Chapter 21: Food Stall Incident

Chapter 21: The Food Stall Incident

In his previous life, he had just come of age, was loyal and eager to take the lead, and because his Superpower of ancient martial arts gave him some skill, he took on the responsibility of protecting others from the very beginning of the apocalypse.

But being a savior was not that easy—it was much more than just protecting people from zombies and mutants. The internal conflicts, betrayals, and divisions within the team wore out the young, naive Lin Su, but as the group grew larger, it was no longer something he could just walk away from. On his shoulders rested the lives of an entire base and the future of humanity. As a mere sports student, he could only silently absorb management knowledge and experience, gritting his teeth and shouldering it all.

After being reborn, he once again took on the burden of this little fool. Though heavy, it was... surprisingly not unpleasant.

He whispered promises into Fu Yun's ear, patiently soothing his emotions.

After a long time, Fu Yun finally calmed down, but then...

"Brother, I feel dizzy."

After soaking in the hot spring too long, Fu Yun went limp and collapsed onto Lin Su.

Lin Su was stunned.

With their skin in such close contact, he suddenly remembered that the two of them were completely naked.

"...Get up."

He supported Fu Yun's shoulders and helped him onto the shore, reluctantly looking away just as his waist was about to leave the water.

"Wear my clothes. Just leave me one undershirt."

Lin Su turned his back to Fu Yun, waiting until he heard the rustling of clothes before getting out himself.

Fu Yun was bundled in Lin Su's thick outer robe, baggy, like a child wearing an adult's clothes.

He pulled his hands into his sleeves, clasped the front of the robe with both hands, burrowed into the clothes, blinked, and asked Lin Su with a slightly unfocused gaze.

"Brother, are you cold?"

Lin Su glanced at Fu Yun and frowned. "Are you cold?"

The valley was warm, and no cold wind could blow in. He wasn't even that cold in just a thin shirt, and Fu Yun was wearing thicker clothes, so he shouldn't be cold.

Could he be sick from the fright?

Fu Yun's eyes darted around even more. After hemming and hawing for a long time, he finally replied, "I-I'm not cold!"

Seeing this, Lin Su squinted his eyes. Instead of playing guessing games, he pinched Fu Yun's cheeks between his thumb and forefinger and squeezed. "What are you hiding from your brother, huh?"

With that, he squeezed harder, and the soft flesh of Fu Yun's cheeks pushed his lips into a pout. He mumbled indistinctly, "Actually, I still have clothes..."

Fu Yun often went up the mountain to gather herbs. This valley was one of his temporary shelters, and in the cave opposite, there were many clothes and supplies stored in case he had to stay overnight in the mountains.

"Brother, don't be angry. I-I'll let you wear my clothes," Fu Yun blinked, clearly wanting to keep wearing his brother's clothes.

"Can I even fit into them? Look how skinny you are—where does all that food you eat every day go?"

Lin Su unfeelingly made Fu Yun change back into his own clothes. It was getting late, so the two picked up the treasure chest and headed home.

Back at the house, after lighting the candles, Fu Yun opened the chest with great excitement.

Lin Su leaned over to look and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Inside the chest were a dozen or so small silver ingots, each weighing five taels, totaling sixty-five taels of silver.

Next to the silver was a piece of red cloth wrapped around something.

"What's inside the red cloth?" Lin Su asked.

"Hmm..." Fu Yun frowned, thinking hard for a long time before finally remembering. "It's ginseng! Aged ginseng!"

He looked up at Lin Su excitedly. "Brother, can we sell it for a lot of money?"

"Yes."

"Then let's sell it!" Fu Yun hugged the small chest, his eyes sparkling like gold coins.

"Little money-grubber."

Thanks to this unexpected windfall, Fu Yun's small treasury suddenly grew much larger. Lin Su didn't hold back on spending either, buying a lot of furniture and household items to make his lounging more comfortable.

He felt no shame in living off his husband's earnings.

With a small family treasury and daily income from the food stall, the two spent a very comfortable few days.

However, a few days later, one morning, Xu Lei came looking for them.

"We can't set up our stall anymore. The officials won't allow it." His face was full of anger as he dropped the bombshell.

Fu Yun furrowed his brows, his beautiful eyes filled with confusion. Lin Su, however, instantly understood that someone was targeting their food stall.

"Brother Xu, did you get into a conflict with anyone?" Lin Su asked in a deep voice.

"No, they were officials." Brother Xu was somewhat dejected.

"Good, as long as there's no conflict. We can do without the stall, as long as you're safe," Lin Su consoled him. "Are only we banned? Did they say why?"

Xu Lei was silent for a moment, then said dejectedly, "Only us. All the other stalls are still there. The official didn't say anything, just kept shooing us away."

That was why he was so angry. Even now, thinking about the official who collected the berthing fee blatantly lying, implying they weren't allowed to set up the stall, with an obvious arrogant air, made him seethe with rage.

But they were officials, and since ancient times, commoners don't oppose officials. What could an ordinary person like him do?

Xu Lei felt indignant, but more than that, disappointed. He had finally found a way to make money, and now it was slipping away right before his eyes.

"It's fine. A food stall can be set up anywhere."

Lin Su instructed, "Try to rent a spot in other streets or alleys of the county for the next few days. If someone chases you away, don't argue, just find another place."

It just so happened that the folding mobile food cart he had custom-made at Carpenter Jiang's was also finished. Even if he couldn't rent a spot, working as a mobile food stall going around the streets was perfectly fine.

After all, the clay pot rice noodles didn't require much equipment, and the roads in the city were mostly flat, so it wasn't too troublesome to wheel the cart around.

"As for the people targeting us, I'll handle it. You just focus on setting up the stall."

Lin Su squinted his eyes. Being able to bribe officials into colluding, rather than hiring thugs and ruffians to cause trouble, didn't seem like something a common merchant would do.

Whoever this person was, their goal was probably more than just this.

The next day, Lin Su also went to Yucheng County with Xu Lei.

As soon as they appeared at the dock, two officials immediately walked over and sternly ordered that no stalls be set up on the boats.

Lin Su looked around. On both sides, boats of all sizes were crowded with people, and many were setting up stalls on the boats and on the shore. He turned his gaze back to the officials. Their eyes met, and both knew exactly what was happening.

The officials didn't care—whether or not to allow street vending was simply within their authority, and no one could say otherwise.

Lin Su suddenly broke into a smile, speaking in a relaxed tone: "We won't set up a stall. We're going into the city. You wouldn't stop us from going in, would you, sir?"

The Dasheng Dynasty was a thriving commercial power, with no curfews; except for military strongholds and borders, all towns and counties were open to free travel, and entry into cities wasn't blocked.

The two officials exchanged a glance, a peculiar sneer flashing in their eyes. "Of course."

Some higher-up had specifically instructed them not to crush them all at once, but to slowly wear them down—once they were worn down, things would be easier to handle.

Xu Lei pushed the food cart into the city, while Lin Su followed behind, holding Fu Yun's hand. As they passed the two officials, Lin Su saw the men's eyes sweep contemptuously over him and Fu Yun, lingering deliberately on Fu Yun's face.

Fu Yun felt Lin Su tighten his grip on his wrist and heard his brother click his tongue in annoyance. He tilted his head in confusion, and Lin Su pressed a firm hand on his head and turned it back.

Really, without power and influence, even lying low and staying out of trouble wasn't peaceful.

Especially when he was stuck in this feudal, ancient era.