HCT – Chapter 6 Yellow Millet and Red Date Cake

Having just made his nephew angry, Zhu Xiang held back his laughter this time.

It was perfectly normal for children to make sound effects while playing with toys. If the little “woof woof”-ing human cub weren’t the First Emperor himself, Zhu Xiang would simply find him cute.

Of course, now he found him even cuter. Double the cuteness. He could barely resist scooping up his adorable nephew for a kiss or two.

Zhu Xiang, in fact, did exactly that. While little Ying Zheng was gleefully playing with his wooden dog, Zhu Xiang swooped him into his arms and planted a big kiss on his smooth little forehead.

Startled, Ying Zheng dropped the toy dog in his hand.

What now, Uncle?!

“Here.” As Ying Zheng sat dazed from the surprise kiss, Zhu Xiang quickly shoved the jade pendant into his hand, diverting the boy’s attention.

Xue glanced at it and said, “Isn’t that the jade pendant Xia Tong gave you? Weren’t you always treasuring it, not even letting Master Lin touch it? Why give it to Zheng’er? What if he drops and breaks it?”

Xia Tong was a down-on-his-luck scholar who had once worked in their household. Sickly and mild-mannered, he was a skilled accountant and close to both Zhu Xiang and Xue.

When Xia Tong had finally saved enough money to travel abroad in search of a future, the couple had exchanged household goods for a tael of gold to give him as a parting gift.

In this era, “gold” usually referred to brass. However, because the state of Chu had actual gold mines and flaunted its wealth by gifting real gold, gold did circulate in the market. The tael they gave Xia Tong was real gold.

In terms of value, one tael of gold equaled about a thousand Zhao coins. But because gold mainly circulated among nobles, it had little purchasing power in the common market. Only wealthy merchants hoarded gold.

If Xia Tong lost his luggage or fell into trouble, that gold tael could be his lifesaver in any state.

Zhu Xiang had been working hard for years to build their family’s fortune, so giving away a tael of gold wasn’t a small gesture. It showed how highly he and Xue regarded Xia Tong.

In return, Xia Tong gave Zhu Xiang the jade pendant he always carried close, saying it would serve as a token of gratitude. If he ever rose to power, he’d seek out Zhu Xiang to share in his wealth and success.

“Xia Tong rose from adversity. Zheng’er is also in adversity, waiting for his time to rise. If this jade brought Xia Tong good fortune, it will surely do the same for Zheng’er,” Zhu Xiang said. “Besides, I don’t know what kind of charms nobles prepare for their children. Xia Tong came from a good family. Whatever they prepared for his ‘grabbing ceremony’ probably followed the proper rites.”

Xue replied, “You sure think a lot. I’ll braid a red string so Zheng’er can wear it around his neck.”

Zhu Xiang chuckled. “Later. Let’s eat breakfast first—I’m starving. Zheng’er, is your little tummy hungry too?”

As he spoke, Zhu Xiang patted Ying Zheng’s soft little belly.

Ying Zheng was busy examining the jade pendant, finding it vaguely familiar. But the moment Zhu Xiang mentioned breakfast, his belly gave a perfectly timed growl, and his face turned bright red.

“I-I’m not!” Ying Zheng said, clutching his stomach.

“Come on, Zheng’er, let’s go eat!” Zhu Xiang picked him up and urged, “Xue, hurry up or Zheng’er and I will eat everything and leave you nothing.”

Xue set down her needlework and stood up, exasperated. “Husband, how are you even more childish than a child?”

Hidden in Zhu Xiang’s arms, Ying Zheng secretly nodded in agreement.

He thought he was being sneaky, but from his elevated angle, Zhu Xiang had a clear view of his little chicken-pecking nod.

Zhu Xiang lowered his head and rubbed it affectionately against Ying Zheng’s, smugly declaring, “With a loving wife and darling child by my side, this isn’t childishness—it’s happiness.”

Xue froze, then blushed and looked away. Awkwardly, she said, “Let me hold Zheng’er.”

