Chapter 2526

Beside them was an acquaintance who asked: "Ah, Mrs. Gu, your face..."

"Got another peach blossom mark. These wind buns just came out, and I'll suffer for a few more days." Mrs. Gu sighed, "I'll go get medicine first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, yes, taking medicine will help you recover faster. So these few days, you must stay home and keep warm, don't go out to catch the wind."

"If I don't go out, who will watch over the Su family's cloth shop across the street?" Mrs. Gu snorted and pointed across the street, "You expect my useless husband to do it?"

The Su family's cloth shop is right across the street corner.

Everything looked quite normal. The three even felt this city was full of vitality, possessing a vigor rarely seen elsewhere.

The caravan arrived at Chengxi and unloaded the cargo at the designated warehouse.

Since He Lingchuan and the others were posing as caravan guards, they now had to work.

They also glanced at the goods on the cart, which were indeed mainly oil and metal, plus syrup and medicine produced by Tuocheng—mosquito repellent, calming incense. Especially the calming incense, Dong Rui had once pierced a tiny hole in its packaging with a silver needle on the road and sniffed it, discovering its potency was extremely strong—even he, a master who had smelled a hundred medicines, felt a bit dizzy; it didn't seem meant for livestock or ordinary people.

At least that concentration would need to be diluted several hundred times before it could be used on ordinary living beings.

This trip, the caravan will also transport some goods back—herbs, ores, leather, and large quantities of textiles and flower lanterns. The three heard that Baishong City has over a dozen embroidery workshops, whose embroidery is exquisite and famous for a hundred li, and there are also many workshops making flower lanterns and exquisite crafts.

But overall, income doesn't cover expenses, just as Dong Rui had scouted: the return caravan has forty large wagons, yet they can't even fill two-tenths of them.

The team leader also seemed listless, because this trip could bring back even fewer goods for resale; it was said Baishong City had recently taken on a super-large order to make wine vats, and urgent ones at that, with high pay, so artisans and embroiderers had temporarily switched to shaping clay, heard to be busy every day with fiery enthusiasm, who would have leisure to return to their original trades?

So the three only worked for a little over an hour before they had nothing to do, and could wander around; the caravan would depart tomorrow morning.

Ling Jinbao clicked his tongue in praise: "This city is really quite clean."

The main street is the storefront, spotless without question, but when the three turned into the side alleys, the ground also had little trash or debris, which was rather uncommon.

The three entered a noodle shop and ordered several bowls of egg noodle soup. Dong Rui saw the guests at the neighboring table eating with a crunching sound, so he called to the shop assistant:

"What is he eating? Give me one too."

This assistant was also about eleven or twelve years old, a short little fellow, with sharpness in his eyes. After hearing Dong Rui's order, he quickly brought up two plates—one holding large fried dough sticks, as long as half an arm, the other steamed yellow peas.

The eating method is also simple: stuff the peas into the fried dough sticks, and you can start eating.

The freshly fried dough sticks were crisp and flaky, slightly sweet; while the peas were soft and glutinous, very much like red bean paste filling, but salty, and the two together had a wonderful texture—Dong Rui couldn't stop eating after one bite.

"So simple, so delicious?"

The little assistant had been sizing up the three, and taking the opportunity, he asked: "You're staying at the Tongfu Guesthouse across the street?"

"Right, how do you know?"

"Foreign merchants stay at those guesthouses, back and forth, just those few." The little assistant asked again, "When are you going back?"

"Tomorrow." Dong Rui narrowed his eyes, "Little brat, why are you asking so detailed?"

The little assistant laughed: "Baishong City has good food and fun, if you have time, you can stay a few more days."

Dong Rui mumbled with his mouth full: "How do you know we're outsiders? We don't look like locals?"

"Not like it. You look a bit old."

"Old what? This is wind and frost, this is experience!" Dong Rui flared up, glaring, the fried dough stick in his mouth no longer fragrant.

The shop owner came out just in time to hear, hurried over to smooth things over: "This little brat knows nothing!"

After saying that, he swung a slap at the little assistant's back of the head: "One mouth just offends customers, you don't want to work? Hurry up and apologize!"

The little assistant could only rub his forehead and apologize to the three.

The shop owner again apologized with a smile: "This snack counts as my treat to the guests, no charge."

"How could I be embarrassed to accept that?" Dong Rui said with his mouth, but his hand was honest—he immediately grabbed the fried dough sticks the shop owner had just brought over.

"The shop owner is so young, where is he from?"

This shop owner looks about thirty, the running-around assistants are even younger—one is only seventeen or eighteen, the other is this eleven or twelve-year-old brat.

That little assistant, after being shouted at, didn't wander far, just waited behind the stairs to watch the street scene, occasionally glancing at He Lingchuan's table.

Dong Rui asked casually, but He Lingchuan's heart stirred, and he also turned his head to look up the street.

The street had considerable foot traffic; in the few seconds he glanced, over ten people passed by.

The noodle shop owner replied: "I'm from Wanxi, have you heard of this place?"

The three honestly shook their heads.

"A small town under Antao County." The shop owner passed over a plate of peas, "We had no livelihood locally, beasts kept coming to the fields to ruin the grain, people didn't dare go forward. I heard they were building a new city here, so we came over. In a blink, ten years! Ah, time really flies."

Baishong City has been established for less than ten years?

Interesting, a city less than ten years old has already developed to a population of several hundred thousand.

Dong Rui laughed heartily: "Your skill, this soup base—really not bad, is it a family tradition?"

"Yes, my grandfather was a noodle shop owner, and it's been passed down to me here."

He Lingchuan interjected: "Did you also bring your parents, wife, and children along?"

He asked this knowing full well. This shop owner is just over thirty; if his parents were alive, they'd likely come help at the noodle shop. Small shops run by small families—who isn't the whole family pitching in? Saves money, adds effort, brings peace of mind. Moreover, their craft is a family tradition.

But here, the three running-around assistants are all very young.

"No, I only brought my wife and children; my parents couldn't come, Baishong City doesn't allow it, so they're still back home."

"Baishong City doesn't allow it?" Ling Jinbao wondered, "Why?"

"Officially said, new city construction only needs young labor, anyone over thirty-four is rejected outright." The shop owner shook his head, "Elders in the city have no status, are just black households, and if caught by patrols, they'll be expelled. Families who shelter them will also face heavy penalties. Some wanted to bring their parents over, most get stopped at the city gate guards; one family helped their old man sneak in, but was discovered, the whole family was dragged to the street corner, heavily beaten dozens of times as a warning, then expelled from Baishong City."

He Lingchuan suddenly understood.

No wonder they earlier walked the streets and felt the city full of vitality; now thinking back, everything they saw along the way were young faces!

Middle-aged men are rarely seen, let alone the elderly.

There isn't a single one.

"They say new city work is arduous, so only young people have the strength."