Thingyan

Ch 3: I Run a Food Shop in an Escape Game

The Locked Classroom (3)

Although he had technically wasted an opportunity to receive a proper beginner reward, Yi Han was still fairly satisfied with using it to eliminate a ghost.

Especially after the system immediately displayed:

[Enemy NPC eliminated ×1]

[+10 points will be awarded during stage settlement.]

This further confirmed his theory:

The ghosts inside the stage could be farmed for points.

Which made all the effort of pretending to be oblivious while dragging this fake teammate around entirely worthwhile.

Hopefully the guy would keep up the good work, act a little more proactively, and bring even more ghosts over for Yi Han to farm.

Since they had already maxed out the exploration percentage for this floor, the two silently returned to the locked door in the middle section of the hallway.

“The key I found earlier was hidden inside an opaque fluorescent tube. Judging from that hiding style, the remaining keys are probably hidden in similarly tricky locations,” Yi Han said thoughtfully before suddenly asking the boy beside him,

“What about you? Where was your key hidden?”

On the surface, it sounded like a perfectly ordinary question.

In reality, Yi Han was deliberately causing trouble.

After all, this teammate was fake. There was no way he had ever actually searched for a key.

“In…”
Cold sweat instantly appeared on the boy’s forehead.
After hesitating for a long while, he awkwardly followed Yi Han’s line of reasoning.

“Inside… the gap above the doorframe…?”

“Mhm…” Yi Han mulled over the obviously improvised answer.

But honestly, it was not a bad idea.

There were not many decorations near this door. The available hiding places were extremely limited to begin with.

Standing in front of it, Yi Han took a few steps backward and looked upward.

Above the door was a small pane of glass.

It seemed double-layered, with a frosted translucent texture that made it impossible to tell whether something was hidden inside.

Could it actually be there…?

Yi Han immediately ordered,

“Help me move a chair over.”

The teammate, who had only just finished wiping away his cold sweat, hurried off obediently.

Once the chair was brought over, Yi Han climbed on top and instantly spotted a shadow through the narrow gap at the bottom edge of the glass.

The key really was hidden between the two layers of glass.

Yi Han glanced down at the boy in surprise.

If the guy did not look so stupid all the time, Yi Han would almost suspect he was intentionally leaking answers.

Yi Han raised the chair leg again and smashed it toward the glass.

But the glass did not break.

He struck it harder several more times.

Instead, the chair leg snapped.

Looks like after being used nonstop this whole time, it had finally reached the end of its lifespan.

Still…

Yi Han tossed away the broken chair leg and curled his fingers, lightly tapping the glass.

Although it looked like ordinary frosted glass, it produced a dull metallic sound.

As expected.

This was not normal glass in the conventional sense.

Even if the key was right in front of the players’ eyes, the game would not let them retrieve it so easily.

There was no way the game would create a situation where an item was literally impossible to obtain.

Perhaps according to the system’s intended solution, players were supposed to retrieve the key using another method.

For example, by finding a magnet, attaching it to the key, and sliding it toward an opening in the glass.

After thinking carefully, Yi Han vaguely remembered seeing a magnet in one of the classrooms. Probably in a physics classroom for experiments.

Unfortunately, he could not remember exactly which room it had been in.

Under normal circumstances, going back to search would waste a huge amount of time.

And now that this floor’s exploration percentage was already maxed out, Yi Han had absolutely no patience to retrace his steps.

So after a brief moment of thought, he casually pulled the newly acquired S-rank iron pot out of his inventory.

“You’re supposedly S-rank. Even if you can’t cook, smashing a piece of glass shouldn’t be a problem, right…?”

Thinking this, Yi Han tested the pot’s weight, decided it was manageable, then swung it with full force.

Crash!

The glass shattered instantly.

The teammate below stared in complete shock.

Even Yi Han himself felt that using a giant iron pot as a weapon was a little embarrassing.

Expressionless, he put the pot away, retrieved the key, and jumped down from the chair.

“What?” he asked flatly.

Teammate: “W-Where did that pot come from?”

Yi Han: “…What pot? You saw wrong.”

After confirming that his exploration percentage was already sufficient, Yi Han unlocked the stairwell door with the key.

Inside was complete darkness.

Yi Han instructed,

“Flashlight.”

It was already past 9 PM.

Yi Han had not eaten anything since lunch. Afterward he had fought people, smashed doors, broken glass, all while seriously injured.

He felt increasingly hungry.

Unfortunately, judging by the system’s behavior, it clearly had no intention of allowing him food before clearing the stage.

Touching the wound that had once again split open and started bleeding from the violent movement, Yi Han took the lead and stepped into the stairwell first.

“Be careful, bro.”
His lovely teammate once again delivered another airy little warning.

“Mhm…”

The stairwell light switch was located immediately to the left after entering.

Yi Han reached out.

Instead of the switch, his hand touched an icy cold hand first.

But the moment he heard the teammate say “be careful,” he had already mentally prepared himself.

Without changing expression, Yi Han calmly released the hand and continued feeling around nearby.

Click.

The lights came on.

The cold presence that had already crept close beside him instantly disappeared.

There was nothing strange near the switch now, as though the cold hand from earlier had only been an illusion.

Yi Han said nothing about it to his teammate and merely turned back to call him inside.

After both entered the stairwell, the iron door shut behind them with a click.

Yi Han tested it.

Fortunately, it could still be opened from this side.

The lock only worked externally. From the stairwell side it opened normally, but from the classroom side one would need the key again.

“Bro, should we take the elevator?” the teammate asked.

Yi Han immediately looked at him like he was an idiot.

Teammate: “Uh… right. The elevator already stopped working.”

Yi Han: “…We’re currently on the eighth floor, the highest floor of this teaching building. If nothing unexpected happens, once we reach the first floor and find the key to the main entrance, we’ll clear the stage.”

The problem was that the final key’s hiding range would likely be much larger, making it difficult to predict.

Yi Han had already decided he would search every classroom thoroughly and claim all the bonus exploration points available.

At present, there were less than three hours remaining before the final time limit.

Time was tight.

Teammate: “Should we split up again?”

Yi Han: “You’re staying with me.”

Actually, Yi Han’s original intention in keeping this guy close was to farm more ghosts off him.

But the other party had clearly misunderstood, assuming Yi Han had discovered something, and immediately became nervous.

Under that atmosphere, the two began searching floor after floor.

The boy followed behind Yi Han the entire time, barely needing to do anything, yet somehow felt increasingly miserable. Even the spot on his forehead where Yi Han had smacked him earlier started aching again…

So while Yi Han was not paying attention, he secretly pulled out his phone and reopened the group chat.

Yi Han only needed one casual glance to know the guy was trying to stir up trouble again.

Which was exactly what he wanted.

So he pretended not to notice.

Before long, they reached the third floor.

The moment Yi Han entered one of the classrooms, he noticed something inside the teacher’s desk seemed to be glowing faintly.

He stepped over the doorway.

Immediately behind him, the classroom door slammed shut with a bang.

Outside the room, the teammate started pounding on the door like it was real.

“Bro! What’s going on?! Why did the door lock?!”

Yi Han ignored him completely, staring directly at the podium desk as he casually pulled out the iron pot behind his back.

Then a muffled whining sound came from the cabinet beneath the podium.

The cabinet door had originally been shut.

But now something inside seemed to be slowly pushing it open.

The creaking sound dragged on endlessly, irritating people for no reason at all.

Blood seeped from the crack in the cabinet door, quickly spreading across the platform floor toward Yi Han’s feet.

Yi Han simply stepped aside and avoided it.

Outside the door, the teammate continued banging and shouting, unbelievably noisy.

The ghost inside the cabinet opened the door extremely slowly.

Yi Han could not tell whether it was doing it deliberately or whether it was simply that sluggish.

Watching the ghost painstakingly push the cabinet open, Yi Han suddenly wanted to test something.

So he casually stretched out one leg and kicked the cabinet shut again just as the ghost was about to emerge.

Ghost: …？

Perhaps it was only an illusion, but the muffled whining seemed to pause briefly.

Then it began repeating the exact same process again.

Still just as slow.

This time, Yi Han was certain.

The ghost was not intentionally dragging things out.

It was simply slow by nature.

Once the ghost was about to crawl out again, Yi Han lifted his leg and kicked the cabinet door shut a second time.

Ghost: …………

The ghost appeared to become angry.

Its voice turned resentful and furious.

The force pushing the door grew stronger this time, and Yi Han realized he could no longer overpower it physically.

Covering the wound on his chest, he retreated slightly.

The moment the ghost finally crawled out with long hair hanging messily over its face and a twisted expression, Yi Han gritted his teeth and swung the iron pot viciously.

CLANG!

The iron pot smashed directly into the ghost’s skull.

Just hearing the sound made one’s head hurt.

Because the female ghost’s vision was blocked by her hair, and because her movements were so slow, she had no chance to dodge.

She let out a miserable groan and collapsed instantly.

Even Yi Han himself had not expected all the ghosts in the beginner stage to be this weak.

He stood there blankly for a moment before finally putting away the iron pot.

Then he reached into the podium desk and pulled out the glowing object he had noticed earlier.

It was a page.

The background pattern was identical to the blank recipe book he had obtained earlier, and faint light flowed across its surface.

[Recipe: Braised Pork]

Yi Han took out his blank recipe book from the inventory.

Immediately, the loose page transformed into flowing light and merged into the book.

Then the first page revealed actual content.

[Recipe: Braised Pork (Learned)]

[Description: Restores HP according to deliciousness.]

Yi Han froze.

His hand unconsciously touched the wound on his chest again.

Although this escape game called itself a “game,” it was different from the games he used to play.

Players here did not have visible HP bars.

So what exactly did “restore HP” mean?

Did it restore injuries?

If this braised pork could truly heal him, then the hundred points he had planned to spend on treatment could be saved.

More importantly, if he could eat it right now and recover his strength, would this stage not become completely secure?

The 50% stat reduction honestly affected him quite a bit.

He truly did not want to continue living in a state where swinging a pot made him short of breath…

The problem was…

He had no ingredients.

And to make matters worse, Yi Han honestly was not very good at cooking.

Even though he had lived alone for years, his cooking skills were tragic. At best, his food could be described as “unlikely to kill someone.”

So according to the recipe system’s standards, even if he managed to cook meat, it probably would not restore much HP.

At that moment, the weak voice of the “resentment of the former owner” timidly spoke again:

“Our pot doesn’t require manual cooking… As long as you put the ingredients inside, it can automatically create the most delicious food. Also, since you’ve inherited our restaurant, you now possess owner permissions. Even inside stages, you can directly access the system shop to purchase ingredients.”

Yi Han opened the interface and checked.

Sure enough, it was true.

Normally, the system shop probably only became accessible after clearing a stage and returning to the little waiting room to exchange rewards.

But because he owned a shop now, he could directly buy things during the stage itself.

Although only the ingredient section was available, it was already extremely convenient.

Unfortunately…

He had no points.

“Does the system allow collateral loans? Like mortgaging something in exchange for advance points?” Yi Han asked the system.

The system quickly responded:

[The player’s body and soul already belong to the game company and therefore cannot be mortgaged again. However, all other items acquired within instances may be used as collateral.]

Yi Han looked around the room before finally pointing at the unconscious female ghost on the floor.

“This ghost is currently my captive, so technically she belongs to me, right? If I mortgage her, how many points can I borrow?”

The system visibly fell silent for a moment.

Then the female ghost vanished into thin air.

At the same time, Yi Han’s account gained 10 points.

Honestly a bit cheap…

But it was enough to buy ingredients for braised pork.

Yi Han was starving anyway and did not feel like arguing about the pricing.

Following the recipe instructions, he began purchasing ingredients one by one from the shop.

Vegetables and seasonings were naturally inexpensive.

Exactly 10 points was enough for one serving.

After placing the ingredients into the iron pot in proper proportions, Yi Han endured an agonizing one-minute wait.

Then the braised pork was complete.

The aroma quickly spread through the room.

A single serving only contained two or three pieces of pork, trembling delicately on an elegant plate with chopsticks beside it.

The fragrance was unbelievably rich.

Yi Han had been hungry for so long that his stomach immediately growled.

He picked up the chopsticks and quickly placed a piece into his mouth.

Tender. Soft. Slightly sweet.

The flavor instantly soothed him from his tongue all the way down to his starving stomach.

His entire body relaxed in comfort.

After swallowing the first bite, he lingered for a moment on the aftertaste before reaching for a second piece.

Very quickly, the small plate was completely empty.

Although he still wanted more, at least there was finally food in his stomach, and the overwhelming hunger eased somewhat.

More importantly, after finishing the meal, Yi Han felt a warm current flowing through his body.

His chest wound began heating gently.

The flesh seemed to heal on its own.

Before long, the long shard of glass was forced out of his body entirely.

The wound closed smoothly, leaving not even a scar behind.

Yi Han stared at his healed chest in shock for a long time.

Then he checked his personal information on the phone again.

The “Hungry” and “Severely Injured” statuses had disappeared.

In their place was:

[Weak]

Weak: Recovering from major illness. Stamina, recovery ability, reaction speed, etc. reduced to 80% of healthy condition. Remaining duration: 24 hours. High-quality sleep may shorten the weakened state.

Not fully restored to 100%, but Yi Han was already extremely satisfied.

After all, it had only cost 10 points.

Contentedly, he put away the phone and iron pot.

As for the dishes, they had vanished automatically the moment he finished eating.

Incredibly convenient.

Only then did Yi Han suddenly remember that the fake teammate was still waiting outside.

Opening the classroom door, he found the guy still acting incredibly dedicated, wearing a worried expression while unconsciously glancing toward the podium desk.

“Bro, are you okay? What happened just now?”

Yi Han was in a good mood now, so he smiled at him.

“I’m fine.”

The boy had clearly already seen the pool of blood on the floor but could no longer see his ghost coworker.

He looked extremely uneasy but dared not ask directly.

So he could only say:

“It’s good you’re okay… really good… Wait, what’s that smell?”

He suddenly sniffed the air.

Yi Han replied,

“…Oh. I was too hungry earlier, so I ate something.”

Teammate: ???

“Ate what?”

In this completely empty classroom, where could food possibly come from?

Yi Han followed his gaze back toward the room.

Seeing how worried the boy looked, Yi Han suddenly felt like teasing him again.

So he slowly turned back with an eerie smile.

“What else would I eat?”

“Meat, obviously.”

Teammate: …………？！

Teammate: “My coworker got eaten. What do I do? I want to quit…”

── ⋆⋅🖤⋅⋆ ──

TOC

Ch 2: I Run a Food Shop in an Escape Game

The Locked Classroom (2)

The boy crouched on the floor clutching his head, looking utterly wronged.

“Why did you hit me…?”

Yi Han replied, “Are you human or a ghost?”

“I’m human! We’re teammates!”

“Then why were you holding a knife?”

The boy froze.

He quickly hid the fruit knife in his hand before awkwardly explaining, “…This is a tool I got inside the classroom. I was just too excited after suddenly seeing another person…”

He probably knew that explanation was not very convincing, so he hurriedly raised his phone and showed Yi Han his escape game app.

“I was suddenly dragged into the game too. I had food poisoning before this, so you can’t tell from my appearance…” he said cautiously.

Yi Han lowered his eyes to glance at the phone screen, then looked at the boy still crouched on the ground, apparently frightened by him.

Only then did he lower the chair leg slightly.

“Fine, get up first… Sorry about that. You came at me holding a knife. You really didn’t look trustworthy.”

Boy: ……

Rubbing his forehead as he stood up, the boy watched Yi Han’s gaze fall onto the fruit knife again.

“…What did you mean earlier by ‘tool’?”

Yi Han still had not stepped out of the classroom. He remained standing behind the doorway, speaking through the open door.

The boy looked surprised.

“It said so in the app. Didn’t you get the system message?”

He tapped around on his phone and showed Yi Han.

“For a new player’s first game, you can choose one item you like inside the stage. The system uses it as a reference to generate a beginner-exclusive item for survival. I found a box cutter in the classroom earlier, so the system gave me this knife.”

The boy swiped again and displayed the weapon information.

[Sharp Fruit Knife]

[Quality: C Rank]

[Condition: Brand New]

[Description: Slightly sharper than an ordinary fruit knife. Other than that, nothing special.]

“Even if the quality isn’t great, we don’t have any points right now. At least this gives us some self-defense…” he explained.

Yi Han nodded.

Earlier he had been too focused on finding the key and missed the system notification. Still, if all beginner weapons were this mediocre, then it hardly mattered. Honestly, the chair leg in his hand already felt pretty useful.

“So you trust me now, right?” the boy asked eagerly.

Yi Han gave no clear answer.

“Let’s go downstairs.”

Although he still did not fully trust this “teammate,” the guy was blocking the doorway. Yi Han could not stay inside forever, so after only a brief hesitation, he lifted his leg and stepped into the hallway.

Fortunately, nothing strange happened after he emerged.

The other party also did not suddenly transform into an evil ghost and attack him.

“Should we exchange names? You can call me…”

Yi Han waved a hand, looking entirely uninterested in learning his name, forcibly cutting him off mid-sentence.

The boy paused awkwardly before dejectedly following behind.

The layout of the teaching building was very similar to Yi Han’s university.

One long corridor stretched left and right. Classrooms lined both sides, while the restrooms sat at the ends of the hall. To go downstairs, however, they would need to enter the stairwell located in the middle of the corridor.

The iron stairwell door was positioned between two classrooms and was currently tightly locked.

Yi Han tested the handle before saying,

“Looks like the next thing we need to find is the key to this door.”

Normally, a teaching building like this would not have only one staircase. There should also be emergency exits.

But perhaps because this was an escape game, the system had removed every unnecessary section and left only the path it wanted players to take.

“Earlier we were looking for the classroom key, so naturally it was hidden inside the classroom. Now we’re looking for the stairwell key, so theoretically there’s a higher chance it’s hidden somewhere in the hallway… But we can’t be certain. We still need to search the classrooms too,” Yi Han said.

After roughly counting, there were at least twenty classrooms on this floor alone.

The boy hesitated.

“If we search all of them carefully, we probably won’t have enough time.”

The stage had started at 8 PM. Only a little over half an hour had passed so far. Although there were still three and a half hours before the time limit, nobody knew how many locked doors remained ahead. Time was not especially plentiful.

Yi Han said, “I’ll search the classrooms. You search the hallway. If there’s nothing there, come help me search the remaining classrooms afterward. Splitting up will be faster.”

The boy nodded, and the two began moving.

Even though he still did not trust this “teammate,” Yi Han already had some ideas regarding the key, so he was not worried about the other man tampering with things.

