The man was wearing a black robe with a five-clawed golden dragon embroidered with red and silver silk threads from the chest to the hem. The dragon head was on the left chest, as if it was wrapping him up. He wore a crown on his head and a white jade pendant on his waist which swayed slightly as he walked.

From beginning to end, he exuded the word “noble”, or more accurately, “the style of a royal emperor”.

The only person who could call Lu Ruan’s name so intimately and with majesty on him was the current emperor.

“How did you get here?” Lu Ruan opened his eyes wide in shock. He pointed at him and asked with an incredible look on his face.

Meng Yunshu, the owner of the store was also curious about this question, but it was his first time seeing an ancient emperor, and his little heart couldn’t bear it for a while. He stood behind the counter and watched the interaction between the two curiously.

 “I came the same way as you came.” He Zhengzhi walked up to him and pulled up the fox fur coat on him. He glanced at Meng Yunshu who was secretly watching them, and took off his clothes without changing his expression and put them on Lu Ruan.

Lu Ruan looked up at him, “Didn’t you go to court?”

He Zhengzhi answered confidently, “I left court.”

He looked at him in disbelief. Did he still think he was the same naive person he used to be? He appeared in front of him less than a quarter of an hour after leaving the palace. He knew whether he had gone to court or not.

Of course, he still remembered to save face for his bedmate and didn’t expose it. As for how He Zhengzhi came to the store, the reason would be studied in detail later. The most important thing today was to bring the corn and potatoes back and throw them to the Ministry of Revenue, so that the old man, the Minister of Revenue, could study them carefully.

 Lu Ruan gave him a look that said he would settle the score with him later. Then he pulled him to Meng Yunshu and introduced him with a smile: “My husband’s surname is He, so call him Lord He.”

Meng Yunshu, who hadn’t heard this introduction for a long time, was stunned for a moment, and then chuckled.

“Mm.” Meng Yunshu looked at He Zhengzhi and encouraged himself, “Lord He.”

This title went around in his mouth. Meng Yunshu always felt uncomfortable, which made him think of Heshen in the history of the Qing Dynasty, but since Lu Ruan had said it, he couldn’t say much. He just had to remember that this Lord He was not that Lord He.

 “The corn and potatoes are ripe. I’ve left you a few tender corns. You can take the rest back as seeds.” Meng Yunshu said as he bent down and picked up the packed tender corns from under the counter. He patted the bag on the counter and said, “It’s all here.”

Lu Ruan, who hadn’t eaten tender corn for a long time, wanted to eat it. He untied the bag and took a deep sniff of the corn. He said excitedly, “Yes, this is the taste.”

He Zhengzhi had heard Lu Ruan tell him about corn and potatoes. As an emperor, he didn’t care about the taste. As long as it could fill the stomachs of the people, could be stored on the dry and desolate land, and could reduce the number of people who starved to death in the winter in the Xia Dynasty, then it was good. If it tasted good, it would be like adding wings to a tiger and icing on the cake.

He picked up the corn in the bag and looked at it for a long time. He peeled off the green coat of the corn, revealing the tender yellow grains inside. He touched the corn grains with his fingertips and was silent for a long time, “Can it fill the stomachs of the people?”

Meng Yunshu listened and nodded, “Of course.”

“Okay, I’ll buy it.”

Lu Ruan was speechless when he heard it. He almost wanted to pull back the word “I” who spit out the word “I” when he disagreed with him. He said that he was no longer an I. He had obviously changed his words to “I” in front of the court officials, but he would still unconsciously say “I” when he was excited. (T/N: In Chinese, royalty address themselves differently.)

 Lu Ruan was used to his slip of the tongue. Seeing that there were some new things and snacks he missed on the shelf this time, and bought some more.

Meng Yunshu was swiping the goods, watching the numbers on the cash register jump up, and was extremely happy. He couldn’t suppress the corners of his mouth. It was not until he saw that the amount of some goods on the bill was multiplied by 80% that he remembered the shelf life.

Seeing that a hundred coins were missing, Meng Yunshu’s heart was bleeding.

That was all money, all the money he worked hard to earn.

Lu Ruan paid the Chinese currency quickly, took He Zhengzhi away, and said to Meng Yunshu expectantly before leaving: “Next time I come, can I eat sugar cane?”

