The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

"Sir, seeing your extraordinary bravery, let me give you a sneak peek. The government has spread the word, encouraging brave warriors to deal with Baekje spies, and has offered a reward. If you can take down a spy, the government will reward you handsomely!"

Qin An's heart skipped a beat.

A generous reward from the government?

It can't be a small amount!

"If there really is a chance..." He was about to continue when he quickly shook his head.

Without saying a word, he said to his employee, "For this kind of thing, you have to be able to make money and live to spend it!"

Having said that, he turned and left, managing to resist this enormous temptation.

Upon seeing the price increase of bows and arrows, Qin An realized that under the same circumstances, the prices of daily necessities would also rise, so buying early would mean making money early.

I strolled around the county town and bought enough rice, flour, salt, some cloth, and medicine.

I've spent almost all the remaining silver, leaving only two taels, which I'll keep for emergencies.

Looking at the heavy basket on his back, Qin An took a deep breath and turned to walk towards Baishan Village.

Over the next few days, the intelligence gathering from Bai Ji's spies intensified.

Almost every day, the sounds of government searches could be heard, and occasionally soldiers would ride by on horseback, their hooves echoing in the air, causing widespread panic.

Qin An knew that going deep into the mountains at this time was too risky. He might run into those elusive spies, or be mistaken for a spy by the government officials and questioned, which would only cause more trouble.

He abandoned his desire to venture deep into the mountains and stayed only at the foot of the mountain.

Every day, he would carry his newly bought horn bow and wander around the familiar area, hunting small animals such as rabbits and pheasants.

The fresh meat they caught was enough for the family to eat, and any surplus was carefully cleaned, salted, and hung under the eaves to air dry into cured meat.

Looking at the cured meat gradually hanging under the eaves, Qin An felt much more at ease, which gave him confidence to get through the winter.

He then devoted all his remaining energy to renovating the house.

Although the old log cabin was better than the thatched hut, it was still made of wooden planks with many gaps, so it was bound to be drafty in winter.

Now that he has some savings and enough time, Qin An plans to build a stone house.

He gets up before dawn every day, takes his tools to the nearby hillside to chisel stones and transport them.

Fortunately, his body is getting stronger and stronger, and his strength is not a disadvantage. These heavy tasks are nothing to him, and he is incredibly efficient.

More importantly, the thought of his family spending the winter in a warm and sturdy house gives him boundless energy.

Yang Yuyan felt sorry for him working too hard and always wanted to lend a hand, but Qin An stopped her: "I can do these heavy jobs. You take care of the family and the children."

Cai Yan and Cai Zhen were also sensible, helping to move small stones every day, or delivering water and dry food to Qin An. The whole family worked together to prepare for the new house.

The foundation had already been compacted beforehand, and the walls were made of stones of different sizes stacked in an alternating pattern, with clay filling the gaps and tamping them down tightly.

He had no formal training in construction, relying solely on brute force and meticulousness. The walls he built were not perfectly regular, even somewhat rough, yet they exuded a sturdy and reliable aura.

As the days went by, the stone house gradually took shape.

The walls grew higher and higher, and the roof was covered with thick wooden planks, then covered with a thick layer of thatch, and finally coated with a layer of clay for waterproofing.

More than half a month later, the new house was finally completed.

The new house, revealed after the original log cabin was demolished, looks exceptionally grand.

The area is almost twice as large as before, and Qin An has divided it into several rooms.

The most eye-catching feature is the two separate small bedrooms, which are simply furnished with wooden beds and cabinets.

In addition, there is a dedicated kitchen with a built-in stove, which is much more convenient than the simple stove that was previously built outside.

The woodshed was right next to the kitchen, and it was already piled with a lot of chopped firewood.

There's also a small outhouse in the corner, so at least we don't have to go outside anymore.

The remaining small room was used as a storage room to store tools and miscellaneous items.

The largest area is a huge bedroom.

Instead of a wooden bed, a large heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed) was built in the room, taking up almost half of the room.

Qin An suddenly remembered the kang (heated brick bed) in Northeast China from his modern memories, and felt that it was the most suitable thing for keeping warm in winter. So, based on his memory, he used clay bricks to build it little by little.

One end of the kang (heated brick bed) is connected to the stove outside. When cooking, the heat can be transmitted into the kang through the flue, making the kang warm.

On the day the new house was completely completed, the family couldn't wait to move all their belongings in and arrange them.

"Wow! Father, is this heated kang bed you mentioned really that amazing?!"

As soon as Cai Zhen entered the new room, she was attracted by the large kang (heated brick bed). She took off her shoes and stepped on it, but the icy touch made her pull her feet back. "Huh, it's still cold."

"We'll light a fire later and it'll be warm," Qin An said with a smile.

Cai Zhen's eyes darted around, and she said expectantly, "Then let's sleep here tonight and see if this kang (heated brick bed) is any good!"

Qin An also wanted to check if the heated kang was up to standard, so without much thought, he nodded immediately.

Cai Zhen immediately became overjoyed.

Cai Yan also looked around the new house with curiosity. Looking at the neat stone walls, the clean stove, and the novel heated kang bed, a happy smile appeared on her face.

"Father, this house is really good, much sturdier than before."

Yang Yuyan's eyes were slightly red.

Along the way, from a dilapidated thatched hut to a log cabin, and now to a sturdy and warm stone house, all of this is inseparable from Qin An's hard work.

She stepped forward, ignoring her daughter's presence, and nestled into his arms, saying, "You've worked so hard."

"It's not hard work, as long as you're comfortable." Qin An naturally put his arm around her, smiling contentedly.

Dinner was cooked in the new kitchen. Yang Yuyan stewed a pheasant with mushrooms and stir-fried several other delicious dishes, filling the whole house with aroma.

When cooking, Qin An deliberately added more firewood so that the heat from the stove would travel along the flue into the kang (a heated brick bed).

After the meal was prepared, the four of them sat down around the wooden table on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Cai Zhen was the first to exclaim, "Wow! It's so warm! Father, this kang (heated brick bed) is amazing!"

She touched the surface of the kang (heated brick bed) with her hand; it was warm and cozy, and she hummed contentedly.

Cai Yan also reached out and tried it, her eyes full of curiosity: "I've never seen such a way of keeping warm in books. Father is really amazing."

Seeing that the kang (heated brick bed) was heated evenly without any areas being too hot or too cold, Qin An breathed a sigh of relief: "Looks like the craftsmanship is pretty good; I won't get cold in the winter."

Looking at the children's happy faces, Yang Yuyan glanced at Qin An and said with a smile, "You're really something. Now we don't have to worry about the cold winter anymore."

She could easily imagine how warm it would be for the whole family to sleep on this kang (heated brick bed) when it got really cold.

It can be said that the second major crisis facing the family of four has been completely overcome ahead of schedule.

As for the first major crisis, the problem of having enough to eat, it had already been completely resolved thanks to Qin An's efforts.

It's entirely conceivable that life will only get better from here on out.

Thinking of all this, Yang Yuyan looked at Qin An with eyes so tender they were almost dripping with tears!