"That's precisely why our master entrusted this task to you," the teahouse owner comforted him. "If you really find this sweet potato, you'll have done a great service. Don't forget your good friend then. Come, you've worked hard getting this cartload of stuff. Go to the teahouse for a cup of tea and a rest before you go back to report."
Upon hearing this, Steward Xu smiled slightly. Indeed, if he found this item, he would be rewarded with an official position, but he didn't know if he would have the luck.
He followed the teahouse owner inside.
Suddenly, the carriage attendant shouted, "Who goes there? Come out quickly!"
It turned out that the servant had led the carriage to the thatched shed. The horse was sensitive to the smell of strangers and became restless, panting heavily. The servant glanced at the back of the carriage and saw a red hem of clothing in the corner of the thatched shed, which is why he shouted.
The teahouse owner and Manager Xu immediately became alert, and the servants in the courtyard came out with their tools and surrounded the thatched shed.
"Who goes there? Come out quickly!" the teahouse owner shouted.
Yan Ping'er immediately pulled Lin Fenghe up, her face flushed with shyness as she hid behind him, scolding, "Brother Feng, I told you this wasn't a good place to talk! Now so many people have seen us. If word gets out, my reputation will be ruined, and my parents will kill me! What are we going to do...?"
As Yan Ping'er spoke, she began to sob softly on Lin Fenghe's shoulder, as if she were afraid.
Lin Fenghe was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He pretended to be flustered and hurriedly comforted Yan Ping'er:
“Ping’er, I’m sorry, I’ve missed you so much. I finally managed to find this opportunity to talk to you alone today since you came to the teahouse to watch the opera. Don’t worry, I will definitely go to your house to propose marriage and get your mother to agree to let me marry you. If they beat you to death, I will die with you.”
The teahouse owner and Manager Xu looked at the pitiful couple with disdain, but they were also relieved.
"You two, don't even bother with your trysts in my backyard. Go away, go away... get out of here now."
The teahouse owner waved his hand to shoo people away.
"Sorry, sorry, I disturbed you..."
Lin Fenghe bowed apologetically and hurriedly left with Yan Ping'er.
The two left the teahouse, and Lin Fenghe walked quickly ahead.
Yan Ping'er chased after them, saying, "Hey, Feng He, why are you walking so fast? Brother Shuping and Uncle Song will definitely catch up with us when they see us come out. Let's wait a bit..."
After walking some distance from the teahouse, Lin Fenghe suddenly stopped, and Yan Ping'er almost bumped into him, but luckily she stopped in time.
"Fenghe, what's wrong? I know you've been worried these past few days because you haven't been able to find Aunt Anxin, and so have I. We'll keep looking, we're sure we'll find her..."
"I found it," Lin Fenghe interrupted her.
Yan Ping'er, who was eloquently comforting Lin Fenghe, suddenly stopped talking, her eyes widening sharply: "Wh-what?! Fenghe, say it again!"
At this moment, Yan Shuping and Song Anbang also rushed over from the teahouse, and stopped in their tracks upon hearing Lin Fenghe's words.
Lin Fenghe turned around and looked at the group. His eyes, which had been listless for days, regained their light. He said again, "I found it. I found news of my mother."
Everyone's eyes lit up with excitement.
Song Anbang stepped forward and put his arm around Lin Fenghe's shoulder: "Fenghe, where did you find out about my sister? Tell me quickly."
“Yes, Fenghe, haven’t you been with me at the teahouse the whole time?” Yan Ping’er suddenly realized, “Could the information be in the teahouse? But I haven’t found anything.”
Lin Fenghe looked in the direction of the teahouse. "That's right, it's in the teahouse. The message was on the carriage that the servant brought over. I saw the number my mother engraved on that carriage, '995'."
“It’s my sister, it’s my sister!” Song Anbang affirmed. “995 means save me. Only my sister would use such a number.”
"And that man also said he was looking for sweet potatoes. My mother once said that potatoes are also called taro, so this sweet potato must be something my mother asked him to find," Lin Fenghe added.
Yan Shuping's eyes lit up, but he remained calm: "In other words, following that man will lead us to Hui Shuren. I'll send people to do it right away."
...
A few more days passed, and the sweet potato was still nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the Second Prince was growing more and more impatient, and would occasionally come to nudge Song Anxin. After thinking it over, Song Anxin realized that only cement could satisfy his perverted demands.
Solid and sturdy, it can be used to build roads, city walls, flood control dikes, houses, and so on. If it were popularized throughout the country, this era would surely enter a new period of civilization and prosperity.
How could the Second Prince not understand? His eyes blazed with immense light.
Seeing his expectant look, Song Anxin coughed and said, "Second Prince, this cement still needs to be developed. You will need to wait a little longer."
This time, she wasn't deliberately delaying; she genuinely wanted to figure out how to make cement in ancient times, which was incredibly difficult.
The Second Prince smiled and said, "With such intelligence and talent, I believe that cement will soon be developed by Hui Shuren, just like gunpowder. I remember that Hui Shuren took almost seven days to develop gunpowder. How about she takes another seven days? I will wait for news from Hui Shuren."
Without waiting for Song Anxin's reply, he got up and left the room.
If looks could kill, Song Anxin would have wanted to stab this Second Prince a thousand times over. Was this supposed to be a negotiation?! Seven days! Did you think I knew magic?!
She sighed, resigned herself to her fate, picked up her pen, and wrote down the materials needed for the cement. It has to be said that this kid has some luck. The main components of the cement are limestone, clay, and iron ore powder. Among them, iron ore powder is the hardest to find. It just so happens that this kid is secretly mining iron ore to forge weapons, and the iron slag produced can be used.
In ancient times, there were no cars or other things that could damage roads, so there was no need to make things as sophisticated as they are today. A simple version of cement was sufficient for this era.
As Song Anxin pondered, her thoughts drifted away. She wondered if Feng He and the others had discovered the message she had sent out, and whether she would die here in seven days if she failed to develop cement.
Three days passed like this. Song Anxin was resignedly applying cement to the yard again and again. After applying several experimental cement blocks, she straightened up and went inside to rest.
Just as she entered the house and passed the guards at the gate, Song Anxin felt someone tug at her sleeve. She stopped and turned her head slightly to look at the guard suspiciously, only to see the guard quickly wink at her.
Song Anxin was overjoyed; they had finally found them!
"Shuren, is there something you need?"
When Granny Zhang saw Song Anxin suddenly stop and turn to her side, she asked.
Song Anxin didn't show it on her face. She said, "It's nothing. I'm a little hungry. Go to the kitchen and get me some food." She thought for a moment and then added, "Oh, and brew me a pot of refreshing tea. I've been too tired lately. I need to stay alert so that your master can quickly develop something."
Granny Zhang hesitated for a moment, as it would take quite a while to prepare food and tea.
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