Chapter 27

Sun Sanqiang heard the two thugs who had driven the carriage report that Meier was seriously ill, so he specially came over to visit her early in the morning. However, the little girl had already taken a bath and was resting, so he didn't get to see her. Instead, he ended up eating the breakfast that Jiang Xingchen had warmed up. Not only that, he heard that what he ate was the spine of a swordback pig, and he even took away the jar of leftover meat broth.

Jiang Xingchen's forehead was covered with black lines, and the muscles on his face couldn't help but twitch a couple of times: "What is this? How can you be full and still take things away... The problem is, I'm not full yet..."

After a moment of inward complaint, he didn't mind, knowing that Sun Sanqiang was trying to get closer and improve their relationship. The two thugs and the carriage he arranged yesterday were key to saving the little girl. It wasn't just a jar of meat; even if Sun Sanqiang asked for a secret recipe now, he wouldn't hesitate.

Lifting his hand, he stopped Sun Sanqiang, who was about to leave, and said, "Brother Sanqiang, if you have time, three days from now, go with me to the Purple Thistle Mercenary Group!"

"Huh?" Sun Sanqiang was taken aback for a moment, then his face lit up with joy, his eyes narrowing. The efforts he had put in over the past few days had finally paid off.

"Sure! I won't say thank you, but from now on, your affairs are my affairs!" Sun Sanqiang patted his chest, putting on a grand and heroic demeanor, but his small and thin figure looked rather sleazy.

Jiang Xingchen smiled and said, "Among friends, we naturally help each other. If you need anything, I won't stand by either!"

Sun Sanqiang's eyes instantly narrowed. Jiang Xingchen's words carried more weight than his chest-thumping. At this point, there was no need for further words. Sun Sanqiang was moved and nodded forcefully.

Then, Jiang Xingchen handed Sun Sanqiang a banknote worth ten thousand yellow crystals, entrusting him to take over the house he had reserved and to find a blacksmith to make a medical sewing needle with high-quality materials.

Although he found it strange that Jiang Xingchen wanted to make a needle like a fish hook, he didn't ask more questions. After agreeing, he left... but not before taking the jar of meat broth.

Watching Sun Sanqiang's swaying back, Jiang Xingchen took a deep breath and shook his head with a bitter smile.

He chose to cooperate with Sun Sanqiang for two reasons: to repay him for arranging the carriage and people yesterday, and to earn money. The daily expense of three thousand yellow crystals was no small amount.

But that wasn't the key issue. According to what Zhao Zixiang said yesterday, even the major pharmacies had few drugs containing primordial energy. He couldn't predict how long Meier would need to be treated. If the time was too long, even with money, he might not be able to buy the drugs, and would have to ask the mercenary group to search the Ethereal Mountains or buy them at a high price, which would cost even more.

"At least I'm not short of ways to earn money now!" He took a deep breath and turned to the kitchen, where he started a fire on the small stove, kneaded the dough, rolled it out, and cut it into noodles... The little girl had just recovered from a serious illness, so greasy food wouldn't be easy to digest.

"Unfortunately, there are no eggs; otherwise, this bowl of noodles would be even better!" Jiang Xingchen sighed lightly as he worked. In no time, a steaming bowl of hand-pulled noodles was ready.

Carrying the noodles into the room, Jiang Xingchen woke up Meier: "Girl, it's time to eat!"

"Mmm~" Meier let out a lazy, cat-like moan, still not opening her eyes, but she moved her nose slightly and sighed, "It smells so good, what did brother make?"

"Hand-pulled noodles!" As he spoke, Jiang Xingchen helped Meier sit up, placed a quilt behind her back to support her, and then brought the noodles to her.

The long, thin noodles, the rich broth, and a few tender green vegetables looked very appetizing.

"These are hand-pulled noodles!" Meier stared at them for a moment, then lifted her head, opened her small mouth, and her eyes narrowed into two caterpillars, looking coquettish.

Jiang Xingchen picked up the noodles with chopsticks, blew on them lightly, and brought them to Meier's mouth.

"Slurp!" Without any instruction, the little girl learned to eat the noodles on her first try, sucking in the elastic and chewy noodles.

"Mmm!" The little girl nodded forcefully and praised, "Delicious!"

"Ha ha!" Jiang Xingchen laughed, indulgently saying, "Then eat more!"

One bite, two bites... The little girl didn't stop, and in no time, she even drank the broth!

"Brother, I want more! Uh!" As soon as she finished speaking, Meier burped, and her face turned red.

"Your eyes are greedy, but your stomach is full... Overeating is bad, especially for your weak body!" Jiang Xingchen shook his head and refused.

However, seeing Meier pout, Jiang Xingchen added, "If you want to eat, I'll make it for you every day!"

"Hee hee! Brother is the best!" Meier's expression changed instantly. She wasn't just hungry; she was waiting for this sentence from her brother. She had started to particularly enjoy the feeling of being pampered by her brother.

