"Xiao Momomo, you have to be nicer to me, hmm hmm hmm hmm, woo woo—" From behind, Xiangbei wrapped his arms around the man in front of the window, pressing her face tightly against his back, pretending to cry and seek comfort.
Cheng Mo was caught off guard by this sudden enthusiasm, but he was pleased by it. He reached behind and pulled out the little person, indulgently holding her in his arms. "Little girl, call me Mo Gege."
"Xiao Momomo, Xiao Momomo, I want to call you Xiao Momomo," Xiangbei pouted, rare in her petulance.
"Okay, okay, okay, you can call me whatever you want. So, can you tell Brother Mo Gege who made Xiao Beibei upset?"
"Well, um—, no one. Who dares to make this girl upset, I'll crush them, hmph!" Being teased by Cheng Mo in such a big brother playful tone, Xiangbei suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Thinking that she was over 40 years old in both lives of two spaces combined, yet still letting a 20-year-old boy tease her, she felt ashamed. So, she abruptly changed the subject, "By the way, A Mo, look at the fortified outpost plan I drew after adding more details."
"Playful, little girl,"Cheng Mo curved his index finger, gently flicked Xiang Bei's nose, indulgently speaking, and thought about the layout plan diagram, asked, "Coastal Garrison? How come I remember the blueprint marked 'Southern Frontier Garrison' yesterday?"
"Well, originally I wanted your Southern Frontier troops to feel a sense of belonging, but think about it, in the future, one garrison won't be enough to accommodate all the Southern Frontier military and civilians. We can't just name them 'First Garrison', 'Second Garrison', that sounds uncultured. So, let's name them after the geographical locations. Here is the Coastal New City Garrison, then we can have the Qiongzhou Garrison, the Malay Garrison, and so on. We'll keep building them along the way. Garrison construction is essential for border defense, especially when my Southern Frontier Navy starts building the first island chain defense line."
She spread out the new blueprint finished last night on the table, and Cheng Mo restrained his surging inner excitement, carefully examining it while not missing a single word of Xiang Bei's explanation.
"This is a detailed plan combining the present and the future. These circle marks represent the temporary sites for the large army tents that will be used now, with construction drawings attached. It's simple, just harden the foundations along the future main road for carriages, build temporary bamboo and wood structures for bathrooms and kitchens, and place biogas tanks in the planned areas for future use to avoid redundant construction. I've drawn two copies of this, I'll give one directly to Biaozi later."
"That's great. After the battle, we can continue with the garrison construction once the army has moved out. Let's set off after I give Tong Biao his tasks. It's been tough on you, rushing like this with me."
"What do you mean tough? I have the blessing of the spatial secret realm. It's you who slept for less than three hours and got up. It's inevitable to feel nervous for your first time leading the army. Promise me, don't put too much pressure on yourself, okay?" Xiang Bei saw Cheng Mo's excitement mixed with obvious fatigue and impatience, couldn't help but lift his hand, which was still sketching on the blueprint, and hold his face, gazing deeply into his eyes, soothingly saying, "Look, you have General Qiao, and so many elders from the Cheng family to support you. I heard that General Army is even your uncle-in-law, so just stay firm in your belief, let go and attack, victory will be yours. Besides, you have me."
"Yeah, you're right. Stay firm in belief, victory is certain!" Cheng Mo tightly held Xiang Bei's hand, his gentle eyes filled with gratitude towards fate, and said, "Xiao Bei, I'm so lucky that fate brought you to me. Having you is the greatest blessing of my life. In my heart, our meeting is a miracle, and you are the gift bestowed upon me by the heavens. With you by my side, we will surely annihilate those bandits."
"Yeah, Cheng Mo, believe in yourself. You are the king!"
As the two of them finished packing and headed downstairs, Tong Biao had already prepared breakfast and travel provisions with the others and came over to bid farewell. Cheng Mo handed the blueprint to Tong Biao.
"Tong Biao, this is the plan for the army camp. From now on, I promote you to the rank of centurion, and I entrust you to oversee the construction work immediately. Additionally, everyone here will follow your orders, and you have the authority to assign tasks." Cheng Mo issued the command on the spot, then dismissed the others.
"Tong Biao, come here. These are a few carrier pigeons I'm leaving for you. If there are any issues during construction, contact me immediately. We're setting off soon. Before we leave, I'll leave some livestock in the estate, as I mentioned yesterday. Remember?" Xiang Bei blinked at Tong Biao, exchanging a knowing glance, then continued, "It's for the army's supplies. I'll send estate workers soon. Remember: don't open the estate gate until they arrive, don't let your men in or snoop around, and the third floor overlooks the backyard, so don't let anyone up there either. I've listed all the livestock arrangements on this list. You'll manage them."
"I understand, Miss Bei. You go ahead. Here's the key to the estate gate. I locked it last night." It's no wonder they've been childhood friends; their execution is impeccable. Xiang Bei happily took the key, grabbed Cheng Mo's hand, and ran towards the farm.
Upon entering the estate, Xiang Bei released thirty calves and ten lactating cows by the natural pond where a clear stream converged, as per the list. There were various deer, roe deer, sika deer, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, fish, shrimp, and some birds. Although Cheng Mo had mentally prepared himself, he couldn't close his slightly parted lips as he watched so many large animals appear out of thin air. He remained silent until the two of them left the yard and relocked the gate; he followed along stiffly and silently.