The weather is getting colder gradually. Under the current circumstances, Ning Yi's daily life is almost the same as the previous days.
Every morning, I ran to the Qinhuai River to meet Nie Yunzhu, and occasionally I would talk about the arrangements for the day. Recently, when he was with Nie Yunzhu, there was always a light bulb in the middle. Of course, to be precise, Yuan Jiner, who seems to have nothing to do, always sits next to him and accompanies him to listen to Yunzhu play the piano and sing. The direction of purity has developed a bit, but in this case, Ning Yi and Yunzhu had to be pure, which made Ning Yi feel very sorry.
Of course, taking a step back, having two oiran-level beauties sitting next to them is not something that ordinary people can enjoy. Yunzhu's playing and singing are a must. It's also a pleasure to get up. But Yuan Jin'er didn't give him the advantage. She sat next to Ning Yi with her legs crossed and her chin resting like a boy. She seemed to be enjoying herself, like a little monk. If Yunzhu left to get a tea tray or something, she wouldn't go with her, she would just sit next to Ning Yi, serious and hateful.
For this reason, after everyone sneered at each other a few times, the two had several candid conversations, most of which were when Nie Yunzhu left and the two of them stared at each other.
"Let's go down and dance later, little girl." There was something wrong between Ning Yi and this guy anyway, so he didn't need to pick a good word.
"If you don't dance, I'm just sitting here listening to Sister Yunzhu sing... You can be content, do you know how much it cost me to accompany Miss Ben in Jinfenglou?"
Ning Yi rolled his eyes and didn't know her in general in this regard. Recently Su Tan'er gave him the key, he has become a little white face who can take money at will, but it is not easy to take it, so he is relatively poor recently, so he doesn't talk about money matters: "Tsk, you can't be like this. Yes, the bad guy's marriage is... "
"How can there be a bad person's marriage, aren't you and Yunzhu sister a very honest and gentleman's friend? Then you are like this, but I don't allow you to do anything bad or bad. You are not a good person, you have a family Wife's, can you leave Su Tan'er at home with Sister Yunzhu?"
"To be honest, this is difficult." Ning Yi thought for a while, then looked at Jiang Shui and murmured to himself, "There are many problems, and men are not good things, they always eat what's in the bowl and look at what's in the pot. …”
Originally, Yuan Jin'er wanted to say this, but seeing Ning Yi being so shameless, she widened her eyes for a while and looked puffed up, but she is also a person who has been tested for a long time, and then she returned to her natural state and pouted: " Look at it, look at it, just let you look at it without eating."
Ning Yi also looked at her lazily: "I didn't really want to eat, but you reminded me like this all day, I suddenly became very craving, what should I do..."
"Then let's see who we are..." Yuan Jin'er gave Ning Yi a wink, very cute, Ning Yi laughed: "Only a thousand days can be a thief, how can a thousand days be a thief."
"Humph." Yuan Jin'er didn't listen to this, her face turned to one side. Afterwards, I accompanied Ning Yi to listen to songs here. She was not afraid of being scalded by boiling water anyway. Yunzhu also found it interesting and didn't chase her. Instead, when Ning Yi left, she pestered Yunzhu to sue her desperately. . It's just that in such a situation, how could Yunzhu be angry for such a thing, even if Jin'er talked about Ning Yi's expression of eating in the bowl and looking at the pot, Yunzhu also smiled without saying a word, and even felt When he asked with interest that he really said that, like "Does he really want to eat?", Jin'er was slightly discouraged.
In fact, Ning Yi didn't care much about this kind of thing. As a man, he naturally thought about it, and it was impossible not to think about it. Nie Yunzhu has a beautiful appearance and a soft temperament, and his tough side also has something that attracts him very much. Everyone has reached this stage, and Yunzhu is already very willing to these things. If there was no Jin'er that day. It suddenly appeared, and it was originally developed along the way.
But on the other hand, his mind doesn't take much of these things. On the Yunzhu side, he was enjoying the feeling of interacting with Ning Yi. In all fairness, in this era, although there will be some romantic and praised love stories or legends of steadfastness, there can be no real equality or respect in the way men and women get along. Women's love is actually based on the model of today's era.
What Ning Yi can really make some people feel, perhaps is that extremely "weird" and "maverick" style of behavior, he can be so careless after he rescued Nie Yunzhu but was slapped in the face. After walking away, he could chat with her at will, and he could sleep in Nie Yunzhu's piano for an afternoon, too lazy to show his strength or talent. It was as if he could accompany Su Tan'er to sit on the balcony all night when he was bored, and he could make jokes about asking for support.
