She Came to Heal, Stayed to Conquer

Han Lei had Ping Chuan help her fetch two jars of wine from the warehouse, then she took the wine straight to the Wounded Soldier Camp to find Mr. He.

This wine was bought by having Zhao Zun send people out to purchase it on the first day Han Lei treated the wounded.

At that time, her system had little money and couldn’t afford much alcohol, and there were too many wounded with severe infections, requiring a lot of alcohol to wash their wounds. So, this wine was intended for brewing alcohol.

Unexpectedly, she quickly received a second system reward, and she simply used the reward to buy food and medicine.

Of course, this also included enough alcohol. So, she didn’t immediately use the low-alcohol wine purchased from the market.

Now, it was just the right time to invite Mr. He for a drink.

Mr. He was busy removing stitches for a wounded soldier. Seeing Han Lei come to find him, his wrinkled old face was immediately filled with a fawning smile.

"Master, I’m busy. What brings you here?"

Han Lei blushed at the crisp call of "Master." It’s been many days, yet no matter how often she heard it, she still found it awkward.

She had told him several times not to call her master, that they could just exchange ideas, but this stubborn old man wouldn’t listen.

"Mr. He, I’m here to drink with you."

Mr. He was startled and then saw the two jars of wine in Han Lei’s hands. "Master, do you drink?"

"No, I don’t!"

Han Lei replied straightforwardly, which left Mr. He a bit lost.

If she doesn’t drink, why invite him for a drink?

"Heh heh, Master... what are you up to with this?" Mr. He asked cautiously, seeing Han Lei’s not-so-good expression.

"Mr. He, don’t you like drinking? I’m inviting you and also have something to ask you about."

Mr. He suddenly understood, realizing his master needed something from him! He immediately felt proud.

Even a masterful doctor like her had something to ask him? Heh heh!

Mr. He handed his current task to the military doctor nearby, wiped his hands on his clothes, and cheerfully led Han Lei into a small tent next to them where they temporarily stored medicine.

"Master, please sit here."

Mr. He dusted off the small stool’s dirt with his sleeve, let Han Lei sit down, and then sat on another small stool, taking out a paper-wrapped package from his pocket.

The oil paper was wrapped in several layers, but it only contained a few deep-fried broad beans that had been stored for who knows how long. Judging by his careful appearance, he probably wouldn’t eat them usually.

Han Lei opened a jar of wine and handed it to Mr. He. There were no cups here, only the option to drink directly from the jar.

"Mr. He, come on, have a drink first." Though Han Lei was young, she was well versed in worldly wisdom, first offering sweet words before any request.

Mr. He didn’t hesitate, pulling out the cork and taking a sip, "Hmm, good wine!"

Seeing Mr. He satisfied with the wine, Han Lei finally got to the point. "Mr. He, I came here to ask you, how is the treatment in the camp?"

"Treatment?"

Mr. He apparently didn’t understand this term.

"Uh... that is, how much silver do you receive each month?"

"Oh, that!" Mr. He suddenly understood, "Ordinary soldiers get one tael of silver per month, we doctors get three taels, and since I’m the most qualified with the highest medical skills..."

Saying this, Mr. He popped a bean into his mouth, washed it down with a sip of wine, and then extended five fingers with pride, saying, "I get five taels of silver a month!"

"Uh... with your level of medical skills, you only get five taels of silver a month?" Han Lei was astonished.

Han Lei had read in books that during the Huaxia Han Dynasty, the average price of rice was one tael of silver per shi of millet.

Millet is what it is now, priced at about six yuan per jin. In the Han Dynasty, a shi weighed 30 jin, meaning one shi was 120 jin, so a tael of silver was about 700 yuan.

A senior military doctor like Mr. He would only get around 3,500 yuan a month, and buying five shi of millet would use up the five taels of silver.

That’s too low!

How is she supposed to afford fancy meals, shop, or achieve financial freedom?

Han Lei was frustrated!

"And do you know how much the Marshal gets each month?"

"Shh..." Mr. He made a gesture to hush her, cautiously glanced around to see if anyone was passing by, and then lowered his voice to say, "Master, please have mercy on me! The Marshal is of such distinction; how could I dare privately inquire or discuss it?"

Han Lei pouted.

How could she forget that this is a wicked feudal society, strict in class hierarchy?

Zhao Zun, as a stationed Marshal and a Prince, naturally had a noble status. Even if he were friendly to the soldiers below, they dare not cross that identity divide.

Seeing Han Lei pout, Mr. He quickly offered an ingratiating smile.

"But I know that Colonels in the army receive five taels monthly, Assistant Generals and Deputy Generals get twenty-five taels each month."

"The position of Think Tank is higher than that of Deputy General, so wouldn’t the Think Tank’s..."

Han Lei stopped her question, winking at Mr. He, implying that the Think Tank’s salary must be higher than that of a Deputy General, right?

Mr. He smirked, showing Han Lei a "you are indeed smart" smile, and then quickly picked up the little wine jar to drink.

He didn’t say anything!

Han Lei understood in seconds, unable to contain her excitement, stood up, and thrust a jar of wine into Mr. He’s arms.

"I got it, thank you, Mr. He." With that, Han Lei stepped outside the tent.

Mr. He was stunned and quickly shouted, "Hey! There’s still a lot of wine! Are you leaving already?"

"I’m leaving! All that wine is for you!"

Han Lei didn’t look back, waving as she left, as if something good had happened, walking with an air.

Given that Assistant Generals and Deputy Generals receive twenty-five taels each month, she could roughly guess the salary for a General or Think Tank of this era.

Though she was a woman, with her ability and knowledge, she could seek Zhao Zun for a Think Tank position to increase her income.

It’s easy to transition from thrift to luxury, but it’s difficult to return from luxury to thrift. As someone used to a prosperous modern life, eating coarse millet bread daily was manageable short-term but unbearable long-term.

Zhao Zun had given her some thousand taels of silver notes, but as a newcomer here, she had plenty of expenses to settle and establish a life, big and small. No matter how frugal she was, it wouldn’t last long.

Since she couldn’t return, wouldn’t she have to find ways to increase her income and live a better life?

Besides, in modern times, her relatives engaged in various businesses like restaurants, hotels, and courier services. With such exposure and being a genius learner herself, as long as she had enough silver to invest, there were many things she could do.

Thinking this, Han Lei quickened her pace to find Zhao Zun.

Not far from the tent, Han Lei heard faint voices coming from behind a stack of haystacks.

"I’m not exaggerating! The first time we extracted 10,000 jin of fine grain from that monster’s belly, but let’s not talk about that. Old Chen in the kitchen said that within a couple of days, the warehouse suddenly filled up with a lot of millet, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. We’ve never even heard of potatoes and sweet potatoes before!"

"What’s so strange about that? Didn’t the Marshal say it was organized and delivered by the court?"

"I spit on that! That’s tens of thousands of jin! Did you see the Supply Camp transport it? Did you see anyone moving those grains into the warehouse? Tens of thousands of jin of grain appeared out of nowhere; who besides a monster could possess such a feat?"

"Are you suggesting the Marshal is lying? That the Marshal is actually a monster?"