Chapter 1: Waking Up (Part 1)
In the dream, there were flashes of swords and sabers, the cold blades made the skin feel cold, blood splattered, a middle-aged woman struggled to fight off the enemy, the chase continued, and in the river, a gaze was focused.
He understood without being told that this was a secret method. At the cost of burning one's life, one could gain power beyond that of ordinary people. He fell into the water and saw the last look in his mother's eyes, which was the awareness of sacrificing her life for her child. In an instant, his hatred for the woman in white could not be washed away even with all the water in the world.
Zhang Xuanning suddenly sat up from the bed, his heart was churning and he was breathing heavily.
After a long while, he finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It turned out to be just a dream!"
It has been half a month since I was reborn from this world. My reborn body is only about fourteen years old. Around me is a simple room. The room is not big, with only a few tables and chairs.
"Ah, it's almost dawn, get up quickly, or the boss will scold you."
There was another young man like him lying on the bed . He was awakened by the shock. He opened his eyes, saw that it was already daybreak outside, and quickly began to put on his clothes.
Seeing that he was still in a daze, the young man couldn't help but say, "Why don't you get dressed? You were rescued from the river by Zhen Sao, so don't embarrass Zhen Sao. Although the boss is nice, the boss's wife likes to make trouble for her!"
This is Cui Han, also fourteen years old, an apprentice hired by the boss.
Zhang Xuanning woke up from his memories and gave up pursuing the remaining memories of this body. He wanted to answer, but didn't know where to start. He got up and put on his clothes.
After leaving the small room, they went to the living room outside. Although they got up very early, there was already someone outside. It was a young woman, about seventeen or eighteen years old according to modern age. She was wearing a coarse cloth dress and had a pretty face. She was already working.
"Hello, Sister Zhen!"
"Xiao Zhang and Xiao Cui, you're here at right time. Let's get ready to open the door!" Zhen's mother's surname is He. She is a commoner in the city. The money she owes is only twenty taels of silver. The owner of this store is Lao Feng. The reason why he was willing to hire her was not only because she was very beautiful, but also because he needed a helper who he could trust.
He answered, took the coarse cloth, and busied himself with wiping all the tables and chairs. Then he put the buns that he had prepared last night on the steamer one by one, lit the fire, and started to cook.
Just as the firelight hit the surface, steam was rising, and the aroma of buns began to waft out, a voice came from inside, and then someone said with satisfaction: "Well, it's almost done? Very good, very diligent. Come, drink some porridge first, and then open the door after you finish drinking."
"Good morning, boss!" Zhang Xuanning knew without looking that it was the boss and his wife who came out. He hurried forward and wiped the table again. In fact, the table had been wiped very clean, but this made the boss feel comfortable.
Then, she served two bowls of rice porridge and a plate of pickles, which was the breakfast for Mr. and Mrs. Feng. The boss nodded with satisfaction, but the proprietress snorted.
In the first half of the month, if it wasn't for the fact that Sister Zhen saved him, a boy not even fifteen years old, she would have taken advantage of the situation to make trouble. Although Zhang Xuanning worked very hard, she just didn't like him.
The aroma of buns slowly filled the room, diluting the inevitable smell of fireworks from burning firewood.
"You should eat too, we still need to work later!" The boss said to Zhen Sao. Men always like young and beautiful women. This concubine satisfied him very much. Besides, the first wife had no children for four years, and he hoped that this concubine would give him a son. "And you, drink the porridge quickly and open the door to do business!"
Mrs. Zhen responded and took out a basket of freshly steamed buns and served them to her husband. There were eight buns in the basket. She gave three to the boss and the first wife, one to herself, and the other one was split in half and given to the two servants.
Zhang Xuanning and Cui Han, of course, were not qualified to eat at the table. They ate half a bun each, and then wolfed down a bowl of thin porridge. Seeing that the boss and his family had almost finished eating, one of them went up to clean up the table while the other hurried to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, the noise outside came in.
"Boss, open the door. Come, give me three baskets of buns!" Although the sun had just come out, there were already familiar customers waiting.
"I want two cages too!"
