On the third day in Hanchuan, there were finally sounds of people in the city.
It was not noise, nor was it celebration, but rather the sound of something that had been suppressed for too long finally beginning to flow again.
The lines in front of the porridge stations remained long. The people stood in the wind and snow wrapped in worn cotton clothes, clutching their wooden tokens tightly. Their eyes still held exhaustion and wariness, but compared to the day Prince Su entered the city, they no longer looked like a group of living dead buried beneath the snow.
The notices in front of the prefectural office had been replaced again.
The first list named several wealthy households that had voluntarily reported their grain yesterday. Beside each name were the amounts of grain and coal donated, along with the words “grain retained for family.”
The second list named those discovered concealing grain, along with their punishments.
Some had been caned, some fined in grain, and some had their household granaries sealed. The most serious case was the grain shop in the eastern district. Two days ago, its shopkeeper had tearfully claimed that the shop had long since run out of grain. Yet last night, Qin Feng’s men discovered a hidden cellar in the rear courtyard containing a full sixty dan of grain. One-third of it was autumn grain that local people had deposited there the previous year.
When the news spread, the entrance to the grain shop was surrounded by people.
If Xiao Yuan had not sent soldiers to hold them back in advance, the shop would probably have had its doors ripped down and burned for firewood.
Hanchuan had been hungry for too long.
People who had been hungry for too long were most afraid of seeing others hide life-saving grain in the darkness.
When Qin Feng personally led men to transport the grain to the temporary public granary, many commoners knelt in the snow along the way and wept.
They were not crying for Prince Su.
Nor were they crying for the government.
They were crying for the grain that had originally belonged to them, but had almost never made its way back into their mouths.
Chi Banyue stood at a street corner watching for a while before suddenly saying, “If His Highness hadn’t held them back, there would have been bloodshed in the city today.”
Xia Lanshi sat inside the carriage, the curtain half-raised, his fingers lightly resting against a hand warmer. His complexion was better than yesterday, though his lips remained pale and there was a trace of fatigue beneath his eyes.
“There will be bloodshed,” he said.
Chi Banyue looked at him.
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes toward the grain being escorted away and spoke softly.
“It just can’t be shed by the people. Hanchuan cannot descend into chaos right now. Once it does, the Crown Prince’s people will have an opportunity.”
Chi Banyue understood.
If the people rushed into the grain shop and seized the grain themselves, it might seem satisfying today. But tomorrow, someone could use it to incite chaos throughout the city. Those hoarding grain would hide even deeper, while those genuinely lacking food would become even more frightened.
The Crown Prince would not need to do much.
He only needed to turn Hanchuan’s hunger into people tearing one another apart.
Then the first step Xiao Yuan had struggled so hard to stabilize would be destroyed.
“You scholars really have dirty hearts,” Chi Banyue sighed.
Xia Lanshi smiled faintly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Although he could not fight with martial arts, he could use his mind and his words to kill people without getting his own hands dirty.
“Of course I’m complimenting you.”
After saying this, Chi Banyue suddenly handed him the nutrient solution in her hand.
“Drink.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
He had just reached for the account books beside him.
Chi Banyue was quicker and pressed a hand over them first.
“Doctor Su said you can’t handle official business on an empty stomach.”
Xia Lanshi was helpless.
“I already ate breakfast.”
Chi Banyue opened the little handbook.
“Doctor Su also said that Xia Lanshi’s definition of ‘eating’ might simply mean drinking half a bowl of porridge.”
Xia Lanshi fell silent for a moment.
He felt that although this person had never met him, Doctor Su had indeed seen straight through him.
He could only accept the nutrient solution and slowly take a sip.
Chi Banyue was satisfied and withdrew her gaze.
She was just about to tease him when she suddenly noticed two commoners hurrying over from the end of the street, their expressions panicked. As soon as they saw the guards outside the prefectural office, they knelt down and whispered a few words.
Before long, Qin Feng hurried over.
“Chief Xia, something has happened at Wanfu Temple.”
Xia Lanshi looked up.
“When?”
“After midnight last night, two firewood carts left the temple through the rear gate, claiming they were going outside the city to collect firewood. My men followed them all the way and discovered they weren’t going to the firewood grounds, but to the old charity mortuary in the northeast corner.”
Qin Feng’s expression darkened.
“There is grain in the cellar of the mortuary.”
Chi Banyue smiled, but her smile was cold.
“The Buddha really is busy. He accepts grain from the common people while helping others hide grain.”
Xia Lanshi put down the nutrient solution.
