At the end of May, the weather became even hotter. The rising temperature and the number of days pushed the city into the dog days of the hottest season. In previous years, Su Tan'er would have to move upstairs a month earlier. Although it was hot during the day, it was much cooler on the second floor if the windows were opened at night. But this year, she didn't ask for a room to be moved, and Ning Yi moved according to her. She didn't say anything, and Ning Yi didn't care. Naturally, there wouldn't be servants coming to help move the furniture upstairs.
In the evening, they ate in the living room — sometimes they moved to the small pavilion in the courtyard to eat. The five of them were considered a small family. Once they were familiar with each other, the atmosphere was good, and they didn't need to pay too much attention to the rules. Ning Yi was easy-going, and Su Tan'er probably paid more attention to the red tape than him in many aspects. But at home, she also liked this feeling. After the three servant girls got used to Ning Yi's style, they would occasionally say that the stories the son-in-law told in the school today were not good. These stories were mostly retold by Xiaochan.
When the weather was hot, they wouldn't stay in the room after dinner, but would go out for a walk. The Su mansion was quite large and had its own small garden. Most of the time, they would stroll around and enjoy the cool air. Su Tan'er chatted with the women from the other branches. She used to be a relatively serious person, going in and out with her servant girls every day. Most of the men from the other branches couldn't chat with her, and the women couldn't get close to her. Now, probably because she was a woman, she would occasionally join in the conversation. People said that after they got married, Su Tan'er became softer, so they admired Ning Yi more.
Now in the Su mansion, not many people were stupid enough to give Ning Yi attitude. He had gained a reputation as a talent, and the Old Great Grandfather also valued him highly. The news of him going to the Pavilion of Literary Ink during the Courtesan Competition had already spread, and he himself seemed to be an easy-going person, guarding the academy and not getting involved in business. Others thought that after getting married, Su Tan'er would have a husband who would marry into her family, and that she would only become more powerful. Who would have thought that the two of them would get along so well? When they saw Ning Yi, they had to greet him and exchange a few words of greeting. Wen Ding, Wen Fang, and the others were even more respectful. Of course, it was difficult to say that they were close. They were not on the same level, so they could only say that they were close.
In short, by the end of the summer, he had more or less become acquainted with everyone in the Su mansion.
Generally speaking, Su Tan'er was still very busy, but she didn't need Ning Yi to worry about these things. She also didn't need Ning Yi to worry about her. Every few days, they would meet up on the second floor to eat and vent their stress. Her mentality was still good, but she was busy. Occasionally, Ning Yi would go out for a walk in the evening, and sometimes Xiaochan would follow him all the way to the Qinhuai River. If Xiaochan didn't follow, he would go to the small courtyard by the school and meet up with Lu Hongti.
After returning home at night, Su Tan'er would ask someone to bring a few bowls of ice bean paste or other iced snacks. Every year, the Su mansion stored ice cubes for the summer, but only the masters could eat it. The small courtyard where Su Tan'er lived was the best. After all, she was the only one who took care of the first wife, and Xiaochan and the others often ate these iced snacks. Eating these iced snacks with Su Tan'er and Ning Yi at night was probably the most enjoyable time of the day. If it were other people in the mansion, even the head of the house, they would have to think about it carefully every time they wanted to eat a bowl.
After eating, the temperature had actually dropped. Occasionally, they chatted, occasionally played chess, and occasionally had their own things to do. When the lights in the evening gradually went out and the lights in Su Tan'er's room went out, Ning Yi went to bed and let the courtyard be quiet.
Every morning, he would start running and exercising before the sun rose. Not many people would notice that he had such a habit. When he ran to the river bend with the small building, Nie Yunzhu sat on the steps and waited for him. Takeshi's business was very smooth. There were already some obvious regulars and repeat customers at the main store. The way the four cars issued wooden plates was also very interesting. In order to collect all four wooden plates, some people had looked for a long time in the city. This was probably a kind of card collecting pleasure.
Of course, at present, the main income was not provided by the main store and the four cars, but by Takeshi's Century Eggs, which were still being sold at high speed to various restaurants in Jiangning. At this time, there was no need for Nie Yunzhu to go in person to talk about these businesses. She had already hired a lot of employees. Ning Yi had set some relatively mature rules and regulations for the operation of these employees, which could greatly reduce the burden of control. With the publicity from the Top Courtesan Competition, many restaurants and tea houses in Jiangning already had Century Eggs consigned for sale. In the various high-spending brothels, it was also starting to open up. Everything was developing rapidly, but it was surprisingly stable.
Of course, most of the time, Nie Yunzhu would not report to Ning Yi about things related to business. She liked to talk about new and trivial things. After the store opened, there were new things happening every day. She had never seen or heard of them before, and they were quite interesting to talk about. Sometimes, she would also mention the marriage between Hu Tao and Erniu. She planned to marry them after a period of time, and it could be considered one of her worries.
She still maintained the habit of only sitting on the steps and chatting. The dim yellow light in the room behind her shone out. Nie Yunzhu would take a plate and make a pot of tea, and she would put it on the steps. When Ning Yi came over, she would drink a small cup, say something, and watch him leave. It was dawn, and the outline of the city gradually appeared as the figure left.
Because of Lu Hongti, Ning Yi did not often go to the river to play chess this month, but of course, he still went a few times. Recently, Elder Qin had been concerned about the flood. It was now the flood season, and it was said that the situation in several places was urgent. Several rivers had burst their banks, and he did not know what the situation would be.
"This year is not a good year..." the old man sighed. If Kang Xian came over, he would often say the same thing.
"If this continues, I'm afraid there will be another wave of disaster victims in July..."
