When Yun Ye heard the elder describe how he had dealt with these young people, he nearly laughed himself into convulsions, thinking they were just a bunch of simple-minded folks ignorant of worldly affairs. Later, he discovered that being inexperienced and being stupid were two different concepts. In order to transport the maximum number of bananas in one trip, Yun Ye watched with his own eyes as they built an amphibious cart in just a short while.

There’s no such thing as easy work. If someone says work is easy and pleasant, they’re simply referring to the great spiritual joy they feel, not physical comfort. No matter how happy you are, your body will still tell you it needs rest.

For instance, Yun Ye’s body was telling him he needed to rest, but everyone else was still laboring. Sweat flowed from the back of Mengna’s head down her spine, her blue clothes already soaked through, yet she continued trip after trip, carrying bananas out from the banana grove. Each bunch of bananas was extremely heavy—strings a meter long with flowers still blooming at the top. Mengna wouldn’t let them be removed, saying they were delicious when cooked together with meat back home.

The bamboo-bound sledges were very heavy, piled high with bananas. A single cart carried several hundred jin, easily. The girls’ sledges were slightly smaller, while the men’s sledges were much larger than the handcarts of later generations.

Menglu’s cart was especially large. Watching him pull it was truly a combination of strength and beauty—solid muscles, sturdy thighs, an unyielding expression, slow but steady steps—all demonstrating that this newly matured young man was already a true man. He would turn around from time to time to encourage Mengna behind him. He had no way to help her, so he could only encourage her in spirit.

Mengna’s full chest was outlined clearly by the vine rope pulling against it, though her loose clothing concealed her fine figure. This girl actually had quite a figure.

Perhaps due to her naturally stubborn personality, she had also piled her sledge full. This type of cart that slid on two bamboo poles underneath required overcoming significant friction. If Li Tai were here, he would definitely shake his head and call it “garbage,” but in the jungle, there was no better cart than this.

Even beautiful women don’t look attractive when working hard, especially when pulling carts—grimacing with fierce expressions. Yun Ye saw the blood vessels on her neck bulging like earthworms, saw her constantly trembling legs. She must have been very tired, yet she pressed forward without a word.

The vine rope cut into shoulders, and when sweat stung the wounds, it burned painfully—this was Yun Ye’s experience, and presumably everyone else’s as well.

They could have simply found more people, but these fools, wanting to give their tribespeople a huge surprise and show off how capable they were, stubbornly refused to find help. This forced Yun Ye to join the crowd pulling carts.

The path the elephants had taken was rough and uneven, and these creatures would eat and defecate as they went, leaving dung piles everywhere—quite a spectacular sight. Menglu always used bamboo branches to sweep the dung aside before allowing the cart convoy to continue, which slowed everyone down considerably.

Wang Cai always appeared when Yun Ye was at his most wretched. As a brother, he was qualified. Having had wine to drink these past two days, he was immediately full of energy. After waking from a nap to find Yun Ye gone, he followed Yun Ye’s scent all the way here. Proudly pulling Yun Ye’s sledge, he immediately overtook Mengna. Of course, with a fine steed, naturally there would be a beautiful woman—Yun Ye also hitched Mengna’s cart behind his own.

All of Menglu’s spiritual encouragement couldn’t compare to one small gesture from a wealthy young master. Freed from her heavy burden, Mengna happily kissed Yun Ye on the cheek, stimulating Menglu to pull his cart forward like a madman.

Yun Ye smiled and touched his face, then hung the vine rope on the cart of the most frail girl, helping her pull it. Mengna also went to help others pull their carts.

Things became much easier. Pulling carts required getting to the destination in one go—stopping halfway would make you even more exhausted. Once that breath of energy dissipated, it would be very difficult to muster it again.

Finally reaching the riverside, even someone as strong as Menglu plunged his head into the river water to cool off. After exercising, one shouldn’t immediately pour cold water on one’s head, or it would cause illness.

Yun Ye stopped others from doing this. After resting a bit to let body temperature drop, they could drink some water. Having developed strong habits from his later life, he never drank unboiled water.

He chopped a section of bamboo with a machete, lit a fire, boiled some water, found a clean stone to sit on, and drank leisurely.

Mengna looked at Menglu sitting on the ground in disarray and silence, then looked back at Yun Ye elegantly drinking water. Her heart felt confused and somewhat bewildered.

Pulling the sledges through water was much easier—they only needed to steady them to prevent tipping, and the gentle river current would deliver the bananas to the village entrance.

When still quite far from the village, Mengna let out a piercing howl. Several women washing clothes by the riverside stood up in surprise. Spotting the small flotilla, they turned and ran toward the village.

Everyone in the village came out to welcome the returning youths. They splashed into the river, taking over the carts from the young people, laughing as they patted this shoulder and touched that body. Several elders stood on the riverbank smiling. Children had already climbed onto the carts eating bananas, and some women lifted their clothing to wipe away tears.

