"The matter of Siqing Lane has been settled with Manager Yu. If we can deliver the goods to them before October 6th, there won't be any problem in the future. I have an idea …"
In the courtyard of the Su family, raindrops fell from the eaves like curtains. In the guest room where the oil lamp was lit, Xi Junyu was talking about the progress of the business with Su Tan'er. Then, Xing'er brought a handkerchief to him and let him wipe the wet places on his body. A moment later, Juan'er came in with a tea tray and placed a set of tea and snacks on the small table beside Xi Junyu.
"Manager Xi, please have some tea."
"Sorry to bother you, Juan'er." Xi Junyu nodded his head with a smile. Then, he continued to talk about business with Su Taner, "Now that the Siqing Lane has started to develop, I think we can invest about 10,000 taels in Yuan Zhou to build two printing and dyeing workshops and a warehouse. In this way, with Yuan Zhou as the hub, we will be able to develop our business further …"
After saying that, he waited for Su Tan'er's answer. The Su family's business expansion basically followed the same steps. But at this time, Su Tan'er took a sip of tea and raised her head to look at him. Then, she said in a low voice, "Although it's time for Yuan Zhou, it's not the most important thing right now. Let's talk about it later."
Su Tan'er's voice was gentle. Such an answer was within Xi Junyu's expectation. However, he couldn't understand the look in her eyes. When he first met Su Tan'er, she was only a twelve-year-old girl. However, ever since Su Tan'er started to get involved in her family's business, over the past few years, this girl, who had gradually grown into a young girl and was now a married woman in name, had always been something that he could not understand.
Of course, it was just a little feeling. He believed he knew most of this woman's character, including the pressure she endured and the efforts she made under such pressure.
In the early years, when Su Tan'er was about fourteen to fifteen years old, she worked together with him and the other shopkeepers to discuss various business strategies. The girl occasionally had amazing ideas, but most of the time she was a little clumsy. Most of the ideas she came up with could not be used, and when they were pointed out, she would often laugh awkwardly and say in surprise, "So that's how it is …"
She had a gentle and modest personality. She was very kind to everyone and would never lose her temper. She would not get angry when her servants did something wrong. She would not get angry when others gossiped about her because she was a woman. Of course, sometimes she would encounter situations where she didn't know how to deal with them. After all, she was just a teenage girl. At that moment she did not speak. She smiled and pursed her lips tightly, waiting in silence.
Human emotions were very strange. There was no obvious dividing line. Xi Junyu did not know when he had decided to stay in the Su family's cloth shop. Xi Junyu's family was not well off when he was young. His mother died early and his father was sick and an alcoholic. He had been intelligent since he was young. He had thought that he would have a good future if he continued to study. Later, he went to help out in the cloth shop to earn some money to supplement his family's income. Who would have thought that he would continue doing this?
Intelligent people did everything quickly. Xi Junyu was a person who was confident that he could be competent in any profession, not just business. After doing business for a long time, you would gradually understand human nature and human nature. In his view, everything in the world was inseparable from these things. Studying and so on was a side branch.
Just when he was doing odd jobs in the Su family's cloth shop, he had helped them settle several business deals. The money he earned was enough for the family to be well-off. Of course, at that time he had planned to go back to study. Later … it was hard to say how much the reason he stayed in the Su family had to do with the young girl who always went to the cloth shop, but it was definitely a large part of the reason.
He had thought about it very clearly. His family was poor. If he really wanted to study and take the imperial examinations, it would be very troublesome. Just sending gifts and using all kinds of connections was not enough. And the feeling of having money was actually quite practical. At that time, he had probably set a relatively ideal path for himself. He would work in the Su family and become a shopkeeper or a head shopkeeper. Then he would marry into the Su family. When Su Tan'er took control of the Su family, he would be able to share the limelight with her.
At that time, he had already made a name for himself in the cloth shop. He and the fifteen year old girl who was constantly learning had a tacit understanding. When Su Tan'er made some mistakes, he was able to quickly patch up the loopholes. Ever since he knew about the thoughts of Su Boyong and Su Tan'er, he understood that one day, Su Tan'er would need a husband to marry into the family. He was obviously the most ideal candidate. He himself did not mind this kind of thing.
Incompetent people always looked forward to status or other innate factors. Of course, they did have an impact. But for those who were truly capable, they would know that their own ability was actually a large part of it. For him, he was confident that no matter where he went, he would have the opportunity to stand out and be valued. The innate factor of him being born poor could not be changed. In that case, marrying into the family was actually not unacceptable.
