Starting from the beginning of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, cold weather enveloped Jiangning City. On the eighth and ninth days of the lunar calendar, snow began to fall from the sky. Along with the feather-like snowflakes, a white coat quietly wrapped the entire ancient city.
The accumulated snow was not thick enough to prevent people from going out, but according to the usual practice, since it had already begun to fall, it might not stop until next spring. The snowflakes would fall intermittently for two to three months. If it was a poor family, it would be almost impossible to go out in such weather. In some places, people did not even have winter clothes. When the heavy snow sealed the mountains, they could only wrap themselves in quilts and stay on the kang all day long. For most people in this era, winter was not a good time.
It was better in a big city like Jiangning. After all, the business was developed, and there were many people who were well-off. In the few days after the first snow fell, the school was still open. Of course, the few students who lived outside the city did not come. This was also a common thing. The teacher who gave the lecture had a small charcoal fire, so the students could only rely on the windows and doors to block a little more wind. Fortunately, they were all young and vigorous, so it was not a big problem. Two female students each had a beautiful hand warmer, which they hugged in their arms. Originally, the adults at home did not allow them to come to the school anymore, but they could not bear to miss Ning Yi's story, so they still came to listen to the class.
Elder Qin's chess stall was closed since the weather started to get cold. Ning Yi went to his house a few times, but of course, not too often. However, for the old man, it was naturally a good thing to have someone he could talk to visit him. Once, he met Kang Xian. The old man brought a few ancient paintings over to appraise, and after Elder Qin appraised them, he stamped them.
After the heavy snow fell, Ning Yi made a snowman in the courtyard of the Su mansion. Every night, the scenery of the entire Su mansion was the most charming. Looking out from the second floor, the light spots swimming between the various courtyards and houses were warm, magnificent, and antique. It was clearly an oriental style, but those light spots seemed to be immersed in beautiful oil paintings. If there was a camera, Ning Yi would like to take a few pictures as a souvenir. However, the wind on the second floor was also strong. After standing for a while, Xiaochan wanted to come up and call someone.
On such a night, it was more interesting to sit in the living room downstairs and warm themselves by the fire. They chatted, played chess, and read books. Su Tan'er and a few maids chose fabrics and did some embroidery. The relationship between Ning Yi and Su Tan'er and her servants was naturally not bad. They would sit together and play five-in-a-row chess. Xing'er, who liked to gossip, would occasionally tell some interesting stories that happened in the mansion. Occasionally, the little girls would also argue about the content of the stories that Ning Yi told. They argued about who was more ferocious in the fight between the fox demon and the general, whether General Xia Hou, who liked to eat eyes, had a beard, or whether those female demons who were killed were innocent. The content of the stories varied. Occasionally, they would run over to Ning Yi and ask him to judge the outcome of the battle.
As a result, Su Tan'er also gradually liked Gomoku with simple rules. Every few days, she would check the account book and sit by the side to work on her abacus. Occasionally, the three maids would go over to help. If she played chess with Ning Yi, she would also talk about some interesting stories about the relatives in the mansion and simply reveal some of the relationships between them.
Occasionally, there would be relatives who came over at night. After it snowed, a few of Ning Yi's students in the school would occasionally come over to pay their respects. In fact, they wanted to get some stories to listen to. Purely in terms of storytelling, Su Tan'er also liked to listen to these things. She took a needle and thread and sat by the side to do embroidery while listening to books.
Occasionally, some brothers and sisters would come over. The younger ones called Su Tan'er "Second Sister". Most of them wanted to do something but had no money. They came to complain to her and wanted to extort a sum of money. Su Tan'er treated these people well. These people also knew that as long as they had a sense of propriety, Su Tan'er would most likely give them money. If they asked for a hundred strings of coins, they could always get sixty to eighty strings of coins. However, most of the time, they had to listen to Su Tan'er's advice and nagging. What they got in their hands was enough for them to drink a few nights on the Qinhuai River.
What these people said was an excuse to make progress, but in reality, even Ning Yi, who was not familiar with these cousins, could see clearly. Su Tan'er was still very patient. No matter what excuse the other party came up with, she always acted as if she completely believed it. She followed the topic and gave some sincere suggestions. Then, she told the other party not to spend money recklessly and so on. If she wanted to call them older brothers, she would also be very humble. The image of a younger sister was very obedient. She occasionally joked, "When will the girl from the Spring Wind Courtyard become my sister-in-law …" She was extremely kind to others. After they left, she put away the small box with the banknotes. She still had a beautiful and kind smile. Then, she also told Ning Yi about the interesting things in the past of these cousins. They were all good things. Her sense of pride was overflowing with a strong sense of kinship.
