PMH Chapter7

Mo Songyan looked at Xiao Changyu’s nervous expression and instead looked forward to his reaction after tasting it. He took the lead in scooping a spoonful into his mouth and then urged, “Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous. I can’t do something like poison my own husband…”

“That’s not right. I won’t poison anyone. Fighting and killing are bad. My dream is for a peaceful world.”

Xiao Changyu glanced at him as his nervous heart relaxed, and his hands no longer trembled. He was just a little uncomfortable being stared at by Mo Songyan.

He leaned slightly to the side and put a spoonful of congee into his mouth. He was instantly surprised—

This seemingly nondescript porridge is surprisingly delicious?!

A single spoonful of the rich flavors instantly refreshed his palate. The rice was soft and fragrant, the preserved egg silky, the bacon salty and mellow, the chopped green onion cut through the greasiness, and the sesame oil heightened the overall taste…

It seems ordinary, but it is very ingenious.

Xiao Changyu did not make any comments or nod, but his hands moved faster, putting spoonful after spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

Seeing him like this, Mo Songyan smiled smugly, “I told you it was delicious. Looks like it’s your first time trying it. I came up with it myself and even gave it the perfect name. Can you guess what it’s called?”

Xiao Changyu looked up at him amidst his business.

Mo Songyan immediately continued, “It’s called ‘Pine Trees on the Snow in the Layue Moon.’ What do you think of the name? Elegant enough, isn’t it?”

Pretending to be elegant. Xiao Changyu gave a four-word comment in his heart, and glared at Mo Songyan coquettishly in between eating the porridge.

But the porridge is really delicious.

Mo Songyan was amused by Xiao Changyu’s completely opposite demeanor and action. He put one hand on the table while holding his cheek with the other as he said, “I won’t tease you anymore. In fact, the name is very simple. It’s called preserved egg bacon porridge. You can eat it slowly. There are still some more in the pot.”

Preserved egg and bacon porridge? This name is better. Maybe they can make a living by selling porridge in the future?

While thinking about it, Xiao Changyu drank the last mouthful of porridge, then stood up and prepared to get another bowl.

Mo Songyan immediately stood up and pushed him back to the chair. “Sit down, I’ll go get you some more.”

He had no choice but to sit and wait while looking at Mo Songyan’s back thoughtfully.

The two had been married for less than a month and had never met before the marriage. He only heard from others that this was a man with a bad temper and domineering personality, so he married into the Mo family with the attitude of being ready to die.

But what he didn’t expect was that on the night of the wedding, Mo Songyan did not force him, he only left him with a back view and three cold words: “Don’t touch me!”

That night they slept with their clothes on, but Xiao Changyu was happy in his heart, Who would want to touch you?

Now, looking at Mo Songyan’s back, he had a different feeling. This person seemed to have become gentler, was it because of what happened to him…

A feeling of sadness instantly surrounded him. Mo Songqian, this thing is worse than a beast!

When he was feeling indignant, Mo Songyan came back and put the bowl in front of him and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? It’s just a bowl of congee, you don’t have to be so moved, right? I have many specialties, I will cook them for you every day from now on, your taste buds will be taken care of by me, Mo Songyan!”

Xiao Changyu looked into Mo Songyan’s eyes, and his eyes flashed. He raised his arm and wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve, and then took a spoon to eat porridge to hide the faint smile on his lips.

Idiot, who would be moved by a bowl of porridge? Also, what do you mean by taking care of my taste buds? Blazing nonsense…

After dinner, Xiao Changyu rushed to wash the dishes, as if he would run away from home if he was not allowed to do so. Mo Songyan was so scared that he raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, you wash, you wash, from now on, I cook and you wash the dishes, I farm and you plant the flowers, I sell things and you collect the silver, we work together as a couple, and the work won’t be tiring anymore, alright?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Changyu stroked his nose with his hand and neither nodded nor shook his head. After glancing at Mo Songyan, he took the bowl and went to the kitchen.

At night, when the two of them were lying on the bed, Mo Songyan muttered to himself, “I’m sorry, you haven’t had a good day since you got married to me, and now you have to worry about your livelihood because of me too… but don’t worry, since I dare to sign that agreement, I am confident that I can make that father of mine spit up five thousand taels of silver…”

“If the plan goes well, one year will be enough; if the plan does not go well, I will find a way to make it go well.”

“…He, Mo Wangchen, must pay these five thousand taels of silver!”

“Although I, Mo Songyan, may brag occasionally, I will never make empty promises when it comes to important matters. You can rest assured…”

Xiao Changyu really dared not feel at ease.

Firstly, they had little contact, and he didn’t know Mo Songyan well enough. Secondly, Mo Songyan didn’t say what his specific silver-making plan was. Has he inquired about the market? Did he even calculate the profits?

Nothing is certain yet. If he simply told him to rest assured and he actually did, that would be a bit too naive.

But he was not too worried about not being able to pay back the debt either. At worst, he could just use his own savings to pay it back.

There were many merchants in the Sheng Dynasty, but it was hard to find a good accountant. In addition, the taxation method was complicated, so many shop owners would pay someone to check the accounts and calculate the taxes instead.

Xiao Changyu was not good at speaking, but he had an extremely flexible mind and was very sensitive to numbers. He could easily sort out the accounts that others had no idea about.

Over the years, he has made some savings privately from this skill, which can fill this hole.

However, he didn’t plan to tell Mo Songyan about this now. He also wanted to see whether Mo Songyan was just bragging or if he was really capable…

Mo Songyan woke up early the next morning. Seeing Xiao Changyu sleeping soundly, he quietly got up, washed, cooked, then left a note before he went out.

