hotmtlnovel Chapter 147: Now I can tell you
Chapter 147: Now I can tell you
Chapter 147: Now I can tell you
Xu Qing never imagined a salt smuggler could be tied to novels.
“Wouldn’t you guys consider rebellion?”
He shifted the topic back, no longer dwelling on the heroic and blood-soaked image of the salt smuggler.
“No way. The imperial court is too powerful. Rebelling has no future.”
“...Fair enough.”
Talking about modern concepts with Jiang He sometimes felt oddly out of place. Xu Qing stood up and glanced at the Maoist textbook on the desk, letting out a sigh.
“If you went back with all this knowledge in your head, Li Longji wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Qin Hao sent him a message, suggesting they grab a meal together. They’d discussed it a few days ago but hadn’t found the time. Today seemed as good as any.@@@@
“‘Food and sex are human nature.’ That’s what Gaozi said,” Jiang He remarked.
“What?” Xu Qing blinked.
“That quote wasn’t by Confucius. It was from a conversation between Mencius and Gaozi,” Jiang He pointed to the computer screen.
“...”
Xu Qing was silent for a moment before sighing. “The internet is truly amazing.”
An ancient person correcting him—it seemed Teacher Xu had become redundant. Jiang He could learn anything on her own.
She continued browsing online with the excitement of an early 2000s netizen, perhaps even more delighted. Modern internet capabilities and speeds were worlds apart from what those pioneers had experienced.
“You stay home. I’m heading out for a bit. Don’t bother cooking tonight; we’ll eat out.”
Xu Qing grabbed his keys, gave a quick heads-up, and left. He took a cab to Jiang City Plaza, wandering through a shop selling bags.
Bags hadn’t been a necessity for Jiang He before, but with summer approaching and clothes getting thinner, the differences between men’s and women’s clothing became evident. Many women’s outfits lacked pockets, especially skirts, leaving no place to carry essentials like phones or keys.
And, apparently, potatoes and corn kernels.
“Hmm... I don’t know.” Jiang He realized she was overthinking too and put the darts back.
When you get something new, you instinctively want to use it—like wanting to build a PC just because you found a mouse pad. Now that she had a bag, Jiang He wanted to load all her belongings into it. Xu Qing understood the sentiment.
After packing the bag, Jiang He considered what else she might need to carry. Meanwhile, Xu Qing received a WeChat message from Qin Hao, who was about to get off work. Qin Hao, along with his girlfriend (still in the “temporary” phase), suggested a place for dinner. With the plan set, Xu Qing took Jiang He out.
Normally, they enjoyed barbecue, but ever since Qin Hao became a police officer, he drank less, which made barbecue less appealing. They chose something else instead, though Xu Qing felt it was a pity. Jiang He had only tried all-you-can-eat barbecue once and hadn’t yet experienced the joy of skewers.
There’d be plenty of chances to fix that—they could always go on their own later.
“Why are you carrying my bag?”
Outside, Xu Qing reached for Jiang He’s bag. She thought he just wanted to take a look, but he slung it over his shoulder instead.
“Bags are something boyfriends carry for their girlfriends... Never mind, here you go.”
Xu Qing handed the bag back, realizing his habit.
Jiang He studied him thoughtfully. “Have you had a girlfriend before?”
“I have.”
“But didn’t you call yourself a purebred dog of some kind?”
“A purebred single dog. I said that when we first met—it was just something to say. What, did you expect me to go into my entire relationship history back then? That’d be ridiculous.”
Xu Qing thought back and realized it would’ve been absurd to casually share his past relationships. If he’d gone into that much detail, he might’ve needed to check into South Mountain Mental Hospital.
“And when I told you this world was peaceful, that people didn’t like fighting and killing, that was only true for our area. There are places with wars and explosions, but we’d just met. I wasn’t going to give you a full geopolitical rundown. Same principle.”
“That makes sense.”
Jiang He thought back. If Xu Qing had mentioned wars, tanks, and missiles when they first met...
“Well, you can tell me now,” she said.
“Huh? Now?” Xu Qing hesitated, then pulled out his phone. “Let me check Baidu real quick. Those country names are tricky—I’ve read the news several times and still can’t remember them. Weren’t you watching with me? Why do I need to explain...”
“I meant your girlfriends,” Jiang He interrupted, tilting her head to look at him.