“Do we have evidence?”
Qin Feng nodded.
“We do. Our men personally saw the monks from the temple meeting with grain merchants. The entrance to the cellar has also been sealed. We’re only waiting for His Highness’s order.”
Xia Lanshi looked toward the prefectural office.
Xiao Yuan was currently interrogating the pharmacy shopkeeper and the courier who had been caught sending the message.
The Crown Prince’s hidden agent had just been uncovered, and now Wanfu Temple had exposed its tail.
They appeared to be two separate matters.
In reality, both were connected to the same web surrounding Hanchuan.
One was watching Doctor Su.
The other was concealing grain.
Xia Lanshi did not believe they were unrelated.
“Don’t alarm the worshippers at the temple,” Xia Lanshi said gently. “Wanfu Temple has a strong reputation in Hanchuan. Directly attacking the temple would give someone ammunition. First send soldiers to seal the old mortuary, then ask His Highness to enter the temple under the pretext of investigating stolen grain.”
He paused.
“Remember. Don’t search the Buddha statues. Don’t touch the scriptures. Only investigate the grain records and the cellar.”
Qin Feng immediately understood.
They had to prevent someone from inciting the people by claiming that Prince Su had offended the gods.
Chi Banyue raised an eyebrow.
“You’re quite particular.”
Xia Lanshi said calmly, “When people are starving to the point of desperation, anything can become a spark. Those who believe in Buddha may not believe the monks are guilty. If someone provokes them, it could damage the trust the people have only just begun to develop.”
Qin Feng cupped his fists.
“I understand.”
He was about to turn when Xia Lanshi called him back.
“If the grain at Wanfu Temple is confirmed, don’t put all of it into the public granary immediately.”
Qin Feng paused.
“What does Chief Xia mean?”
Xia Lanshi looked at the people still waiting in line for porridge.
“Distribute thirty percent on the spot to the people who previously deposited grain at the temple. Put the remainder into the public granary.”
He paused.
“Let the people of Hanchuan know that His Highness does not merely know how to confiscate grain. He will also help them reclaim what was taken from them.”
Qin Feng’s heart trembled.
After a moment, he lowered his head solemnly.
“I accept the order.”
Chi Banyue watched him leave before quietly saying, “You understand how to win people’s hearts better than I do.”
Xia Lanshi coughed lightly.
“That isn’t winning them over.”
“Then what is it?”
“Returning what belongs to its rightful owners.”
Looking at his pale yet composed profile, Chi Banyue suddenly felt that this man truly was suited to stand beside Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan gave the people a way to survive.
Xia Lanshi made that way to survive believable.
◆◇◆◇◆
Before noon, the matter of Wanfu Temple’s hidden grain had been settled.
The temple abbot initially attempted to argue that the grain was Buddhist charity grain reserved for the people of the city and could not be moved lightly.
But Qin Feng directly led his men into the cellar beneath the old mortuary and found several registers recording the deposited grain.
They clearly listed every household’s name, the quantity deposited, and the date.
Some names had even been crossed out in red ink.
Most of those whose names had been crossed out had already died in the winter disaster.
Until their deaths, they had never known that the grain they had deposited at the temple remained safely hidden in the cellar, becoming bargaining chips for secret dealings between others and the grain merchants.
Xiao Yuan stood before Wanfu Temple.
After listening to Qin Feng’s report, he said nothing.
The temple entrance was packed with commoners.
Some looked bewildered.
Some were furious.
Others stared at the sacks of grain being carried out one after another, their lips trembling too badly to speak.
A woman suddenly rushed out of the crowd and threw herself against one of the sacks, crying so hard she could barely breathe.
“This is my family’s… This is the grain my family deposited… Before my husband died, he even said that the Buddha was watching over the temple, so the grain wouldn’t be lost…”
Her crying was so heartbreaking that the people around her reddened their eyes as well.
The abbot’s face was deathly pale, but he still tried to speak.
“Your Highness, the temple was merely storing—”
Xiao Yuan finally looked at him.
That single glance was so cold that the abbot immediately shut his mouth.
“Storing it until the people starved to death?”
The abbot’s knees went weak, and he fell to the ground.
Xiao Yuan withdrew his gaze.
His voice carried throughout the area before the temple gate.
“Those with their grain recorded in the registers will have thirty percent returned according to the records. The remaining grain will enter the public granary to provide emergency relief for the entire city. The monks and grain merchants involved will be taken to the prefectural office and dealt with according to the law after the investigation is complete.”
