Daily News: You promised yourself to be a fisherman, but you've become a martial arts god?

Five hundred taels!

Li Nian secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

This escort of the two young ladies of the Yi family not only yielded the Azure Heaven Water Pearl, but also earned them a fortune—they've made a killing!

"Thank you, Yi Niang!"

Li Nian clasped her hands in thanks.

"Don't thank me yet."

Yi Shurao gently raised her arm to stop them, then took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve and said:

"There are six Blood Essence Pills in the bottle; this is an extra reward for you."

"this..."

"Take it from your mother!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Yi Niang!"

Seeing that Yi Shurao was angry, Li Nian dared not refuse and had no choice but to accept it.

The Yi family's extravagance exceeded his expectations.

Even with money, it's not easy to buy this Blood Essence Pill outside.

With these six Blood Essence Pills, I can better assist in my cultivation!

Yi Shurao is a really nice person, beautiful inside and out!

After accepting the Blood Essence Pill, Li Nian suddenly remembered something and reported:

"Yi Niang, Xiao Liu has something to report."

"What is it?"

Li Nian didn't speak immediately, but looked at the people in the hall.

"All of you, get out!"

Yi Shurao understood and dispersed the others in the hall.

"Please speak freely!"

"Reporting to Yi Niang, last night when I was killing Hu Sanniang, she angrily said that Shi Kui, the patrol officer of the Canyue Island's elite squad, had given incorrect information..."

After some embellishment, Li Nian revealed that Shi Kui was a spy.

As for whether Shi Kui was a member of the Zhang family, he did not say.

After all, the detailed information was provided by the intelligence system, and it was not appropriate to implicate the Zhang family.

Furthermore, the Zhang and Yi families have been mutually restraining each other for many years. Even though the Yi family has the government as a backer, they can't do anything to the Zhang family, and it's useless to talk to them.

His only goal was to get rid of Shi Kui, so that he wouldn't be schemed against by this person again on Crescent Moon Island!

The reason it is said that Hu Sanniang was killed, rather than Liu Tanqi, is because Yi Jieyi and the others who were with Hu Sanniang did not see it when she was killed.

Yi Shurao frowned and pondered for a moment, then said:

"I understand about this matter. I will have someone investigate. If it is true, I will award you another merit!"

"yes!"

"Now that you're back, stay for two or three days and rest."

"Yes, Yi Niang."

Li Nian took her leave.

After leaving the county government office, Li Nian bought several boxes of pastries at a pastry shop on her way home.

It was already late when I got home.

The area in front of the house was crowded with customers who came to buy the pancakes. Everyone ate the pancakes and praised them highly.

"This pastry is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with fresh and generous filling, and it only costs five coins each—it's incredibly cheap and a great deal!"

"Absolutely! I could eat it three meals a day and never get tired of it!"

"I'd heard before that the meat-filled flatbread here was delicious, but I could never get my hands on it. It would sell out as soon as it was set up. I finally got to try it, and it was truly amazing!"

"The taste lingers on the lips and teeth!"

Looking at the endless stream of diners in front of the door, Li Nian was somewhat surprised.

When he was here before, the pancakes would sell out in less than an hour after he opened the stall. Now, it's almost noon, and there are still so many pancakes to buy.

After a moment, he understood.

I suppose it's because I wasn't home that my sister-in-law had more free time and made more pancakes to sell.

Watching her sister-in-law busily selling pancakes, collecting money, and wiping away sweat from afar, Li Nian felt both heartache and helplessness.

He had told his sister-in-law Zhao Lijuan that he could support the family on his own, but she felt guilty if she didn't do something, so she agreed to sell pancakes.

"Although it's hard work, it's a good thing for my sister-in-law."

Seeing her sister-in-law smiling even while busy, Li Nian's mood calmed down considerably.

I composed myself and followed the crowd to sell pancakes.

"Boss lady, give me three pancakes!"

"Alright, sir, here's your... Erlang!"

When Zhao Lijuan saw Li Nian's face, she couldn't hide her surprise and delight.

Having said that, he stopped selling the cakes and, as he walked back into the house, called out:

"Duoduo, Uncle is back!"

