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First addressing the issue of food, Chen Xi found an inn not too far from the city gate and went in with Fan Jian and Chen Lan.
As soon as they entered, the shop assistant shouted and ran away, oblivious to any attempts to stop him. Chen Xi couldn’t help but look at Fan Jian helplessly. Was he really that terrifying? Fan Jian couldn’t suppress her smile, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly, while on the other side, Chen Lan’s giggling could be heard. After seeing Chen Xi’s expression, she covered her mouth, her body shaking slightly with laughter.
Soon, the innkeeper hurried out. His corpulent, or rather, obese body wobbled as he ran. Coming to a stop in front of Chen Xi, he took a deep breath to settle his panting and respectfully said, "Mr. Chen, please come this way."
"Do you have a private room?" Chen Xi looked around and asked.
"Yes, yes, yes. Doggy, lead Young Master Chen upstairs." After glancing at the two women behind Chen Xi, he nodded in understanding and made arrangements.
Sitting in a room on the second floor by the window, Chen Xi thought that it seemed like all the inns in Fenggao were owned by the Mi Family. After arriving in Fenggao, Mi Zizhong didn’t engage in any other trade, just set up a few inns, and then went to Qingzhou to buy refined salt. After coming back, he didn’t rest even half a day before he went to Eastern Wu to negotiate with the Lu Clan. Speaking of which, given the current situation of the Lu Clan, how come nobody had come to inform him?
Shortly after, four dishes were served—two cold and two hot—and steamed buns were the staple food. It seemed that steamed buns had now beaten sorghum rice as the new staple. They had even gained enough standing to rival white rice. It was said that this new way of eating had begun to spread throughout the Central Plains.
As for this, Chen Xi didn’t feel he could control it. One reason was that the method was simple, and another was that consuming this food was a bit more economical and easier to digest than unleavened bread. With the same weight, unleavened bread left one hungry faster.
Let it spread then. Chen Xi didn’t have much to say about it. He also wanted to introduce some vegetable oils, but alas, the timing wasn’t right. So his hope was to get some soybeans and make soybean oil. As for removing the beany flavor, that was beyond his knowledge. And for the soybean dregs after extracting the oil, Chen Xi had already thought of making soy pulp cakes—a definite pollution-free natural product that wouldn’t even require added oil…
In any case, Chen Xi thought that his product was far better than those made by unscrupulous businessmen of later times. Who knew what those people added into their products? At least his version, despite having a bit less oil, was generally a harmless, green product.
The taste of dishes during the Three Kingdoms Period was indeed average, as seasoning was practically non-existent and ingredients were not abundant. However, the upside was their absolute safety. No matter the dish, as long as it had some soy sauce, vinegar, and salt, Chen Xi could swallow it. He really craved beef, but unfortunately, there hadn’t been any cattle that had died accidentally recently…
The custom of silence during meals from Lady Fan Jian made the dining table extremely quiet. There was no choice—once Fan Jian sat down, the air of a millennium-old noble family was on full display, and Chen Lan could only eat her meal quietly. While Chen Xi could speak, what was there to say? With no one to respond, it was better not to speak at all.
"Sigh~" Chen Xi boredly turned his head to look out the window, now somewhat conflicted whether having such a wife was really a good thing. Her presence was simply too overwhelming. It was fine when she was his younger sister, but as a wife, even the silent custom during meals was more than he could handle.
Chen Xi leaned back against the window, his head tilted back as he looked towards the city gate, not noticing the smile on Fan Jian’s lips.
"Huh!" Chen Xi noticed a large merchant caravan below, with a big "Lu" flag mounted on the lead cart. After a moment of thought, he realized it must be merchants from the Jiangdong Lu Clan.
[With the "Lu" flag, this must be someone directly related to the Lu Clan. And now, the only person who could be considered a direct relative of the Lu Clan and who could come here is probably Lu Jun.] Chen Xi thought as he looked at the merchant caravan below.
"Jian’er, when you two have finished eating, ask the innkeeper to send you back. I’m going downstairs to check something out; I think I’ve spotted something interesting," Chen Xi said with a grin.
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"Hmm, my husband has matters to attend to; Lan’er and I can make our way back alone," Fan Jian said without lifting her head.
"I will take my leave now." Chen Xi stood up and departed.
Standing at the entrance of the tavern, Chen Xi furrowed his brows, pondering the actions of the Lul Family. He did not believe that Mi Zhu hadn’t warned the Lul Family to be cautious and avoid entanglement with Mount Tai, yet they had still brazenly shown up. This was irrational.
Just then, the caravan’s guards appeared, all clad in single-layered clothes that revealed their slightly dark skin; they were sturdy men with steel knives slung around their waists—over a hundred strong. Last to enter was a carriage driven by a man in a brocade robe, carrying on his back a great sword so wide it could cover the backs of two hands and more than five feet in length, wrapped with a chain that jingled along with the carriage.
[The Lul Family really is no simple matter; these guards, and the one driving the carriage, are not ordinary characters. They have managed to train the guards to exude the aura of troops, or rather, to say that these men are all veterans. Lul Kang has really spent a fortune.] Chen Xi watched the guards curiously. As for the carts of salt, he had no interest—Mount Tai was not in want of it.
[Salt?] Chen Xi suddenly realized something was amiss. Even if the Lul Family were fools, they wouldn’t transport salt to Mount Tai, as merchants shouldn’t be sending their goods to a producer. His thoughts quickly shifted and his expression turned grave.
"Doggy, come here," Chen Xi called out with a smile to the shop assistant helping out inside the tavern. It truly was troublesome to have come out without guards.
"Young Master Chen," Doggy bowed respectfully.
"Fetch me some ink and a brush, and if there’s paper, bring a sheet," Chen Xi said with a smile, betraying no sign of panic.
Soon, Doggy brought the ink and brush but no paper, instead bringing a roll of blank letter.
Chen Xi quickly spread out the letter, wrote down what he had observed, added his response strategy, and then handed his jade pendant to Doggy.
"Doggy, run to the Political Office, give this letter to Zijing, that is, the Magistrate. It was really clever of me to have nationalized the entire central row of houses back then—it comes in handy now," Chen Xi spoke words Doggy couldn’t understand.
As Doggy left, Chen Xi watched the still slowly advancing Lul Family caravan. Good people don’t come calling; those who come have ill intentions. Mount Tai had barely recovered, and there were already those eyeing it greedily. It was time for some thunderous measures.
They really thought that Mount Tai, having dispatched soldiers to develop Qingzhou, was now in a state of internal weakness. Hah, no matter who was behind this, Chen Xi had no intention of finding out; just slaughtering them all was enough.
As for the role of the Lul Family in all this, that would depend on the Lul Family’s excuses later. While developing Qingzhou might be difficult, sweeping Yangzhou clean would hardly be troublesome.
The natural barrier of the Yangtze River and the comfortable life in Jiangnan had long since worn down their fighting spirit. Chen Xi was only too willing to let Liu Bei, the Han Imperial Kinsman, assist his brother Liu Yao, the Governor of Yangzhou. Dealing with a Pure Stream Celebrity with no great ambitions in Yangzhou was much easier than dealing with Sun Ce.
[bookid=3260799,bookname="Rebirth Grand Player"]
This is a really good book; well, the updates are a bit slow, but it’s written very well, worth a read. Everyone could also check it out; it’s quite good.