Customers are the top priority, and he will try his best to meet the needs of customers, not to mention that Lu Ruan is from the same era as him.

 Meng Yunshu raised a signature smile, “I will try hard.”

“An An, what is sugar cane?”

“It’s edible, sweet, and can be made into sugar, but it’s a bit hard on the teeth.”

Thinking that it was getting late, Meng Yunshu bought some sugar cane seeds and stored them in the warehouse before leaving the store.

——

That day, after breakfast, Meng Yunshu saw that the weather was good, so he took out all the quilts and hung them on the rope in the yard to dry them well. When it was night, he would cover himself with them to keep warm.

Since the topic of marriage was revealed last time, this morning Aunt Sun came to ask. Meng Yunshu, who was in the kitchen washing clothes with hot water. He heard Yu Jinhuai and Aunt Sun say that Ah Yun’s mourning period was still one year, and it was not convenient for the family to hold wedding ceremonies. Aunt Sun didn’t say much when she heard it.

It was filial piety to mourn for the elders at home. She couldn’t stop him, but it was still a pity.

 The water in the pot was heated. Meng Yunshu found a large basin at home and placed it under the sun. He poured hot water into the pot. During the time he was at the Yu family house, he learned to draw water from the well, but he was always terrified that he would fall in.

Usually, Yu Jinhuai was the one who drew water at home, but now it was different from the past. Yu Jinhuai sprained his foot, and even if he could draw water, Meng Yunshu would not agree.

The bamboo frame was almost done, and Yu Jinhuai was putting the finishing touches on it.

Seeing Meng Yunshu coming over with a bucket of water, he moved the surrounding bamboos aside to make it easier for him to come over.

He picked up the bucket and poured a bucket of water into the basin. Meng Yunshu squatted down and swiped his hands in the basin twice. When he felt the water temperature was right, he pulled up his pants, rolled up his sleeves and sat on the stool.

He picked up the clothes beside him and soaked them in the water. He rubbed his hands in the water, applied soap, and began to wash the clothes.

The clothes in his hand were the clothes Yu Jinhuai wore a few days ago. As for the one he wore when he went up the mountain, it was soaked in wild boar blood. He couldn’t wash it clean. In addition, he always felt uncomfortable, so Meng Yunshu burned it with fire.

In winter, clothes are worn for a long time so there are only a few clothes. Meng Yunshu finished washing them quickly. Seeing that the sun was still high, he remembered that he hadn’t washed his hair for a long time. There was still a lot of water in the pot. He called Yu Zhining and his family of three to wash their hair and sit in the yard to bask in the sun.

 In the afternoon, Yu Jinyue came and brought a piece of news. Old Lady Liu paid 30 wen to the Cui family. A piece of smoked meat didn’t cost that much money, but the Cui family didn’t like Liu Ergou’s family, so they deliberately asked for a few more wen. Old Lady Cui said she would go to the government if she didn’t give it, which scared Old Lady Liu so much that she didn’t dare to say anything more and paid the Cui family’s money quietly.

There was nothing to do in the winter for the farmers, and the villagers knew clearly which family had any movement. They spread the news here and there, and the news was exaggerated and spread quickly.

The goats that Yu Jinhuai had hunted in the mountains were still there, and the rich people in the town wanted to eat a pot of mutton in winter. In addition, the wild goats were frightened and looked listless, so Yu Jinhuai wanted to sell them as soon as possible.

Yu Jinhuai looked at Yu Jinyue who was teasing Yu Zhining, and he had some thoughts in his mind.

 “Xiao Yue.”

Yu Jinyue thought he had teased Ah Ning too much, and Yu Jinhuai couldn’t stand it and called him. He quickly withdrew his hands, put his hands into his sleeves, and responded with a guilty conscience.

Yu Jinhuai saw what he was thinking and didn’t bother to care. Besides, Ah Ning was having fun and wouldn’t blame him.

“Tomorrow you take the goats to the town to sell.”

Hearing this, Yu Jinyue breathed a sigh of relief and responded readily. He had been to the town with Yu Jinhuai before and knew where to sell wild animals.

 Meng Yunshu, who was sitting next to him, heard this and said, “I’ll go too.”

