Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Jiang Yunsui handed over the small hoe and followed behind him with tiny, shuffling steps. “Do you even know how to dig? Don’t break it; I need to sell these for money.”
Nanshu snapped, “How dare you! How can you speak to the Young Master like that?”
Who is this guy?
Jiang Yunsui stared at him, wondering the same thing. Who was this person? He spoke with such an attitude, even gesturing with a dainty pinched finger.
Ji Yan’an said, “Nanshu, stand down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nanshu watched anxiously as the Young Master lifted the hem of his robe and took the small hoe to dig for mushrooms.
“Young Master, please let a servant like me handle this kind of manual labor.”
Ji Yan’an replied, “Stand down. I’ll do it myself.”
Jiang Yunsui chimed in, “Dig a bit further to the side. There’s a really big one underneath there.”
“So talkative. If it breaks, it’s on me.”
At this moment, he didn’t seem to mind the dirt at all.
He felt a sense of satisfaction, especially when a large Delicious Mushroom was unearthed.
“This one is mine.”
He had heard his grandfather talk about how tasty the Delicious Mushrooms in Mobei were since he was a child. He had only recently arrived in the region and hadn’t tasted one yet. There had been some the day before yesterday, but he didn’t get a chance to eat them.
Jiang Yunsui felt wronged. “But I wanted to trade that for money.”
Ji Yan’an called out, “Nanshu.”
Nanshu immediately pulled a small silver ingot from his purse. It weighed about one tael.
“Here.”
Ji Yan’an glanced at it. “Change it to gold.”
Nanshu shot Jiang Yunsui several looks. *Wait, why? On what grounds?*
Though he grumbled inwardly, Nanshu ultimately swapped it for a gold piece.
Jiang Yunsui held it in her hand. “How much is this worth?”
Nanshu raised his chin slightly. “This? One of these is worth six of those silver ingots from just now.”
Although Jiang Yunsui now knew that silver and copper coins were very important in the human world and could buy many things, she had no concept of specific numbers.
Seeing her blank expression, Ji Yan’an said directly, “That one piece is enough to buy every single mushroom you have here.”
Jiang Yunsui immediately cheered up.
“Wait, that’s not right.”
Ji Yan’an suddenly said, “The place you’re living in is my estate. Logically, everything that grows on this estate should belong to me.”
Jiang Yunsui’s eyes instantly went wide and round.
“No, no, no! These are mine!”
She looked frantic, her face filled with a resentful expression that screamed, *How can you be like this?*
“The mushrooms are mine!”
“Why?”
Ji Yan’an crossed his arms, looking down calmly at her as if she were a kitten hopping mad.
“They just are! I’m the one who made them grow!”
“Oh? Is that because a certain someone said she was a mushroom?”
“How did you know?”
Jiang Yunsui looked at him with wary little eyes. “You don’t want to eat a mushroom, do you?”
“You can’t eat me. I-I’m a person now.”
“I’ll give you other mushrooms to eat instead!”
Ji Yan’an laughed, the corners of his mouth curling up-a sight that made Nanshu’s eyes widen in shock.
Ji Yan’an tapped her forehead with a mud-stained finger.
“You really are a dummy.”
Jiang Yunsui: “…”
Cook Chen came out of the house carrying a bundle. Upon seeing Ji Yan’an, she instinctively moved to kneel.
“Dispense with the formalities.”
Ji Yan’an glanced at her. “Are you two going out?”
Jiang Yunsui nodded happily. “Mhm! Auntie is off duty today, so she’s taking me to the market to play.”
Ji Yan’an hummed in response. “You can dig up the rest yourself.”
He took the Delicious Mushroom he had dug up and called for Nanshu to leave.
Heiwa looked at Jiang Yunsui and then at the departing Ji Yan’an. *Leaving so soon?*
It let out two whimpering sounds, ears drooping, and finally rubbed against Jiang Yunsui before following Ji Yan’an, looking back with every few steps.