Someone in the crowd asked tremblingly,
“Your Highness, you’ll really return it?”
Xiao Yuan looked toward him.
“I will.”
The man froze.
The next moment, more and more people knelt.
This kneeling was different from the people’s farewell in Linzhou.
The people of Linzhou had knelt in gratitude for being saved.
The people of Hanchuan knelt because they had finally seen someone willing to reclaim what had been stolen from them.
Standing behind Xiao Yuan, Chi Banyue whispered,
“The Crown Prince’s people are going to be furious.”
Xia Lanshi stood beside the carriage wrapped in a thick cloak. There was a faint trace of fatigue in his eyes, but also the slightest hint of a smile.
“They won’t have time to be angry,” he said. “They’re probably busy sending a report to the capital right now.”
Chi Banyue’s smile froze.
“You did that on purpose?”
Xia Lanshi did not deny it.
“Once the hidden grain at Wanfu Temple is exposed, everyone in Hanchuan will be watching the grain situation. If the Crown Prince’s people want to investigate the medicinal food powder and marching pills, they’ll first have to explain why they failed to discover the temple’s hidden grain.”
He continued calmly,
“That way, the more information they send, the more it will look as though they’re proving that Hanchuan’s grain shortage wasn’t caused by His Highness’s incompetence, but by people deliberately cutting off the grain routes layer by layer.”
Chi Banyue clicked her tongue.
“So you’re not only saving Hanchuan. You’re also digging a pit for the Crown Prince while you’re at it.”
Xia Lanshi said softly,
“He dug it first. I merely helped make it deeper.”
Chi Banyue looked at him, then suddenly shoved the hand warmer in her hands into his arms.
“Hold this.”
Xia Lanshi was startled.
Chi Banyue said, “When you smile like that, you look even less like a good person. Then the wind blows and your illness acts up again. What a waste.”
Xia Lanshi: “…”
◆◇◆◇◆
At the same time, an unexpected visitor arrived outside Gui Chen Studio.
He was a middle-aged man wearing a dark-gray trench coat and thin-rimmed glasses, carrying a briefcase.
Unlike those who had been lingering around the alley in recent days, he did not hide or pretend to be a passerby.
He simply stood before the shop and knocked on the door.
The brass bell rang softly.
Su Muchen was sorting the second batch of seeds in the warehouse. When he heard the sound, he looked up.
Owl stood by the window and glanced outside, his expression becoming slightly colder.
“Someone from the Sheng Corporation.”
Su Muchen stopped working.
“Sheng Chengxiu?”
“No,” Owl said. “Looks more like a lawyer or negotiator.”
Su Muchen removed his gloves, pushed the seed boxes on the table into a hidden cabinet, and switched the computer screen to an ordinary shop inventory page.
He had become increasingly practiced at these movements.
So practiced that even he found it somewhat amusing.
A few months ago, his palms would have gone cold when creditors blocked his door.
Now he could prepare crop seeds for another world while dealing with a corporate conglomerate and hiding disaster relief data for the Northern Border.
Life was becoming increasingly absurd.
Owl walked to the door and lowered his voice.
“Want me to handle it?”
Su Muchen shook his head.
“I’ll do it.”
When the door opened, cold wind carrying fine rain swept into the shop.
The middle-aged man standing outside smiled slightly.
“Mr. Su, forgive the intrusion. My surname is Xu. I’m a consultant for the Sheng Corporation’s legal department.”
Su Muchen remained expressionless.
“We’re closed today.”
Consultant Xu’s smile did not change.
“I’m not here to buy anything.”
“Then I don’t receive visitors either.”
Consultant Xu seemed to have expected this response. He took a document from his briefcase.
“Mr. Su, regarding some of the debts left by your father before his death, we’ve recently obtained some new information. President Sheng would like to discuss the disposition of Gui Chen Studio with you again.”
Su Muchen did not take the document.
“Did Sheng Chengxiu send you here to threaten me?”
Consultant Xu pushed up his glasses.
“Mr. Su, you’ve misunderstood. This isn’t a threat. It’s a reminder. Your recent account activity has been frequent, and several incoming payments are listed as being related to the consignment of old items. The Sheng Corporation has partnerships with several creditors and has the right to request an explanation of the source of your funds to prevent involvement in illegal transactions.”
The shop fell silent.
Owl leaned against the counter, his smile faint.
Su Muchen looked at the document and instead became calmer.
The Sheng Corporation had finally made its move.
Previously, they had only been watching.
Now they were targeting his financial sources.