Su Tan'er would understand his ability, and he would understand her personality. With this kind of tacit understanding, the two of them would also be the most ideal partners after they got married. Some people might initially talk about his status as a son-in-law, but it didn't matter. As long as his ability was displayed, others would naturally look at him in a different light. One year, two years … reality would change everything. Su Tan'er was also carrying shackles on her back, but she could grit her teeth and charge forward. Why couldn't he?
But it was a pity that the subsequent developments were beyond his expectations. The Su family must have considered him. They must have considered him. But in the end, it was the Old Grandfather who made the decision, and they actually chose such an incompetent scholar.
The Su family … just wanted this man to be easier to control.
Sometimes, being too capable could actually be a shortcoming. He thought sarcastically in his heart at the time. He also thought that if he had been the one to arrange the marriage, Tan'er would definitely not have found an excuse to run away on the day of the wedding.
He was originally very confident. He knew that the Su family had nothing to worry about when they were considering Ning Yi. But later, when the other party suddenly decided on Ning Yi, he was stunned. Originally, he had the thought of directly looking for Su Tan'er and telling her about his feelings of love. But at that time, he realized that this girl had always maintained a distance from others. Perhaps she had once called him "Brother Jun Yu", but not long after, she became a shopkeeper, and had always called him shopkeeper.
Perhaps she was gentle and gentle, perhaps intelligent and cute, or perhaps mischievous and humorous, but most of the time, this young girl would always keep a part of her mind on the sidelines, watching from the sidelines. Perhaps that part would still find it interesting and curious, and would even smile adorably while watching, but … she would always maintain an attitude of watching and learning from the sidelines. As long as a smart person put in the effort, they could learn anything very quickly. This was also something that Xi Junyu had known for a long time.
At that time, he realized that he couldn't say his love, because she wasn't as intimate as he had imagined.
He was also a proud and aloof person. If he ran over and said it, the girl on the surface might be extremely kind, extremely gentle, and even extremely sad, but the heart that was really watching from the sidelines wouldn't take him seriously at all. This was the result that he couldn't bear.
Later, after Su Tan'er got married, she put on the attitude of a wife. This was something that he had long expected. The problem of identity was originally the main reason for Su Tan'er's marriage. He didn't know what the scholar would be like when he was with her. Su Tan'er wouldn't make people unhappy on the surface, but that scholar definitely couldn't see what his wife's heart was like.
Thinking about it, he felt that it was interesting and pitiful. They didn't even have the same room. Although the subsequent developments were somewhat beyond his expectations, at least the scholar did have some knack for learning. But in any case, it was certain that they were united on the surface but divided at heart. Besides himself, no one could really understand Su Tan'er. The heart that was hidden behind her was a sobriety that was forced out under long-term pressure and loneliness.
If she wanted to take charge of the Su family as a woman, there would always be resistance. Even if she cried, no one would really sympathize with her. Even her shopkeepers, who helped her under the instruction of Su Boyong, would still consider the problem that the master was a woman every time they did business. Even if she constantly proved her ability, reached the age of forty or fifty, or even became a figure like Wu Zetian, people would still consider that she was a woman. She could only maintain an absolute sobriety behind this.
Thinking about it, it was a little cold, a little lonely, a little pitiful. She needed someone who could really help her in difficult times and go through trials and tribulations with her. Xi Junyu liked this feeling — at the moment, he could only like and accept the current situation. The fact had already happened, and complaining was useless. He just had to think about what to do.
Sometimes, he felt that the figure in the depth of Su Tan'er's heart was a little unclear. She was also growing up constantly. But in any case, in a sense, Su Tan'er was almost taught by him. In the next few years, she wouldn't lose control of herself too much for the time being.
Su Tan'er had already made the decision. He was only a "shopkeeper", so he didn't need to say more. When necessary, both of them could be very talkative. At this time, Xi Junyu was talking about several interesting things that he heard while chatting with Shopkeeper Yu of Siqing Lane. Then, he connected the recent situation of the disaster victims and analyzed what might happen inside and outside the city. He knew what Su Tan'er liked to listen to. At this time, Su Tan'er was indeed listening attentively while holding the teacup. Occasionally, she nodded her head and asked some questions. Her manner of curiosity like that of a young girl hadn't changed in the past few years. After all, this was an era where people weren't well-informed. A lot of information was indeed useful. Whenever Xi Junyu talked about it, it was usually something that she didn't know.
Then, he conveniently talked about the funeral of Xiaochan's father and when Ning Yi would come back. He just mentioned it briefly, hinting that his existence was different from Ning Yi's. Although it seemed that some things didn't enter her heart, they might be able to talk for a while tonight. Tomorrow, Ning Yi would come back. He had some thoughts today and was considering whether he should speak them out or not.
