Qin Mubai took the two girls to the port city in the north of Xiangyang City and stopped in front of the gate of Zhengchang Lianghao.
Princess Gaoyang got out of the car and said unhappily: "Why are you here? There are so many people and noisy but there is a fishy smell. What I want is a quiet and elegant place to live."
Wu Meiniang glanced around and smiled knowingly: "Your Highness, this place is nice!"
"What's so good about this?" Princess Gaoyang glanced around unhappily and said gloomily, "It's not bad at all, this is in the market! Mu Bai, you are clearly just teasing us!"
"Don't you know it when you come?" Qin Mubai smiled mysteriously and walked to the gate of Zhengchang Lianghao.
An equally huge copper lock hung on the huge wooden door, with a government seal on it.
Princess Gao Yang stepped forward curiously and said, "Where is this place? Why is it sealed?"
Qin Mubai took out the key and deliberately provoked her with a smile: "This is the residence I arranged for Mei Niang! Of course, it's not your share."
"What did you say? You guy!... You're so angry with me!" Princess Gao Yang really got mad and hit Qin Mubai with her pink fist.
Qin Mubai laughed loudly, opened the copper lock and pushed open the door, saying: "You two, please come quickly! There is a cave inside this place!"
"Huh!" Princess Gao Yang glared, turned around and walked in first.
Wu Meiniang stepped forward and took a look around the courtyard, and said with a pleased smile: "It's really good. This is the busiest and most prosperous place in the market, with the highest concentration of people. When I was a child, I came here with my mother. I remember this. There is a large courtyard inside, with a large pavilion for the coachmen and porters to rest. People can live in the back of the courtyard, and the environment is quite quiet. "
"You better know the goods." Qin Mubai handed her the key with a smile and said, "Okay, this place belongs to you."
Wu Meiniang took the key and said with a warm smile: "Have you taken care of everything?"
"Of course. I am one of the top officials in Xiangzhou after all. I can still take care of this matter, right? I have paid rent for five years, and the Yongye Salt Factory opposite is also yours. "Yes." Qin Mubai pointed to the opposite side and said, "It's a little smaller than here, but the layout is better. You can open a restaurant if you choose."
"Have you taken care of both stores?" Wu Meiniang couldn't help but be a little surprised, "Such a huge store will cost a lot of money, right? You have paid rent for five years, where does the money come from?"
"Don't worry, I won't be reduced to corruption." Qin Mubai chuckled and briefly told her about the resale of grain in the past two months.
The two of them walked inside while talking, and heard Princess Gao Yang calling loudly from inside: "Hey, come on! Wow! This place is great!"
"This guy still looks like a child." Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh.
"A woman always behaves childishly in front of the man she loves. Princess Gaoyang is not like this usually, she is quite majestic. Everyone says she is young and mature." Wu Meiniang said.
Qin Mubai couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and nodded with deep understanding: "Correct answer!"
"Just be proud of yourself, huh!" Wu Meiniang rolled her eyes at him angrily and walked around to Princess Gaoyang.
Princess Gaoyang, who had found herself restless, had already run to the backyard and saw the scattered pavilions, dark blue lotus pond, exquisite carved beams and various decorations made of Taihu stone.
Although the Zhengchang Lianghao is located in the market, and the front house is largely used as a commercial port decoration, the back house is unique. The north of the city is near the suburbs. A stream runs through the back house and feeds the pond. There is a willow forest and green grass along the wall, and there are also a large number of flowers planted. The exquisite and elegant residence made Princess Gaoyang, who was accustomed to seeing tall and magnificent buildings in Kyoto, feel beautiful and fresh.
"Haha, it turns out that the back here is so beautiful! I have decided, I have decided, to live here!" Princess Gaoyang shouted happily, "What a beautiful river and bamboo house! Well, the house is also very beautiful! Jingxiang The homes are very interesting!”
"Please, this is a pond and a stream. What kind of big river?" Qin Mubai said with a smile.
"I said it is a big river, then it is a big river, how about it?" Princess Gaoyang stuck out her tongue and made a face at Qin Mubai, and then pulled Wu Meiniang excitedly to the residence and bamboo house, looking around excitedly.
