In the early morning of autumn, the sky in the east had just begun to show a faint light. Milky white fog floated in the ancient city. The pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River moved slowly, hidden in the thick fog, like jade palaces floating in the sky.
In the thick fog of late autumn, Ning Yi hummed a song as he ran along the road by the Qinhuai River. This kind of exercise every morning had been fixed. Anyway, he had all the time in the world. Along the way, there were many simple brick and wood buildings on both sides of the road. There were all kinds of trees, and the pleasure boats were floating on the Qinhuai River. Occasionally, boatmen or tired prostitutes could be seen at the bow of the boats.
This was the most interesting period of the metabolism of Jiangning City. The chaos and prosperity of the night had dissipated, and the new vitality had just begun. The city gate outside had already opened. Vegetable farmers and hawkers who entered the gate to rush to the early market came in one after another. They went to the markets one by one. There were not many people that could be seen, but they all gave people a feeling of green and vitality. Occasionally, there were people who looked tired and hurried along the roadside. Some were even disheveled. Most of them had spent the night in a brothel. They had something to do during the day, so they left early. A small part of the shop was open, but the beggars had not yet gotten up.
Happiness often came from unhappiness, and prosperity always came from contrast. For Ning Yi, who had seen modern big cities, no matter how prosperous Jiangning was, it was nothing. But these things did not need to be taken seriously. After all, the simple and natural atmosphere was real. People who lived here were always easy to satisfy. If they had enough food and clothing, they could smile happily.
Ning Yi occasionally talked about these things with Elder Qin. Jiangning was considered a good city, but in reality, it was also a place where beggars roamed everywhere. It was not uncommon to see people selling their children. Of course, there were many rich families here. If they could sell their children to a good family as a servant, they would not have to worry about food and clothing in the future. It could be said that their ancestors had accumulated good karma. Thanks to the prevalence of prostitution around the Qinhuai River, beautiful poor girls had another place to go. In the future, if they could learn poetry and singing, the brothel keeper could also manage well, or they could become famous prostitutes by selling their skills without selling their bodies. If they were lucky, they might marry into a rich family as a concubine. But most of the unlucky ones could only sell their bodies for the rest of their lives. When they were old and weak, the brothel keeper would be kind and let them go free. Fortunately, there were many places like this, and if they could follow the rules, they would be able to get through this life. Of course, good or bad here was relative. If they were old and had no money, most brothels would take them in to do some odd jobs. After the years, they would not throw them out. After getting along with them for a long time, they still had this little bit of conscience and welfare. If they were not in a city like Jiangning or Yangzhou, even these things could not be guaranteed.
There were also skinny horses. Yangzhou's skinny horses became famous since the Ming Dynasty. But in reality, there was also a similar business at this time. The scale was not big, but it was an investment that accompanied the prostitution. Girls raised as skinny horses had a better life than ordinary girls who sold themselves to brothels. They had hope in the future because they could at least have the opportunity to learn music, calligraphy, poetry, and singing. They could also become famous prostitutes in the future.
Every flood season, there would always be disaster victims. When the years were good, there would be fewer, but when the years were bad, such as the Yellow River flooding every few years or other natural and man-made disasters, the city would always be nervous for a period of time. The army would guard the city gates and not allow disaster victims to enter the city. The prefectural magistrate would summon the rich merchants for a discussion. In fact, it was to mobilize donations. Everyone would put together porridge and food … In winter, there would always be people freezing to death. It also depended on the year. When the years were good, there would be fewer deaths. If the years were bad, then it went without saying. Beggars could not survive the winter. If it snowed, the next day, there would always be people hugging each other and freezing to death. It was not uncommon.
After seeing these things many times, one would get used to it. But Elder Qin would occasionally say, "This is not a good year." There were good years, too. In the early years of the Wu dynasty, it could be considered a period of peace and prosperity. Emperor Wu Heng and Wu Hui Zong were talented and bold. Ning Yi always felt dizzy when he heard about them. But any dynasty would have some years of peace and prosperity. At this time, the Wu dynasty was very similar to the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. Away from the relatively affluent area of Jiangnan, several groups of farmers were rebelling. Bandits and bandits were not uncommon. In the north, a country ruled by the Yelu family called Da Liao had violated the border several times. When the border was violated, they would negotiate for peace. A few years ago, they signed a treaty and called each other a country of brothers. Of course, even if the treaty was signed, they would still fight.
