"You'll find out when you get there," Liu Zhiheng said with a smile, keeping everyone in suspense.
The carriage clattered along, and in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, it arrived at the busiest commercial street.
This commercial street was originally the center of the city, lined with shops.
Cloth shops, money shops, taverns, teahouses, jewelry stores, calligraphy and painting shops, cosmetics shops—you name it, they had it.
Since the capital was moved here, the city's population has suddenly increased, and the commercial streets are so bustling that they seem to explode every day.
Li Lao Er had never been here before, and he curiously lifted the carriage curtain to peek out.
"Wow, it's really lively here! I thought our Hot Spring Valley was pretty good, but compared to this, it's nothing."
"Haha, of course, people from the whole city come here to visit." Liu Zhiheng laughed. "Your family's hot spring valley is a good place, but your family just won't let more people into the valley. You only welcome about a hundred guests a day."
Li Lao Er shook his head, "The people in our village aren't greedy. They just want to live a peaceful life and have some income. Besides, the valley is a bathing place. If there are too many guests, it's easy for trouble to break out."
Liu Zhiheng couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "I have to say, your family members are truly exceptionally smart and honest. You know, everyone wants to earn more money."
As the two were talking, the carriage stopped in front of a teahouse. They got out of the carriage, went upstairs, and entered a private room.
Mr. Wen and Mrs. Cui were both inside the house, and they were pleasantly surprised to see Li Lao Er.
"What brings you here, Second Master? What a coincidence!"
Li Lao Er quickly bowed, blushing slightly, and replied, "Mr. Wen, Madam Cui, it's fine with other people, but you are close to my family and naturally know that I have no official rank and am not worthy of being called 'Mr.' Please just call me Yusheng."
Mr. Wen and Mrs. Cui didn't stand on ceremony and invited him to sit down and have tea together.
Li Lao Er was even more puzzled. What could have brought these three together?
But he didn't ask. Instead, he brought up something else, "Mr. Wen, my mother sewed two pairs of shoes for you and left them in Brother Liu's car. Don't forget to take them with you when you go back."
Mr. Wen smiled and quickly replied, "Okay, thank you for troubling me again, Auntie."
Madam Cui also asked, "The other day I asked Sister Qiong to go back and deliver some snacks to Fu Niu. I heard... she still has a low-grade fever. How is she now?"
This was, after all, a teahouse, and fearing that someone might overhear, Madam Cui avoided mentioning the words "Lord Marquis," being very cautious.
Li Lao Er understood and replied, "He's much better today. His fever has subsided, and he just needs to rest and recuperate. Lao Si and the others caught a lot of wild pigeons in the mountains and stew them into soup every day. I heard that this is good for healing wounds."
Everyone nodded, feeling a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection).
The people of Suijintan are truly remarkable. They are just ordinary people, yet they seem to possess some peculiar ability that makes it exceptionally easy for others to feel a sense of belonging to them.
The dignified Marquis of Xinting, the emperor's cousin, wields considerable military power and is a figure admired and envied by everyone in this new capital.
As a result, the Marquis did not live in his mansion, nor did he attend banquets to associate with powerful figures; he preferred to stay in Suijin Beach.
Even when he was critically injured and on the verge of death, he did not return to Xindu.
The villagers are indeed grateful people, and even though their strength is very small, they do their best to repay kindness.
Leaving aside the Marquis, these three—the daughter of a Grand Secretary and the former wife of the Marquis of Zhenbei, an Imperial Censor from a scholarly family, and the eldest son of an old and prestigious family—are all gathered here for the sake of the Li family.
In this world, money is easy to come by, but true love is so hard to find.
What they valued was the sincerity of the Li family and the authenticity of Broken Gold Beach.
Just then, a commotion broke out downstairs, and everyone turned to look out the window.
Not far from the commercial street, a group of people dressed in mourning clothes were approaching.
In the middle of the procession, a black coffin was being pulled by a carriage, and funeral banners were stuck around the carriage, making it look rather eerie.
The man in the lead looked to be in his early thirties, scattering paper money as he walked, while the two women behind him wept bitterly.
"Dad, sob sob, how could you leave us like this? What are we going to do!"
"Father, you died unjustly! You died such a tragic death!"
"God is blind!"
The commercial street was already crowded, and the sudden arrival of such a group of people surprised everyone. They quickly moved aside to the shops on both sides and began to discuss it.
"What happened?"
"I don't know, but judging from the tone of his words, there's something fishy about his death!"
At this moment, the convoy stopped in front of a restaurant. The man at the front scattered paper money all over the ground, and then pointed at the restaurant entrance, yelling and cursing, "Everyone, look! This is Sihaiju! They poisoned the food and killed my father!"
Everyone watching was utterly astonished.
If restaurant owners poison the food, wouldn't everyone who eats there be doomed?!
The two women were also crying pitifully.
"Waaah, my dad ate here the day before yesterday, and after he got home he kept going to the outhouse. The doctor prescribed medicine but it didn't stop. Last night he couldn't hold on any longer and finally passed away."
"Waaah, Sihaiju has killed people! Is there no one to stand up for us ordinary folks?!"
Inside Sihaiju, there were still quite a few people eating, but upon seeing this, they all threw down their chopsticks and ran out, looking panicked.
They ate quite a lot just now, could they have been poisoned too?
Some people were scratching their throats, while others had livid faces; all were extremely angry.
The manager and waiter of Sihaiju also rushed out, hurriedly trying to calm everyone down.
"Distinguished guests, please don't panic. Sihaiju has always had an excellent reputation. How could we do such a thing? It must be a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
Neighbors from the shops on either side also stood up to speak in their defense.
"Yes, Sihaiju has been open for more than ten years, and nothing like this has ever happened before!"
"Yesterday, I even treated some friends to dinner here, and there were no problems at all. It must be a misunderstanding!"
The restaurant owner repeatedly bowed gratefully, saying, "Thank you all for your kind words. This matter came so suddenly, I was completely bewildered!"
The middle-aged man in mourning didn't care about any of that and started cursing, "You're all neighbors, birds of a feather, of course you'll speak up for Sihaiju! But my father died because Sihaiju killed him! I went to your boss yesterday, and your boss said he would give me an explanation, but there's still no word from him today."
"They think we're easy to bully! My father died a terrible death. He was perfectly healthy, and he died from diarrhea! I, as his son, hadn't even had a chance to properly take care of him before he was gone! Father, I'm so sorry! Father, your death was so tragic!"
The middle-aged man became increasingly distressed as he spoke, tilting his head back and sobbing loudly, pounding his chest with his fists.
Such pain and regret are heartbreaking to witness.
The child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there!
The restaurant owner was sweating profusely with anxiety. Judging from what this person said, the owner must have known about the matter and wanted to suppress it, but they couldn't reach an agreement, so the other party came to cause trouble.
"Go find the boss quickly!" He urged the young shop assistant to hurry up and go to the south of the city to find someone. The young shop assistant squeezed out of the crowd and quickly disappeared.
This family seemed determined to make a scene; their wailing grew louder and louder, blocking half the street.
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