Chapter 41

It was already very late, but the kitchen and the house were still lit. Mei'er yawned, sitting by the stove, watching the small fire inside. The iron pot on top wasn't very hot, and the scallion oil pancakes inside were kept warm.

A thunderclap echoed, and the little girl rubbed her small belly, her eyes fixed on the pancakes in the pot. She pursed her lips, swallowed her saliva, and whispered, "It's so late, why hasn't my brother come back yet! Humph, he's lying again, saying he would be back soon!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a cold wind blew in, and the little girl shivered, quickly turning around. She saw the door open, and Jiang Xingchen had already walked in.

"I'm sorry, Mei'er, I didn't expect it to take so long!" Before the little girl could speak, Jiang Xingchen had already said.

The scene before him made him both moved and a bit heartbroken. When he entered the yard and smelled the aroma of scallion oil pancakes, he guessed what the little girl was doing. Without asking, he knew that Mei'er had not eaten, waiting for him to come home.

"Brother, hurry up and wash your hands and get ready to eat. The pancakes have been kept warm!" Mei'er pouted, but then smiled, not asking why her brother was late, just urging him to eat quickly.

"Why didn't you eat by yourself since it's so late?" Jiang Xingchen didn't go to wash his hands but walked up and gently held Mei'er's shoulder.

"I just wanted to wait for you to come home and eat together!" Mei'er blinked, saying it naturally.

"Okay!" Jiang Xingchen nodded, turned around, and went to wash his hands. Mei'er's words, which seemed natural, deeply touched him, giving him a stronger sense of belonging to this home.

The scallion oil pancakes and rice porridge were especially fragrant. Although Jiang Xingchen had already eaten at the Dingbei Marquis's residence, seeing the little girl take big bites of the pancake, her mouth full of oil, he felt hungry again and started eating with big bites.

"Bang!" The kitchen door was pushed open, and the second brother rushed in like the wind. Since he had been taking care of Mei'er, he had smelled the aroma of scallion oil pancakes and had been drooling all night. If it weren't for his fear of the little girl, he would have given in long ago. Now that Jiang Xingchen was back, he no longer had to hold back.

There were five pancakes in total, and the second brother ate three of them, drank two large bowls of porridge, and then left satisfied.

After clearing the dishes, Jiang Xingchen went to heat the kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), while the little girl took a bath. They were busy until very late, and then they lay down in bed.

Mei'er curled up in the quilt, hugging a doll, lying on the warm kang, and thinking about the surprises of the afternoon, she couldn't fall asleep.

"Brother! When we return to our territory, what do you plan to do?" The little girl moved closer, snuggling up to Jiang Xingchen.

"Of course, we will develop it! Our territory will be more prosperous than Hongyuan City, no, even more prosperous than the capital... The people in the territory won't worry about food or clothing, they will live in high-rise buildings, go out in cars that don't need horses, and there will be performances every day that are even better than songs and dances... Our territory will become the best territory in the world, and people from the empire, even from outside the empire, will want to move here. At that time, Mei'er will be responsible for managing the people coming in and out, and anyone she doesn't like won't be allowed to enter..."

Jiang Xingchen originally wanted to comfort the little girl, but for some reason, as he spoke, he thought of his hometown, the forest of steel and concrete, and said it without thinking.

"What are high-rise buildings? Are there really cars that don't need horses? How can there be performances better than songs and dances... Brother is just comforting me again..." Mei'er said this, but her heart was sweet, and she never felt enough of being comforted by her brother.

"Hehe! You're so smart, go to sleep quickly!"

"Okay..."

In the following days, Jiang Xingchen almost never left the house, thinking every day about how to help Wan Rou.

"I've heard some ancient music, like 'Spring River Moonlit Night' and 'Fishing Boats at Dusk,' but I don't have a guzheng, and even if I did, I can't play... I know a lot of pop songs! But there's also dance, how to express it through dance... symphonies, Beethoven, Chopin, let's not even think about it... Will the new Mingzhi array in my mind work..."

For two days, Jiang Xingchen finally felt the exhaustion that Wan Rou had experienced. Squatting in the yard, he drew circles with a stick and pulled his hair, but he couldn't think of anything. The only thing he could think of was to have men perform.

Mei'er also knew her brother's situation and hadn't bothered him these two days, staying quietly in the house. She either sat on both sides of the room with her doll, playing with Go stones, or repeatedly put together the Dynamic Man puzzle...