Although casual, what Ning Yi showed was not a rogue or unscrupulous. He had always had his own temperament and demeanor, but it was just casual. The calm and equal emotional elements that are really mixed in these things, or the elements that should belong to love for them, I am afraid that women of this era will never be able to feel it. Of course, it may be a matter of opinion whether you like it or not. For example, a little girl named Zhou Pei felt that the teacher Ning Yi was too impersonal and dignified all day long.
Ning Yi and Yuan Jin'er sneered at each other, often making Yunzhu a little confused. When everyone was together, she seemed to be back when she used to be a singer, and she would play and sing a song with her guqin in her arms when she had nothing to do. It's shameful for Jin'er, who the audience refuses to help. Although Yunzhu feels a little complacent at this time, Ning Yi, who is just as shameful as Jin'er, will occasionally take out her morals and wipe it. After disappearing for a moment, Yunzhu said a few words with a smile, "I'm happy in my heart." He often shared the contents of Jin'er's whistleblower with Ning Yi. Of course, it was not too sensitive. Eating the kind in the bowl and looking at the pot.
Of course, there is not much time to go to the small building in the afternoon. After school in the morning, either take the little brother of the Zhou family to teach more things in the laboratory next to the academy, study physical chemistry, etc., or It is to walk around with Xiaochan, eat something, sometimes go to Qin's hometown to talk and play chess, and sometimes go to Zhuji's store to sit and sit. After the ban on alcohol was lifted, Zhuji was going to take out the high-alcohol liquor for sale.
Occasionally, I meet those people I met in the mall before, from the Wu family, the Xue family, or other friends or enemies of the Su family, as well as some of the shopkeepers of the Su family, so it seems that Jiangning City is not. Great, but everyone has nothing to say. For Ning Yi, these people were either ridiculed or disdainful, but Ning Yi probably understood and didn't bother to care about them.
On the other hand, when he was in the Su family, there were often some messy things. For example, not long ago, a young shopkeeper who was somewhat related to the Su family accused him of saying that the previous royal business affairs were all because he did not mix the recipe of the fabric. If it weren't for the fact that he had no experience and didn't pay enough attention to the problem caused by managing it well, the matter of the royal merchants would have been assured in the end.
There will be many similar things, and there will be enough psychological preparations earlier. Whether it is some contradictions in the Su family's big room, or the power of the second and third rooms, they have already appeared at this time. As long as he can spare no effort to hit people related to Su Tan'er, it may be regarded as a victory. Although Ning Yi is now in the Su family, he has let go of business affairs, but he is Su Tan'er's husband after all. As long as he can leave the Su family by any means, it is obvious to Su Tan'er. It's the most powerful blow.
Whether it can actually be done is another matter of course, but pressure from all sides is always inevitable. Naturally, Ning Yi's current response can only be considered to be an unresisted, reluctant attitude. It's justified, it can only be done like this, but the grievances in his heart will not be less, and one day it will erupt and cause even greater flaw. What people are waiting for is this day. If something goes wrong with Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, who is already in a bit of trouble, will become even more difficult. It's just that in the past few days, the situation seems to have become a little strange.
"Recently, the five uncles and seven uncles in the clan have all agreed. After half a month, the clan meeting will be held, and the problems that have occurred in the family during the recent period will be formally discussed. At that time, they will also bring up Tan'er as a woman. I am involved in business issues at home. The matter of the big house should be decided within this year."
In the afternoon, in the yard where Su Zhongkan was, several shopkeepers and cousins who were close to the second room, including Su Chonghua, were sitting in the room drinking tea with Su Zhongkan, and casually chatting about recent family affairs. For the past two and a half months, the Su family has been in turmoil, and the business of the second and third rooms has also been greatly affected, but as a member of the second room, there is not much depression displayed at this time. Su Zhongkan said this, and a cousin over there opened his mouth.
"I'm just afraid that the third uncle still won't change his mind. In the situation of our Su family, even if the rest of the uncles and uncles are on our side, I'm afraid that the old man will continue to drag on like this."
Su Yu was ranked third among the older generation. At this time, when this person was talking about the third uncle, he was referring to him. Su Zhongkan shook his head.
"Father shouldn't say anything more. If he really can say, the situation at home in the last month, he may have come forward. The big room, the second room and the third room, will eventually have a result, and the old man also understands it. He wants to be stable and hope that the family and everything will be prosperous. I am afraid he is really angry about the eldest brother's affairs, but the eldest brother is already like this, and Tan'er has made such a mistake again. Presumably he will also feel that the big room will be on the cusp of this storm again. It’s not good to hold on, but if you really retreat, it will also save Tan’er’s niece and have a good life in the future.”
