Top-notch Little Horseman

"Old Wu told me... he's not doing this."

Er Gouzi didn't even glance at Ye Chen, and spoke indifferently.

"I'm very busy. I can't even finish all the tasks assigned to me by the household registration office. How can I have time to modify it for you?"

"If you want to change it, find someone else to do it."

Ye Chen didn't feel aggrieved and leaned closer to her face.

"Brother Er Gou, I don't have much work to do, it won't delay your business. As long as you modify it for me, I will definitely reward you handsomely!"

"A generous reward?" Er Gouzi raised his eyes slightly and asked Ye Chen.

"Can you get me some roast chicken? I don't need the money. I don't have time to go out and spend it. The food at the local government office is terrible; it has no oil at all."

"If you can get your hands on a roast chicken, I'll help you with the modification."

Hearing Er Gouzi's words, all the blacksmiths in the craft workshop were amused.

You should know that prices in the North are skyrocketing these days. Even the cheapest roast chicken costs 500 coins, and one chicken can eat up almost two months' worth of wages for a horseman.

"Okay, I'll give you a roast chicken a day in exchange for modifying my electric gun." Ye Chen agreed without hesitation, which immediately stunned the smoker next to him.

Coming to his senses, he hurriedly tugged at Ye Chen's sleeve.

The blacksmiths were all stunned, staring at Ye Chen as if he were an idiot.

"Alright, since you're so sincere, I'll accept." Er Gouzi nodded seriously.

"But I have to make this clear from the start: I won't deliberately delay the project, but modifying a gun isn't a job that can be done in three to five days."

"If you feel it's not worth it later, I'll stop working when the chickens stop, is that okay?"

Ye Chen smiled lightly and nodded, saying, "Er Gouzi is right. As the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race. As long as the changes are good, I'll accept any number of days it takes."

This lightning gun is too important to Ye Chen; he can't afford to be careless with it. It's his livelihood.

"It's getting late, and I have to rush home. I'll be ready tomorrow and come to invite you."

Ye Chen and Yan Gui returned to the horse camp. Ye Chen gave him 24 taels of silver to distribute among the other eight brothers, while he returned home.

Qin Mengyao had prepared the bran porridge early on, but Ye Chen hadn't returned yet, and she was worried sick.

Ye Chen pushed open the creaking wooden door and immediately saw the slender figure by the stove.

The hut was simple and cramped, with drafts coming through the walls, and only a small ember remained on the stove.

Qin Mengyao was keeping the porridge warm. She believed that Ye Chen would definitely come back. All she could do was wait for Ye Chen to return so that she could have a bowl of hot porridge to eat.

Upon hearing the noise, she immediately turned around, her cool and aloof expression revealing a hint of tenderness.

"You're back."

She spoke softly, her voice gentle and warm.

Ye Chen casually closed the wooden door, shutting out the cold wind from outside, and his gaze fell on the rough porcelain bowl in Qin Mengyao's hand.

"I had some errands to run today, so I came back late. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Ye Chen stepped forward and gently brushed away the ash from her temples.

Qin Mengyao gently shook her head, her eyes gentle and docile: "It's alright, I've been keeping the fire warm, waiting for you to come back so we can eat together. It's cold outside, so hurry up and have a bowl of hot porridge to warm yourself up."

She was slender, and her clothes were faded from washing, yet they remained clean and tidy.

Ye Chen picked up the bowl of porridge. It was rough and dry, with the bran scraping his throat and a faint earthy, bitter taste.

The two sat at a dilapidated wooden table, cozying up half a bowl of bran porridge.

Ye Chen looked at Qin Mengyao and felt a pang of heartache and a trace of guilt. He was living a life of luxury in the Qin mansion, while his woman was eating gruel at home.

No, she didn't even dare to drink it beforehand, and waited for me to come back hungry. Where can you find such a good woman?

"Yaoyao, don't worry, starting today, I promise you'll live a life of luxury!" Ye Chen took a deep breath and said to Qin Mengyao with utmost seriousness.

Qin Mengyao looked up at him and smiled slightly: "I believe you."

That night, the winds rose and the clouds surged, dragons and phoenixes fought, and soon the next day arrived.

……

The next day.

Ye Chen was just about to go to the inner city to buy some steamed buns when a loud, arrogant shout came from outside the door, making the thatched roof of the hut tremble slightly.

"Ye Chen, time's up! Hand over that little wench obediently!"

Ye Chen frowned upon hearing this, knowing that it was that bastard Liang Kun who had come to his door.

Qin Mengyao's delicate body trembled slightly, and she shrank into Ye Chen's arms in fear.

Ye Chen stared intently at the entrance and saw a burly man with a large belly, dressed in blue, stride in, led by two menacing henchmen.

The man was none other than the shepherd, Liang Kun.

Liang Kun's face was full of scars, and his cold eyes swept across the room before finally landing on Qin Mengyao, whose delicate body was trembling.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and a lewd smile spread across his face.

"Oh, what a beautiful young lady!" Liang Kun rubbed his hands together as he walked inside.

"Ye Chen, I heard you've come back from the dead. You should cherish your life."

Liang Kun turned his head slightly and looked at Ye Chen with a hint of threat.

"I'm tough, even Yama, the King of Hell, won't take me," Ye Chen said with a light laugh.

"Alright, I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you. The agreed deadline is here, it's time to hand over the person, isn't it?" Liang Kun waved his hand impatiently.

"As long as you obediently hand her over, I guarantee you can take good care of the horses in the stables, and I might even be able to give you the position of captain in the future."

"As long as you behave and follow me, I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury!"

Ye Chen shielded Qin Mengyao behind him, and the latter gripped his clothes tightly, trembling slightly.

"Chief Shepherd!" Ye Chen spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but extremely firm, and carrying a hint of coldness.

"Yaoyao is already my woman, and no one can take her away."

The courtyard fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

Liang Kun's smile froze, and his cold eyes narrowed.

His lips twitched, then he burst into a shrill laugh.

"Hahaha!...Your woman?"

His two lackeys chuckled and cracked their fists.

Liang Kun's eyes turned cold, and he stepped in front of Ye Chen, his finger almost poking the tip of his nose.

"Ye Chen! This woman has no household registration or travel permit. According to the laws of the Great Qin Dynasty, harboring her is a capital offense!"

"I came out to save you from trouble, and you don't even know how to appreciate it?"

"Besides... you're just a horse herder, you can't even feed yourself, how are you going to support her? What makes you think you can compete with me for a woman?"

He gestured towards his henchman beside him with his lip, "If you know what's good for you, you'll hand over the person obediently. If you don't..."

Liang Kun's two henchmen stepped forward in perfect unison, their faces menacing, and surrounded Ye Chen from the left and right.

If it were the Ye Chen of the past, he would have been so frightened that he would have knelt down and begged for mercy long ago.

But Ye Chen now doesn't take them seriously at all. If it weren't for his official status, he would have dealt with these three damned bastards long ago.

"Drag him out of here! Don't disturb my pleasure!"

The two henchmen immediately understood and reached out to grab Ye Chen.

However, they came up empty-handed!

Instead of retreating, Ye Chen advanced, his figure flashing as he slammed his right elbow into the stomach of the man on his left, and with a left uppercut, sent the man on his right flying.

"Ah! Ah!"

Two sounds came in quick succession: one person clutched their stomach and squatted on the ground, while the other fell heavily to the ground, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of their mouth.

Upon seeing this scene, Liang Kun's smile froze completely, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.