On this evening, two days remained before the seven-day deadline with the seven army commanders. Jiang Xingchen had just sent off Wan Rou, who had come to urge him, when Sun Sanqiang hurriedly came to his door.

"Brother, come with me quickly, or it will be too late!" Sun Sanqiang said, grabbing Jiang Xingchen's arm and pulling him out.

"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen was very puzzled, struggling to free his arm and asking, "What's too late? Explain clearly, I can't leave my sister alone at home at this hour!"

Sun Sanqiang slapped his forehead and quickly said, "My subordinate brought the news. Outside the north city gate, a group of mercenaries is selling a recently hunted demon beast. Not many people know yet, and if we go too late, someone else will buy it... Oh, bring money, I don't have enough, that's why I came to call you!"

"Demon beast!" Jiang Xingchen's eyes lit up. He had been struggling to find ideas for the songs and dances he promised Wan Rou, and he thought the third array might work, needing something containing essence energy. If it weren't for the risk of random medication, he would have tried Mei'er's medicine!

"Okay!" Jiang Xingchen nodded, about to leave, but then looked back at the house.

"It's fine! I'll have Qian Feng stay here!" Sun Sanqiang added, pulling him out the door quickly...

When they arrived at the north city, it was already completely dark. As soon as they passed through the city gate, they saw a few torches illuminating a small area, with several carriages parked on the road and a few elegantly dressed people gathered by the roadside. In the middle were five or six injured men, with a pile of something in front of them.

"Ten thousand yellow crystal coins, why don't you just rob us! Even if this fanged rabbit is big, it's not worth that much. Five thousand yellow crystal coins, will you sell it?"

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. A fanged rabbit is a third-level demon beast, with an attack power comparable to a third-layer inner qi expert, and the quality of the essence energy it contains is high. If you can't afford it, don't block the way. Six thousand yellow crystal coins, I'll take it!"

"I don't understand, even if the essence energy in the fanged rabbit is high, can you eat it, can you cook it! There's no chef in the whole Hongyuan City who can do it..."

"I'll eat it raw, what can you do about it!"

"I'll offer seven thousand, you two go argue somewhere else!"

"I came first, I'll buy it for seven thousand five..."

Listening to their argument, Jiang Xingchen frowned slightly, "This fanged rabbit is so expensive, it's worth ten houses of mine!"

Sun Sanqiang said, "Such a demon beast is rare, especially for inner qi realm martial artists, it might help them advance a level... But ten thousand yellow crystal coins is indeed expensive, and I don't have that much, so I came to you!"

"It seems this fanged rabbit is of higher quality than the snow pheasant we ate last time! It should work for the Mingzhi array!"

Jiang Xingchen stepped forward and saw the fanged rabbit on the ground. It looked like a rabbit but was much larger, about the size of a small lamb, weighing at least twenty pounds.

This wasn't the scariest part; he saw two sharp fangs extending from the rabbit's three-lobed mouth, looking very fierce.

At this moment, the man selling the fanged rabbit suddenly said, "If you're not buying, move aside. Ten thousand yellow crystal coins, not a single copper coin less!"

With these words, the nobles fell silent, though they were angry, they knew the mercenary group that hunted the fanged rabbit was not to be underestimated.

"Ten thousand yellow crystal coins, I'll take it!" Jiang Xingchen stepped forward, handing over a ticket from the imperial bank.

The man took the ticket, examined it carefully, nodded, and put it in his pocket, saying, "Deal, take the fanged rabbit!"

Jiang Xingchen glanced at the men, surprised that they showed no emotion after such a big deal.

"Who cares, let's go back and cook it, and see if it works for the Mingzhi array!" With this thought, Jiang Xingchen ignored them, put the fanged rabbit in a bag, and left with Sun Sanqiang.

"Who is that kid, spending ten thousand yellow crystal coins in one go, and even Sun Sanqiang's third son is following him!" The nobles who had been arguing stared at Jiang Xingchen's back, puzzled.

Although they were upset about losing the fanged rabbit, none of them were blind. They saw Sun Sanqiang's third son following him, indicating he was from a powerful family like the Mo or Zhao families, which they couldn't afford to offend.

At this moment, the mercenary group selling the fanged rabbit packed up and left. The nobles looked at each other, snorted, and dispersed...

Jiang Xingchen, excited, returned home, called out to Mei'er, and went straight to the kitchen. He took out a