Edited by Relendria
Liang Meng Yao was at his gate talking to a servant from the fierce she-man.
"My young master is truly sorry that your donkey was stolen to impress him," the man said.
Meng Yao's grin was so wide it was creepy and the servant wanted to roll his eyes at how blatantly greedy this young man was. He couldn't understand why his master would be so generous with Meng Yao. He had sent Da De Lun with an offer of twenty gold and a brand-new carriage, along with a perfectly sound horse to pull it. De Lun thought it was far too much compensation but it was his master's orders. He had also said that De Lun had to be nice to Meng Yao as well because he saw potential in the man.
Call him blind but the only potential De Lun saw in this man was his greed. Oh well, after this he shouldn't ever have to meet the man again.
"Please tell your master I said "many thanks" and that I'm grateful for his kindness. Also, Jiajia! Bring them please!"
Meng Yao is a shameless opportunist and the fierce she-man is obviously a noble. If he likes Meng Yao's soap and can recommend it to others, then Meng Yao will be able to earn even more money. When Meng Yao looked at Gui he didn't see a noble but rather a gold-filled bank or a magical koi fish.
Jiajia looked at his husband and recognized the look in his eyes. He almost sighed because he felt they were very well off now but his Yaoyao had bigger dreams.
"Ah, please give this to your master for his bath. It will make him feel refreshed and smell good."
"Bath?"
"Yes. You use it on your skin."
Looking closer, De Lun realized that their skin looked quite smooth and they smelled fresh and clean, unlike the previous day when he was surrounded by many men smelling of old sweat and other, worse things. He nodded, accepting the soap then turned away to leave. He almost expected the shameless man to call him back with another demand but Meng Yao merely waved politely as he left.
"Jiajia, I love you."
"Hm?" Jia Yi tilted his head, confused by Meng Yao's sudden confession.
Meng Yao grabbed him and kissed him intensely. Jia Yi pulled back and looked away nervously.
"We're outside!"
"So? You're my wife! It's not like we're having an affair - or maybe we are..." Meng Yao grinned, enjoying Jia Yi's blushes.
"Let's go make the delivery," Hong Jia Yi said as he walked towards their laden cart.
'My Jiajia is still too shy,' Meng Yao thought to himself before hurrying after his wife.
After reaching the town Meng Yao grinned at the Mr. Ye.
"What now?" Mr. Ye asked suspiciously. Meng Yao's grin was akin to a shark spying a school of fat fish.
"I have a new recipe."
"Hmph! What is your price?" Mr. Ye was wincing inside and mourning for his poor wallet.
"No worries, it's a pastry so I'll go easy on you."
"I highly doubt that."
"Just three gold and five silver," Meng Yao said coaxingly.
"That's not too bad," Mr. Ye agreed grudgingly.
"Of course I'm being reasonable! After all, in a couple of weeks we might be competing for customers in the capital. I need to be your friend by then, right?" Meng Yao teased the older man. "Also, I'm planning to sell you my jam recipe."
The old man spit out his tea in utter shock.
"R-really?"
"Absolutely! So you had better start saving right after you build and stabilize your place in the capital. When I get there you might not be able to stay in business," Meng Yao grinned teasingly.
Even though he was being disrespected the restaurant didn't mind. If Meng Yao sold him the recipe then he would no longer have to depend on Meng Yao to supply the jam. His wallet heaved a sigh of relief.
Then it's a deal," Mr. Ye agreed happily.
Meng Yao was still planning for the future and how to work out everything. He had already saved up a fair amount of gold
but now he needed land. He planned to make the Wen brothers his official employees but even with their help there was so much more to plan and do. His life had improved quickly since marrying Jia Yi but his plans didn't end with just a small improvement.
Meng Yao realized that he should feel thankful to his dad and his wicked grandfather. If it weren't for them he'd probably be suffering a great deal right now. His father had been very interested in making things by hand and was very creative. He also had been very interested movies set in ancient times and would speculate with Meng Yao on how one would survive in those times. He even went so far as to make Meng Yao learn and practice cooking on an ancient stove, hunting, foraging, crafting basic tools and items and so on. He frequently told Meng Yao, "You'll never know when you might need these skills."
Meng Yao realized (not for the first time) that his father had been a very strange person. Sometimes it had seemed like his father was waiting for something that never happened. Meng Yao had never understood his father's thinking but he always knew his father loved him.
In addition, if his grandfather hadn't abused him all those years, forcing him out into society to make money so young, he wouldn't know how to face this world and deal with these people as as he was doing. Even though his grandfather exploited him, Meng Yao couldn 't help but admit to himself that the old man had helped to made him who he was today.