Manbao was not in a hurry to tidy up. Instead, she took a knife and selected quite a bit of meat to inspect. She sniffed it but didn’t dare to try it herself.

Bai Shan seemed to realize her thoughts and said softly, "I heard that when Shennong tasted herbs, he experienced not only stomach pains, but also chest pains, and all sorts of pains—his eyes even went blind once."

Manbao shivered but refused to believe it, "Which book says that? Why don’t I know about it?"

Bai Shan calmly tidied up the mess she had made with the cactus, putting the still intact ones aside, and said, "I don’t remember which book it was, but I think that eating things without knowing their toxicity should lead to poisoning, right? Didn’t you say that once the body is damaged, even if healed, it won’t be as good as before?"

Manbao didn’t remember saying that, but it was indeed true, which made her even more reluctant to try.

The dug-out plant meat was set aside. She and Bai Shan went to tidy up the remnants.

She said, "Let’s try planting these ones that are still good. Maybe we can take them back to the capital. They are so round and quite pretty to look at."

Bai Shan nodded.

Then he leaned on the window and called down to Daji, telling him to prepare some flower pots.

He glanced at the size of the cuttings and said to Daji, "We don’t need big flower pots, just small ones. We need twelve."

Daji silently turned and left.

But here, unlike the capital, it’s hard to buy clay pots. So after wandering around twice, he found a carpenter in town to custom-make wooden pots.

Hearing that the esteemed guests wanted wooden pots only the size of vegetable containers, the carpenter was puzzled, "Wouldn’t that be too small? It won’t be easy to wash with that size."

Daji glanced at him, then pointed to an item inside the room, "Make it about the same size as this one on top, just a bit deeper. We are using it to grow flowers, so it needs to hold soil. Try to make it as deep as possible."

Carpenter: "...Sir, this is a wooden bowl."

Having worked as a carpenter for so many years, he’s met plenty of travelers who asked him to make things, like when their travel barrels and tubs cracked or broke, they would buy or custom-make replacements from him. This was the first time he’d seen someone custom order a wooden bowl for planting flowers.

Indeed, the carpenter thought such a small item didn’t qualify as a pot at all.

However, the clients were generous, and the task wasn’t difficult, so he accepted the order, saying, "It’ll be ready the day after tomorrow."

Daji nodded in agreement, then turned back to report.

Manbao had already learned about their habits from Keke, knowing they were resilient and wouldn’t die even if left for a few days. They could even sunbathe, and the cut surfaces could be treated.

So Manbao and Bai Shan moved the items to the first floor, where the sun wasn’t strong, just right for sunbathing.

When Yin Huo returned, he happened to meet Mr. Zhuang and the others coming back from visiting the Town Leader’s house. The two groups ran into each other at the door and entered together in a lively manner. As soon as they entered, they saw the two with their backs to them, crouching under the corridor, fiddling with something in their hands.

Zhou Liru was the first to rush over, "Aunt, what are you doing?"

Manbao moved aside to show them her and Bai Shan’s afternoon accomplishments.

Mr. Zhuang took a look, shook his head, and then turned back into the room.

Manbao asked them, "So, was the Town Leader hospitable?"

Bai Erlang said, "Lucky you didn’t go. You wouldn’t believe it; this Town Leader used to be a bandit. After just two glasses of wine, he started talking to Mr. Zhuang about his past as a bandit, how he and his men would rob from other bandits or seize things from other towns. A third of the people in this town used to be bandits, and another half are related to them."

Manbao’s jaw dropped, and she asked, "What about Assistant General Nie...?"

Bai Erlang laughed loudly, "Assistant General Nie just drank with him and even started discussing which nearby towns were easier to attack. If we hadn’t dragged him away, who knows, he might have stayed overnight to drink with him."

Bai Shan exchanged a glance with Manbao and asked, "Are you still hungry for dinner?"

Bai Erlang shook his head, "We’ve been eating since we entered his house, all the way until now. I can’t eat anymore."

Both Liu Huan and Zhou Liru expressed that they were full as well.

Manbao asked Sister-in-law He to cook two bowls of hangover soup.

Bai Erlang shook his hand in disdain, "Although I had a glass of wine, I’m not drunk. I’m not drinking any hangover soup."

Liu Huan also didn’t like it and refused to drink.

Bai Shan said, "It’s not for you."

Bai Erlang cocked his head, thought for a moment, then said, "Oh," realizing, "it’s for Assistant General Nie and the teacher."

Yin Huo noticed the smell of alcohol on him and was somewhat disgusted, "You should go clean up first."

Bai Erlang saw and said, "This smell isn’t from me; it’s from Assistant General Nie. He drank too much, and I got it on me while helping him out... Hey, Assistant General Nie, weren’t you drunk?"

Bai Erlang’s eyes widened as he watched Assistant General Nie climb over the wall from next door.

Assistant General Nie grinned at them, jumped down the wall, and energetically waved, "Changing clothes feels much better. Lord Zhou, let’s talk inside."

Manbao nodded, told Bai Erlang and the others to wash up first, then along with Bai Shan, led Assistant General Nie into the main hall, and asked someone to invite Mr. Zhuang.

Bai Erlang rolled his eyes, then pulled Liu Huan and Yin Huo with him to join the excitement, deciding they could wash up later.

Mr. Zhuang had also changed into a fresh set of clothes and, after drinking a cup of tea, the smell of alcohol on him diminished quite a bit.

He came out smiling, swept his eyes over Bai Erlang and the others, but said nothing.

Assistant General Nie poured himself a cup of tea and started, "I heard before that the Town Leader used to be involved in robbery, but I didn’t expect almost half of this town’s inhabitants to have done similar things."

Bai Shan said, "It seems like they are leading a settled life now, so they shouldn’t target passing merchants, right?"

Assistant General Nie nodded, feeling a bit of a headache, "We looked into it, and the Town Leader’s view is that as long as we don’t cause trouble, they won’t do anything. Moreover, we are safe inside the town; they’ll even protect us. The horse bandits outside don’t dare to enter. This is acknowledged by Suzhou as well, and they even offer tributes to Suzhou every year."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards Liu Huan.

His father is the prefect of Suzhou, second only to the governor, and these internal matters first go through his hands.

Liu Huan silently met their gaze.

The others looked away, Bai Shan nodded with praise, "This is equivalent to accepting peace. Suzhou’s forces can’t reach here easily; this method seems good. At least the ordinary people in the oasis are living decently now and won’t suffer from the plague of horse bandits again."

Assistant General Nie nodded, his expression more serious, "The news of smallpox has already turned chaotic when it reached here. This year, the number of merchants traveling west has decreased, and even merchants coming from the Western Regions to the east have decreased by nearly 80%, so it’s very chaotic outside. Not only are there horse bandits, but also Turkic forces roaming from the grasslands. They all want to take advantage and capture this oasis, and it’s hard for caravans to escape from their hands."

Mr. Zhuang finally interjected slowly, "He asked if we need their protection to be escorted to Liangzhou. I think it might work."