Chapter 279
Chapter 279
The grape wine was a complete success.
Ji Yan’an liked it especially well. He even preferred Jiang Yunsui’s grape wine to the famous Monkey Wine.
He could not drink much, however.
Naturally, Jiang Yunsui wanted to drink the wine she had made too.
She held a tiny celadon wine cup. That was her daily allowance.
As a child, she could not have more.
She fell in love with the flavor after a single sip.
Her wine was slightly sweet and fragrant with grapes. Both its aroma and taste were less harsh than ordinary wine.
It would appeal more to women.
They opened only one jar. The others would be left longer to see whether they differed from the first.
“Young Master, Eunuch Sun went out to meet someone and brought that person home today.”
“We didn’t dare approach too closely. The man had hidden guards with him.”
Jiang Yunsui raised her hand. “I’ll go! They definitely won’t notice me.”
Little Mushroom was incubating eggs again-five of them!
Ji Yan’an had ordered people to collect eggs from several kinds of eagles.
They were much smaller than Milk Tea’s and Huohuo’s eggs, so Jiang Yunsui could carry all five without difficulty.
“Can you understand their language? What would you accomplish by going?” Ji Yan’an countered immediately.
It did not matter that he could not learn what they discussed. He had plenty of other methods.
“Let them talk.”
He was not worried at all.
He only needed to identify who was communicating with the Barbarians.
“Keep Sun Ze under watch. Don’t alert him.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Yunsui pouted. Fine, she would not go.
“Ji Yan’an, when are we visiting the estate?”
“Once Sun Ze’s matter is resolved, I’ll go with you.”
“All right. I’m going out to play.”
She had obediently filled fifteen sheets with calligraphy today.
After receiving Ji Yan’an’s permission, Jiang Yunsui went to browse the market.
More merchants had recently begun coming to Mobei again.
News of Mobei’s cement roads had spread. Moreover, sweet-potato starch was available nowhere else. It was convenient to cook and kept well, making it especially marketable amid Great Liang’s internal wars.
Driven by profit, bold merchants joined forces with escort agencies and traveled to Mobei in groups.
Even after hearing descriptions, they were stunned when they set foot on the legendary cement road.
“Is this… the cement road everyone talks about?”
“It looks like stone, and it’s extremely hard.”
“I hear Mobei’s walls use this material too. If they’re that strong, the Barbarians will struggle to take the city.”
“Old sir, what are you doing?”
Autumn had arrived in Mobei, and the heat had faded. Many people worked along both sides of the cement road.
The old man they questioned had the dark, rough skin typical of a farmer.
“We’re planting trees. The officials ordered it. These are sweet osmanthus trees. Once they bloom, this entire road will smell wonderful.”
“You’re planting sweet osmanthus trees here?”
How unusual.
The merchant caravan queued for inspection at the city gate and was admitted only after no problems were found.
Beizhen City’s towering walls blocked the grassland armies that sought to invade the Central Plains. Solemn soldiers stood at regular intervals atop them, imparting a profound sense of security.
Inside, the city had grown increasingly prosperous. Vendors’ cries filled the streets with life. Foreign merchants abounded, and different languages mingled to create a distinctive regional character.
“Jiang Yunsui, what are you doing?”
Jiang Yunsui stood before a merchant’s stall.
The merchant had come from the south, bringing mostly porcelain, silk, and tea.
He also carried a few southern plant seeds.
His foodstuffs consisted mainly of salted fish and kelp. Other seafood could not survive the journey.
Fat Chef and the others accompanying Jiang Yunsui on this shopping expedition bought salted fish and kelp.
Jiang Yunsui, however, stared at a dusty, sprouting, wrinkled, egg-shaped object.
“I want this!”
Little Mushroom was excited. Potatoes! They were potatoes!
She had only recently wished for them, and now she had found some at the market.
The potatoes lay in a bamboo basket shoved into a corner.
Seeing what she pointed at, the merchant hurriedly warned her.
“Miss, those can’t be eaten. Several men in our caravan ate these earth eggs. One died and three were poisoned. Fortunately, they ate little, but a physician treated them for a long time before they recovered.”
“Why display them if they can’t be eaten?”
“We put them there to throw them away.”
“I won’t eat them,” Jiang Yunsui said.
Fat Chef knew she loved growing strange things.
“Put them in a sack. We’ll take them, but we won’t eat them.”
The merchant scratched his head, finding them peculiar.
Still, he was happy to sell something destined for disposal. He had clearly explained the danger, so no one could blame him if they ate the potatoes and suffered.
Jiang Yunsui paid one hundred copper coins for the basket.
Later, another purchase caught her eye: a horse.
It was gaunt enough for its bones to show, listless and seemingly near death, with a lame hind leg.
Its owner was a woodcutter who had used it to haul firewood. The horse had fallen while pulling a heavy load and injured its leg.
Unable to work, it was to be sold for meat to recover a little money.
“There’s barely any meat on it. Why buy this horse?”
“It’s wonderful,” Jiang Yunsui said. “Just as wonderful as Tayue.”
Tayue, the White Horse, led the herd Jiang Yunsui had brought back.
It was currently away on a mission with Song Jin.
Horses loved to run, especially one like Tayue. Remaining beside Jiang Yunsui gave it too little exercise, so it had accompanied Song Jin on this long journey.
Tayue was swift and intelligent. If danger arose, it could carry Song Jin to safety.
“What? This horse?”
Fat Chef and the others stared as though she had said something absurd. Looking at the dying animal, they wondered whether her eyesight was failing.
Jiang Yunsui huffed. “Just wait. Once I nurse it back to health, you’ll understand.”
After bringing the horse home, she fed it many good things.
She filled a large bucket with chopped sweet potatoes, bean dregs, eggs, Verdant Jade Mushrooms, and weeds from her courtyard.
The horse was tied to a tree. Though it had lost its appetite, the aroma compelled it to eat.
It quickly finished everything.
Jiang Yunsui rubbed its belly.
“No more food.”
“Rest today. Tomorrow I’ll ask Shen Qingzhu to treat you.”
With that, she skipped away.
She had not forgotten the sack of potatoes.
When she visited the estate, she needed to find somewhere to plant them-wait, no. She could not plant them now.
She would have to wait until spring. The winter cold would kill them.