After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Compared to yesterday, Gu Lin prepared one hundred more tubes of cold dishes today.

He looked at the two bamboo baskets in front of him, his brows furrowing slightly. He could carry one basket on his back, but what about the other?

Gu Lin first carried one bamboo basket on his back, then tried to lift another one with both hands, but ultimately failed because he didn't have enough strength.

He was somewhat troubled, wondering whether he should go next door to ask Sister Zhao for help, when a voice came from behind him.

"what are you doing?"

Gu Lin turned around and saw Zheng Hao standing by the door of the woodshed. He didn't hide anything from him and said, "The bamboo baskets are too heavy. I'm thinking about how to move them."

Zheng Hao's dark eyes flickered. He walked into the woodshed and, under Gu Lin's puzzled gaze, picked up the bamboo basket with one hand.

Gu Lin's eyes widened suddenly, unable to believe what he was seeing. That bamboo basket weighed at least thirty or forty pounds!

The boy's eyes, which were already round, became even bigger and rounder because of his shock.

Zheng Hao carried the bamboo basket with one hand, looking effortless compared to the boy's earlier struggle.

Gu Lin asked with difficulty, "Have you always been this strong?"

Zheng Hao put down the bamboo basket, his expression unchanged, and said, "My father and I are both very strong."

Gu Lin recalled that Zheng the hunter's strength did indeed seem to be much greater than that of an ordinary man. Zheng Hao was his son, so it made sense that he was so strong.

Recalling Zheng Hao's journey in the original novel, from an unknown soldier to a king and marquis, and finally to a regent feared by both enemy and domestic states, how could a commoner rise to the pinnacle of national power without extraordinary abilities?

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Streets in the county town.

A large line of people stood in the middle of the street, filling the remaining space except for the space made for pedestrians to pass.

A passerby, who had never seen such a lively scene before, asked curiously, "What's going on? Why are there so many people?"

A man at the back of the line said, "I'm not really sure either. There were people lining up here early this morning. I heard the people in front of me say that there's a food stall that sells really delicious food, so I joined the line."

The passerby glanced at the queue again and noticed that it had grown considerably longer the moment he spoke. He wondered what could be so delicious that it would make people get up so early to queue up.

Unable to contain their curiosity, passersby also joined the queue.

After receiving the wooden sign from the street official, Gu Lin walked towards his stall. Before he even got close, he was surprised to see the crowded scene in front of him.

Looking at the crowd of people standing shoulder to shoulder in front of him, Gu Lin looked somewhat bewildered, not understanding what these people were doing gathered in the street.

Then, he felt a little worried about how he would squeeze his way to the stall.

Unexpectedly, a man in the opposite line looked around and spotted him.

The man called out in Gu Lin's direction, "Boss, you're finally here!"

All eyes turned to him, and some of the people who had bought cold dishes yesterday recognized Gu Lin and shouted, "The guy selling cold dishes is here!"

"Everyone, please make way so the boss can pass."

Hearing someone greet him and seeing the expectant expressions and behavior of everyone, Gu Lin felt flattered.

He couldn't believe that these people had lined up here specifically to wait for him.

The winding, crowded line parted to make way, and as Gu Lin walked over, he instinctively took Zheng Hao's hand. Zheng Hao looked up at him but didn't pull his hand away.

Gu Lin led Zheng Hao through the crowd to his stall.

His consciousness was still somewhat hazy as he looked at the crowd in front of him.

The person who hadn't been able to buy any cold dishes yesterday said anxiously, "Brother, quickly prepare three servings of cold dishes for me. I tasted the cold dishes my friend bought yesterday and have been thinking about them all night. I came here early this morning to wait."

"I'll take three portions too. Your cold dishes are so delicious! My wife and daughter tried them and kept urging me to come and buy some this morning, afraid we wouldn't be able to get any."

"Brother, I want five servings, not too sour, and extra spicy."

"Brother, I want four servings, not too spicy, and with extra vinegar."

Faced with the shouts, Gu Lin quickly came to his senses. He unloaded the bamboo tubes and various utensils and said to everyone, "Don't rush, don't rush, everyone line up, I'll start now."

Holding a spoon and chopsticks, Gu Lin quickly mixed three portions of cold dishes according to the first customer's request. Then she made one for the second customer. As she mixed, some people wanted three or four portions, some wanted one or two portions, some didn't want spicy food, and some wanted spicy food and vinegar. Different people had different requests. After a while, although Gu Lin didn't make any mistakes, she felt that she was a little overwhelmed.

Just as his mind was starting to go haywire, Zheng Hao's voice broke the noise: "Next, two cold dishes, no spice, extra vinegar."

Upon hearing Zheng Hao's voice, Gu Lin's mind cleared up somewhat. Seeing Zheng Hao standing in front maintaining order and diligently remembering each guest's requests, a smile appeared on Gu Lin's face, a smile of relief and joy.

And so, Gu Lin prepared the cold dishes in the back and handed them to Zheng Hao, while Zheng Hao relayed the customers' requests and collected the money in the front.