And honestly, even if the guy dared hide the key, Yi Han could always beat him up afterward.

The main reason Yi Han volunteered to search the classrooms was because he wanted to raise the exploration percentage and earn as many points as possible.

After temporarily separating from his teammate, he began searching the classrooms one by one in sequence.

This time, however, he could not inspect every room as thoroughly as before. It took too much time. He could only perform rough searches, grab the exploration progress, and move on.

The system also responded to his request by displaying the exploration percentage numerically inside the app. As he continued entering new classrooms, the number steadily rose.

Not all classroom doors were open.

Some were locked, though obviously not for the purpose of stopping player progress. They were probably just part of the game scenery, arranged alongside open rooms to make the environment appear more natural.

Whenever Yi Han encountered those rooms, he simply smashed the door open with the chair leg.

If that failed, he kicked it.

The door always opened eventually.

By the time he finished searching the floor, Yi Han had discovered several classrooms that seemed genuinely haunted. Yet after he violently broke the doors open, the strange noises immediately stopped.

After several encounters, he figured out the pattern:

It seemed that during the first hour of the game, ghosts could only scare players with sounds. Their actual bodies could not truly appear yet.

After one full sweep, the exploration percentage had already reached 11.5%.

Once he finished searching the restroom at the end of the hallway, it would probably rise to around 12%.

By estimating proportionally, the teaching building should have about eight floors total. Yi Han was likely on either the seventh or eighth floor.

At that moment, his “teammate” had also finished searching the hallway and was now standing beside him in front of the restroom entrance.

Because of all the noise Yi Han had made smashing doors open, the motion-sensor light in the men’s restroom on the left had already turned on, though it seemed to have poor wiring and flickered occasionally.

The women’s restroom on the right, however, clearly had broken lights. Beyond the doorway lay complete darkness, looking extremely unsettling.

“Bro… this is terrifying…” the “teammate” said shakily, though it was hard to tell whether he was genuinely scared or pretending.

Yi Han glanced at him and noticed the boy guiltily turning his head away, avoiding eye contact.

“If you’re scared, stand here and wait for me. Use your phone to light the way.”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm.” The boy nodded rapidly, visibly relieved.

Pretending not to notice his suspicious behavior, Yi Han walked directly into the men’s restroom on the left.

The flickering lights gave the space an eerie atmosphere.

Fortunately, the restroom itself was not dirty.

Yi Han casually inspected the surroundings, then opened a few stall doors and glanced inside.

Since he already felt the key was unlikely to be here, he only performed a quick check. Once he gained enough exploration percentage, he retreated outside.

Seeing him emerge, the “teammate” turned on his phone flashlight and shined it toward the women’s restroom.

However, due to the restroom’s layout, the beam could only illuminate the short hallway near the entrance. Beyond the corner, the light could not reach.

Seeing this, Yi Han also took out his own phone and turned on its flashlight.

“Bro, it’s almost 9 PM.”
For some reason, the “teammate” reminded him in a strangely airy tone.

Yi Han nodded to show he understood and walked in expressionlessly.

The women’s restroom was clean as well.

After turning the first corner, there was a row of sinks and a long mirror.

Without even glancing at the mirror, Yi Han walked straight toward the innermost stalls.

Because there were no lights and only flashlights for illumination, the place looked far more terrifying than the men’s restroom despite having an almost identical layout.

Yi Han pushed open the first stall door.

Empty.

Spotless.

He had absolutely no interest in spending extra time looking around a bathroom, so after a brief glance, he shut the door.

Then the second stall.

Then the third.

Soon, he reached the second-to-last stall.

The moment Yi Han pushed the door open this time, his sharp eyes caught sight of something black beneath the neighboring stall through the flashlight beam.

His expression did not change.

Following the same rhythm as before, he casually swept the flashlight back and forth, checked the floor, then quietly closed the stall door again.

Even if someone had been standing beside him, they probably would not have noticed that while the flashlight passed beneath the partition, Yi Han had secretly and swiftly pressed the camera shutter on his phone.

As he walked toward the final stall, he rapidly opened his photo gallery.

The environment had been too dark, making the picture blurry.

But after looking carefully, one could make out that in the darkness beneath the neighboring stall partition, there appeared to be two thin ankles bruised purple and blue.

The owner of those feet had been hiding inside the last stall this whole time. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Who knew what nasty thing it had been waiting to do?

Without saying a word, Yi Han placed one hand on the stall door as though preparing to push it open.

Meanwhile, his other hand casually tapped through the app and opened the interface for claiming a beginner-exclusive item.

The instructions clearly stated:

The player chooses an object they like and submits it. The system will automatically generate an item with similar properties.

If someone chose a knife like the “teammate” had, they would receive an offensive weapon-type item.

If they chose clothing, perhaps they would receive armor.

At this moment, however, Yi Han became curious.

If he selected “this bathroom stall containing a ghost,” what exactly would the system generate for him…?

It was almost 9 PM.

Based on standard game logic, once the clock passed the hour mark, the restrictions on ghosts would probably loosen to some degree.

If he still refused to open the door by then, whatever was inside might simply burst out and attack him itself.

Yi Han lowered his gaze slightly.

He seemed to see the shadow beneath the stall shift.

Probably because the ghost had been standing there too long and was growing impatient, its feet subtly moving in place.

Unable to resist raising a brow, Yi Han stopped hesitating.

Inside the app, he tapped:

“Select” → “Confirm” → “Generate.”

All in one smooth motion.

Meanwhile, outside the restroom, the “teammate” watched the time on his phone turn to 21:00.

After hearing no sounds from inside the restroom for quite a while, he cautiously called out,

“Bro, are you okay?”

But there was no reply.

Staring into the pitch-black women’s restroom, he waited a bit longer before calling again.

Still no answer.

So he turned off his flashlight.

He did not seem frightened, nor did he enter to look for Yi Han.

Instead, he pulled out his phone, opened a group chat, and began typing a message.

“What are you doing?”

Yet before he could finish typing even a few words, Yi Han’s voice suddenly sounded right beside his ear.

The boy jerked violently in fright and almost dropped his phone.

Fortunately, a pale, slender hand caught it first.

Yi Han’s expression revealed nothing unusual. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. He merely glanced at him before returning the phone.

The boy awkwardly hid it away and stammered,

“B-Bro, you’re okay… that’s great… I called for you so many times earlier, I thought…”

“You thought a ghost ate me?” Yi Han asked.

“N-No, no… Ah, well… it’s good you’re fine. Did you find the key?”

“No.”

“Then… why were you inside so long?”

“I got a beginner item.”

Boy: ?

Yi Han stared at him expressionlessly for a while, long enough to make the boy’s scalp tingle.

For some reason, it felt like this guy was in an especially bad mood right now.

“Let’s go back and check around the stairwell for the key again.”

Without dwelling further on the subject, Yi Han turned and started walking away first.

It was as though he had not noticed anything suspicious about this “teammate” at all, nor cared about exposing his back to him…

The boy wiped away cold sweat and hurriedly pulled out his phone again.

Only to discover that the “person” he had been trying to contact earlier now displayed:

[Forced Offline]

“Wasn’t it still on bathroom duty just now? Why’d it leave the instance?”

He looked baffled, but did not dare delay too long. Stuffing the phone back into his pocket, he quickly chased after Yi Han.

Meanwhile, Yi Han walked with one hand in his pocket, unconsciously touching his phone.

Because after extracting the item he wanted earlier…

The pair of feet inside the stall had immediately vanished.

Then the app froze.

The screen shook violently while colors scrambled chaotically everywhere.

And after Yi Han employed his usual method of forcefully closing and restarting the app…

A new item had appeared in his inventory.

[A Shop Haunted by the Resentment of Its Former Owner]

[Quality: S Rank]

[Condition: Well… how should we put this…]

[Description: A special item obtained by sacrificing “a bathroom stall containing a ghost” — “A Shop Haunted by the Resentment of Its Former Owner.” Due to poor business management, the shop has already gone bankrupt and was sold off cheaply. Therefore… the entirety of the shop’s current assets consists of: Iron Pot ×1, Recipe Book ×1. These items have already been placed into your inventory.]

[Iron Pot]

[Quality: S Rank]

[Condition: Long unused, battered and broken]

[Description: Probably still usable after a good scrub]

[Recipe Book]

[Quality: S Rank]

[Condition: Accidentally thrown into a washing machine. Contents lost.]

[Description: Completely blank. No reference value. May be disposed of in recyclable trash.]

Yi Han: ……

A weak voice, seemingly belonging to the “resentment of the former owner,” timidly said:

“…Actually, it can still be saved, as long as…”

Yi Han’s face darkened slightly.

Before the voice could finish speaking, he shut the app off completely.

Yi Han: “I’m this good at fighting and you want me to run a business? Even if I starve to death, I will never work for some shop I pulled out of a haunted toilet stall.”

── ⋆⋅🖤⋅⋆ ──

TOC

Ch 1: I Run a Food Shop in an Escape Game

Thingyan (translator-extraordinaire) : Finally, a novel that has ever translated on the website before. It is infinite flow with a few ghosts here and there, but they are not scary at all. The vibe is more chill, relaxing, and comforting rather than horror.

Just a reminder: there is no CP, and the story stays lighthearted overall. Hope you enjoy!

…

The Locked Classroom (1)

Yi Han jolted awake from his sleep and realized he was lying in an unfamiliar room.

The surroundings were deathly quiet. There were no windows, only a bed and four walls. The place was so barebones it was worse than a twenty-yuan-a-night basement rental.

“How did I end up here…?”

“Wait… wasn’t I dead???”

He looked down. The shard of glass that had killed him was still lodged in his chest. Blood had soaked through his shirt in a spreading stain that still carried warmth.

Confused, he fumbled for his phone and turned it on.

The screen displayed:

“September 25, 2020, 19:45.”

It had not even been an hour since his death…

At the top of the screen were several unread text messages from earlier that same day:

“You little bastard, just you wait!”

“You dare mess with me without even asking who Master Jin is?”

“You’ve got the guts to piss me off? I’ll make sure you can’t survive in H City…”

All the messages were signed “Stupid Client Jin,” the latest idiotic client Yi Han had encountered while working a part-time job outside class.

That afternoon, right after finishing his major course, his manager had sent him to collect an overdue payment from the guy. The client had acted like an unreasonable thug, and when pressured too hard, even tried to get physical…

Unfortunately for him, Yi Han was much better at fighting.

Acting in self-defense, Yi Han beat the man into the hospital within a few moves. Then immediately got reported for “assaulting a client.”

Of course, the manager was no saint either.

The tiny company only hired fourth-year interns. Every day he barked orders, forced overtime, nitpicked endlessly, and docked wages whenever he pleased. Once an internship period ended, he would find an excuse to fire the intern and replace them with a new batch of cheap labor.

Yi Han had always been smart enough to avoid getting exploited. He originally planned to finish out the month, collect his pay, and quit.

But the manager had already set his sights on him.

Near the end of the month, he deliberately sent a mere part-time employee like Yi Han to deal with a scumbag client. And after receiving the complaint, the manager immediately decided to fire him without hearing any explanation. Not only would Yi Han receive none of his wages, he was also expected to personally cover the client’s medical expenses.

So after typing several question marks in disbelief…

Yi Han beat the manager up too.

The stupid client and the stupid manager ended up lying side by side in the same hospital ward, screaming insults at each other with passionate intensity. Right then, some machine being pushed down the hallway malfunctioned for reasons unknown. Several razor-sharp glass panels exploded outward straight toward them.

At the time, Yi Han had one foot planted on the stupid manager while fully focused on demanding his unpaid wages. He reacted just a second too slowly.

And so, together with the two idiots, he died.

The time then had been around 7 PM.

Yi Han remembered it clearly because after class he had immediately gotten into two separate fights and never even had time to eat dinner…

So what exactly was going on now?

As Yi Han reflected on whether some mysterious force had rescued him for “courageously fighting evil and promoting justice,” a cold mechanical voice suddenly sounded.

[Welcome to the Real Escape Game.]

A flood of information was instantly shoved into his mind.

Participate in escape game stages. Earn points…

Points could be exchanged for all kinds of absurdly overpowered items, treasures, and abilities…

The most expensive reward cost 100,000,000 points:

A chance to defy fate itself.

Obtain that opportunity, and one could return to the human world to begin an entirely new life, customized exactly as desired.

But if one failed midway, both body and soul would remain forever trapped in the game, never to find release.

This was a gamble with one’s life on the line.

The voice gave him little time to process before issuing another notification.

[3 minutes until the official start of the game.]

[The first teleportation will begin in 3 minutes. Friendly reminder: this process will be forcibly carried out by the system. Meaningless resistance and struggling are not recommended.]

“…Resistance?”

After enduring the wave of headache, Yi Han wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, yet could not help letting out a laugh.

Why would he resist?

This game felt practically tailor-made for him.

Ever since his parents died when he was ten, Yi Han had struggled alone to survive in this world. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Over the past decade, he had experienced countless hardships that children from ordinary families would never encounter. He had already mastered every possible survival skill imaginable… along with an absurdly strong mental tolerance.

Parkour escape games? Physical puzzles?

He was built for this.

Honestly, dying together with those two idiots already felt like a loss to him. If he could clear the game and return loaded with overpowered abilities, those two scumbags would probably be so furious they’d resurrect on the spot.

Besides, he had nothing left to lose. He had already died once. There was truly nothing left to fear.

“The only problem now… is what to do about this wound in my chest.”

Strangely, it did not hurt much, nor did it interfere too heavily with movement. But from the blood loss, Yi Han still felt weak.

However, the system informed him that healing injuries required 100 points.

Yi Han’s current points: 0.

Looks like he would have to clear the first stage while still injured.

Three minutes passed in a flash.

[Now selecting the first stage.]

[Selection complete.]

[Stage Name: The Locked Classroom (Beginner Level)]

[Number of Players: 2]

[Stage Description: You have been locked inside an empty school building. Find the key and escape before midnight.]

[Clear Reward: 100 points (base reward). If exploration exceeds the minimum completion standard, additional points will be awarded during settlement.]

[Failure Penalty: Remain forever inside the school building, accompanied by vengeful ghosts.]

His vision went black.

When he could see again, Yi Han found himself standing inside a classroom.

The system explained that to avoid sudden notification sounds disrupting gameplay, all stage information would now be delivered through a mobile app.

Yi Han pulled out his phone.

Sure enough, an app called “Real Escape Game” had been automatically installed.

On the homepage was a cartoon avatar of himself, dressed in a white shirt and black pants. Even the glass shard stuck in his chest and the bloodstains on his clothes had been faithfully recreated.

Scrolling down revealed his personal information.

Player ID: *****01047

Name: Yi Han

Age: 20

Race: Human

Abilities: None

Current Status: Hungry, Severely Injured
(Stamina, recovery ability, reaction speed, etc. reduced by 50%)

Yi Han touched the weapon still lodged in his chest and frowned.

Hunger was manageable.

But he had not expected this fatal injury to apply such a severe debuff inside the stage. Healing required 100 points, yet the base reward for clearing the stage was also only 100 points.

Anyone entering this game was probably someone who had just died. Naturally, they would all be carrying illnesses or injuries. To remove the severe injury debuff, most players would surely spend their first 100 points on healing after clearing the beginner stage.

And this was only the first stage.

Later stages would obviously become harder, and injuries would be unavoidable. That meant more points spent on healing. And to survive more effectively, buying items, abilities, and bloodlines would also become necessary.

Clearly, the game was not going to let players accumulate enough points to escape so easily.

If one wanted to gather points quickly, they would need to maximize exploration and earn as many extra points as possible within each stage.

Yi Han quickly settled on his strategy:

Don’t chicken out. Grind everything.

Putting away his phone, he first surveyed the surroundings.

This was an utterly ordinary university classroom, almost identical to the one he attended during the day. The blackboard was covered in advanced calculus formulas. The desks and chairs were scattered loosely around. Fluorescent lights cast a sickly pale glow overhead.

Yi Han was alone in the room.

According to the mission information, there were supposed to be two players in this stage.

Since the other player was nowhere in sight, they were probably locked in another classroom just like him. Most likely, only after both escaped their individual rooms could they meet up.

Yi Han did not spend much time thinking about his unseen teammate.

He immediately began checking the classroom doors and windows.

Click.

As expected, both the front and back doors were locked. A key was required to open them.

Pulling aside the curtains, he found the windows tightly shut as well. Yi Han briefly considered smashing the glass, but quickly gave up on the idea.

The classroom was located on a very high floor. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Outside, the night was pitch black, making it impossible to judge the exact height, but one glance downward was enough to tell him that even if he broke the window, there was no way he could safely climb down.

The classroom truly was just an ordinary university classroom.

Blackboard. Podium. More than forty sets of desks and chairs.

Nothing else.

Yi Han started by searching the teacher’s desk, then systematically checked every student desk drawer. After finding nothing, he moved on to the curtains and ripped them straight off the window with one hard pull. He even checked above the curtain rings, but still found no hidden key.

In less than twenty minutes, he had searched the entire room.

The key should have been an ordinary door key. Unless it had literally been sealed inside the walls, there was no way it could completely disappear…

So what had he missed?

Leaning both arms against the podium, Yi Han scanned the room thoughtfully, brows furrowed in concentration.

Just then, a woman’s scream filled with overwhelming terror suddenly pierced through the walls and stabbed into his ears.

Yi Han froze in alarm.

…The other player?

Was there already danger in the very first room?

What had she encountered inside?

Or had she already found the key to her room, escaped the classroom, and then run into something in the hallway?

The scream had been so terrified and miserable that even Yi Han felt physically uncomfortable after hearing it. At the same time, a sense of urgency began creeping in.

But where else in this room had not been searched?

Yi Han stared at the wooden podium desk and the blackboard, thinking for a moment. Then his gaze shifted toward the curtain he had violently ripped down earlier.

Looks like destruction of stage facilities was allowed.

He searched around for a bit, finally picked up a chair, tested its weight, then carried it back in front of the podium and swung it down hard.

With a loud crash, the wooden desk collapsed.

No hidden compartment. No key.

Holding the wound on his chest, Yi Han caught his breath, then turned and smashed the chair into the blackboard.

After several blows, the blackboard cracked apart as well, revealing the white wall behind it.

Yi Han brushed aside the broken pieces and carefully inspected the area, but still found nothing.

“They really hid it well…”

Time passed second by second.

The woman’s scream did not return, but from another direction came the intermittent sound of a small child crying weakly.

…Looks like his earlier guess had been wrong.

