The government was sending out wives, and I ended up with a princess from the previous dynasty!

"Replace it with a new one? Our family is so poor we can't even afford to eat, how can we afford to replace it with a new one?" Di Qinglin said irritably.

Speaking of this, Di Qinglin gets angry!

She didn't come away empty-handed this past year; she managed to hunt quite a few prey thanks to her skills.

However, in the end, Jia Daoshi either used the money he earned from hunting to drink or gambled it away!

Where would I get the money to buy a new hunting knife!

In this era, ironware was very precious, and hunting knives were even more precious than farming tools like hoes!

"Um... this... can we buy on credit? And pay it back when we make money?" Jia Daoshi asked cautiously.

He didn't know if there were any blacksmiths or anything like that around here.

According to the book "The Great Landscape Chronicles" I read before, all blacksmiths in this era needed official permits to operate their businesses, since ironware was considered a strategic resource during that period.

Teeth whitening strips are similar to a business license.

Upon hearing Jia Daoshi's words, Di Qinglin sneered and said, "Buy on credit? If you dare to buy on credit, your uncle will probably beat you to death!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Daoshi's eyes lit up: "What? Uncle is a blacksmith? Really?"

Di Qinglin looked at Jia Daoshi with a puzzled expression. Seeing that Jia Daoshi's appearance didn't seem to be faking it, he immediately said, "Young master, are you really stupid? Do you even know who you are?"

Jia Daoshi was extremely embarrassed upon hearing this.

But there's nothing we can do about it, since it's a fake.

"Perhaps I really drank too much and then fell off the cliff, which damaged my brain? I've forgotten a lot of things, and now I only remember you ladies," Jia Daoshi said after a moment's hesitation.

"Oh? What's wrong with your hair? And where did you get this strange hat? Why have I never seen it before?" Di Qinglin suddenly asked this crucial question.

Jia Daoshi was taken aback. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "When I fell off the cliff and lost consciousness, I met a high monk from the Western Regions. He enlightened me, so I cut my hair. This hat was also a gift from him."

Di Qinglin: "So that's how it is. No wonder you've changed so much. People in the martial arts world say that the monks from the Western Regions have profound Buddhist teachings. It's true. I wonder where these monks from the Western Regions have gone?"

Jia Daoshi shook his head and said, "The eminent monks from the Western Regions have naturally gone west."

Di Qinglin shook his head and said, "My uncle lives at the foot of the mountain north of our village. He is the only blacksmith among the five villages around here. I have been thinking for a long time about whether I can make a new hunting knife, but I am afraid that he will scold you again."

Jia Daoshi laughed and said, "How will you know if you don't try?"

Di Qinglin thought about it and realized that this was the only option left.

In those days, the only way she could think of to make money was to go hunting in the mountains, and then sell the prey in the nearest town, Yilan.

Otherwise, all we can do is wait to die at home.

After discussing it for a while and telling Murong Jiu inside the house, the two went out and headed north of the village.

Some villagers saw Jia Daoshi and Di Qinglin leave and began to gossip about it.

"Tsk tsk! Look at our great scholar Jia, where is he going?!"

"What a pity! Of the four beautiful young ladies, one was blind, one had her leg broken by him, and the other two... sigh... what a tragedy!"

"Are they going to see their uncle again?"

"What good will it do to go to his uncle? Does he think his uncle will lend him money? Let me tell you something. His Uncle Jia bought some iron ore from a traveling merchant caravan a while ago, but it turned out to be all scrap. The farm tools and kitchen knives he made from it are useless! He suffered a huge loss! If they go to borrow money, they'll definitely be in trouble!"

Because Jia Daoshi had a bad reputation, the villagers treated him very rudely.

"Hey! That's enough!" Jia Daoshi wasn't going to tolerate these villagers. "Shut up, all of you! If you keep talking nonsense, believe me, I'll beat you up!"

The villagers were startled by his shout.

Seeing Jia Daoshi's murderous aura, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

"Tch! Fine, I won't tell you then. Let's see if you can pay the head tax later!"

"You'll have your day to cry!"

Jia Daoshi sneered: "Whether I can pay the poll tax or not is none of your business!"

Seeing this, Di Qinglin advised, "Young master, there's no need to take the villagers' words to heart, after all..."

After all, they were just telling the truth.

Di Qinglin did not say the second half of the sentence.

Seeing that Jia Daoshi was willing to repent and start anew, she wouldn't discourage him at this time.

No matter what, he is still her husband.

In addition, having lived under the same roof for almost a year, Di Qinglin had pretty much figured out Jia Daoshi's personality. This guy was rotten, arrogant, and couldn't stand the villagers' opinions. It was common for them to clash over the slightest disagreement.

At this moment, he didn't want Jia Daoshi to rush up and fight with the other party again.

"Hmph! Don't worry, my wife, I'll soon prove them wrong!"

Jia Daoshi shrugged.

……

North of the village, at the foot of the mountain.

It had just snowed, and the mountains behind the village were covered in a blanket of white.

Jia Quan, holding a welding torch, squatted against the gate of the courtyard, his brow furrowed in worry.

yard.

"Dad! These metal lumps are so interesting! I'll spin them all around!"

"Hahaha! Spin faster! Spin even faster!"

"Hoo ho ho!"

A burly man, seven feet tall, muscular, and with dark skin, was walking around the dark metal lumps in the yard.

Even in snowy weather, this guy was shirtless and naked, and his two-meter-tall frame was as strong as a bear!

“Hey, husband! What are we going to do now? All this iron ore is scrap, and we don’t have the money to buy good ore from the ironworks. It’s almost the end of the year, and we have to pay the poll tax. If we can’t pay it, you two will be exiled to the frontier. What am I going to do then?”

A woman stood nearby, shaking her head and sighing.

Jia Quan was Jia Daoshi's uncle.

Hearing the woman's words, Jia Quanzi took a puff of his cigarette: "What else can we do? Like father, like son. Ah Hu and I are going to the battlefield. With his natural strength, he might even become a general!"

"Keep dreaming! With a brain like his, he'd be nothing but cannon fodder on the battlefield. If you went, you'd definitely be in the vanguard. What good would your strength do against those Tartar cavalry? They'd shoot you and your father off in a couple of swift arrows from afar. What would I do then?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Quan looked impatient: "You woman, you never say anything nice! This won't do, that won't do! What else can we do?"

"Crackle, crackle~"

No sooner had he said this than Jia Daoshi and Di Qinglin walked over through the snow.