After taking a comfortable bath, Li Yaonan took a serious look at his new home for the first time.
Although the new house was not as large as the Li Mansion, every detail was exquisite and unique. After being skillfully decorated by the maids, it looked even more elegant.
I still remember when I first bought this house, there were autumn leaves everywhere, and the flowers and plants in the yard had withered because no one took care of them. I didn't expect that after only half a month, the whole house would be brand new.
Li Yaonan was very satisfied with this house. He felt comfortable both physically and mentally after living in it. It turned out that his own place was the best. In order to distinguish it from the Li Mansion, Li Yaonan named the house Li House.
After walking around, Li Yaonan was a little worried when he saw that Lin Yixuan had not come out for a long time. They had a fight today, and he was fine, but he was afraid that Lin Yixuan had suffered a loss but refused to say anything. Recalling that Lin Yixuan's face seemed a little bad just now, Li Yaonan walked towards the bedroom. They had been eating and sleeping together these days, so he didn't have too many concerns.
When he opened the door, Li Yaonan was stunned.
Lin Yixuan was seen half-kneeling on the bed, with wet hair draped over her chest, her cheeks slightly flushed, her lips tightly bitten, her pupils clear as water, her thin undergarment slipped down to her waist, revealing her smooth back, with her skin faintly visible under the undergarment. This look was so suggestive no matter how one looked at it.
Li Yaonan quickly came to his senses and his attention was attracted by the red marks on Lin Yixuan's back. He walked forward and saw Lin Yixuan applying medicine on him. He blamed him, "Why don't you let the servants come?" The injury was on his back, how could he apply medicine himself? If he didn't come, did this guy intend to endure it
Lin Yixuan was silent. Li Yaonan took the medicine from him, frowned, and sat down in front of the bed casually: "Let me do it."
Li Yaonan took out the ointment and gently applied it on him. His broad palms moved over Lin Yixuan's back. Looking at the red marks on his back, Li Yaonan couldn't help but admire him. He wondered how Lin Yixuan kept his skin so tender and beautiful that it was even more delicate than a woman's.
"Be gentle, it hurts!" Lin Yixuan moaned softly, her seductive voice was somewhat charming, her eyes were watery, and she looked like she was ready to be ravaged and taken advantage of.
Unfortunately, Li Yaonan didn't see it and just thought he was too heavy-handed: "Then I'll be gentler."
Lin Yixuan was filled with resentment. He almost took off all his clothes and lay on the bed. Is Li Yaonan a man at all? How could he remain indifferent in the face of such a situation
Li Yaonan didn't think so much. As a straight man, although he knew Shuang'er, he had no personal experience. Intuitively, he still regarded Lin Yixuan as a man. What's wrong with applying medicine between men
Afterwards, Lin Yixuan groaned again, the sound was very small, but very soul-stirring.
"Does it still hurt?" Li Yaonan's hands moved more gently, but he said unforgivingly, "I told you not to go, but you didn't listen. I've never served anyone before, so just bear with the pain."
Lin Yixuan didn't know whether she was embarrassed or angry. She bit her lips lightly with her pearly teeth. A blush appeared on her face, making her cheeks look even more delicate and charming. She felt indignant in her heart, and then she used all her martial arts.
Unfortunately, until Li Yaonan finished applying medicine to him, no sparks flew between the two of them.
Lin Yixuan was extremely angry, but he did not show it on his face. If he had not seen Li Yaonan talking nonsense to women on the banks of the Yangzhou River before, he would have really thought that Li Yaonan was no good. He had humbled himself so much, but he was still like a piece of wood.
The only thing Lin Yixuan was thankful for now was that he was indeed injured today and really needed medicine, and that Li Yaonan didn't notice anything, otherwise he would be too ashamed to see anyone.
Since he had returned to his own home, Li Yaonan had someone prepare a bedroom for him that night so that he and Lin Yixuan could sleep in a separate room.
Lin Yixuan did not refute this. Today's situation was obvious. Even if they did not sleep in separate rooms, Li Yaonan would not be able to touch him, let alone have a child. If this plan did not work, he could only think of another way.
The next day, Li Yaonan got up early in the morning and began to organize his own small treasury. Although he no longer had to worry about food and clothing, he always had to consider what kind of business he could do to add some income to his family. He couldn't really let Lin Yixuan support him. His wife was richer than him, and the pressure was enormous.
What's more, in his mind, Lin Yixuan would leave sooner or later. As a grown man, he was now the head of the family and would have many places to spend money in the future. It would not be enough to rely solely on the money left by Zhang.
Before Zhang died, she knew that her health was failing and she was afraid that she would not live long. She was afraid that her son would be mistreated after she was gone, so she exchanged a lot of her property for silver bills and left them to her son for self-defense. In addition to the obvious dowry, she also had a total of 15,000 taels of silver bills.
In fact, we should thank the original owner for his noble character. He only cared about books of sages and had no close friends. He did not need to give gifts to entertain guests. His daily expenses were only for food, clothing, and rewards for servants. He did not spend 500 taels of silver a year. In the past few years, he spent more than 3,000 taels. He spent another 2,500 taels on the house, and he had 9,000 taels left. It was not too much, but not too little. It was enough to run a business.
