"At this moment, Cheng Mo felt that he had grown up, become a true man. He suddenly understood that for him, war, great deeds, and even the world were nothing compared to giving eternal peace of mind to the woman in his arms at this moment. 'Bei Bei, all I want in this life is to always protect you.' In this moment, he realized that what lay ahead was not just his own war. Like all passionate young men, he was just a part of it, giving his all to protect a complete peace for the one he loved.
As dawn broke on the horizon, the two who had almost simultaneously opened their eyes quietly gazed at each other. Something had changed between them this night, something that didn't need to be spoken, a silent commitment.
'I'll have someone boil water for you to relax, alright?' Cheng Mo gently brushed away two strands of hair from Bei Bei's face, tenderly asking her.
'Don't bother them. There's too much to do today. I'll go wash in the space, and I still have some drawings to finish. Your bathtub is not small, and boiling water takes too long. I'll just fill it with hot spring water from the space for you to soak in. Wait for me.'
'That's a big reward. I'll want it every day from now on.' Cheng Mo's words sounded ambiguous, but unintentionally they did please Bei Bei, who quietly enjoyed a moment of delight.
'Spoiling me. I'll go fill the water, you get your clothes.' Cheng Mo came in, sat by the edge of the pool, and wrapped his arms around Bei Bei, who was concentrating on pouring water into the large bathtub from the back. He rested his head on her back shoulder and whispered softly in her ear, 'Having you is wonderful.'"
"The years are tranquil, and I like it too," Bei Bei didn't speak, only silently answered him in her heart.
"The water's ready. I'll add some air vortex essence for you, to ease your fatigue. But I can't control the amount very well. If there's too much, you'll have to use your own energy to absorb it." Bei Bei saw that the dry well in the jade snowflake cave was already filled with dewdrops, completely becoming a mist-filled essence spirit pool. The dew formed in her sea of air vortex continued to drip incessantly, barely visible, and she didn't know where it all went. It was truly a waste. If Cheng Mo hadn't emphasized the reason "to keep a jade in one's bosom is to keep a thief within" because of the preciousness of every drop, she would have eagerly distributed it to everyone around her. But she had previously mixed some pine oil with a small amount of lotion essence and divided it into about ten bottles of medicinal oil for Uncle Zhong and the others.
These old eunuchs and guards who had raised Cheng Mo treated their young master who had lost his parents like a treasure, each carrying a bit of illness. Especially after years of kneeling, their knees couldn't straighten. Uncle Zhong had a scale in his heart, and not one of his old comrades would be left out. The medicinal oil given to him would certainly be used on the suitable place.
Qiao Ziqiu led the troops away, and the North and South markets were now managed by loyal servants rescued after exile, mostly elderly people and those born into the family servants who had practically lived their whole lives in the Qiao household. It was not easy for them to survive these tumultuous years and reunite here. Bei Bei sighed. In addition to the dozen bottles of medicinal oil, she also prepared several jars of honey wine infused with essence.
Not seeing the two tigers and a fox, Bei Bei hastily soaked in the valley hot spring and then tidied herself up. In an instant, she moved to the third floor of the Leather Goods Same City Traveler Inn, where she could have a more intuitive view of the topographic drawings below.
Since there was no electricity in this era, of course, there wouldn't be any compressors either. So, the cold storage could only be insulated with lightweight bricks made from volcanic ash, asbestos, and perlite for the outer wall. Inside, there were two layers of zinc-iron walls, with water and saltpeter circulating to create ice and cool down. With such a structure, achieving low-temperature freezing was definitely out of the question; at most, it could be considered a refrigerated warehouse. With limited conditions, this was the best they could do for now. Bei Bei knew a bit about chemistry, but she had no confidence in inventing alternating current electricity. Unless she had time in the future to explain the principles and discuss them with Genius inventor Cheng Dian and the others.
In the era of cold weapons warfare, what could she do? Bei Bei listed out everything she could think of on paper. Preparations for knife and arrow wounds, alcohol disinfection, hemostasis, anti-inflammatory, pain relief, what else? Surgery. Yes, anesthesia! The formula for opium poppy, ma fei san. She wondered what her grandfather and Doctor Li were busy with right now. They had to handle anesthesia and antibiotics. Hemostatic powder might be in short supply in the army. With alcohol disinfection and reduced bleeding after wound closure, the usage of hemostatic powder would be greatly reduced. Suturing, wound cleaning, yes, surgical knife, curved needle and catgut, or silk thread if necessary, gauze and bandages, these needed to be prepared quickly. Silk, silk, yes, she remembered reading a novel where the male protagonist, because he was wearing silk underwear, had a smooth wound when the arrowhead was pulled out from his back, as the silk prevented the arrowhead from tearing flesh. So, they must prepare camisole-style real silk underwear for the soldiers. With so many things to think about, she couldn't sit still any longer, hastily piled up the scribbled papers, and left the space.
After just bathing, Cheng Mo circulated his spiritual energy in the essence of the hot spring water for a full movement cycle. Now, he emerged feeling refreshed, his complexion like peach blossom, his ink-black hair reaching his waist, and his silver garment fluttering. When Bei Bei, who had hurriedly come to find him, saw him, she was momentarily stunned, forgetting what she wanted to say. She could only feel as if the sturdy and naked chest she vaguely saw in the waterfall was now laid bare before her eyes beneath his silk silver garment.