I sat on the stool, propping my chin up with one hand as I looked at him. "You eat first, then we can talk slowly~"
Xie Yuancheng only took a sniff, and the contents of the cup floated to the tip of his nose and then disappeared. "Ying'er, you promised to give me something to eat, how come it disappeared after just one sniff?"
"This stuff is based on pollen, so of course you can smell it when you bring it close to your nose."
"Pollen?" Xie Yuancheng looked at me, then laughed. "That bird gave you this again, didn't it?"
"Yes, I adjusted the flavor a bit too. I brought it to you personally, aren't you touched?"
"I'm touched. It would be even better if you mixed it yourself." Xie Yuancheng sighed and gestured for me to come over and smell it. It had a hint of gardenia fragrance. Then he nodded my head and led me out the door.
"Who says otherwise? Everything in our building was stolen, even kitchen knives. I'm really worried that they'll do whatever they want once they have a weapon."
"I'll go back and lock the door, and I won't open it for anyone who knocks."
"Me too."
After everyone had left, Madam Xiao and Madam Feng closed the courtyard gate.
When Xiao Xuan saw them come in, he began to talk about his big plan to grow vegetables: "Mother, we bought some vegetable seeds and put them in the house. If they can sprout, we can grow vegetables in the winter."
"Growing vegetables? Why are you growing vegetables instead of studying?"
When Madam Xiao heard that her son had started growing vegetables, she felt a surge of resentment. From childhood to adulthood, she had rarely even let Xiao Xuan wash her clothes.
“Mother, we’re raising fish fry in the backyard. These are special circumstances now. I’m not being old-fashioned anymore, so why are you being conservative?”
This was the first time Madam Feng had heard Xiao Xuan speak so normally. "It's rare for my son-in-law to say something so simple. Eldest sister, just agree to it. Xiao Jin and I are both good at raising fish, so don't worry."
"Yes, yesterday Brother Li and I helped to build a simple fishpond, but the fish are too small. They'll probably grow bigger in a year or two."
Xiao Xuan was still happy when he heard that it would take one or two years for him to grow up: "One or two years?"
"Brother-in-law, your fish fry are so small, do you really expect them to grow into big fish in a month or two?!"
Jie Jin wanted to say it yesterday, but Xiao Xuan told them with a serious expression that the small fish fry could be eaten after one or two months. If he disagreed, he would probably get scolded.
Liang Mi was also stunned. He had never raised fish before and thought it was really as Xiao Xuan said.
"But I read in the book that small fish fry grow especially fast in winter." Xiao Xuan wondered, could it be that the book was lying to him!
"Brother-in-law, don't worry about the fish. I know a fishmonger at the market. I'll go out and see if they're still selling at the market. If they are, I'll buy a dozen or so."
Ms. Feng is familiar with the fishmonger. "We can't catch any fish right now, so we're buying them and keeping them in the small pond in the backyard. We'll take them out when we want to eat fish."
"Son, don't always believe what you read in books. Remember to ask more questions."
Xiao Xuan felt frustrated; this was the first time he had suffered a setback. Jie Dan knew he would make a fool of himself; he had spoken so confidently when they went grocery shopping yesterday, so it was difficult to refute him.
In the end, Jie Jin and Madam Feng bought fifteen fresh fish and put them in the pond. Jie Dan laughed along with them, knowing that Xiao Xuan wasn't good at everything.
Xiao Xuan was depressed all day. When he was teaching Jie Dan to write in the evening, he saw her still smiling and couldn't help but complain.
"Wife, stop laughing. You can't even write properly."
Jie Dan put the pen aside: "It's all your fault. I thought you were going to build a small fishpond at home. It turns out you really wanted to raise small fish fry to eat during the New Year. Even Brother Li has been led astray by you."
"How was I supposed to know the fish fry would grow so slowly? But I did adjust the water in the pond and added some algae, so the fish can live in it for a long time."
"Yes, even if I don't live long, we still have cured meat, dried beef and dried fish at home, enough to eat for the whole winter."
"We need fresh vegetables at home. Things are starting to get chaotic now. In a few days, vegetables will be very expensive."
Seeing his earnest analysis, Jie Dan thought about the treasures he had hidden.
"Your treasures are enough to last you a long time, why are you worried about vegetable prices?"
"Don't worry about it. Spend money where you need to. For example, this afternoon I went to the pawnshop to redeem my bracelet. I was willing to pay three times the amount, but I still couldn't get it back. I really don't know which blind person bought the bracelet."
Xiao Xuan took a few taels of silver with him when he went out. At first, the pawnshop said it was for sale, and he thought they were trying to raise the price. How could it have been sold in just one day?
Later, he was willing to pay a high price, and the pawnshop displayed all the bracelets they had collected, but there was indeed no bracelet belonging to Jie Dan!
"Let's just consider that bracelet lost; it'll make us feel better that way." Jie Dan was also sad; she really liked that bracelet.
Yincheng was in chaos for a day. The imperial envoy originally wanted to use the refugee situation to give Lord Li a hard time, but his imperial sword was stolen and found in a ditch.
When Constable Gu went to retrieve it, some refugees ran out from both sides, and he and several of his accompanying constables were beaten black and blue.
The sword was originally going to be taken by the refugees, but luckily it snowed. Fortunately, Li Jia'an held on to the sword with all his might. Although there were many refugees, they were easy to catch if they were alone. So the refugee with the sword dropped it and ran away.
The imperial sword had some pearls and gems on it, but the refugees took them away, leaving only the empty frame inlaid with jade.
In the end, the imperial envoy didn't have time to get angry. This had happened in Yincheng, and Lord Li and his constables had all witnessed it. So he changed his expression and, in the middle of the night, was escorted by two constables to leave the city via a side road. For the imperial envoy, getting the jewels and gems set on the sword was the most important thing at the moment.
There were already few constables, and with two strong men missing overnight, Lord Li was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Already in a bad mood, Yang stumbled in and burst into tears.
"Master, something terrible has happened! My daughter has run away with the imperial envoy."
Lord Li took the letter from her hand, his face turning pale with anger: "Foolish! How dare she follow the Imperial Envoy!"
"Waaah, Yu'er said she wants to go with the Imperial Envoy. On the one hand, she can live a life of luxury, and on the other hand, she can talk to the master."
Madam Yang covered her face and cried anxiously. The imperial envoy was old enough to be Li Yu's father, yet she was still going with him. With war raging outside, what if something happened to her on the road?
Lord Li's hands were trembling as he held the letter. Just then, Constable Gu entered, and Lord Li hurriedly grabbed Constable Gu and asked, "Constable Gu, where is the Imperial Envoy now?"
"Sir, the refugees are all asleep now, which is why they were able to sneak out of the city. But according to the soldiers guarding the city gate, another group of people have come from outside. They probably heard that the refugees were looting things in Yincheng, so they followed them."
"Sigh!" Lord Li threw the letter on the ground, his hand slamming against the back of the chair. "It was all my carelessness back then. I had just transferred five hundred soldiers to Qingyong Pass when the refugees arrived."
"My lord, please take care of yourself. Right now, we can only recruit from the young people throughout the city."
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