Helping the little girl lie down to rest, Jiang Xingchen tidied up the bowls and chopsticks, then took out a small knife and a round wooden stick and went to the yard.

"Whoosh~" A white breath was exhaled, and Jiang Xingchen's fingers moved skillfully. The small knife rolled up and down between his fingers, creating a mist of knife light.

"Enough to show off!" Jiang Xingchen hadn't expected this; in his previous life, the pen-spinning experts he saw in videos were no better than this.

Extending the round wooden stick, Jiang Xingchen's right hand wielded the knife, and with a few swift cuts, fine wood shavings fell like snow. In less than two minutes, a toothbrush was formed.

Drilling the hole was still difficult, but binding the bristles with animal sinew was much faster than the last time.

"Given my current dexterity, I shouldn't make any mistakes in the selection for the Seventh Legion in three days..."

At this moment, the courtyard gate was knocked on. Jiang Xingchen went to open it, and the two thugs stood outside with smiling faces.

"Master Jiang, Master Sun sent us to specifically serve you! If you need anything, just call us!" one of the thugs said. Their radiant appearance indicated they had received praise from Sun Sanqiang.

"Thank you... I don't need anything for now, but..." Jiang Xingchen thought for a moment and said, "Help me buy a high-quality animal skin, some cotton cloth, and cotton!"

"Sure, Master Jiang!" One of the thugs took the yellow crystals from Jiang Xingchen and quickly left...

The day passed quickly. Meier slowly opened her eyes, and the room was already lit with oil lamps.

"Where's brother? Did he go out again?" The lazy feeling faded, and Meier felt a bit empty. She turned her head toward the door and saw Jiang Xingchen sitting at the table, busy with something.

"Brother!" Seeing Jiang Xingchen in the room, Meier's mood immediately improved, and she smiled, calling out. She instinctively tried to sit up and managed to do so in one go.

Jiang Xingchen turned around at the sound, and seeing Meier sit up, he was overjoyed. He put down what he was doing and walked over.

"Brother! My illness... is gone!" Meier moved her arms and twisted her waist, surprised and happy, she told Jiang Xingchen.

Jiang Xingchen indulgently rubbed her head and said, "You can say that your illness is much better, but to fully recover, you still need to take medicine, understand?"

"Um! I understand!" The little girl didn't know how expensive the medicine was; she was already asleep when Zhao Zixiang told Jiang Xingchen.

"Meier, are you hungry? I'll make you something to eat!" Jiang Xingchen said, about to turn around.

"I'm not hungry yet..." Meier held onto his sleeve, curious, and asked, "What was brother doing just now?"

"Ha ha! It's a gift for Meier, almost done, wait a moment!" Jiang Xingchen returned to the table and continued working.

In just a few minutes, Jiang Xingchen turned around, holding a doll about half a person's height.

"This is... a person?" Meier looked at the doll in Jiang Xingchen's hand, surprised and asked.

"Ha ha! This is a doll that brother made with high-quality animal skin, cotton, and cotton cloth! From now on, she will be your friend, and when I'm not around, she can keep you company!"

Jiang Xingchen walked forward and handed the large doll to Meier: "Hold it and see if it's comfortable."

The soft animal skin, covered with cotton cloth, felt very good. Inside was cotton, making it extremely soft to hold. Meier immediately liked the doll.

"Very comfortable!" Meier smiled happily and nodded at Jiang Xingchen.

"At night, you can even sleep with her, it will feel even more comfortable!"

"Really?" Meier was skeptical but already lying down with the doll, then rolled over, pressing half her body onto the doll.

"Brother, it really is very comfortable! I like it so much..." The little girl let out a series of happy laughs!

Seeing Meier's happiness, Jiang Xingchen's mood improved significantly, and the pressure he had been feeling eased. He then slowly turned and went out to cook...

At the same time, in the Zhao family pharmacy in the noble district of Hongyuan City, a middle-aged man in a blue robe was examining a packet of medicine that Zhao Zixiang had handed him.

After a while, the middle-aged man called over a subordinate, drew a short knife, and lightly cut the subordinate's arm, causing blood to flow.

The middle-aged man immediately applied the medicine to the wound, and within two minutes, the bleeding stopped.

But the middle-aged man frowned and shook his head, saying, "Your Zhao family's hemostatic medicine is better than the others, but it's still not as good as the one from Hengtong Trading Company."

Zhao Zixiang said, "Sir, their medicine is good, but the cost is high..."

The quartermaster waved his hand to interrupt Zhao Zixiang, "I don't care about that; I only care about the effectiveness! The final decision will be made by the legion commander and the generals in three days!"

After saying this, the quartermaster called his subordinate and was about to leave.

"Sir, I have prepared a banquet..."

"No need! We have other matters to attend to!" The quartermaster coldly flicked his sleeve and, without waiting for Zhao Zixiang to finish, quickly left with his people.