Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

"I'm so sorry, your cakes are sweet and sour, just to my liking. I lost control of my mouth and ate a little too much."

"Don't worry, Miss Yuntao. I have some silver on me. Just name a price and I'll pay for your meals for the next two days."

As he spoke, Shen Shulan was about to take off the purse hanging around his waist.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, it's just a few meals, it's nothing, no need to pay for it."

"Let's not get too far off topic. What exactly did you want to tell me just now? I'm waiting here."

Cheng Yuntao stood up and held down Shen Shulan's hand that was trying to open the purse. For her who had a portable farm, these foods were nothing at all.

"Oh, back to the topic."

Shen Shulan also realized that he shouldn't waste time on it.

"First of all, I want to express my gratitude to Miss Yuntao. If you hadn't rescued me, I think I would be dead now."

"Secondly, I think Miss Yuntao has already seen through my identity as a woman disguised as a man. I'm just a little surprised that you didn't mention it on your own initiative."

"If you use this as a threat, you can get a lot of benefits from me."

Shen Shulan looked at Cheng Yuntao nervously, and there was a hint of uneasiness in his eyes, which were usually calm and composed.

She has spent a lot of effort over the years to hide her female identity and has always done a good job, but she never expected that she would be discovered accidentally under such circumstances.

In fact, when Shen Shulan just regained consciousness, he thought about killing the person to silence him to prevent future troubles.

There were old people, weak women and children in this room. Although she was injured now, it was not difficult for her to deal with them.

But when Shen Shulan saw Cheng Yuntao cooking soup for her as usual and not mentioning this matter, she felt a surge of compassion in her heart.

Coupled with the continuous feeding of delicious food, the balance in her heart began to tilt, until now she sat down and spoke frankly.

"Sister Shen, you should be thankful that you are a girl."

Although the other party looked cold and difficult to approach, she was actually only seventeen or eighteen years old. Cheng Yuntao felt that calling her "sister" was just right and would make her seem closer.

When Shen Shulan heard this, he didn't quite understand the meaning for a moment.

For the previous eighteen years, everyone told her that being a woman was not a good thing, and even her mother deliberately concealed her identity.

Only the little girl in front of her told her that she should be thankful that she was a woman.

"What does Miss Yuntao mean by this?"

Cheng Yuntao hooked the plate on the table with her index finger, picked up the last piece of hawthorn cake on the plate, broke off a small piece under Shen Shulan's gaze, put it into her mouth, and then explained slowly.

"When I first found you, I thought you were dead. I wanted to be a good person and pull you ashore and bury you. I didn't expect that after I fished you out, you were still breathing."

"You're dressed in black and have injuries on your body. You look quite intimidating. For the safety of my grandmother and my younger siblings, I naturally can't let a wolf into the house."

"Just as I was about to turn around and leave, I noticed something strange about you, so I turned back."

"After confirming your daughter's whereabouts, out of sympathy for one another, I believe you had some unavoidable reasons. I couldn't bear to see you die so hastily, so I rescued you and brought you back."

"In short, I saved you because you are a woman."

Shen Shulan's feather-fan-like eyelashes trembled slightly, and a hint of shock that was hard to conceal flashed in his originally calm eyes.

Before this, she had speculated a lot in her mind and imagined many possibilities, but she didn't expect that the reason why the other party rescued her was so simple and had no other interests involved.

After a moment, Shen Shulan sighed and spoke sincerely.

"Miss Yuntao, I was too naive to judge you. I must apologize to you."

"No matter what, I'm still very grateful for saving my life. I promise you that if you need anything in the future, I will do my best to help you complete a task."

Cheng Yuntao raised her eyebrows in surprise. Although she had not thought about asking for anything in return when she first did the good deed, since the other party had taken the initiative to ask for it, she would rather accept it.

"I am deeply moved by Sister Shen's words."

Cheng Yuntao clasped her fists in front of her chest, looking very moved. Looking at her big, blinking eyes, Shen Shulan looked away somewhat at a loss.

"By the way, why did you fall off the cliff? If there wasn't water flowing below, you would have died yesterday."

"Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. We can skip this topic. You don't have to feel embarrassed."

Cheng Yuntao felt that she was still very understanding. Although she wanted to hear gossip, she didn't want to hurt the other person. It was okay to say it or not.

Shen Shulan hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell her past. Some things had been buried in her heart for too long, and she felt a little breathless.

Now in this cave, in a remote place far away from Junhua City, perhaps she could try to say all this.

"This is all... a bit complicated..."

In the following time, Cheng Yuntao learned about the ins and outs of this matter and the general background of this world from Shen Shulan's narration.

Today is the Daqi Dynasty. Daqi is a small country, and there are other countries around it that are eyeing it covetously.

As the royal capital, Qijing was not only the center of political power, but also the intersection of culture and economy. It was home to towering palaces and numerous government offices, and was the source of the dynasty's decision-making and decrees.

Under Qijing, there are several cities managed in parallel. These cities each play different roles and are responsible for maintaining the stable development of the dynasty.

Shen Shulan comes from Junhua City, which is famous for its prosperous business and trade.

The market is vast and crowded with merchants, selling not only goods from all over Daqi, but also rare treasures from other countries.

The merchants in Junhua City are shrewd and capable, and good at seizing business opportunities, making this city an important economic pillar of the Daqi Dynasty.

Shen Shulan's father is the lord of Junhua City - Shen Aoqiong.

Shen Aoqiong is a strong-willed and ambitious person. He is also extremely patriarchal and believes that only sons can inherit and develop his career.

He has five sons and a group of daughters. In his eyes, his daughters are bargaining chips. When they reach the right age, he can obtain the benefits he needs through marriage.

Because he had so many daughters, Shen Aoqiong was too lazy to even remember their names. He only went to the backyard to visit them when he was interested.

Shen Shulan is the fifth son of Junhua City and the youngest son of Shen Aoqiong. This is her external identity.