Small-scale border violations never stopped. Ning Yi was not worried about this. The Shame of Jingkang had not come yet. Although the emperor was different, if it happened, it would certainly be different. The emperor had not moved the capital to Jiangning. This country still had national strength. If they wanted to fight, they could always hold on. Even if they moved the capital and replaced the Wu dynasty with the model of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty still held on for a long time. If the Jin Kingdom attacked again, he would probably be finished for the rest of his life. There were 480 temples in the Southern Dynasty, and many towers in the misty rain. It could be seen that the Southern Song Dynasty — well, it did not seem to be the Southern Song Dynasty. Ning Yi thought about it but did not come to any conclusion. So he put it aside. Who cared? Anyway, life in the Southern Song Dynasty was indeed passable.
He did not have the idea of saving the Chinese people or establishing a lasting achievement in ancient times. He was long tired, like a hot-blooded burden. He had long been used to many injustices and darkness. Modern society was also dark. Even if the people of the world were suffering, it could not arouse his sympathy and resonance. It was not that he did not have any sympathy, but it was not enough. As for the lasting achievements such as being an emperor, it was purely childish for a person who could only live for 60 years to think of something that would last for 120 years. But then again, there were times when he was bored, such as when he was resting by the relatively secluded bend of the Qinhuai River after a run and was covered in sweat. Ning Yi would also irresponsibly think of things that would seem slightly more positive to others.
For example, if he really wanted to do something, his status as a son-in-law was actually very troublesome. But it was not a big problem. In these days, there were opportunities everywhere. There was no MSG in eating dishes. He more or less knew how to make MSG. It seemed simple, but in reality, it was a bit complicated. But in about a year, he could probably mass-produce it. Then, he could gather some new dishes and modern cooking concepts to make a gourmet city. He could more or less make a profit.
There was no music in these days. Everyone who lived in a world where all kinds of music could be downloaded and listened to endlessly every day could more or less imagine how boring it was. The performances in those brothels might not be good, and the songs of famous prostitutes might not be good. But if you could not hear them at all, suddenly listening to a song that was slightly up to standard would naturally feel like it was the sound of nature. If he could make an entertainment city or something, it would be very promising. Songs, dances, and all kinds of entertainment. Most of the lyrics of modern songs could not be used, but it was not a problem to localize the tune and singing. It could be more subtle, in line with the dance concept of the current style, or he could copy some poems for people to sing.
He had been bored for a long time, so he always thought about eating, drinking, and playing.
As for breaking away from eating, drinking, and playing, spending a few decades to make guns and cannons to lay the foundation for an industrial revolution, creating an anti-emperor so that people two hundred years later could take a plane, and so on, he would not be able to enjoy it no matter what. It was too silly to think about it. It would be more meaningful to open a gourmet city or an entertainment city.
The morning breeze was slightly chilly. At this moment, he was standing by the river made of stones, throwing them into the water as these ideas turned over in his mind.
In fact, for the time being, these things could not be done.
People who married into the Su family basically did not have the idea of opening a brothel, so it could be put aside for the time being. For example, he could first come up with a few ideas for the Su family's cloth shop to prove his value, and then … oh, then he would be sent to the cloth shop to be a shopkeeper or something, and then prove more, and in the end, it would become the same occupation as in his previous life. Then he could use the funds to open a bar, and under their doubtful gaze, he could tell them that it was very profitable. Then, he would need to find someone to make a series of equipment, use his brain to do all kinds of experiments, and create an assembly line. The reason for doing this was simply because he missed putting less than one gram of MSG in every meal. Wasn't this a pain in the ass …
Softly humming the melody of the blue Caribbean, Ning Yi could not help but laugh at his own thoughts. It might not be so troublesome to do, but thinking about it made him feel that it was very interesting. It was better to directly buy a few hundred kilograms of kelp and boil it into crystals. However, kelp was easy to buy, but if he experimented in this area, on one hand, they would say that he was wasteful, and on the other hand, there might be people who would tell him that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen …
He hummed the beginning of the blue Caribbean, and forgot the rest, so it became "Two Tigers". When he hummed "Two tigers run fast" for the second time, there was the sound of a chicken crowing on the road behind him.
"Brother, brother, brother …"
"Cluck, cluck, cluck …"
There were two sounds, one was a woman's, and the other was a hen's. Looking back, in the faintly discernible fog, a hen was running for its life on the other side of the road and between the trees. Then, a woman in a grayish-white dress also appeared, holding a kitchen knife in her hand, and persistently chasing after the hen. The woman and the hen desperately spun around in the fog, appearing and disappearing from time to time.
