Chapter 33
Falling off a cliff...
I lived alone at the bottom of the cliff for a month...
Yu Wan was stunned. "You can't be so reckless. You just jump off a cliff like that? What if you encounter danger?"
Yu Cheng's small frame was greatly shocked, and he was too scared to speak. He kept staring at the spot where He Jing had jumped down, hoping that He Jing could climb back up.
Rong Xun climbed down from the tree. "You don't know the He family boy. He was incredibly mischievous as a child, no one in the family could control him. He was always running around and had no idea what danger was. When he was little, he went to play in the mountains and encountered a wolf. The wolf chased him for a long time, and finally chased him to the edge of a cliff, where he lost his footing and fell off. His family searched for more than a month, and by then they had given up hope. They just wanted to take their child's remains back and give him a proper burial. Who would have thought that when they found him at the bottom of the cliff, he was catching fish?"
The old man still finds it unbelievable when he recalls this incident from more than a decade ago.
Those little kids have all grown into young men.
Yu Wan pursed her lips, looking worriedly at the edge of the cliff. They were just young people, too impulsive.
They barely escaped with their lives, yet they don't know how to cherish them.
She believed that everyone was destined to die, but Rong Lao's attitude gave her a glimmer of hope.
Perhaps that person was truly beyond her comprehension, able to move freely even on cliffs and precipices?
Fifteen minutes later, the boy actually jumped up.
Yu Wan felt relieved.
Yu Cheng hugged He Jing, "Brother A Su, you scared my sister and me to death! We thought you were done for."
He Jing rubbed his head and explained calmly, "This cliff isn't that hard to climb. There are plenty of vines and stone steps to grab onto."
He glanced at the girl and saw that she looked serious, as if she was angry. He felt inexplicably guilty and scratched his forehead.
Rong Xun asked anxiously, "How is it? Did you find anything? You shouldn't have reached the bottom of the cliff in such a short time, right?"
The boy slowly took something out of his pocket, and everyone looked closely and saw that it was a ginseng root.
Rong Xun snatched it away, "Aha! It actually exists! Young man from the He family, you really didn't disappoint me!"
The girl's beautiful eyes widened as she stared at the ginseng in disbelief, her expression shifting from serious to astonished.
How is that possible?
She suddenly remembered something and immediately checked her basket. Sure enough, the American ginseng she had put in before leaving home was gone.
Holding the American ginseng, Rong Xun asked, still not satisfied, "Is there any more? If so, get me some more."
He Jing rolled his eyes at him. "That's all."
Rong Xun felt it was a pity, but he didn't insist any further.
"Oh well, at least I've finally gotten rid of this regret. That's great! That's really great!"
With the most important task completed, everyone no longer needs to search aimlessly.
Yu Wan wanted to go back, but Yu Cheng hadn't had enough fun yet and wanted to stay for another hour. Rong Xun was in a good mood and spoke up for him, so they finally decided to wander around a bit more.
As they turned around, they discovered a piece of wasteland, which they estimated to be about ten acres in size.
Yu Wan's eyes sparkled with excitement. Growing vegetables here would be much more cost-effective than going to the market to buy them every day.
This is the perfect season for planting vegetables.
She wanted to roll up her sleeves and get to work immediately, but unfortunately she didn't have any farm tools, so she had to put it off for now.
This piece of wasteland has been unused for many years and should be ownerless. Yu Wan still decided to find an opportunity to report it to the authorities and try to get a document to avoid future disputes.
If the snow and ice hadn't melted, we really wouldn't have noticed. There's just too much withered grass in this wasteland right now, and it all needs to be cleared away first.
Without hesitation, Yu Wan immediately took action, earning admiring glances from the three men. Then, He Jing and Yu Cheng also joined in.
Rong Xun found a comfortable spot and began to examine his treasures.
"I never thought that I, an old man, would actually find you in my lifetime."
Yu Wan felt she had fulfilled a promise and couldn't help but look at the boy beside her who was working diligently.
She spoke softly:
Why are you helping me?
The boy retorted, "If I don't help you, how can you find a suitable opportunity to bury things? That old man isn't that easy to fool, and he's practically searched the entire mountain. The only place he hasn't been to is an extremely dangerous spot."
Yu Wan had to admit that this person was really smart and could guess her thoughts.
Dealing with smart people is very easy; you can understand each other's thoughts without needing to explain much.
At the same time, it is also a very dangerous thing, as it is easy to expose one's own hand.
He Jing noticed the change in her eyes, as if she was about to make some kind of decision.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your affairs. As long as you don't tell me your secrets, I won't ask about them again."
The girl's eyes curved into crescent moons. "Thank you."
They cleared away the withered grass and branches from the wasteland, but the rest would have to wait until next time, such as when they needed plows, harrows, hoes, and seeds.
Before heading out, Yu Wan wasn't sure how long she would stay on the mountain, so she brought some food. Now, she set up a barbecue grill and had a barbecue in the wild. The group ate their fill before heading back.
When they set off, Yu Wan carried her own basket on her back. The boy wanted to help, but she refused.
This time there were no secrets in the basket, so Yu Wan didn't stop her.
