ABD - Chapter 8

He had never been there before, and the crevices of the stream were teeming with snails, which looked quite plump. 

Shen Xuan selectively gathered a basketful of large ones, tossing the smaller ones back into the stream, then headed down the mountain.

***

On the main road, Shen Xuan waited for a while. After noon, a horse-drawn carriage for purchases approached from a distance. 

The carriage stopped beside Shen Xuan, and a middle-aged man dismounted, immediately asking, "Young man, where did you sell snails yesterday? I couldn't find you."

"I had something to do yesterday and couldn't come," Shen Xuan replied, then deliberately asked the purchaser, 

"Why do you city folks love eating snails so much? They don't have much meat; no one in our village eats them." 

The purchaser replied, "That's right, the gentlemen in the city love to eat these with their wine. 

I bought some from you a few days ago, but we only make about ten servings a day, which is nowhere near enough. Do you know if anyone else in your village sells them?"

Shen Xuan quickly interjected, "Oh, no, you have to pick these snails one by one in the deep mountains; it's too much trouble. No one in the village likes to do it. Besides, the snails in the mountains are almost all gathered up these past few days. Where would there be more?" 

The areas in the mountains that produce snails are limited, and if everyone knew about this, Shen Xuan wouldn't be able to compete with them. 

Furthermore, Shen Xuan had explored all the streams in the mountains in just a few days of gathering, and he didn't know when the next batch of snails would grow.

The purchaser expressed regret, sighing that he had originally planned to find more people to collect snails but hadn't realized they were almost gone. 

Shen Xuan thought for a moment and asked, "The snails will indeed take some time to grow again, but do you buy eels?" 

The purchaser immediately said yes, "Snails, loaches, eels – as long as you have them, you can bring them to sell. Eels and loaches fetch better prices than snails."

Shen Xuan thought there might be an opportunity here and then asked, "If I catch eels and loaches, should I still wait for you here?" 

The purchaser, seeing that Shen Xuan seemed quite clever, thought for a moment and said, 

"I don't come every day; in a few days, I'll also be visiting other villages and counties. However, if you catch something good, you can send it to Guiyun Tower in Lezhou City. Just mention my name, say that Buyer Chen introduced you, and someone will take them."

"Thank you for the tip, Buyer Chen. If I find anything good in the future, I'll definitely save it for you first." 

Shen Xuan had now established a connection with Buyer Chen of Guiyun Tower, which opened another avenue for him to earn money in the city. 

After receiving one hundred wen for the snails, Shen Xuan didn't go straight home but hitched a ride to the city in Buyer Chen's carriage. 

He got off at the dock on the southern outskirts of the city and went into a fishing net shop nearby.

***

Fishing nets had existed in the Great Jin Dynasty for a long time; people used them to catch fish in both the sea and rivers. 

Shen Xuan walked around the shop but didn't find what he was looking for, so he spent fifty wen to buy a large fishing net. 

Afterwards, he spent another two wen to take a passing ox cart back to the village.

As soon as he arrived at his doorstep, Shen Xuan's eyes lit up. It turned out that after he left home today, Xue Fenglin had swept the entire courtyard, and the miscellaneous items the Wang family had piled in the corner of the courtyard had also been cleared out. 

Although the entire courtyard was not large, it was now clean and tidy. Looking in from the outside fence, the house had a warm, lived-in feel that warmed his heart.

Shen Xuan pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard, seeing Xue Fenglin hobble out of the house. 

The leg that had been bitten by the snake must have had bone or tendon damage, as his ankle was still swollen, and he couldn't walk agilely. 

However, the toxins in his body seemed to have mostly subsided, and the swelling was completely gone. 

Apart from some lingering bruises and wounds, the contours of his entire face were now fully revealed.

Meeting Xue Fenglin's eyes, Shen Xuan suddenly felt a jolt. It was then that he suddenly realized Xue Fenglin seemed exceptionally handsome, not just the somewhat attractive young man he had thought before, but exquisitely beautiful. And this was still when he hadn't fully recovered...