Ji Yan’an glanced down at Heiwa as it caught up to him.
“I thought you were going to stay there.”
Ji Yan’an patted Heiwa’s head with his still-muddy hand.
“Go on, follow that silly girl. Don’t go out once and manage to get yourself lost.”
“Woof! Woof!”
“Go.”
Heiwa nuzzled his hand before trotting off happily to find Jiang Yunsui.
Nanshu asked cautiously, “Is the Young Master in a bad mood?”
Had he not been perfectly fine while digging for mushrooms just a moment ago?
Ji Yan’an shook his head. “No.”
“We’ve been out long enough. It’s time to head back.”
“Take this to the kitchen and have them make a dish out of it.”
On the other side, Cook Chen asked what the Young Master had come for.
Jiang Yunsui looked equally bewildered. “I don’t know. He just came to dig up a big mushroom.”
“Did he want to eat mushrooms?”
Cook Chen: “…”
She had a feeling that wasn’t it.
“Auntie, look!”
Jiang Yunsui held out her small hands, presenting the gold ingots for her to see.
Cook Chen’s eyes widened.
“This… where did you get this?”
“The Young Master gave it to me. He said it was to buy the mushrooms.”
Looking at the remaining pile of Delicious Mushrooms, Cook Chen was momentarily at a loss as to what the Young Master’s true intentions were.
Just as they were preparing to head out, Heiwa arrived.
“Woof! Woof!”
Heiwa trotted in circles around Jiang Yunsui.
“Good doggy, why are you back again?”
“Woof!”
“Oh? Do you want to go out with us? You can! I have gold. Auntie said this can buy lots of things. I’ll buy you a big bone to eat.”
“Auntie, Auntie, hurry up!”
Jiang Yunsui’s soft, milky voice carried a hint of urgent prodding.
She was already dying to explore the market.
“Coming.”
“Does your foot still hurt? Do you want me to carry you?”
Jiang Yunsui shook her fluffy little head.
“No, no. I can walk by myself!”
Heiwa suddenly walked in front of Jiang Yunsui, sat down, and barked.
He tossed his head toward his back a few times.
“Do you want me to sit on you?”
The Little Mushroom shook her head. “No. Little Mushroom is a big girl now and very heavy. I’ll squash the doggy flat.”
Although Heiwa looked large, a four-year-old child wasn’t exactly light either.
Riding him for fun in the small courtyard was one thing, but not for a trip out.
“Next time, Heiwa can take me for a ride in the courtyard.”
A small child and a black dog chatted all the way, one in childish babble and the other in barks.
Heiwa barked from time to time as if responding to her.
Cook Chen walked a short distance behind them, her face full of smiles.
Mobei was a unique place, bordering the grasslands.
The people of the grasslands and the people of the Central Plains were two different ethnic groups with distinct systems.
The people of the grasslands were naturally bellicose and powerful.
They favored plundering, as the spoils of war were acquired far faster than by honestly herding livestock on the plains.
The lands of the Central Plains were rich in grain and resources; thus, the highly ambitious Barbarians of the grasslands were desperate to conquer them.
War had existed since ancient times, but the Barbarians acted like uncivilized savages-massacring cities, torturing, and even resorting to cannibalism.
This caused all people of the Central Plains to harbor a deep-seated resistance and fear toward them.
Mobei was the first line of defense for the Central Plains, so various wars, large and small, frequently occurred here.
Basically, any commoner with the ability to leave this place would not stay.
However, household registration was strictly controlled here, so ordinary people could not simply leave.
Mobei was vast but sparsely populated. Because the cities had to resist the Barbarians, they were built to be very large, yet the streets and markets were not particularly prosperous.
At the very least, it was quite desolate compared to the Capital City.
However, this place held the greatest variety of people.
Jiang Yunsui even saw several merchant caravans riding camels, entering the city covered in the dust of their long journey.