After the city gate was closed, Elder Qin had been staying at home for some time and did not go out much. Occasionally, old friends such as Kang Xian would come over for a gathering, but it was impossible for him to play chess as frequently as before. It was already afternoon when Ning Yi and Nie Yunzhu came over. After chatting for a while in the living room, Ning Yi and Elder Qin walked in the courtyard outside the study and chatted. Nie Yunzhu was called over by Yunniang and Mrs. Qin. They probably already knew about Yunzhu's matter, so they asked about her well-being and were quite friendly.
Previously, the plan to let Nie Yunzhu acknowledge Elder Qin as her adoptive father was only brought up by Ning Yi. The relationship between Elder Qin and Nie Yunzhu had not been officially made clear, so it was better for Ning Yi to bring up this matter at this time.
Due to some problems that occurred in this matter, Ning Yi naturally could not say that it had nothing to do with him and Nie Yunzhu. Of course, he would not think that Nie Yunzhu had any responsibility. It was hard to say whether the matter was right or wrong, but since it had happened, it was the right thing to do to deal with it and not cause trouble for others. Fortunately, Elder Qin was also a sensible person. When Ning Yi roughly told him about what happened in Yan Cui House last time, he also understood what the other party meant and why the other party mentioned this.
However, after thinking for a while, he did not immediately show his attitude towards this matter.
"This year's flood and the scale of the disaster upstream have not been seen for decades. Although the Jiangning area has been closed, it is calmer than in previous years. Does Liheng know why? " Elder Qin paused, "Although the disaster in Jiangzhou is serious, there are more than 200,000 homeless victims in the shelter organization, and the number is still increasing. However … it is said that everything is in order, and there is no epidemic. In addition, Fen Zhou, Jin Zhou, and other places in Hedong Circuit that were hit by the Yellow River burst, Lang Zhou, and Gui Zhou are also making proper arrangements. If it was in the past, I'm afraid that the epidemic would have already started and it would be difficult to control. Although there is an epidemic this year, it is separated by some orderly counties and did not continue to spread …"
"Oh." Hearing Elder Qin mention this, Ning Yi nodded. Ever since the city gates were closed, it was difficult for information from the outside to get in. Ning Yi didn't care much about it. Only after listening to Elder Qin's words did he get a rough idea of what was happening outside of Jiangning.
"Most of the places like Jiang Prefecture, Fen Prefecture, Jin Prefecture, Lang Prefecture, and Gui Prefecture have used or referred to Liheng's methods. Although it looks simple, the effects are very good. I've been thinking about the principles behind it recently. But in any case, hundreds of thousands of people had benefited from Liheng. Liheng's visit today was only to discuss some trivial matters regarding my reputation … "
Elder Qin laughed, but Ning Yi also shook his head and said with a smile, "That's a different matter. Originally, I wanted to take advantage of you. Elder Qin, you don't have to bother about trifles. If you agree, it's a favor. If you don't, it's also reasonable. After getting a favor, it wouldn't be good to push one's luck. Elder Qin, you may not care about it, but I can't take it for granted. This is the principle of being a man. It's hard to say whether this is right or wrong, but reality is reality after all. There are all kinds of problems, and it wouldn't be good to add more trouble. Most importantly, it's not that I feel bad, but that Yunzhu feels bad … "
Elder Qin nodded and didn't say anything after that. After a long time, the two of them set up a chessboard in the study. Only then did the old man say, "A few days ago, I heard Duke Ming talk about the conversation you had with Li Pin. Has Liheng met with Ming Yun recently? "
Ning Yi shook his head. "There have been quite a lot of things recently, but he found a pair of weird siblings to come over and ask me to be their disciple. Ah, it's good that he hasn't seen them. I heard Brother Lu say that he might scold me when he sees me … "
"Ah, it's that pair of siblings from Zhou Yong's family. They have great potential, but their status is limited. If they really want to do something in the future, I'm afraid it won't be easy." Elder Qin smiled and raised a chess piece, then paused. "It's also because of what Liheng said. I discussed it with Ming Yun for several days, and then heard about the Su mansion. Ming Yun made it sound complicated. Does Liheng have an idea?"
"I should be able to resolve it."
Ning Yi didn't take this matter to heart and answered casually. Elder Qin looked at it, then finally put down the chess piece. "That's good. That Li Pin is a good friend of yours, and I heard Ming Yun mention that he's quite talented. If he comes to the capital, I can write a letter on his behalf and recommend him. "
"If that's the case, I thank you on behalf of De Xin." Ning Yi smiled. "That's right, that assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Fu Ying, wasn't he in cahoots with you in the past?"