Right at this time, Xing'er held an umbrella and trotted into the courtyard from outside. She looked a little happy. She nodded her head and smiled at Xi Junyu. Then, she ran to Su Tan'er and said, "Young Master and Xiaochan are back."
"Really?" Standing behind Su Tan'er, Juan'er spoke first. Su Tan'er also raised her head with a smile on her face, but at the same time, she frowned and said, "Such a heavy rain. Why did they come back so late? Were they caught in the rain? "
"Not really. Oh, Dongzhu, who was driving the carriage, got wet. Young Master asked Dongzhu to take a bath first and then asked the kitchen to prepare some food. They rushed all the way back, so they probably didn't have a good dinner. "
"Yes." Su Tan'er thought for a while and said, "Xing'er, ask the kitchen to prepare some dishes that Young Master likes and a bowl of millet porridge. I'm also a little hungry. I'll go there later … Besides, prepare some iced white fungus soup for Protector Geng and Dongzhu to cool down at night. They don't usually eat this. If you and Juan'er want it, you can prepare some. I don't need it. Young Master and Xiaochan probably won't want to eat this after dinner … Well, Manager Xi, do you want it?"
"I don't need it. Since Young Master Ning and Xiaochan are back, I don't have anything urgent to do, so I'm leaving now."
Xi Junyu smiled calmly and Su Tan'er also nodded her head.
"If so, let me see you out, Manager Xi."
"No need. It's raining heavily."
"It's okay. Besides, I still want to hear more about Yuan Zhou's plan that you mentioned just now."
It would be strange if you really wanted to hear more … Xi Junyu laughed inwardly. But when he held up the umbrella and walked out with Su Tan'er and Juan'er, he still told them a series of plans and ideas. Whether it was about the local conditions and customs or the information about the officials, they were all quite detailed. Therefore, Su Tan'er just nodded her head and listened to him.
The sound of the rain roared. Sometimes, when they walked on these roads, they could only faintly see the light of the courtyard in the distance. It gave people the feeling that there were only the three of them walking in the rain in the huge Su Family Mansion. When they approached the side door, they could see that there were still people hurrying in and out. His followers were also waiting in the gatehouse over there. When they walked to a courtyard corridor where he didn't need to hold an umbrella, Xi Junyu took a deep breath.
"Actually, in the past year, although the Su Enterprise seems to be developing steadily, the capital has been withheld in various places. I know all these things clearly. You are already making preparations. This matter is too big. You don't want to say it, and I shouldn't have mentioned it. But … it's really too big. If you lose everything, what does that mean? Have you thought about it clearly? "
Su Tan'er stopped and looked at him quietly. She pursed her lips lightly and didn't say anything. Her eyes were a little complicated, as if saying sorry that she couldn't tell him about this. After all, she had to take charge of the overall situation … Xi Junyu didn't mind that. He just shook his head and sighed.
"I don't know when you had this idea. Maybe you have thought about it since several years ago … You want to get the Palace Guide and become a royal merchant. This … is right? "
He looked at Su Tan'er and paused for a while.
"It might have been better a few years ago, but since last year, the Xue family has also been thinking about becoming a royal merchant, or the Wu Family has also been considering it. Your idea is that now is the most difficult time. Do you know about these things? "
Under the rainy night, this was almost the most severe warning. Xi Junyu's consideration had its own reasons …
*****
Sorry, yesterday's decision was even worse.
I originally wanted to use extreme methods to maintain the non-update for this month, but, similar to the title, in the past few days, my body has issued serious warnings. Heart palpitations, stomach pain, diarrhea, scalp tingling fatigue, and all kinds of discomfort and pain. The writing method I use is probably the most strenuous and unrewarding one. Every chapter needs to be set several points, which may be very subtle points, subtle emotions, hints, foreshadowing. I don't just set a simple plot and just follow it. If the emotions aren't prepared well, or if some words are changed, these points can go out of control, making the whole chapter feel like chewing wax. If I don't successfully convey these subtle points, it would be meaningless for me to write 100,000 words a day. To me, writing was almost a fantasy. When I was writing those trivial chapters, I had to control the emotions, and the brain power I had to use was several times more than when I was writing the main plot.
Therefore, it often takes six or seven hours to write three or four thousand words, or even six or seven hours isn't enough. It's a lot of brain power.
It sounds a little complicated, but it's the kind of article I write. In short, in order not to die before finishing this book or to be hospitalized next month, I gritted my teeth and changed my daily routine. I sleep at 11 PM and wake up at 7 AM. Every morning and evening, I go to the book review and comment section to make a post. Everyone can supervise me ^ _ ^
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