“Huh? Okay.” Though puzzled by her sudden request, Zhu Xiang passed Ying Zheng over to her.

Xue, who had never cared for a child before, clumsily cradled the small, skinny boy and imitated Zhu Xiang by gently nuzzling her bare, makeup-free cheek against his soft one.

Looking down at the well-behaved child in her arms, then up at her smiling husband, she finally smiled too. “Zheng’er is so light. He should eat more. Chubby kids are cuter.”

“I think so too,” Zhu Xiang agreed wholeheartedly. A chubby little future emperor was adorable—he could slim down later and grow tall. “Give him back. I still want to hold him!”

“No.” Xue quickened her pace, leaving Zhu Xiang behind, and once again nuzzled Ying Zheng’s bare little head.

Zhu Xiang called after her, “Hey? You’re already fighting me over the kid?”

Ying Zheng: “?”

Not only was his uncle acting strange—now his aunt was acting strange too.

Ying Zheng tried his best to think things through, but his stomach let out another loud growl, and his mind instantly went blank.

He wriggled a little, then curled up quietly in his aunt’s warm arms, staring dazedly at the green jade pendant clenched reflexively in his hand. He didn’t want to think anymore.

Breakfast was boiled eggs and yellow millet red date cake.

In this era, staple grains were often referred to as the “Five Grains,” “Six Grains,” or “Nine Grains.”

The Liji Monthly Ordinances listed the Five Grains as wheat, legumes, millet, hemp, and glutinous millet (sorghum). The Lüshi Chunqiu, which hadn’t yet been written, would later add rice to form the Six Grains. The Nine Grains split wheat and legumes into large and small varieties.

At this time, the south had not yet been extensively developed, so rice was rare in the northern Central Plains. Large and small varieties of wheat were foreign imports with immature cultivation techniques, while legumes and hemp were hard to digest and considered staple food for commoners. Therefore, millet (specifically foxtail millet) was the top staple, with glutinous millet second in importance.

Glutinous millet is yellow millet.

However, although it held a high position in classical texts, glutinous millet was hard to hull and had a lower yield, making legumes the real staple for commoners.

Soybeans were used for rice, and bean leaves made into soup. Strategies of the Warring States states, “What the people eat is mostly bean rice and leaf soup.” People like Zhu Xiang were referred to as “bean-leaf eaters.”

When Ying Zheng was being mistreated, his millet and yellow millet rice would be taken by the servants and replaced with bean rice. So he knew how rare millet and yellow millet were.

As for rice—that was something he had only glimpsed in fragments of memories from his dreams. Unfortunately, those memories lacked sensory details, so he couldn’t even recall what rice tasted like.

Yesterday, when he ate the lamb milk rice porridge and shepherd’s purse lean meat congee, he had his suspicions. But since they had been cooked into a mush, the ingredients weren’t recognizable, and he had been too anxious to focus on that.

But now, seeing a breakfast of yellow millet cake and boiled eggs, Ying Zheng was stunned.

He asked in a small voice, “Uncle, are we… very rich?” So my birth mother’s family is this wealthy?

Zhu Xiang, who was peeling an egg for him, paused and let out an “ah,” glancing at the breakfast on the table—which seemed extremely simple by modern standards. His expression carried a faint, incomprehensible trace of loneliness and sorrow.

“Your uncle is now a retainer of Zhao’s High Minister Lin Xiangru. I manage the farming affairs on his fief, so compared to others, I suppose we’re relatively well-off. At the very least, there’s no shortage of food for Zheng’er.”

Ying Zheng was very sensitive to people’s emotions. Realizing his uncle was upset, he immediately stuffed a piece of millet cake into his mouth, afraid to say another word.

But as soon as the yellow millet cake entered his mouth, his eyes—already large—widened into perfect circles, then quickly narrowed into happy crescent moons.

So sweet, so delicious!

Ying Zheng, who rarely tasted sugar, was instantly entranced by the cane sugar–sweetened yellow millet cake.

