I started out with seven husbands, and I worked hard to support my family while crying.

Zhang Xianren opened the door a crack and sighed helplessly.

"Come in first and we'll talk..."

He had never seen such a shameless woman. Not only was she aggressive, but she also had a very loud voice. If he hadn't thought about how this would have a very bad impact on him and if the neighbors saw her, he would never have let her in.

As for the money issue the other party mentioned, he wasn't interested at all.

If he wanted to make money from apricot blossom wine, he could have easily agreed to that person's request; why did he have to hide in the countryside?

Isn't it all so that we can stay away from conflict and live a carefree life?

Fang Xiao glanced at the old man with the air of a hermit, and thought to herself that the old man was really a money-grubbing fellow. He actually opened the door for her when she said she wanted more money.

She followed the old man into the courtyard, and the scent of apricot blossoms wafted into her nostrils. How to describe the smell? It was somewhat like a mixture of honey and fresh grass—very subtle yet increasingly intoxicating.

An old man and a young boy walked towards the courtyard, one in front of the other.

The courtyard was very simple, basically just a large open space. Apart from two pink apricot trees growing lushly against the wall on the left, there were large wine jars placed under the trees.

There were about four or five large wine jars, all of which looked covered in dust.

Hmm, this old man is unhygienic; there's so much dirt on him, he doesn't even bother to clean it up.

Fang Xiaoxiao began to hesitate about whether to buy the apricot wine. The wine jar looked dirty, and she, who always loved cleanliness, couldn't accept it. She even had an impulse to fetch water and wipe the wine jar for the other party.

This kind of desire is fine if you don't think about it too much, but once you do, it's like having countless ants crawling all over your mind, making you feel itchy and uncomfortable all over.

Zhang Xianren had only taken a few steps when he sensed that the person behind him had stopped moving, so he turned around in confusion.

He saw that the other person was standing still, staring intently at the location of his wine jar.

A sudden tremor ran through him, and he immediately realized that this person was probably planning to pack up all the wine he had brewed.

That won't do. No matter how many reasons you give, he won't agree. Besides, the other person's clothes are too plain, and she doesn't look like a rich heiress at all.

So he frowned and said in a cold tone.

"You little girl, you're so young, but you've got quite the ambition. Do you really think you can buy up all the wine I've brewed in one go?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Xiaoxiao exclaimed "Ah!" before snapping out of her daze and looking at the other person.

What a joke! I'm not crazy. It's just a wine that smells pretty good. If I hadn't been thinking of buying some to reward Long Jinyan for his hard work these past few days, I wouldn't have spent the money to buy it.

After all, money is more important than wine. Besides, ancient wine had many impurities and no distillation technology, so the alcohol content was so low, almost like rice wine. What was so good about it? It was not as stimulating as Lao Bai Gan (a type of strong Chinese liquor).

When she was at home, she would have a drink or two when she had nothing to do. She was quite particular about alcohol; the alcohol content of the liquor had to be at least 45 degrees. If it was lower, it was no fun at all and was just like drinking plain water.

When Zhang Xianren heard her exclamation of surprise, he couldn't help but think that she really thought so. However, he couldn't possibly agree to it. These wines were his collection that he had kept for many years. How could he let this little girl buy them?

Thinking of this, he spoke up.

"If you're after those jars of wine, then please leave this courtyard immediately. People like you are not welcome here!"

"No, I wouldn't take that jar of wine. It looks filthy and unhygienic. Whoever wants to drink it can drink it!"

Fang Xiaoxiao immediately retorted and expressed her strong dislike for the other party.

"!"

As soon as she said this.

This stunned Zhang Xianren. Just yesterday, a big shot had come to him to buy wine, but he had refused outright, saying that he would never sell Xinghua wine to anyone in the court again.

Even if the other party was a prime minister before, no matter how much the price offered, he wouldn't sell!

……

Xiao Fang's Home (a signboard designed by Fang Xiaoxiao herself)

In front of the stone table in the courtyard.

Murong Changqing held in his hands the dry-mixed noodles that he had suddenly come up with today.

The noodles were originally fine, a clear broth noodle dish, but he was thinking about something, which caused the noodles to be cooked for too long, and he also forgot to make the broth, resulting in the noodles becoming a mushy mess.

Long Jinyan is not picky about food and eats whatever is available. Adhering to the fine tradition of not wasting a single grain of food, he ate the mushy dough in big mouthfuls, making satisfied "mmm" sounds from time to time.

A general like him should have eaten all sorts of delicacies, but in reality, since he started his military campaigns, he ate the same food as his soldiers, never showing any difference from them because of his status.

However, this also successfully won him the hearts of all the soldiers in the camp and earned him the unanimous love and respect of all the generals.

Pei Yan, who was originally sitting in the main seat at the stone table, is now nowhere to be seen, probably off to get some good food.

Murong Changqing glanced at the seat next to him and muttered to himself. He also wanted to be like Young Master Pei Yan and go out and have some fun whenever he had the chance, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough money. The money he brought from the capital had all been lost in an accident.

If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have been so unlucky as to be arrested by the authorities and become someone else's husband.

Of course, the reason he always ate plain noodles was not only because he liked cooking noodles, but also because they were cheap and cost no money, which is why he was able to save up a tael of silver.

Yesterday I went to find Master Zhang to buy some apricot blossom wine, even just a sip would be fine, but he not only refused to see me, but also said that he wouldn't sell a single drop to anyone from the imperial court.

Ugh! It's so uncomfortable, my whole body feels like it's on fire. Normally, he would try to find someone to bring back some apricot blossom wine from Xinghua Village every year to enjoy.

This is similar to eating mooncakes even before the Mid-Autumn Festival; it's become a habit.

And that apricot blossom wine can only be drunk in early autumn each year.

Murong Changqing pondered as he put the noodle paste into his mouth.

"Um……"

Surprisingly delicious!

He never imagined that this noodle soup would be so delicious, comparable to a fine restaurant meal.

She glanced up at Long Jinyan, who was licking the bottom of the bowl.

Sure enough, this guy has certain standards for food, otherwise he wouldn't have made such an exaggerated move.

Long Jinyan licked the bottom of the bowl clean with great satisfaction.

He wanted another bowl, but then thought better of it. Fang Niangzi hadn't come back so late; she must be starving. He decided to keep the bowl for her.

A good man is different; he's always thinking about his wife, afraid she'll get cold or hungry.