Seeing Shen Xuan return, Xue Fenglin came over, took his basket, set it down, and specifically poured him a bowl of cool boiled water from the kitchen. 

Shen Xuan watched him move about, though with difficulty. But whether standing or sitting, his back was perfectly straight. 

Looking at his hands, his fingers were slender and long. The skin in certain areas had also started to regain its color, looking exceptionally fair, clearly not someone who was often exposed to the wind and sun.

Shen Xuan recalled that when he had first picked up Lin Ye, no matter how hungry he was, the other person always seemed to eat slowly and deliberately. 

He suddenly realized that Lin Ye's background must be unusual. His habits clearly looked like they had been trained from a young age. His temperament was too refined, not like a businessman as he had previously speculated.

For some reason, Shen Xuan suddenly felt a pang of regret. Although his time with Lin Ye these past few days was short, he had a rather good impression of him. 

Moreover, since his transmigration, Lin Ye was the first person he could truly converse with, and Shen Xuan had secretly come to regard him as a friend.

However, the Great Jin Dynasty was unlike modern society. The class differences between people were enormous. 

Although he had once been a young master of a Duke's residence, and after transmigrating to the modern world, his family was considered distinguished, now that he had transmigrated back, the Duke's residence had fallen, and he was merely Shen Xuan, a country Ger. 

Lin Ye and he were from two different worlds. Once Lin Ye recovered and left, they probably wouldn't have any further interactions.

Thinking of this, Shen Xuan smiled and shook his head. He stopped daydreaming and instead got up and went to the courtyard, beginning to shave bamboo strips with a knife. 

He wanted to modify the fishing net into a self-made fishing trap for catching eels and loaches. 

Although the Great Jin Dynasty already had fishing nets and baskets, this kind of modern invention, the fishing trap, had not yet appeared.

Shen Xuan shaved many bamboo strips, folded them in half to form a circle, and then threaded the fishing net section by section onto them, finally creating a funnel-shaped opening. 

The longer the fishing trap, the harder it was for the caught fish and shrimp to escape. Shen Xuan quickly made a fishing trap that was five sections long.

While Shen Xuan was working, Xue Fenglin watched him from the side. Shen Xuan's movements were nimble, and he made things quickly and well. 

Although his skin was slightly tanned from the sun, it was very delicate. Moreover, Shen Xuan had been eating better these past few days; his thin cheeks had gained some flesh, looking a bit rounder and fuller. 

He no longer looked gaunt, which instead highlighted the beauty of his facial features. Xue Fenglin suddenly felt that compared to a delicate, woman-like appearance, a young man's handsome look, like a Ger, had a different charm.

As he watched, for some reason, he suddenly felt a bit parched. His gaze moved from Shen Xuan's face to his neck, then from his collarbone down to his waist. 

Then he saw Shen Xuan suddenly stand up and shake the net-made cage in his hand. Xue Fenglin thought to himself. 

'Shen Xuan's waist is so thin, he doesn't have much meat on him, but his butt is quite perky. I wonder how he got that way.'

Shen Xuan suddenly looked up and found Xue Fenglin looking at him. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?" 

Xue Fenglin then coughed, saying somewhat guiltily, "Nothing, I just find it novel. I've never seen anything like this before." 

Shen Xuan smiled and said, "Of course you haven't; there's nothing like it outside. This is my own improved fishing trap."

Saying this, he showed off the fishing trap to Xue Fenglin, explaining its principles enthusiastically. Then, before it got dark, he placed the trap in a nearby ditch. After placing the trap, Shen Xuan returned home and began preparing dinner. With the fresh bamboo shoots dug that morning, the two enjoyed another delicious meal of bamboo shoot stewed with ribs that evening.

***

After tidying up the dishes, Shen Xuan said to Xue Fenglin, "I have something to do in the city tomorrow and probably won't be back until very late. I'm letting you know so you don't worry unnecessarily." 

