Chapter 55: Sweet Potatoes Return to Qin, Modu Lives (Additional Chapter)

Upon returning to his quarters, Zhang Hu hurriedly led his men to unload the sweet potatoes from the carriages. Following the National Master's instructions, they selected the largest, sturdiest, and best-looking sweet potatoes, trimmed off the excess foliage, and kept only the roots and stems. After this processing, the roots and stems were stored in a cool place with a moderate level of humidity.

After all, the journey of bringing the sweet potatoes back to Qin was a long one, and it was uncertain how many of these few wagonloads would survive the trip back to the Qin Empire. Across the thousands of miles, the route also included harsh environments like the Gobi Desert and other treacherous climates.

The significance of the sweet potatoes was well known to Zhang Hu's hundred-man squad. These were not the mere "medicinal herbs" mentioned to the King of Parthia, but rather life-saving grain that could sustain countless lives.

Just to be safe, Zhang Hu also had the King of Parthia collect seeds and fruits of many unknown plants, preparing them to be packed and brought back to Qin. Even if he did not recognize these items, the National Master surely would. Perhaps they might stumble upon yet another wonderful discovery.

Half a month later, Zhang Hu, having packed everything properly, set off with several large carts of goods under the escort of the Parthian army, beginning the long journey of returning the sweet potatoes to Qin.

The summer in Xianyang City was exceptionally muggy and hot. The usual tyrants of the Xianyang streets—the stray dogs—now hid in dark corners to escape the heat, completely devoid of their former swaggering appearance.

Inside the Marquis of Zhenguo's residence, Yang Zimo was engaged in parent-child activities with his two daughters. The scorching heat of midsummer was traditionally the time of year for eating melons.

Do you have children? Have your children finished their summer homework? Have you tutored your children to complete their summer homework?

That's right, there was no summer homework in Qin, and Yang Zimo could finally rest easy. However, he still needed to spend a bit more time with his children. While it was right for a man to strive for the sake of his family, he should not neglect the family itself.

Especially when it came to communication with children, a wife would generally understand, as she was an adult capable of weighing priorities. But children lacked such maturity and could throw little tantrums at any moment.

Therefore, it was necessary to carve out some time to accompany family and children. Society today was realistic, and people's hearts were restless. A wife's companionship and a child's growth both required an investment of your time to maintain; otherwise, by the time you earned enough money, your wife might have run off with someone else, and your children would have grown distant from you.

Then what was the point of working so hard—just to leave it for your grandchildren? Why was the bond between grandparents and grandchildren often so close? Because children were young and most in need of someone to play with, while the elderly had basically retired and happened to have plenty of time to play with children.

Thus, whenever he had free time, Yang Zimo would spend it playing with his wife and children. Today, Yang Zimo, along with Wan Niang and the two children, prepared to make shaved ice and ice cream in the courtyard.

Apart from the attending maidservants, there were no other males in the backyard. The family of four wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts designed by Yang Zimo; even Wan Niang had changed into a similar outfit. Both had humble origins and, influenced by Yang Zimo's usual demeanor, were not as constrained in the inner courtyard as other women tended to be.

Wan Niang also possessed a carefree nature, and wearing short sleeves and shorts was certainly much cooler in the dead of summer. Still, she was not quite as bold as women of later generations; the outfit Yang Zimo designed for her featured three-quarter sleeves and trousers that reached below the knees. It was not too revealing, and Wan Niang found it perfectly acceptable.

Xuanji and Xuanyin, the two little ones, each held a large bowl, happily scooping the shaved ice that Yang Zimo had scraped into their own bowls.

Lin Wan-niang sat in a nearby chair, using a kitchen knife to dice fruit and placing the pieces into the little ones' bowls.

Before long, Yang Zimo had shaved several large bowls of ice, topped them with fruit, and drizzled them with honey. It was a pity there was no sugarcane, otherwise, he could have made some red ice jelly to enjoy as well.

Picking up a spoon and taking a large mouthful, it melted instantly on the tongue. The smooth and delicate sweetness of the honey combined with the fragrant and sweet fruit gave a blissful sensation, which, coupled with the icy chill of the shaved ice, made one feel as if they were lounging on a cool beach, feeling the caress of the ocean breeze. Yes, exactly that feeling!

"Ah!"
"Refreshing!"

The four of them immersed themselves in the wonderful sensation brought by the shaved ice, and the muggy irritation brought by the summer day vanished instantly.

"Daddy! Daddy! My sister and I want some more!" Xuanji and Xuanyin held out their empty bowls, calling out to Yang Zimo in spoiled, sweet tones.

Yang Zimo looked back at Wan-niang and saw she too wore an expression of lingering desire. Yang Zimo had no choice but to stand up, pick up the small knife, and start scraping the ice again.

"Each of you can only have one more bowl. Eating too much will give you a stomachache," Yang Zimo said to the two little cuties.
"Understood, Daddy!"
"Daddy is the best! Mua!" Xuanji and Xuanyin happily kissed Yang Zimo on the cheek, prompting Yang Zimo to speed up his ice-scraping movements considerably.

The heartwarming scene filled the attending maidservants with envy; they wished they could swap places with the little mistresses and rush forward to plant a couple of kisses on the Marquis's face.

Northern border of the Kangju Kingdom

A group of people dressed like refugees struggled forward through the boundless snowy forest. If not for the fact that they were all adult men leading warhorses and carrying curved sabers, one would truly have thought they were refugees fleeing from some disaster.

"Great Prince, the snow is too heavy. Our people have been trekking through the snow for half a month now. Many of them can no longer hold on," said Baza, who had been forced to leave Bazar after the Xiongnu war by the chieftain of the Sanchuan tribe, as he spoke to the burly man in front of him.

"How many of our people are left?" the man asked, his sharp eyes gazing into the endless snow ahead.

"Out of the some fifty thousand people who fled with us, fewer than twenty thousand remain. The old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled have basically all died. Of these twenty thousand, most are men, but half of them are barely surviving," Baza said with a pang of heartache.

"Ah! Great Qin! I, Modu, have etched this in my heart! If I do not die, I will surely lead a grand army to slaughter the entirety of your Great Qin and avenge our tribe!" the man roared to the heavens.

"And from now on, call me Great Chanyu!"

This man was Modu, who had escaped in the chaos during the recent Xiongnu war. Yang Zimo had sent people to search for a long time without finding him, and he had happened to cross paths with Baza—the very man driven out by the leader of the Sanchuan tribe. Baza, carrying saddles and stirrups, had encountered the fleeing Modu by sheer coincidence.

After Baza recounted his story, Modu immediately grasped the tactical value of the saddles and stirrups. He led the uncaptured tribesmen to migrate northward, unwittingly arriving outside the northern border of the Kangju Kingdom.

The Kangju Kingdom was located near the Caspian Sea, surrounded by nations such as Dayuan, Parthia, and Yancai. Moving further north from its northern border led directly to the West Siberian Plain, which was currently inhabited by only a tiny number of indigenous peoples.

"Reporting to the Chanyu, a village has been found ahead!" an advance scout returned to report.

"My lads, ahead lies a village with warm houses, roasted meat, and beautiful women. Follow me in the attack!" Modu drew the curved saber at his waist and roared fiercely.

"Charge!" Hearing Modu's voice, the Xiongnu tribesmen pulled out their curved sabers and excitedly charged forward! Finally, they were going to leave this ghost of a place.

"Kill!"

From this moment on, the future of the West gained yet another formidable enemy!