Back at the restaurant, it was still light out. Yu Cheng said something and ran off to play.
Rong Xun went back to his room to sleep.
Yu's mother was sewing clothes in her room.
Yu Wan looked around and, after confirming there was nothing to do, took out her ledger and started calculating the accounts at the counter.
In fact, the restaurant's current profits are unique in this small border town. Not to mention others, even the tavern owned by Boss Du, which is just two streets away, only makes a few dozen taels of silver a day, and that's only when business is good.
As long as Yu Family Restaurant maintains this state, they will have no worries about the future.
I'm planning to use the few thousand taels of silver I've just saved to open a shop in the county town. Everything will cost money, and with all expenses and costs, it might take at least three months to break even. And that's in an ideal scenario. If anything goes wrong, I might lose everything.
If it were someone else, they might have taken the money and moved their whole family away, leaving this place forever.
"well……"
The boy, who was mopping the floor nearby, heard the soft sigh and said:
"What's wrong? The accounts aren't right?"
Yu Wan closed the ledger. "The accounts are fine; you've done a very thorough job. Tell me, is that General He they're talking about really dead or not?"
The boy paused in his work. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Yu Wan sighed, "I hope he lives well. I heard that even the enemy countries are quite afraid of him. We are so close to Liang. If he dies, we will definitely suffer."
He Jing pursed his thin lips and remained silent.
Yu Wan added, "I wonder if Liang has identified a new heir yet. Since the great battle between General He and the Crown Prince of Liang, these past few months have been strangely calm. Fortunately, this happened, otherwise my restaurant wouldn't be able to open."
At that moment, a beggar collapsed at the entrance of the eatery.
The two hurried over to check.
The beggar's face was filthy, making it impossible to recognize him. His clothes were tattered, and he was leaning on a stick in one hand and holding a broken bowl in the other.
He lay on the threshold, his upper body slumping inside the doorway.
Even his own parents probably wouldn't recognize him; He Jing frowned after just one glance.
There are many beggars these days, and people come to the door to beg for food from time to time. Yu Wan will give them some food each time.
However, it's quite rare to see someone faint right at the door.
She said, "I'll ask Mr. Rong to come downstairs and take a look at him."
Watching the girl climb the stairs, He Jing kicked the beggar.
Stop pretending.
The beggar opened one eye, then closed it again, his voice gentle yet laced with a roguish tone.
"I don't want to be a beggar anymore, I quit!"
He Jing sneered: "If you're not going to do it, go home."
The beggar suddenly sat up and glared at him, her beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with grievance.
“Hey, you surnamed He, do you have any humanity? You're living the high life here, while what about me? I'm a beggar every day, unable to go home. Who's more miserable than me? I'm a dignified man…”
Just then, the sound of people coming downstairs could be heard.
The beggar immediately pretended to faint and lay back down.
After taking his pulse, Rong Xun determined that he was hungry. "He's not seriously ill. He has some injuries, but nothing serious. Give him something to eat and he'll wake up. Don't worry."
After finishing his sentence, the old man yawned and went upstairs.
Yu Wan breathed a sigh of relief; at least she didn't die at her doorstep.
"He Suzhi, carry the person in, I'll go get something to eat."
He Jing watched her walk into the kitchen, then urged the beggar to leave.
"Get out of here right now. She's incredibly smart. Be careful she doesn't discover anything."
The beggar huffed, "I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving!"
Yu Wan cooked a bowl of wontons. When she brought it out, she saw that the beggar had woken up. She greeted him with a smile:
"You're awake. Have something to eat."
The beggar slid off the chair, knelt down in front of her, and cried, begging to be taken in.
"Kind young lady, please have pity on me. I don't want wages, just food and lodging. I promise to work hard and never slack off."
Yu Wan looked embarrassed, "This..."
She's not running a charity. If everyone came to her asking to be taken in, wouldn't her restaurant become a shelter?
With tears in his eyes, the beggar recounted his tragic life story.
“I lost my mother when I was three and my father when I was five. Everything my parents left me was seized by my uncles and relatives. I have been ostracized and looked down upon since I was a child. I was kicked out of my home when I was a teenager. I wanted to make something of myself, but I was betrayed and I barely escaped. I have become a beggar. Kind bodhisattva, please have mercy on me. I promise to work hard and not eat for free.”
Yu Wan was both amused and exasperated; this beggar was certainly eloquent.
"Get up and eat something first. We can talk about it after you finish eating. Don't faint again."
The beggar originally wanted to continue offering his services to get permission as soon as possible, but then he smelled a delicious aroma that instantly awakened his taste buds.
Without saying a word, he got up, took the bowl of wontons with both hands, and large tears rolled down his cheeks.
"It smells so good!"
Yu Wan smiled without saying a word. Her face was all smudged from crying, but her eyes were still pretty.
The beggar ate so much he couldn't stop talking.
He Jing took the opportunity to pull the girl aside, saying, "We already have enough staff in the shop."
Yu Wan glanced at the beggar who was engrossed in eating wontons. After finishing the last wonton, he picked up the bowl and gulped down the wonton soup.
"But he doesn't want wages!"
He Jing was speechless: "..."
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