Chapter 75: Would a Noble Young Master Even Like Someone Like Us?

“But is it smoked meat?”

Madam Song asked curiously. People in the capital didn’t really have this skill.
But she had once heard about it from the wife of an official who had returned from a provincial post.

“Yes, my nanny isn’t from the capital. In her hometown, they always make smoked meat for the New Year. That way, the meat lasts longer.”

Jiang Wan couldn’t just throw the meat into her space to preserve it, after all. That kind of problem seemed to only apply to them.

Whether it was Ren Bang, Pan Hongyan, or Lin Tingyu, none of them had that many people. A few meals and all the meat would be gone.

“But we don’t know how to do it.”

Song Jiuli sighed, resenting how she had only ever known how to eat, drink, and play, and never learned any practical skills.

During their exile, she had only been a burden. Luckily, her eldest brother had good fortune and married such a capable sister-in-law.

Otherwise, their whole family would have starved to death.

“I’ll teach you.”

Jiang Wan smiled faintly and began teaching Song Jiuli and Madam Song how to marinate and cure the meat.

Meanwhile, Song Jiuchi, acting on his own, picked up some firewood within visible range of the guards. Jiang Wan found a spot beside a stone wall and set up a simple rack.

She hung the strips of meat all around it and lit a small fire underneath.

“You all can rest now. I’ll keep watch.”

Jiang Wan told everyone to rest. Song Jiuyuan didn’t really want to, but faced with Jiang Wan’s determined gaze, he could only sigh and say:

“Then I’ll take the second half of the night shift.”

“Alright.”

Jiang Wan didn’t refuse. At worst, she could rest in the latter half of the night.

Hua Xiao, being injured, wasn’t paying attention to Jiang Wan’s actions anyway, which made things easier for her.

Once everyone had fallen asleep, Jiang Wan quietly moved all the meat into her space. She lit a fire in a spot inside the space.

While the meat was smoking, she harvested crops nearby—wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes.

By the time she finished harvesting a batch, the smoked meat was basically done. Jiang Wan quietly exited the space with the meat and neatly hung it all up again.

Yawning, she pulled out some herbs from her space and squatted by the fire to grind them out of boredom.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she heard Song Jiuyuan’s soft voice:

“Jiang Wan, you should rest now.”

His internal clock was impressively accurate. Jiang Wan casually placed the herbs into her basket and leaned against the stone wall to sleep.

The next morning, she was awakened by Song Jiuli’s surprised exclamation:

“Oh my god, the meat’s really done?!”

Jiang Wan opened her eyes and looked at the smoked meat not far away—now in solid chunks, firm on the outside but still tender inside.

Temporarily stored in baskets and wooden buckets for the journey, the meat wouldn’t spoil.

“You’re so smart, sister-in-law! Come on, let’s pack up, we need to get moving soon.”

Madam Song busily called for Song Jiuchi to help. Jiang Wan pulled out the sweet potatoes she’d buried in the fire last night.

“No need to cook breakfast.”

The sweet potatoes had been baked tender in the warm ashes. When peeled open, their sugar had turned to syrup.

A simple, hearty meal. Before leaving, Jiang Wan and the others packed the meat into wooden barrels and covered them with oilcloth.

Even though many covetous eyes glanced their way, Jiang Wan didn’t care. Anyone who dared try to steal food from her would have to be prepared for a serious beating.

“Mom, they have so much meat…”

Song Yang’s eyes were glued to Jiang Wan’s cart, and he swallowed hungrily.

Madam Song Three was tempted too, but when her gaze fell on her crazed mother-in-law and the ever-complaining Second Brother Song, she patted Song Yang on the head.

“Did you see your grandmother and second uncle?”

“I saw them.”

Song Yang pursed his lips. Madam Song Three quickly added, “If you want to end up like them, go bother your eldest aunt.”

Song Yang trembled a little. The once fearless little tyrant had changed quite a bit recently.

But his dear cousin Song Chen wasn’t quite as sensible. Though he had been docile for a while after losing his wife and concubine, the taste of just a sliver of meat last night had made him restless again.

He didn’t dare provoke Jiang Wan—but that didn’t mean he was going to behave.

Not far away, Hua Xiao was being carefully tended to by her father. Though it wasn’t wild boar, he was a diligent farmer who could hunt. So Hua Xiao was eating wild rabbit.

Father Hua gently applied herbs to her arm and frowned as he urged her:

“Xiaoxiao, listen to your father. When we reach the next town, let’s settle down with our travel permits, alright?”

He couldn’t bear to watch his daughter suffer anymore.

“Dad, I have my own plans.”

Hua Xiao shook her head reluctantly. People in ancient times were so rigid. Why were parents always so controlling?

Was it so wrong for her to pursue her own happiness?

Thinking this, she bashfully looked toward the carriage in the distance. Inside, Lin Tingyu hadn’t shown his face again.

“Xiaoxiao, why are you so stubborn?”

Father Hua clutched his chest in frustration. “You and he are from completely different worlds. Would a noble young master even look at someone like us?”

A man like Young Master Lin, with the appearance of an immortal—even if he did like Xiaoxiao, would his family accept him marrying a country girl?

“Dad, do you look down on me too?”

Hua Xiao’s eyes turned red again. These ancient people were hopeless! She was determined to use her modern knowledge to thrive in this world.

“Xiaoxiao, it’s not that I look down on you. I’m just afraid you’ll get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Hua Xiao turned her head away, ignoring her father. She had transmigrated from the modern world—how could a female lead back down so easily?

If Jiang Wan knew what Hua Xiao was thinking, she’d probably laugh out loud. Hua Xiao had no idea that her heroine storyline had already gone completely off track thanks to Jiang Wan’s presence.

Originally, they thought Hua Xiao wouldn’t continue following them on the road. But surprisingly, she was still tagging along persistently.

The road ahead sloped downward, making it hard to traverse. Jiang Wan and Song Jiuli both stepped in to help push the cart.

“Let’s slow down and let them go ahead.”

Lin Tingyu lifted the curtain of his carriage, glanced outside, and gave a quiet instruction to the butler.

Not just their carriage, but even Grand Preceptor’s group stopped.

After descending the slope, a flat road came into view, and Jiang Wan finally relaxed a little.

“Up ahead is Black Wind Ridge. Be careful, everyone. There’s a bandit stronghold called Black Wind Fortress over there. The people there are notoriously vicious.”

Ren Bang rode on horseback, shouting warnings up and down the line, urging everyone to stay low-profile and not attract attention.

But Jiang Wan’s heart started racing!

Black Wind Ridge and Black Wind Fortress—weren’t they under the Sixth Prince’s control?

These men were notorious bandits on the surface, but in truth, they were secret sentinels of the Sixth Prince.

What excited Jiang Wan the most was that Black Wind Fortress wasn’t just a bandit den. Deep inside, it held the Sixth Prince’s weapons cache!

In Dafeng, it was illegal to smelt iron privately. But in his bid for the throne, the Sixth Prince had gone all in with his preparations.

Jiang Wan’s fingers lightly rubbed the edge of her basket, eyes gleaming with resolve.

Sorry, Sixth Prince—this weapons cache? I’ll be taking it first.