32: Chapter 32 Technological Breakthroughs

Song Wen came to a sudden realization and muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, his nose twitched. He extended his index finger, carefully dabbed a bit of flour, and put it in his mouth.

“Hmm?! White flour!”

His eyes widened, and he pursed his lips slightly as a rich wheaten aroma swirled between his teeth.

“Whiter than White Snow! Just how was this made?!”

Song Wen kept his voice very low, hardly daring to breathe.

He took a bowl from the side and cautiously scraped the white flour from the table into it bit by bit, finally licking the remaining flour off his hands until they were clean.

“I can't figure it out, I really can't figure it out...”

“How could a family that can afford such refined flour abandon their child to someone else?”

Song Wen shook his head in bewilderment, covered the small bowl of white flour, and placed it in a corner.

“Little darling, let Grandpa see if you've pooped.”

He walked to the bedside and gently lifted Su Mo's swaddling clothes; fair, tender skin gradually appeared before his eyes.

In Su Mo's eyes, Song Wen's smile at this moment seemed quite lewd, looking exactly like a dirty old man.

But his expression didn't change one bit. Having been tempered by countless "needle-to-wheat-awning" encounters in public bathhouses, his thick skin was terrifyingly resilient!

Before long, Su Mo's entire body, including his little pecker, was exposed to the cold air.

“Eh? What's this?”

Song Wen pulled an exquisite, warm jade pendant from beneath Su Mo's bottom and held it up in the air.

The jade pendant was crystal clear and translucent. The character “Su” was carved on the front, while the back featured an exquisite landscape painting. It was clearly worth a fortune.

“Su?”

“Little darling, so your surname is Su!”

Song Wen looked at the jade pendant, then at Su Mo, falling into thought for a moment.

“I picked you up at night, and it was snowing. The sky was dark, the wind was high, and White Snow was fluttering.”

“I'll call you Goudan!”

Hearing this, Su Mo was instantly infuriated, but the curses he tried to utter were mistaken for excitement.

“A lowly name is good; a lowly name makes you easier to raise...”

“Unlike me. What's the use of having ‘Wen’ in my name? What's the use of passing the Scholar examination? I still couldn't withstand a single word from a Wealthy Landlord.”

Song Wen seemed to recall something sad, his wrinkled face drooping long.

“I won't think about it anymore.”

Song Wen suddenly put on a smile and grabbed Su Mo's legs, slowly lifting them.

“Goudan-er, let Grandpa see if you've done a stinky poop.”

When he saw Su Mo's bottom, he suddenly let out a cry of surprise and plucked something out from between Su Mo's buttocks.

Su Mo immediately felt a sense of relief in his rear, and his whole body felt refreshed, as if a long-standing case of hemorrhoids had been uprooted.

“Our Goudan-er is actually a golden toad, spitting out such a large piece of gold.”

Song Wen shook a gold cake—half a finger thick and three fingers wide—in front of Su Mo's eyes.

“A gold cake?”

“This and the jade pendant must have been left by my mother.”

Su Mo stared at the gold cake, slightly dazed.

Song Wen gently wiped the gold cake with his faded sleeves, then pulled a small wooden box from under the bed.

The wooden box had a small copper lock stained with green rust, which clinked and clattered with a crisp metallic sound as he picked it up.

From somewhere, Song Wen produced an exquisite little copper key. With a “click,” the copper lock fell open.

“Goudan-er, I won't waste this money. I'll save it for you to get a wife in the future...”

A smile appeared on his face as he took a small cloth bundle from the wooden box and wrapped the gold cake tightly inside.

Su Mo was quite surprised by Song Wen's words.

This gold cake could have easily provided for them for several years, yet Song Wen didn't use any of it, and there wasn't even a hint of greed in his eyes.

“Old Man Song, I acknowledge you!”

...Time flew by, and ten years passed in a flash.

“Grandpa, let's close up. It's already dark; no more customers should be coming.”

Su Mo closed the shop door and shouted to Song Wen, who was doing the accounts behind the counter.

Now, Su Mo had grown to 1.7 meters tall. He had a slender build and handsome features, with a pair of slightly upturned Phoenix eyes that had captured the hearts of countless young girls. No one would have guessed he was only ten years old.

“Alright, alright, alright!”

Hearing Su Mo's voice, Song Wen snapped out of his daze, rubbed his yellowing eyes, and replied.

“I can't believe the noodle shop actually earned two taels of silver today!”

“It's all thanks to your cleverness, Moer. Even the Great Master of Zuixian Restaurant is full of praise for your noodle-making skills.”

Song Wen looked at the entries in the ledger with a chuckle, the look of praise in his eyes lingering.

“Grandpa, stop teasing me. It's all because you taught me well.”

Su Mo laughed inwardly but brushed it off with a straight face.

How could technological wizardry not taste good!

In this era of scarce oil and salt, instant noodles were practically a dimensional strike.

That's right!

When Su Mo was three, he suggested that Song Wen use that gold cake to buy a shop in a remote location.

Land around the Imperial City was truly worth its weight in gold. Even buying such a remote little spot took a lot of effort.

Strangely, Song Wen agreed easily, leaving the persuasive words Su Mo had prepared unsaid.

As for the ingredients, Su Mo blamed everything on a mysterious person, so Song Wen didn't need to enter the kitchen and only had to manage the accounts.

The noodle shop's business grew more and more popular, to the point where they now earned at least two taels of silver every day.

Su Mo didn't feel much, but Song Wen's life was worlds apart from before.

Nowadays, Song Wen wore a brand-new cotton robe, his graying hair was meticulously combed, and many of the wrinkles on his face had smoothed out.

“Moer, you must be tired. Come, have some water.”

Su Mo had just finished tidying up the shop and sat down when Song Wen timely handed him a bowl of sweet honey water.

“Whew—”

After drinking the large bowl of sweet water, Su Mo let out a long breath.

“Grandpa, it's getting late. Don't busy yourself anymore; go and get some rest.”

Song Wen nodded with a smile, leaned on his cane, and turned to walk toward the back room.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Just as Su Mo was about to blow out the lamp, there was a knock at the shop door. By the dim yellow light, several figures could be seen swaying outside.

Seeing this, Su Mo wasn't afraid; instead, he calmly stepped forward to open the door.

“Brother Mo. (Brother Mo)”

The moment the door opened, three figures shouted in unison.

“Yellow Three?”

“What are you doing here so late?”

The visitor was Yellow Three, who used to collect protection money in this area but was now considered his subordinate.

A few days after Su Mo's noodle shop opened, business became very brisk. Yellow Three caught the scent and came over. Seeing an old man and a young child who looked like easy targets, he demanded five hundred wen a month.

Su Mo had gradually acquired many talents. Although he was only three years old at the time, his strength was astonishing.

How could he tolerate such a thing? He stepped up and gave a left front kick. Yellow Three was sent flying and lay on the ground spitting up stomach acid.

Afterward, Yellow Three wasn't convinced and returned several times, only to be beaten black and blue by Su Mo every time.

Until one day, this fellow suddenly put on a fanatical expression and insisted on recognizing Su Mo as his Big Brother, refusing to leave no matter what.

“Brother Mo, I've got a lead on the matter you asked me to look into!”

Yellow Three's voice was a bit loud, so Su Mo quickly signaled him to be quiet.

“Keep it down, the old man is sleeping. Come inside and talk.”