The copper coins fell into the wooden box with a crisp, clear sound.

Gu Lin's subordinates kept stirring and stirring, not knowing how long they had been busy, only that the requests sent by Zheng Hao never stopped.

Those who bought the cold dishes couldn't wait to open the bamboo tubes and eat them on the spot, exclaiming, "My God! What does this taste like? It's like the spiciness of dogwood and garlic, but also the sourness of vinegar."

One person chimed in, "I've never eaten such a novel dish before. It's both sour and spicy. At first, I thought the cold dish had gone bad. The taste of this cold dish is truly amazing."

Someone hurriedly swallowed the eggplant in their mouth and said, "Not only that, I used to hate eggplant the most. I would feel like throwing up as soon as I touched it. I didn't expect that the eggplant made by this cold dish stall would be so tender, sour and spicy. It's so delicious and appetizing that I can't stop eating it."

Some passersby, drawn by the crowd, bought the cold dishes out of curiosity. After tasting them, they exclaimed with delight, "When I first saw you lining up here to buy cold dishes, I thought it was an exaggeration. But now that I've tasted them, I think no one can resist cold dishes in the summer."

"Yes, yes!"

Everyone agreed.

Gu Lin thought that with the extra hundred servings of cold dishes he had prepared, he could sell them until noon, but in less than half an hour, they were all sold out. Gu Lin's hands were trembling from mixing the cold dishes, and he was about to shout out when Zheng Hao said before he could, "Today's cold dishes are sold out. Please come again tomorrow!"

A boy complained, "How come they sold out so quickly? I haven't been able to buy any for two days in a row. Boss, could you make more tomorrow?"

Hearing this, Gu Lin couldn't help but look down at his sore and trembling arms, shake his head and smile bitterly. Making 150 tubes of cold dishes a day was already his limit, and he might not be able to finish making any more.

After the guests left, Gu Lin changed from standing to sitting down to rest, and waved to Zheng Hao, who had been greeting the guests, to come over and join him.

Zheng Hao walked over carrying a wooden box full of money. Gu Lin looked at the full box, grabbed a handful of copper coins, and calculated his earnings for the day. Despite being prepared, Gu Lin couldn't help but feel excited after calculating his earnings. He had earned one tael of silver today, three times more than yesterday.

Gu Lin put the copper coins into his purse and then placed it in Zheng Hao's arms. After locking the wooden box, he turned around and saw Zheng Hao pick up the purse, his brows furrowed as he seemed to be deep in thought.

Gu Lin sighed inwardly, "This is what you deserve. You saw the situation today; without your help, I definitely wouldn't have been able to manage. I'll need your help in the future."

Zheng Hao didn't speak, but the hand holding the purse twitched, and finally, he put the purse away.

After resting, Gu Lin got up and took Zheng Hao to the butcher shop. In addition to buying half a pound of meat, they also bought a few pork bones. He felt that Zheng Hao was currently too thin and somewhat malnourished, and needed to be properly nourished.

After buying the meat, Gu Lin went to the oil and grain shop. He had used too many seasonings to make cold dishes these past two days, and there wasn't much oil and vinegar left at home.

When the shopkeeper of the oil and grain store saw Gu Lin enter, he immediately recognized him as the young man who had come to buy peppercorns a couple of days ago. It wasn't for any other reason, but because the young man's appearance was too outstanding, and the child accompanying him was also different from other children. Despite his young age, he exuded a fierce aura that made him unapproachable.

Gu Lin: "Shopkeeper, ten catties of white rice, one catty each of soy sauce, vinegar and salt."

Although Gu Lin has always believed in diligence and thrift, he would not skimp on himself. Now that he has earned money, he feels he can buy some white rice and millet to eat together.

The shopkeeper noticed that the customer had bought millet a few days ago, but now he was buying white rice. Although he was curious, he didn't ask any further questions: "Alright, please wait a moment."

After buying rice and seasonings, Gu Lin led Zheng Hao toward the city gate. After passing a stall selling tofu and dried bean curd, he changed his route and walked to the stall. The stall owner was a woman who looked to be about thirty years old.

Gu Lin asked, "Big sister, how much is your dried tofu?"

The woman glanced at Gu Lin and said, "Three coins a pound."

Gu Lin said, "Give me three catties."

The woman warned, "If you don't eat the dried tofu quickly after buying it, it will spoil in two or three days."

Gu Lin smiled and said, "It's okay, it won't break."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, the woman stopped trying. She weighed the dried tofu and gave it to Gu Lin.

Gu Lin's bamboo basket was already full. He took the dried tofu and put it into Zheng Hao's bamboo basket. Under the other's calm yet slightly fierce gaze, he raised the corners of his lips and gave a toothy smile.

Zheng Hao's eyes flickered. The young man in front of him seemed to be coated with a golden glow under the sunlight. His smile was dazzling and bright, as if it could drive away all the darkness in the world.