Hearing the engine begin to roar violently, Yun Ye’s heart raced wildly along with those fierce chugging sounds. Clutching his chest, he staggered away to a distance where he could no longer hear that heart-shaking chugging noise, and only then did he feel somewhat better.
He realized that the engine still had a long way to go. Since Li Tai liked octagonal engines, then let it be octagonal – what was so extraordinary about that? Who said engines had to look like the ones he’d seen in his previous life?
Wang Cai also couldn’t stand the deafening noise and stayed close by Yun Ye’s side, going nowhere else.
“My lord, let’s go home. If we stay here too long, this old servant feels people will die.” Liu Jinbao, forcibly restraining himself from covering his ears, loudly advised his master.
Go home? Thinking about going home made Yun Ye sigh. Two jealous old wives were running rampant at home – he had a home but couldn’t return to it! Looking at distant Chang’an City, he was moved by an idea. He hadn’t been to Chang’an City in many years – going to look around now wouldn’t be bad.
An ox cart would do nicely. He used to wonder why Old Master Yan preferred ox carts, but now he understood. Sitting in an ox cart was actually very comfortable. Now that he was old, walking would be problematic, and the slow-moving ox cart was perfect for observing the scenery along the way.
The sesame plants on both sides of the road had matured. These were oil crops planted after the summer harvest. The small pods were full of brown seeds. Rubbing them in your hand, blowing away the outer skin, and eating them left a fragrant taste filling your mouth.
Liu Jinbao and the other household guards also changed into ordinary people’s clothing. No matter how wealthy the household had become over the years, what felt most comfortable to wear was still a short jacket.
They were all farm boys at heart. Apart from changes in food and clothing, nothing else had really changed.
Some families were quite lazy – the peanut stems had already turned yellow, yet they still hadn’t dug them up. Really! Liu Jinbao grabbed the peanut vines and pulled out a large cluster from the loose sandy soil. The fine roots were covered with peanut pods.
The young man watching the peanuts rushed over to argue, but upon seeing Yun Ye on the ox cart, he immediately ran into the field and pulled out many more, carefully washing them clean in the nearby irrigation ditch before respectfully presenting them. Everyone on the nearby estates knew the old Duke of the Yun family. They used to see him frequently, and they’d heard that the old Duke was also skilled at tending fields – it was just that in recent years, being too old, he could no longer work the land.
Yun Ye’s digestive system was quite robust – what he could digest best were these freshest ingredients. He stuffed milk peanuts into his mouth. Eating them, their clear fragrance overflowed – they seemed to have even more flavor than cooked ones.
The old ox leisurely stepped its hooves toward Chang’an City. Wang Cai followed behind with nothing to do, running ahead for a while, then running behind. It didn’t like eating peanuts, and the sesame pods were very prickly to the mouth.
Yun Ye reclined against the thick mattress Liu Jinbao had laid out, peeling peanuts while looking around in all directions. Most of the crops in the fields had already been harvested, revealing large stretches of bare white ground.
The small hill ahead was planted full of fruit trees. Below the hill was a modest fish pond. The young peanut watcher’s ability to pass messages was quite strong. By the time Yun Ye’s ox cart passed the hill, the orchard owner was already smiling and carrying a basket of various fruits, inviting the old Duke to taste them. Very generous indeed.
The pomegranates looked good. Taking a knife to peel one open revealed very plump seeds with good flavor and even a hint of wine taste. Such pomegranates were most suitable for brewing pomegranate wine.
Seeing the orchard owner standing there with a wide grin and not leaving, Yun Ye knew he was waiting for a word of praise. He was always willing to satisfy such requests. Pointing with his finger, he said a simple “good,” and only then did the orchard owner depart joyfully after bowing.
Yun Ye couldn’t remember how many things he’d praised. In any case, whatever he praised would have an enormous sign hung out within a couple of days: “Such-and-such that even the Yun family master says is good.”
At a teahouse claiming “Even the Yun family master says so,” he took a sip of what was supposedly excellent green tea, frowned, and spat it all out. This was an insult to people – they dared to pass off pot-washing water as tea! Tomorrow he’d send someone to smash their sign.
Yun family master says the thick wine is good, the osmanthus sugar, dried fruit, sugarcane – Yun Ye could understand these things. He was a glutton with thin face, so perhaps he had indeed said such things. But “Ladies’ undergarments that even the Yun family master says are good” – that was going too far, wasn’t it?
Liu Jinbao, jumping with rage, was just about to go in and smash up this shop – what kind of thing was this? But who knew that as soon as he entered, he was beaten out by a group of gaudily dressed women.
A stout, broad-shouldered woman stood with hands on hips, accusing Liu Jinbao of being a lecher. She, a widow, operated a small shop – if she let wild men enter, what would happen to her reputation? If he really liked someone, sending a matchmaker to the door was the proper way.
Liu Jinbao was someone accustomed to speaking with his fists, but he had no way to deal with a fierce woman. Yun Ye actually didn’t care. He grinned and smiled, watching the excitement. Endorsing undergarments wasn’t such a big deal. If that woman could earn a few more copper coins to support her children because of it, that was good too.
