He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

Yuan Kingdom

"Miss Mulan, this is Ulaanbaatar."

Partridge Whistle stood behind the magnolia flower and whispered,

"Hmph, these tall and burly men are nothing compared to Ginny from ten years ago."

Partridge Whistle nodded as well:

"There was no other way but to fight; otherwise, the Soviet Union wouldn't have sent troops to the Northeast to attack the cherry blossoms."

Mulan blushed and turned around to scold:

"Did you know that General Xu had already led his troops to reclaim the Yuan Kingdom, and foreign countries recognized it as Great Xia territory? But because of the Su Xiong Kingdom, it has now become its own country, euphemistically called the Xia-Xiong Alliance."

“The sand bears used to be like that too,”

"Today, besides blowing up that man's mansion, we also wiped out every single one of Su Xiong's soldiers who had gone astray along the way. I think Chen Si thinks the same way,"

Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle nodded, took out their binoculars, and began to survey the surrounding grasslands.

……

No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, Sijiucheng

"Dad, hurry up and get some imported milk, Yushui is crying from hunger."

He Yuzhu pounded on He Daqing's door.

"Get out! You and that idiot Zhuzi, can't you even make her some rice porridge? Foreign milk isn't that easy to buy."

Awakened by the noise, He Daqing grabbed a cloth shoe from under the bed and slammed it against the back of the door, cursing.

Then, turning around, she discovered a horrifying scene: Jia Zhangshi was supporting her head with her left hand, her eyes blinking rapidly as she began to flirt with Da Qing.

"Brother Qing, you're awake! You were so energetic last night!"

"Ugh~"

Upon hearing this, He Daqing turned and vomited towards the bedside.

He grabbed the clothes from the wooden cabinet beside the bed, put them on, pulled out five silver dollars, threw them on the bed, and roared:

"Don't call me that. Consider yesterday a mistake. Use this money to buy Dongxu something nice to eat, and don't come looking for me again."

Jia Zhangshi hurriedly gathered the five silver dollars, covered her face, and said:

"You took my body and now you're ignoring me? I'm going to ask the neighbors to judge this."

Da Qing, unperturbed, lit a cigarette and said:

"Everyone knows you, Zhang Cuihua. Besides, Yi Zhonghai has already had his fill of you. You still want to cling to me? No way. I'll give you another five silver dollars. Don't come trying to cheat me again."

After saying that, he walked out of the house, closed the door, went to the next room, and called out:

"Holding the raindrops, I'm going to eat douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) and jiaoquan (deep-fried dough rings) today."

He Yuzhu hurriedly carried the still-crying Yushui and followed Daqing toward the courtyard gate.

Just then, upon hearing the Qing dynasty's shout from the backyard to the middle courtyard, the wealthy old woman quickened her pace and ran out, saying:

"Great Qing, I'm going too! This old woman hasn't had those water chestnut sesame cakes, sweet sauce porridge, and those rock sugar and lard-filled buns in ages!"

But the courtyard in front of her was completely empty; there wasn't a soul in sight. The wealthy old woman awkwardly lowered her raised right hand and muttered under her breath:

"That damned cook deserved to be kicked out of the Tan family. He never gave me anything, yet he still had the nerve to live in my house. And that damned Lou Zhenhua stole my courtyard but left me only one room to live in. If it weren't for my husband, you'd still be a lowly merchant. You damned dog, you'd only be eating wontons and fried dough sticks."

Just as he was cursing and about to leave, he suddenly saw Jia Zhangshi sneakily open He Daqing's door, buttoning it up as she ran home.

The wealthy old woman also chuckled, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

"Dad, why does this soy milk taste sour?"

He Yuzhu took a sip of soy milk and immediately spat it out, but was immediately slapped on the back of the head.

"Is this soy milk free? I'll drink it all!"

Yuzhu scratched his head, his eyes darting around, and then fed the soup and soy milk to Yushui.

"Dad, I like soy milk and rainwater, but I'll have a bowl of noodles."