There were clearly many things inside this building, and the screaming woman might not even be the other player…

Ignoring the eerie, unsettling noises, Yi Han focused his attention back on his own classroom.

But after scanning the room again, he felt genuinely stumped.

Until suddenly, his eyes lit up at the sight of one particular object.

He stepped down from the platform, dragged over another chair, and smashed it apart in a few hits. Then he selected the longest chair leg and held it in his hand.

After judging the position overhead, he moved a desk beneath it and climbed up.

Yi Han was already tall to begin with, so now the ceiling was very close above him.

And directly in front of him hung the fluorescent light fixture from the ceiling.

Yi Han weighed the chair leg in his hand, then struck upward hard.

The light tube shattered instantly.

Glass fragments rained onto the floor, and the classroom immediately grew dimmer.

There were four fluorescent tubes in total.

Everywhere else had already been searched with no results.

This was the only thing left.

After eliminating all the wrong answers, Yi Han was almost certain the key had to be hidden inside one of the lights.

Honestly, it was a pretty devious hiding spot.

Because even if ordinary players suspected the lights, they would not dare smash them casually.

The system had definitely tampered with them somehow. There was no way to tell from the outside which tube contained the key. It was pure guesswork.

And if luck was bad, one might smash three lights and still not find it.

At that point, only the final light would remain in the darkened classroom. Smash that too, and the entire room would plunge into complete darkness. Meanwhile, who knew what else was hidden nearby? Strange noises kept appearing at random, and there was no guarantee the key would even be in the last tube.

So then the question became:

Smash it, or not?

Humans naturally feared darkness.

Especially in a real escape game like this.

Any player with even the slightest uncertainty in their judgment would hesitate at that moment.

But Yi Han would not.

He moved the desks and smashed the fluorescent lights one after another.

As expected, the first three contained nothing.

Until the last one.

Without hesitation, Yi Han swung the club down one final time.

The last trace of light vanished, and the classroom fell completely into darkness.

Amid the sound of shattering glass came the crisp clink of metal hitting the floor.

Yi Han held his chest wound and jumped down from the desk.

Turning on his phone flashlight, he brushed aside the glass shards and, unsurprised, picked up the key from among them.

The recent exertion had reopened his wound a bit. Blood began seeping out continuously. It did not hurt, but visually it was pretty horrifying.

Yi Han inserted the key into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

The hallway lights were on as well, though the pale glow remained unsettling.

He did not step out immediately.

Instead, gripping the chair leg tightly, he carefully scanned both sides of the corridor, staying alert.

At that moment, the door of the neighboring classroom creaked open too.

Soft footsteps cautiously approached along the hallway.

Soon, a pale and skinny young man entered Yi Han’s field of vision.

“Ah! You must be the other player! Thank god, I’m finally not alone… This horrible place is terrifying without a companion…”

The boy looked deeply moved, like he had just found family. He squeezed out a smile that somehow looked creepy no matter how one viewed it and walked straight toward Yi Han.

Yi Han raised a brow.

Without another word, he lifted the chair leg.

Bonk.

The boy clutched his head.

“…QAQ?”

── ⋆⋅🖤⋅⋆ ──

TOC

Ch 110: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

During the period before the New Year, Jiang Ji and Zhao Ru stayed busy weaving brocade.

Jiang Ji cleared out the side hall and had two more looms made. Three looms were placed side by side inside. Once everything was installed, he selected several people, the two maids attending Zhao Ru and two young servants, and began teaching them how to weave.

Jiang Ji drew a different pattern for them, using different colors, letting them practice first.

One day, Madam Lu came over and saw the brocade they had woven. She was completely stunned.

“You’re actually weaving brocade?” Madam Lu touched the section of brocade that had already reached about a chi in length. Its colors were dazzling, almost seeming to shimmer with flowing light.

Her eyes filled with delight. “This is truly beautiful. I’ve never seen brocade with so many colors before.”

Zhao Ru smiled. “Xiao Ji says this is called Yunjin. This version is still relatively simple. He says that once we become skilled enough, we can weave brocade that looks like rosy clouds.”

“Like rosy clouds?” Madam Lu widened her eyes, looking from Zhao Ru to Jiang Ji atop the loom. “You can really make brocade that looks like sunset clouds?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Yes. We’ll be able to weave it in the future.”

Madam Lu looked at Jiang Ji, then at the loom. Thousands upon thousands of silk threads stretched across it. Just looking at them made her dizzy.

“Xiao Ji, you truly have patience.”

Madam Lu came from a military family and practiced martial arts herself. She was especially poor at needlework. The fact that she could previously sit down and weave cotton cloth with Zhao Ru already showed remarkable patience.

Now, seeing Jiang Ji capable of sitting there all day just to weave a tiny little strip of brocade no longer than a pinky finger, she genuinely admired him.

Jiang Ji smiled. “There’s nothing else going on lately anyway. I’d just be idle otherwise.”

Madam Lu looked at the three looms and asked, “Are you planning to open a workshop?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “We’re still in the preparation stage right now. Mother, please keep it secret for now.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Madam Lu stayed watching them weave for a while. Jiang Ji occasionally climbed down to check on the maids’ work. Watching him skillfully guide the maids and servants, delight appeared on Madam Lu’s face.

Back when Huaizhou insisted on marrying Jiang Ji, Madam Lu and the others had no choice but to accept and compromise. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. But over the past half year, the more they interacted with Jiang Ji, the more they realized that this child truly was exceptionally capable.

Just look at all the things he had done. Promoting crops, developing weapons, opening restaurants, establishing textile mills, proposing women’s academies, rushing off to combat the locust disaster, and now creating this Yunjin…

Any one of those accomplishments alone would already be worthy of praise. Yet he had accomplished all of them.

Not only was the child talented, his character was good too. No wonder Huaizhou had fallen for him.

There were many affairs before the New Year. Madam Lu had come today mainly to discuss New Year matters with Zhao Ru, help them review preparations for New Year gifts, and remind her about certain details.

During the New Year season, both the Regent’s Residence and the Duke Residence had to prepare gift packages. Jiang Ji had handed those matters over to Uncle Zhong and Lu Shun. Zhao Ru and Jiang Ji merely observed and learned this year, treating it as practice.

They had only recently arrived in the capital and did not understand what sort of New Year gifts households of a regent or duke rank were expected to prepare. Uncle Zhong and Lu Shun had already drafted the lists for Madam Lu to review first. Then Lu Huaizhou would look through them before the gifts were purchased and prepared.

“Luckily you’re here. I don’t understand any of this,” Zhao Ru said gratefully while holding Madam Lu’s hand.

Throughout the year, whenever there were banquets, festivals, or palace feasts, Madam Lu had always brought Zhao Ru along with her.

Madam Lu patted her hand and smiled. “No need to be so polite with me. It’s mostly the same every year. Once you go through it this year, you’ll know everything next year.”

After Madam Lu reviewed Uncle Zhong’s preparation lists and made some adjustments, she explained everything to Zhao Ru, stayed for a short while longer, then returned home.

Two days before the New Year, Lu Huaizhou also began his holiday leave. The men sent to Jiangnan to investigate Second Aunt’s younger brother’s wife’s maternal family also returned.

Inside the study, they reported their findings to Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou.

The family’s surname was Su. The current head was named Su Quanzhong. He was the elder brother of Lu Huaizhou’s second aunt’s younger brother’s wife. Their family had operated in the silk business for three generations and was considered a fairly famous old-established merchant household locally.

They owned four weaving workshops and thirty-six silk shops. Their stores were spread throughout Ningzhou and neighboring prefectures. Because they conducted business honestly, their reputation throughout Jiangnan was very good.

The Su family’s development over the years had remained stable and proper, always maintaining a middle-tier position while relying heavily on reputation.

However, Jiangnan’s silk industry was highly developed and competition fierce. Especially over the past decade or so, several silk workshops had expanded rapidly, causing significant pressure on the Su family. If they continued without adapting, their market share would gradually shrink.

The investigators had traveled through several locations and gathered extensive information.

“Their business reputation is indeed quite good. We also investigated other matters. Within four generations, no one in their family has committed crimes or scandals. Overall, they’re considered a rather honest family. Oh, right. Among the younger generation, one descendant even passed the xiucai examination last year.”

After hearing the report, Jiang Ji asked, “Did you bring back samples of their silk products?”

“We did.”

Another man immediately pulled several silk sample swatches from a bundle and handed them over to Jiang Ji. Various silk fabrics were attached.

Jiang Ji looked surprised. “You actually brought back fabric samples?”

“We told them our master runs a silk shop in the capital and needed samples to make decisions. So they gave them to us.”

Jiang Ji nodded and looked over the samples spread across the table.

The samples included various silks, gauzes, satins, and brocades made by the Su family.

Jiang Ji inspected them one by one before saying to Lu Huaizhou, “The Su family’s silk products are truly very good. They deserve their reputation as an old-established brand.”

After spending so much time with Jiang Ji, Lu Huaizhou had also learned some textile knowledge. While touching the silk, he said, “I remember Second Aunt once mentioning that her younger brother fell in love with a merchant’s daughter when he was younger. At first the elders disapproved, but later they agreed because the Su family’s values and conduct were considered quite good.”

Jiang Ji asked several more questions, all of which were answered.

Once the investigators withdrew, Jiang Ji turned to Lu Huaizhou and said, “From the looks of it, their character seems good, their silk quality is excellent, and they have sufficient capability. This Yunjin of ours will take a very long time before products are ready. It’ll require considerable financial strength to sustain the expenses during the first year or so.”

Lu Huaizhou nodded. “Will you cooperate with them?”

“We can. But it still depends on whether they’re willing.” Jiang Ji smiled. “Should I invite Second Aunt over to discuss it?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Ji immediately instructed Lu Shun to send an invitation.

Madam Han arrived not long afterward. Since it was nearly New Year, she knew something important must have happened, otherwise they would not have summoned her at this time.

General Han followed behind her. He simply came along because he was bored at home.

“Second Uncle, Second Aunt.” Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou greeted them.

Madam Han immediately asked, “You called me over at this hour. Is there something important?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Let me show you something first.”

The two of them led General Han and Madam Han to the side hall where the Yunjin was being woven.

Madam Han froze briefly when she saw the loom. Walking inside, she looked at the brocade Zhao Ru and the others had woven, and her eyes immediately lit up.

“This is brocade?”

“This is Yunjin,” Jiang Ji introduced. “It’s woven using this kind of loom.”

Madam Han touched the brocade, then looked at the loom in surprise. “You’re weaving brocade at home? Xiao Ji, you invented this?”

“Correct.” Jiang Ji nodded. “Second Aunt, what do you think of this brocade?”

Madam Han looked at the crimson base fabric decorated with silver-gray patterns and vivid scarlet flower cores. The patterns were lively, and the colors much brighter than ordinary brocades on the market.

“Beautiful,” Madam Han said decisively.

Jiang Ji asked again, “Do you think this would sell well in the future?”

“Absolutely. Something this beautiful would definitely be fought over.”

Jiang Ji’s eyes brightened. “Second Aunt, here’s the thing. Brother Huaizhou told me your younger brother’s wife’s maternal family are famous silk merchants in Ningzhou with an excellent reputation. Do you think they’d be interested in cooperating with me to produce this Yunjin together?”

Madam Han paused in surprise, then immediately understood and smiled. “So that’s why you invited me over. But why not do it yourselves? You already have the machinery and the techniques. Why split the profits with others?”

Jiang Ji scratched his head and sighed. “Second Aunt, to be honest, I’m rather lazy. I don’t want to manage so many things. Besides, as you know, not many people raise silkworms in the north. Jiangnan is far more suitable for sericulture. If we’re opening a silk workshop, then naturally it makes more sense to open it there. And besides, my mother and Brother Huaizhou are both in the capital. I don’t want to be separated from my family.”

Hearing this, Madam Han nodded. “That’s true. Back in my hometown, practically every household raises silkworms, so there are many silk workshops there too.”

“Exactly. That’s why opening the workshop there would be the most suitable.” Jiang Ji said, “So I wanted to find an experienced silk merchant family to cooperate with. I provide the machines and weaving techniques, while they provide the land, labor, and management. We can discuss profit sharing later. Brother Huaizhou recommended your younger brother-in-law’s wife’s maternal family. He said their reputation and credibility are excellent and that they’re trustworthy. That’s why I wanted to ask Second Aunt to help inquire whether they’d be interested in cooperating.”

Madam Han knew that her younger brother-in-law’s wife’s family had not been doing especially well in business lately. Knowing this was a good opportunity, she agreed readily.

“Alright. I’ll write back and tell them. Why don’t you give me a piece of this brocade? I’ll bring it back together with the letter.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Ji immediately picked up scissors and cut off a piece of Yunjin about the size of a plate, then handed it to Madam Han.

He also introduced some of the kinds of patterns that could be woven into Yunjin. The more Madam Han listened, the brighter her eyes became, and she discussed it enthusiastically with Jiang Ji for quite a while.

Before leaving, Madam Han smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll write the letter as soon as I return and have someone send it out tomorrow.”

“Then thank you very much, Second Aunt.”

“What’s there to thank me for? If the cooperation really succeeds, then I’ll be the one thanking you.”

A business this unique, if her younger brother-in-law’s wife’s family managed it successfully, would benefit all their families.

At first, General Han and Lu Huaizhou had stood nearby listening to them speak. Later, General Han simply dragged Lu Huaizhou off to the guards’ training grounds to spar.

By the time Jiang Ji and Madam Han found them, the two were exchanging moves in the arena while many off-duty guards stood around watching.

Lu Huaizhou was extremely busy these days, but every two or three days, he still found half an hour to an hour at night to come train at the guards’ martial grounds so his skills would not become rusty.

Jiang Ji always followed along to watch him. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Every time he saw Lu Huaizhou sparring with the guards, his movements clean and decisive, as though he had eyes on the back of his head and could predict others’ actions in advance, Jiang Ji’s heart raced wildly.

Lu Huaizhou when fighting really was too handsome.

Jiang Ji turned to glance at Second Aunt and saw her eyes sparkling as she watched Second Uncle too. Clearly, she also very much liked this side of her husband.

After watching for a while, General Han and Lu Huaizhou finally stopped.

General Han patted Lu Huaizhou’s shoulder approvingly. “Not bad. You haven’t let your skills fall behind.”

Lu Huaizhou cupped his hands respectfully. “With Second Uncle watching, I wouldn’t dare slack off.”

General Han burst into hearty laughter and stepped down from the arena. Seeing Madam Han, he asked, “Finished talking?”

“We’re done.” Madam Han straightened his clothes and had a servant bring over his cloak to drape over him. “You didn’t sweat too much, did you? Be careful not to catch a chill.”

“I’m fine.”

Jiang Ji also looked at Lu Huaizhou. Seeing him put on his padded coat, he quietly asked, “Did you go easy on him?”

Jiang Ji often watched Lu Huaizhou spar with the guards and roughly knew where his skill level stood. Just now, during the spar with General Han, his movements had clearly been slightly slower than when fighting the guards.

Lu Huaizhou glanced at him, smiling softly as he gave a slight nod.

Jiang Ji laughed as well. General Han was getting older after all. Lu Huaizhou naturally could not fight him with the same full force he used against the guards.

The group walked toward the gate together.

Lu Huaizhou said, “Second Uncle, Second Aunt, come over the day after tomorrow for New Year’s Eve. My parents will also be coming over here.”

The Han family only had themselves in the capital. Aside from the Lu family, they had no other relatives nearby. In previous years, unless they returned to the Dongping Marquis Residence, they usually spent New Year’s Eve together. Though previously, it had always been at the Lu Residence.

Second Uncle nodded. “Sounds good. We’ll come over on New Year’s Eve.”

With that settled, General Han and Madam Han departed.

On New Year’s Eve morning, Jiang Ji first brought Lu Huaizhou and his own family to pay respects to their ancestors. Then he returned to the Lu Residence and followed Lu Huaizhou’s family in offering ancestral rites before everyone came back together to the Regent’s Residence.

The Han family also arrived.

This was Jiang Ji’s family’s first New Year’s Eve in the capital, and the Regent’s Residence was lively and bustling.

The servants were given leave as well. Those with families returned home to celebrate, while those without families stayed at the residence to celebrate together with everyone else.

Jiang Ji also brought Han Qingshan’s family over to the Regent’s Residence to join the festivities.

Large new red lanterns had long since been hung throughout the residence. This year’s spring couplets were written by Old Master Lu and Lord Lu, while the paper window cuttings had all been made by Zhao Ru and Madam Lu.

There were many couplets and paper cuttings, enough not only for the Regent’s Residence but also for Duke Chang Residence.

The two estates stood close together. Jiang Ji brought Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei back to Duke Chang Residence to paste up the couplets and window cuttings, while Lu Huaichuan led his cousins over to help.

No one lived there permanently, aside from a few servants responsible for cleaning and caring for the plants. Jiang Ji occasionally visited to check on the blueberries and fruit trees he had planted.

After telling the servants to come back to the Regent’s Residence later for the New Year’s Eve dinner, Jiang Ji and the others finished hanging the decorations and set off firecrackers at the entrance before returning to the Regent’s Residence.

Because it was New Year’s Eve, Zhao Ru, Madam Lu, and Madam Han all personally entered the kitchen as well, cooking the reunion dinner together with Han Qingshan and Sister-in-law Guihua.

Inside the main hall, charcoal braziers burned brightly. After finishing the spring couplets, Old Master Lu and Lord Lu set up a chessboard and began playing.

General Han and Lu Huaizhou were playing darts using Jiang Ji’s dartboard.

As soon as Lu Huaichuan and the younger children returned, they immediately surrounded them, all demanding to join the game.

The dart game had become extremely popular throughout the capital. All kinds of dartboards had been produced, and some shops even specialized entirely in it now.

There were sets for adults and sets for children, each with their own fun.

Jiang Ji went to the kitchen to help prepare the reunion dinner.

Around shenshi, the New Year’s Eve meal was finally ready.

Seven or eight large round tables had been set up throughout the main and side halls. Steaming dishes were carried out one after another, while wine and fruit juice were arranged on the tables. The feast officially began.

Outside, the deafening explosions of firecrackers erupted together with those from every other household in the capital, filling the entire city with festive excitement.

“This is the best New Year’s Eve dinner I’ve ever eaten!” Lu Huaichuan exclaimed happily while gnawing on a giant pork trotter.

The Han family’s younger cousin nodded repeatedly in vigorous agreement. “Me too!”

Madam Lu laughed. “We’re all benefiting from Xiao Ji’s talents now.”