Yun Ye calmly accepted people’s congratulations—shoulder pats, hugs, even caresses—accepting them all. He suddenly realized that the most meaningful thing he had done since coming to the Great Tang was bringing a cartload of bananas back to the village. Even being enfeoffed as a marquis in the Golden Throne Hall didn’t feel as good as this moment.

Wang Cai proudly raised his neck as children began scratching his belly—this was his most enjoyable moment.

Menglu was in melancholy. Even as the entire village laughed, he felt sorrowful. Mengna truly had fallen for that Han gentleman. If that person were a fraud, Menglu would definitely pounce on him desperately. But this person was a very good man who had also helped the village find endless bananas. With that grove, the village would never go hungry again—generation after generation would never go hungry. Menglu had known since childhood that kindness must be repaid, especially such great kindness. Besides, he surpassed himself in every way. The elder said he could even write—an incredible skill that even the elder couldn’t do. He would surely become an even wiser elder in the future.

Menglu, who loved Mengna so deeply, was preparing to go home, pack some belongings, and quietly slip away after dark. A loser remaining in the village would be laughed to death.

Yun Ye had been watching Menglu all along. Shrewd as he was, how could he not see through Menglu’s youthful sentiments? Though inwardly laughing so hard he nearly convulsed, he still smiled and finished greeting everyone before catching up with Menglu.

Yun Ye wasn’t the only one who noticed something was wrong with Menglu—Mengna did too. She followed them from a distance, very worried they might fight. When Menglu went mad, no one could stop him.

Menglu was in his house packing his few pieces of clothing into a bundle, preparing to take one last good look at his home before leaving, when he discovered Yun Ye pushing through the door. Smiling, Yun Ye greeted him casually, then skillfully pulled out a jar of wine from under his bamboo bed and grabbed two reed straws from behind the door, as casual as if he were in his own home.

Menglu felt even more sorrowful. He had just remembered that Yun Ye was now living in his house. Well, he would need a bamboo house to marry Mengna anyway. Tearstain bamboo was hard to find now—he had spent half a year in the mountains collecting enough bamboo. Since he no longer needed it, he might as well give it all to him.

Yun Ye patted Menglu’s broad back, gesturing for him to follow. He propped his foot on the platform, placed the wine jar between them, and strangely, there was also a stone slab in the middle.

Yun Ye took a drink of wine, pushed the jar to Menglu, then very seriously used a piece of charcoal to draw a portrait of a woman. On the surface it looked like Xinyue, but his technique wasn’t good—he couldn’t capture Xinyue’s beautiful appearance no matter how he tried.

As his state of mind calmed, his technique improved considerably. Xinyue’s features gradually became clear, and the feeling of home grew stronger. Yun Ye really wanted to run straight back to Chang’an and hide in Yushan, never coming out again—even farming would be the best choice.

Menglu looked at the beautiful woman’s portrait on the stone slab, then at Yun Ye’s gentle expression, and seemed to understand what Yun Ye wanted to say. His heart began pounding.

Yun Ye took a pouch from his bosom, untied the knot, removed a lock of hair to show Menglu, then put it back, placed it at his heart, patted it, pointed at Mengna who was lurking sneakily behind another main building, then pointed at Menglu, brought two fingers together, and laughed heartily at Menglu.

Even the dumbest person would understand what this meant. Menglu embraced Yun Ye and patted his back, also laughing heartily. Only the spying Mengna was completely confused.

Men have many inexplicably happy things. Menglu picked up the stone slab and placed it at the head of Yun Ye’s bed, then brought up an even larger stone slab from the floor. Taking the charcoal stick, he drew on it. Though only simple lines, the meaning was very clear—it was him and Mengna when they were small…

Mengna was even more confused about men. Two men who should have been fighting were actually sitting together drinking wine, frequently laughing heartily and happily patting each other’s backs. They couldn’t understand what each other was saying—only the words “Mengna” could be heard clearly. Were they discussing how to pursue her? But there were two of them!

If only the gods could combine the Han gentleman and Menglu into one person—that would be wonderful! Mengna’s eyes grew hazy as she indulged in wild fantasies.

Over the next few days, all the men in the village mobilized en masse, bringing back countless bananas from the mountains. The entire village was filled with rich, sweet fragrance. Bamboo screens were covered with drying banana slices—a sea of white as far as the eye could see, and the white continued spreading outside the village.

When Liu Jinbao found Yun Ye, he was using a small knife to slice bananas. Two children behind him were helping, arranging the banana slices Yun Ye had cut onto bamboo screens. When a screen was full, they would take it out to dry. A large pile of banana peels had already accumulated on the ground. Yun Ye was cutting very carefully, each slice roughly the same thickness, his technique skilled, his movements graceful.

Just as Liu Jinbao was about to speak his greeting, he was met with Yun Ye’s icy gaze. His heart trembled, and he knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word.