Seeing the two looking at him, Meng Yunshu explained, “There’s not much oil left at home, and there’s no spices either.”

“Okay, brother-in-law, come with me.”

Yu Jinhuai looked at him steadily, hiding the emotions in his eyes, “Buy whatever you want.”

Meng Yunshu, who was happy to go to town, didn’t notice that there was something wrong with Yu Jinhuai. He hugged Yu Zhining and walked into the bedroom. He wanted to count the money carefully.

Looking at his figure, Yu Jinhuai lowered his eyes and looked at his feet. Ah Yun didn’t dislike him, right? He wouldn’t leave him.

 In the bedroom, Meng Yunshu counted the silver and calculated the expenses in his mind. This time, he spent fifty wen to treat Yu Jinhuai. This morning, Yu Jinhuai gave him all the silver in the family. With the one tael he gave him, the total amount was only more than one tael. The silver was not much, and Meng Yunshu always felt flustered. He remembered the modern oden. He could make it and sell it in his spare time to add some income to the family.

It is always inconvenient to cook in a big pot every day, and it is not as convenient as a small pot. He wants to sell a small pot to the family and make a stove. In this way, less firewood is used. When the weather gets colder, the stove can be placed in the bedroom during the day, which can be used to warm the fire and boil water to bake steamed buns. It is simply killing two birds with one stone, but all of this is based on silver.

So, now he is eager to make some money.

At night, when everyone fell asleep, Yu Jinhuai opened his eyes, reached out and touched the scar on his forehead. His fingertips moved along the scar bit by bit, recalling his experience on the battlefield, with swords flashing and blood flowing like a river. It was a life-and-death struggle on the battlefield.

He grabbed Meng Yunshu’s hand in the quilt before his heart gradually settled down.

Ah Yun, Ah Yun.

——

The next morning, Meng Yunshu got up early, had a simple meal, and drove the carriage to the town with Yu Jinyue.

It was still a little cold in the early morning. He shrank his neck, and saw the white mist in the air while breathing. The cold wind was blowing, and the cold air he took in with his mouth made him cough uncontrollably, so the two people in the car didn’t speak.

When they arrived in the town, Yu Jinyue took Meng Yunshu directly to the restaurant they often went to. Yu Jinhuai had killed a lot of medium sized wild goats. Although he was not in good spirits, he still sold them for four taels of silver.

 As soon as the two walked out of the back door of the restaurant, they heard several middle-aged uncles sitting in the back alley talking. One of them was still advocating his business trip to Mobei. He praised it to heaven and earth, which made people laugh, but there were many people who supported him.

“I still remember that day. It was dark and windy. We passed by the Ghost Cliff. Suddenly, there were waves of wolf howling. We were so scared that we couldn’t walk. But at this time, the wolves moved. One of the hunters was the most fierce and killed three or four wolves with a big knife.”

“Wolves remember grudges. Even if we beat them back, they would come out from time to time to steal goods and attack us. In the end, the hunter couldn’t wait any longer and rushed home. He rushed out with our boss and a few people. What a pity.”

The storyteller sighed, causing everyone to ask questions.

 “What pity? Brother Huo, tell me quickly.”

“Yes, tell me quickly, what happened to the hunter?”

The middle-aged man called Brother Huo sighed and said regretfully: “It’s a pity that he never came back. I don’t know whether he is alive or dead. I think he is gone.”

“What is the name of the hunter?”

“Yu, I remember his surname is Yu, but I don’t know his other name. The boss called him Second Yu.”

“There are not many people with the surname Yu.”

“Yes, where are they from?”

“I heard from the boss that he is from our county.”

Meng Yunshu saw Yu Jinyue beside him rushing over like crazy after hearing this, grabbing the storyteller’s clothes, and asking with red eyes: “Who said he is dead, he is not dead.”

He roared hard. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and the hand holding the man’s sleeve could not stop shaking. At this time, Meng Yunshu realized that the Second Yu mentioned by the man was Yu Jinyue’s father and Yu Jinhuai’s second uncle.

“I am the son of Second Yu.”

Just when Meng Yunshu was lost in thought, he suddenly heard this sentence, and the man surnamed Huo stopped struggling and started crying loudly.