Life was originally bland. Yun Ye needed no adaptation from intense to bland—his current life was exactly what he liked most. The Yun family’s sesame had already begun to ripen. Chang’an’s temperature was high—seeds could be planted in the third month, unlike the Hebei region which required waiting until the fourth month for planting. Yun Ye still knew a thing or two about agricultural matters.

Today, hearing that his family had planted sesame, Yun Ye very much wanted to produce some sesame oil. The fields were still a sea of green, with only an occasional one or two plants that had already turned yellow. Those were today’s targets.

The Tang Dynasty’s sickles were not easy to use at all. Yun Ye could only use large scissors to cut down the mature sesame plants, stalks and all, making trip after trip between the large field and the field ridge. The broken Fanyang hat on his head had been taken from Dan Ying’s head. This fellow returned to Chang’an once a month, covered in mud and wanting to enter the courtyard. Though he knew Daya was entangled with him, Yun Ye didn’t plan to play the mandarin duck separator anymore. The extremely timid Daya might only avoid being bullied if she married Dan Ying.

On the third day of the tenth month, Runniang would marry. Now she had finally learned shyness, hiding in her room embroidering wedding clothes, even specially having her sister Yiniang come over to help her. Yiniang, bringing her child, was very happy to return to her natal family. Of course, her shameless husband also came along, claiming he was there to look after the mother and child. The small child hadn’t been given a formal name yet—they just called him Xiao Gui, little turtle. He already knew to turn his head. Since arriving at the Yun family, Old Pei had taken off his official robes, put on his own green robe, and with a book tucked under his arm, leisurely went to the academy pretending to be a student.

Just before the year’s end, they’d secured him a junior eighth-rank minor official position as Assistant in Revenue. He lived comfortably in the Ministry of Revenue. For an abacus master, those minor accounts were nothing. Plus his father could help him out. He was also lively and generous, from time to time going to the tavern jointly opened by the Yun and Cheng families to treat everyone to authentic Yun Mansion dishes and sample the newly harvested tea. Before long, the reputation of “promising young talent” sat upon his head.

When Old Pei wasn’t around, Yun Ye had asked Yiniang if she was living contentedly. If there was anything unsatisfactory, just say so—elder brother would go to Chang’an and break the legs of the entire Pei family, young and old. On this point, Yun Ye was as unreasonable as a fanatic. Fortunately, Yiniang’s attitude told him she was doing very well. Perhaps because she was in the nursing period, she’d also gained some weight around the middle, plump and round with quite the air of a household’s main mistress.

Wang Cai stood on the field ridge, with two baskets hanging left and right on his back. Perhaps the fragrance of sesame had tempted him. He specially picked sesame pods to eat, rolling his tongue and making many sesame seeds disappear.

The Yun family wasn’t short of laborers, but some things were more interesting to complete personally. Wearing ox-ear hemp shoes, a Fanyang hat, and covered in coarse hemp cloth clothes, he looked exactly like a country youth. When leaving the house, Xinyue and Na Rimu holding the child were so surprised they couldn’t speak.

Hadn’t the old man Yan told him not to cause trouble? Then he’d act low-key. Disguising as a farmer—surely no one would still cause trouble for him, right? The scissors cut sesame stalks quite efficiently. Before long, the two bamboo baskets were already full. Once again, he selected the tallest plant from the field, the one with the most sesame pods on it, cut it down, held it in his hand, walking while rubbing the sesame, blowing away the outer shells, and filling them into his mouth. The taste was very good—it’s just that before long, his mouth had a large black ring around it.

He ate a bit himself, then fed some to Wang Cai. On the small dirt path, stopping and starting, it was extremely rustic and interesting.

People came and went on the main road. Ox carts transporting bricks came in an endless stream. The Liu Family Brick Company’s sign hanging on the ox carts was very conspicuous. Ever since Liu San had shown off spectacularly with the palace’s brick materials, his family’s brick company had indeed become all of Chang’an’s largest brick supplier. I hear he’s now extending his claws into the cement industry, preparing to test the waters.