Sugarcane had likely been introduced during King Xuan of Zhou’s reign. At this time, it was called “zhe” (柘); the modern term “zhe” (蔗) wasn’t used until the Han dynasty. Though sugar extraction wasn’t yet developed, sugarcane juice had become a common seasoning among the wealthy.

Since Zhu Xiang managed Lin’s farmland, whatever the Lin household ate, he could too. He had saved some sugarcane and turned it into syrup, storing it so they could still taste sweetness after the season ended.

He had also given the sugar-making recipe to the Lin family, which earned him the large house they now lived in.

Lin Xiangru presented the recipe to the King of Zhao. Though it didn’t win Zhu Xiang an official scholar title, it did get him a few bolts of palace-made silk.

The king forbade him from profiting off the recipe or sharing it, declaring sugar-making a palace monopoly. However, he generously allowed Lin’s household and Zhu Xiang to continue making sugar for personal use.

No child could resist the taste of sweetness.

Ying Zheng’s pace of eating the millet date cake doubled, startling Zhu Xiang into dropping his half-peeled egg and snatching away the half-eaten cake from his nephew’s hands.

Ying Zheng reached out to protect his food, but failed. His eyes instantly filled with tears.

“Eat slowly. What if you choke?” Zhu Xiang handed him a cup of water. “We steamed a lot of these cakes. Even if you stuff yourself silly, you won’t finish them all. What’s the rush?”

Ying Zheng blinked away his tears. “I can… have more?”

Zhu Xiang smiled, the loneliness on his face melting away. “Of course. Didn’t I just say—your uncle won’t skimp on food for you.”

Ying Zheng took a sip of water, then looked up with hopeful eyes at the cake in Zhu Xiang’s hand.

Zhu Xiang handed him back the half-eaten millet date cake and reminded him again, “Eat slowly. Especially when you’re eating dates—don’t forget to spit out the pit.”

Under Zhu Xiang’s repeated warnings, Ying Zheng finally slowed down a little. His eyes curved again into those happy little crescent moons.

Zhu Xiang continued peeling eggs and teased Xue about her nephew: “Raising kids is really a lot of work, huh?”

Xue earnestly took mental note of the fact that “children shouldn’t eat too fast” and replied, “Yes.”

Ying Zheng, with his crescent-shaped eyes, stiffened. W-Was he being disliked?

Zhu Xiang placed the peeled egg into the small bowl in front of Ying Zheng. “Eat the egg slowly too. If you’re not used to the taste of boiled eggs, dip it in the sauce. Kids need to eat more eggs to grow smarter, no being picky.”

Boiled eggs were a hot commodity that even the servants would scramble for. But his uncle had personally peeled one for him. He didn’t dislike him. Ying Zheng let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He quickly shoved the millet cake into his mouth, cheeks puffing up and deflating, spat out a date pit, then reached out and picked up the egg, taking a small bite.

Ying Zheng’s crescent-shaped eyes went round for a moment, then curved back into crescents. The egg is so tasty~

“Try the sauce your uncle made.” Zhu Xiang pushed the small dish of mushroom sauce toward him.

Ying Zheng dipped the egg lightly into the dark sauce and took another careful bite, as if afraid the egg might fly away if he bit too hard.

That one bite—his first time ever tasting mushrooms—felt like his taste buds had been punched with deliciousness. His mouth immediately filled with saliva.

He swallowed hard, furrowing his little brow with a deeply conflicted expression.

It was so tasty… he didn’t even want to take a second bite, as if eating more would ruin the perfection of the first.

Zhu Xiang nearly clutched his face in glee, dangerously close to being overwhelmed by the cuteness.

Now you know why those heartwarming parenting shows on Bilibili are called “Macho Man Shows”? Because this is what real men should be watching!

“Darling, don’t just stare at Zheng’er—have a bite yourself.” Xue couldn’t help smiling.

Zhu Xiang laughed. “I can’t help it, Zheng’er is too cute. I’m practically full just from how adorable he is.”

Still clutching the egg he’d nibbled on, Ying Zheng was quietly grappling with a strange sense of “crisis,” and raised his head in confusion. “Cute?”