After much thought, Li Yaonan decided to open a tea shop, a place for people to drink tea and chat, and then hire a storyteller. He would write the scripts himself, and there would be no need to worry about not having many customers.
He has learned these days that the stories of the ancients are really boring. He has the original owner's writing skills, and there are so many modern stories, which will definitely attract the attention of the guests.
The most important thing is that he is not well-known now, so he uses the name of writing storybooks to build up his own momentum. As long as his fame gets out, whoever sees him in the future will look up to him because he has the reputation of a great writer, and it will also be much easier for him to make friends and have a smoother career. Reputation is a good thing, and Li Yaonan has made a very careful calculation.
But soon, he ran into trouble.
The idea of opening a teahouse is good, and writing a storybook is also a good idea, but in today's society, there are scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. He can't open a shop by himself. Where will the shopkeeper come from? At least he has to find someone he trusts. As for the storyteller, he is not worried. The storybook is in his hands, so he is not afraid that the storyteller will go to another place.
At present, the only people he has under his command, apart from the six maids, are Wang Xiaohu's family, who are also working in Zhang's shop. He can't just bring people in and then send them out again. What's more, it will take even a month or two to tell whether the Wang brothers have any ability.
Li Yaonan frowned, as he was pressed for time. He had to write storybooks, read books, hire teachers, and take the imperial examinations. He really didn't have much energy to focus on the shop. If he couldn't find a suitable shopkeeper, his plan would probably have to be shelved.
Seeing that he had been busy since early morning and now looked worried, Lin Yixuan asked curiously, "What's wrong with you?"
Li Yaonan did not hide anything. He decided to discuss it with more people and told him what he was thinking.
Who would have thought that Lin Yixuan would sneer after hearing this, and it was unclear whether his eyes were contemptuous or teasing, anyway, there was a hint of contempt in his eyes: "You are the only one who wants to write a storybook? Those policy papers in your room..."
Li Yaonan was choked. It wasn't his writing that was good, but thinking of what the original owner wrote, it was indeed horrible. Li Yaonan couldn't help blushing. It was no wonder that Lin Yixuan looked down on it, but this was not the main problem. Li Yaonan quickly realized it and said dissatisfiedly, "How could you go to my study."
Lin Yixuan refuted confidently: "When you were packing up the things in Li's house, you didn't care about anything. Don't you want those books in the study? I heard that you are planning to take the imperial examination next year."
Li Yaonan had nothing to say. In the beginning, it was Lin Yixuan who was in charge of transporting all the things out of the Li Mansion. After he bought his own house, he became a hands-off boss. How could he feel embarrassed to blame others now
Lin Yixuan decided to stop while he was ahead, and finally vented his anger from yesterday. After thinking for a while, he suggested, "You can go to the East Street Market to pick some people, and you can also buy some servants. We don't have enough people to serve in our house, and we won't have enough to serve when a guest comes."
Li Yaonan slapped his thigh in annoyance. Why didn’t he think of this? He hurriedly took out some silver and took it with him. Without wasting a moment, he hurried out the door.
Lin Yixuan was left dumbfounded. How could this man be so reckless? However, it was better for him to leave. Lin Yixuan found some medicinal herbs, closed the door and started tinkering with them. In the past, in order to have a child, he had searched for many secret recipes, and now they came in handy. He must get pregnant in one go.
Lin Yixuan knew that these days were the best time for him to get pregnant, and taking the medicine was also for an extra layer of protection.
He had gotten to know Li Yaonan's personality quite well after spending these days with him. This man looked romantic and unrestrained, but he was actually cold-hearted. If he wanted to plot against him, he had to do it without leaving any trace. Otherwise, if Li Yaonan knew that he had drugged him, it wouldn't matter if he took his anger out on him, but he was just afraid that Li Yaonan would be prejudiced against the child, and he would not make such a mistake.
She originally seduced Lai Yaonan because she wanted to become his wife. It's not her fault that a man can't control his lower body.
However, Li Yaonan remained calm even though he had her in his arms, so he could only resort to this last resort. If he couldn't get pregnant this time, he didn't know if Li Yaonan would touch him again. If he did it once, it would be an accident, but if he did it twice or three times, his intention would be exposed. He couldn't take this risk.
Only in this way can he gain Li Yaonan's respect, and he will not treat him unfairly even if he doesn't like him in his heart.
Li Yaonan came back that afternoon with more than thirty people, including twelve maids, six servants, fifteen servants, two who could write and count, and their families. It was said that these two people used to be shopkeepers in other people's shops and were sold after the owners changed. They can be considered to have some skills and means.
Lin Yixuan thought about it and decided to let them learn the rules of the Li residence first. As for how to arrange it, they would see after a month.
Li Yaonan nodded in agreement. This trip to the human market had a great impact on him. Yangzhou City was a prosperous place, and he had never thought that there was such a place. Although he was not a compassionate person, he always felt uncomfortable when he saw people being sold like animals. He once again clearly realized the gap between ancient people and modern people, and he had an even greater yearning for a career in officialdom.
If he took the imperial examination in the past because of the ideas left by the original owner, then now it is because of his ambition. He does not want to fall to the bottom of this society. He wants to stand out and he wants to hold great power.
For the first time, Li Yaonan took the imperial examination seriously. He was no longer like before, just thinking about becoming an official and having a status!