However, although Li Xiangdong couldn't figure out the secret of Liu Donglai's marriage, he had his own guesses about Liu Donglai's acquisition of rare medicinal herbs.

Well, a poem from the Qing Dynasty called "The Song of Insufficiency" might explain some of the issues.

"I toil all day for hunger, and once I'm full, I crave clothes."

He has both food and clothing in abundance, and now he longs for his beautiful and gentle wife.

He married a beautiful wife and had children, but lamented that he had no land and little foundation.

He bought thousands of acres of land in front of his door, but then complained that he didn't have enough horses to ride when he went out.

The mule and horse were tied to the trough, and he thought that without official position he would be bullied.

He thought being a seventh-rank county magistrate was too lowly, and he wanted to wear purple robes in the imperial court.

A first-rank official serving as prime minister, yet he still coveted the throne;

Content with being the emperor, he also desired immortality;

Once you obtain the elixir of immortality, then you can challenge God to a duel.

Insufficiency, dissatisfaction, what can one do about life?

If the hearts of the people are to be satisfied, it will be nothing but a fleeting dream.

Considering that Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu eastward to the mythical islands in search of the elixir of immortality, it's understandable that Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty might have wanted to live another five hundred years!

Li Xiangdong is not a pure and flawless moral guardian, so why criticize Liu Donglai for this?

As long as what he does isn't immoral or unethical, that's enough.

He still needs to cling tightly to Liu Donglai's coattails!

The next day, when Li Xiangdong opened his eyes, Director Yan had already bought breakfast: a bag of crispy, golden fried dough sticks, two tea eggs, and a bowl of tofu pudding.

Where is Uncle Liu?

"I'm off to work."

Factory Director Yan took out two bowls, scooped out two bowls of tofu pudding with a spoon, and then set out the chopsticks.

Li Xiangdong glanced at the clock on the wall; it was seven o'clock in the morning. He washed his face and sat down at the dining table to eat breakfast.

Li Xiangdong pinched a crispy fried dough stick, dipped it in the tofu pudding, and then put it in his mouth to chew.

Mmm, the oil is fragrant and crispy, and the tofu pudding is savory and delicious!

"Uncle, let's go out for a walk this morning! Sigh, I just don't know when Director He from the Industry and Commerce Bureau will come to see me. I hope we don't stand him up!"

Uncle Yan slowly took a sip of tofu pudding. "Your Uncle Liu told us to look around today, and Director He won't be here until tomorrow."

"Oh, that's great. Uncle Liu is so thoughtful."

Uncle Yan glanced at him and said, "Well, if someone were to offer me a century-old ginseng root, I would be grateful to them."

Ugh, the smell of vinegar is so strong!

Li Xiangdong said with a smile, "Jealous?"

Uncle Yan denied it with a straight face, "I don't put vinegar in my tofu pudding!"

"Admit it, admit it, there's nothing shameful about it!"

Uncle Yan couldn't help but laugh at his shameless behavior.

It's not that he's jealous, he just feels, well, okay, he is jealous.

"Oh, Uncle, I saved a good wild ginseng for you! This kind of thing is for saving lives, you don't need too much! Snow frog oil is very nourishing, though, and I gave you much more dried forest frogs than I gave Uncle Liu!"

Li Xiangdong coaxed Uncle Yan gently and patiently.

He felt that his uncle was like a child now.

That's why people say the old are like children, and the young are like children!

Sure enough, when Uncle Yan thought about it, he realized that the dried frogs Xiang Dong gave him were indeed bigger than the ones he gave Dong Lai, and he felt strangely much better.

After breakfast, the two of them took some change and went out for a stroll.

As the capital city of Zhao Province, this city has a short history, but it is definitely prosperous.

Buses come and go every now and then, people on bicycles hurry along, and shops line the streets.

After walking for a while, they saw a large Xinhua Bookstore.

"Uncle, let's go in and take a look!"

"Let's go!"

Many people stood in front of the bookshelves, quietly browsing through the books. Although there were many people, it was very quiet.

Li Xiangdong directly asked the salesperson to tell him where he could find books on agricultural and forestry cultivation, and then selected a book about artificial mushroom cultivation.

The salesperson glanced at the price tag on the back of the book and crisply announced, "Thirty-eight cents!"

After paying the bill, the two of them went to the department store for a stroll.

At noon, we found a state-run restaurant for lunch, where we ate the provincial capital's specialty—beef soup and scallion pancakes.

In the afternoon, they bought some local specialties, Xuejia Wotou (a type of steamed bun) and Ganglu Shaobing (a type of baked flatbread). These things can be stored, and the two of them planned to take them back to their families to try.

As for other things, such as various electronic products and trendy fabrics, they did not make any purchases.

Factory Director Yan is from Beijing, and Li Xiangdong is also worldly-wise. Buying here is not as good as buying something better directly in Beijing.

On their way back, the two happened to come across a scrap metal recycling station. Li Xiangdong had a sudden thought: it had been a long time since he had visited Taobao!

Seeing that Li Xiangdong could barely walk, Factory Director Yan asked in bewilderment, "What's wrong? Are you tired?"

Li Xiangdong shook his head. "Let's go in and see if there's anything good!"

By bribing the manager of the waste recycling station with a pack of Baisha cigarettes costing seven cents, Li Xiangdong and Factory Director Yan were free to inspect the waste.

However, perhaps because the city's history is too short, Li Xiangdong didn't find anything of value.

Forget about valuable antiques, there aren't even any from the Republic of China era.

Disappointed, Li Xiangdong dusted off his hands and said to Director Yan, who was leisurely watching him scavenge for scrap, "Uncle, let's go, there's nothing here!"

Factory Director Yan chuckled to himself, "So you like rummaging through junk!"

Enraged, Li Xiangdong kicked the rotten wooden crate next to him away.

He kicked it quite hard; the rotten wooden box was already in bad shape.

"Gurgle—"

Something rolled out of the wooden crate and landed right at Director Yan's feet.

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