Zhu Xiang explained, “Cute means someone who makes others love them.”

Ying Zheng blushed, the inexplicable sense of “crisis” dissipated, and he lowered his head to focus on nibbling the egg again.

Why was I praised again? Did I do something?

Ying Zheng felt a bit dazed.

“Truly.” Xue looked at him gently nibbling on the egg, and the last lingering trace of resentment in her heart dissolved.

The man Chunhua cast aside is the best man in the world. The child Chunhua abandoned is also the best child in the world. The one who was wrong was Chunhua—not the man, not the child.

Xue peeled another egg for Ying Zheng and said gently, “Your uncle said you should only eat two eggs a day, more than that is hard to digest. Here, have another.”

Ying Zheng licked his fingers nervously and stammered, “Th-thank you, Auntie.”

Xue frowned and turned to Zhu Xiang. “Zheng’er’s afraid of me.”

Zhu Xiang swallowed the millet cake in his mouth. “It’s totally normal to be afraid of you. I’m afraid of you too. You’re the head of the house. Zheng’er and I both live under your rule—who wouldn’t be afraid of the matriarch, right Zheng’er?”

Ying Zheng: “Pfft—cough cough cough.”

Xue hurriedly patted his back. “Darling! Don’t joke while eating! Zheng’er, are you alright?”

Ying Zheng gulped down some water and suppressed his coughing. “I-I’m okay.”

Zhu Xiang raised both hands. “My bad. But I wasn’t joking.”

Xue: “Darling!”

Ying Zheng looked at Zhu Xiang, who winked at him, and for some reason couldn’t help but smile.

Zhu Xiang lowered his raised hands and smiled. “See? He’s not afraid of you, just a little nervous. I’m serious—children can instinctively sense who holds the most power in a household. Zheng’er probably noticed that you’re the most capable and wants to leave a good impression, so he gets nervous. Right, Zheng’er?”

Ying Zheng followed his uncle’s lead. “Mm, I’m not afraid of Auntie, just a little nervous.”

“I see. That makes sense. You just arrived, and your uncle and I are still strangers to you,” Xue said, gently wiping Ying Zheng’s face. “Sorry, I was being too hasty.”

It was the first time an adult had ever apologized to him. Ying Zheng didn’t quite know how to respond.

Zhu Xiang started rambling again. “Zheng’er, when you don’t know how to reply, just smile. Like this—learn from your uncle. Smile.”

Zhu Xiang curved his mouth into a rigid, ID-photo-style grin.

Ying Zheng believed him, tried his best to curl his lips up into a smile, tilted his head up, and nervously watched Xue’s reaction.

Xue suddenly gasped softly, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Ying Zheng was startled. “Auntie?!”

Xue bent down and pulled him into her arms, gently patting his back as she choked up, “Auntie’s fine, really. Just… it makes me so happy to have a child who looks so much like your uncle.”

Ying Zheng, cradled in her arms, was stunned.

Zhu Xiang’s smile faded as he walked over and pulled both Xue and Ying Zheng into his embrace. “Sorry, Xue. This is all my fault.”

Back when Zhu Xiang was gravely ill, Xue had walked a long way and knelt for hours to beg for medicine to save him. Afterward, she worked tirelessly to care for him during recovery, which left her body frail.

But they would never have a child—not because of Xue’s health, but because Zhu Xiang had already died once.

Though born with remnants of past-life awareness, Zhu Xiang was still of this time. His soul had only fragments of his previous life’s knowledge—enough to make him smarter, more mature, and more driven than his peers.

During his illness, he felt as though his soul had left his body. He couldn’t move, but he was fully conscious and could “see” all Xue had done for him.

Back then, they were only around eleven or twelve years old. Chunhua had taken all the valuables and left behind only what she couldn’t carry. Surviving together as mere children was unimaginably difficult.

Zhu Xiang had wanted to die. But seeing Xue persevere, he clung to life desperately. He couldn’t leave his only family behind.

Then the wall between his past and present lives shattered. A powerful force pushed him back into his body.