Ning Yi stood under a tree by the river, holding his chin as he watched this scene.
In theory, imitating a chicken's crowing was to give the chicken a sense of security, to entice it to come over, but now that the hen was so scared, what was the use of calling brother, or sister?
With this thought in mind, he watched the battle between the woman and the hen for a while. Just when he felt that the woman's figure was not bad, the hen suddenly changed direction and flew over, rushing past Ning Yi, decisively jumping into the river.
The woman also followed closely with a face full of anxiety. Originally, the morning fog was very thick, and Ning Yi standing under a tree was not eye-catching, so the woman probably did not pay attention to the people beside her. Seeing that the river bank was in front of her, she chopped down with the kitchen knife. This chop was very hard, and the woman even let out a "hmph", but she did not hit anything at all. Instead, the kitchen knife flew out of her hand, and with a splash, it flew into the water.
Ning Yi was startled by the decisiveness of this chop, and then he realized that the woman's body was already leaning forward, her arms waving, about to fall into the river. He subconsciously shouted, "Hey!" He reached out and grabbed one of the woman's hands. The woman turned around, and her other hand subconsciously grabbed over. Ning Yi was just about to use force to pull her back, when the stone under his feet loosened …
"Ah — Gu —" A short cry of surprise.
Bang —
Then there was the sound of intense splashing, splashing, splashing, splashing, splashing. The river under the thick fog churned.
Ning Yi's swimming ability in his previous life was not bad, but it was a pity that he could not bring it over. This body was originally that of a frail scholar, and he was not good at swimming. His physique was weak, and he had been injured before. Although Ning Yi had recuperated for a few months, and also trained, there was a limit to how much he could improve in a few months. The woman did not seem to be good at swimming either, and the two of them struggled desperately in the not very deep water. There were several times when Ning Yi calmed down and wanted to speak, but he was pulled into the water by the other party.
"You … Gu lu lu …"
"Hey … Gu lu lu lu lu lu …"
It was said that many Good Samaritans who were good at swimming were implicated by those who were drowning in panic, and they died together.
After an unknown amount of time, Ning Yi dragged the woman up from the stairs on the riverbank dozens of meters away. He was completely drenched, and he was in a sorry state. He lay on the riverbank and spat out a few mouthfuls of water before he recovered. He then looked at the woman whom he had rescued. The woman had already drunk enough water and fainted, and there was no movement.
"Hey!" Ning Yi patted the woman's face a few times, but the woman's hair was like seaweed, and she looked extremely miserable. There was no response.
"Three lotus root floating in the pond … You live by the Qinhuai River, don't you know how to swim …" Ning Yi sighed a few times helplessly, then laid the woman's body flat, and began to do first aid according to the steps he had learned in the past.
Even if the other party was a woman, first aid might not be a good job. It was not like she was a beauty in a swimsuit. At that moment, the woman's clothes were wrinkled, and her hair was messy. She looked like a legendary drowned ghost, and she was in a sorry state. Ning Yi was anxious. He did a few chest compressions to make her spit out some water, then patted her face. When he found that there was still no response, he pinched the other party's cheeks and performed artificial respiration.
After a while, the woman woke up in a daze. Ning Yi was about to bend down when he heard a slap on his face. The slap was extremely clear in the morning wind. The woman was sobbing, and her voice was miserable. "Lecher, you … cough … what are you doing …" She hugged her chest and retreated with all her might. At that moment, her dress was sticking to her body, and her slender legs were kicking the ground. She was miserable and weak, and she looked somewhat pitiful.
If there were other pedestrians passing by, they might beat up Ning Yi because of this scene.
"I knew it would be like this …" Ning Yi tilted his head for a while, then his shoulders slumped, and he let out a long sigh. Then, he sat on the road behind him. The two of them stared at each other for a while by the river. Ning Yi raised his hand. "Are you okay now?"
The woman stared at him, not saying a word.
"As long as you're okay." He answered to himself, then struggled to get up from the ground. Ning Yi curled his lips, then turned around and walked in the direction he came from. The cold wind blew, and it was really cold.
Behind him, the woman was also sitting there with her body curled up. She watched as his figure gradually disappeared at the other end of the road …
That woman was really pitiful. She lost her hen and broke her knife. Ning Yi gloated as he walked back, soaking wet. It was very painful to be exposed to the cold wind in this kind of situation. However, when he thought that others were even more pitiful, his pain was slightly reduced.
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