A short while later, he hurriedly came out carrying his niece, Duoduo.

"Uncle, you're back!"

"Hey, Uncle's back! Uncle, give me a hug!"

The niece opened her arms to Li Nian from her sister-in-law's arms. Li Nian went over, hugged her, and played with her.

Zhao Lijuan, who was standing to the side, was overjoyed and burst into tears when she saw this scene.

During the days Li Nian was at her new job, she was constantly worried and anxious, and only felt at ease when she saw Li Nian return safely.

"Sister-in-law, let me sell the cakes for you first. These are the pastries I bought for you. You can go back inside and eat them."

After teasing her little niece, Li Nian took out some pastries and handed them to Zhao Lijuan.

Zhao Lijuan took her daughter in her arms and said with concern:

"Erlang, you've just returned from your long and arduous work trip, how could I let you..."

"It's alright, sister-in-law, I'll take care of it."

"If you're not used to selling, I'll help you."

"Mother, I'll help too!"

Seeing that Li Nian insisted, Zhao Lijuan had no choice but to lend a hand.

When Li Nian saw that her sister-in-law and niece insisted on selling pancakes together, and realizing she couldn't refuse, she didn't decline.

Seeing this happy family scene, some people behind them who hadn't heard their niece Duoduo call Li Nian "Uncle" commented with envy:

"The boss and his wife are a perfect match, and they have such an adorable daughter!"

"I wish I had such a beautiful wife and such a cute girl, I could stay in bed all day!"

"Sigh, it's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy!"

"Boss, you and your wife are both so beautiful, you should have another one soon!"

Sister-in-law Zhao Lijuan blushed all the way to the roots of her neck.

...

Half an hour later, all the meat-filled flatbreads were sold out.

After Li Nian finished packing up the stall, the family went back inside and happily ate pastries.

After eating a few pastries, Li Nian went back to his room to tidy up; he was going to stay home for a few days.

When I got back to the house, everything inside had been cleaned spotlessly, as if it had been cleaned that day.

Did my sister-in-law know I was coming back today?

Just then, her sister-in-law Zhao Lijuan stood at the door, afraid that Li Nian might misunderstand something, and explained:

"Erlang, I don't know when you'll be back from your vacation, so I come to clean every day. No one lives in the house while you're away."

"Thank you, sister-in-law!"

Li Nian felt a warmth in her heart and expressed her sincere gratitude.

He believed his sister-in-law would never do such a thing.

A woman who would rather go without food herself than not give food to him in the face of starvation deserves his unconditional trust!

Zhao Lijuan breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked:

"Erlang, how many days off do you have this time?"

"About two or three days, but I can't say for sure. It depends on the arrangements made by the government."

Li Nian answered truthfully.

Zhao Lijuan nodded knowingly, then brought over several new sets of clothes and a bulging, hand-sewn money bag, handing them to Li Nian and saying:

"These are the clothes I sewed for you recently, and some money I earned from selling meat cakes."

"These past few days I've been making about 500 meat sesame cakes every day and they've all sold out. I've made quite a bit of money. I've set aside money for the ingredients to make tomorrow's cakes."

"I've heard that martial arts training is expensive. You should use it when necessary to improve your skills; it'll make you safer outside!"

Li Nian accepted the new clothes and money bag.

He squeezed the money bag, and it was full of loose silver coins, weighing about five taels.

Zhao Lijuan's meat-filled flatbreads were made with high-quality ingredients and in large quantities. She earned less than one coin per flatbread, and even if she sold five hundred flatbreads a day, she would still earn less than five hundred coins.

He had previously given Zhao Lijuan ten taels of silver, almost all of which was spent on buying fabric to make clothes, as well as on the stall, household necessities, and other miscellaneous items, leaving very little.

All this money was saved by Zhao Lijuan from selling pancakes one by one!

She was busy making and selling so many cakes every day, sewing him new clothes, and saving money for him. This kindness moved him deeply!

He accepted this gesture!

Then, he took off the package, revealing the gleaming silver inside, looked directly into Zhao Lijuan's beautiful eyes, and said:

"Sister-in-law, we have money now!"