Gold transfers, supply purchases, reopening the shop—no matter how cleanly Owl handled them, it was impossible to leave absolutely no traces.
The Sheng Corporation might not discover the Gate.
But they could use modern regulations to force him to stop.
And Hanchuan was still waiting for supplies.
Su Muchen looked at Consultant Xu.
Then he suddenly asked,
“Has Sheng Chengxiu been very free lately?”
Consultant Xu froze.
Su Muchen’s tone remained calm.
“If he’s so concerned about my shabby shop, why doesn’t he come himself?”
Consultant Xu’s smile stiffened before recovering.
“President Sheng is very busy. However, if Mr. Su is willing, we can arrange a meeting tonight.”
“I’m not willing.”
Consultant Xu: “…”
Su Muchen said,
“I’ll legally cooperate with creditors and relevant institutions regarding verification of the source of funds. But I won’t cooperate with the Sheng Corporation’s private interrogation. You can leave the documents. I’ll have a lawyer review them. Now, please leave.”
Consultant Xu looked at him, surprise flashing through his eyes.
Clearly, he had not expected this young man to be harder to pressure than the information suggested.
“Mr. Su, you may not understand yet. If the Sheng Corporation formally intervenes, your hospital employment, debt negotiations, and shop property rights will all be affected.”
Su Muchen looked at him.
“Wasn’t my hospital employment already affected by you?”
Consultant Xu finally fell silent.
Su Muchen smiled.
The smile was cold.
“Go back and tell Sheng Chengxiu not to keep threatening people with the same script. Hearing it too many times makes it terribly unoriginal.”
With that, he shut the door.
The brass bell rang softly.
It shut Consultant Xu and the damp cold outside the alley behind the door.
The shop remained silent for several seconds.
Owl slowly applauded twice.
“Not bad.”
Su Muchen ignored him.
He returned behind the counter, opened the computer, recorded everything that had just been said, and backed up the surveillance footage from the entrance.
Owl watched him, the smile fading from his eyes.
“The Sheng Corporation has started targeting the financial trail.”
“Mm.”
“Purchasing will become even more troublesome.”
“I know.”
Su Muchen stopped typing and pressed his fingertips against the desk.
Hanchuan had three days left.
And the Sheng Corporation had chosen this exact moment to interfere with his funds and purchases.
The two lines—modern society and Great Sheng—suddenly seemed to tighten around the same point.
Owl asked,
“Should we slow down?”
Su Muchen looked up.
“Can Hanchuan slow down?”
Owl said nothing.
Su Muchen lowered his head and retrieved the wooden box he had just hidden.
“If Sheng is watching the finances, we’ll reduce large purchases. Use existing supplies and batches already ordered. The seeds are in small quantities and won’t attract attention. Send them tonight as planned.”
“As for emergency food, switch to decentralized channels. Don’t use an account under my name.”
Owl stared at him for a while before suddenly laughing.
“When you say things like this now, you sound more and more like you’re committing a crime.”
Su Muchen remained expressionless.
“I’m conducting disaster relief.”
“The line is very thin.”
“So you handle it.”
Owl: “…”
Su Muchen pushed a stack of new documents toward him.
“Also, find me a lawyer. A legitimate one who handles debt and property disputes. If Sheng wants to use the rules to pressure me, I’ll use the rules to drag them down too.”
Owl looked at him.
At that moment, he suddenly realized that Su Muchen was no longer merely someone passively protecting Gui Chen Studio.
He had begun to fight back.
His methods still carried Su Muchen’s usual calmness and stubborn mouth, but he was truly fighting back now.
◆◇◆◇◆
That night, Xiao Yuan brought back news of the grain hidden at Wanfu Temple.
After hearing it, Su Muchen’s first reaction was not happiness.
He frowned.
“The temple was hiding grain too?”
“Not just the temple,” Xiao Yuan said. “Several grain merchants are involved as well.”
Su Muchen fell silent for a moment.
“So it’s not that there was no grain. It’s that all the grain was in places where it shouldn’t have been.”
The words reminded Xiao Yuan of the children standing in line for porridge on Hanchuan’s streets.
The coldness in his eyes deepened.
“The grain discovered today is enough to let Hanchuan survive for another two days.”
Su Muchen’s pen stopped.
Another two days.
For Hanchuan, that was no small amount.
He revised the timeline on his chart.
The original five-day survival window had been forcibly extended to seven days.
But he still did not relax.
“Two more days isn’t the end. It’s only more time to breathe. Has there been any movement from the Crown Prince?”
