Chapter 18: One Coin, One Toothbrush

That night, Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu kidnapped Yu Ji's parents and took them to a secret room in Xiang Mansion.

Then he sent a message to Yu Ji.

Yu Ji was anxious to keep the appointment for her parents' sake.

When they arrived at the place, they saw the masked Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu.

Xiang Liang took out the personal belongings of Yu Ji's parents.

When Yu Ji saw this, her face turned pale, "What did you do to my parents?"

"Don't worry, they are fine now."

Yu Ji clenched the silk scarf in her hand and asked in panic, "What do you want? If you want money, I can give it to you. But you have to ensure the safety of my parents."

Xiang Liang shook his head and said, "No, our goal is money."

"Then what do you want?"

Xiang Liang said slowly: "I need you to help me gather intelligence when you arrive in Shaqiu County."

Yu Ji frowned and asked, "Information?"

"Yes! Intelligence. I want to know why the Great Qin Emperor stayed in Shaqiu."

When Yu Ji heard this, she knew that the two masked men in front of her were most likely the remnants of the six kingdoms who wanted to rebel.

Yu Ji naturally knew that if she helped them to gather intelligence, the consequences would be serious.

Once the matter is leaked, the three generations of the clan will be implicated.

But now my parents are in their hands.

If you don't agree to them, they will definitely kill your parents.

Besides, they had already revealed the news to me, so there was no way they would let me leave like this.

"Okay, I promise you. But you have to ensure the safety of my parents. Otherwise, I will report to the county governor that there are rebels in Wu County."

"Okay, go back and wait for the notice to go to the dunes. I'll send someone to look for you when you come out of the dunes."

Hearing this, Yu Ji felt very disappointed.

The bandits could get the caravan to take her to the dunes.

This shows that someone has a very high status in Wu County.

There is no way a weak woman like me could compete with them.

ah~
The two masked men turned and left.

Suddenly Yu Ji saw the shoes of one of the men in black.

She knew those shoes!
That belonged to Xiang Yu of the Xiang clan.

He has been trying to please me recently, and then he lifted a thousand-pound tripod outside the building.

That's why Yu Ji remembered him.

He is exactly the same size as the masked man!
Now Yu Ji knew who kidnapped her parents!
The Xiang family!
Originally he was a noble of the State of Chu.

No wonder there are thoughts of rebellion.

No!

If I really do what they say, the outcome will probably not be good.

This group of people will never let themselves and their parents live.

Because they want to eliminate the risk of leaking information.

It seems that my only chance to save myself and my parents is in the dunes!
Only there would he have the opportunity to escape surveillance and report to the Qin government the Xiang family's intention to rebel.

Yu Ji understood that Xiang Yu and his men would definitely find someone to monitor her before she reached Shazhou.

Prevent yourself from telling on others!

Only in the dunes where they need to gather intelligence themselves can the possibility of their surveillance be eliminated.

Yu Ji turned around and walked back to her residence.

She hopes she can meet someone who can help her in the dunes...

Shahe Village.

It was just getting light.

Ying Zheng and Wang Jian led their men to the entrance of the village.

The idea is that since I'm going to have a free meal at noon, why not have an extra meal.

Ying Zheng came to Shahe Village for breakfast.

Ever since I tasted the food in Shahe Village, the imperial cuisine really doesn’t taste good.

Then when they set out, they met Wang Jian, who had gotten up early and was exercising with the soldiers.

So Wang Jian followed.

After all, he had never tasted the breakfast in Shahe Village.

The villagers have become accustomed to the arrival of Ying Zheng's group.

They all knew that Ying Zheng was doing business with Zhao Yi.

To put it simply, it is to send money to the village.

So they were all very welcoming to Ying Zheng.

Led by the villagers, Ying Zheng and Wang Jian arrived at the door of Zhao Yi's house. Then they saw Zhao Yi brushing his teeth with a toothbrush in the yard.

Although the house Zhao Yi lives in is a cement house (his mother’s old house next to it is preserved as a memorial and has not been demolished).

The room even had running water through bamboo pipes.

But there is one thing that Zhao Yi cannot solve yet.

That's electricity.

Because Zhao Yi doesn’t have the production drawings of the generator yet.

So without electricity, there will be no electric lights.

There was no electric light so the room was very dark at dawn.

That's why Zhao Yi brushed his teeth outdoors.

Ying Zheng felt that Zhao Yi enjoyed his life better than he, the Emperor of Qin.

Cleaning your mouth yourself is just gargling with salt water or tea.

Zhao Yi actually used an exquisite brush to brush his teeth.

The reason why Ying Zheng thought so was that people in the Qin era did not develop the habit of brushing their teeth.

The custom of brushing teeth did not appear until the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, due to the influence of Buddhism, the practice of using willow wood sticks to loosen and clean teeth emerged.

The toothbrush actually appeared in the Song Dynasty.

Wang Jian, who was standing by, asked curiously, "Why are you brushing your teeth so seriously?"

Zhao Yi, who was brushing his teeth, stopped.

"Of course brushing your teeth is to maintain oral health." Zhao Yi rolled his eyes at Wang Jian.

“Oral health?”

Zhao Yi explained bluntly: "It is to prevent teeth from decaying. I think Lao Zhao and Lao Wang must have had a lot of decayed teeth. Do you still have toothaches all the time?"

Ying Zheng and Wang Jian nodded.

They really did suffer from toothaches often, and Wang Jian had three broken teeth.

In fact, in the Qin era.

Ordinary people don't have much chance of having bad teeth.

Or in other words, you don't have the qualifications to have bad teeth.

Because the staple foods for ordinary people are millet, yellow rice, wheat and beans.

And meat is only eaten a few times a year.

Sugar was also a luxury item during the Qin Dynasty.

Only the middle and upper class people can enjoy it frequently.

Without a high-sugar diet, teeth are less likely to decay.

Another most important reason is that the average life expectancy during the Qin Dynasty was around 40 years old.

The person died before his teeth had time to decay.

After hearing what Zhao Yi said, Ying Zheng also wanted to brush his teeth.

"Zhao, do you have an extra toothbrush for us to brush our teeth?"

"Yes. But it's not free. You have to pay for it."

Why is this guy so obsessed with money?

Love money so much?

Even a toothbrush costs me money.

If it were outside, I would want something.

They even wish I would ask for more and they are proud of it.

How dare you ask me for money?
"Okay! How much?"

Zhao Yi raised his finger and said, "One finger is worth one coin."

Zhao Yi would not let go of any opportunity to cheat his father out of money.

Wang Jian, who was standing by, wondered if His Majesty would ask him for money for his toothbrush again when he returned.

"Wow, why don't you just go grab it?"

"Scarcity makes things valuable. I'm the only one who has toothbrushes."

"Hmph. Here you go."

Ying Zheng took out two high-quality coins and gave them to Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi took the money from Ying Zheng with a smile.

Then he took out two spare toothbrushes from a box nearby and handed them to Ying Zheng.

"Then dip this in this brush."

As he spoke, Zhao Yi took a small bowl of white salt and placed it on the table in front of Ying Zheng and Wang Jian.

Ying Zheng and Wang Jian stared at the white salt in the dish...

(End of this chapter)