Drought, flood, winter ice, and some places were even plagued by banditry. With the current social structure, it was difficult to survive these obstacles. Every few years, there would often be some disasters. If the refugees had no home to return to and could not be controlled, they would naturally come to the east, such as Bianliang, Jiangning, and Yangzhou. Every time Elder Qin thought about it, he would put down the chess piece and say, "Maybe there will be a war disaster..."
The situation in Liajin seemed to be on the verge of breaking out. Of course, it was hard to say whether it would be completely chaotic in months or years. At that time, no matter what, the Wu dynasty would have an attitude. If there was a war this time, it would also be related to the fate of the Wu dynasty. The army had not been mobilized, but the food and fodder had been prepared. If they wanted to support such a large-scale war, it would be another test for the current state.
"In any case, after the war is over, things should get better." Regarding this matter, the two old men were still relatively optimistic. In fact, the entire Wu dynasty was very optimistic. The Wu dynasty still had a solid foundation in the economy and agriculture. Although the entire structure was bloated, a large part of the burden came from the north. If the north could be stabilized, the entire court would be greatly relieved. When the time came to rectify and reform, there would be hope and plenty of time.
Every afternoon, he did experiments in the small courtyard and chatted with Lu Hongti about some things. When it came to martial arts, he would occasionally take notes, and Lu Hongti would laugh at him. In fact, recently, Lu Hongti often asked him to be her assistant. Looking at the strange containers and devices he designed, what she could help with was not some chemical reaction, but the equipment to make high quality wine. Since Takeshi had begun to get on track, he also had to make high quality wine. After perfecting it, he would set up a small workshop and promote it as Takeshi's brand.
Distillation to make wine was not complicated for him. He started in March. He started in March, making a small device in the beginning. Now, he began to enlarge and perfect it. This was the basic technique. In the future, if he wanted to make any changes to the distilled white wine, that was not his business. He could just leave it to others to do. Lu Hongti could drink. Although she did not look rough, she did not drink slowly. However, after drinking the first glass of white wine, she still frowned. "This wine … is so strong …"
Because she was interested in wine, she was more eager to help. Occasionally, she would ask some questions, and Ning Yi would talk to her about things like distillation, vaporization, and liquefaction. She still regarded these things as crooked methods, but her attitude had changed a lot. "These things of yours … are still somewhat useful …"
"It's not perfect yet. It's barely usable. When you leave, you can make a copy of it, but …"
"There is not much food in the mountains that can be used to make wine … Sometimes, when we rob some merchants, the wine will be finished in a short time. It might seem like a lot to drink in big bowls, but when you steam it, there is not much left …" Lu Hongti felt a little melancholy.
"You can still consider steaming a batch. If you get injured, you can use it to disinfect. Those with low degrees are useless." Speaking of disinfection, Ning Yi bragged about the concepts of infection, bacteria, and the like. He said that there were thousands of tiny bugs that could not be seen with the naked eye crawling into the body. Some of them had eight arms, and some were furry. Lu Hongti frowned as she listened. Then, she asked, "Your medicine is very good. It doesn't seem to leave any scars. How did you make it?"
"Part of it is because of my martial arts. Of course, if you want it, I can make a copy of it when you leave. Some of the medicines are not easy to find." Lu Hongti glanced at him. "But, do you want the martial arts manual or the formula?"
"Didn't you not intend to teach me martial arts? Cough, I have to think about it."
"I still don't intend to teach you." Lu Hongti said and laughed. "It's useless for you to learn. Even if you become a teacher, those students are not afraid of you."
"But they love me."
"You are a good person. Although you are a little strange, you are indeed a good person."
"Cough, you don't have to emphasize it again."
As time passed, her injuries gradually recovered. The hidden sentries in Jiangning city should have begun to relax. It was hard to say when she would leave. "The demi-gods and demi-gods should be almost finished, right?" She asked about the progress in the past few days. "I want to finish listening to it before I leave." Ning Yi understood her personality. Although she seemed to like listening to these stories, drinking white wine and eating snacks, when it was time to leave, she would definitely leave decisively. Because she still had a lot of things to do in Lu Liangshan.
Ning Yi was a businessman in his previous life, but he was not a heartless person. Now, he more or less regarded her as an interesting friend. He could brag with her about atoms and molecules, and bring some things to chat at night. The days were leisurely, there was nothing urgent to do, and there was not much burden. Just like this, until the evening of the fourth day of June.
Xiaochan had something to do tonight, so she told Lu Hongti that she would bring some food and wine in the evening. In the evening, after dinner, they left the Su mansion and prepared to buy some food on the way. After passing through a slightly secluded street, a carriage carrying firewood followed them. The big man on the carriage greeted him. "Hey, Ning Yi, Ning Liheng?"
The big man was really burly. Sitting in the carriage, Ning Yi raised his head. A trace of uneasiness flashed in his heart. Because in the man's eyes, there was a flash of evil intentions. Vigilance surged in his heart. Before he had time to start thinking about the look in his eyes, the stick whistled and attacked from the back of his head.
"Weak scholar..."
*****
As night fell, Lu Hongti waited in the courtyard for the arrival of Ning Yi. The wind chime rang softly.
She had stayed here to recuperate for nearly a month. Thinking about it, she felt a little nostalgic. In the past, this was probably unimaginable. Recently, life had been very interesting. But in a few days, she would return to Lu Liangshan. After that... she probably would not have the opportunity to come here again.
Time passed gradually. "Maybe he has something to do..." she thought in her heart. This was not surprising. Although he had never missed his appointment before, now that she knew his specific identity, it was normal if he had something to do. It was a pity that she could not listen to the story tonight. She hoped that she could finish listening to the story in a few days.
So she waited for a while, then walked into the room with a little disappointment. She began to eat the cold lunch in the basin and began to eat the cold steamed buns. For her, there was nothing to be picky about. The things in front of her were delicious...
*****
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