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Chapter 1083 Master Level Logistics

The sour smell of sweat and burnt stew filled the camp kitchen. Zhao Wuji covered his nose and looked at the gray-green paste boiling in the cauldron - this thing was called "victory stew" on the Gondor army menu, but in his opinion it was not even as good as pig food.

"Add another spoonful of suet!" Chef Glass shouted, waving a long-handled spoon. "The barbarians from Rohan are coming today. We must let them see the food of Gondor!"

Zhao Wuji was assigned to help in the kitchen by accident. After the Battle of Palano Plains yesterday, he complained about the bad rations and was heard by a passing logistics officer. Now he stood by the stove, watching the chef throw another piece of yellow animal fat into the pot, his stomach churning.

"System, is this kind of work considered a violation?" he asked in his mind.

[Confirmed to be legal: Catering preparation is behind-the-scenes work and does not affect the plot] The system replied, [Current task: Improve three dishes, reward: daily fixed salary of 5 gold]

Zhao Wuji took a deep breath and walked towards the shelf where spices were stored. He was well aware of the culinary level of medieval Europe - this was his chance.

"Chef, can I try a new recipe?" He picked up a bunch of dried rosemary. "There is a secret recipe in the East that can remove the mutton smell."

Glass stared at him suspiciously: "Boy, do you know what the crime of wasting military rations is?"

"Just give me the smallest stew pot." Zhao Wuji took out a few silver coins he earned yesterday from his pocket, "If it doesn't taste good, this is my compensation."

An hour later, the kitchen was filled with soldiers who had come to smell the aroma. The lamb stew that Zhao Wuji had prepared with minced garlic, rosemary and a small amount of red wine made everyone who tasted it stare with wide eyes.

"By the gods!" exclaimed a Rohan rider. "This is better than the feast at Edoras!"

Zhao Wuji quietly wiped the sweat off his forehead. The little skills he learned in the cooking club turned out to be a unique skill in this era of scarce spices. When Chef Glass announced his promotion to assistant chef, the system prompt sounded:

[Achieve the achievement "Middle Earth on the Tip of the Tongue", unlock the "Seasoning Trading" permission, and increase the daily basic income by 3 gold]

What surprised him even more was that the Rohan cavalryman secretly stuffed a small leather bag into his hand before leaving: "Brother, we will come again tomorrow. If you can make a pot for the third team as well..." The leather bag contained five gold coins with horse patterns on them.

[Rohan Gold Coins x 5, worth 25 gold] The system immediately gives an estimate, [Sustainable income channel detected]

When distributing meals in the evening, Zhao Wuji noticed that most of the reins of the Rohan cavalry were badly worn. He recalled the scene in the movie where the Rohan cavalry were on a long-distance raid, and suddenly had an idea.

"Do you have enough spare reins?" he asked casually as he scooped an extra spoonful of broth for a cavalryman.

The cavalryman's face suddenly turned gloomy: "Don't mention it! The inferior goods given by those idiots in the logistics department broke before they ran halfway. When we were chasing the orcs yesterday, two people in our team fell off their horses because of broken reins." He made a gesture of slitting his throat.

Zhao Wuji's heartbeat quickened. When he was cleaning the battlefield yesterday, the system marked more than a dozen thick leather ropes left by the Oak transport team as "low-value items". But if processed under the guidance of modern knowledge

"I know a leatherworker," he lowered his voice, "who specializes in cavalry equipment. Maybe he can get some from special channels."

The cavalryman's eyes lit up, and he took out a ruby-studded collar pin from his inner pocket: "Deposit. Ten top-quality reins, before sunrise the day after tomorrow."

[Trade request detected: Refined bridles x 10, investment required: Oak leather rope (0 cost) + 2 hours of processing time, estimated profit: Ruby collar pin (80 gold) + Rohan Army favorability]

When Zhao Wuji took the collar pin, a dull horn sounded in the distance. Everyone in the kitchen stopped what they were doing at the same time, and the air was suddenly filled with tension.

"It's Helm's Deep!" someone shouted. "Saruman's army is at the mouth of the ravine!"

In the chaos, Zhao Wuji was assigned to the emergency support team. Two hours later, he stood in the warehouse of the Helm's Deep Fortress, looking at the piles of arrow boxes, and finally understood what task he was assigned to - to deliver arrows to the city wall when the battle was the most intense.

"Each person is responsible for a section of the city wall," the scarred quartermaster shouted, "Remember, the supply of arrows cannot be interrupted! Otherwise, you will be made into barbecue by the orcs!"