He Daqing was so angry that he raised his hand, but then he seemed to remember something and put it down. He sighed and called out to the old man at the noodle stall for a bowl of vegetable noodles.

The elderly man at the noodle stall next door also hurriedly pulled out his carrying pole and started a fire to cook noodles.

Da Qing looked at the tiger-headed Yu Zhu and whispered:

"Zhu Zi, your father knows this soy milk is spoiled, but we can't drink good soy milk every day. The neighbors are all broke, and this is the only soy milk they have left to get by."

He Yuzhu nodded, seemingly understanding, and said:

"Dad, these past few days Jia Dongxu has been talking about how amazing his uncle is. I saw Uncle Jia eating at our house last time, and I also saw him patrolling the streets with dozens of foot soldiers. He looked so impressive, even more powerful than those wrestling masters at the bridge. Should we go find him?"

He Daqing hesitated for a moment and then nodded, saying:

"Don't worry about the adults' affairs. After we finish eating, I'll take you to my senior apprentice's place and have him take you as his apprentice. You can learn Sichuan cuisine during the day and Tan family cuisine with me in the evening."

What about the rainwater?

"Let Yi Zhonghai's wife take care of the baby for now; she doesn't have any children, so it's perfect for her."

"Okay, Dad."

The two, who were also eating breakfast, carried rainwater towards the restaurant at the street corner.

Meanwhile, behind the two as they ate, the wealthy old lady was also slowly eating wontons, fried dough sticks, and a plate of steamed rice cakes.

Hearing He Daqing's words, they were overjoyed. He Daqing, they had leverage over them, and with He Yuzhu, a mere child, their future looked promising.

The breakfast in front of me was as delicious as the delicacies I used to eat.

After finishing her meal, the wealthy old lady bought several steamed buns, rice cakes, smoked fish, and baked flatbread. She happily hummed a folk song, her hands fiddling with them.

As I passed the entrance to a dark alley, I suddenly stopped and saw two men, their clothes stained with blood, lying inside.

The old woman hesitated for a moment, looked around, and then quietly lifted her bound feet and went inside.

"You damned bastard, you have nothing on you, you deserve to be lying here,"

Perhaps the old woman touched the other person's wound when she touched their pocket, and the two people lying on the ground were suddenly awakened by the pain.

Looking at the old woman in front of them, one of the men said:

"Old lady, could you help us find a place to get a doctor? We'll repay you in the future."

Since the old woman hadn't found anything of value earlier and didn't want to meddle, she kindly said:

"I'm an old woman, and I can't lift two men like you. Besides, I see soldiers and patrols outside searching for something."

Upon hearing this, the two men lying on the ground also turned pale, and, feeling the pricking sensation, they scrambled to their feet and leaned against the wall, saying:

"Then we won't trouble you any further, old man. Thank you for the reminder today; we'll repay you even if we don't die. Now, leave this place and don't say you've seen us."

Upon seeing this, the wealthy old woman knew that these two were not members of the Civic Party; otherwise, they wouldn't have ended up in such a state.

Thinking of her youngest son, whose fate was unknown in the east, the old woman's eyes lit up. Why not do this now? If her son comes back in the future, she can help him catch him; wouldn't that be a great achievement?

So he pretended to be embarrassed:

"You all underestimate this old woman. When I was young, I was a woman of great loyalty, always ready to help those in need."

"Here's what I'm saying: I have another house nearby with a courtyard. If you still have the energy, come with me."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the old woman heard their stomachs rumbling. Without hesitation, she took out the steamed buns and rice cakes she had bought after dinner and gave them to the two of them to eat.

A moment later, perhaps having eaten something and regained their strength, the two laboriously climbed up against the wall.

Seeing this, the old woman calmly led the way.

After settling in, the two were very grateful and took out a pen and a talisman, saying...

"If we survive and need any help in the future, we can bring this item to you."

The old woman nodded and left. From what they told her, one was surnamed Yang and the other Jin.

……