This was what he’d heard chatting with He Shao. Fat Wang—that fellow who stuffed the contract in his mouth and swallowed it—had now become Chang’an’s second-largest brick supplier. As for the other brick merchants, I hear they were all gone. No one used their bricks. In this age, households that could afford to build with brick all wanted to benefit from some imperial auspiciousness. Even if the price was a bit expensive, they didn’t care. Houses were to be passed down to descendants—not a single flaw could be permitted.

Yun Ye just smiled and passed over those marketplace tricks. It would be strange if He Shao’s shadow wasn’t in this. The Liu and Wang families’ businesses certainly had his share. From how he gave the Yun family much more money of unclear origin every year, you could tell he was involved in absolutely more than just one or two businesses.

This time the academy was continuing to build, and the brick materials used were also custom-ordered from these two families. It’s just that everyone couldn’t figure out why building an enclosure wall absolutely required bricks. Wouldn’t mixing yellow earth with wheat straw and tamping it work?

Wang Cai somehow had grown taller again, becoming a truly tall and large horse. His brown fur was glossy and sleek, his long mane bound by the maidservants into a row of top-knots. Everyone who saw him said he looked spirited. It’s just that now there was again a trend toward horizontal development. To live up to Wang Cai’s difficult weight-loss process, Yun Ye had no choice but to increase Wang Cai’s daily activity. Whenever this lazy fellow should be used, he absolutely wouldn’t let the opportunity pass.

People on the main road all praised Wang Cai and cursed Yun Ye. Using such a fine horse as a pack horse, carrying two baskets of sesame on his back was wasting a precious steed. Precious steeds should be ridden galloping wildly on the highway. Sesame should be carried by poor boys themselves.

Many fellows who thought Yun Ye was an idiot struck up conversation with him with thoughts of taking advantage. Seeing the black ring around Yun Ye’s mouth after eating sesame, they were even more certain this was a fool.

“Boy, this master lacks a horse to pull a cart. How about you sell the horse to me? This master will give you five strings of cash, so your parents can marry you off to a wife.” A fellow wearing a waist protector and rib guards came forward to bamboozle Yun Ye.

“Marrying a wife is good! I’ve long wanted to marry a wife. Even Er Gouzi has a wife—I want to marry too. You say five strings of cash? No good.” Yun Ye raised his eyebrows and argued loudly.

“I offered too little, didn’t I? This is a precious steed—how could I sell it to you for five strings of cash? Young fellow is clever. Look, this old man will give you six strings of cash. How about it? Not little—a head of cattle is only worth seven strings, and a horse’s strength isn’t as great as an ox’s strength. Giving you six strings is already out of pity for you. A man who wants to marry needs money—can’t be short!” A blue-eyed, bearded foreigner wearing a round hat moved closer, quietly saying to Yun Ye.

“You’re all tricking me—you’re giving too little.” Yun Ye angrily stared at those who’d surrounded him wanting to take advantage.

“Eight strings! This old man offers eight strings. Boy, if you dare raise the price again, I’ll break your legs.” The large man was getting impatient. Having given a price, he threatened Yun Ye at the same time, believing this would be more effective.

“No good, it’s short…” Yun Ye counted on his fingers for a long time before shouting out: “Four strings short—won’t sell!”

The scene fell completely silent. The large man’s face twitched for a while, then gritting his back teeth he said, “Good! Four strings it is—deal! Whoever dares compete with this old man, don’t blame me for being impolite.” Finishing, he pulled out four silver ingots from his bosom and tossed them to Yun Ye. Grinning, Yun Ye caught the silver ingots, bit one in his mouth, and was so happy he nearly convulsed. This provoked the foreigner to sigh heavily—a good deal had slipped from his lips. That large man intentionally or unintentionally revealed the Military Commissioner’s waist token, so he could only back down.

