Chapter 87: Chu Yun Truly Is a Remarkable Man!

Chu Yun turned to Bai Hao and asked, “Lord Bai, is your carrier pigeon messaging system convenient to use?”

Bai Hao paused, a hint of surprise flashing across his face as he looked at Chu Yun. His brows furrowed slightly; he couldn’t help but wonder if Chu Yun had somehow seen him sending a pigeon message to the King of Qi. He decided to respond openly, offering a slight smile. “Earl Chu Yun, the carrier pigeon system is indeed very convenient. It allows me to report your situation to the King of Qi at any time. His Majesty, who remains in the royal city, is quite concerned for your safety and fears that the Witch Doctors’ Sect may harm you.”

Chu Yun replied with a light laugh, “Please thank His Majesty for his concern. If your carrier pigeon system is so convenient, then I hope you can arrange for your men to serve as scouts, to probe ahead of us and prevent any ambush set by the Witch Doctors’ Sect.”

The reason for his sudden caution was simple: he had realized that, no matter how thorough his planning, there was always some unforeseen vulnerability. Take, for example, the purchase of waterproof tents—he’d only considered sheltering his people from wind and rain, not the fact that these were military supplies, and buying them could give the Witch Doctors’ Sect a pretext to accuse him. Moreover, it had already been a full day since they’d left Chu Family Town. According to the Wu family pharmacy, who had sent word to the Witch Doctors’ Sect via carrier pigeon, claiming he’d killed the medical officer Cheng, it was likely that the Sect had already dispatched men to Chu Family Town by now. The Witch Doctors’ Sect was probably already pursuing him in secret.

Although the owner of the rice and grain shop in Chu Family Town would keep his route secret, the fact that he’d purchased ten dan of grain was no secret and could be easily traced. With so many people and such a small amount of grain, it wouldn’t take a genius for the Witch Doctors’ Sect to deduce that he would need to buy more on the road. Having just bought grain at Pingba Village, it would not be difficult for the Witch Doctors’ Sect to estimate his westward route. Thus, they could not only pursue him but might well set an ambush ahead. This made it all the more essential to use scouts to gather intelligence in advance.

Bai Hao said, “Earl Chu Yun, by the King of Qi’s command, my mission is to protect your safety, so of course, I am willing to assign men as your scouts. But, since we’re on horseback, we can simply gather intelligence and ride back to report. Why would we need to use carrier pigeons?”

Chu Yun responded, “That’s exactly why I asked whether it’s convenient for you to use carrier pigeons. After all, if scouts must constantly ride back and forth, it’s exhausting. And this isn’t like a war between two nations—a scout can be easily identified. If your men continue further after gathering information and then send a pigeon message back, the Witch Doctors’ Sect won’t suspect they are my scouts.”

Bai Hao smiled and nodded. “Earl Chu Yun, your caution is truly admirable. The carrier pigeon system is indeed convenient; throughout the entire Great Qi Dynasty, every town can use it. Where is your next destination? I’ll arrange for my men to go ahead and scout immediately.”

Chu Yun said, “The next stop is Nanhuai Town. But, Lord Bai, there’s no need to rush. It will likely rain tonight, and who knows when it will stop. We may need to stay in Pingba Village a bit longer. Let’s wait until morning; after all, I want everyone to have breakfast before we set out.”

“Very well, my lord!” Bai Hao replied.

In his heart, he couldn’t help but admire Chu Yun—when he said there would be three meals a day, he really meant it.

As the two conversed, the three household heads approached Chu Yun.

He looked at them. “Do you have something to report?”

Chu Lefu replied with a cheerful grin, “That’s right, my lord! Some people in Pingba Village have tasted the fluffy leavened cakes and tofu from the Joyous Restaurant in Chu Family Town.”

“They know that both the cakes and tofu were recipes taught to the restaurant by Chen Jun.”

“When they learned that Chen Jun is your relative and is traveling west with you, they asked if Chen Jun could teach them how to make the cakes and tofu.”

“Some of our people couldn’t help themselves and told them you were the one who taught Chen Jun how to make both. Others even boasted that you can make fried dough sticks, and they’re incredibly delicious.”

“Hearing this, they became even more eager and said that as long as we teach them, they’ll lend us their kitchens—so we won’t have to dig fire pits, gather firewood, or search for clean water.”

“We’re reporting this to ask if you want us to agree to their request.”

Chu Yun smiled. “So that’s all? It’s fine, agree to their terms. After all, we’ve been on the road all day, and everyone is tired—having a ready kitchen is no bad thing. And since I was willing to teach so many in Chu Family Town, I was already prepared to share these skills with more people. In the future, we can use this as a way to trade for kitchen access.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The three household heads accepted the order with delight, turned, and hurried off to tell the people of Pingba Village that Chu Yun had agreed.

Afterward, the more than three hundred people Chu Yun had brought from Chu Family Town went to collect flour and borrowed the Pingba Village kitchens to make fluffy leavened cakes and fried dough sticks.

The people of Pingba Village were full of praise after tasting the food, declaring it delicious and sharing without hesitation some wild greens they had foraged, cooked for the people from Chu Family Town. They were even more eager to learn how to make tofu, and since Chu Yun hadn’t brought soybeans, they took out their own and soaked them, so tofu could be made in the morning.

Baron Cheng Qiong learned that Chu Yun had agreed to let his people teach the villagers of Pingba how to make the fluffy cakes, fried dough sticks, and tofu. He tried the cakes and fried dough sticks himself and found them truly delicious. Secretly, he felt pleased with himself—getting Chu Yun to owe him a favor and refusing to sell him waterproof tents for the sake of his safety had been wise decisions. His steward praised his foresight as well.

After the meal, the people from Chu Family Town went to the western side of Pingba Village, settling into a dilapidated old compound arranged by Cheng Qiong. It was a traditional courtyard house, admittedly quite run-down and covered in dust, but at least it didn’t leak and offered good shelter from wind and rain.

Chu Yun had the three household heads organize their teams to tidy up, and soon the place was cleaned and everyone settled in. Still, there were a few lazy folk who complained that with the sky full of stars and not a cloud to be seen, there was no need to sleep indoors—it surely wouldn’t rain. But by midnight, the weather changed abruptly and it began to rain. Those same lazy ones had nothing more to say.

Everyone was deeply impressed, marveling in private that Chu Yun must truly be descended from immortals, able to predict the weather so accurately—it was remarkable.

Bai Hao, meanwhile, took out a piece of white linen and recorded Chu Yun’s ability to forecast the wind and rain, feeling all the more astonished by his talents. “This Chu Yun is truly an extraordinary man,” he mused.

The next morning, Baron Cheng Qiong saw the drizzle outside and puddles everywhere, clear evidence that it had rained since last night. He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, feeling quietly pleased with his wise choice to befriend Chu Yun.