Watching these scenes, Ning Yi felt it was interesting. Perhaps there was kinship, but he also understood why the third generation of the Su family was useless. Su Tan'er's marriage had been delayed for a few years. This year, she was nineteen years old and was already an old lady. However, in Ning Yi's eyes, it was naturally not so. He, the wife of the first branch of the Su family, actually still had the appearance and figure of a young girl. When she spoke and smiled, there was even a little immaturity. However, there was a sense of propriety in all kinds of actions, which was indeed not to be underestimated.
Being able to get together every day to play chess, tell stories, and talk about daily life, the atmosphere between Ning Yi and Su Tan'er was more natural than when they just had a meal every day. Later, Su Tan'er also made an invitation to Ning Yi to go out with her occasionally to visit some people's homes that were necessary to visit.
The Su family's cloth business was big, and there were also many vassal merchants, reliable or unreliable business partners. Occasionally, when Su Tan'er went out to visit other people's homes to talk about business, it was always better to have a man with her. In fact, these visits before the New Year were not very necessary. However, once the New Year was over, it became very important for the two to go out together to visit other people's homes for the New Year. Of course, a few days later, she could be satisfied to find that Ning Yi was at least very competent in the aspect of being a decoration. Of course, after a few days, she would be satisfied to find that Ning Yi was at least very competent when it came to being a decoration.
Ning Yi had little interest in the business of this group of people. When others talked about business, he pretended to drink tea, look at calligraphy, and stare blankly. If there were people who greeted him and tried to find a topic to talk about, he would naturally use the trick of Myriad Essence Oil to brush them off, only appearing to be a polite bookworm. In fact, Su Tan'er only brought him here because she wanted him to be able to deal with other people's greetings naturally and not give people a bad feeling. These people had more or less business relations with the Su mansion. They knew that Ning Yi had married into the Su family, so they did not deliberately make things difficult for him. Of course, there were also people who had heard of Ning Yi's fame and found someone to talk to about poetry and literature. This kind of casual chat was not serious, so naturally, Ning Yi also dealt with it with ease.
Usually, on the day before or the day after on the road, Su Tan'er would tell Ning Yi about the background of the family they were going to visit. Some of them were business seniors who had taken care of the Su family, some were current business partners, and some were fence-sitters. In this way, she and Ning Yi got along very well. When they went out, she would also talk to Ning Yi about the results of this trip with a smile, make a few jokes, or scold him a few times, such as "old fox, you refuse to let me in on anything".
Most of the itineraries were boring like this. Of course, there were occasional exceptions, such as the visit on the 14th of November, which made Ning Yi feel that … he was really bored to death …
*****
"… The He brothers' silk business is quite good. These two brothers are also capable, but they have not been determined. After the last batch of business with them, I heard that this time, they have already negotiated a cooperation with the Xue family. Today, they came here just to show their courtesy …"
In the carriage, Su Tan'er said while playing with the small bead chain in her hand. Ning Yi nodded.
"So, I just need to brush them off casually?"
"Haha, Husband, I just need to brush them off casually." She smiled and put the bead chain on her wrist. She raised her head and reached out to tidy the hair on the back of her head. "After brushing them off casually, Husband, do you have anything to do in the afternoon?"
"I plan to go to the bookstore in the east of the city to find an ancient book from the Tang Dynasty."
"I'll take my leave this morning. I'll accompany my husband."
"Okay."
It was a business that could not be negotiated, so she just came to visit with the idea of benevolence and righteousness. As Ning Yi said, it was enough to brush them off casually. However, if there was always a fly buzzing around in the midst of what should have been a peaceful and perfunctory process, it would really spoil the mood. This afternoon, Su Tan'er and Ning Yi were not the only ones who came to visit the He Family. There were also people from two other merchants. So, the eldest of the He brothers, He Jun, the silk merchant whom Su Tan'er called uncle, received everyone in the side hall at the side of the garden. Several large stoves warmed the surroundings, and from here, they could see the snowy scenery in the garden. The atmosphere was quite elegant when they talked. His son, He Tingguang, also accompanied him as the host.
