The village chief's words still carried weight.
As soon as he spoke, everyone quieted down.
"Uncles, aunties, grandpas, grandmas.
You don't have to worry. The four of us are doing really well.
That day when the PN Soldiers came and everyone had to hide, we happened to be in the mountains and didn't know about it.
Later, a group of PN Soldiers went into the mountains and ended up hiding in our cave.
The four of us worked with the officers to wipe out that group of PN Soldiers.
Who knew the smell of blood would attract wolves, and then we helped kill the wolves too.
Those officers saw that we were brave and invited us to join them to fight the PN Soldiers.
So now the four of us are in the army.
This wolf meat is from that day; they gave it to us.
We've been busy fighting the PN Soldiers these days, so the meat got frozen.
I thought about how many old folks and kids are in the village, and that the New Year is coming soon.
So I took the chance today to bring this meat back to share with everyone, so the whole village can have a good New Year," Paige said.
Mainly, Paige felt wolf meat didn't taste as good as pork, so it was a nice gesture to give it away.
People in the village still left a good impression on her.
Paige believed that the village had done well in caring for orphaned children and giving them a normal life.
From that, you could see this village was worth helping.
If things go well, they can keep in touch. If not, they can go separate ways later.
"Can girls be soldiers too?"
"Wow, Sister Paige became an army officer."
"You four have really done well."
"What a pity."
Everyone started talking at once.
They all knew what the pity was. If the elders of those two families were still around, they would already be enjoying life now.
"Even though they didn't want me at first, I had talent.
I could learn anything fast and was better than all of them.
Now I'm not just a soldier, I'm a leader too.
I'm in charge of a lot of people, though I've never counted exactly how many," Paige bragged.
What Paige said was half true.
She didn't have a position yet, but she believed that if she wanted a title, Commander Ye would give her that favor.
What Paige didn't know was that it wasn't just about giving face. Commander Ye and the others had already gathered to discuss what position would suit her best.
Someone that skilled, if she stayed in the army as an officer, that would mean keeping a strong ally close.
If something happened in the future, could she really ignore it?
Too low a position wouldn't be right, too many tasks wouldn't fit either, and giving her nothing to do didn't seem good.
In the end, they came up with two roles for her to choose from.
First, Chief Instructor.
A position with real power.
She'd be in charge of training soldiers who could be mobilized later.
It carried a lot of authority, but also came with heavy responsibilities.
Second, Military Advisor.
This could be a relaxed role with a high status and flexible work hours, but no subordinates.
If she wanted to come to work every day, she could. If not, that was fine too.
There was more than one Military Advisor. They mostly wanted to keep Paige around, because in critical moments, she could save lives.
As for daily chores, they could handle everything themselves.
After deciding on the positions, they started discussing who should go talk and when.
There was no need to choose who would go talk. In this military camp, Commander Ye was the most familiar with Paige, so he would go.
Now they were just discussing when to go.
"Let's wait a little while," said Commander Ye.
"Why?" asked the Commander.
"She just moved into a new home. She's probably busy. Let's wait until she settles in before bringing this up," Commander Ye wasn't worried she'd be too busy to come to work.
He was worried she might feel annoyed.
When someone is busy, their mood usually isn't great.
Even moving into a new house meant a lot of things to manage.
"Alright, you handle it. Once it's decided, just let us know," the Commander nodded.
Settling down was a good sign. It meant she wanted to live here.
The more someone cared about their home, the longer they were likely to stay.
At least, she wouldn't be leaving any time soon.
"You really have to pay close attention to this. If she runs into any trouble or needs anything, make sure to help her as much as you can.
Make sure Paige has a comfortable place to live.
Also, when choosing people to work with her, they must be trustworthy. Don't let anyone suspicious slip in," the Commander reminded him.
"Understood," Commander Ye replied.
After delivering the meat, Paige left with Seven while everyone watched her go, clearly reluctant to part.
Paige made another trip to the same restaurant as before.
Earlier, she had asked Waiter Erin to buy a wooden bucket for her. She had taken the bucket, but hadn't paid yet.
She didn't like owing people.
"Miss, long time no see! Wow, your horse looks amazing. I can tell right away it's a top-quality one," Waiter Erin greeted her warmly.
"By the way, I'm really sorry. I had bought the wooden bucket for you, but somehow it disappeared.
You didn't come back for a while, so I didn't get another one," he said, looking frustrated.
Nothing else in the restaurant was missing, only the bucket he had bought personally.
Also, one of the half-new buckets from the restaurant was gone.
No one knew why someone would steal buckets, but clearly the thief took the newest and second-newest ones.
He never expected someone to steal buckets. If he had known, he would've hidden them in the cellar.
"It's fine. I took them," Paige said. "I came that day and saw the restaurant was closed, so I went in and took the bucket.
Also, I took one from your restaurant.
How much did you pay for the one you bought? I'll give you double. And I'll buy the one from the restaurant too."
"So it was you, Miss. That's a relief. I was worried you came today to get the bucket.
As for the one from the restaurant, just pay half. It's used anyway," Waiter Erin said happily.
He thought the money for the lost buckets was gone, but now he was getting it back.
After he told her the price, Paige gave him double. She didn't lack money, and didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble over small things.
"By the way, where's your manager? I told him last time that if we stayed less than planned, he should refund the extra.
We only stayed one night, so there must be some money left over," Paige said after paying.
"There's definitely some extra. Our manager is inside doing the accounts. Come with me.
I'll help lead your horse," Waiter Erin said, then noticed the horse didn't even have a rein.
The horse had followed on its own.
He got a little nervous. They had more than just this horse in the back courtyard.
What if this one didn't get along with the others and started a fight?