At the beginning, Duan Rongji, the owner of Zhengchang Lianghao, and his family lived here. There are rumors in Xiangyang County that the Duan family's house is like a paradise in the cave, and even gods want to stay there for a few more days. Now it seems that it is true. Duan Rongji, a wealthy businessman, really knows how to enjoy himself and make his home exquisite and elegant. Luxury should be luxurious, simplicity should be simple, magnificence without losing solemnity, exquisiteness without losing grandeur. There is no shortage of gardens and mountains. You can go fishing and outing at home. There is even a polo field that is rare in Jingxiang and popular in Kyoto, Guanzhong. The ground is paved with neat green grass, which looks like a football field. Spend less time and money taking care of it.
The two girls boarded a Miao-Yi-style bamboo building by the creek and smiled at Qin Mubai from above.
"Mu Bai, how come there is such a unique bamboo building here?" they asked.
"Duan Rongji once had a concubine from the Nanzhu Kingdom and asked someone to build it specifically to take care of her homesickness." Qin Mubai said, "How about it, isn't it good?"
"It's not only good, it's simple and exquisite to the extreme!" Wu Meiniang said, "Every place here is polished as smooth as a mirror, strong and beautiful, and there are many exquisite pictures of birds, animals and landscapes carved on the bamboo walls. !”
"Okay, this place belongs to me, haha!" Princess Gaoyang announced first, laughing proudly, "I have lived in all kinds of beautiful houses, but I have never lived in a bamboo house. Mei Niang, do you agree? Okay?"
Wu Meiniang smiled and said: "Your Highness the Princess has already spoken, how dare I have any objections? Okay, I'll let you stay here. But if you are scared in the middle of the night, please don't come to my room."
Qin Mubai listened to the heated conversation between the two of them, curled his lips and said to himself: Just have fun secretly, Li Daozong said that you are not allowed to stay out at night, so he will definitely not allow it. Although he was kind and generous, he always told the truth.
After a while, the two girls came down from the bamboo tower. Wu Meiniang said to Qin Mubai: "Mubai, send someone to the military port and call my sisters and followers! They have been busy. It’s almost time to unload the goods. Now we need to hire more horses and carts to haul the supplies here. I just saw that there are several large warehouses in the front house, which are suitable for use.”
"Okay." Qin Mubai nodded in agreement and asked, "What did you bring? Is there a lot?"
"Of course there are many." Wu Meiniang said, "Most of them are good Qinxian wine. When you open a market and do business, there are always a lot of joints and ground to take care of. It is not appropriate to give money or gifts. It is better to give such specialties and fine wines. Besides, , if I want to run a wine shop, it will definitely be too late to brew it. These good wines are just stored in the kiln, and they will be put to use when the time comes. Some of them are also here as gifts for the rest of us. Ten people, just two boxes of things per person, it adds up to a lot."
"Wow... Mei Niang, you are so capable!" Princess Gaoyang stuck out her tongue in surprise and said, "Running such a big family business and leading so many people. If it were me, I would definitely be bored to death!"
Qin Mubai smiled and said, "In my opinion, you are more capable."
"Why?" Princess Gao Yang blinked and asked curiously.
"Whether it's the palace, the capital, or a small place like Xiangyang, wherever you go, the chickens and dogs will be restless and everyone will be in fear. Who can you do if you can't do it?" Qin Mubai laughed loudly.
"Big bad guy, I'll fight with you!" Princess Gao Yang was furious. She bit her almond-shaped teeth and her eyes widened, and she was about to pounce on her.
Qin Mubai laughed and ran away. Princess Gaoyang chased her for a while. She stopped panting and stamped her feet with lingering anger, "It's so hateful!"
Wu Meiniang stepped forward and said with a smile: "Princess, why are you angry with him? He has such a bad mouth."
"Meiniang, I quit! We agreed to deal with him together, and now you speak for him again. He bullied me just now, and you didn't care!" Princess Gaoyang snorted angrily.
"Isn't he going to do some business? According to the agreement, we can't miss his business, can we?" Wu Meiniang said with a smile.
