Gu Qingcheng breathed a sigh of relief. It was just one "shuǎng diǎn" for a benefit, which was manageable. She had been worried it might be charged by the hour, which would be a terrible deal if an exorbitant storage fee were to be incurred.
If storing a cup of tea beverage cost many "shuǎng diǎn," she would lose out significantly.
Hearing the system's explanation, she realized that in the future, when she wanted to store something, she could place all collected supplies into a single storage cabinet together, and the storage fee would only be one "shuǎng diǎn" per instance. That was economical.
"Host, if there are no more questions, could you please give us a five-star review!"
Once the cheat system used a pleading tone, it was clearly asking for a five-star rating.
Yet, for some reason, every time the cheat system adopted this tone, Gu Qingcheng pictured a burly man scratching his feet and acting coy.
Suppressing a shiver, she suddenly remembered a crucial question she hadn't asked yet.
"Cheat system, can my parents and I share the storage cabinet?"
"I'll answer that next time. Your two-minute explanation period has ended."
Gu Qingcheng was speechless. Fine, she still needed the cheat system, so she readily gave it a five-star review.
Thus, Gu Qingcheng spent one "shuǎng diǎn" to store the flower tea beverage in the cabinet. Watching the tea disappear from the table as if by magic, Gu Chaobei and Hu Lanfang exchanged glances, their eyes alight with excitement.
"Did it work?"
They both asked Gu Qingcheng.
"It worked, but it cost one 'shuǎng diǎn' for storage," Gu Qingcheng said with a smile. "I'll leave it in longer and observe to see if its temperature and freshness change over time."
Speaking of which, tea houses were truly gathering places for all walks of life. The patrons at the tables around them changed one after another. Some discussed current events and ancient history;
Others excitedly recounted amusing anecdotes from the streets;
And some spoke passionately, criticizing societal ills, looking every bit like scholars.
The Gu Chaobei family sat as if their bottoms were nailed down, and they hadn't moved since sitting. However, as long as they kept ordering tea, the waiter wouldn't kick them out.
"I heard that Pukou Village has built a Seven Stars Evil Suppression Pagoda. It's said to be quite significant, built to suppress a drought demon. Apparently, it was the undertaking of Old Master Gu, the wealthiest landowner of Pukou Village."
An elder at a nearby table stroked his beard and spoke as if telling a story.
The Gu family members perked up their ears, finding it quite interesting. They had witnessed the superstitious beliefs of the old times.
"What's the ritual? Can the Seven Stars Evil Suppression Pagoda really suppress a drought demon?" A companion of the elder asked, full of curiosity.
"Of course, it can. The Seven Stars Evil Suppression Pagoda was designed by Daoist Zhang from Jinsha Temple. The most potent aspect is said to be the live sacrifice of a boy and a girl beneath the pagoda. Their resentment would be used to suppress the drought demon and thus bring rain."
The elder said mysteriously.
"Hiss, live sacrifice? Would anyone be willing to sell their children?" The person at the table didn't believe it.
"These past two years of drought have made life incredibly bitter for the common people. Some villages have even been forced to flee. There have been instances of cannibalism on the roads.
If people can eat flesh like that, then buying a boy and a girl isn't difficult, is it? I heard Old Master Gu offered twenty taels of silver for a pair of children.
At least the children would have their bodies whole, and the families would receive twenty taels of silver. Naturally, someone would agree," the elder said.
"Hmm, twenty taels of silver is quite a lot. That could buy several hundred catties of grain, enough to get through the famine."
The person next to him listened and actually agreed.
The Gu family of three exchanged glances, a chill running down their spines.
Indeed, they were quite superstitious. And what was more, such things could be discussed openly? And people around them agreed?
If this were happening in their great socialist country, Old Master Gu would have been arrested for even having such a thought, along with his accomplices. They would be thrown into prison to "pick up soap," and the police and fellow inmates would teach them how to behave.
"Alas, I heard that more and more refugees are appearing recently, but we haven't seen many in our city. Could the news of refugees be exaggerated rumors?"
At another table, a scholar was chatting with a friend over tea.
"Ah, you don't know that Prince Xia has issued a strict order forbidding refugees from entering the city. They just turned away a group yesterday."
"Is that so? Alas, how pitiful. When will there be peace throughout the land?"
The scholar casually sipped his tea, his face conveying a sense of concern for the nation, making him appear to be putting on a show.
"Turned away a group of people?" Gu Chaobei overheard and whispered, "Could it be our village? No wonder I didn't encounter them on the street today."
"Fortunately, the three of us came in beforehand. Speaking of which, that one tael of silver was truly well spent."
Gu Chaobei felt a lingering fear. If they hadn't been able to enter the city, they would still be enduring hardship outside its walls.
While they weren't starving, they lacked warm houses to live in and comfortable beds to sleep on.
Thinking of Grandfather Gu and Grandmother Gu and their group being shut out, Gu Qingcheng felt a touch of schadenfreude.
"There have been frequent misfortunes lately. It's only September, and Jinsha Mountain has already experienced snowfall. It's said that over twenty miners froze to death. Work has been halted, and Prince Xia is furious. This morning, Prince Jing himself went to inspect the mountain."
At another table, someone well-informed was holding forth.
"Prince Xia wouldn't be angry, would he? His annual income and taxes all depend on the gold produced by Jinsha Mountain. While his other businesses are profitable, they don't even amount to a fraction of the income from Jinsha Mountain.
Now, if Jinsha Mountain stops operating for a day, he loses a day's revenue."
The teahouse truly had all sorts of people, and they dared to gossip about anything. Gu Qingcheng's family listened with great interest, learning many so-called secrets that gave them a deeper understanding of the customs and society of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"I heard that the Liao Kingdom is making moves again. Every year when it snows, if the Liao people run out of food and drink, their soldiers would come into our Great Zhou territory to burn, kill, and loot. With the early snowfall this year, could they be making a move soon?"
A middle-aged man said with great worry.
"Who knows? The border is still thousands of miles away, so they won't reach us.
The Liao people come to plunder when they have no food; isn't that standard practice? What are you worrying about?" a companion at the table chuckled.
"Alas, my son just escorted a shipment of goods to the border for trade last month. Who would have thought it would snow so early? Do you think I shouldn't worry? I wonder if my son is safe out there."
The middle-aged man had a relative at the border, which explained his empathy.
After a morning of absorbing so much "news," the three members of the Gu family felt their eyes had been truly opened.
So, the Great Zhou Dynasty had a neighboring enemy, the Great Liao Kingdom.
The Great Liao Kingdom was likely a nomadic people from the north. Their country's natural environment was harsh, and they could only survive by raising livestock and trading.
Once it snowed, the pasture grass would wither, and their cattle and sheep would starve and freeze. The common people, lacking food and drink, would then raid the borders of Great Zhou.
Nomadic peoples, with their robust physiques from a meat-heavy diet, were also fierce in temperament. The Great Zhou Dynasty's border defenses were currently corrupt, and the soldiers had no will to fight, resulting in repeated defeats each year. This had made the common people of Great Zhou accustomed to it.
However, once spring arrived and the environment in the Liao Kingdom improved, with the pasture grass sprouting, those soldiers who were formerly herders would have to return to their nomadic life, thus abandoning their campaigns. The border would then become peaceful.
Year after year, day after day, it was always the same.