Chapter 60 of 100
Chapter 60
12 min read3,076 words
"Brother, you're so nice!" Mei'er entered the room, hugged her brother's arm, and gently shook it.
"You little brat, you're truly kind-hearted..." Jiang Chenxin rubbed Mei'er's head and thought to himself, "But you don't know that Du Rui's heart won't stay in our territory. If his sister... never mind, as long as the old man Tang is around, he can stay as long as he wants..."
The snow grew heavier and showed no signs of stopping. In just two months, the snow in the courtyard had already reached a depth of over twenty centimeters.
In the afternoon, the Duke of Dingbei came by. He had heard about the thief incident last night and was naturally very concerned. Jiang Chenxin must not have any accidents; otherwise, not to mention his contributions to the empire and his territory, he couldn't even explain it to Wanrou.
However, when he saw Old Man Tang, his worry was instantly replaced by surprise. He knew this was Tang Chuxue's idea, and only she could persuade this great man! With this old man around, even if the Great Elder of the Xuan Yuan Heavenly Sect came, it would be useless. This was one of the top three experts in the empire, and he was cunning and crafty...
"Uh!" The Duke of Dingbei suddenly paused, not knowing why the words "cunning and crafty" had popped into his head.
If Old Man Tang knew what the Duke of Dingbei was thinking, he would definitely kick him in the face. "I'm cunning and crafty? That despicable kid is ten times more cunning than me."
The Duke of Dingbei was about to greet him, but seeing Old Man Tang slightly shake his head, he understood his thoughts and pretended to be meeting him for the first time. He only praised Jiang Chenxin, saying how gentle and kind he was, how talented and unmatched...
Old Man Tang listened and felt his breath quicken, cursing in his heart, "You bastards have all been deceived by his harmless appearance!"
Jiang Chenxin felt a bit embarrassed listening to this and wondered, "The Duke doesn't recognize Old Man Tang, does that mean this old guy isn't famous... In that case, telling stories won't work on him..."
If Old Man Tang knew that his actions had made Jiang Chenxin think of something else, he would definitely regret it so much that he'd bang his head against the wall.
The Duke of Dingbei didn't stay long. After praising Jiang Chenxin, he thanked the old man and left with a relieved look, the problem of the boy's protection was solved, so he didn't need to worry about anything else...
After the Duke of Dingbei left, Mo Hongxian, Zhao Danqing, and Sun Sanqiang came one after another. Seeing Old Man Tang, they were all surprised. After hearing Jiang Chenxin's explanation that the old man was a bodyguard found by Tang Chuxue, they finally understood.
In these days, the two large restaurants and the eight steamed bun shops had been very popular. By yesterday, Jiang Chenxin's share had already reached 50,000 yellow crystal coins, which made him secretly marvel.
It was only ten days, and from this share, the two large restaurants must be selling at least 200 roasted wild pheasants a day. At this rate, wouldn't the wild pheasants be hunted to extinction? It seemed he would have to think about raising chickens in the future... As for the steamed buns, how many were sold, 10,000, 20,000... After calculating a few times, Jiang Chenxin felt a bit overwhelmed...
Even more impressive was Zhao Danqing, who directly threw a bill worth 200,000 yellow crystal coins: "The Seventh Legion's battle, the usage of sheep gut strings is very high, this is the advance payment!"
Mei'er's eyes sparkled with stars, and she couldn't control her smile.
Old Man Tang's eyes also widened. Although he was used to large sums of money, this kid's earning ability was too strong. Receiving tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, was not common even in the capital.
Moreover, the two large restaurants gave him shares, no doubt the signature dishes were his creation. When he saw Jiang Chenxin making soup-filled buns, he had already suspected that this kid was related to the steamed bun shops. Now, seeing this situation, Old Man Tang couldn't help but shout in his heart, "Chuxue, I won't let you off. If I had known that the reputation of the City of Delicacies was created by this kid, I wouldn't have stolen food, I would have agreed directly... I'm so greedy, I should have inquired first..."
Old Man Tang was full of resentment, but Jiang Chenxin was smiling, telling Sun Sanqiang to go to the wild and dig more mustard greens, otherwise, it would be hard to find them if the snow got heavier.
Sun Sanqiang knew there was something new and was delighted, his face beaming as he went out to call Qian Feng and Zhou Xiong, and they ran out of the city.
To Mo Hongxian, Jiang Chenxin told the method of making soup-filled buns, for the two large restaurants to use. After all, this was more complicated and required meat jelly, and the steamed bun shops didn't have skilled chefs.
After everything was arranged, Mo Hongxian gave Mei'er two carrier birds before leaving, telling her to release one back when they reached the territory.
The little girl held the pink carrier birds, so happy that she couldn't stop petting them, unwilling to let go...
In the evening, the grain was finally bought back, ten large carts, over 10,000 pounds of rice and flour, with the help of his second brother and the fourth brother.
Seeing that the snow showed no signs of stopping, Jiang Chenxin made a decisive decision, borrowing a squad of city guards from the Duke of Dingbei, led by Du Rui's brothers, to transport the grain overnight. The roads around Hongyuan City were flat, so there wouldn't be much danger, and if everything went smoothly, they could reach the nearest town by midnight...