At this point, the cooks from the Regent’s Residence, Lu Residence, Han Residence, and Duke Qin Residence had all trained at the Regent’s Residence. Aside from the single dishes personally made by Madam Lu and Madam Han, the rest of the New Year’s Eve feast had essentially all come from Jiang Ji’s teachings.

Lu Huaichuan immediately played along. “Thank you, Brother Jiang Ji.”

“Thank you, cousin-in-law!” the younger cousin added.

The Han family’s older cousin, slightly older than Lu Huaichuan, raised his wine cup. “A toast to cousin-in-law.”

Jiang Ji smiled and clinked cups with him. “If you like it, then eat more. From now on, we’ll all celebrate New Year together.”

Old Master Lu ate happily while watching the younger generation with a cheerful expression.

Lu Huaizhou drank with Lord Lu and General Han. Jiang Ji toasted the elders one by one, and before he realized it, he had drunk a little too much.

Under the table, Lu Huaizhou squeezed his hand gently and leaned closer. “No need to drink so much. You’ll get drunk later.”

Jiang Ji looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes. “I’m happy. I want to drink.”

Lu Huaizhou gazed at him tenderly and replied softly, “Alright then. Drink. If you get drunk, I’ll carry you back.”

In the end, Jiang Ji truly did get drunk.

Even though he had eaten quite a lot to offset the alcohol somewhat, he still became intoxicated.

His cheeks were flushed red, his head dizzy, and the Lu Huaizhou in front of him seemed to split into several copies.

“Lu Huaizhou, why did you transform?”

Seeing him about to topple over, Lu Huaizhou laughed helplessly and pulled him into his arms. “You’re drunk.”

General Han burst into loud laughter from nearby. “Xiao Ji’s alcohol tolerance still hasn’t improved.”

Madam Han shot him a sideways glance. “That’s not exactly something he needs to practice.”

General Han immediately changed course. “…My wife is absolutely correct.”

Madam Lu smiled. “Huaizhou, take him back to rest.”

Lu Huaizhou nodded and lifted Jiang Ji onto his back. “Honored elders, I’ll take him back first.”

“Go ahead,” Zhao Ru said. “I’ll have Xiao Liu bring some hangover soup later. Make sure he drinks it.”

“Understood.”

Lu Huaizhou carried Jiang Ji back toward their courtyard.

Jiang Ji had his eyes closed but was still awake, mumbling incoherently while giggling. “Lu Huaizhou, I’m so happy.”

“Mm, I know,” Lu Huaizhou answered gently.

Back in their room, Lu Huaizhou placed him onto the bed, propping him against the headboard.

Xiao Liu brought hot water and hangover soup. Lu Huaizhou wrung out a warm towel to wipe Jiang Ji’s face and hands, then fed him the soup.

“Lu Huaizhou, do you know why I’m happy?” Jiang Ji suddenly asked again.

Lu Huaizhou helped him lie down, removing his padded coat and trousers before tucking him under the blankets.

“Mm? Tell me.”

Jiang Ji wrapped his arms around Lu Huaizhou’s neck and kissed him on the lips, grinning foolishly.

“Because this is our first New Year’s Eve after getting married. Thinking that we’ll get to spend every future New Year’s Eve together makes me really happy.”

Lu Huaizhou’s heart softened completely. He lifted a hand to caress Jiang Ji’s cheek and kissed him gently.

“I’m very happy too. Very happy.”

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

TOC

Ch 109: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

Jiang Ji designed many cotton fabric patterns and taught Zhao Ru how to weave them.

Zhao Ru truly loved this sort of thing. She rarely went out, and she had little interest in the gatherings held by noblewomen. A group of ladies sitting together drinking tea and eating pastries, speaking in layered meanings, openly and secretly probing one another, comparing themselves to each other, and making passive-aggressive remarks.

She disliked it.

Unless it was necessary socializing, such as wedding banquets and other events that had to be attended, she would much rather stay home weaving cloth.

She brought along two maids and handled everything herself, from ginning the cotton to spinning thread, then dyeing and weaving the fabric. Her days were full and fulfilling.

Sometimes Madam Lu, the wife of Duke Qin, and Madam Han would come over as well. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. The women would gather together to study fabrics and textiles, and Zhao Ru would take note of the preferences they mentioned about the capital’s tastes to see whether she could create suitable designs.

She also tried designing some patterns herself and brought them to Jiang Ji to look at.

After seeing them, Jiang Ji thought they were excellent and happily said, “Mother, these are beautiful. Back when you made underwear, I already thought you had a talent for design. These look amazing.”

“Really?” Zhao Ru was still uncertain.

Jiang Ji looked at the fabrics. Some suited young men, while others suited little girls and young boys. He immediately understood that his mother had designed them while thinking about the siblings.

Warmth filled his heart.

“They really are beautiful.”

Zhao Ru asked again, “Then which ones do you like? I’ll make clothes for you.”

“I like this one.” Jiang Ji pointed at one pattern, then pointed at another beside it. “Huaizhou would probably like this one. It suits him.”

“Alright, I’ll make them for both of you.” Zhao Ru happily gathered up the fabrics.

Jiang Ji had been writing a reply letter back home and asked, “Mother, do you still have samples of these? I’ll send them back to Uncle Meng and let him see whether there are suitable designs for production.”

Zhao Ru was surprised. “Something I made can actually be used for production?”

“Of course. They look really good.”

Zhao Ru was delighted but also doubtful. “Will they sell?”

“Definitely.” Jiang Ji smiled. “Mother, you need to have confidence in yourself. They truly look good.”

Zhao Ru’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. “Then alright, send these back home. I can just weave more.”

Knowing that the fabrics she designed could help the family earn money made Zhao Ru very happy and even more enthusiastic.

When they first came to the capital, one of Jiang Ji’s greatest worries had been whether Zhao Ru would adapt to life here. Now that Zhao Ru spent her days weaving and living a fulfilling life, he felt much more reassured. As long as his mother was happy and had things to do so she would not feel bored, that was enough.

So Jiang Ji sent the fabric samples Zhao Ru made back home together with the letter. Later, Meng Dahai really did select several patterns for production, and they sold very well.

The family restaurants did not require much management anymore. Jiang Ji only needed to teach Han Qingshan and the others two new dishes every so often.

The textile mills and farmlands were also managed by specialists, so Jiang Ji had more free time. But he had always wanted to open a silk weaving workshop.

In his previous world, one of the most famous brocades was Yunjin, priceless and world-renowned, practically a work of art. That was exactly what he wanted to create.

Thanks to the weaving techniques obtained from the system, Jiang Ji knew how Yunjin was woven. What he was currently drawing were the component diagrams for a large-pattern brocade loom.

Several months had been delayed because of the disaster regions. Now that other matters were finally handled, he resumed drawing.

This large-pattern loom was extremely complex and enormous. There were nearly two thousand individual parts alone. Drawing while having carpenters produce the components took a very long time.

After spending two months on it, he finally completed all the component diagrams. The carpenters finished building the pieces two days later.

He found a side hall in the Regent’s Residence, cleared out some furniture to make space, and had Lu Shun and the others help assemble the massive jacquard loom.

When Zhao Ru learned that her son was making a new loom, she became extremely interested and stayed nearby watching the whole time.

“Heavens, this is the biggest loom I’ve ever seen,” Zhao Ru exclaimed as she looked at the brand-new and complicated machine. “How is this even used?”

If even Zhao Ru did not know, then Lu Jiu and Lu Wen, who knew nothing about weaving, knew even less. Even Lu Shun, who had watched the textile mills open, did not understand it.

All of them looked at Jiang Ji with admiration in their hearts.

The young master could not only invent useful farming tools like threshers and pumps, but also weapons like crossbows, and now even such an incredibly complicated loom.

Their young master’s brain simply worked differently from everyone else’s.

Still, after staying beside Jiang Ji for so long, they all knew there was something extraordinary about him. He had secrets.

For example, the wheat seeds, sweet potatoes, and other seeds that mysteriously appeared in the mountain estate out of nowhere. Or those sticky insect boards and insect-catching nets during the locust disaster. They had never transported those things there, yet Jiang Ji somehow made them appear overnight in previously empty estates.

That was obviously abnormal. There had to be some earth-shattering secret behind it.

But they were all smart enough. The regent had spent far longer with Jiang Ji, so he surely knew about these matters already. Since neither Lu Huaizhou nor Jiang Ji spoke about it, they all pretended not to know.

As subordinates, one had to understand when to know things and when to be blind, deaf, and mute.

“I’ll teach you,” Jiang Ji said.

After wiping the loom clean, Jiang Ji washed his hands and picked up a sheet of design paper. “Let’s first try this pattern.”

Jiang Ji had initially sketched the general concept himself, then had Lu Wen redraw several versions before settling on the final design. The drawing was huge, covered in countless little grids. It served as their weaving pattern chart.

The design had a dark reddish-brown background with silver-gray motifs interwoven with other colors. The pattern was extremely intricate, yet looked elegant and noble, perfectly suited for a woman Zhao Ru’s age.

Zhao Ru looked at the pattern. “Something this complicated? We’re going to weave this?”

“Exactly. With this loom.” Jiang Ji nodded and pointed behind him. “It’s specifically made for weaving complex patterns.”

Zhao Ru looked at it but still could not imagine how it would work.

Yet she possessed a strong desire to learn. “Hurry and teach us.”

Jiang Ji first explained the principles behind it to Zhao Ru and the others. Then he took out various silk threads bought earlier and began threading the loom while explaining each step as he worked.

Zhao Ru had never encountered such an advanced jacquard loom before and was extremely excited. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. She helped her son as an assistant. Since she already knew weaving, she was much more useful than Lu Shun and the others.

Looking at the complex patterns on the design paper, Lu Jiu was deeply skeptical. “Can this really be woven? Every single row is different.”

Lu Shun glanced at his older brother. “Our current brocades also have patterns. They’re just not this complicated.”

Lu Jiu looked at the densely layered threads hanging everywhere and immediately got a headache. “Anyone capable of weaving this is terrifying.”

Lu Shun stopped bothering to explain further. His older brother was born a warrior through and through and had absolutely no patience for this kind of thing.

So Jiang Ji guided Zhao Ru step by step in threading the loom.

When Lu Huaizhou returned, he saw an intricate loom standing in the center of the room. Everyone was gathered there, even Jiang Xia, Jiang Nan, and Jiang Bei, all surrounding it and watching eagerly.

“Your Highness.”

“Brother Huaizhou, you’re back.”

Everyone greeted him. Lu Huaizhou nodded once and also stood to the side watching.

“It’s assembled? Why aren’t you lighting the lamps?”

It was already getting dark, yet they were squinting as they threaded the loom without lighting any lamps. Lu Huaizhou was puzzled and a little annoyed. “You’re going to ruin your eyes.”

Just as Lu Huaizhou was about to call someone to light the lamps, Lu Shun spoke beside him, “Your Highness, young master said we can’t light lamps. He said the silk threads are delicate and heat from the lamps makes them easier to snap. Look, even the windows are shut tight. Not a single draft can get in.”

Lu Huaizhou: “……”

He carefully studied the loom. He had seen the blueprints before, but now that it was assembled, it was much more intuitive. It truly was far more complicated than the looms in the Changping textile mill.

Jiang Ji glanced at him and said, “We’re testing the machine.”

Lu Huaizhou nodded and walked over to crouch beside it, observing the direction of the threads to understand how it worked.

Unfortunately, there would be no more viewing tonight. Zhongshu came over to inform them that dinner was ready.

After dinner, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei went to do their homework, while Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou strolled through the covered corridor to digest their meal.

It was already the twelfth lunar month now, and the capital had already seen two or three heavy snowfalls.

The snow here was far heavier than back home. Thick layers blanketed the ground, reaching Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei’s calves with a single step. The younger children were thrilled. As soon as classes ended, they ran outside for snowball fights, darting wildly through the snowfields, impossible to call back inside.

The night air was bitterly cold. Jiang Ji took Lu Huaizhou’s hand and tucked it into the pocket of his cotton coat. Their fingers intertwined inside, warming each other.

This cotton outfit had been specially made by Zhao Ru at Jiang Ji’s request. The top and trousers both had pockets. It was a hybrid ancient-modern padded outfit with pankou buttons.

How could cotton clothing not have pockets in weather this cold?

Jiang Ji thought that people in ancient northern winters always tucked their hands into their sleeves because they had no pockets. Otherwise, they would freeze.

So he had Zhao Ru make modern-style cotton outfits. Everyone in the family wore this style now. Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei loved them. They could stuff snacks into their pockets and eat while walking around, and the outfits were much easier to move in.

Seeing how convenient the coats were, Sister-in-law Guihua and the others all began making similar ones too.

“Where do you want to open the factory?” Lu Huaizhou asked while holding Jiang Ji’s hand.

The inside of Jiang Ji’s pocket was very warm, and the opening even had a little flap that dropped down when hands were removed, preventing cold air from getting in.

Jiang Ji’s hands never stayed still. He liked rubbing Lu Huaizhou’s hand with his thumb, or stroking Lu Huaizhou’s fingertips with his own.

It felt intimate and teasing. Lu Huaizhou always felt Jiang Ji was seducing him, yet he indulged him completely and even rubbed back in response.

“Of course the best place would be where there are lots of silkworms raised. Jiangnan would be ideal,” Jiang Ji answered. Then he sighed worriedly. “But I can’t stay in Jiangnan all the time. You’re all here in the capital. But if I open it here, then we’d have to transport silk or cocoons here, which raises the costs.”

Lu Huaizhou thought for a moment. “Do you want everything to remain entirely under our family, or are you willing to cooperate with others?”

“Hm?” Jiang Ji turned to him. “You know someone in this business?”

Lu Huaizhou replied, “Second Aunt’s younger brother’s wife’s family runs a silk business. They have a workshop and their own cloth shop.”

“Oh right, Second Aunt is from Jiangnan.” Jiang Ji did not interact much with Second Aunt personally. Zhao Ru usually received her and the others, so he knew little about her maternal family. “Her younger brother’s wife’s family are merchants?”

“Mm.”

“What are they like?”

Lu Huaizhou recalled the few times he had interacted with them. “They seem fairly honest and proper. Their silk weaving workshop appears to run well. Their family is based in Ningzhou. Beyond that, I don’t know much.”

Jiang Ji opened the system map to check. Ningzhou roughly corresponded to the most famous Yunjin-producing region in his previous world.

Could this be fate?

After some thought, Jiang Ji realized he truly did not have enough time or energy to personally manage factories. He preferred offering ideas and using his brain, then letting others handle management and operations while he simply collected dividends.

Right now, he possessed the technology and machinery, but nothing else. No workers, no factories, no management talent. Training workers from scratch would take an extremely long time.

But this family already ran silk workshops. They had experience, and their workers were experienced too. Learning would go much faster. They truly were excellent potential partners.

Besides, Jiang Ji no longer feared being cheated. He was now a Guogong, while Lu Huaizhou was the Regent Prince. They held immense power and status. No one would dare deceive them or swallow their money.

Unless they no longer valued their lives.

“If their character checks out and they’re trustworthy, we can cooperate. We only need to provide the weaving technology and machinery blueprints as technical shares. They’ll fully manage and operate the business.”

Lu Huaizhou nodded. “We’ll send people to investigate them first before deciding.”

“Good. Let’s do that.” Jiang Ji agreed completely. Naturally, one had to investigate partners before cooperating.

Lu Huaizhou immediately instructed Chenfeng to arrange the investigation.

The next day, Jiang Ji and Zhao Ru continued working on the complicated loom.

Once all the threads were arranged, Jiang Ji began teaching Zhao Ru how to weave.

This large-pattern loom required two people working together. One person sat atop the loom controlling the pattern-program weaving, while the other sat in front throwing the shuttle and weaving the weft. During weaving, they even used rhythmic chants to coordinate, weaving while reciting formulas together.

The process of weaving Yunjin was incredibly complex. Even with two people cooperating, they could only produce five or six centimeters in a day. Yet the finished brocade resembled heavenly clouds, dazzlingly colorful, luxurious, and exquisitely beautiful. Naturally, it was extremely valuable as well.

Zhao Ru learned very seriously, but because it was so complicated, after a full day she had only grasped the basics.

She handled the shuttle work at the front of the loom while Jiang Ji sat above, pulling the lifting threads and weaving the patterns.

At first, their coordination was awkward. Mistakes constantly occurred. Only after practicing for two or three days did they gradually become synchronized.

“There really can’t be a single mistake,” Zhao Ru remarked as she looked at the tangled failed pieces woven during the first two days.

Jiang Ji nodded. “This brocade requires extremely advanced skill. That’s why it’s sold at such a high price.”

Zhao Ru looked at the newly woven small section of brocade. The colors harmonized beautifully, the patterns were vivid, and the texture was smooth beneath the fingers. It radiated elegance and nobility.

Her fingertips brushed over the tiny strip of brocade, her eyes filled with delight.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Just seeing it made her incredibly happy. She could already imagine how stunning an entire bolt of this brocade would look once completed.

More importantly, such complicated patterns had truly been woven by her own hands. That sense of accomplishment was incomparable.

Seeing Zhao Ru’s expression, Jiang Ji could not help smiling too.

At the same time, however, he felt a slight regret.

According to his original plan, if the locust disaster had never happened, he and his mother would have spent four months weaving together, enough to make Zhao Ru a full outfit from the Yunjin.

Then his mother could wear those Yunjin clothes to the gatherings with the noblewomen and make them all die of envy.

Now, that wonderful moment would have to wait until after the new year.

Once spring arrived, he absolutely would make sure his mother wore clothes made from Yunjin!

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

TOC

Ch 108: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

Lu Huaizhou still could not bear to overexert Jiang Ji. After easing their longing a little, the two simply held each other and fell asleep together.

The next day, when Jiang Ji woke up, it was almost noon.

Now that he was finally back home, his mind had relaxed completely, and he had accidentally slept until this late.

No one in the household had disturbed him either, allowing him to sleep to his heart’s content.

He lay in bed for a while, slowly waking up while enjoying the peace and quiet of home, trying to clear from his mind those endless images of swarming locusts that had filled his thoughts day and night.

There was a note placed on Lu Huaizhou’s pillow. Jiang Ji picked it up and read it.

—Rest well. There’s no need to hurry into the palace. Just write a memorial instead. Recover your voice first. Huaizhou.

Jiang Ji’s eyes curved into a smile as he climbed out of bed.

As he stretched and walked out, he immediately spotted Zhao Ru sitting in the hall sewing clothes, clearly waiting for him to wake.

“Mother.”

Hearing her son’s voice, Zhao Ru looked up at once, her face instantly brightening with a smile. She set down the clothes in her hands.