[Warning: Death rate in the Battle of Helm's Deep is 72%] The system calmly analyzed, [Suggested route: Go back and forth along the southwest stairs. This route has the lowest probability of being hit by an arrow]

Late at night, the first wave of attacks began. Zhao Wuji huddled behind the arrow stacks, listening to the roar of huge rocks hitting the city walls. The whole world seemed to be shaking, and the fire dyed the night sky blood red. When the horn sounded for the third time, he picked up the arrow box and rushed out.

"Arrows are coming!" he shouted hoarsely, smashing the box at the archers' feet. A blond elf nodded to thank him - Zhao Wuji recognized this as one of the supporting elves in the movie who had no lines. He was about to take a closer look when the system suddenly sounded an alarm:

[90 degrees to the left, rocks are coming! Lie down immediately!]

The moment he threw himself to the ground, a huge burning rock flew past his head and hit the city wall five meters behind him. The flying debris cut his cloak like a knife, but miraculously did not hurt his skin.

"You're lucky, boy." A dwarf warrior pulled him to his feet, "Now is not the time to be idle!"

The next six hours were like hell. Zhao Wuji made seventeen trips between the city wall and the warehouse, each time carrying a thirty-kilogram arrow box through a rain of arrows. The system constantly corrected his route: half a meter to the left to avoid stray arrows, paused for two seconds at the third step to wait for a gap in the stone throwing, and even so precise that he had to pretend to fall down at a certain point to avoid hidden arrows.

When the sky in the east began to turn pale, Zhao Wuji sat slumped in the corner of the warehouse, every muscle in his body protesting. His gold coin balance was displayed as [1025], breaking four digits for the first time. What made him even more excited was the new prompt from the system:

[Unlock the "Storage Space" function (primary), current capacity: 0.5 cubic meters, can store non-plot-critical items]

Suddenly, there was a deafening cheer outside. Zhao Wuji dragged his tired body to the door and saw the flood rushing in the valley, and Saruman's army was washed away like ants. Gandalf stood on a high place, his white robe dazzling in the morning light.

“We won!” the soldiers hugged each other.

Zhao Wuji noticed several Rohan cavalrymen kneeling in the corner. In front of them were three cloaked corpses. One of them had its hands exposed, with a broken rein tangled between its fingers.

"System, those leather ropes?" he asked in his mind.

[Recyclable items detected: Rohan Army special reins (damaged) x 12, worth 6 gold/piece after repair]

Zhao Wuji quietly noted the location. Just as he was about to leave, a familiar voice called him - it was the cavalryman who had made the reins yesterday, with a bloody bandage wrapped around his left eye.

"Hey, Cook!" the trooper stumbled over. "Still in the bridle business? Now. We need more." His voice was hoarse. "Double the quantity."

Zhao Wuji looked at his mourning companions behind him and nodded: "Give me two days."

Back in his temporary residence, Zhao Wuji examined today's harvest: seven elven arrows secretly collected from the battlefield (two of which were only slightly bent), three orc metal wristbands, and a small bag of elven bread "picked up" in the chaos.

[Elf Bread x 3, special effect: no longer hungry within 8 hours after eating, estimated value 30 gold/piece] the system noted.

He took a bite, and his mouth was immediately filled with fragrance, and his fatigue was swept away. No wonder Legolas and his companions in the movie could travel long distances without rest, this is simply a magic energy bar!

The next morning, Zhao Wuji found the tools he needed in the logistics area. Relying on his memories of the handicraft class in college, he used animal fat and gum to process the oak leather ropes and then wove them into reins suitable for horses. The system occasionally gave suggestions for improvement:

[It is recommended to add 0.3% salt to increase toughness] [Adjusting the weaving angle to 45 degrees can increase the strength by 20%]

When the twenty reins were finished, they looked stronger than the standard ones of the Rohan army. The cavalrymen were so excited when they inspected them that they almost hugged him: "This craftsmanship is better than that of the royal saddler! Tell me, what do you want in return?"

Zhao Wuji had already thought about it: "I need a list of equipment losses of the Rohan cavalry after each battle."

The cavalryman raised his eyebrows: "What's it for?"

"Make sure to prepare in advance next time." Zhao Wuji smiled, "Doing business requires planning ahead."

That evening, his gold coin balance soared to [1500]. In addition to the ruby ​​collar pin, the cavalry also gave him a rare black jade - it was said that it was exchanged from an oriental merchant. Even more valuable was the list, which detailed the fifteen most needed supplies for the Rohan army.

[Business intelligence acquisition, future transaction profit expectations increased by 35%] the system commented.

Zhao Wuji lay on the straw mat, listening to the noise of the celebration banquet in the distance. The stars in Helm's Deep were particularly bright, but he was already calculating his next business plan in his mind. The elven arrows collected today lay quietly in the storage space - he noticed that the arrowheads had a special silver light and planned to find an opportunity to test the material.

"One Million" comes with a glimmer of real hope this time.