“I can’t see it. There are a few earthen hills upstream of the Bian River, and the divine bird landed on the largest one. That hill isn’t very tall, but it’s quite big. The top is rather flat and covered with trees, so you can’t see the divine bird from below at all. Besides, I heard that when His Majesty went to see the divine bird, there was an accident, and now the whole area is under strict lockdown.” Edward Harris said again, still in a bad mood. The higher-ups just give orders, and the people below run themselves ragged. He and the other yamen runners had been guarding the foot of the mountain for days, without even a proper place to sleep at night.

When James Thompson heard this, his heart sank. The court had already locked down the area around the divine bird, and even the emperor had been alarmed. Ordinary people probably couldn’t get close to the divine bird at all. How was he supposed to go and see if that divine bird was actually an airplane?

“By the way, why are you asking all this? Do you want to see the divine bird too?” Edward Harris glared and asked again. James Thompson’s personality had changed so much that even with the earlier explanation, Edward Harris still found it hard to accept. What’s more, as a squad leader, his professional vigilance made him feel that something was off about James Thompson.

“Who wouldn’t want to see the divine bird? I’ve heard from Douzi and the others that the whole capital has been talking about it lately, so I was planning to go take a look once I recovered. But after hearing what you said, Uncle Wu, I’m afraid I won’t get the chance.” James Thompson also noticed Edward Harris’s suspicion, so he quickly put on a look of youthful curiosity. By the end, his face even showed a disappointed expression.

Seeing James Thompson finally acting like a young boy, Edward Harris relaxed a little. When he’d been talking with James Thompson just now, he’d felt like he was facing not a twelve-year-old child, but someone about his own age. That feeling made him very uncomfortable.

“Uncle Wu, just now you said there was an accident when His Majesty went to see the divine bird. What kind of accident was it?” James Thompson spoke again, changing the subject to avoid giving Edward Harris more reasons to be suspicious. Of course, he was also quite interested in the affairs of Emperor Zhao Huan.

“I don’t know about that either.” Edward Harris looked puzzled for a moment, but then quickly glared and said, “Why are you asking about these things? Are matters concerning the emperor something people like us can inquire about?”

“You’re right, Uncle Wu. I’ll be more careful in the future!” James Thompson immediately admitted his mistake. Even though Edward Harris’s tone wasn’t pleasant, he was actually looking out for him. After all, in this society ruled by imperial power, anything related to the emperor was taboo, even in the Song dynasty, where imperial authority was the most restricted.

“All right, I still feel like there’s something odd about you. I haven’t even had a chance to go home since I got back today, so I won’t sit here any longer. Take care of your injuries, and once you’re better, come work at the yamen with me!” Edward Harris stood up as he spoke. He cared a lot about James Thompson’s family. As soon as he got back today and heard about James Thompson’s injury, he rushed over to visit, not even stopping by his own home.

“Uncle Wu, wait! You probably haven’t eaten yet, right? Why not have a meal here? I also have something I’d like to discuss with you!” James Thompson suddenly called out to stop Edward Harris.

“Eat?” Edward Harris was stunned by James Thompson’s words. He had never thought about eating at James Thompson’s place. After all, he’d come here to deliver food to James Thompson and his sister. Surely James Thompson wasn’t planning to cook a meal for him using the food he’d just brought?

“Yesterday I had Douzi buy some pork offal. If you don’t mind, Uncle Wu, why not have Lily Thompson slice up a plate, and have her buy some wine as well? We can eat and chat at the same time, how about it?” Seeing Edward Harris’s surprised look, James Thompson naturally knew what he was thinking, but he pretended not to notice and spoke again.

“Where did you get the money? It’s one thing to occasionally steal something on the street, but if you rely on that to make a living, sooner or later you’ll get caught and have your legs broken. I won’t be able to save you then!” Edward Harris’s face suddenly darkened. He thought James Thompson’s money came from stealing, since at their age, there weren’t many other ways to earn money.

“You’ve misunderstood, Uncle Wu. These past few days I had Douzi and the others do a little business. We didn’t make much, but it’s enough to feed a dozen mouths. What I want to talk to you about is also related to this little business.” James Thompson smiled again. After speaking, he had Lily Thompson slice up a big piece of marinated sausage, put it in a large bowl, and bring it over. Then he gave her some money to go buy wine.

“Don’t buy too much, half a jin is enough. I still have to be on duty this afternoon!” Hearing James Thompson’s words, Edward Harris looked surprised, but he was still worried about James Thompson spending money, so he instructed Lily Thompson not to buy too much wine. Lily Thompson agreed and skipped out the door.

“What kind of business can a bunch of kids do?” As soon as Lily Thompson left, Edward Harris couldn’t help but ask eagerly.

“It’s not really much of a business. We just clean up the leftovers from the restaurants, heat them up, and sell them to the laborers at the docks.” With that, James Thompson explained the business of folding baskets to Edward Harris.