Xue Fenglin paused, then nodded. He thought that Shen Xuan's words didn't sound like a Ger but rather like a husband leaving for a trip speaking to his family.

The Ger Xue Fenglin had seen in the capital used to act even more delicate than women to gain men's favor. 

Xue Fenglin actually never particularly liked such Ger; no matter how delicate they acted, he couldn't feel an ounce of pity for them. 

However, Shen Xuan was the opposite; he seemed capable of doing everything himself and didn't act like a Ger at all. 

The more this was the case, the more Xue Fenglin felt a sense of respect for him. He also pitied him for enduring so much hardship and always thought that once he returned to the capital, even if he didn't marry him, he would definitely take good care of him for the rest of his life.

The next day, Shen Xuan woke up early and fried pancakes with the remaining lard. After breakfast, he went to the ditch where he had placed the trap last night. 

He tentatively pulled the rope attached to the trap and felt that it was much heavier than yesterday.

Shen Xuan was overjoyed and forcefully pulled the trap out. He found that the five sections of the trap, especially towards the bottom, were filled with lively fish and shrimp, weighing a full ten jin or so. 

Shen Xuan's basket couldn't hold it all, so he carried the trap, along with the fish and shrimp inside, back home first. 

He sorted out the river shrimp and some small fish, placing them in a basin of water to keep them alive for eating. 

The remaining loaches and eels were put into a large bamboo basket. After doing all this, Shen Xuan spread the trap on the ground to dry and then carried the large bamboo basket to the main road.

***

Today, because he was going to the city, to make it easier to move around, Shen Xuan used a strip of old cloth to tie around his forehead, covering the dull birthmark of a Ger. 

Soon after, an ox cart approached from a distance. It was clearly a farmer going to the city to sell grain, as the cart was piled high with corn on the cob. 

Shen Xuan reached out and stopped the ox cart, paying two wen for the ride. These ox carts traveling from the village to the city were happy to pick up passengers along the way; two wen per person meant the driver could earn some extra money.

As soon as Shen Xuan got on the cart, the old driver stared at him for a while, then asked, "Young man, have you married yet? If not, would you like me to introduce you to someone?" 

Although Shen Xuan was a Ger, with his birthmark covered, he looked exactly like a handsome young man. The old driver was also a keen matchmaker and wanted to set him up.

Shen Xuan felt a bit awkward and could only smile, saying, "No need, I'm already married." 

The old driver was quite curious when he heard this and asked, "Already married? Who did you marry, a good daughter?" 

Shen Xuan could only haphazardly make up a story, "I married a Ger." 

"You, why did you marry a Ger?" To his surprise, the old driver shook his head regretfully, "With a face like yours, if you were in our village, you could pick any maiden you wanted. Why did you marry a Ger?"

Shen Xuan was speechless. He found it quite frustrating. The plight of Ger in the Great Jin Dynasty was difficult, and women weren't much better off. 

In the village, both women and Ger were seen by men as mere possessions. Women might seem to have a higher status, but only because they were better at childbearing.

Shen Xuan had been influenced by modern society for many years, and his way of thinking was already identical to that of modern people. 

Although he felt very indignant about the social status of Ger in the Great Jin Dynasty, he knew he couldn't change anything by himself. 

He could only close his eyes, lean against the pile of corn, and remain silent the entire way. Half an hour later, the ox cart finally arrived at the city gate, and Shen Xuan paid the old man two wen before dismounting.

This was Lezhou City, the closest city to Yunshui Village, and quite prosperous. As soon as Shen Xuan entered the city, he inquired about the location of Guiyun Tower, then headed straight for Jinli Street, the busiest street in the northern part of the city.

Life in Yunshui Village was monotonous, and opportunities to earn money were extremely scarce. 

Shen Xuan also had no land, and if he stayed only in Yunshui Village, he would have no way to establish himself. 

He had long intended to come to Lezhou to seek business opportunities, and now that he was in the city, he naturally had to seize the opportunity to thoroughly investigate.