Yun San and Yun Qi had been sitting in the living room for a while. When they saw Su Kunliang and the steward come in, they quickly stood up and bowed.

"Master Su, how have you been?"

Su Kunliang returned the greeting, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Third Master Yun and Seventh Master Yun. I am doing well."

After exchanging greetings, Yun San took out a letter from his pocket and presented it to you with both hands, saying, "This is a letter that Young Master Su asked me to deliver to you."

Su Kunliang took the letter and put it in his sleeve pocket. "Thank you for your trouble!"

"Master Su, there's no need to be so polite!" Yun San said, pointing to the several boxes on the ground. "These are New Year's gifts from our city lord to Master Su. We hope you won't find them too rude."

"Not at all, not at all. It is I, Su, who am unworthy of such an honor, and it would be disrespectful to refuse it." Su Kunliang looked ashamed.

Yun Santan said frankly, "Master Su, please don't be like that. These are specialties of Longtan, just a small token of the city lord's respect for you."

Su Kunliang nodded. "You two have come from afar, would you like to have a meal here before heading back?"

"No need to trouble ourselves, we have important matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave now!"

Yun San and his companion stood up and bid farewell to Su Kunliang.

Su Kunliang tried to persuade him to stay, but he couldn't persuade him any further, so he could only see him to the gate.

Zhu Jinhui returned with her servants after shopping and saw Su Kunliang standing at the gate, looking at two figures walking away on the other side of the street.

Thinking it was someone from the old house again, she quickened her pace to Su Kunliang's side, frowning as she asked, "Master, who's here?"

Su Kunliang withdrew his gaze. "It was Yunzhi who sent a letter back."

"Where is it? Let me see," Zhu Jinhui said excitedly.

"Let's go home and talk about it."

Su Kunliang glanced at the people peeking out from under the doors and felt displeased. He and his wife went inside, and the servants immediately closed the door.

Back in his study, Su Kunliang opened the letters. One of them was addressed to Zhu Jinhui, specifically to report the character Ping.

Zhu Jinhui took the letter, sat down, and began to read. After reading only a few lines, she was already in tears.

After reading the letter, Su Kunliang fell silent. He sat quietly in his study, staring blankly at the bookshelves full of books, unaware of when Zhu Jinhui left.

In his letter, Su Yunzhi told him that when he arrived at Longtan, he realized how narrow his previous knowledge had been.

Everyone knows that studying is for self-cultivation, family harmony, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world, and for the honor and rise of one's family.

But now he thinks more about how reading is about understanding the great principles and benefiting the people, and about transcending personal gain.

Looking at all the ancient books on the bookshelf, which had traveled thousands of miles from Sword City, Su Kunliang felt lost.

As a family heir, he was more concerned with how to preserve and continue the family's legacy amidst the flames of war, and how to make a name for himself in the process.

Besides these, what else can he do?

"Master, Master."

Finally, Zhu Jinhui couldn't help but interrupt him.

Su Kunliang lifted his eyelids to look at her, and Zhu Jinhui sighed helplessly when she saw his dejected appearance.

"Master, please come out and take a look at the contents of those chests outside. I've never seen many of them before."

His eyes swept over the several boxes one by one. Su Kunliang looked at the thoughtful notes left in each box, which contained ingots, brown sugar, fermented black beans, and salt.

He tried them all and couldn't help but marvel at how Lin Yinan and the others could make such things in such a short time.

"Sir, should we send some over to the old house?" Zhu Jinhui was most filial to the elders in the family.

Su Kunliang said, "Let's pick some of each and send them to our parents."

"What about Ru'er?"

After thinking for a moment, Su Kunliang said, "When we go back to my parents' home on the second day of the Lunar New Year, let's pick some things to give her as a return gift. We don't need to give her any salt."

His arrangement coincided with her own thoughts, and Zhu Jinhui was very happy.

Looking at everything Su Yunzhi wrote about Longtan in the letter, Su Kunliang planned to visit Longtan after the New Year, no matter what.

Yun San and Yun Qi went to Zuixianlou, and there was one more person besides Deng Kang and his son.

"Please take your seats, gentlemen," Deng Kang said courteously, rising to greet them.

As soon as the two men sat down, Deng Shifa considerately served them tea. "May I ask how you gentlemen are addressed?"

"My name is Yun San."

"My name is Yun Qi."

Upon hearing the two readily state their names, Deng Kang exchanged a barely perceptible glance with the other person sitting there.

Yun San and Yun Qi's eyes flickered slightly, but they pretended not to know.

Deng Kang said with a smile, "Let me introduce you two. This is my brother-in-law, Lord Lu Changsheng, and this is my son."

After exchanging greetings, the innkeeper and his waiter brought out the food.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, Deng Kang readily paid the balance and a deposit for the next batch of goods.

"Gentlemen, why don't you stay here for a couple of days before heading back?" Deng Kang warmly invited.

Yun San's cold face showed a faint smile. "Thank you for your hospitality, Patriarch Deng! We have taken care of everything. We are leaving today to go back for the New Year, so we will not stay any longer."

Deng Kang said politely, "Then next time I'll definitely stay for two days."

"No problem, no problem."

Yun San and Yun Qi left Zuixianlou and headed straight for the dock.

Watching the two figures depart, Lu Changsheng said in a deep voice, "Brother, these two are agile and must be highly skilled in martial arts."

"The name is chosen haphazardly; he looks like a servant," Deng Kang muttered.

Lu Changsheng immediately denied it, "They are not servants. Their eyes are filled with a chilling murderous aura, an aura that only those who have been on the battlefield possess."

"Uncle, you said they were soldiers?" Deng Shifa asked, puzzled.

"That's possible!"

After a moment's thought, Deng Kang said, "It seems that the people from Longtan are not to be underestimated."

Lu Changsheng stared into the distance, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, deep in thought. What he didn't say was that, judging from the names of these two people, they seemed more like secret guards trained at great expense by a powerful family in the capital.

The three of them then rode together in a horse-drawn carriage to the warehouse to inspect the batch of salt that had arrived.

Longtan

With the New Year's goods almost ready, the whole family is cleaning the house, putting up window decorations, and bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

This is their first year in Nanman Prefecture. They have managed to grow two seasons of rice, which has prevented everyone from going hungry, making it a bumper year.

The Yun family's house and the Lin family's house were right next to each other. Old Mrs. Zhao was with her two daughters-in-law, while Yun's mother was with her three daughters-in-law to worship at the door.

This is the day to send the Kitchen God to heaven. On the offering table are cooked meat, sesame candy, and wine. Yunmu and her sister-in-law keep chanting.

Everyone is hoping that next year will be better than this year!

Yunmu was making sesame candy with her two sisters-in-law. Considering the purchasing power of the people in Longtan, the few shops in the county town didn't sell these small pastries. So, if they wanted to eat something, they had to make it themselves.

Sesame candy is an important offering in the worship ceremony, and Mica had prepared all the necessary raw materials in advance.

To make sesame candy, you first need to remove sand and impurities from the wheat and glutinous rice ingredients and wash them clean, then soak them in cold water for two to three hours.

The wheat is sprouted, then chopped and set aside. The soaked glutinous rice is cooked into glutinous rice, cooled, and then mixed with the chopped malt to ferment and saccharify into maltose.

Then remove the husks from the sesame seeds, rinse them to remove the empty husks, and finally roast the sesame seeds.