In war, there would always be injuries and deaths. Women and gers were generally more attentive than men, more meticulous in their work, and more patient than male soldiers. In the military, there were many roles where female soldiers had an advantage—communications, logistics management, and the treatment and care of the wounded were all things they could handle.
The medics who went into battle without proper field training would collapse after just a few days of frantic work. In ancient wars, the death toll was often high—not because everyone died under enemy blades, but because most died from injuries that weren't treated in time. The medics would be overwhelmed, applying medicine hastily and then moving on. The wounded didn't know how to care for themselves either! If the injury was severe, they couldn't even move—the wound would get infected, fester, and with a fever, they'd be gone.
If they relied solely on medics, with several hundred men in a single battle, how many physicians would it take to look after everyone? And where would they find so many?
So sometimes, the more seriously wounded were simply "abandoned"—since no one knew if they could even be saved, they didn't waste time on them and instead prioritized those with lighter injuries.
If these female recruits came, and they all knew basic bandaging and how to brew medicine—if they could stay calm under pressure and direct medical care on the battlefield, or handle logistics—wouldn't that work too?
And women and gers could certainly do those things, couldn't they?
Even if there was no war, after they finished their training, they could be assigned to medical hall or factories. If a worker felt unwell or got injured on the job, these women and gers could tend to them too.
Learning more was never a bad thing.
Let people talk—he wouldn't lose any flesh over it.
Zhao Ger was silent for a moment after hearing this, then said, "Husband, I support you."
"Even if you didn't, it's too late—your son already brought the people in!" Guaizai had come back practically strutting, with two little red flowers on his face that Fang Zichen had stamped on. He was absolutely delighted, spending half the day admiring himself in the mirror, then running off to show off to his friends in the village. If they said no now, their son would lose all face.
Since the training for female soldiers would differ from that for the men, they needed to work out a proper plan. Fang Zichen spent two days on it, then called for Li Yanmei.
"Huh? You want me to train them?" Li Yanmei was astonished.
"Yes," Fang Zichen said. "Mornings for training, afternoons for study. I'll tell you more about the training methods later. We can't leave this to Shi Linjie and the others—they're men, and it just wouldn't be appropriate."
Gers were one thing, but if a female recruit got her monthly cycle during training and wasn't feeling well, she'd probably be too embarrassed to tell the men and would just push through—which wasn't good for her.
Only women understood women's matters.
And at this early stage, having a caring older sister figure to guide them would make them feel more at ease.
Li Yanmei didn't mind at all. She was bold by nature—she'd once, right in front of Lin Xiaoxia, told Fang Zichen that her father was out playing chess in the afternoon and that he was welcome to come by. That alone showed she wasn't exactly the conventional type.
She even asked, "Can my Jiaojiao train and study with them?"
"If you want to send her, go ahead—I'm not stopping you," Fang Zichen said.
He was even more handsome now than when he'd been in Yuanzhou. He'd been good-looking back then too, but there was still a boyishness to him, less of a manly edge. Now that youthful look had faded, and he appeared more and more distinguished. Li Yanmei smiled, gave Fang Zichen a bashful, coquettish glance, and said in a soft, sweet voice:
"I just wanted to ask you first, Master—I am yours, after all. How could I act on my own?"
Fang Zichen's skin crawled. He quickly glanced at Lin Xiaoxia.
That didn't sound right at all—it made it seem like the two of them had something going on.
Just as Fang Zichen was about to say something, Guaizai came running in through the door: "Father, didn't you say you'd help Guaizai cut his hair today? Come on, quick!"
Fang Zichen fled.
Kids' hair was a hassle when it got long—hard to wash, and in winter it took forever to dry. Now that Guaizai was a bit older, Fang Zichen no longer gave him that mushroom-style haircut, since people outside might gossip. He just trimmed the curled-up ends. Gungun and Dandan, though, had their heads shaved completely bald—that way, washing at night was easy; just a wipe with a towel and they were done.
Gungun and Dandan absolutely loved it when Fang Zichen gave them their baths. Washing their hair was always such a hassle for him, so this time, with them being bald, it was a relief!
The two little ones rubbed their smooth, round heads, feeling pretty pleased with themselves.
Gungun looked at Dandan: "Hey, Dandan, you've got a bit of a lumpy head."
"Gungun has one too!"
And the two little ones broke into giggles.
It had just entered the second lunar month, and the weather was still cold. Afraid they might catch a chill, Zhao Ger put little tiger hats on them. Their round little faces looked absolutely adorable.
The village was colder than the town, especially since Pingxiang Village had a lot of mountains. It had also rained the past few days, and the chill seemed to seep right into the bones.
When the kids were bathed at night, the water would turn cold halfway through, and Gungun even ended up with a bit of a runny nose.
But the two little ones were plump and full of energy. At midday, they'd tear around the yard with Black Whirlwind, getting filthy—and if someone pulled open their collars and took a whiff, a strong, pungent wave of sour sweat would hit them right in the nose.
So they had to have a bath every single day, no question.
But the moment they got into the water, the little ones would get all worked up, splashing the basin non-stop. The water would turn cold before they were even done, and the conditions here were poor. The kids loved playing in the water too. After thinking it over, Fang Zichen finally took the children to town, saying he wanted to buy a big cauldron.
Zhao Ger was busy at the factory when Uncle Tang came looking for him and asked if the family was planning to butcher a pig. If so, he'd go gather some big firewood from outside, since the wood at home was all small stuff that didn't burn long.
"No, we're not," said Zhao Ger.
"Then why is the master buying a big cauldron?" asked Uncle Tang.
Zhao Ger shook his head. "I don't know either."
When he came back that evening and stepped into the kitchen, Zhao Ger saw the newly bought cauldron. It was ridiculously big and quite deep. He asked Fang Zichen why he'd bought such a huge pot, and Fang Zichen said it was for the children.
Zhao Ger was completely baffled—but that evening, he understood.
Water was put into the cauldron, a small fire was lit in the stove, and once the water was warm enough, Fang Zichen called out from the door. The three little ones came running over. Afraid the cold wind would blow in, Fang Zichen shut the kitchen door. Guaizai took off his own clothes; Fang Zichen helped Gungun and Dandan with theirs. Once they were bare, Fang Zichen picked them up one by one and plopped them into the cauldron.
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