After a night, the temperature dropped at least ten degrees compared to yesterday. Jiang Chenxin felt the bone-chilling cold as soon as he stepped out, shivering. The snow had stopped, but the sky remained overcast, making him feel very oppressed, just like the weather when Mei'er was seriously ill.
The temperature was too low, and the horses couldn't withstand it for long. If they traveled, they might freeze.
Considering this, Jiang Chenxin bought over ten wild buffalo skins, didn't go out, and stayed in the room, sewing and mending. He kept the kang (a traditional heated bed) warm and stayed in the room.
Old Man Tang looked at him with disdain, a grown man, hiding in the room doing needlework, it was simply... what he couldn't tolerate most was that he didn't even cook properly...
Not only Old Man Tang, but even Du Rui and Xin'er were incredibly surprised. A man doing needlework, it was too out of place!
Jiang Chenxin felt like he was on fire under their gazes, feeling like the Eastern Sect Master, but he had to do it. He was making a sleeping bag for the little girl to keep her warm on the journey.
"Interesting, right? Fun, right? Disdainful, right... For the next two days, you'll just have to eat plain flour cakes, don't expect me to serve you!" Jiang Chenxin thought angrily.
Old Man Tang finally realized something was wrong and immediately changed his attitude. But Jiang Chenxin remained unmoved, refusing to cook, which made the old man fume and finally go out to buy buns.
For the next three days, the snow fell intermittently, continuously, as if it would keep falling until spring.
Sun Sanqiang came twice, and Jiang Chenxin told him the method of pickling mustard greens and asked him to take care of the house.
Wanrou also came for half a day, specifically for the dance and music, as Jiang Chenxin was about to return to his territory.
Jiang Chenxin naturally had to put on a show, continuing to deceive! At this time, not acting wouldn't satisfy Sister Wanrou. The more mysterious he made it, the better... In the end, he even elevated the dance and music to the level of beautifying human souls!
On the third evening, Zhao Danqing brought a cart of collected herbs, over a hundred portions...
Three days later, Du Rui finally recovered enough, though he couldn't do intense exercise, walking and riding were no problem.
Mei'er and Xin'er became friends, with no age gap between them. They played Go and puzzles every day, and the little girl even shared her dolls with her friend, proudly saying, "This is made by my brother, there's only one in the world!"
Xin'er held the soft doll, her mouth agape in surprise, her admiration for Jiang Chenxin's needlework replacing her initial surprise. Her brother, though very caring, wouldn't make Go pieces to entertain her or create such novel things as dolls.
With her interactions with Mei'er, Xin'er's previously deadened mood began to reignite, after all, she still had over ten years of life.
On the fourth morning, it was finally time to leave. Four strange carriages were parked in front of Jiang Chenxin's house. They were called strange because the horses were dressed, wrapped in thick wild buffalo skins.
"Hehe... Brother, I've never seen horses wearing clothes before!" Mei'er, who came out with Jiang Chenxin, laughed softly.
The little girl was dressed in a round, fluffy outfit, wearing a hat made of poisonous marten fur and a scarf made of fanged rabbit fur. The old man, watching from behind, was envious: "Beast fur, warriors use it for close-fitting armor, this kid actually uses it to keep his sister warm..."
Jiang Chenxin smiled and patted Mei'er, saying, "There's no choice, it's just too cold, so we have to keep the horses warm, or they won't be able to withstand the cold for long!"
Sister Hongxian and the others had already come the previous days, so today Jiang Chenxin insisted that his friends not see him off. After Du Rui and Xin'er came out, he waved and the group got into the carriages.
They only occupied two of the four carriages, the other two were loaded with items and herbs that Jiang Chenxin and Mei'er had prepared.
Just as the driver was about to shake the reins, Mo Hongxian, the second brother, the fourth brother, Wanrou, Zhao Danqing, and Sun Sanqiang appeared from the street corner.
"Hey! Didn't I say you don't need to see me off? You're trying to stop me from leaving!" Jiang Chenxin looked helpless but was deeply moved inside.
"Shut up, as if we care, just get lost, we just came to take a look!" Mo Hongxian waved her hand dismissively and added, "Don't forget to release a carrier bird!"
"Okay!" Jiang Chenxin nodded forcefully, looked at his friends deeply, turned back to the carriage, and the driver shook the reins. The four carriages stirred up a cloud of snow and quickly left.
"This kid, he's really stubborn, in such bad weather, he insists on going back to his territory, staying in Hongyuan City would be much better!" Zhao Danqing shook his head and sighed, "I really don't want him to leave!"
"You just don't want to give up eating, right?" Mo Hongxian mocked.
"Pfft! As if you don't want him to stay!" Zhao Danqing sneered.
Sun Sanqiang chuckled and said, "No worries, he'll be back soon!"
"Uh-huh!" They all turned to stare at Sun Sanqiang, waiting for an explanation.
Sun Sanqiang, feeling a bit uneasy under their gaze, weakly said, "He still has to participate in the New Year's performance with Sister Wanrou, he can't not come back!"
"Go away!" They all waved their hands, looking disdainful.
They then dispersed, and the overcast sky began to snow again!
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