"Bai Sheng," Lu Ye called her again, his voice tinged with seriousness this time.
"What is it?"
Lu Ye played with her hair, his voice steady, "You and Wen Zhimou selling grain at a low price will inevitably offend your competitors in the city. I estimate that something might happen in the next couple of days, so you must be careful."
According to the information he received, the largest grain store in the county town was Bai Gu Cang, and its owner was Jiang Yuxin, the illegitimate son of the Rongguo Mansion.
Given Jiang Yuxin's personality, he would never let "Mo Sheng Grain Shop" off the hook easily.
Bai Sheng nodded, "That's true. However, Wen Zhimou is the owner of the shop. If anyone causes trouble, they will surely go directly to him. I'll remind him tomorrow."
Lu Ye shook his head, "No, you are more dangerous. Besides dealing with Wen Zhimou, their more important goal is to find the source of the grain. Do you think... Wen Zhimou would betray you?"
"No, he wouldn't betray me. We have a contract, and I also trust his character," Bai Sheng said with certainty.
Lu Ye's eyes darkened slightly, "That's good. If he dares to treat you unfairly in the slightest, I will never let him off."
Bai Sheng smiled, "Don't worry, he probably won't. However, we might have to stay in the county town for a few more days to help stabilize Wen Zhimou's grain shop."
Lu Ye's gaze deepened, "He mainly lacks backing. If he had backing, those competitors wouldn't dare to act rashly."
Bai Sheng sighed, "Indeed. Let's take it one step at a time."
Lu Ye pulled her closer into his embrace, "You don't need to be discouraged. Everything has two sides, good and bad. As long as we can bear the bad side, everything will be fine. Remember, no matter what happens, I'll be here for you."
"Thank you, Lu Ye," Bai Sheng felt a warmth spread through her. She turned over, maintaining her supine position, and reached out to hold one of Lu Ye's hands. His fingers were slender, and his palm had a thick layer of calluses.
Lu Ye also gently turned over to lie beside her. He couldn't let her discover the changes in a certain part of his body; it was too embarrassing.
Bai Sheng said softly, "You're very right, everything has two sides. While enjoying the good side, we must also have the ability to bear risks. Especially in this era, survival is not easy."
Lu Ye tightly held her small hand in his palm, his voice soft, "You just need to be cautious, and don't worry too much about the rest."
"Mm," Bai Sheng turned over and nestled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist, "Let's sleep. We have important matters tomorrow."
In reality, she had long noticed the changes in Lu Ye's body but chose to play dumb. However, she was secretly happy that this man didn't dislike her but had been desperately restraining himself.
"Okay," Lu Ye's voice rumbled from his throat. His body was so stiff it made him feel suffocated. He wanted to move away from Bai Sheng, but he also desperately craved this feeling of his heart racing and his limbs being stiff.
Bai Sheng closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to what Lu Ye had just said.
If everything has two sides, then what about the space in her hand? What unfavorable side did it have? Could it cause them to become reliant on the space and lose the ability to survive on their own in extremely harsh environments?
The space was born for unknown reasons, so would it also perish for unknown reasons?
If the space were to suddenly disappear one day, what would her entire family rely on for survival?
Thinking about this, Bai Sheng suddenly felt enlightened, and the path ahead became clearer.
After an unknown period, the man beside her began to snore softly. Bai Sheng's lips curved into a sweet smile. She shifted her body and snuggled closer into his embrace. The man instinctively wrapped his arm around her.
When Bai Sheng fell into a deep sleep, Lu Ye quietly got out of bed and left the space.
With Bai Sheng's authorization, Lu Ye could freely enter and exit the space, but only within a range of 200 meters, which was the radius within which Hengheng could detect external radiation.
The street was pitch black. Apart from the lazy drumming of the night watchman, all was silent. The entire city exuded the loneliness of the night and a dark, eerie atmosphere.
Lu Ye's toes touched the ground, and he flew onto the rooftops like a phantom.
Lightly treading on the undulating roof ridges, he gracefully soared towards the Mo Sheng Grain Shop.
As he landed on the grain shop's roof, he suddenly noticed a silver-glistening large snake coiled there.
This... wasn't that his own Lightning?
The man and the snake exchanged a glance, and instantly, they understood everything.
The next day, while it was still dark, Wen Zhimou arrived with a carriage to pick up the goods.
Seeing the grain piled up like a mountain in the courtyard, he was stunned for a long time.
To have obtained so much grain overnight, his partner was like a celestial being descended to earth. He was so excited that he wanted to hug the grain sacks and kiss them repeatedly, but he was afraid of affecting his image as a gentleman.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye both looked as if they hadn't slept all night, yawning continuously and feeling groggy.
Wen Zhimou felt both guilty and touched.
Where could he find such a capable and dedicated partner? It was only his good luck to have met them.
The grain shop finally opened on time at the hour of Si. A long line had already formed outside the shop.
Just as customers were eagerly entering the shop to make their purchases, someone suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
Everyone turned their heads. Three or four people were carrying a stretcher, approaching with angry expressions.
A person lay on the stretcher, their face pale, unable to stop vomiting. However, they were only spitting out stomach fluid, with no food residue.
Wen Zhimou's expression changed in alarm. He immediately went forward with his third uncle. Bai Sheng and Lu Ye exchanged a look and followed.
A man in gray clothes, who appeared to be the leader, spread out half a sack of moldy wheat for everyone to see. Then, he cupped his hands towards the queuing customers and said with great sorrow, "Dear neighbors, the person lying here is my brother. Yesterday, he bought a sack of grain from this grain shop and was poisoned by it!
The sack of grain he bought home only had a layer of good grain on top, with the rest underneath being moldy. He didn't examine it carefully after buying it and directly poured it into his grain vat. Last night, after eating, he started vomiting uncontrollably.
We are all neighbors, and I fear you might be deceived. That's why I brought my brother here early this morning so everyone can see what kind of black-hearted merchant this is! They are cheating people! I hope everyone will not be deceived!"
Third Uncle immediately stepped forward and said angrily, "Who are you? How dare you slander us here! Our grain is all fine new grain, never adulterated! We registered all grain sales yesterday. You can check if you bought grain from our shop!"
The man in gray seemed unperturbed, his face wearing an expression of confident certainty. He said loudly, "Meng Family, number 21 Zhi Nan Street."
Third Uncle flipped through the ledger, his expression darkening slightly, "Yes, there is a record. However, this doesn't prove that your moldy grain was bought from us!"