Li’er walked very quickly. Although Yun Ye and Wei Zheng kept bickering verbally, one undermining the other, when it concerned Li’er’s safety, the two were of one mind and didn’t dare separate even slightly. A thick-bearded burly man, though driven away by Li’er several times, still followed behind him. Yun Ye discovered that even this fellow’s body hair seemed to be standing on end. If someone suddenly appeared now, at minimum they’d lose arms and legs, and at worst heads would fly.

Turning back to smile at the guard, what he got in return was an extremely hateful glare. He wanted to get angry, but after his mind turned it over, he let it go. As long as Li’er got even the slightest scratch, this fellow’s life would be over. Now facing the chief culprit who had put Li’er in danger, it would be strange if he had a good expression.

Who knew when the bad habit of Guanzhong people squatting at the base of walls to eat their meals began? Black pottery bowls bigger than heads were filled with millet rice, topped with a slice of fatty, fatty pork. They were reluctant to eat it—this was for showing others. After finishing a bowl of rice, the pork slice remained undamaged, still lying at the bottom of the bowl. It was just those dried vegetables and one or two green vegetable slices that had disappeared without a trace. The meat slice was saved to pile on the bowl next time to continue letting others admire it.

The farmers of the Yun family estate had long stopped being curious about important figures coming to visit. Just yesterday an official from the Ministry of Finance had mooched a bowl of rice before leaving.

As for the estate master, when he had nothing to do he liked running to people’s homes to look at their stoves. Sometimes he would point at pig hind legs hanging from the roof beams and ask why they weren’t eating them, eating only dried vegetables in the dead of winter.

The estate master’s face had to be given. Farming families were not lacking in wisdom, so the Yun family estate formed the habit of having meat slices on bowls but not eating them.

An elderly grandfather even said: “After eating just a few full meals, you’re already starting to squander? Eating meat? It’s neither New Year nor festival—what meat are you eating? The estate master is a spendthrift. Does the whole estate have to follow along squandering together?”

Yun Ye had inadvertently heard this and could only cover his face and leave.

Li’er didn’t know. He only saw that each farmer’s bowl had grain, vegetables, and meat. Immediately his dragon countenance was greatly pleased. Having traveled north and south witnessing the world’s hardships, he of course knew what it meant for common people to have dry rice and meat.

Just about to praise Yun Ye a couple of times, he saw a half-grown boy as sturdy as a young calf finish off in two or three bites that meat slice he himself had been salivating over for so long. The boy was even stupidly preparing to also eliminate the slice in his father’s bowl.

His father was naturally furiously enraged. Putting down his bowl, he began chasing his spendthrift son all over the place.

After finally capturing him, the shoe sole cracked several times on his son’s bottom. He even pointed at Yun Ye from afar to lecture his son. Too far away to hear clearly, but it was probably serving as a negative example.

Dragging his son, whose tears and snot were flowing together, back to the wall base, he stuffed the meat slice from his own bowl into his son’s mouth. Watching him eat it sweetly, he slapped his bottom two more times.

Li’er laughed so hard his eyes disappeared behind his smile. Wei Zheng laughed until his waist bent. Even the guard behind them, whose face was like ice and frost, gradually melted.

“Youngster, your estate doesn’t lack a bite of meat to eat. Why do they still economize like this? Even using a slice of meat for face?”

Yun Ye’s face had turned black. Not one of these idiots had any sense of shame. Clearly each one was from a well-off household, yet they insisted on living like beggars. Wheat filled their grain bins, yet they were reluctant to eat it. The Yun family estate didn’t grow millet, this low-yield crop—it was all exchanged by them using wheat. They all had new clothes, yet they only showed them off for two days during New Year, then put them away again to wear next year—still new. Who knew what the point was? They all hid their money, and had no brains about it either. Most hid it in pig pens. The most heavily guarded place in the Yun family estate was none other than the pig pens. As soon as a pig grunted, immediately burly men would come out with manure forks to patrol.

This caused all the copper coins leaving the Yun family estate to carry a urine stench—truly copper stench.

“This humble subject has no cure for it. Grain is not lacking, meat is not lacking, eggs are not lacking, even vegetables are not lacking. Everyone has new clothes, perhaps even more than one set. But they just won’t enjoy blessings. They like exchanging wheat for millet, like hanging meat up to look at every day, like wearing tattered clothes. Last time I scolded them about it, so now every household puts a slice of meat in their bowl at mealtime to fool me. When encountering very old elders, they always say I’m a spendthrift. This humble subject really wants to knock out their few remaining teeth, but doesn’t dare, so I can only listen.”

Li’er burst out laughing wildly, laughing until tears came out. Wei Zheng leaned against a tree by the roadside gasping for breath.

Laughing and laughing, Li’er stopped laughing. Turning back to Yun Ye he said: “The farmers still have a sense of crisis—always worried there won’t be enough grain to eat next year. They’ve been scared by hunger.”

After speaking, he came before several old men, cupped his fists and asked: “Venerable elders, I see the Yun family estate has houses like clouds. It must be a prosperous estate. Why are your meals so simple, and the clothes on your bodies—is there some hidden circumstance?”

A white-bearded Old Hao looked down at his own bowl and his clothes, sitting there boldly without moving. Thinking this was another minor official from the Ministry of Works or Ministry of Finance, relying on his own advanced age of eighty-six years, he need not give face to these minor officials.