"That's right..." Princess Gao Yang blinked, suddenly frowned, and said depressedly, "He went to run errands for you! Okay, Mei Niang, you have selfish motives!"
"Help me do something, that's business!" Wu Meiniang couldn't help laughing.
"Then, I will ask him to help me with a serious matter later, then we will be even!" Princess Gao Yang said with a pout.
"Okay, okay, then you can just give your orders when the time comes!" Wu Meiniang shook her head and smiled.
Qin Mubai came to the door of the grain house, found several accompanying sergeants waiting here, and gave instructions. Let them go to the market to hire more mules, carriages and porters, take his order to the military port to find people, invite all the people accompanying Wu Meiniang, and move all the goods. The sergeants immediately split up and went their separate ways.
Returning to the yard and looking around, Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile: "I can already smell a bit of home here. It would be better if my mother and Shuang'er could come too." It turns out that what I miss is not Chang'an, a city made of gray bricks and gray tiles, but these people far away in Chang'an.
Before the house was cleaned, Wu Meiniang and Princess Gaoyang sat in a pavilion and chatted. Qin Mubai stepped forward and asked Wu Meiniang: "Meiniang, have you seen Shuang'er before coming here?"
"Not only have we met, we spend some time together almost every day." Wu Meiniang said.
"There's me, there's me!" Princess Gao Yang also rushed to say, "When I was in Chang'an, if I had free time, I would go out of the palace and go to your house with Mei Niang to play with Shuang'er and Yao'er. Yao'er practices Gangqin every day, and she plays it very well now! It's fun for us to learn pipa and piano from her!"
Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, and said, "Did you invite Shuang'er to come to Xiangzhou with you before you left?"
Wu Meiniang smiled slightly, nodded, and said: "I received your letter, so I made an appointment with her very early to come to Xiangzhou together, and your mother was also planning to come together. I just made some temporary arrangements. Due to the situation, the two of them decided not to come.”
"What's the situation?" Qin Mubai frowned.
"It's... Princess Wu!" Wu Meiniang said meaningfully.
"Oh, this... it's a pity." Qin Mubai shook his head regretfully and thought: "That's right." When Shuang'er comes to Xiangyang, she will look half at me and half at Li Ke. But now that Princess Wu is newly deceased, her identity will become sensitive and embarrassing, so she didn't come.
"Let's talk about it later. Anyway, we have to live in Xiangyang for a long time, maybe three to five years." Wu Meiniang said, "If Shuang'er and Auntie come, they won't be able to live here. I see you After arriving in Xiangzhou for many days, I didn’t have an official position, so I think I will have a place to stay in the future!”
"Yes!" Qin Mubai smiled happily, "That's why I thought my mother and sister could come and stay for a while, so it would feel more like home."
"After all, you just don't talk about me." Princess Gao Yang held her chin and complained naggingly, "It seems that I am superfluous. It's really boring."
Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile: "It would be even better if Ling'er could be here every day."
Princess Gao Yang was slightly startled. Although she didn't say anything, a joy came to her eyebrows.
Because this is the first time Qin Mubai has affectionately called Wu Meiniang "Ling'er" in front of her!
This cry of "Ling'er" made Princess Gaoyang feel warm in her heart, and she felt somewhat accomplished, as if she was closer to him than Wu Meiniang.
Wu Meiniang only smiled secretly and pretended not to know.
Qin Mubai coughed dryly and said with a smile: "The day after tomorrow is the grand memorial ceremony for Emperor Yangdi's mausoleum. After finishing this important event, I can relax for a while. At that time, I will take you to go sightseeing in various places in Xiangzhou. Water, take a nice dip.”
"Okay!" The two girls were overjoyed and responded in unison.
"Haha!" Qin Mubai laughed proudly and kept laughing.
"What are you so proud of? Don't laugh!"
The two girls blushed together and rushed forward to "group-beat" him. For a moment, his pink fists were flying and he was scolding her repeatedly, which made Qin Mubai feel very happy.
He felt that Xiangzhou now seemed to be a bit like Chang'an.