She returned to the trading center and quickly adjusted the time difference between the two worlds. As soon as dawn broke, she rushed out to shop. First, she swept through supermarkets, clearing out instant noodles and dried noodles, then headed to the home textiles market to buy quilts. On the way, she ran into an egg seller and immediately had him deliver eggs to her house, taking as many as he had. She also went to the vegetable wholesale market to stock up on greens. After gathering a massive pile of supplies, she took an afternoon nap and returned to Tang Yuan's side in the middle of the night.
Tang Yuan had been waiting there for nearly half an hour. When he saw Shen Yunyun bringing back so much stuff, his chest swelled with emotion. Just like last time, the two of them went back to find General Wei. This time, General Wei asked no questions and directly led his men to move the supplies. Seeing the abundance of meat and fresh greens, General Wei was certain their emperor was heaven's own son. Who could eat such fresh, crisp vegetables in winter? If it wasn't a gift from the heavens, who could possibly obtain them?
The soldiers carried and hauled, each face brimming with excitement. So much meat, so much meat. They were in for a treat. Back at camp, they immediately started cooking the meat, boiling the dried noodles in the meat broth. Once the noodles were bubbling, they tossed in the instant noodles, sprinkled in the seasoning, and added the greens. A pot of fragrant noodles was ready. All the eggs were boiled, one per person. Tang Yuan joined the soldiers for the meal, and this time, everyone wore genuine smiles. No one bothered to talk; they just buried their heads in eating. It was incredibly delicious. Even at a feast, they'd never tasted noodles this good. Some soldiers started crying as they ate. "If only I could let my mother taste these noodles," one said. "I miss home..."
Tang Yuan was also amazed by the instant noodles' flavor—truly delicious. He envied the people of her world, who had so many tasty foods to enjoy. But he keenly sensed the soldiers' shifting emotions and quickly spoke up: "Don't be sad, everyone. In the future, our families will surely live good lives." Wei Min chimed in, assuring them the court would ensure their families prospered. The military advisor quickly echoed the sentiment.
Shen Yunyun felt something was off about them today, and their eye contact seemed too frequent. Curious, she waited until Tang Yuan finished eating, then pulled him aside to ask what he'd been doing. Tang Yuan reached out to ruffle her hair, but she pushed his hand down. He said, "Have you ever heard of 'camp mutiny'?" "Camp mutiny?" Shen Yunyun had never heard of it. Tang Yuan explained, "When the founding emperor was conquering the realm, a camp mutiny broke out in the previous dynasty's army. Soldiers slaughtered each other, and a force of forty thousand was reduced to just four hundred. Just now, there were signs of a mutiny brewing, so we were stabilizing morale."
Shen Yunyun was stunned. Had such a huge danger been lurking right beside them? She felt a wave of relief and immense admiration for Tang Yuan. He was so perceptive, cutting off any hint of danger the moment it appeared. Truly impressive. But Great Li was too weak; even with all his passion, he couldn't fully act on it. Shen Yunyun had temporarily eased the pressure of feeding the northern border soldiers. But only temporarily. With over thirty thousand troops stationed in the north, feeding them was no small matter. There was still plenty of coarse black flour here, and Shen Yunyun thought she should order a batch of white flour for them to mix with the black. Otherwise, that black flour was just too awful to eat. Acting on this thought, she returned to order a batch of white flour and rice, then went to Tang Family Village to buy up all their flour-based products and delivered them to Wei Min.