Chris Clark said angrily, “You child, how can you be so thoughtless? Liu Jingzhou is a renowned scholar of the realm and a relative of the Han imperial family—how could commoners like us call him by name directly? If someone else hears you, you’ll be accused of grave disrespect... Little Ryan, you must be more careful with your words from now on. These days, people’s hearts are unpredictable and hard to fathom!”

Ryan Clark was still a bit disgruntled, but seeing his father’s anxious expression, he thought for a moment, then nodded, indicating he would be more careful in the future.

Is this what they call the difference between commoners and the aristocracy?

Ryan Clark thought, subconsciously glancing at Chris Clark, who was repairing a hoe.

Though they say “Are kings and ministers born different?”, has the gap between classes ever truly disappeared? The death of one privileged class is nothing but the birth of another. Between people, true equality is forever impossible—whether now or in the future, it’s always the same.

Thinking of this, Ryan Clark couldn’t help but feel a bit dispirited.

He sat dazed on the threshold, watching Chris Clark sweat as he worked, but his mind had already drifted far away.

“Old Cao!”

A booming voice snapped Ryan Clark out of his thoughts.

A burly man in his early thirties entered the courtyard, with a dark face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, looking very imposing. Beside him was a sturdy young boy, who looked as strong as a little tiger.

In Ryan Clark’s memory, he did have an impression of these two.

The burly man was William Harris, a hunter from Zhongyang Town; the boy was Matthew Harris, who was very familiar with Ryan Clark.

As a hunter, William Harris naturally had dealings with Chris Clark the blacksmith. Chris Clark’s skills weren’t top-notch, but he was good at repairs. Most importantly, fixing things didn’t require much skill and wasn’t expensive, making it quite cost-effective.

Seeing William Harris, Chris Clark immediately put down his hammer and went up to greet him.

“Old Wang, where have you been lately? Haven’t seen you around for a while.”

“Where could I go?”

William Harris said, taking two animal traps from his bag. “Went to Wuyin a few days ago... By the way, I came today to ask you to fix these two traps for me.”

“Sure, I’ll take care of it right away!”

Chris Clark took the two traps and squatted in the yard with William Harris, discussing repairs.

Meanwhile, the boy Matthew Harris dashed over to Ryan Clark. “Frank, I heard you were sick?”

Matthew Harris was one of the few friends Ryan Clark had in Zhongyang Town. For one, they were close in age; for another, Ryan Clark was frail, while Matthew Harris was robust. Whenever the town kids bullied Ryan Clark, Matthew Harris would always stand up for him, looking after Ryan Clark like an older brother.

Toward this only friend from his previous life, Ryan Clark felt a natural fondness.

Maybe this fondness came more from Ryan Clark’s memories... but what difference did it make? At least in others’ eyes, Ryan Clark was still Ryan Clark.

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened a few days ago—I just fainted all of a sudden. I’ve been lying in bed ever since, only got up today... I’m mostly fine now, just a bit dizzy and my legs are still weak.”

Matthew Harris grinned, “You’re really too frail, you need to eat more good food. In a couple of days, my dad and I will go into the mountains and hunt something tasty for you... Then you’ll definitely get stronger, just like me.”

These simple words warmed Ryan Clark’s heart.

“Matthew Harris, did you and your dad go to the county town?”

“Yeah, we went to the county... but there wasn’t much fun, just a bit livelier than Zhongyang, nothing else.”

“Did you hear any interesting news?”

“Interesting news?”

Matthew Harris thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Didn’t really hear anything interesting.”

The thing Matthew Harris and his father William Harris resembled most was their thick eyebrows. William Harris had a pair of straight, almost connected brows. Matthew Harris was the same, especially when he frowned in thought—his brows would knot together, looking quite amusing.

Ryan Clark asked, “I heard General Xiao Zhang and Liu Jingzhou have formed an alliance?”

“Oh, that? They allied a while ago! It’s been over twenty days, I think... I heard General Xiao Zhang and Liu Jingzhou’s envoy formed an alliance in Rangcheng. Frank, do you know where Rangcheng is? Heh, it takes several days on horseback from Zhongyang. I heard General Xiao Zhang is really formidable—no one can match him in a mounted duel... They say his spear skills are extraordinary. Too bad I’ve never seen him, so I don’t know what he looks like.”

“General Xiao Zhang—is that Zhang Xiu?”

Matthew Harris looked at Ryan Clark in surprise and nodded. “Yeah, General Xiao Zhang is Zhang Xiu! Frank, what’s up with you today? You never cared about this stuff before, but now you’re asking about it?”

Ryan Clark was startled, then quickly smiled. “I heard my parents talking about them last night, so I wanted to ask.”

“I thought so! No way you’d suddenly ask about this for no reason.”

Matthew Harris was a straightforward person and naturally didn’t suspect Ryan Clark.