Ignoring Li’er, he turned back to Yun Ye and said: “What rank official is this fellow? Has being an official made him stupid? This old man’s bowl has vegetables, has meat, and has eggs my great-grandson’s wife just peeled for me. You dare say this meal is meager? Look clearly—this old man is eating dry rice. Even His Majesty’s meals are probably just like this. Look around everywhere—in all of Guanzhong, only our estate eats three meals a day. We’re enjoying blessings until we’re committing sins.”

“This old man has lived eighty-six years. The years I could eat dry rice can be counted on one hand, and that includes these past few years.”

“Last year the Empress came to the estate and even chatted a bit of family gossip with this old man. Someone as precious as an immortal, wearing skirts that showed her ankles just to save a bit of cloth. This old man’s clothes being warm and clean is enough. What kind of particularity do farming families have? Making things last is the proper principle.”

“Even if you’re the estate master, you can’t just randomly bring such spendthrifts into the estate to corrupt the atmosphere.” After finishing his lecture, he called a young descendant to help him up. Hunched over holding his bowl, he tremblingly stuffed the egg from his bowl into his little great-grandson’s mouth, glared at Li’er, turned and left, as if staying one moment longer would contaminate him with Li’er’s influence.

Yun Ye’s face couldn’t get any greener. The guard hesitated whether to eliminate this bastard old man.

But Li’er listened with great interest. Regarding Old Hao calling him an idiot and spendthrift, he didn’t mind at all, as if those words were about someone else. When the old man left, he even cupped his fists saying he’d been taught.

“Your Majesty, the old fellow is advanced in age and confused. Please don’t lower yourself to his level. He’s just like this—this humble subject has suffered deeply from it.”

Li’er patted Yun Ye’s shoulder and said: “The ancients spoke well—having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. How true! The old man saying I’m an idiot spendthrift is very pertinent. My question was wrong, so getting scolded was inevitable. Even if I received this kind of scolding every day, I wouldn’t get angry. Youngster, your family always gives me some surprises.”

“Your Majesty, this humble subject also thinks so. The old man spoke correctly. In the third year of the Daye era, starving corpses littered the land. In the fifth year of Daye, there was no rain for ten months. In the sixth year of Daye, drought demons ran rampant and exchanging children to eat was commonplace. Even at the founding of our dynasty, disasters were continuous. If the locust plague three years ago hadn’t been handled properly, it would definitely have been another human tragedy. Therefore, this humble subject also believes the old man’s words were entirely appropriate.”

Li’er nodded and said: “Only by living in peace can one think of danger. As long as we work hard for several more years and pacify the disloyal lands around our Great Tang, we’ll begin seeking welfare for all the common people under heaven. I truly hope everyone in the world can eat dry rice. Let us sovereign and subjects encourage each other.”

Yun Ye, Wei Zheng, including that guard, all bowed and assented together.

The road surfaces of the Yun family estate were all paved with bluestone slabs. Both sides of the road were farming households. Leaning on the chest-high perimeter wall to look inside, Li’er was all smiles. In the courtyard ran a flock of chickens and several large white geese. In the wheat straw pile in the corner crouched several hens laying eggs. The small courtyard was very clean, with a well in the middle. A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl was turning the windlass. Discovering several men standing outside the wall watching her, in a moment of panic her hand slipped, and the water bucket that had just been lifted dropped back down. The little girl covered her face and ran back into the house.

Li’er’s dragon countenance was again greatly pleased. Pointing at the pile of sun-dried wheat in the courtyard, he said to Yun Ye: “Good heavens, that’s a full ten dan of wheat! Is that all her family’s?”

“This humble subject believes we’ll know very soon.” Yun Ye’s words had just fallen when a farm wife rushed out from the house holding a feather duster, about to scold them, but discovering it was the estate master, immediately put on a smiling face and said to Yun Ye: “Has the Marquis come to see our Su Niang? It’s not me bragging—Su Niang’s needlework is the best in the estate. If she could be sent to the manor to be a servant girl, no matter which young lady she served, it would be excellent. Are you satisfied with what you’ve seen?”

Hearing the farm wife’s words, Li’er and Wei Zheng looked at Yun Ye with contempt together. Wei Zheng showing contempt was one thing, but why were you, Li’er, a sex-starved ghost, also showing contempt toward me? Yun Ye was furious in his heart.

“Your family has so much grain. Don’t tell me you can’t even support your daughter and want to send her to my house to help you raise her.”

“You don’t know, Marquis. The family doesn’t lack grain—the bins are filled completely. This is last year’s stored grain that was gnawed by mice. The head of the household plans to dry it and sell it to the capital for those high officials and nobles to eat. Our family eats new grain ourselves. Sending our daughter to the manor is to have her learn the ways of great households from the old lady.”

Li’er slapped Yun Ye on the back of his head, saying viciously: “Is this how you taught your estate’s farmers? The Empress is currently collecting grain for the imperial palace. Are you planning to make me eat grain that mice have eaten?”

The farm wife, seeing she’d caused trouble, shrank her neck and scurried back into the house, hiding behind the door to peek.

Yun Ye cried out his grievance with a bitter face: “Your Majesty, which farming family selling grain doesn’t sell old grain and keep good grain for themselves? Grain stored for over a year—which doesn’t attract mice? You’ve wronged this humble subject to death.”

Li’er thought about how he’d just eaten a large bowl of noodles this morning. Associating it with mice, he felt somewhat nauseous. Pointing his finger at Yun Ye, he turned and left.