Chapter 93: Wait for me to go home and try it, see if it works.

Wen Xiuyi talked a big game, but as afternoon approached, he still showed no intention of going home.

“Uncle, aren’t you heading back today?” Wen Nong eyed him knowingly, as if he saw right through him.

Wen Xiuyi snorted, “What’s the rush? I’m waiting for you to finish up, and for Carpenter Zhang to bring me something. That way you won’t have to push the cart home alone tonight. No need to thank your uncle—uncle just cares about you.”

Wen Nong muttered under his breath, “I think you’re just afraid of going home and getting scolded.”

“Three essays, a thousand characters each. Miss a single character, and you copy it ten times.” Wen Xiuyi’s cool voice drifted over, leaving Wen Nong petrified on the spot.

“Uncle…”

“Calling me ‘father’ won’t help you either,” Wen Xiuyi replied, glancing at the cheeky boy who had dared to mock him.

Liuzi, standing nearby, was doubled over with laughter.

Wen Xiuyi shot him a look and lifted his hand, “You too.”

Liuzi fell silent at once.

“Sir, sir, I was wrong…” Liuzi whimpered, begging for mercy, but Wen Xiuyi simply reclined in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to rest, ignoring them both. The two boys were left to complain and mock each other, suffering in silence.

Meanwhile, Wen Yao wandered around the dock a few times, bought several fish, and by a stroke of luck managed to buy dried shrimp brought from the coast by a cargo ship docked nearby. From the aroma alone, Wen Yao knew these were sea shrimp—a rare and precious flavor enhancer in an era without MSG.

Though she could buy MSG through her space, that was only for her family’s private use; she dared not use it openly at the old house or when cooking outside.

Since moving back to the old house, aside from occasionally sneaking some candy to Datou, Wen Yao had hardly used her space at all. She was starting to forget it even existed.

Alas, they did not have the fate of a heroine—she knew she wasn’t the protagonist, didn’t have those plot-armors and golden haloes. In the end, to avoid disaster for possessing treasure, anything she wanted to bring out had to be done in secret.

Wen Yao returned, one hand clutching fish, the other shouldering a sack of shrimp.

“What’s this? Stocking up for a business?” Wen Xiuyi opened his eyes and teased her, though her brothers had already taken the goods from her hands.

“Dad, I found something good,” Wen Yao said mysteriously, pulling a handful of sea shrimp from the sack.

Wen Xiuyi opened the sack, and the familiar briny scent hit him. He saw the shrimp in Wen Yao’s hand, sat up, and popped one into his mouth.

“Not bad. Where’d you find these?” Wen Xiuyi chewed, savoring the taste.

Wen Yao tied up the sack and grinned. “I ran into a boat from the south, and they brought these along. Sold most of them on the way, and I bought up the rest. Oh, and there’s some seaweed in that small bag—not much, though.”

Wen Xiuyi perked up. “Did you ask if they had anything else?”

“I did, of course,” said Wen Yao. How could she miss that opportunity? “But the captain said the locals aren’t used to coastal products, and nobody in the capital wants them, so they don’t stock much.”

Yunwu Town’s dock was so bustling for two reasons: it was the biggest dock in the area, and it was the main river port on the way to the capital. Many merchant ships stopped there en route to the capital.

This world, as Wen Yao knew, differed from her previous life’s understanding. The original author, when building this world, had done so on pure whimsy, without any real-life references—just whatever struck her fancy at the time.

So even Wen Yao herself couldn’t say exactly what place Yunwu Town resembled.

Wen Xiuyi was a little disappointed to hear there was nothing else. “That’s a shame. Seafood’s so nutritious—it’d be good for Datou and your grandparents.”

Wen Yao smirked with pride. “Did you really think your daughter wouldn’t think of that? I told the captain, if he goes to the coast again, to bring me whatever seafood he can find. He even asked me—those things are so fishy, are they really edible?”

Such a pity. People these days just didn’t know how to cook seafood and wasted all those delicacies.

“Well, be content. I’ll process these shrimp and make some seasoning to add flavor. The seaweed too—I’ll make bone broth for Datou, good for his calcium and growth.”

Ah, once the new house was finished and they moved back, she’d have to make sure Datou got his daily bottle of milk. The child was at his growing age, after all.

Father and daughter lingered by the dock until nearly sunset. Wen Xiuyi, true to his word, never lifted a finger to help, watching Wen Nong toil away the entire day. Even when old customers recognized him, he didn’t budge.

When asked, he’d simply reply, “Let the boy get some experience. We’ve still got fields to tend, and this stall will be his responsibility in the future.”

Everyone nodded and promised to look after Wen Nong.

And so, Wen Nong, being “tempered,” passively endured everyone’s concern, so tired he could barely raise his arms.

As dusk fell, Carpenter Zhang and his wife arrived, carrying the newly made curved-beam plow. They were surprised to see Wen Xiuyi and the others still at the stall.

“Oh, Brother Wen! I was going to have Liuzi help push the cart to deliver this to your house—how come you’re still here?” Carpenter Zhang called out with a smile from afar.

Wen Xiuyi stepped forward to relieve Liuzi’s mother, directing Carpenter Zhang to set the plow beside the ox cart.

“So you rented a cart? That’s great—this thing would be much too heavy to carry all the way home,” Carpenter Zhang said, rubbing his shoulder.

A plow had to be heavy to be sturdy, and Carpenter Zhang had used his best timber for it. It took two grown men just to lift it.

As Wen Xiuyi inspected the plow, he replied casually, “Not rented. I bought it in town today—couldn’t very well have someone drag the plow home by hand.”

Carpenter Zhang was both startled and envious.

“Well? How is it?” Seeing Wen Xiuyi circling the plow, poking and tapping here and there, Carpenter Zhang grew anxious.

When Wen Xiuyi finished his inspection, he patted the plow with satisfaction and gave Carpenter Zhang a thumbs-up. “Brother, your craftsmanship is no exaggeration—it’s superb, truly perfect. I’ll give it a try at home, and if it works well, you should make a batch and sell them before the spring plowing season. You’ll make a tidy profit.”

Carpenter Zhang, pleased, suddenly remembered the blueprints he’d brought and hurried to hand them to Wen Xiuyi. “Brother Wen, here’s the blueprint you drew. I only made it—I don’t dare to sell it for money.”

Wen Xiuyi stuffed the blueprint back into his hands. “Keep it. When you make some money, buy Liuzi some paper and brushes so he can practice writing properly. No more scratching in the dirt or on wooden boards—it’s not good for the child in the long run.”

Carpenter Zhang and his wife were moved to tears on the spot.

“Liuzi, quick, kneel and thank the gentleman!” Overcome with emotion, Carpenter Zhang grabbed Liuzi and pressed him to the ground in gratitude.

The Wen family truly was giving them a helping hand.