There were two people in charge of the He Family. Apart from He Jun, the second brother, He Feng, was the most talented one in business. Initially, Su Tan 'er only came over to greet them. After the tea party, she, her three servant girls and a few others went to the garden to admire the snow. Soon after, she met He Feng who was walking over from the other side. She looked over and saw the few of them talking over there. When there were fewer people in the side hall, He Tingguang began to pester Ning Yi about his poetry. He probably didn't believe that Ning Yi had much talent and wanted to test him. Unfortunately, he didn't have much talent himself. Ning Yi said a few perfunctory words, but He Tingguang kept nagging and hinted at his friendship with the great scholar Xue Jin. He also mentioned a few of Xue Jin's new works for Ning Yi to evaluate.
"This guy is also an idiot …" Ning Yi felt bored. He Tingguang's father, He Jun, probably felt that his son was talking nonsense and said a few words to help. Ning Yi naturally had to continue the conversation. "I heard from Tan'er that the scale of the He Family's silk business is impressive. It's mainly around Shou Zhou, right?"
He Jun frowned, but He Tingguang smiled. "It's good to let you know. My family's business is mainly around Lu Zhou and Chao Lake. If you have time to go out and play, don't go to the wrong place …"
Ning Yi was stunned and nodded after a while. "Oh, I see … Lu Zhou is not far from Shou Zhou. Transporting raw silk there …"
He Jun seemed to have thought of something and his frown deepened. "Why did you suddenly mention Shou Zhou?"
"Not really. Isn't the Xue family's workshop in Shou Zhou? Shopkeeper Yan is in charge of it. I seem to have heard someone say … Hmm, so I thought the He Family's business was in Shou Zhou …"
He Tingguang laughed. "Brother, you don't know about this, so don't talk nonsense. Shopkeeper Yan is in charge of Lu Zhou. Most of the uncles here know about this. If you don't believe me, you can ask them. Haha …"
As he said this, the people from the other two shops also laughed and confirmed it. Ning Yi smiled and nodded. "I don't know about this. I occasionally heard some bits and pieces of news. I made a mistake, I made a mistake …" Everyone knew that he was a son-in-law and didn't find this strange. They just smiled. On the other side, He Jun said in a low voice, "Where did you get these bits and pieces of information from?"
Ning Yi looked at his serious expression and thought about it with some doubt. Then, he shook his head blankly. "I just … occasionally heard people talking about it. Uh … I don't know the specifics. Ah, sorry to make you laugh. Tan'Er knows a little about business, but I don't. I don't know much about the Xue family either. I've confused Lu Zhou and Shou Zhou, haha …"
After he said this perfunctorily, the whole thing became a little strange. He Jun frowned and seemed to be thinking about something important. Then, he called a steward over and said a few words. Ning Yi frowned. He just said it casually. Could it be that he had guessed correctly …
These days, he had been running around with Su Tan'er. Although he wasn't interested in other people's business talks, he had gradually built up an outline in his mind. Who was doing what business and how the overall situation was going to operate? These things, even if he didn't deliberately think about it, could be clearly or vaguely placed in front of him. There was a possible outline. At this time, when he talked about Shou Zhou, he was just casually pushing away the topic of He Tingguang. He only faintly felt that there might be changes in the Xue family's business. The focus of Lu Zhou might shift to Shou Zhou. Then, in the direction of Shou Zhou, there was actually a silk merchant that was opposing the He family and might intervene … These things were only a vague outline in his mind. He wasn't sure, but he could keenly feel a trace of key points. But from the results, it seemed that he had guessed something right …
So, not long after they arrived, they left. When Ning Yi and Su Tan'er said goodbye to He Jun and prepared to get on the carriage, He Feng chased after them from behind. He exchanged a serious look with He Jun. "Niece, please stay. Regarding next spring's silk, I don't know if the Su family's plans in the nearby areas have been decided. If niece is free today, there is a batch of spring silkworm business that I would like to discuss with niece …"
Su Tan'er turned her head with a puzzled expression. She didn't understand why there was such a sudden change. With his back facing them, Ning Yi rolled his eyes in boredom.
"Damn … my mouth is cheap …"
*****
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
