"Otherwise what?"

"I've already paid the money, there's no reason for me to do this losing business, is there?"

Yunling thought for a moment, then said:

"Hey, the stone we won back at the polo field turned out to be black jade inside. It looks quite beautiful when cut open, but judging from the texture and color, it can be considered a substandard product."

"That fellow showed me those fine yellow and white jade pieces; their colors and luster were simply captivating."

Lu Yinghuai's eyes lit up when he heard Yun Ling say the word "like."

"So, do you want to buy the rough stone to cut and use yourself, or resell it?"

Yunling hummed in agreement for a long time, her fingers tapping softly on the table.

“I want to buy raw stones and polish them into bracelets or jade bead necklaces as dowries for my aunt and older sister. You know our family isn’t wealthy, but when a woman gets married, she needs to save up a large dowry, so I came up with this idea.”

Lu Yinghuai nodded with a smile. He naturally wished he could prepare all the dowries for Yun Ruochun and the others, so that they could quickly discuss marriage and he could marry Yun Ling sooner.

"I do know some people who transport ore..."

"Do you know anyone who can cut raw stones and polish jade bracelets? I've watched all afternoon and they've only managed to cut one facet. If you're talking about making bracelets or carving jade pendants, beads, or anything like that, such fine work would probably take a lot of effort."

Even if Lu Yinghuai didn't know her, he had to get to know her. After all, this was the first time Yun Ling had asked him about helping her, and he was willing to go to great lengths.

“I know you. After we finish picking out the rough stones tomorrow, I'll take you to see them again.”

Okay~

**

Lu Yinghuai left through the window when it was just before dawn. He only left reluctantly after Yunling repeatedly assured him that she would be safe going to find Shitou and promised to go with him to Zhouqiao for a delicious meal.

After Lu Yinghuai left, Yunling picked up the pot of water that had been left to cool that night, poured it into her mouth, gurgled a few times, and then spat it out. She then poured some into her palm, quickly slapped it on her face, and repeated this twice, thus cleaning her face.

These were all skills she learned on the ship, and she wouldn't easily pass them on, so she only used them when no one was watching.

She shook her head, wiping the water off her face, before pushing open the door and leaving. Gangzi also came out from another door, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes.

Yunling recalled that he had been surrounded by women on both sides last night, and joked:

"Sure, Gangzi."

"Boss!"

Gangzi rushed over, glanced into the room, and complained:

"It's all Zi Fu's fault. If he hadn't kept me sitting all night, I would have come to find the boss."

"Zifu? Then what about those two young ladies you're embracing on either side..."

"He was knocked unconscious as soon as he entered, but..."

Gangzi recalled the scene of being "caught red-handed," and couldn't help but feel shy. He nestled his head against Yunling's shoulder like a little bird and whispered:

"They...they...Boss, I'm not clean anymore."

"Yeah, you didn't wash your face, so it's not very clean."

"No, not this!" Gangzi straightened up, but after a moment, he leaned back on Yunling's shoulder. "They...they were in the lobby..."

Oh~~

Yunling finally understood what this person was talking about and said directly:

"They must be you."

"Right, right, hey, how did you find out, boss? Did that young lady sleep with you too?"

Yunling would never tell anyone that she had conjured one up, so she said directly:

"No, I was just guessing. It's normal to come to a place like this. You don't need to worry about it too much."

With Yunling's words, Gangzi naturally didn't mind. He straightened up, glanced into the room again, and asked in a low voice:

"That young master Lu last night...did he bully the boss?"

"Hey, your boss can't be bullied like this?"

"That's good."

Gangzi was naturally overjoyed that Yunling was alright. Last night, he tried to run out to find Yunling several times, but that stinky Zifu held him back, forcing him to stare out the window while enduring the man's endless nagging.

That damned bastard, he'll teach that dog a lesson sooner or later, otherwise he'll really think the Yun family has no successor.

As the two were talking, Da Tou and the others came out of the room across the street, pulling up their pants. Before Yun Ling could speak, Da Tou had already started flattering her:

"I think the weather is nice today. If you have some free time, young master, why don't you come for a walk with me?"

"Alright, thank you for leading the way, sir."

After settling the bill with the madam, Yunling and her group left Qingxin Garden and headed south. Soon, Yunling smelled an enticing aroma of charcoal grilling.

Big Head pointed to the bakery not far away and said:

"Is it alright for you, young man, to have pancakes for breakfast?"

Yunling craned her neck to look ahead. The shop was packed with people, so she figured it must be delicious. She nodded like a woodpecker.

Big Head laughed:

"That shop has more than fifty sesame seed cake ovens. Don't be fooled by the long lines, young man, you'll only have to wait a short while to get a turn."

"Brother, what kind of cakes does that shop have?"

"That's a shop that sells both fried dough and flatbread. The flatbread is baked and comes in both savory and sweet varieties. You can add sesame seeds, eggs, vegetable oil, ghee, and milk. The fried dough is a type of steamed flatbread, sugar flatbread, and my favorite spicy vegetable flatbread. It's cheap and delicious."

Yunling finally understood. That was the difference between steamed buns and naan. As for steamed flatbread, that was fine. Coming all this way to eat steamed buns was pointless. Sugar cakes... they were sweet, and she didn't like them. But she could try sesame flatbread with sesame seed cakes. They would definitely be very fragrant. And spicy vegetable cakes, she had to get one of those too.

After queuing, just as Da Tou had said, we arrived in no time. The bakery was really big, but because it was full of ovens, it wasn't convenient to have people sit down to eat.

The group of five signed up one after another, and the total came to less than thirty coins, which was a great deal. Yunling paid the money and was then pushed out by a new wave of people.

Gangzi helped her stand under a tree to the side. With a freshly baked sesame cake in hand, she naturally couldn't let it go. Yunling took a bite, and with a "crunch," the aroma of the stove and the fragrance of sesame oil collided together, as if a new world had opened up in her mouth.

The first bite of this flatbread is delicious, and the more you eat, the more delicious it becomes. It's also very chewy.

Before Yunling finished eating the flatbread, she took a bite of the spicy vegetable pancake. It was spicy, hot, and her tongue danced in her mouth. Her face turned red from the spiciness, but she couldn't stop after taking a bite. She kept taking bites until she finished the spicy vegetable pancake and took another bite of the flatbread. Only then did the spiciness subside a little.

Big Head ate his spicy pancake without changing his expression, and seeing Yun Ling's reaction, he asked with a smile:

"Young master, can't you eat spicy food?"