"What a nonsense brat …" Old Qin laughed and scolded. Then, he sighed, "When Li Pin was chosen, I had already resigned. However, Fu Ying was indeed promoted by me back then. This person's character is a little eccentric, but he does things well. In some matters, it's common for people to side with those who are different, so I can't interfere too much. I heard Ming Yun say that Li Pin's policy speech that day was at odds with Fu Ying's plan to increase his salary, and her words were a bit too intense. Scholars are like this, every year there are articles that shock people to death. Who knew that Fu Ying's reaction would be so intense? He was probably mocked by some political enemies. Heh, this kind of thing … "
From the beginning to the end, Qin Siyuan didn't mention the conversation between Ning Yi and Li Pin again. The two played a game of chess, and only talked about trivial matters, of course, some of the foreign situations. When Ning Yi and Nie Yunzhu bade farewell, it was almost evening. Neither of them mentioned their stance on the matter of the "adopted daughter" again.
"Did Liheng … say it already?" On the way back to the small building by the river, Nie Yunzhu asked softly. Ning Yi nodded. "Yes, but he didn't nod or shake his head."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, Madam Qin and the others are quite good to you, right?"
"Yes, quite good." Yunzhu nodded with a smile. "I'm just afraid that they'll be implicated."
"In the future, just treat them as relatives. There's no need to deliberately acknowledge them. After a period of time, things will naturally develop. They're all good people, so it's fine to treat them as friends."
"… Hmm." Yunzhu thought about it and nodded. "Mistress Yun asked me to accompany her to go shopping tomorrow, and she asked me to bring Jin'Er with me."
"That's good."
After sending Yunzhu home, Ning Yi was about to turn back when the person on the other end of the line stopped him.
"Liheng, about the Su family …" Yunzhu looked at him and thought for a while before she found the right words. "It will definitely be done well."
Ning Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Don't worry."
When he got home, it was already time for dinner.
After that, it gradually entered August. This was a serious and chaotic month, but it seemed to be as calm as before. Except for some traders with real intentions and brains, perhaps very few people could clearly see what happened in the weaving industry in Jiangning during this month. They could not see the trajectory of the surging undercurrents.
The city gates were closed, but life went on as usual. It seemed like every day was no different from the past. Work went on, life went on. The brothels were still having fun every night. The victims inside and outside the city were getting more and more distressed. If it weren't for the new disaster management methods used by the other states to reduce the pressure here, the depression in the city would probably be even more serious. Of course, even if it was serious, it was something that could only be felt at the level of ordinary people.
The matter of the weaving bureau's imperial merchants would surface for the first time in late August. It was said that there would be a gathering of the weaving industry to celebrate the success of the disaster relief. Then, interested merchants would be invited to take out cloth and offer it to the imperial family. The decision had been made, but the news would only circulate privately. For example, to celebrate the success of the disaster relief, the merchants would definitely have to take practical actions to give out enough porridge and share the pressure with the government.
The few merchants who had accepted the imperial merchants in the past naturally wouldn't give up. The interest shown by the Su family, the Xue family, and the Wu Family towards the imperial merchants had also led some medium-sized merchants, causing the recent situation in the weaving industry to become muddy. Among them, although Su Boyong was paralyzed and Su Tan'er was bedridden, the momentum shown by the Su family was still the strongest. At the end of July, Su Boyong's condition stabilized. After the news was made public, Grandfather Su's efforts and various connections finally paid off. The murderer who tried to assassinate Su Boyong, Chen Er, confessed that he was indeed ordered to assassinate Su Boyong. The Su family's killing of his wife and children was purely a setup.
As for who was behind Chen Er, he couldn't find out because he didn't know. But after the bad reputation was cleared, there was no doubt that the Su family's bargaining chips to win over the imperial merchants had increased. The shopkeepers and stewards of the first branch were greatly motivated. The second and third branches were relatively silent. Even if the Su family's whole family was killed, the impact on the foreign businesses would be limited. On the contrary, the imperial merchants would bear the brunt. Now that Grandfather Su was opening the way for the imperial merchants, could it be that the Su family would really be helmed by Su Tan'er in the future?
In the midst of the chaos, no one could see what would happen at the end of August. The second and third branches seemed to be calm. The Xue family, the Wu Family, and some other merchants were also competing for the imperial merchants in their own ways. They discussed business, looked for connections, and did not show any conspiracy or calculation behind the scenes. During this period, Ning Yi, as the temporary helmsman of the first branch of the Su family, began to integrate into the big family of the Jiangning weaving industry.
