The memory of their donkey cart being robbed while selling mushrooms seemed like only yesterday, and Yun Ruoxia shuddered at the thought. "Ling-jie, have you forgotten? Those thugs from the shop were the ones who robbed our donkey cart that day."
"Auntie, you're not mistaken?"
"Of course not. I'll never forget that curly hair. You tell me, we stole their business back then, and now that they're so capable, even running a security escort agency, won't they come after us?"
Speaking of settling scores, Yunling remembered that she had lured people into brothels and then instructed the madam to sell them to Nanfeng Pavilion. If it came to settling scores and getting revenge, it was really not unreasonable to look for her.
Yunling swallowed hard. "Aunt, let's avoid this escort agency from now on."
"good."
There are many things sold at the market. On the first and fifteenth of each month, you'll also see people from various villages carrying all sorts of unusual items to sell at the market.
Yunling paid extra attention to the stalls on both sides, not missing a single item, but ultimately failed to find any elephant grass seeds and had to return empty-handed.
However, Chen Jie had already secured a deal. Today, the young master of the Lu family business came to his door, intending for their escort agency to act as a bodyguard for the business. The two were of similar age and got along very well. Moreover, the price offered by Lu Yinghuai was very attractive, and he found it hard to refuse.
Thus, the cooperation between the two companies was finalized.
On the way back to the village, Yunling couldn't help but ask Yun Shenghua about the elephant grass seeds, guessing that Yun Shenghua might have come across them, given how many things the trading company handled every day.
"No."
"Father, think about it again, or perhaps it's an elephant grass seedling."
"No, there really isn't. Everything that enters the business must be recorded in a register. Your father checks it every day, but he just hasn't seen it."
Yunling was somewhat annoyed, but still unwilling to give up. She tugged at Yun Shenghua again, "Father, does your trading company have merchant ships that sail the seas? Have you ever been to Kunlun Continent?"
Yun Shenghua chuckled, "Your elephant grass seeds are in Kunlun Continent? How do you know about Kunlun Continent?"
“Father forgot that I can read. I saw it by chance when I went to the bookstore with my sister.”
Yun Shenghua had no doubts. "Do you know about Arabia? Although we have merchant ships, most of our overseas trade is handled by Arab merchants. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he allowed our people to go to sea, but only a few dared to try."
Yun Ling nodded, tilting her head to look at Yun Shenghua.
Yun Shenghua was amused. "You know, I'll write to the Arab merchant tomorrow and ask about the elephant grass seeds."
"Thank you, Father."
Yun Shenghua dared not delay any longer. The next day, upon returning to the trading company, he wrote and sent a letter. However, the reply took a very long time to arrive. Firstly, winter was approaching, and the weather was getting colder, making travel slower. Secondly, the merchant ships that had traveled far were all eager to return home for the New Year. Therefore, he had a great deal of business to attend to.
The letter was sent back during the year-end season, and the roads were very crowded, so Yun Shenghua received the letter on New Year's Eve.
The letter said that a merchant ship returning from the sea brought a lot of seeds from Kunlun Island, but it unloaded its cargo at the port of Qimin. Moreover, due to differences in the meaning of the words, he also had difficulty finding elephant grass seeds, so he suggested that it would be best to go there in person to select them.
After Yun Shenghua finished reading the letter, Zhang's smile slowly faded, and the atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly turned cold.
Yunling wrapped her arms around Zhang's and said sweetly, "Mother~"
"No matter what you shout, it won't do any good. Your father has things to do."
“Mother, I’ll just go with the escort agency. They can transport goods and even more people.”
“Yunling, what are you saying? That’s not a county town, that’s Fujian, it’s far away from here. Do you know anyone there? Do you know their customs? Do you know what dangers there are? You’ll only be ten years old after the New Year. What will I do if something happens to you?”
When Zhang got angry, no one dared to touch their chopsticks. But you can't blame her. Heaven knows how devastated she was when Yunling was abducted by human traffickers; she was on the verge of madness.
Yunling nestled into Zhang's shoulder, sniffed, and said, "Mother, I've grown smarter over the years. I know how to hide when I encounter danger, and I know how to run away when I see bad people. I really want to go."
"Ling-jie, aren't we doing just fine now? We have enough to eat and drink, and we can even save some money. What more could we ask for? Why do we have to take risks and cause trouble?"
“It’s not that I’m dissatisfied, it’s my hobby, it’s what I want to do. I think I was born to be restless. Mom, when I was learning to swim, you said something to me: ‘It’s never a bad thing for a girl to learn more things.’ Isn’t that what I’m learning now?”
Yunling softened her voice, "I'm already ten years old. Four years have passed. Mother, you should start to feel at ease about me now."
Zhang's eyes reddened, but she still refused to give in.
Yun Ruochun put down her chopsticks and said, "I'll go with Ling'er. Don't worry, sister-in-law. I've hunted wild boars weighing over 300 jin before. As long as I'm here, I won't let anyone hurt a single hair on Ling'er's head."
“My wife will go too. If this brat misbehaves, I’ll tie her up and bring her back right away.”
Yun Ruoxia also wanted to go. That would be great! She had heard that there was a sea in Fujian, so there must be plenty of business opportunities there. However, once Yun Ling left, the mushrooms would still need to be sold, the fungi would need to be picked, and the honey would need to be scraped. There would be a lot of work to do, and she wouldn't be able to stay idle.
Yun Shenghua patted Zhang's hand. "After the spring, Uncle Hua will lead the escort team, and the Lu family's escort team will also look after each other along the way. As long as Ling'er and Chunniang dress up as young men, there won't be any problems."
"That's true, but I'll think about it some more."
"Mother."
Yunling clung to Zhang like a little tail all night, eventually rubbing her ears until they were calloused, and only stopped after getting her permission.
Yunling was overjoyed. Lying in bed under a thin blanket, she didn't feel cold or sleepy. She could even imagine how happy she would be if she could grow mushrooms from elephant grass.
Yun Chu felt a little disappointed. When had she ever been so far away from Yun Ling? Moreover, going to an unfamiliar place was the easiest way to get sick from the change in environment.
"Lingniang, how long will it take you to get back?"
"Is my sister missing me?"
"That's what I wanted to do."
Yunling had never experienced someone expressing their feelings so directly before. A thought immediately popped into her head, leaning towards Yun Chu, "Sister is so kind~"
“Lingniang, my second aunt said there’s a sea over in Fujian. I wonder what it’s like. But it must be very, very big to be able to hold so many merchant ships. Just like what Grandpa said, ‘The sea accepts all rivers.’”
Yunling didn't have a good impression of the sea. The sea she saw when she was born was black, with all kinds of garbage and oil stains floating on the surface, and flies were the kings of the sea.
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