taste of them, even if it's just a lick?"

"Look at you! We in the Dingbei Army don't have those lousy rules of other military camps. When have we not eaten the same food as the generals? We will definitely get a small portion."