His souls merged.

He recovered. His past-life memories became like a mental library—any knowledge he once memorized could now be recalled at will.

He now had the means to survive—but lost any chance of fully belonging to this era. His modern worldview was too ingrained.

After escaping death, Zhu Xiang received a system, still “activating” to this day.

There was no AI assistant. Just text. The system told him he should have died, but it fused fragments of his past soul to keep him alive.

Its purpose: to observe well-intentioned transmigrators and how they positively affect parallel worlds. If the transmigrator built bonds with important historical figures, the system would grant rewards. But doing nothing wouldn’t incur penalties. The system would not interfere with the host’s life.

It even sent a privacy policy, stating it only recorded “historical ripples,” not private life.

Zhu Xiang believed it.

After all, if the system truly had godlike power, manipulating him would be easy. If such a being showed goodwill, it was probably sincere. Besides, it made no demands.

So when the system told Zhu Xiang he’d already died and could no longer leave behind descendants, he believed that too.

He could change history by influencing others—but he himself could never have children.

Xue was an ordinary person of this era, a woman who saw carrying on the family line for her loved ones as her life’s purpose. Zhu Xiang thought he couldn’t hold her back.

He told Xue they should become sworn siblings, that he’d help prepare her dowry and see her married.

She slapped him hard. His face was swollen for two days.

A painful memory, even in hindsight.

Eventually, he waited until he turned eighteen and married Xue, who had waited all those years. They’ve supported each other ever since.

They had lost their family, nearly lost their lives, lost everything.

But they survived. Built a new family.

Now, they even had a child.

All regrets had been healed. Everything had come full circle.

“Thank you, Zheng’er,” Zhu Xiang said, kissing Ying Zheng’s little bald head. “Thank you for coming into our family. Uh… should I be thanking Chunhua instead?”

Ying Zheng didn’t understand what was going on but was doing his best to reach up and wipe his aunt’s tears with his little hands.

Xue’s tears stopped instantly as she scolded, “You’re not thanking her!”

Zhu Xiang shrank back. “Oh, oh, okay! Not thanking her, not thanking her!”

Ying Zheng: “……”

I believe it now. Auntie really is the head of the household!

After crying, Xue felt embarrassed and used the excuse of making clothes and shoes for Ying Zheng to kick both him and Zhu Xiang out to study with Mr. Cai. She also took Ying Zheng’s jade pendant to thread a red string for him.

Mr. Cai was a failed scholar who traveled from state to state seeking official posts. His status was similar to Xia Tong, but he was much uglier.

Where normal people’s shoulders sloped downward, his were parallel to the ground. Where noses pointed down, his pointed straight out. Where bridges of the nose rose, his looked like it had been punched…

He also had small but intense eyes, perfectly curved legs, and hair that defied taming—a look so offensive to ancient aesthetics that his attempts at seeking office were constantly thwarted.

When he came to Handan, the aristocrats were so horrified they almost went blind and threw him out along with his luggage.

“Uncle showed amazing strength, driving off the thugs trying to steal Mr. Cai’s luggage and rescued him! Mr. Cai was very grateful…”

Of course, Zhu Xiang would never comment on someone’s appearance. He was just boasting to Ying Zheng about his own heroic deeds.

And then, a clump of grass hit him in the head.

Mr. Cai, feeding the horse by the gate, scolded, “Yeah, yeah, you charged in like a hero, got punched flat by the thug, and if I hadn’t drawn my sword, the thug would be kneeling and begging Gentleman Lin not to annihilate his whole family.”

Zhu Xiang said very earnestly, “Mr. Cai, though you are extremely talented, you really lack social grace. When a friend is boasting to their child, you shouldn’t expose them. Shattering a child’s perfect image of their elder—that’s a serious offense.”

Mr. Cai: “Ptui!”

Ying Zheng looked at this shockingly unique-looking Mr. Cai and felt like he’d definitely seen such an unforgettable face before.

Cai… Cai…

Wait—wasn’t this my future official, the esteemed Lord Cai Ze?!