Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 13, Offense is Defense, Invincible

A small shop in winter, serving steaming hot noodles.

Xu Cheng had a large appetite and ate three bowls of rice. He sat there watching Lin Zhou take out a packet of Furongwang cigarettes from his pocket and smoke.

"What is it?"

"Ecstasy Powder"

Xu Cheng frowned: "During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Five-Stone Powder caused endless harm. How could you possibly consume it?"

"Taking a lot of pressure, huh? Want one?" Lin Zhou offered him a cigarette: "Want to try?"

Xu Cheng took the cigarette, held it to his nose and smelled it. The smell wasn't as bad as he had imagined, so he took out a tinderbox from his pocket and took a puff, just like Lin Zhou.

His first bite didn't trigger a violent cough like in the movies, but it did give him a strong feeling of dizziness. He rested his head on the table with one hand, closed his eyes, and it took him a long time to slowly lift his head.

"What a vicious thing..."

Lin Zhou ignored him, simply stubbed out his cigarette in a broken bowl, and stood up: "Smoking is harmful to your health. If you can avoid smoking, then don't."

But Xu Cheng ignored him and instead took another drag, once again experiencing that dizzying sensation. This bleaching feeling both disgusted and irresistible to him, both greedy and hostile, immoral and infatuated...

Just then, Si Hou arrived. He frowned slightly upon seeing his son's posture, but said nothing. Instead, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Lin Zhou and said, "Young sir, would you do me the honor of cooking a bowl of noodles for this old man to try?"

"Lord Sihou." Lin Zhou quickly stood up and handed him the letter he was carrying: "This is a letter from our superiors. Please read it while you wait. I'll go cook some noodles."

Sihou took the letter with both hands, sat down next to his son, glanced at his son's unambitious appearance, shook his head helplessly, and unfolded the letter.

The moment he saw the words inside, tears streamed down his face. He didn't even read the contents before the ruthless intelligence chief sat there sobbing uncontrollably.

He covered his eyes, but tears kept seeping through his fingers, and his suppressed sobs surprised Xu Cheng, who was standing next to him.

"Father...you..."

Xu Cheng raised his hand and waved it to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, wiped away his tears with his sleeve, sighed, picked up the water bottle next to him, and drank a bellyful of cold water before he could finally calm down completely.

"Father, what's wrong?"

Sihou Xu Ping pointed to the letter in his hand, and with just one sentence, Xu Cheng was stunned on the spot:

"Books for later generations can be read by those who came before."

What do these eight characters represent? They represent inheritance.

He didn't understand what parallel worlds were, but he did understand one thing: that the writing of this people in the future would not be in Jin script or Uyghur script, but in Chinese characters that could still be understood across time.

None of my family members understand the sense of redemption I felt in that moment.

All his confusion, distress, terror, and gloom were pierced by a beam of light from the sky in that instant, allowing him to see a patch of blue sky beyond the layers of dark clouds.

This letter brought him not only hope, but also unprecedented fighting spirit, because he once thought that this was the end, but now he saw the blue sky and dazzling sunshine after the dark clouds.

He then slowly began to read the contents of the letter, and after he finished reading it, he burned the letter completely without any hesitation.

"Father, what did the letter say?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Si Hou didn't answer his son, but took a deep breath: "Let's talk about it when the young master arrives."

After a while, I brought out a big bowl of noodles. This bowl of noodles not only contained ham sausage, but also fried eggs and green vegetables, and even two meatballs. The aroma was rich and strong, and it was both salty and flavorful.

"You're going a bit too far. Why is my bowl of plain soup so lavish while my father's meal is so sumptuous?"

"Your father is a fourth-rank official, what rank are you?"

"I..." Xu Cheng rolled his eyes. "I'm a seventh-rank official, so what?"

Si Hou ignored the young people's bickering, and after taking the noodles, he smiled and said, "Thank you, young sir. I have read the letter. Please tell your superior to fully cooperate with Pingding."

"Okay." Lin Zhou nodded. "I will definitely pass on the message. By the way, I brought some gifts for Si Hou this time, including medicine, seeds, and some technology."

He spread out the things he brought from there on the table and explained to Sihou how to use each item.

As intelligent as Sihou was, he immediately understood the value of these items after hearing them. His mind began to race, and his eyes darted back and forth between them.

"Hmm, young sir. These things are worth far more than ten thousand gold pieces." Si Hou pursed his lips. "Especially these superior seeds. If they could be widely planted, they could save countless lives."

"Then let's lay it!" Lin Zhou said seriously. "What does the Marquis think we should do?"

Si Hou lowered his eyelids: "I can't do it."

"Can't do it? Why not? It's something good."

"Haha...Young Master." Si Hou looked up at him. "Young Master, you don't know this. The world isn't judged by good or bad, but by whether there's profit to be made. Firstly, my authority doesn't lie here, and secondly, if I were to submit it, I would definitely be suppressed. Some people don't want to see me achieve merit, as it's not in their interest."

"Oh dear...you guys are such a hassle. Shall we use this good stuff to make porridge?"

"Of course not." Sihou waved his hand and smiled, "Young sir, please allow me to eat some noodles and think about it more carefully."

He lowered his head and slowly ate his noodles, praising them profusely along the way. However, even a fool like Lin Zhou could tell that he was not really eating and the praise was just politeness.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, when Si Hou looked up again, his expression had changed, and his murderous aura made Lin Zhou shudder.

"I do have a plan."

"Please enlighten me, Lord Sihou."

He tapped his finger twice on the table: "I'll subtly hint that I'm a distant nephew of yours from overseas, who has come to seek refuge with me, bringing with him superior breeds and the art of warding off plague."

"Huh?" Lin Zhou was taken aback. "Ah...this..."

"Young master, don't panic, let me finish."

"Please grant my request, Lord Si."

"After I spread the word, someone will definitely try to take advantage of this place. Someone will definitely take you away. Although I will try my best to stop them from the outside, they will not give up. At that time, you should hand over these two items. They will push it on for the sake of their political achievements! If there is a problem, they will make me and the young master take the blame. But if there is no problem, this will be their achievement."

After Si Hou finished speaking, Lin Zhou also thought about it, then slammed his hand on the table: "There's definitely no problem with that, I carefully selected them from my side."

"Yes, so they'll claim the credit for themselves, but don't worry, young master, they'll share a drink with you too. That's just how they operate." Si Hou narrowed his eyes, a glint of shrewdness in them: "I want them to win, but ultimately, they won't be the ones to win."

"Ah... this... Lord Si, I don't quite understand, I'm sorry. Actually... I'm not very smart, you know what I mean, even if I were to put it into perspective, I'd only be at the level of a novice scholar here, maybe even a little less."

Sihou laughed heartily: "Young sir, please don't be modest. I ask you, young sir, what is the meaning of this superior seed and the method to save the world?"

"I think that's what I mean, so that the people can have a better life."

"That's right. But if it can't be pushed forward, the people won't benefit from it. We don't want to seize it for ourselves. As the young master said, if it falls into our hands, it's just for making porridge and soup. Then..."

"Oh!!!" Lin Zhou suddenly realized, "Retreating to advance, attacking to defend. I know that."

"Look, the young master is quick-witted and understands things immediately. Unlike my son."

Si Hou glanced back at Xu Cheng, who was feeling dizzy. After being glared at by his father, Xu Cheng turned back, looking bewildered: "What?"