“You’re awake? Did you sleep well?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Very well. It feels like I haven’t slept this comfortably in ages.”

“I figured you probably couldn’t sleep properly over there.” Zhao Ru immediately felt distressed for him. “You must be hungry. Go brush your teeth and wash up first.”

Then she stepped outside and called, “Xiao Liu! Quick, Xiao Ji’s awake. Bring over the porridge warming in the kitchen first so he can fill his stomach a little.”

“Alright! I’m going right now.” Xiao Liu ran off.

After washing up, Jiang Ji drank a bowl of lean pork porridge Xiao Liu brought him, then went to the study to write a memorial reporting the situation in the disaster regions.

After writing for about half an hour, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei finished class and came running over.

“Brother, time to eat!”

“Big Brother, are you hungry? What are you writing?”

“A memorial report.” Jiang Ji set down his brush and followed the two outside. “Come on, let’s eat first.”

“Big Brother, what’s a report?” Jiang Bei asked curiously.

The two little troublemakers had grown a bit taller again. Jiang Ji draped an arm over Jiang Bei’s shoulders as they walked.

“It means telling the higher-ups about the things you’ve done so they understand the situation.”

Jiang Bei seemed half-understanding. “Big Brother, why did they have so many locusts over there? We don’t have that many grasshoppers back home.”

“Mhm. Their area’s different from ours. It was too dry there. Grasshopper eggs tend to hatch easily when there’s drought and the temperature is suitable…”

As they walked, Jiang Ji explained why droughts often caused locust plagues. The boys only half understood, but at least learned a little.

While talking, they arrived at the neighboring Wutong Courtyard. Their family usually ate there together. If Madam Lu and the others came over, they would move to the larger flower hall instead.

Not long after they started eating, Lu Huaizhou unexpectedly returned, and the maids quickly laid out another set of chopsticks and bowls.

Jiang Ji looked at him in confusion. “Why did you come back? There’s barely any break time at noon, and you still rushed back and forth.”

After washing his hands, Lu Huaizhou sat beside him and quietly squeezed Jiang Ji’s left hand beneath the table.

“I came back to eat with you.”

Jiang Ji’s lips curved upward, his bright eyes sparkling. It felt as though a jar of honey had been poured directly into his heart.

Jiang Xia mischievously said, “Brother Huaizhou, you came back to eat with my brother, didn’t you?”

Lu Huaizhou nodded very straightforwardly. “Mhm.”

The entire family burst into laughter.

Watching the two of them, Zhao Ru felt deeply gratified.

Lu Huaizhou truly did not have much noon break time. After lunch, he accompanied Jiang Ji back to their own courtyard, sat with him briefly, then immediately hurried off again.

Xiao Liu brought over his medicine. After Jiang Ji finished drinking it, he skipped his nap and continued writing the memorial in the study.

Once the memorial was completed, he pulled out the earlier drafts he had written on locust control. Lu Huaizhou had brought all of them back for him.

Having personally gone through the disaster regions and experienced a locust plague firsthand, Jiang Ji had gained many insights and discovered numerous problems.

Previously, the situation had been urgent, so he had only written emergency solutions. Now that he had returned, he simply decided to complete the entire body of knowledge properly.

That whole afternoon, Jiang Ji buried himself in the study writing nonstop, recording everything he knew about locust plagues: locust habits, how locust disasters formed, the dangers they caused, methods of prevention and control, how to exterminate adult locusts, eggs, and larvae, and more.

He continued writing until Lu Huaizhou returned.

“What are you writing?” Lu Huaizhou walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder.

Jiang Ji glanced at him and answered, “Things related to locust plagues. I figured I might as well write everything down completely. Then the court can distribute a copy to every county so everyone understands them better.”

The manuscripts lay spread across the desk. Lu Huaizhou picked them up, his eyes lighting up as he began reading seriously.

After finishing his writing, Jiang Ji stood up and rubbed his wrist.

“It still needs some illustrations. Once Lu Wen adds the drawings, it’ll be done.”

Jiang Ji himself was not very good at drawing, and his sketches were crude. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Lu Wen, however, was much better at drawing. Since he had also gone through the locust disaster alongside Jiang Ji, he had personally seen the eggs, larvae, and adult locusts, as well as all the insect-catching tools they used. He was the most suitable person to illustrate it.

But that would have to wait a few days. Jiang Ji had given the twenty-some brothers who accompanied him to the disaster regions ten days off. They could return to duty after resting properly. In any case, there was no urgency now.

“Mhm. This is currently the most complete book on locust plagues in existence.” Lu Huaizhou set down the manuscript, pulled Jiang Ji into his arms, and kissed him. Once again, he could not help sighing, “Having you is Great Sheng’s fortune.”

Laughing, Jiang Ji wrapped his arms around Lu Huaizhou’s neck and kissed him back. Lu Huaizhou immediately deepened the kiss.

The next morning at dawn, Jiang Ji accompanied Lu Huaizhou to court to deliver his report.

The entire court was startled upon seeing Jiang Ji.

He was dark and thin, and even the ducal court robes hung loosely on his body, enough to show just how much hardship he had endured over these months.

Every official felt genuine admiration for him. Even Censor Zhang, who had previously criticized him for not attending court and lacking decorum, bowed deeply toward him.

During court, the Emperor sympathized with Jiang Ji’s hardships and specially had someone bring him a chair so he could sit while attending court.

Before the Emperor and all the officials, Jiang Ji recounted everything that had happened during the locust disaster.

His voice was still hoarse and unrecovered. When everyone learned that he had spoken himself hoarse while teaching farmers planting techniques, and that even his two guards had also spoken themselves hoarse, the officials once again felt deep admiration.

Then they learned Jiang Ji had spent yesterday compiling all the knowledge on locust plague prevention and control into a book, lacking only illustrations before completion. Their shock deepened further.

Some officials had initially held slight complaints about Jiang Ji returning without immediately reporting to the Emperor, but those grievances completely vanished now.

Because Jiang Ji had rendered immense merit in controlling the locust plague and had also compiled a comprehensive locust prevention manual, making enormous contributions toward future prevention efforts, the Emperor bestowed many rewards upon him: gold, silver, jewels, and land.

Others who had contributed to disaster relief also received their own rewards.

Mhm. Jiang Ji’s household gained another five hundred mu of farmland.

After court adjourned, Eunuch Wu accompanied Jiang Ji to select the land. Conveniently, there remained unawarded fertile fields not far from Jiang Ji’s existing estates, so he chose those.

That very afternoon, all the paperwork was completed, and the land deeds were delivered into Jiang Ji’s hands.

The next day, Jiang Ji brought people to inspect the fields, reorganized the estate management thoroughly, and urgently distributed seeds so new vegetables could be planted immediately.

He also inspected the previous farmlands. The autumn and winter vegetables there had already sprouted and were ready for transplanting, and they appeared to be growing well.

Following Jiang Ji’s instructions, the estate managers had fully implemented crop rotation systems to reduce pests and disease.

After returning to the residence, Lu Wen came looking for him.

“Young Master, are you planning to add illustrations for the locust book?”

Jiang Ji took a sip of water. “No rush. Rest properly first before worrying about that.”

Lu Wen smiled. “I’ve already spent two days with my family. It’s fine. I’m in the residence anyway, so let me draw the illustrations for you first.”

Lu Jiu, Lu Wen, and the others were all children born into service at the Lu Residence. Their parents were still at the Lu Residence as well.

Jiang Ji looked at him. “I heard things between you and Xinghua are almost settled. Spend more time with her.”

Xinghua was also born into service at the Lu Residence and was a maid serving Madam Lu. Lu Jiu, Lu Wen, and the others were around Lu Huaizhou’s age and had grown up with him. Madam Lu also treated them like sons and worried about their marriages.

Lu Wen scratched his head, the tips of his ears reddening slightly. “It’s no trouble.”

Jiang Ji did not say more and smiled. “Alright then, draw. I’ll tell you what needs to be drawn.”

He explained all the illustrations needed, and Lu Wen sat at Jiang Ji’s seat and began drawing.

Jiang Ji sat at Lu Huaizhou’s seat instead, checking through the manuscript to fill in any gaps.

It took two days for Lu Wen to finish all the illustrations. Jiang Ji also organized and checked the manuscript, then had Lu Wen and Lu Jiu look through it once more to make sure there were no wrong characters or mistakes. After confirming everything, he handed it to Lu Huaizhou and asked him to arrange printing.

After finishing that matter, Jiang Ji spent another two days inspecting the farmlands belonging to the Regent’s Residence and the Lu Residence.

Aside from watermelons and tomatoes, they had planted large quantities of various chili peppers this year. In summer, green peppers had also sold very well and earned them quite a bit of money.

Especially for the dried chili peppers, they had planted a great many. These peppers were all meant to supply the restaurants. Once cultivation spread further, Jiang Ji would no longer have to worry about running out of stock when he traveled far away.

Because of Jiang Ji’s restaurants, eating chili peppers had already become fashionable in the capital, and many other restaurants had begun developing spicy dishes as well.

The court had already promoted last year’s autumn wheat seeds to more regions, and the spring wheat farther north had also been harvested with greatly increased yields. Sweet potatoes and corn were also nearing harvest season, and the court was currently planning to expand those seeds as well.

Before heading to the locust disaster regions, Jiang Ji had left behind many seeds for broccoli and other new autumn and winter vegetables. Aside from planting them on their own lands, Lu Huaizhou had people sell the seeds so more farmers could grow them.

These vegetables were all meant to be spread widely and enrich people’s dining tables.

Jiang Ji had been busy for several days. Seeing that he had only rested at home for one day before running around everywhere again, Lu Huaizhou wrapped an arm around his waist and pinched lightly, somewhat displeased. “Stay home and rest properly for a few more days. All your flesh has disappeared.”

“I’ll gain it back in winter.” Jiang Ji knew Lu Huaizhou felt sorry for him, so he kissed him and said, “I’m not tired. I’m just walking around and looking at things. It’s not like I’m doing hard labor.”

Lu Huaizhou sighed and handed him the booklet printed by the bookshop.

“It was printed this quickly?” Jiang Ji’s eyes lit up as he accepted it.

There were a large number of illustrations in the book. Carving those images alone should have taken quite a bit of time.

“Mhm. I had them rush it. Take a look.”

The book was titled Manual for Locust Plague Prevention and Control. Jiang Ji opened it, and on the first page, the title read:

Manual for Locust Plague Prevention and Control — Written by Jiang Ji of Changping, Yunzhou.

Jiang Ji blinked.

This was yet another book of his, after all the crop-planting manuals.

In the study, those planting manuals had all been compiled and printed into booklets. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Lu Huaizhou had specially cleared out one whole row of shelves to store all the books Jiang Ji had written.

Jiang Ji looked at the booklet in his hand, then at the long row of planting manuals on the bookshelf. Smelling the strong scent of fresh ink, his heart filled with emotion.

At the beginning of last year, he had still been a nineteen-year-old university freshman, a rich second-generation young master. Even if he could not quite be called a wastrel, he had definitely been an ignorant young master who did not know the hardships of the world, the type who could not even distinguish chives from wild grass.

Who could have imagined that in less than two years, he would become Great Sheng’s master of agriculture and write such a long row of books?

Looking back now, Jiang Ji felt as though his previous world had become distant. Every day here was so busy that, if he did not often chat with the viewers in the livestream room, he might sometimes forget that he had transmigrated at all.

After another ten or twenty years, Jiang Ji even worried whether he might become completely assimilated.

Seeing him lost in thought, Lu Huaizhou asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Ji came back to himself, looked at Lu Huaizhou, and shook his head. “Nothing.”

He roughly flipped through the booklet. “I’ll check it again. You check it once too.”

“Alright.”

That evening, Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou carefully checked the booklet. After confirming there were no issues, Lu Huaizhou had the booklets distributed the next day.

Once those matters were handled, Han Qingshan came to report that the second restaurant in the capital was ready to open.

Jiang Ji found time to inspect it. Since it was a branch location, the decoration style followed that of the first restaurant. Everything looked quite good, and Jiang Ji was very satisfied.

This second restaurant would be managed by Yu Yang. Jiang Ji also assigned him a shopkeeper, while the chefs and servers beneath them had all been trained at the first restaurant.

Jiang Ji patted Yu Yang’s shoulder. “Work hard.”

Originally, the plan had been to open the second restaurant after two years. Unexpectedly, it had not even taken a year. Yu Yang was very excited and thumped his chest in assurance.

“Young Master, I will!”

On opening day, Jiang Ji brought his family along to support the restaurant.

Jiang Ji also specially invited Doctor Yang’s family. Back when the first restaurant opened, Jiang Ji had invited them as well.

After nearly a year of treatment and conditioning from Doctor Yang, Zhao Ru’s health had improved considerably. After coming to the capital, Zhao Ru had continued inviting Doctor Yang to help regulate her health. Because of this, Jiang Ji was especially grateful to him.

Now that they had not seen each other in a long time, they caught up for quite a while.

Doctor Yang’s son was also a physician with excellent medical skill, though he had not entered the Imperial Medical Bureau. He worked as a physician at a medical hall. His grandson was also studying medicine and was nearly ready to graduate from apprenticeship. Their family was a lineage of traditional physicians.

This time, Jiang Ji heard Doctor Yang say that his son wanted to open a medical hall of his own.

When Jiang Ji heard this, he said happily, “That’s a good thing. Where will it be opened?”

“On Changxing Street. It’s a bit closer to home. We’re currently looking at storefronts and still negotiating,” Doctor Yang said cheerfully. Then he held Jiang Ji’s hand and said, “Duke Chang, the granules you mentioned to me before, I’ve studied them for a long time, and recently I’ve made quite a bit of progress.”

Back when Lu Huaizhou and the others were preparing to head south to capture Prince Qi, Jiang Ji had worried that taking medicine would be inconvenient if Lu Huaizhou and the others were injured, so he had asked Doctor Yang to make medicines into pills or granules.

At the time, Doctor Yang had mostly made pills. The granules had not yet succeeded because the medicinal effect weakened during production.

Now, hearing that Doctor Yang’s research had progressed, Jiang Ji was very happy. “You’re truly amazing. You figured it out this quickly.”

Doctor Yang sighed emotionally. “This is all thanks to what you mentioned. These granules truly are convenient. When one is traveling far and cannot conveniently brew medicine, pills and granules are both excellent.”

Jiang Ji smiled. “It was only a suggestion. Your medical hall can make more of these too. They should sell well.”

Doctor Yang nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what we plan to do.”

The opening of the second capital restaurant was equally successful. For the first three days, they offered a twenty percent discount as a grand opening promotion, and the restaurant was packed every day.

After those three days, there were still many customers making reservations.

At the main restaurant, reservations were already booked out more than half a month in advance. Now that the branch had opened, many customers who could not secure bookings there came here instead. Everyone was delighted.

Half a month later, Doctor Yang’s family medical hall opened. Jiang Ji brought gifts over to visit. The place was spacious, clean, and excellent.

He also looked at the granules Doctor Yang had developed. There were two formulas for wind-cold common cold granules: one suitable for children and one suitable for adults. Quite a few people were buying them.

Good news also came from back home.

After the new factory buildings were put into use, cloth production increased greatly. Now many cloth merchants from surrounding counties and even the prefectural city had rushed over upon hearing the news to place orders, and sales were especially good.

Moreover, back home, cotton and other vegetables had also enjoyed bumper harvests. This year, the people of Changping County once again earned a great deal of money by selling the new vegetables and fruits.

The village chief also wrote Jiang Ji a letter, which was sent together with Meng Dahai’s letter.

In the letter, the village chief told Jiang Ji about the village’s situation. Many households in the village had built tile-roofed houses. Auntie Xiufang’s family had also built a new house. Xiao An had found a good marriage match and had already gotten married.

The young men of the village no longer had to worry about finding wives. Many families now wanted to marry their daughters into their village.

Everyone was living better and better, and life held more and more hope.

Jiang Ji felt very happy reading it. He even read the contents of the letter aloud to Zhao Ru and the others. Zhao Ru was so happy she could not stop smiling.

“Life now is truly good,” Zhao Ru said with deep satisfaction. “In the past, we wouldn’t even have dared imagine it.”

Jiang Ji nodded as well. “It will only get better and better.”

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

TOC

Ch 107: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

Jiang Ji remained in the locust disaster region for two full months before finally bringing the adult locust infestation completely under control. The villagers continued searching for locust eggs, and whenever they found any, they dug them up and threw them to the chickens and ducks to eat.

The chickens and ducks had played an enormous role in this battle against the locust plague. They ate most of the eggs and newly hatched larvae, their combat ability astonishingly strong, so the number of adult locusts that later hatched was greatly reduced.

Now the mountains and valleys were full of chickens and ducks, and the villagers looked at them with eyes full of affection.

Jiang Ji had spent two months catching locusts alongside the villagers and had become deeply tanned from the sun. Only his eyes and teeth remained strikingly white.

Fortunately, this locust plague had been contained within three counties and had not been allowed to spread further. They had even managed to salvage some grain.

But the locust plague, combined with two months without rain, had caused many crops to die. Looking at the farmland and vegetable fields ravaged by locusts, Jiang Ji truly felt heartache.

Fortunately, rain had fallen a month earlier, easing the drought, and the weather had finally returned to normal.

With the locust plague resolved, the remaining larvae could gradually be eliminated by the villagers and the chickens and ducks continuing their work.

But what about the next crops?

This region primarily cultivated rice. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn had not yet been introduced here.

Now it was already autumn. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. They had missed the second rice season as well, meaning there would be no harvest at all this year. They would have to wait until next summer’s harvest before obtaining rice again.

Even the vegetables in the fields had dried up and died.

How were the common people supposed to survive the next half year?

The people had to plant vegetables and crops again. At this season, rice, sweet potatoes, and corn could no longer be planted. The best option was autumn potatoes. They could be harvested before the end of the year and at least support the people for several months.

Before that, they could only rely on court disaster relief.

Jiang Ji had already thought of this issue a month earlier. He wrote home and had Lu Huaizhou send people south to purchase the earliest harvested batch of potatoes.

The southern potatoes had already been harvested two months ago. By now they had gone through a period of dormancy and were suitable for sprouting and planting.

Over the past few days, large quantities of potatoes had gradually been transported over under military escort, simply waiting for the locust plague to be fully controlled before sprouting and planting could begin.

The court had also distributed potato planting manuals. Based on Jiang Ji’s original writings, Minister Chen had later reorganized the material and added illustrations for every stage. Many of the diagrams inside had originally been drawn by Lu Huaizhou.

