Call Me Daddy

The dough was kneaded to a chewy consistency. Although cornmeal was added, it was finely ground, making the bun smooth and aromatic with a hint of corn flavor.

It was indeed not bad. To Er Niang, who had recently been eating the worst food at home, it was even quite tasty.

Since she was already hungry, she ended up finishing the entire bun, taking large bites and eating it with the pickled vegetables.

Burp—

She couldn’t help but let out a full-belly burp, quickly covering her mouth. The skin not covered by her fingers turned a rosy red.

“Was it good?” Yang Qiwu was satisfied. Even though the bun Er Niang ate was actually his breakfast for the day.

The Yang family wasn’t well-off. With so many children who ate a lot, Yang Yong’s monthly salary and some rewards from victories were almost entirely spent on buying food.

Liu Yinghua had to plant vegetables and fruits in the front and back yards to save on expenses.

Therefore, she allocated a set amount of food for each child, enough to ensure they were full, but there was no room for extra indulgence.

Yang Qiwu was the biggest eater among the children. Despite being the youngest, he had a larger appetite than even his eldest brother, Yang Dawu.

Yang Yong said that this youngest child was like him; he had always had a big appetite. But because of his humble background, he often went hungry. If not for the need to eat a full meal, he wouldn’t have fought so hard on the battlefield.

Perhaps because of his large appetite, he had also shown more strength than other children his age. Yang Qiwu had inherited this trait.

So, while other brothers typically had a bowl of porridge and a large bun for breakfast, Yang Qiwu could eat an extra one.

Now that he had given one to Er Niang, he would have to think about catching some small animals with his brothers after daybreak to fill his own stomach.

He didn’t say anything, but Er Niang was not the type to be careless.

The environment she had grown up in taught her that for ordinary families like theirs, food was rationed. If Yang Qiwu had given her such a large bun, someone in his family would surely go hungry today.

Er Niang didn’t want to take advantage, so before Yang Qiwu left, she called him to wait and then returned to her room, placing half of the pastries into the dish he had brought.

“Here.” She handed the pastries to Yang Qiwu.

“You gave me your breakfast, so I’m giving you mine.”

Yang Qiwu looked at the delicate pastries in the dish and knew they must have been bought from a pastry shop, which made them far more valuable than the coarse bun he had given her.

He was easygoing and didn’t think about feeling embarrassed or wronged; he just felt that the little girl had ended up at a disadvantage.

How could this girl be so naive, not even realizing she had been shortchanged?

Yang Qiwu sighed inwardly. His mother had asked him to look after this little sister. Seeing that she seemed so gullible, he felt it would be a challenging task.

But a man’s word is his bond. Once he had promised, he had to keep it.

So, he took the dish of pastries with a serious expression and, as swiftly as when he arrived, climbed over the wall and left.

Er Niang was puzzled by his final glance. Did the little brother next door not like pastries?

It was true that her father didn’t like them, finding them too sweet.

Had she known he didn’t like them, she wouldn’t have swapped them.

Accustomed to frugal days, Er Niang felt a pang for the relatively expensive pastries. She had to count the silver her father had given her to suppress her discomfort.

***

The troops who had fought the southern border enemies yesterday had returned. Many soldiers were given leave to visit their families in Lin’an, and this news quickly spread throughout the city.

Under normal circumstances, when an enemy attack occurred, all soldiers had to remain on standby for several days to prevent further attacks. But how could they suddenly be allowed to go home the day after a battle?

Family members of the soldiers hurriedly sought out connections to inquire. It turned out that the regiment had achieved a decisive victory, one of the most satisfying in decades. They had gone deep into the forest and attacked the strongholds of the Heiwu Tribe and the Luopo Tribe, wiping out both tribes entirely.

Now, with the young and middle-aged men of the two tribes mostly killed, only the elderly and children remained, all of whom were taken as prisoners and brought back to the camp for detention.

The other tribes in the southern border likely received this news and were probably terrified by the sudden prowess of the Tang Dynasty’s army. They dared not make any trouble at this time.

As a result, the victorious regiment was granted permission to take turns returning to the city to visit their families.

The whole city of Lin’an was in an uproar upon hearing this news. Previously, the battles between the Tang Dynasty and the southern border tribes had been so evenly matched that a complete and swift victory like this was unprecedented.

There had been suggestions before that to completely eradicate the southern border tribes, the dense forest, which could be considered a natural barrier, needed to be cleared first.

But the task was enormous. The forest was filled with ancient trees, some of which had trunks so thick that it took two or three people to encircle them. Even the most robust soldier would need 1 or 2 days, or even more, to cut down a single tree with the existing iron tools.