The large man happily went to grab Wang Cai’s neck. What Wang Cai hated most was being touched by big, crude people. Last time he’d been whipped several times by such a person—he’d long held a grudge. Now only grooms, maidservants, and children were allowed to touch him. Other people touching him—all would be bitten.

Quick as lightning, he bit the large man’s hand. Taking advantage of the large man crying out in pain, he then turned around, and with one kick sent the large man tumbling into the ditch by the roadside. Then he neighed proudly once and continued urging Yun Ye to feed him sesame. The original frequency was one mouthful per person, but just now he’d seen Yun Ye eat several extra mouthfuls. Now it was his turn.

The large man crawled out from the pit crying miserably, saying while crying out in pain, “Good horse! Truly a good horse! Grandfather made a fortune today—taking this kick isn’t unjust.”

Wang Cai had just eaten one mouthful of sesame, preparing to eat a second, when that annoying fellow crawled out again making unpleasant noises. With a whinny, he’d already reared up, about to kick the large man. Frightened, the large man rolled and crawled back into the pit.

Yun Ye smiled and continued walking forward. Wang Cai, seeing this, followed closely. The large man anxiously shouted from behind but, fearing Wang Cai’s ferocity, didn’t dare chase and could only follow from afar. Seeing Yun Ye and Wang Cai about to walk far away, gritting his teeth he said, “Whichever good fellow brings that horse over, I’ll gift him one string of cash.”

Immediately there were busybodies preparing to go grab the horse. Wang Cai naturally wouldn’t have it—biting and kicking, making everyone afraid to approach. They could only circle around him. For a time, the road became chaotic as a pot of porridge. Yun Ye squatted by the roadside watching the spectacle. Wang Cai’s activity today was severely insufficient—playing with these people for a while wasn’t bad.

A green-oil carriage with four guards drove over. Seeing the chaotic scene, a guard couldn’t help but furrow his brow and barked sharply. The chaotic scene immediately quieted down. Wang Cai took the opportunity to return to Yun Ye’s side to rest a bit—he’d just kicked several people and was somewhat tired.

A round little head poked out from the green-oil carriage, wearing a very small golden crown on top with a red velvet ball tied to it. His features were delicate—at most five years old—yet he put on an air of maturity and asked, “What has occurred? Why this endless clamor?”

Yun Ye’s childlike heart arose. Deciding to tease this adorable child, he said pitifully, “They want to rob my horse.”

“Nonsense! This horse is mine. Little young master, the road has already been cleared for you. You may proceed on your journey as needed.”

The child immediately jumped down from the carriage, and in two or three bounds reached Yun Ye’s side. His family’s guards didn’t have time to react. They’d just seen Wang Cai’s violent temper with their own eyes. Who would have thought that when the child’s hand touched Wang Cai’s thigh, Wang Cai not only didn’t kick, but instead stretched his head over, preparing to let this child scratch him.

The child scratched Wang Cai’s head a few times, then carefully looked at the dull and stupid-looking Yun Ye, then looked at those people grinning while trying to catch the horse. With firm resolution, he said to the guards, “Uncle Pan, these people are bullying the weak in broad daylight. We cannot ignore it. This horse belongs to this farmer, not to those people.”

“This horse was bought by me for four strings of cash—it’s mine.” Hearing the large man’s cry of injustice, the guards who had still been somewhat hesitant immediately began cursing. Such a precious steed—without one or two hundred strings, don’t even ask the price. You son of a bitch spent four strings of cash—if not a bandit, definitely a swindler. Finishing, they swung their blade sheaths and began beating those horse-catchers without rhyme or reason.

The large man roared and ran far away—he still understood the principle that a good man doesn’t take a loss right before his eyes. The child bounced to Yun Ye’s side, grinning and saying, “This young master is called Di Renjie. I’m about to go study at the academy. If anyone bullies you, just report my name and I’ll help you.”