He participated in some social activities, and of course, he also got to know some people. In the past, as a scholar, he didn't have to participate in these things. Now that Su Tan'er was bedridden, he also had to participate in some social activities. During this period, the most important was probably the gathering of the weaving industry at the end of July. This was a monthly gathering. Because in Jiangning, the weaving industry also had their own guild, and the head of the guild was the Wu Family, who was now the leader of the cloth industry in Jiangning.
During this period, Ning Yi also met the father of the two brothers, Wu Qilong and Wu Qihao, Wu Chenghou. As the head of the guild, he was also a modest and authoritative middle-aged man. He specially looked for Ning Yi and talked for a long time. "We are all in the same trade. Although we are opponents, we are also good teachers and helpful friends. All along, if any family has goods that are not in place, others will lend a helping hand. This is friendship. I have long heard of Nephew Liheng's talent. This time, the Su family has a good chance of winning the imperial merchants. Nephew, you don't have to take the words of the Xue family to heart … "
The reason why he said this was probably because the Xue family and the Su family had long been at odds. According to Chan'er and Juan'er, every time, it was the Wu Family who mediated. This time, when he met Xue Jin and Xue Yan's father, Xue Sheng, they were somewhat indifferent. However, Xue Yan's attitude towards Ning Yi was not bad. He specially looked for Ning Yi to have a meal and apologized for what happened last time.
In addition, there was Chen Dixin from the Chen family, Lu Tianhai from the Lu family, and so on. After nearly a month, Ning Yi roughly knew the whole outline of the Jiangning weaving industry, and these people in the weaving industry probably had a simple understanding of him.
Of course, he was talented and learned. After all, he was the number one scholar. However, when he entered the business, it was obvious that he was somewhat at a loss. Although he didn't participate in many social activities, he spoke with elegance and temperament, and also had an unchangeable scholarly aura. When the Su family was in trouble, this man who married into the Su family obviously wanted to help. However, inexperienced things were inexperienced. After a month, he actually didn't accomplish anything.
In fact, after making a mistake with He Fang, he only did a total of two things.
The first was that he negotiated a business deal. This was originally a business deal without any suspense, but since it was Ning Yi who signed the contract, of course, he had to put it on him. There was nothing to discuss about this matter, but at least it was a matter. And the second thing, after racking his brains, he made a reform in one of the shops.
At that time, in the eyes of others, Ning Yi seemed to be very confident. He racked his brains for a few days, then made some rules, and let one of the shop assistants use it first. For this, he trained this group of assistants for three days. When customers entered the shop, they said, "Welcome." Then, they standardized some words and phrases, and added a lot of seemingly specialized nouns. However, this reform only lasted for three days. They scared away many customers because it made people feel cramped.
Therefore, this scholarly reform met with failure and became a joke in the Jiangning weaving industry. Ning Yi seemed to have suffered a blow. Since then, other than the fixed daily inspection, he didn't do anything else.
During this period, he also saw He Fang. Of course, he didn't talk too much about the imperial merchants. He also followed a few shopkeepers to solicit business, and met some officials from the weaving bureau, but he didn't play much of a role. In the past, some people felt that he wouldn't be so simple — for example, Xue Jin. After more than 20 days, he also lost interest. The reason was very simple. A scholar entering the business world should be like this.
In the matter of the imperial merchants, this guy couldn't play any role. Maybe he was just a cover. After that, no one let down their guard. This was because the group of shopkeepers from the Su family had been operating under Ning Yi's performance, pushing the imperial merchants' voice to the highest.
There was no conspiracy. During this period, the Su family had been using an extremely open and aboveboard method to push the imperial merchants' process. Whether it was the Xue family or the Wu Family, they couldn't do anything about this. Because in the end, the Su family had prepared for several years, but they didn't. Once their foundation was weak, at least on the surface, they could only fall behind.
During this period, the siblings, Zhou Pei and Zhou Junwu, often came to the Su family's cloth shop and waited for Ning Yi to come. Gradually, they got along with each other in a slightly strange way …
The seemingly calm, boring, tense and monotonous August was gradually approaching the end of the month. The tide of darkness was accumulating under the surface as usual. At this time, no one knew that the next few days, as well as the month that followed, would completely change the structure of the Jiangning weaving industry. Of course, many people might already know this. But they guessed in the wrong direction.
Ning Yi just looked at it casually and bored. For him, there were several interesting things in life. However, at this time, the people shown in each cloth shop didn't really enter into the depths of his mind. He occasionally glanced at it casually, then turned his eyes to other places.
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