In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

"You want to know?" Shen An asked.

"Yes, I've always wanted to know." Dugu Meng's face was full of curiosity.

Shen An shrugged: "Would you believe me if I said I figured it out myself?"

"Excuse my bluntness, but at your age, it's difficult for you to figure it out on your own." Dugu Meng shook her head.

"Then you just wait and see. When the time is right, I might tell you." Shen An yawned.

He was a time traveler, a secret he hadn't even told Shen Xiaoqi, so naturally he couldn't tell Dugu Meng either.

"When will the time be right?" Dugu Meng was still unwilling to give up.

"Hehe, when else would it be? Of course, it'll be after my brother and you have your wedding night! By then we'll be family, what can't we say?" Shen Xiaoqi leaned closer again.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Shen An shoved him.

Upon hearing the words "wedding night" again, Dugu Meng's reaction was different from before.

There was no panic or embarrassment; on the contrary, she felt that Shen Xiaoqi's words made sense.

Shen An likes to keep things to himself; he probably won't tell anyone except his wife and family.

She shrugged and changed the subject: "Shen An, can I help you make this gas mask?"

In addition to completing three finished products, Shen An also prepared a batch of materials, intending to make gas masks for the corpse carriers.

Back then, nobody believed him, and the materials he prepared were never used. Now, however, it's just right.

"It would be great if you could help. All the materials are readily available; you just need to cut and sew them according to my requirements."

Dugu Meng had never done this kind of needlework before in the deep palace, and she found it not only clumsy but also strenuous.

But for some reason, she felt very good and at ease doing this handicraft with the two Shen brothers. It seemed more comfortable than being served by thousands of people in the palace.

Just after noon, all twenty-odd gas masks were finished, and the three men took them to the mass grave.

Now that Shen An has become the team leader, even though the corpse carriers feel uncomfortable breathing with the object covering their faces, they still all carry it.

They then discovered that the previously foul and nauseating smell of corpses was no longer present.

Everyone was shocked. Old Zhao's granddaughter, Zhao Feng, had tears in her eyes and said gratefully, "Squad Leader Shen, if we hadn't smelled that corpse stench, we might have lived much longer. You truly saved all of our lives!"

The others echoed their gratitude to Shen An for saving their lives.

"We're all in the same boat, so why are you thanking me? We should..."

Shen An began to say things to win people over.

Dugu Meng stood to the side listening and felt that Shen An had no ulterior motives.

In her eyes, Shen An was a good person who wanted to save the world.

This strengthened her resolve: if she could bring him to the court and entrust him with important responsibilities, the current chaotic world might truly improve.

She increasingly hoped that the people in the palace would discover her whereabouts soon and send someone to bring her back.

After winning people over, Shen An hurriedly left, as he needed to finalize the acquisition of dead people's hair as soon as possible.

Before sunset, he arrived alone at Black Mountain Village, the stronghold of Black Six.

Heishan Village is completely different from Qingtian Village. It is backed by mountains, and there is a rough wooden fence at the entrance of the village, making it look like a small camp.

Before Shen An even got close, seven or eight people surrounded him, all clutching weapons.

When Shen An announced that he was the head of the mass grave in Qingtian Village, before he could even say that he was there to do business, they were immediately on high alert and rushed back to report.

Before long, a dozen or so people poured out of the village. Leading the way was a short, stocky man with a dark face, a thick neck, and heavy steps that looked like he was stepping on nails.

He stepped out of the gate, stopped in front of Shen An, scanned him twice, and immediately sent people to search the vicinity.

When it was confirmed that Shen An was the only one there.

Blackie Liu smirked: "Kid, you've got guts, daring to come alone! Are you here to avenge Feng the Cripples?"

"I'm not here to cause trouble, but to offer you all a way to make money!" Shen An said with a smile.

"Heh, a way to make money? Do you think I'd believe that?" Black Six sneered.

"Absolutely true."

"Heh, then tell me, how can you bring me a way to make money?" Blackie Six pulled out a short knife from his back waist and licked the blade with his tongue. "If you mess with me, you won't be walking back here alive today."

Shen An was not intimidated by his words, and his tone remained as steady as before: "The source of wealth I'm offering you this time is the hair of the dead. You search for it, and I'll collect it. Five coins a pound, take as much as you can."

Blackie was stunned for a moment, and the group of people behind him looked at each other in bewilderment.

The hair of a dead person is considered unlucky; I've never seen anyone pay for it.

Blackie's face darkened: "Aren't you just making fun of me? Who the hell wants that thing?"

"Others don't want it, but I do. I'll pay a five-tael deposit first!"

Shen An took out five taels of silver from his pocket and placed it on the wooden stake next to him.