Minister Chen had also persistently tracked the growth stages of the new crops, continuing to supplement the book.

The disaster-stricken areas across the three counties all distributed potatoes for planting, ensuring every household received some seed potatoes.

Jiang Ji checked his system points. In order to exterminate the locusts, he had exchanged for huge quantities of sticky insect boards, insect-catching nets, and fishing nets, spending a great many points.

Fortunately, the viewers had all learned about the locust disaster and had been extremely supportive, sending large quantities of seeds as rewards. Every day, many people also watched how they caught locusts, contributing a large amount of points.

Jiang Ji exchanged for many autumn and winter vegetable seeds suitable for this region and had the county offices distribute them. Once autumn arrived, the vegetables could be sold to other counties in exchange for grain.

He also wrote to Lu Huaizhou requesting that all the planting manuals for the new crops be printed and sent over.

Thus, for the following month, Jiang Ji busied himself teaching people across the various counties how to grow potatoes and how to cultivate new autumn and winter crops like broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and onions.

He traveled from village to village across the three counties, teaching the people for an entire month until his throat became completely hoarse. Only after he had explained everything necessary and told them what to do going forward did he finally stop.

The day he left for the capital, he departed from Chen County, the very place he had first arrived at.

During his time here, Jiang Ji had stayed in military camps alongside the soldiers. Somehow, news that he was returning to the capital spread out. The moment he rode out of camp, he was startled by the common people lining both sides of the road.

The moment the people saw Duke Chang emerge, they all knelt down.

“Many thanks to Duke Chang for your great kindness and virtue!”

An elderly man, trembling but using all his strength, shouted first, and the other villagers immediately followed.

“Many thanks to Duke Chang for your great kindness and virtue!”

For these past months, Duke Chang had led everyone in crafting tools and catching locusts, always fighting at the very front. He taught everyone how to exterminate the insects, destroy the eggs, and prevent future infestations.

He had also taught everyone how to plant potatoes and vegetables. They had heard those vegetable seeds were precious new varieties personally provided for free by Duke Chang, varieties that had not even yet spread throughout the capital before being given to them first.

Moreover, with Duke Chang present, the disaster relief grain truly reached the disaster victims. No one dared embezzle grain or steal disaster relief funds.

The people were deeply grateful.

Jiang Ji was shaken by their actions. He immediately dismounted and helped the elderly man beside him to his feet, speaking in a rough, hoarse voice.

“Everyone, please rise. I came on behalf of the court.”

His voice had become so hoarse that only breathy sounds remained.

Hearing this made the surrounding people even more moved. Just look at how exhausted Duke Chang had become.

The elderly man held Jiang Ji’s hand and said, “Your Grace, there’s no need to speak. It strains your throat. Please take care of your health.”

Jiang Ji nodded and gestured for a nearby guard to speak for him. Even Lu Jiu and Lu Wen had become hoarse, because after Jiang Ji lost his voice, he had the two of them relay messages constantly.

The guard shouted loudly:

“Fellow villagers, Duke Chang has lost his voice. He asked me to tell everyone this: Please rise. I came on behalf of the court to help everyone. If you wish to thank someone, thank the court. Over these past months, everyone worked very hard. Duke Chang thanks all of you for cooperating, which is why we achieved victory. From now on, you must continue searching for locust eggs and remain vigilant until the locust plague is completely eradicated. Duke Chang is returning to the capital now. Everyone, take care of yourselves. We shall meet again someday!”

The elderly man knelt again.

“Many thanks to the court and Duke Chang! We respectfully send Duke Chang back to the capital!”

The common people still did not rise and shouted in unison:

“Many thanks to the court and Duke Chang! We respectfully send Duke Chang back to the capital!”

Jiang Ji sighed helplessly. Not wanting the villagers to kneel too long, he simply mounted his horse. After leaving the crowd, he turned back and waved toward them before urging his horse forward and quickly departing.

The people gradually rose and watched him leave from afar.

Later, before the end of the year, the potatoes and new vegetables planted in those three disaster-stricken counties were harvested. Selling those potatoes and vegetables to other counties earned them considerable silver, which they exchanged for grain. Together with the court’s disaster relief grain, they managed to endure until the next summer harvest.

The following year, the people of all three counties together erected a living shrine for Jiang Ji in Chen County to express gratitude and commemorate what he had done for them and the hope he had brought.

But that is a story for later.

Returning to the present, after being away from the capital for more than three months, Jiang Ji finally returned with his people, dusty from travel and carrying a deeply tanned face.

When they entered the capital, even the gate soldiers almost failed to recognize him.

Everyone in the capital had heard about Jiang Ji going to help combat the locust plague. He had been gone for over three months, and the soldiers could tell from his appearance alone how hard things had been.

“Welcome back to the capital, Duke Chang!” the soldier shouted respectfully with a salute.

The surrounding soldiers all hurriedly saluted as well.

Jiang Ji nodded and led his people into the city.

The common people heard the commotion and all looked over while discussing among themselves.

“Ah, Duke Chang has returned.”

“I heard Duke Chang went to control the locust plague. It must have succeeded, right?”

“It succeeded! I heard he later stayed there teaching the people how to grow vegetables and potatoes, which is why he came back so late.”

“So that’s what happened.”

“Thankfully Duke Chang went. I heard those locust-control methods were all devised by Duke Chang himself.”

“He’s incredible. My neighbor’s younger brother is a soldier. He said Duke Chang not only knows how to farm, he also knows how to create new weapons. Extremely impressive!”

“Ah? Duke Chang even knows how to make weapons? Truly skilled in both civil and martial matters!”

“Exactly. Though that younger brother didn’t say what kind of weapons, he said they were extremely formidable.”

Jiang Ji returned all the way to the Regent’s Residence by late afternoon.

When the gate attendants saw them, they froze for a moment. Everyone had become much darker from the sun, almost unrecognizable.

“Duke Chang, you’ve returned!”

After the gate attendants confirmed it was really him, one of them shouted toward the residence before running out excitedly to greet him.

“Mhm.” Jiang Ji dismounted and handed over the reins. His voice was still a little hoarse, not yet fully recovered. “Everything at home has been alright?”

The gate guard froze for a moment. “Everything’s been good. Everyone just missed you very much. Madam, Miss, the young masters, and His Highness all missed you terribly. Duke Chang, your throat…”

“It’s fine. It’ll recover after some rest.”

Steward Zhong heard the commotion and hurried outside. When he saw them, he also froze for an instant before exclaiming joyfully, “Duke Chang has returned!”

“Uncle Zhong.” Jiang Ji smiled and greeted him before heading inside.

Steward Zhong quickly instructed the two young servants beside him, “Quick, you go inform the Honored Lady. You go into the palace and inform His Highness.”

The two servants happily sprinted off.

“Where’s my mother?” Jiang Ji asked as he walked toward the inner courtyard. His voice remained raspy, though slightly better than before. At least some sound could come out now.

“Duke Chang, what happened to your throat? Did you catch a cold?”

“No, I just talked too much. It’ll recover in a few days.” Jiang Ji asked again, “My mother?”

Steward Zhong smiled. “The Honored Lady is weaving cloth. Since autumn is arriving, she said she wanted to make you new clothes. I’ll have someone fetch a physician to examine your throat.”

Jiang Ji smiled and nodded before heading toward the weaving courtyard.

After hearing the news, Jiang Nan and Jiang Bei ran out from the courtyard where they studied and immediately threw themselves into his arms.

“Big Brother! You finally came back!”

“Big Brother! Are you alright? Are you healthy?”

Jiang Ji hugged the two younger boys before rubbing Jiang Xia’s head. “I’m back. I’m fine. Go back and attend class properly. Don’t skip lessons.”

Jiang Nan: “……”

Jiang Bei obediently nodded. “Alright, Big Brother.”

Jiang Xia led the younger brothers back to class.

When Jiang Ji reached the entrance of the weaving courtyard, Zhao Ru had already heard the news and was hurrying outside. The two met face-to-face.

“Mother, I’m back!”

“Xiao Ji!”

Looking at the son she had not seen in months, Zhao Ru’s eyes immediately filled with tears of joy. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Holding his wrist, she looked him up and down several times.

“It’s good that you’re back. Good that you’re back. You’ve gotten darker and thinner too. Is your body alright? You must’ve exhausted yourself.”

Jiang Ji shook his head. “I’m fine. My body’s perfectly healthy. I’m just a bit tired.”

Hearing his voice, Zhao Ru asked worriedly, “What happened to your throat? It’s become this hoarse. Did you get sick?”

“It’s nothing. I talked too much.” Jiang Ji explained for the fifth time. “Don’t worry.”

“My poor child has worked hard.” Zhao Ru nodded and patted his arm before turning toward Lu Jiu and the others. “Lu Jiu, Lu Wen, are all of you alright too?”

Lu Jiu grinned. “Honored Lady, we’re all doing well too. Other than getting darker, everything’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“That’s good, but why is your voice hoarse too?”

Lu Jiu: “Talked too much.”

Zhao Ru looked confused. “? What exactly were all of you doing over there that required so much talking?”

“Teaching them how to grow potatoes,” Jiang Ji answered.

“……” Zhao Ru immediately turned to Steward Zhong. “Uncle Zhong, quickly have people prepare hot water and food. Everyone should wash up, eat something, and rest properly.”

“Yes.” Steward Zhong happily went off to arrange it.

Zhao Ru accompanied Jiang Ji back to his courtyard. She wanted to talk with him, but feared putting more strain on his throat, so she simply began telling him about the happenings at home instead.

Just as the hot bath water was carried in, Lu Huaizhou rushed back to the courtyard.

Seeing that he had returned, Zhao Ru quietly left to continue weaving.

The moment Zhao Ru left, Lu Huaizhou strode forward and wrapped Jiang Ji tightly in his arms. One hand held Jiang Ji’s shoulders and back while the other pressed against the back of his head, embracing him firmly.

After such a long separation, Jiang Ji had missed Lu Huaizhou terribly as well. He wrapped both arms around Lu Huaizhou’s waist, buried his face against his chest, breathed in that familiar cool scent clinging to him, and affectionately rubbed against his neck.

After embracing for a while, Lu Huaizhou loosened his hold and raised a hand to touch Jiang Ji’s darkened face.

“You’ve gotten darker.”

“Mhm.” He spent every day under the sun. Of course he got darker.

“And thinner.” Lu Huaizhou looked pained. “You’ve worked hard.”

Jiang Ji smiled faintly. “It was alright.”

That voice truly sounded hoarse, rough like a broken bellows. Lu Huaizhou frowned. “What happened to your throat?”

For the sixth time, Jiang Ji explained, “Teaching them how to grow vegetables. I talked too much.”

He had never mentioned this in his letters.

Lu Huaizhou frowned and called outside, “Xiao Liu, go invite Imperial Physician Li.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Before leaving, Xiao Liu reminded him, “Your Highness, the hot water is prepared. Let Duke Chang wash up first.”

“I know.” Lu Huaizhou nodded.

Xiao Liu withdrew, and Lu Huaizhou pulled Jiang Ji into the room.

The moment the door shut, Lu Huaizhou cupped Jiang Ji’s face and kissed him.

The two had not seen each other in over three months and had missed one another desperately. They held and kissed each other for a long while, pouring all their longing into the kiss.

“Wash first. I’ll wash your hair and scrub your back.” Lu Huaizhou released him and led him into the bathing room.

Jiang Ji’s eyes curved warmly. “Alright.”

Jiang Ji removed his clothes and stepped into the tub. Lu Huaizhou loosened his hair, scooped water to wet it, applied the shampoo Jiang Ji had exchanged from the system, then carefully washed his hair and massaged his scalp.

Leaning comfortably against the tub, Jiang Ji sighed contentedly. “Home really is the best.”

Back in the disaster regions, water had been scarce due to the drought. He had not properly bathed once. Even during the return journey, he had only managed two decent baths at relay stations.

Lu Huaizhou’s heart ached for him. He carefully washed Jiang Ji’s hair clean before massaging his shoulders, scrubbing his back, and wiping down his arms.

Jiang Ji had lost a great deal of weight. Looking at his increasingly pronounced shoulder blades, Lu Huaizhou felt waves of pain in his chest.

Jiang Ji turned to look at him. “Why are you so quiet?”

Lu Huaizhou looked back at him before bending down to kiss his lips softly. “I feel sorry for you.”

Jiang Ji’s heart trembled. Turning around fully, he looped his arms around Lu Huaizhou’s neck, pulled his head down, and kissed him.

The two shared a gentle, lingering kiss. Stroking Lu Huaizhou’s face, Jiang Ji comforted him softly, “It’s alright. I’ll recover after some rest.”

“Mhm. I’ll have the kitchen prepare more nourishing food for you,” Lu Huaizhou said.

“Okay. I’ll leave it to you.”

After finishing his bath, Jiang Ji felt his whole body relax. Back in the disaster regions, he constantly felt like he smelled of locusts and sweat. Now, finally smelling the familiar scent of his body wash, he felt completely soothed.

It truly felt like returning to the human world.

Lu Huaizhou led Jiang Ji out and dried his hair. Before long, both the physician Steward Zhong had invited and Imperial Physician Li arrived.

After examining Jiang Ji’s pulse, they confirmed there was no serious issue. He simply had excessive internal heat and some nutritional deficiencies. They prescribed medicine to soothe his throat and instructed him to improve his nutrition.

“Lu Jiu and the others should be checked too,” Jiang Ji said.

Lu Huaizhou then had Imperial Physician Li examine Lu Jiu and the others as well and prescribe medicine for them.

When they heard Jiang Ji had returned, Madam Lu and the others also came over. After fussing over him with concern and seeing his throat discomfort, they refrained from asking further questions. There would be time to talk later.

That evening, everyone ate together. Each person kept adding food into Jiang Ji’s bowl, especially Zhao Ru, Madam Lu, and Lu Huaizhou, urging him to eat this and eat that until his bowl resembled a small mountain.

Even Minister Lu, for once, placed a piece of chicken into his bowl. “Eat more. You’ve become too thin.”

Jiang Ji’s lips curved gently. “Alright. Thank you, Father.”

Feeling the love and care of his family, Jiang Ji said nothing more. Smiling softly, he lowered his head and ate heartily.

It had also been a very long time since he had eaten such delicious food. Jiang Ji ate until his stomach became completely round.

After the meal, he pulled Lu Huaizhou along for a walk through the garden before Lu Huaizhou led him back to the courtyard and insisted he lie down and rest properly.

Lu Huaizhou also washed up early before climbing into bed and holding him as they slept together.

After the lights were extinguished, Jiang Ji waited for a while. Seeing Lu Huaizhou make no move, he slipped a hand into Lu Huaizhou’s sleep robes. After only touching him twice, Lu Huaizhou grabbed his wrist.

Jiang Ji lifted his eyes in confusion and hummed softly. “Hm?”

Lu Huaizhou kissed his brow. “No rush. You’ve worked hard for months. Wait until you’ve rested properly first.”

Jiang Ji bit down lightly on his chin and nibbled at it. “Don’t want to?”

How could Lu Huaizhou possibly not want to? But he felt sorry for him. “Be good first. Rest properly, alright?”

“……” Jiang Ji refused. He deliberately hooked a leg against him while kissing his lips. “I’m not that weak, okay? I can still handle it once or twice.”

Lu Huaizhou’s body instantly stiffened, practically on the verge of exploding. He raised a hand and rubbed Jiang Ji’s knee. After a moment of silence, he finally stopped restraining himself and pinned Jiang Ji down with a fierce kiss.

Jiang Ji happily wrapped his arms around him and thought to himself, this was more like it. This was the proper way for newly reunited newlyweds to behave after a long separation.

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

TOC

Ch 106: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

The cloth woven by the family textile workshop was extremely popular. From the very first day it went on sale, it had already shifted into a reservation-based sales model, and ever since then, supply had never been able to meet demand.

After the New Year, Jiang Ji added two more looms to the workshop, but production was still not enough. Word had already spread to the surrounding counties that their cloth was comfortable and pleasant to wear, and its reputation had already been established ahead of time.

Master Zheng knew Jiang Ji was eager to expand the factory buildings, so he had partnered with two other construction teams to help build them together. That was why the new factory could be completed so quickly.

Meng Dahai wrote in his letter that all the machinery had already been assembled, recruitment had begun, and production would be able to start very soon.

This truly was good news.

That evening at dinner, Jiang Ji told his family, “The new factory buildings back home are finished. When Meng Dahai wrote the letter, they had already started recruiting workers. A few days have passed now, so they should have begun operations by now.”

Zhao Ru said happily, “They finished construction that quickly? It’s much larger than the previous one, yet they still built it so fast?”

“Mhm. Master Zheng found people to build it together, so the pace was much faster,” Jiang Ji nodded.

Jiang Xia said happily, “Then we’ll be able to produce a lot more cloth. Everyone is fighting to buy our family’s cloth anyway. We don’t have to worry about selling it.”

It was now the height of summer, and the heat was difficult to bear. Aside from Lu Huaizhou, who had to wear official robes, Jiang Ji and his family were all wearing clothes made from their own cotton cloth. It was soft and comfortable, cool and sweat-absorbent.

Even Lu Huaizhou wore cotton clothes on his rest days.

Jiang Ji had also set up a complete weaving setup for Zhao Ru at home, just like when they had lived in their old home. Whenever Zhao Ru had nothing to do, she would weave cloth at home herself. Besides their own family, Lu Jiu and the other guards, as well as the servants of the Regent’s Residence, had all received new cotton clothes.

Madam Lu sometimes came over to weave as well, making clothes for her own family. This cotton cloth was soft, and it was truly comfortable when made into inner garments.

Though Jiang Ji’s family had been in the capital for several months, as long as they were not going out to visit other households, the family still maintained very simple living habits.

After dinner, Jiang Ji picked up his brush and wrote a reply to Meng Dahai, instructing him to train more skilled weaving workers and managers. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. He also told the manager of their cloth shop to begin cultivating talent early.

The family cotton textile factory targeted low-to-mid-end customers. Its advantage was a massive customer base, but the prices were relatively low. Jiang Ji also planned to open a silk textile factory aimed at high-end customers, specializing in premium silk and brocade.

Right now, what worried him most was not technology, but talent. All kinds of managerial talent.

He was not worried about money either. Once the new factory back home entered operation, it would quickly earn back the initial investment, and there was also the restaurant income.

Dingsheng Food House in the capital had been packed every single day in just a few short months, with reservations already booked out half a month in advance.

As expected of the capital, the prices of dishes here were three to four times higher than back home, and the profits were several times higher than the old hometown restaurant.

