If you're tired of a place, you'll get tired of everything there. That's why you need to go out and explore places that other people are tired of. You're sure to broaden your horizons and have a different kind of experience.

Yunling was not discouraged and pressed on with the question:

"Brother, are there any reliable inns in town where we can stay?"

"You want to stay at an inn? Why don't you stay at my house instead?"

These words caught Yunling completely off guard. If she hadn't been dressed as a man, she would have suspected that this person had ulterior motives and malicious intentions.

"Your home? Where is your home?"

“My home is in the village, and it’s spacious enough to accommodate three people.”

That's what she said, but living in the village was quite different from what Yunling wanted, so she politely declined:

"We came by boat, and it's been quite a journey. We were thinking of taking a hot shower and exploring the town properly. We still have a lot to do."

“My house has hot water, and it’s not expensive to stay. It’s only five coins per person, and you can stay as long as you want. If you want to come to town, you can use my donkey cart.”

Yunling was speechless. She wasn't good at refusing others in these kinds of situations. Her shame was like the most poisonous drug in the world; it couldn't cover her heart, but it did manage to smother her mouth.

Yunling covered her forehead and turned her head away. Gangzi instantly understood what Yunling meant, and he said firmly:

"No need, just drop us off in the town ahead."

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking of taking you back to stay for a while to liven things up. It used to be just me, my grandma, and my grandfather living here, which was rather lonely."

Where are your parents?

Yunling couldn't help but ask.

“They’re gone. Years ago, during a famine, they left all the food for me, my grandma, and my grandpa, and went up the mountain to dig wild vegetables and scrape tree bark. But they were so hungry that they lost their minds, tripped, and both of them rolled down the mountain and died on the spot.”

“When I grew up, I came to this town to do odd jobs, taking whatever I could get, good or bad. Later, I used all the copper coins in my pocket to buy this donkey cart, hoping that I could go home to see my grandma and grandpa every day.”

“Grandpa’s lotus root candy is delicious. I took it out to sell, and I didn’t expect it to sell so well. So I quit my job and focused on selling lotus root candy. Just now, I sold two bowls. I’ll go back and wait for Grandpa to make more. I have to go again this afternoon.”

Yunling had initially thought the fine crumbs in the bowl were some kind of steamed bun crumbs, but it turned out to be lotus root candy. Now, with no lotus root strands in the bowl, only some small crumbs, her curiosity was piqued.

"Young man, do you mean your grandfather is making lotus root candy right now?"

"Of course, speaking of which, when the old man was eating fruit, he didn't notice that some of the fruit had fallen into the syrup. He fished it out and ate it, and found it delicious. So, he started selling candy and fruit."

Yunling's eyes lit up; this was fatally attractive to her, and she quickly asked:

"What you just said, bro, is it true that five coins a person can stay at your house?"

"Of course, so you've decided to stay at my house?"

Gangzi tried his best to wink at Yunling, attempting to pull her out of that "sweet talk," but Yunling was like someone who had fallen into sticky candy, and no amount of pulling or dragging could sway her.

She readily agreed, and Gangzi had no choice but to comply. He felt that his aunt was rather kind-hearted. Others had only said a few pitiful words, which aroused her overflowing sympathy. She completely forgot how she had just resolutely said that she wanted to stay in town, take a hot bath, and cook, and so on.

Despite his resentment, Gangzi ultimately sided with Yunling, after all, she was his great-aunt, what else could he do?

Whether it was because he was happy or not, the donkey driver was driving the donkey with more effort than before, and Yunling felt that they would arrive in no time.

"This is my home, Grandma, Grandpa, we have guests."

Yunling was the first to smell the aroma of sugar, and then she saw two people busy in the courtyard. Upon hearing that guests had arrived, they quickly put down their work and came out.

Seeing Gangzi carrying a bundle, they immediately reached out to help carry the things. Gangzi saw that the two had white hair mixed with black hair, and the old woman was a little hunchbacked. How could he bear to let them carry the things? So he declined and hung the things on his own body.

"Come in, all of you. Don't just stand there. There are two rooms in the house. The three of you can stay here separately and be more comfortable. Grandma, they all came down by boat and want to take a hot bath. Could you go and boil some water for them?"

"Okay, okay."

"Let me do it," Tang Ling said, feeling a pang of reluctance but mindful that this was someone else's home. "I'll lend a hand."

This house is even bigger than Yunling's house, but because the door wasn't closed, you could see the inside at a glance.

The kitchen Tang Ling entered was rather dark, not because the light blocked out, but because it was inherently dark. Yun Ling noticed something hanging from the beam and was about to take a closer look when the donkey cart driver said:

"You've never seen this before, have you? This is our family's smoked bacon, smoked sausage, and smoked pig's head noodles."

"Smoked...smoked meat? Just like that?"

"It's smoked like this, but not like that. Before smoking, the spices are stir-fried with salt and then rubbed onto the meat to marinate for seven or eight days. After that, cypress trees are cut down on the mountain and smoked with citrus peel over a low fire."

Yunling probably knew why the kitchen was so dark, but could she really eat something so black?

Seeing Yun Ling's expression, the man guessed what she meant and laughed:

"This stuff, it won't eat it if it's not smoked until it's black, but after it's smoked and dried, it's sweet and fragrant, fatty but not greasy. After washing it clean, the color is much brighter, it's very delicious. We'll have this for lunch later, you should try it, it's delicious even just like this."

Yunling, realizing they had only paid fifteen coins and were barely making ends meet, quickly shook her head and refused, not wanting to freeload any more.

"No, this cured meat is very expensive, I can't accept it."

"Oh, don't be so polite. Since you're staying here, just treat yourselves as family. It doesn't matter whether it's expensive or not."

The father-in-law quickly chimed in:

“That’s right. We’ll have our meal here later. After the New Year, our youngest son will be getting married and having children. We don’t know where you’ll be then, so why not treat these few days as a wedding feast and have some fun with us?”

When the topic of marriage and having children came up, a blush rose on the youngest son's dark face, and Yunling felt a urge to tease him.

"Which family's daughter did you marry?"

"The girl from the next village is pretty and gentle. She met our youngest son when we were singing folk songs together."

The youngest son's face turned even redder, and he touched the back of his head, unable to utter a single word.