Moreover, the forest was teeming with strange and poisonous insects and beasts. Soldiers could easily be attacked while chopping trees or digging through the underbrush. In regions filled with poisonous mists, anyone not accustomed to living there would be affected by the toxic gasses if they got too close.

These gasses couldn’t be blocked by simply wearing a thick cloth mask. Once, a team of soldiers inadvertently entered a poisonous mist area and their exposed skin instantly swelled, including their noses. The few soldiers who managed to escape carried some of the dead bodies with them. After autopsies, it was found that the swollen skin had blocked their airways, causing suffocation due to the severe effects of the poisonous mist.

This added another layer to the forest’s terrifying legend.

As a result, the plan to clear the forest was soon abandoned due to the high number of soldier casualties.

The court and the local people seemed to have given up on the idea of completely eliminating the southern border tribes. Since they couldn’t be wiped out, the strategy was to simply defend the area, ensuring the tribes didn’t cross the northwestern military line.

Now, with the examples of the Heiwu Tribe and the Luopo Tribe, it seemed that the complete conquest of the southern border might not be far off.

In fact, the southern border was a place of little use to the Tang Dynasty. It had too few suitable lands for farming. On the contrary, the poisonous insects and beasts living in the dense forest caused trouble for nearby residents. Only the southern border people, who had grown up in the dark, humid environment, had developed immunity to the poisonous mists and even found pleasure in raising these creatures, adapting to such harsh conditions.

Even if the southern border were conquered, no Tang Dynasty citizens would want to move there.

But who could have known that while they looked down on lice, the lice were determined to crawl over and suck their blood? If it weren’t for the constant provocations from the southern border tribes, the two regions could have lived in peace.

Since now there was someone who could lead everyone to victory in the southern border, even if not all the tribes could be completely wiped out, at least they could be subdued, making them too fearful to challenge the Tang Dynasty’s authority again.

With such excitement, when Su Aobai and his group returned to the city, they were greeted by the enthusiastic crowd lining the streets.

***

Er Niang, who was among the first to receive the news, was taken by Liu Yinghua to a street near the city gate. Yang Qiwu and his brothers followed closely, each one tall and strong, guarding their mother and the little neighbor girl like bodyguards, ensuring that no one could crowd them or step on their clothes.

“They’re here! They’re here!”

“Wow, who is this Officer? I’ve never seen him before! Look at that build; defeating those southern border barbarians must be as easy as catching chicks for him!”

As the city gates opened and the victorious troops entered, the crowd became instantly agitated.

The most striking figure among the marching troops was the largest man, clad in the armor of a Captain.

This man was Su Aobai. Indeed, he had been promoted at lightning speed. Anyone who had fought alongside him knew better than to steal his credit for victory. Who would dare challenge him when his strength was greater than that of the hundreds of southern border tribesmen he defeated?

Honestly, given his contribution to the destruction of the Heiwu Tribe and the Luopo Tribe, not only was he deserving of a seventh-rank Captain position, but he could have been promoted several ranks above that.

The commanding general already knew of his achievements, and it was clear to everyone that the key to completely subduing the southern border tribes lay with this man who had only recently joined the Northwestern army.

No one could replace him. To keep him on their side, people had to befriend him.

Many had already seen a rising star in him.

“Father! Father!”

Er Niang jumped and waved at her father, who was awkwardly riding a horse for the first time. But there were too many people and too much noise, so her father seemed not to hear.

“Is that your father?” Yang Qiwu asked quietly as he noticed the direction Er Niang was waving.

Just a moment ago, he had been drooling over the imposing man.

Now that was the true physique of a strong man!

Yang Qiwu couldn’t see anyone else besides Su Aobai. He had once been proud of his own father, Yang Yong, who had been an Officer for several years. This battle achievement would have been enough to promote him further.

From a lowly commoner to a Captain, Yang Yong was indeed a model of perseverance.

But Yang Qiwu wasn’t concerned about his father’s promotion. In his eyes, no other man mattered except Su Aobai.

“That’s my father!” Er Niang, breaking from her usual calm demeanor, said proudly and loudly.

Yang Qiwu took a deep breath, and when he looked at Er Niang again, his gaze grew even more fervent.

He vowed to treat this little girl very well; so well that she would frequently speak highly of him to her father. In that case, her father would surely reveal the secret to achieving such a strong and imposing physique.

Yang Qiwu patted his ribs, his expression resolute.

He was determined to become a general, and he was committed to protecting this little girl!