Jiang Ji had already instructed Han Qingshan to train new chefs and asked the manager to find a new storefront. It was time to open a second branch.

Dingsheng Food House had actually run into an incident over a month ago.

A wastrel from an earl’s household had gotten drunk after eating at the restaurant and caused trouble, smashing many things before leaving without compensation.

The next day, before he had even fully woken up, his elder brother dragged him out of bed and demanded that he go to the restaurant to apologize and compensate them.

The wastrel still had not understood what was going on and stubbornly refused to go.

After giving him a beating, his elder brother grabbed him by the ear and shouted, “Is that thing growing on your neck a pig’s head? Didn’t you recognize that Dingsheng’s dishes tasted and looked familiar?”

“Brother, brother! Let go! Hurry and let go! My ear’s about to fall off!” The wastrel covered his head with one hand while shouting, “Familiar, familiar! I only ate food that delicious at Duke Chang’s housewarming banquet!”

“And since you ate it before, you still didn’t bother using your brain?” His elder brother was truly disappointed that this pig brain never thought things through.

The wastrel thought for a while. “Brother, are you saying they once went to Duke Chang Residence to cook? Next time our family has a joyous occasion, we should invite them to cook at our residence too.”

His elder brother: “……”

With a sharp twist of his hand, ignoring his younger brother’s pig-slaughter-like cries, he said, “The housewarming banquet at Duke Chang Residence was prepared by Duke Chang’s own chefs. Those chefs were personally taught by Duke Chang. Do you understand now?”

Although the wastrel did not have much brain, he had at least a little. Only then did he react.

“Brother, are you saying the owner of Dingsheng used to be Duke Chang’s family chef?”

“What do you think?”

The wastrel was shocked. “Duke Chang is the backer behind Dingsheng?”

His elder brother sneered coldly. “Looks like the food you ate still had some use after all.”

The wastrel stood frozen for a long while before obediently going to Dingsheng Food House to apologize and compensate them for everything he had smashed.

In the capital, most people who had attended Jiang Ji’s housewarming banquet and later eaten at Dingsheng Food House could more or less detect the connection. That was why Dingsheng Food House had operated smoothly since opening. There had been a few minor disputes, but the manager and staff had resolved them themselves, and nothing had ever escalated to Jiang Ji or Lu Huaizhou.

After Jiang Ji finished writing the letter, he studied the new fabric samples Meng Dahai had sent over.

Based on the fabric patterns Jiang Ji had previously designed, Meng Dahai had drawn inspiration and developed several new variations.

Jiang Ji examined them one by one and selected several he thought were good.

Lu Huaizhou was seated across from him handling official documents. Seeing Jiang Ji studying them so carefully, he asked, “Is the family cloth shop going to expand into other counties?”

“Mhm. We’ll see what the new factory’s production output looks like. If other county shops are willing to come purchase stock from us, we might not even need to open new cloth shops. That would also save us transport costs and storefront expenses.” Jiang Ji smiled. “If the cloth sells well, it’s fine to let other cloth shops come find us. Then we can focus purely on production.”

Many cloth shops on the market did not actually have their own weaving workshops. They purchased stock from other textile workshops and earned the price difference.

“If supply eventually exceeds demand, we can open cloth shops elsewhere then.”

“Mhm.” Seeing that Jiang Ji already had a plan, Lu Huaizhou said no more and returned to reading memorials.

After Jiang Ji finished examining the fabric samples, he set them aside, folded the now-dried letter, slipped it into an envelope, and sealed it.

Once done, he stood up and walked around for a bit before leaning against Lu Huaizhou’s desk. Casually picking up one of the memorials, he glanced through it.

It was one Lu Huaizhou had not yet reviewed or replied to.

Jiang Ji skimmed it himself and was immediately startled.

“Yong County is suffering a severe drought, and there’s also a locust plague?” Jiang Ji frowned. “Are the losses heavy?”

At the mention of this matter, Lu Huaizhou’s handsome brows also furrowed with worry.

“Yong County has gone an entire month without a single drop of rain. The riverbed water levels have dropped by half. The grain was nearly ready for harvest, but it was all eaten by locusts. Many farmers had no choice but to harvest early, yet the losses are devastating. The disaster victims are going hungry. And it’s not only Yong County. Areas of neighboring Chen County near Yong County have also begun seeing large numbers of locusts. The locust plague in Yong County still hasn’t been brought under control, and they’re migrating toward Chen County. This morning at court, it was discussed that the Ministry of Revenue should begin preparing disaster relief.”

“Locusts can migrate, and their reproductive ability is extremely strong. Relief alone isn’t enough. The locusts have to be stopped, otherwise more and more people will become disaster victims.” Jiang Ji frowned and asked, “How long has this been going on?”

“Eleven or twelve days,” Lu Huaizhou replied.

Jiang Ji frowned in thought for a moment before immediately sitting back down at his own desk. “I’ll give you some methods to control the locusts. Have people send them to the disaster areas as quickly as possible, especially to the places in their migration path so they can prepare.”

“You have a method?” Lu Huaizhou immediately walked to his side.

Jiang Ji nodded. “Once a locust plague has already broken out, the only option is to eliminate as many locusts as possible. But there’s no guarantee it will work completely. It can only reduce losses as much as possible and salvage whatever grain can still be saved. Also, ideally, they should be destroyed before laying eggs. If that can’t be done, then the egg masses must be found and destroyed as much as possible. Locusts can lay eggs roughly every twenty days, and the fastest eggs can hatch in about half a month.”

Hearing this, Lu Huaizhou’s expression darkened.

The situation could not be delayed any longer.

“You write. I’ll have people handle it.”

Lu Huaizhou did not leave. He stood beside Jiang Ji and watched him write.

Jiang Ji searched through every locust-control method in his mind. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. First, he drew several diagrams of tools used to catch locusts.

Methods that were too modern could not be used here, so he wrote down historical methods used by ancient people to prevent and control locusts: using various tools to catch insects, planting vegetation that locusts disliked in the future, encouraging people to capture more birds, how to locate locust eggs, how to destroy egg masses, and so on…

Lu Huaizhou looked at what Jiang Ji had just written, his brows drawing together slightly. Puzzled, he asked, “Transport large numbers of chickens and ducks there?”

Jiang Ji nodded. “Mhm. Just like raising ducks in rice paddies. Let the chickens and ducks dig up and eat the eggs and larvae to prevent the locust plague from getting worse.”

Lu Huaizhou asked, “What about the adults? Won’t chickens and ducks eat them?”

Jiang Ji said, “Adult locusts in the gregarious phase produce toxins, so chickens and ducks won’t eat them. But when they’re about to lay eggs, they land on the soil, and at that point the toxins disappear, so chickens and ducks can eat them. That’s why the chickens and ducks need to be transported over quickly.”

After a pause, he continued, “Many people in Changping and the surrounding counties practiced raising ducks in rice paddies this year. They’re only three or four days away from Yong County, not very far. We can send people there to buy ducks.”

“In the future, places prone to severe drought and locust plagues should raise more chickens and ducks. They should also plant more cattails, chinaberries, and similar plants in the fields. Locusts dislike the scent of those plants.”

Lu Huaizhou had farmed alongside Jiang Ji before, so he understood the benefits of raising ducks in rice paddies and easily grasped Jiang Ji’s meaning.

Jiang Ji wrote down every method for preventing and controlling locusts that came to mind.

He wrote so much in one night that his hand grew sore.

Seeing this, Lu Huaizhou patted his shoulder. “Rest for a while. You speak, I’ll write.”

Jiang Ji stood and gave up the seat, then stood beside him and continued explaining.

After the two took turns finishing everything, Lu Huaizhou immediately summoned people and had them take these methods away for printing and distribution.

“I can also exchange for some sticky insect boards, insect-catching nets, and loose fishing nets, but transporting them will take too much time. I’ll go down with them.”

Although Lu Huaizhou was reluctant to let him go, the situation was urgent, and Jiang Ji understood this better than anyone. He touched Jiang Ji’s face. “You’ll have to work hard.”

“It’s fine. Controlling the locust plague is what matters. Locust disasters have always caused devastating losses. In areas prone to drought, prevention must be done properly. That can reduce losses.”

“Mhm. I’ll issue the requirements tomorrow.”

Jiang Ji said, “Have the Ministry of Revenue quickly transport disaster relief grain there too, to stabilize the people.”

“I know. They’ll set out first thing tomorrow morning.”

By the time Jiang Ji finished writing and everything was handled, it was already deep into the night.

Jiang Ji rested for four or five hours while Lu Huaizhou entered the palace overnight to arrange matters.

Early the next morning, Jiang Ji set out at top speed for the areas suffering from the locust plague, bringing Lu Jiu and Lu Wen with him, along with the documents and prevention methods signed by the Regent.

Traveling with them was also a General Xuanwei, who carried military orders.

The Ministry of Revenue’s large grain transport convoy soon set off for Yong County as well.

Another team departed for various counties to have them gather chickens and ducks and send them to Yong County.

During morning court, many officials heard that in the middle of the night, the Regent had ordered the government printing office to print locust prevention methods and had people send many supplies to the disaster area.

They also learned that Duke Chang had already personally led people toward the disaster zone.

At that moment, looking at the locust prevention methods in their hands, they were all deeply shocked and equally puzzled that Duke Chang was going to control a locust plague.

Prime Minister Shen asked, “Regent, were these prevention methods written by you?”

After all, they had not existed yesterday.

Lu Huaizhou shook his head. “They were written by Duke Chang.”

“Duke Chang?”

“It was actually Duke Chang?”

“Duke Chang went to Yong County?”

“Duke Chang even knows how to control locust plagues?”

“Why mobilize so many chickens and ducks?”

Lu Huaizhou explained it to them briefly, and after listening, everyone was stunned.

“So that’s how it is.”

Lu Huaizhou said, “Wait and see.”

The disaster area was to the west. Jiang Ji and the others rode hard for three days before arriving. He did not go to Yong County first, but headed to Chen County instead. The locusts had already reached this place.

The magistrate of Chen County was overjoyed to receive the prevention methods. Their county had already been suffering from the locust plague for several days, all migrated over from the neighboring county.

The locusts came in overwhelming black clouds, impossible to guard against. Many crops had already been eaten clean.

The people of the entire county were anxious and unsettled, all trying to drive off the insects and rush to harvest grain.

In addition to the prevention methods, the court had also issued a notice instructing them on what to do first, what to do next, and to follow Duke Chang’s arrangements.

The magistrate looked at the prevention methods. One line said many chickens and ducks would be mobilized from other counties. He could not understand it. With so many locusts flying in the sky, what use would chickens and ducks be?

But since the court had ordered it, there must be a reason. He only needed to obey.

After Jiang Ji arrived, he held a meeting with the magistrate and assigned tasks. He also had the same instructions sent to Yong County.

Jiang Ji found an empty mountain estate and exchanged for insect-catching nets, sticky boards, and fishing nets.

The magistrate immediately had Duke Chang’s instructions printed and distributed to each village and town, and also handed out the insect-catching nets and sticky boards.

By the time Jiang Ji and the others arrived, nearly twenty days had passed since the locust plague had first appeared.

The first thing Jiang Ji ordered was for the water fields to be filled with water, preventing the locusts from laying eggs in the fields.

The second was to organize everyone to catch and kill locusts.

When the people saw that the court had sent Duke Chang down to help them, they were immediately filled with confidence.

Over the past year, Duke Chang’s reputation among the common people had become very well known.

This year, they had finally planted the new rice variety with great difficulty. Seeing the heavy rice ears, they had been just about to enjoy a bumper harvest, only for a locust plague to strike.

This was a locust plague. Everyone had heard from their ancestors that once a locust plague passed through, not a single grain or leaf would remain.

But now Duke Chang had come.

Duke Chang would definitely have a way!

Everyone immediately threw themselves into action. Following Duke Chang’s orders, they took sticky boards and nets to catch locusts. When there were no more nets, they made insect-catching tools according to the booklets issued by the officials.

Many people also sewed tightly woven insect-catching nets from fishing nets, just like the ones the court had distributed. These could catch many locusts at once and were convenient to use.

Following Duke Chang’s instructions, groups of several people held large nets supported by poles and ran along the ridges between fields. In one sweep, they netted countless densely packed locusts.

Those without tools simply caught them by hand, and some even used their clothes to scoop them up.

Chen County was swept up in a frenzy of locust catching. They were even reluctant to waste the sticky boards.

At night, they used bonfires to lure and kill locusts.

General Xuanwei carried the court’s military orders and brought nearby garrison soldiers over to help exterminate the locusts.

After several days, chickens and ducks from the surrounding counties were delivered one after another.

Jiang Ji ordered them all released.

These chickens and ducks had been deliberately kept hungry for a day beforehand. The moment they saw the locusts, their eyes practically glowed green, and they rushed forward flapping their wings.

This was all food!

By now, many of the locusts had begun laying eggs, and their toxicity had disappeared. The chickens and ducks charged into the grass, causing locusts to burst into the air. The birds stretched their necks and snapped them up one by one, eating at incredible speed.

Crunchy and crisp.

Through the combined efforts of the local people and soldiers, together with the chickens and ducks delivered from other counties, eighty percent of the adult locusts in Chen County were eliminated, greatly reducing their reproductive speed.

More than a month later, the court received a victory report.

The locust plague that had harmed three counties had been brought under control.

All the officials of the court were convinced, and every one of them sighed in admiration.

Duke Chang truly was an extraordinary man.

After court dismissed, Prime Minister Shen said to Minister Lu, “Duke Chang is no simple man.”

Minister Lu lifted his chin slightly, his brows and eyes carrying a smile. “He does have a few clever tricks about him.”

Prime Minister Shen looked at him. “Didn’t you dislike him before?”

“Who said that? I never said such a thing.” Minister Lu huffed and walked away.

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

TOC

Ch 105: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

After finishing the banquet, Jiang Ji and the others prepared to head home.

The male and female guests had eaten separately. When Zhao Ru and Madam Lu returned to the front hall to meet up with Jiang Ji and the others, Jiang Ji immediately noticed that both of them looked rather unhappy.

Madam Lu even pulled Lu Huaizhou aside to quietly say a few things before boarding the Lu family carriage and leaving.

Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou also got into their carriage. Jiang Ji asked, “What did Mother say to you? Why do both she and Madam Lu look upset? Did someone say something?”

Their family had come from humble farming origins and had only recently entered the upper circles of the capital. Zhao Ru still was not familiar with the social circles here, and it was inevitable that some people would make snide remarks or speak sarcastically. Jiang Ji was worried his mother had suffered some grievance.

Madam Lu understood this as well, which was why she always accompanied Zhao Ru to gatherings and banquets.

And today was a child’s hundred-day banquet. Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou would never have children, so Jiang Ji suspected someone had deliberately used that topic to say something unpleasant that upset the two mothers.

Lu Huaizhou’s expression turned slightly cold. Holding Jiang Ji’s hand, he said, “Mhm. Someone brought up children and hinted, both openly and indirectly, that my mother should arrange concubines for me. Mother (Zhao Ru) happened to overhear it.”

Jiang Ji raised a brow. “Oh, that matter…”

Lu Huaizhou looked at him and said, “Don’t overthink it. My mother firmly refused.”

“I’m not overthinking.” Jiang Ji’s expression remained calm, though his gaze had turned icy. “I just want to know who exactly offered Mother such a suggestion.”

Lu Huaizhou replied, “The wife of the Assistant Minister of Personnel.”

Jiang Ji gave a mocking laugh. “I suppose she probably already picked out candidates for you too? I heard her niece from her natal family has admired you for years and still isn’t married at eighteen. She’s certainly generous, willing to let her own niece become someone else’s concubine.”

Lu Huaizhou: “……”

Lu Huaizhou tightened his grip on Jiang Ji’s hand. “She’s dreaming.”

Jiang Ji looked at him and let out another cool laugh. “Anyone else say anything?”

Lu Huaizhou shook his head. “I don’t know. Mother only mentioned her. Mother told me to explain it to you after we returned and reassure her not to worry.”

“Mhm, I understand.”

After returning home, Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou accompanied Zhao Ru back to Wutong Courtyard.

Jiang Ji helped Zhao Ru sit down and poured her a cup of tea. “Mother, why are you unhappy? Did someone bully you?”

Zhao Ru took a sip of tea and shook her head. “No. Madam Lu was there. No one bullied me.”

Lu Huaizhou directly said, “Mother, my mother already told me everything.”

Zhao Ru: “……”

After a moment of silence, she looked at Lu Huaizhou and then at Jiang Ji. “What exactly did Madam Lu tell you?”

Lu Huaizhou answered solemnly, “Mother, please don’t worry. No matter what anyone says, Jiang Ji and I will only ever have each other. There will never be any random concubines.”

Zhao Ru looked at her son.

Jiang Ji nodded.

Zhao Ru patted Jiang Ji’s hand and finally revealed a small smile. “As long as the two of you live happily together, that’s enough.”

Then she became angry again. “Those loose-tongued busybodies. You’ve only just gotten married and they’re already plotting things.”

Jiang Ji wrapped an arm around Zhao Ru’s shoulders and comforted her. “Mother, don’t worry. I guarantee no one will ever dare bring up this matter in front of you again.”

“What are you planning to do?” Zhao Ru asked in alarm.

“I’m not doing anything serious. Don’t worry.”

Lu Huaizhou glanced at Jiang Ji as well, unsure what Jiang Ji intended to do.

…

Two days later, Lu Huaizhou and Zhao Ru found out exactly what Jiang Ji had done.

Jiang Ji hired a matchmaker to visit the Assistant Minister of Personnel’s residence, bringing along many beautiful portraits of women.

The Assistant Minister’s wife was utterly bewildered. She asked the matchmaker, “Neither my son nor daughter are old enough for marriage yet. Did you come to the wrong house?”

The matchmaker replied, “Hm? Wasn’t it said that Madam thinks your household lacks descendants and wants to arrange two more concubines for your husband? Don’t worry, all these girls come from respectable families. Gentle personalities, fertile too. Guaranteed to satisfy Madam.”

The woman exploded in anger. “Who said I wanted to arrange concubines for my husband?!”

“Duke Chang did,” the matchmaker answered.

The Assistant Minister’s wife frowned. “Which Duke?”

“Duke Chang, of course.” The matchmaker looked puzzled too. “He said Madam herself mentioned it a few days ago, saying families are happier with many children and much prosperity. Duke Chang thought perhaps Madam felt there weren’t enough children in your household, so he sent me over. Duke Chang even paid the matchmaking fee himself.”

The woman froze.