"I don't eat much, so I'll just order half a basket. Haha, Lao Feng, are there any seats left inside?"
"Oh, you've married a concubine and hired someone else. Old Feng, you're really getting richer and richer. You have to treat us today, you have to treat us!" A middle-aged man walked over.
"Okay, what did Master Liu say? Do I need you to pay for coming here? Your coming here brings honor to me. Come on, please come in, please come in!" At this time, Old Feng greeted with a smile on his face.
As soon as the door opened, people outside rushed in. Old Feng personally invited Mr. Liu to a table. Zhang Xuanning quickly stepped forward, wiped the table and chairs, and then served three baskets of buns without letting Mr. Liu wait for even a moment: "Mr. Liu, please enjoy."
"Well, I haven't seen you for a few days. This guy is doing a good job!" Grandpa Liu said casually.
"It's my wife, I rescued her from the river. I didn't expect she's so good at work!" Old Feng was all smiles. This Mr. Liu couldn't be offended. The store was able to make some money because of him. If he didn't have some relatives, how could such a good thing happen? Three baskets of steamed buns for breakfast and three baskets of steamed buns for supper every day, and that was enough?
Other guests were also coming and going. Now the eldest wife only had to collect the money and did nothing else. The other three were all busy.
The buns here come in a basket of eight, and each basket costs fifteen coins, so three baskets cost forty-five coins. But if you sell them individually, you have to pay two coins for each. People who come into the store eat the whole basket, and those outside sell them individually. When Sister Zhen brought a basket of steaming vegetable and meat buns to the front of the shop, she saw the boss and his wife busy inside, so she quickly picked up two buns and stuffed them into the hands of Zhang Xuanning who followed her out to help, and whispered, "Eat, I know you're not full, the porridge you're eating is too thin."
Zhang Xuanning quickly grabbed a bun, stuffed it into his mouth, and said incoherently: "Sister Zhen, you are such a good person!"
He was indeed hungry. This was a very busy job that required him to work until late at night every day and to get up and prepare before the sun came out in the morning.
After quickly eating two buns, he went back inside to help. He also had a role in replacing Cui Han. Zhang Xuanning knew clearly that if he ate alone, Cui Han would definitely tell on him. It had nothing to do with anything else and was just a matter of course.
He responded casually, picked up two baskets of buns, entered the store, and winked at Cui Han. Cui Han cheered softly, then quickly left the crowd, went outside to help, and by the way enjoyed the two buns that he was also entitled to.
They are all fourteen or fifteen years old and are still growing. Of course, they need a lot of food and thin porridge cannot satisfy them at all.
The buns were indeed delicious and there were many customers. It was not until after noon that the crowd eating breakfast slowly dispersed. The boss and his wife were already counting today's income with satisfaction.
After the boss and his wife have counted all the money, it's time for a short break.
It was almost noon, and although the bun shop didn't offer lunch, there were still some people sitting there drinking tea, or a few getting some buns and some wine. However, these were all people I knew nearby.
Since ancient times, this kind of place has been similar to an inn, where news spreads the fastest. A few people who were obviously working at the docks, or even like members of small gangs, started to spread the news there: "Did you know? Lord Situ rebelled, but was suppressed by the court."
"Alas, when the emperor was on his second expedition to Korea, Lord Situ rebelled in June, forcing the emperor to return home, and all his efforts were in vain! However, I heard that he died last month, in August!"
To ordinary people, these discussions were just like listening to a storyteller, but Zhang Xuanning listened attentively. After being here for half a month, he also knew that this was the Sui Dynasty. If he carefully studied the historical facts, he would know that it was September of the ninth year of Daye. After all, he had not read for nothing in the hospital bed for several years. Moreover, because he liked The Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, he also specially read the History of Sui and Tang Dynasties.
If I am right, this Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is Yang Xuangan, who was born into a distinguished family and many of his father's former officials were among the court officials. Seeing that the government was in chaos and the rebel army was spreading all over the country, Xuangan saw an opportunity and led his troops to occupy the city on June 3 and began to rebel. He died in Jialu Fort in early August.