The ox cart continued forward. Though still ten li from Chang’an City, shops were already everywhere. Once inside Chang’an City, who knew how prosperous it would be.
“Looks like we should build a ring road,” Yun Ye muttered to himself. The ox cart moved and stopped. The domineering Liu Jinbao had already gotten into three brawls – clearly that woman earlier had infuriated him considerably.
After twisting and turning through seven or eight detours, they finally reached the main road. On the road there were actually dandies racing horses. Each one had excellent horsemanship – massive horse hooves whooshed past right over small merchants’ heads. Those with poor technique would knock over stalls, but at least they were reasonable, knowing to pay compensation for damaged goods. Yun Ye noticed that many merchants deliberately threw their goods under the horse hooves, then wailed for compensation after the hooves trampled everything to mush.
Watching these youngsters pay up, Liu Jinbao walked over with a smile, swinging his whip to deliver a thorough beating over their heads and faces. Those beaten urgently wanted to curse, but clever companions quickly covered their mouths tightly. Once the foul language came out, it wouldn’t be a matter of just one or two lashes. Even if Duke Chu was magnanimous and didn’t take offense, they’d be beaten to death by their own fathers when they got home.
After the whipping was finished, no one on the street seemed to cheer. Many merchants instead showed expressions of regret, especially the porcelain seller – a whole basket of broken porcelain had just been piled onto the street…
Jar chicken was extremely tender and falling apart. Since that youngster had already carried over the entire huge yellow ceramic jar, he reluctantly tore off a chicken leg to eat slowly. The craftsmanship was good – after all, this was a skill passed down for over a hundred years.
The jar chicken seller looked down on the pear seller, but the banana seller looked down on the jar chicken seller. Bunches of green bananas hung upside down – they looked very high-class. But impatient people bought them and tried to eat them with the peel still on, and their mouths immediately became so astringent they couldn’t speak. Red-faced with thick necks, they grabbed the banana seller, planning to beat this damn swindler to death.
Such was the variety of human life! Yun Ye watched with delight and enthusiastically arrived at the Vermillion Bird Gate.
What? Ox carts not permitted to enter Chang’an? Need to transfer to an official convenience carriage? Liu Jinbao didn’t believe in such evil, and the group of dandies behind him didn’t believe it either. So after the gate official received a thorough beating, the ox cart entered Chang’an City without any obstruction. The Duke could ride an ox cart even inside the imperial palace – what was Chang’an City compared to that?
Yun Ye sat in the awning of his ox cart and didn’t intend to stop them. He knew full well that Chang’an City’s traffic situation was already very poor. Public carriages were a solution devised by Chang’an County Magistrate Zhu Zong, and now this solution had begun to be implemented in many cities of the Great Tang – like Yuezhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou, Zhaozhou, as well as Luoyang and distant Guangzhou.
Riding his slow-moving ox cart would certainly cause problems for Chang’an City’s traffic, but he didn’t plan to care. He just wanted to see what Chang’an City would do when an unexpected situation arose.
Chang’an City’s streets were all straight and perpendicular, like field ridges. The ward markets were like neat rows of vegetable plots. Now the ward gates could no longer be seen, and from Vermillion Bird Street one could see straight into the deepest parts of the ward markets. Inside were also full of tavern signs and various shops. Today’s Chang’an City had completely evolved from a political and cultural center into a purely commercial metropolis.
Officials in the court had repeatedly submitted memorials hoping to relocate the Three Departments, Six Ministries, and the imperial palace entirely to Yushan City, only thirty li from Chang’an City, completely building it into a new administrative and cultural city.
This suggestion was actually quite good. Chang’an City’s land prices had already risen to a terrifying degree. Many officials from unprofitable government offices joked that they worked the cheapest jobs on the most expensive land.
“Living in Chang’an is extremely difficult!” This had already become a famous saying. Seeing this scene made Yun Ye burst with joy. Such troubles also existed in later generations. As an ancestor, experiencing such distress in advance was very beneficial for descendants settling down and establishing homes.
The hundred-meter-wide Vermillion Bird Street was completely blocked by his single ox cart. With his ox cart in front, no other carriage dared to overtake, so the queue behind could only grow wider and wider. Chang’an County’s bailiffs had no choice but to direct other carriages to divert into other alleys.
Because of Yun Ye’s appearance, the entire Vermillion Bird Street quickly became empty – only one ox cart still moved slowly forward, followed by seven or eight household guards and a hundred or so dandies.
When passing Zhangsun Chong’s home, that fellow was waiting by the roadside wearing a blue shirt and holding a book. Seeing Yun Ye’s ox cart approach, he very naturally climbed onto the cart and said to Yun Ye, “You had nothing better to do today, so you came specifically to torment people?”
After all, they were brothers who had loved and hated each other for a lifetime – he still spoke to the point. Yun Ye gave him a large handful of fresh peanuts and said, “I originally went to Qing Que’s place to look at the engine, but fearing I’d be shaken to death by his engine, I temporarily changed my mind and decided to go look at the West Market. Are you going or not?”
Zhangsun Chong sucked air through his teeth and said fiercely, “This is the tiger making an inspection tour! You’ve come to intimidate the mountains!”