The sight of the gleaming silver instantly made Hei Lao Liu's eyes light up!

"You're actually giving it to me?"

"I came with sincerity, so of course I will give it to you."

Upon hearing this, the fierce look on Black Six's face softened considerably. He threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Haha, I can feel Brother Shen's sincerity. In that case, I'll take the deal!"

Immediately, he turned around and shouted behind him, "Get to work tonight! Tomorrow morning, get three thousand catties of dead men's hair delivered to Brother Shen's doorstep!"

Three thousand catties!

This was beyond Shen An's expectations. If it could really be done, it would greatly alleviate the current shortage of production capacity.

Upon seeing the money, Hei Lao Liu became noticeably more enthusiastic. After saying this, he began to address Shen An as a brother and repeatedly invited Shen An to stay for dinner.

Shen An wanted to check on the other four mass graves, so he politely declined Hei Lao Liu's offer, saying he had other things to do and they could meet another day.

Hei Lao Liu didn't insist on keeping him, and patted him on the shoulder: "Brother Shen, if you need anything in this area in the future, just come find me."

Before the words were even finished!

Everyone then saw several constables riding fast horses approaching from a hundred meters away, led by Ma Tianming.

Shen An frowned. What a twist of fate! Why did Ma Tianming show up when he came to find Hei Lao Liu?

Blackie Six's expression wasn't good either: "Damn it, they're never coming here for good news!"

"Brother Hei, don't let them hear us!" Shen An lowered his voice. "We can't afford to offend the police."

Blackie Liu immediately fell silent.

When Ma Tianming dismounted and saw Shen An, he only glanced at him before turning to Hei Laoliu and instructing him: "The county magistrate has ordered that in five days, the Western Barbarian tribes will attack the northern border of Yangnan Prefecture. There will be a great battle. You will need to follow the army and provide logistical support for them in three days."

"Huh? The Western barbarians are attacking the city?" Hei Lao Liu and the others' expressions changed drastically. "Captain Ma, isn't our Yangnan Prefecture territory usually just a few adults fighting back and forth? How come barbarians are coming?"

"How would I know? I just told you to get ready!" Ma Tianming spat as he spoke.

Hei Lao Liu and the others looked increasingly grim. Although they were responsible for cleaning up the battlefield, they were afraid that the government would not have enough manpower and would ask them to join the battle. Facing the Western Barbarians who were known for massacring cities and eating people, how could they possibly save their lives?

Unfortunately, although the government of Yangnan Prefecture doesn't eat people, when it comes to killing, they can only obediently nod in agreement.

For Shen An, however, this great battle would be very beneficial to his business. The price of hemostatic drugs would soar, and his blood charcoal could be sold for an even higher price, which seemed like a chance to get rich quick.

Ma Tianming then turned his gaze to Shen An: "What are you doing here? What brings you to see Hei Lao Liu?"

"Hehe, Brother Shen An is here to collect the hair of the dead!" Black Six interjected.

"More dead people's hair!"

Ma Tianming chuckled and gave Shen An a meaningful look: "Don't tell me you went to all that trouble to come here and buy this stuff just to sell in the winter, right? I don't think this stuff keeps you warm at all."

As they spoke, Zhang Meng and the other constables gathered around, drawing their knives.

Shen An could sense that Ma Tianming's suspicions were growing stronger, so he pretended to be helpless and said, "Officer Ma, although the hair of a dead person is not very effective at keeping warm, there is enough of it to keep you warm if you stuff it in the quilt."

Aside from this, it seems there's not much else that can be done with dead people's hair. Officer Ma, do you have any brilliant ideas?

Ma Tianming couldn't answer: "Hehe, I don't have any great ideas. I must be overthinking it."

However, if you want to collect dead people's hair, you don't need to spend money to come here. I've already spoken to the county, and starting tomorrow, the management of other mass graves will gradually be handed over to you. At that time, all the dead people's hair will be yours!

"Oh, thank you so much, Officer Ma!"

"Hehe, no need to thank me. You should hurry up and leave, lest you delay the matter at the mass grave!"

"yes!"

With Shen An gone, Hei Laoliu and the others were sent back to the village.

Zhang Meng watched Shen An ride away and said, "Ma Tou, are we just going to let him go like that? I think this guy must have some other purpose in buying dead people's hair; he might be able to make a lot of money from it. Let's bring him here!"

"I still need him as a scapegoat. Don't fall out with him for now. It's easy to find out what he's doing with that dead man's hair. I have informants at the mass grave in Qingtian Village." Ma Tianming squinted and said, "I believe I'll have the answer in a few days."

If I find out he lied to me, he'll be sorry!