The next moment, realization dawned, and her face turned green, red, then white in rapid succession.

“No need for this. Steward, see the guests out!”

Within days, news spread through all the noble and official households that Duke Chang had personally sent a matchmaker to the Assistant Minister of Personnel’s home to arrange concubines for the man.

The Assistant Minister lost tremendous face. Rumor had it that the very same day, he returned home and furiously scolded his wife.

Since many noblewomen had been present that day, anyone with half a brain could piece together what had happened. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. The whole affair struck people as both ridiculous and hilarious.

After that incident, however, no one ever again dared suggest in front of Madam Lu or Zhao Ru that either Lu Huaizhou or Jiang Ji should take concubines.

After all, nobody wanted a matchmaker appearing at their own doorstep the very next day trying to arrange concubines for their husband.

Madam Lu sat beside Zhao Ru cracking sunflower seeds while laughing. “Hahaha, Xiao Ji truly knows how to handle things.”

Zhao Ru laughed too, though she still asked worriedly, “Will this offend people? It won’t cause Huaizhou trouble, will it?”

“What’s there to fear?” Madam Lu said confidently. “Our family has a Regent and a Dukep. Why would we fear him?”

Zhao Ru had always been gentle-tempered. She never cared when people subtly mocked their humble farming background or ridiculed her lack of education. Their family truly had been farmers, and there was nothing shameful about that.

But that day, she had genuinely become angry.

Jiang Ji had only just gotten married, and that woman was already trying to push people toward Lu Huaizhou. Zhao Ru simply could not tolerate it.

After hearing Madam Lu firmly reject the suggestion, Zhao Ru herself had stepped forward and directly rebuked the woman several times, ending the gathering unpleasantly.

She did not regret it either.

Who told that woman to deliberately make trouble?

Her only concern was whether it might cause problems for her son and Huaizhou.

Having only recently moved to the capital, Zhao Ru’s mindset had not yet fully adapted to the realities of noble society. But hearing Madam Lu’s words now, she thought it over and realized it made sense.

Huaizhou was the Regent.

Her son was Duke Chang.

What exactly was there to fear?

That evening, Lu Huaizhou also brought up the matter with Jiang Ji.

Holding Jiang Ji in his arms while massaging his waist, he said, “The Assistant Minister of Personnel kept apologizing to me and even wanted to personally apologize to you. I refused.”

“Mhm. No need to meet him.” Having just finished rolling around in bed, Jiang Ji lazily yawned. “I heard that when you announced you were marrying me, plenty of people tried introducing girls to you too.”

At that time, when the Huihe delegation visited and Lu Huaizhou publicly announced at the palace banquet that he and Jiang Ji intended to marry, the entire court had been stunned.

The very next day, people carried portraits to the Lu Residence hoping to select a wife for Lu Huaizhou. Madam Lu rejected them, and several officials even approached Lu Huaizhou directly multiple times, only to be coldly turned down to their faces.

Jiang Ji had only learned about it later from gossip overheard at a banquet.

Lu Huaizhou tightened his arms around Jiang Ji and kissed his lips softly. “I ignored all of them.”

Jiang Ji looked at him and laughed. “You really are quite the prized delicacy. Popular both before and after marriage.”

Lu Huaizhou gazed at him meaningfully. “Did you think nobody wanted to arrange marriages for you?”

When Jiang Ji had been granted the title Duke Chang last year, he was only nineteen years old. The position of Duke Chang’s spouse was naturally attractive, and many people had set their sights on him too.

“That happened too?” Jiang Ji grinned. “Well, none of it ever reached me directly.”

“That’s because Mother hadn’t arrived in the capital yet, and because I acted quickly,” Lu Huaizhou replied.

Jiang Ji raised a brow and laughed. “Then congratulations to you?”

Lu Huaizhou hummed lowly before rolling over and kissing him again.

…

The next day, Lu Huaizhou brought Jiang Ji to the Imperial Armory Bureau, the institution responsible for researching and manufacturing weapons.

Lu Huaizhou had mainly brought him there to see the newly forged steel blades.

Back during the first month of the year, when Jiang Ji completed the Emperor’s fishing task and received his reward, he had given Lu Huaizhou a steelmaking method. Lu Huaizhou had immediately handed the method over to the Imperial Armory Bureau and ordered them to forge weapons according to it.

Inside the bureau were blacksmith workshops on both sides, along with many carpentry shops. Numerous craftsmen worked busily crafting weapons.

Jiang Ji also noticed many workshops producing parts for crossbows and large mounted ballistae.

Upon hearing the Regent had arrived, the bureau superintendent hurried over with his subordinates to greet them. However, seeing Duke Chang beside the Regent left them rather surprised.

Wasn’t Duke Chang mainly responsible for agricultural cultivation and crop expansion?

Despite their confusion, they still bowed respectfully. “Your Highness. Duke Chang.”

Lu Huaizhou nodded. “Mhm. Bring us to see the blade.”

“Yes.”

The superintendent led them into a room displaying newly completed weapons. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Jiang Ji spotted the crossbows and mounted ballistae he himself had designed.

The superintendent removed a blade from a rack nearby and placed it on the table enthusiastically. “Your Highness, this is the new blade forged according to the method you provided. It’s sharper and tougher than our previous blades.”

Lu Huaizhou picked up the weapon.

The blade measured slightly over two chi long and gleamed with a cold sharp light, already fully honed.

He lightly ran a finger along the edge before flicking the blade with his finger, producing a vibrating hum.

Walking outside to a wooden testing post, Lu Huaizhou casually swung the blade once.

The thick wooden post split cleanly into two halves.

“Excellent blade.”

Lu Huaizhou’s eyes brightened. Returning inside, he handed the hilt to Jiang Ji. “What do you think? Does it pass?”

The superintendent stared in shock.

Duke Chang understood blades too?

Jiang Ji accepted the blade and examined it carefully. Running a finger along the spine, he inspected it for a while before having 2977 scan it as well.

“Not bad,” he finally said. “But there are still too many impurities. It could be forged several more times and refined further.”

Before the superintendent could respond, one of the supervising officials nearby could not help speaking up.

“Duke Chang, perhaps you don’t really understand blades. This is already the finest blade we can currently produce after repeatedly hammering and refining it according to His Highness’s method.”

Though the superintendent had lost the chance to speak, he privately shared the same thought.

Duke Chang did not look like someone knowledgeable about blades at all.

Lu Huaizhou shot the man a cold glance.

The supervising official immediately shrank his neck back, not understanding what he had said wrong.

Then he heard Lu Huaizhou say icily:

“That method was given to this prince by Duke Chang.”

Everyone from the Imperial Armory Bureau instantly widened their eyes.

The superintendent asked in disbelief, “Duke Chang provided the method?”

Lu Jiu, who stood behind them, snorted with amusement. “Not just the steelmaking method. Those crossbows, mounted ballistae, and sleeve arrows you’re building were all created by Duke Chang too.”

“T-This…”

The officials stared at Jiang Ji in complete shock.

The superintendent exclaimed, “Those new crossbows were all invented by Duke Chang?!”

“Exactly.” Lu Jiu sneered. “Still think Duke Chang doesn’t understand blades?”

“N-No, absolutely not!” The superintendent hurriedly lowered his head and apologized to Jiang Ji. “Please forgive us, Duke Chang. We failed to recognize greatness before us.”

No wonder the Regent had personally brought Duke Chang here to inspect the blades.

The superintendent secretly wiped sweat from his forehead.

Holding the blade, Jiang Ji smiled. “It’s fine. The blade can still be improved further though. Bring me to see the forging process.”

“Yes, yes! Duke Chang, Your Highness, please follow me.”

The superintendent no longer dared underestimate Duke Chang in the slightest and hurriedly led them to the forge workshops.

After observing the production process, Jiang Ji immediately made several suggestions on the spot. The superintendent quickly recorded everything and instructed the blacksmiths to improve the process according to Duke Chang’s recommendations.

After touring the Imperial Armory Bureau, Jiang Ji and Lu Huaizhou finally departed.

Watching their backs disappear, the officials all breathed sighs of relief.

“Wasn’t Duke Chang originally just a farmer? How does he know how to create so many incredible weapons?” someone asked.

“Who knows?”

“So even those crossbows and mounted ballistae were Duke Chang’s ideas? That’s unbelievable.”

“Have you heard about that game called darts all the young masters have become obsessed with lately?”

“Yeah. Like archery, except throwing darts by hand.”

“Exactly. Apparently Duke Chang invented it too.”

“That was his idea as well?”

“Yep. My cousin attended the hundred-day banquet for the Minister of Rites’ grandson and personally saw it.”

“Duke Chang truly hides his talents deeply. Not only can he farm incredibly well, he knows so many other things too.”

“No wonder the Regent fell for him. The way His Highness looked at Duke Chang just now was unbelievably affectionate and gentle. He’s hopelessly in love.”

“You brat, instead of listening carefully to Duke Chang discuss blade forging, you were staring at that?”

“I only glanced accidentally! I’ve never seen the Regent make that kind of expression before, so it shocked me. Think about it. There are countless noble ladies and prestigious young women in the capital, yet the Regent liked none of them and instead fell for Duke Chang. Duke Chang obviously must have extraordinary qualities. Now I finally understand why.”

“Enough already. Hurry and make sure the blacksmiths refine the blades exactly according to Duke Chang’s instructions. If we succeed, there’ll definitely be rewards for all of us.”

“Right, right, let’s go.”

Within only a few days, news spread throughout the Imperial Armory Bureau that the new steelmaking methods and advanced weapons all originated from Duke Chang.

Soon after, the news spread through military garrisons and camps both inside and outside the capital as well.

Without even realizing it, Jiang Ji once again gained a massive wave of admiration from soldiers and officers alike.

At that moment, Jiang Ji himself was at home drawing blueprints for a jacquard weaving machine.

At the same time, he also received good news from back home.

The new textile factory buildings had finally been completed.

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾

TOC

Ch 210 (Extra 21): The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Lian Ou Side Story 2

Lian Ou spent the entire day nervous and on edge, yet also excited and fascinated.

Running a stall was harder than he imagined, but once he got started, it somehow no longer seemed quite so difficult.

At first he huddled there like a quail, too scared to speak. Gradually, he dared imitate the vendors around him and softly call out to customers, introducing and recommending his goods to people who stopped at the stall.

On both sides of him were women and fulang running stalls. Seeing a young ge’er with a little sister, they were not overly warm, but openly and secretly looked after them a little.

Most of the customers wandering this area were also young women and ge’er. Everyone was fairly friendly. Some bargained over prices, but even if no agreement was reached, nobody quarreled.

By noon, more than ten of the decorative knots in his bundle had already sold, greatly exceeding Lian Ou’s expectations.

Around midday, the cries of the food vendors grew louder. Some nearby stall owners bought food to eat, sweet steamed cakes or steaming hot vegetarian noodles. But more often, people took out the dry food they had brought from home, somehow obtained bowls of hot water, and ate with that.

The auntie beside them selling silk flowers saw the siblings stretching their necks to watch and kindly explained,

“The temple monks prepare hot water specially for small vendors like us who paid stall fees. There’s a little side gate at the western corner where you can ask for hot water. It’s free. In winter they even hand out ginger soup.”

But bowls had to be brought yourself.

Since this was Lian Ou’s first time here, naturally he had not brought any. He thanked the auntie and silently remembered it for next time.

Then he took out the steamed buns and flatbread they had brought from home and shared them with Lian Rong.

“This time we weren’t prepared enough and forgot bowls. If you’re thirsty, take two coins and go buy sweet soup over there.”

Lian Rong stretched her neck to stare longingly for a while before finally shaking her head.

“Forget it. We’ve only earned a little money. Gege, I’m not thirsty.”

The sweet soup sold at the market was only plum juice boiled with a tiny bit of sugar, yet a small bowl still cost two copper coins.

Lian Ou rubbed his little sister’s head.

“Then endure it for now. Once we earn money this time, we’ll buy half a jin of meat and stew it at home.”

The siblings were encouraging each other when unexpectedly a little monk came over carrying a bowl of hot water and handed it to Lian Rong.

“You’re first-timers, so you didn’t know. We’re lending this bowl from the temple for now. Just return it to the western side gate after closing your stall. But tomorrow we won’t lend one again!”

Then he ran off like a gust of wind.

Lian Ou accepted the hot water and said to Lian Rong,

“These monks are really kind. The little monks are nice, and that great monk this morning was a good person too. He even helped guide us.”

The auntie selling silk flowers beside them glanced at Lian Ou several extra times after hearing that.

After lunch hour passed, little monks wandered by their area twice more. Huiming also came once.

He did not speak with Lian Ou and barely let his gaze linger on him, only briefly surveying the area around the stall before leaving.

The moment Huiming left, the auntie selling silk flowers visibly relaxed.

Curious, Lian Ou looked over, and the auntie immediately tugged him into conversation.

“You just got here, so you don’t know anything. Don’t be fooled by how compassionate those monks look on the surface. If you dirty up their place, they change faces fast.”

“When closing up, all lotus leaves and oil paper used for food have to be cleaned away. You’re not allowed to splash dirty water around either. Our side isn’t bad, but those snack vendors? If they leave things messy, those monks chase them out, deduct their money, and even scold people. They really won’t let them stay!”

Lian Ou was surprised.

He had not expected the monks, who all seemed so gentle and amiable, to actually have tempers. He simply could not imagine Huiming chasing people away and scolding them.

Still, he could tell the auntie carried some resentment toward the monks, probably feeling they were overly strict and trying to complain to him.

But inwardly, Lian Ou did not agree.

This was a Buddhist place of peace and purity. Wasn’t it normal for people to dislike it being dirtied?

So he did not really respond, only paid extra attention to keeping his little section clean and tidy.

The day passed just like that.

As evening approached and the sky darkened, Lian Shi came to pick up the siblings.

Lian Ou had him stay behind to clean and organize the stall one more time while he himself took the borrowed bowl to return it at the side gate.

Coincidentally, Huiming was the only person there.

He sat in a woven rattan rocking chair, looking nothing like his earlier serious and proper self. He seemed very relaxed.

After returning the bowl, Lian Ou thanked him.

Huiming shook his head.

“I don’t know which little junior monk lent this to you, so there’s no need to thank me. Just remember to bring your own bowl tomorrow.”

After pausing briefly, he added,

“I forgot to ask. Will you still be setting up a stall tomorrow?”

“Yes, yes, we’re coming.”

They had sold over thirty decorative knots in a single day, which was excellent profit. Lian Ou estimated that by the Dragon Boat Festival itself, nearly everything in the bundle would be sold out.

Huiming nodded.

“Then tomorrow you can come earlier. I’ll arrange a better location for you.”

Lian Ou hurriedly thanked him again.

This time Huiming did not refuse the gratitude. Instead, he urged him to hurry home before the sky grew fully dark.

“Your older brother brought you here this morning. Has he come to pick you up now?”

“He has. We’re leaving now.”

Lian Ou truly felt this monk was a very good person. Huiming was even worried about a young ge’er walking at night with his little sister.

Monks who recited scriptures really did carry compassion in their hearts.

So what if they liked cleanliness a bit? Did they have to be like village men, stinking and uncaring about anything?

When he returned to the stall, Lian Shi had already packed everything up. There had not been much to begin with.

As he worked, Lian Shi muttered,

“This tiny little patch of ground, what’s there to clean up… You ge’er really are troublesome…”

Lian Ou rolled his eyes at him irritably.

Even his own biological brother was nowhere near as clean as that master monk!

If not for his fulang constantly cleaning up after him, his smelly socks and armpits alone could force people to retreat two li away. Only after marrying and being managed by a fulang did he barely start resembling a human being.

Unlike Master Huiming, who was clean everywhere and even carried the faint scent of sandalwood.

“Tomorrow let’s come even earlier. Master Huiming said if we come early, he’ll save us a better spot.”

On the way home, Lian Ou told Lian Shi,

“And tomorrow Big Brother doesn’t need to come pick us up. Rong-jie and I can walk back ourselves while it’s still light.”

After thinking about it, Lian Shi agreed.

“Sounds good. There’s still tons of work in the fields. I left a little early today, and the eldest branch already started making sarcastic comments. They’ve already been unhappy since you two stopped staying home to cook. But if I don’t come pick you up, Mother worries.”

Miaoqian Village was not that far. As long as it was still daylight, it was safe enough.

Unable to resist, Lian Ou opened his money pouch to show him the coins inside.

“Look, this is what we earned today.”

Half belonged to Shen Qing, while the other half would be split between himself and Lian Rong. It did not need to be handed over to the family account.

“Once everything’s sold and we settle accounts with Qing-ge’er, we’ll buy a bag of peach crisps for Lian Qiao to keep in her room, and half a jin of meat so the family can taste something rich.”

At the mention of peach crisps and meat, all three siblings swallowed instinctively.

After working all day, their stomachs were empty, and their walking speed unconsciously quickened.

Miaoqian Village had been lively all day, but now it gradually returned to silence.

A little novice monk searched for quite a while before finally finding Huiming sitting at the western side gate.

“Senior Brother, why are you sitting here? Dinner’s ready. Everyone’s waiting for you! Tonight there’s red bean sweet zongzi and honey-date eight-treasure rice. It smells so sweet and delicious!”

Now that their little temple earned income from the market fair, they were no longer short on money, and everyone could eat their fill.

Still, they were monks. Meat and strong flavors were forbidden, so daily meals remained plain.

For monks truly devoted to Buddhism, that was fine. They had spiritual goals to pursue.

But these little novice monks, including Huiming himself, were all abandoned orphans from nearby villages. Entering Buddhism had not been a path they chose themselves.

Children were naturally greedy at that age. Finally encountering a festival celebration, they were all thrilled.

“Senior Brother, why are you staring at a bowl? Is it dirty? I can wash it for you. Let’s go already.”

The little novice tugged at Huiming’s sleeve.

The evening meal bell rang.

Huiming seemed to wake from a dream. He smiled gently at the novice monk.

“You go ahead. I won’t eat. I’m going to the main hall to recite scriptures for a while.”

His thumb rubbed along the rim of the bowl, but halfway through he suddenly stopped. Abruptly rising to his feet, he scooped up a ladle of hot water and carefully washed the bowl clean.

The novice monk jumped in surprise, then became thoroughly confused.

“Senior Brother, what’s wrong? Can’t you recite scriptures after dinner? Doesn’t your stomach hurt from being hungry?”

Huiming said nothing.

He returned the cleaned bowl to his room and then went to recite scriptures.

He needed to punish himself a little.

To clear his mind.

He had developed mortal desires.

And spoken falsehoods.

◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

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