It was already the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. In another ten days, it would officially enter the fifth year of Jinghe. Many high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the capital had already begun to busy themselves with the New Year's Festival.
The common people were naturally busy as well. While they were busy, they couldn't help but feel a little worried.
The weather seemed to be colder than in previous years, but there was no snow in the capital this year. Not only the capital, but there was no snow in the 13 states of the Gyeonggi region.
For experienced farmers, they naturally knew what this meant. If it didn't snow this winter, the harvest next year would not be optimistic.
Ruoqing's body had recovered. During the New Year, the business of the brothel became more and more busy, but Zui Mo kept a close eye on her and didn't allow her to manage those things. She was gentle, so she naturally couldn't dissuade Zui Mo. The two of them just went out to buy some New Year's goods. Sometimes it was three people, and Li Yi played the role of carrying the bags.
It was a happy thing to carry the bags for his woman. These things didn't need servants or guards to do for him.
According to his original plan, this year's reunion night should be spent with the family. However, Zui Mo's wedding dress had not been finished for a long time, and there was no good time to tell Ruoqing. The imperial court meeting was approaching. It was not difficult to imagine that the whole capital would directly explode at that time. Li Yi himself didn't know how many things he had to do. He couldn't choose to do things with them at such a hasty time.
After walking half a street, he had already carried a lot of things in his hands. Zui Mo and Ruoqing walked in front, and he and Xu walked behind.
Ever since he started hanging out with Second Great Uncle, Li Yi realized that Elder Xu had started to become neurotic. He was already so old, but he was slowly turning into a masochist. His tendency to be a masochist was very serious. Every time he was abused, he would quietly find a place to sit, and his mind would wander off.
In recent days, his realm had improved again, and he didn't need to find a quiet place to wander.
After Little Red entered the door, Fang no longer needed to go to the Jade Courtyard, so naturally, he didn't need to follow her. Xu's head was like a block of wood. Li Yi was bored by himself, so he went over and looked at the things they bought. He asked curiously, "Didn't you buy these things two days ago? Why are you buying them again?"
"This is for Mrs. Chen." Drunk Mo looked at him grumpily and said, "Mrs. Chen is usually so good to us. It's almost the New Year, so we naturally have to buy some gifts to send over."
Li Yi smiled and said, "In a family, the man takes care of the outside and the woman takes care of the inside. I know you will think of these things …"
"Who's family with you …" Drunk Ink glanced at her and took Ruoqing's hand, saying, "Let's go to that shop and have a look …"
Ruoqing looked at her and smiled, and was immediately pulled away by Zui Mo.
Li Yi realized that ever since she had let go of the knot in her heart and said those words, some things had changed.
For example, she had started to be on the same side as Ruoqing, making him seem like an outsider … He wouldn't lower himself to her level now, but after she married into the family, he would deal with her properly.
As for what she had just said, he naturally wouldn't ignore it.
Although the Chen family had been confiscated, their property confiscated, and their servants chased away, it wasn't as if nothing had been left behind.
Chen Chong and the Chen brothers now ran a cloth shop. It wasn't big, but it was more than enough to support a family.
Of course, as the only designated supplier for the ready-made clothing shop in the capital, they didn't have to worry about business at all. Chen Chong didn't accept his gift, but he didn't reject it. What a hypocritical fellow.
It wasn't easy to run a shop in the capital, especially for a family like the Chen family that had once been glorious and then quickly declined. Former friends might not still be friends, and former enemies would definitely still be enemies.
These days, the people he had arranged in the open and in the shadows had already helped them clear up countless troubles.
Seeing Zui Mo and Ruoqing enter a shop, he quickly followed.
…
Chen Cloth Shop.
This was a newly opened cloth shop in the capital. Its name was ordinary, but the people who opened it were not ordinary at all.
Once, the House of Duke, the Chen family had two sons. One was a minister, and the other was a third-rank attendant. They had countless friends and had unparalleled influence in the capital. They were the people that most of the common people and even the nobles looked up to.
But that was then, and this was now. The present Chen family was just a commoner's family, no different from the majority of the people in the capital.
The common people often talked about the prosperous poor, but they loved to see the nobles in distress even more.
Every day, many people would come here, not to buy cloth, but to see what the once glorious Chen family had fallen to.
After Chen Chong entered the shop, he waved his hand and said, "Li Jun, these rolls of cloth were ordered by a customer yesterday. They will be coming to collect them soon. Move them over there."
"Yes!" Chen Lijun, who had once been one of the capital's greatest profligates, was now wearing extremely ordinary clothes. Hearing this, he immediately ran over, strenuously picked up the rolls of cloth, and placed them on the other side of the shop.
Chen Chong lifted a curtain and walked into a small room inside. Frowning, he said, "Miao Yu, didn't I tell you to rest at home? Why are you here again?"
Among the women, Third Miss Chen looked back and shook her head. "It's so boring staying at home. Why don't you come over and teach them how to embroider …"
"If you feel bored, let Xiu 'er accompany you to the brothel to watch a show. I heard that there's a new show going on there recently …"
"It's fine, second brother. I can only feel at ease if I have some work to do."
Chen Chong looked at her, shook his head slightly, and finally said no more.
Inside the shop, seeing that another customer had come in, Chen Lijun hurriedly got up, walked over, and asked, "Sir, are you looking around or …"
A young man smiled and said, "To collect the goods."
Chen Lijun nodded his head and said, "Please show me your bill."
The young man took out a piece of paper from his bosom. Chen Lijun glanced at it, then walked to the other side and quickly came back with a roll of cloth. He said, "This is your cloth. Please check it. If there's no problem, just pay the balance."
The young man opened the roll of cloth and turned it around to examine it. He asked, "Is this cloth sturdy? Don't pass it off as good. If it's not sturdy, I won't pay."
Chen Lijun smiled and said, "Sir, don't worry. In the entire capital, you won't be able to find cloth as sturdy as ours …"
"Rip!"
The young man stretched out his hand and lightly tore the cloth in his hand.
He threw the roll of cloth on the ground, looked at Chen Lijun, and asked, "This is the sturdiest cloth in the capital?"
Chen Lijun stared at him in a daze. In terms of patterns, the cloth here could not compare to other places, but in terms of sturdiness, this was already the best in the capital. Who would have thought that the person before him would be able to casually tear this cloth apart with his bare hands?
The young man took out a few more pieces of paper and handed them to another shop assistant. He asked, "These are the other rolls of cloth I ordered from you yesterday. Where are they?"
The shop assistant pointed in a direction in a daze and said, "They're … they're all over there."
The young man strode over, opened a roll of cloth, and lightly tore it. After a sound like silk tearing, he casually threw the roll of cloth away and stepped on it.
"Rip!"
"Rip!"
"Rip!"
… …
All of the rolls of cloth, in his hands, were like paper. He easily tore them apart and threw them on the ground.
He stood in the middle of the rags and indifferently said, "This is the sturdiest cloth in the capital that you spoke of?"
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