He planned to find a teahouse to discuss cooperation.

At present, there is no art of Xiangsheng in the Sheng Dynasty, so the most important thing is to let the public know about it.

The teahouses are the easiest place to spread information as people come and go. As long as there is someone who is interested in Xiangsheng, they will definitely talk about it with others. Word of mouth will spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. As the news spreads further and further, more and more people will know about Xiangsheng.

However, word of mouth alone is definitely not enough, and the assistance of paper media is also needed.

Mo Songyan also plans to create a story about the origin of Xiangsheng and write it into a storybook. He will then write some limericks or advertising slogans and paste them in various corners, using vivid language and gimmicky words to stimulate people’s curiosity and attract a large audience. When he appears on stage, the effect will definitely be doubled!

He has great confidence in this.

It was still early, and many teahouses were not open yet, but this was just as he expected, which teahouse opens early in the morning? It is already considered early if it opens to welcome customers before lunch.

Taking advantage of this period of leisure, he posted the advertising slogan and limerick he had written last night on the bulletin board.

There is one thing in the Sheng Dynasty that Mo Songyan feels very close to. That is, there is a special bulletin board on every street where people can post their information. Of course, the information must be in compliance with laws and regulations; otherwise, it will be torn up by the patrolling guards. If their speech is outrageous, they will also be arrested and punished.

Mo Songyan posted his advertisement in the most conspicuous position among the notices and smiled with satisfaction when he saw the slogan.

[Immortals descend to the mortal world and teach a secret art called Xiangsheng. Those who witness it are guaranteed to laugh and extend their lifespan!]

After posting this, he went to the next bulletin board.

[Have you never heard of Xiangsheng? Then you are outdated. It is the art genre that is loved by the world-renowned master Dongfang Shuo, can you miss it?!]

……

After posting countless advertising slogans and limericks, it was almost noon. Mo Songyan clapped his hands, picked up the freshly baked cake in the morning, and walked through the streets searching for a teahouse while eating, looking determined.

He had a clear goal. He would first look for those teahouses that looked inconspicuous and were dying. Such shops often did not make much profit, and they would most likely cooperate with him with the intention of giving it a try. And the price can be negotiated.

Just after finishing the last bite of the cake, a small teahouse came into his sight, the shop was deserted while the waiter looked lifeless. It was easy to guess that the business was not good, but they could not find any way to improve it and were struggling to stay open.

Mo Songyan walked over with a smile. When the waiter saw him coming, he immediately changed from a lifeless state to a cheerful appearance. “Esteemed guest, you are here. What kind of tea would you like? We have just received the best Yuqian Longjing tea. Would you like to try it?”

Mo Songyan waved his hand: “Little brother, I’m not here for tea…”

That waiter interrupted him immediately after hearing this, “Why are you making trouble when you’re not here for tea? Go do what you need to do!”

As he said that, he chased him out while shaking the rag.

Mo Songyan was not annoyed either. He shouted, “I’m looking for your shopkeeper. Where is the shopkeeper?”

The waiter continued to chase him out. If he wasn’t tall, the rag in the waiter’s hand would have hit him in the face already.

“Where is the shopkeeper? Do you still want to make silver or not? You are not interested in the business that is offered to you? Then you will miss this opportunity!” Mo Songyan pushed the waiter aside and looked around the teahouse.

The teahouse owner was full of anger, someone came to cause trouble as soon as the door was opened. Does he have any insight? And he is even bragging about making silver? If he could make silver, would he look like a man in his forties when he is only in his twenties? If he hadn’t tied his hair up, the top of his head would appear bald already!

His shop was situated at the far end of the street, right at the edge of the ironware district. He figured that the rent would be low, the steady flow of customers buying ironware would bring in traffic, and business ought to do reasonably well. Who would have thought that the people who came here to buy ironware didn’t drink tea, but alcohol!?

He had been planning to sell the shop these days, hoping to save as much loss as possible, but after several days of posting the notice, no one even came to ask for the price…

Mo Songyan came and hit the muzzle of the gun at this moment. The shopkeeper walked over angrily while pointing at his nose and cursing, “Who are you?! What ideas can you come up with to make silver with your head full of gauze?! If you don’t get out of here, I’ll report you to the government!”

“Yo, don’t be angry. I noticed that your shop is not doing well, so I came here to give you some advice.” Mo Songyan smiled as he bowed. “I saw a notice outside saying that you are going to sell your shop?”

Upon hearing these words, the shopkeeper thought he was going to take over the shop and immediately smiled, saying, “Yes, yes, I’m going to sell it. The business of this shop is not bad. There are few people now because it is still early. There will be more customers in the afternoon and evening. You really have insight. If it weren’t for an emergency back home, I wouldn’t be willing to sell it out…”

The shopkeeper’s words made Mo Songyan grin even more, “Your shop is tucked away in a remote spot, right in the ironware district. People who come to buy ironware aren’t the type to sit down for tea. Which one of them hasn’t already drunk a pot of wine? Don’t try to fool me…”

“But…” He changed the subject and continued, “I have a way that is guaranteed to save your teahouse. Make the last attempt to save the situation. Do you dare to take a gamble?”

“What gamble?” The shopkeeper asked.

Mo Songyan spoke to the shopkeeper, sharing his thoughts and giving a detailed account of the historical origins of Xiangsheng as well as the renowned performers from different dynasties. When he finished, he stepped aside.

The teahouse owner fell into deep thought after hearing his words…