After being expelled from the mansion, I changed the dynasty by writing novels.

Chapter 164 People actually made heated kang beds!

No one noticed a letter on the desk in the bookstore, addressed to Ye Yuwu.

"Let's not worry about that for now, we have more important things to do," Liang Suxin said to Bai Zunxing.

They quickly put the matter out of their minds and went outside.

"Zunxing, isn't your brother coming back to celebrate New Year's Day with you this year?"

“Oh, my brother is still out on business and wrote to tell me he won’t be back in time for New Year’s Day.”

"It's alright. You can come to my house later. My parents like you very much, and we can spend time together then."

Bai Zunxing nodded, then suddenly remembered something and looked at her with a mischievous grin, "But, Sister Liang, how are things between you and Guan Yan?"

Upon hearing Guan Yan's name, Liang Suxin's eyes began to dart around, "What do you mean, 'what happened'? It's just like that!"

"Oh dear, I heard that he has gained the favor of Master Sun and can take the imperial examination next year. If he can become the second-highest scorer, then you can tell your parents about your relationship."

"That's a long way off!" After saying that, Liang Suxin strode forward, leaving Bai Zunxing behind.

"Sister Liang, why are you walking so fast! Wait for me!"

Just then, winter's chill began to spread, and a biting wind blew.

Snowflakes falling from the sky, accompanied by the cold wind, fluttered their hair and skirts.

New Year's Day brought another round of extreme cold.

After waiting for the New Year to pass, the snow cleared and the bright sunlight pierced through the silvery layer of the vast sky, finally ushering in the sunshine.

The remaining snow on the ground had melted in patches, and there were more and more people on the street.

Several women walked down the street, carrying baskets, buying groceries while chatting with those around them.

"This year has truly been a good New Year!"

"Yes, we can finally use coal. I heard that several nearby cities have also started using these honeycomb briquettes."

"Speaking of which, Liu Mei, how come your husband was taken away by the soldiers before? Everyone in the alley saw it!" Several women were chatting when they suddenly asked the woman next to them who had her head wrapped up.

"Don't even mention it, sigh~ My husband is always engrossed in studying a storybook. At first, I wondered what was so interesting about studying a storybook, but after a few days, while I was away, he dismantled my pear wood bed! When I came back, I found the room covered in mud, rice husks, and wheat straw, and the kitchen was also completely dismantled."

"Oh my, how can you tolerate this? Your man does nothing all day but get into all sorts of messy things."

“I was angry at first, thinking he was messing around, but he patiently explained to me what he was going to do.”

"So what is he trying to do?"

"He said he read in a storybook about making a heated kang (a traditional heated bed), and since it's so cold here, he thought we should try making one too. Otherwise, it's too much trouble to wake up several times a day to check on the coal fire."

"We're doing alright here. It's even colder in places further north than here. We just use coal to get by. It's much better than the days when we couldn't even afford to use coal. Why are we doing anything else?"

"Girl, you don't actually agree to him messing around, do you?!"

"Sigh, what can we do if they disagree? Half of the house has been torn down, but we still managed to rebuild it! You guys don't know how useful this heated kang is. The stove is connected to the cooking stove, and as long as there's a fire in the stove, the kang is very warm and it can stay warm for a long time. It's much warmer than burning coal in the house." At this point, Liu Mei finally showed a smile.

"Really? Is this really that amazing? What book actually describes this method?"

"You've probably all read this book."

"Don't tease me, sister. I can't read a single word, how could I have read a book!" the woman next to me laughed.

"This story has been told in teahouses, it's the one you all love to hear: Jinchao's Little Chef."

"Really?" Several women nearby exclaimed in surprise.

They've been really into this storytelling lately because the plot is novel; it tells the story of a woman cooking various dishes, which is very popular with women.

"I don't recall mentioning making a heated kang bed at all."

At this point, another woman stood up and spoke up.

"Haha, Aunt Wang, I do remember there was one, but everyone was so focused on listening to how the delicious dishes were made that they naturally didn't pay attention to things like heated kang beds."

Several people nearby nodded in agreement.

While the women were chatting and warming the kang (heated brick bed), Liu Mei's thoughts drifted back to that day.

A few days after the kang (heated brick bed) was finished, New Year's Day arrived.

During the days around New Year's Day, relatives came to our house to offer their New Year's greetings.

These relatives, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), were naturally drawn to this magical object.

She later learned that it was her husband who did it, so she wanted to pay him to do it for them.

Since there was money to be made, and the man was a relative, he naturally agreed.

So before the New Year was even over, the man made kang beds for several relatives, and no one knows how the news spread from one family to another.

The neighbors in those alleys all knew that this kang (heated brick bed) was warm, and they all paid him to make one for them.

The man was overjoyed and agreed to everything.

Unexpectedly, a few days later, government officials came looking for him and tried to take him away without saying a word.

Liu Mei was at home alone with her child, and she was extremely worried. She originally planned to take all the money in the house to the government office to find out what was going on.

Unexpectedly, before she could even gather the money, her husband returned. He didn't say anything, only that he was safe and had come back to pack his belongings for a job for a wealthy person, and that he would be back in a few days.

Then, worried, she followed the man to her doorstep, where she saw two guards with knives standing there. The man didn't let her see him off; he carried his bundle and left with the guards.

The women happened to see this scene. They had run into Liu Mei, who seemed distracted, while they were grocery shopping that day, and couldn’t help but ask her what was wrong.

"Working for a powerful person, really? Or is your man trying to trick you?"

“Absolutely impossible,” Liu Mei affirmed.

"Hey, don't be angry. I didn't mean to say that. If it really is a benefactor, then this benefactor must be extraordinary!"

"Oh? What do you mean by Aunt Wang?" someone nearby asked curiously.

"When I returned home that day, I happened to see Liu Mei's man leaving together with his guards. I was absolutely certain that I recognized the clothes those two guards were wearing!"

My son works odd jobs for the Prime Minister. Once, when I was helping him deliver something, I happened to see a guard dressed like this standing at the gate of the Prince's mansion, clearing the way for someone in a carriage. As soon as the person in the carriage got off, I knelt down along with the people around me. Someone whose status is so high that even the Prime Minister has to kneel before them must be very noble!

"Wow! Liu Mei, if that's really the case, your man has really made something of himself! It seems like your luck has turned around."

Although Liu Mei heard their envious tone, she was very worried.

These people were not wrong; Liu Mei's man, Li Yong, was indeed working for a powerful figure.

However, he never expected that he would be taken directly to the palace.