Xiao Yuan looked at him.
“We caught one of his hidden agents. Xia Lanshi plans to spread word that the marching pills and nutritional powder came from overseas goods confiscated in Linzhou.”
Su Muchen nodded.
“That works. It’s more reasonable than having them appear out of nowhere.”
He thought for a moment before adding,
“But don’t say there were too many. The more there are, the less believable it becomes. It’s best to say that part of the shipment was already used in Linzhou and Hanchuan only received the remaining batch.”
Xiao Yuan nodded slightly.
“I’ll tell Xia Lanshi.”
Su Muchen suddenly stopped.
“Did he rest on schedule today?”
Xiao Yuan fell silent.
Su Muchen immediately looked up.
“He didn’t?”
Xiao Yuan said,
“…Better than yesterday.”
Su Muchen sneered.
“What kind of answer is that?”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze shifted slightly, unusually at a loss for words.
Owl suddenly spoke from the side.
“If Chief Xia collapses, Hanchuan will become even more troublesome.”
Su Muchen looked toward him.
Owl’s tone remained lazy, but his hands had stopped sorting the seeds.
“Should we give him something to keep him alert?”
Su Muchen frowned.
“Don’t add things randomly. Nothing that forces him to overexert himself. He’s already weak. Stimulants will only make things worse.”
Owl lowered his eyes.
“True.”
Su Muchen glanced at him, his tone softening slightly.
“I’ll adjust his nutritional plan. Have Chi Banyue keep an eye on him and forbid him from staying up late. Don’t come up with any strange ideas.”
Owl smiled.
“Muchen, do you consider me that unreliable?”
Su Muchen said,
“Extremely.”
Owl: “…”
Xiao Yuan watched the two of them without interrupting.
He merely noticed that whenever Xia Lanshi’s name came up, Owl’s gaze always became different.
Like someone who had hidden all his secrets very well, only to reveal the smallest crack whenever that particular name was mentioned.
Xiao Yuan did not ask.
Everyone had things they could not immediately say.
Just like the Gate.
Just like the Su family.
And just like the unresolved cause and effect between him and Su Muchen.
Su Muchen pushed a small wooden box filled with seeds toward Xiao Yuan.
“This is the first trial planting package. Don’t let too many people know about it. It contains ground potatoes, cold-weather wheat, oats, buckwheat, and winter vegetables. I’ve written all the instructions.”
“And this.”
He took out several small cloth bags.
“These are soil sampling bags from Hanchuan. Have people collect samples from the military settlements outside the city, valleys, riverbanks, and slopes. Take a little from each place and clearly mark the locations. I’ll compare them with the AI model.”
Xiao Yuan accepted the bags.
“Collecting soil isn’t difficult.”
Su Muchen looked at him seriously.
“Don’t mix them together.”
Xiao Yuan: “…”
He really had not thought of that.
Su Muchen pointed at the markings on the bags.
“Keep each sample separate. Record the direction, terrain, whether it’s near a water source, and whether snow accumulates there year-round.”
“And don’t let Xiao Yuan himself touch electronic equipment. Paper and ink are fine.”
Xiao Yuan lowered his head and looked at the small cloth bags.
For some reason, he suddenly felt as though he had been arranged from beginning to end.
“Understood.”
Su Muchen handed him one final sheet.
“And this is for Xia Lanshi.”
Xiao Yuan glanced at it.
It was a new nutritional and recovery plan.
The first line read:
Hanchuan’s situation is urgent, but Xia Lanshi must not extend his working hours of his own accord because of it.
Xiao Yuan’s eyebrows moved slightly.
“He won’t be happy about this.”
Su Muchen remained expressionless.
“Whether he’s happy isn’t important. Staying alive is.”
Xiao Yuan let out a low laugh.
“I think so too.”
Su Muchen glanced at him.
“You too.”
Xiao Yuan’s smile faded slightly.
Then he nodded.
“Mm.”
This time, he did not argue.
Su Muchen was actually stunned for a moment.
Apparently, he had not expected Xiao Yuan to be so obedient.
Xiao Yuan looked at him and said softly,
“I remember what Doctor Su says.”
The tips of Su Muchen’s ears heated up again despite himself.
He immediately turned around and reached for another supply list.
“Enough. If you remember, then take your medicine on schedule.”
Xiao Yuan watched his back, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.
Outside, the wind and snow continued.
Inside, the lights remained warm and steady.
And after this night, the seeds would follow that Gate and, for the first time, truly make their way toward the soil of the Northern Border.