"I think it should be like this." A cousin nodded, "Now everyone at home has this understanding of this matter. These days, I have contacted several shopkeepers in the big room and asked about their intentions in the future. Most of them also expressed their willingness to come to our side if they were drawn from the big room. It’s a pity that the most central ones have not expressed their position. The shopkeeper Xi is young and vigorous, saying that he wants to live and die with the big room. Many people in the family also know about it. In addition, Liao Kaitai is reluctant to express his position... "
"If shopkeeper Liao said the last sentence, I believe that many people will change the trend." One of the shopkeepers said, "But he is really loyal to the eldest master. After such a thing happened, he still has no complaints against the eldest house... oh , I just told people that Ning Liheng's bookishness was too self-willed a few nights after the annual meeting of the cloth industry, otherwise there would have been a chance... I haven't been able to find him recently, so I can't start from this aspect... "
"Oh, Ning Liheng..." Someone laughed.
Su Chonghua also smiled and leaned back on the chair: "This person has some knowledge, but unfortunately he doesn't know anything about business..."
"It's Manager Liao, I heard that he was sent to Beijing by Tan'er's niece?"
Su Zhongkan nodded: "It's hard to say exactly what it is doing, but it is indeed Shangjing that reported to the family. I laughed that day. Could this Tan'er niece faint, knowing that Jiangning's relationship will not work out, so she wants to go to Beijing to file a lawsuit? But? I'm afraid she has other ideas. Complaining about this kind of thing, there is no real evidence, we don't have a good way to go in Tokyo, and she should know that it is impossible."
"She seems to be staring at the Wu family recently, and she wants to disrupt the market at a low price. Maybe she is really dizzy and wants to make a desperate attempt?"
"Buying goods at a low price is to push our entire Su family into the fire pit. The fool knows what the outcome will be, and the whole cloth line will unite to beat us." Su Zhongkan laughed, "Even if she wants to do it, the family I won’t accept it, the first day this order was issued, I’m afraid there will be a clan meeting that night, so we’ll save it.”
"But... there are some strange rumors outside these two days." During the conversation, a shopkeeper surnamed Ren thought and mentioned it.
"Huh? What rumor?"
"The situation in Wujia seems to be a bit strange. The situation in the past two days is a bit different from the previous adjustment of supply and demand and the adjustment of old cloths while talking about development with other merchants. There are rumors that they seem to have some problems with Canjin Brocade. In short, these two Today, Wu Chenghou and others seemed to be absent-minded when talking about business, and there were even rumors from the weaving bureau that they were discussing with Dong Decheng to delay the delivery of the first batch of golden brocade. It's just not confirmed yet."
"What's going on?" Su Zhongkan frowned.
"I'm afraid there are some small problems. This kind of thing often happens. Yesterday, I heard that Qin Zhongnan, the steward of Qin Zhongnan, who was in charge of the batch of cloth for the imperial merchants, suddenly fell ill. Because of this kind of relationship, there will always be some people who spread the word. Yes." A shopkeeper shook his head and said.
The shopkeeper who spoke earlier also shook his head and smiled: "It should be, I think it is the Xue family who is releasing the news. This afternoon, I even heard someone say that the Wu family has been tricked by my Su family in the matter of the royal business. The second lady is secretly calculating against them, and something is wrong right now."
"Mischief?" Su Zhongkan was stunned for a moment, then raised his head and smiled, "It must be the Xue family who spread rumors. But eldest brother was still awake in those days. Second girl, if she was lying ill, she might be using some plan, but the last time she really fell ill from overwork and suddenly fell ill, Dr. Sun also said that she was under too much pressure , and the eldest brother fell suddenly... There is no doubt about this matter. If it was a plot, I heard that everything was handled by Liheng at that time, could it be that they fell into Liheng's strategy?"
When he said this, everyone smiled helplessly. To be honest, it's a little bad for their own family to laugh at their own family, but they are already familiar with Ning Yi. Others may say that this person is mysterious and can't understand anything. They are all people in a big house, and the people in the family know exactly what he does every day.
All day long, I teach a group of children, tell incoherent stories, and it is said that I also do some small experiments, playing Go, walking around and eating. Before Su Tan'er fell, he had almost never contacted business affairs, and he no longer set foot in the cloth line after the annual meeting that day. If such a person who has nothing to do all day really did something in that month, he was only found out at this time, and he endured all kinds of harassment and abuse all day long without moving, then he It just doesn't look like a human being. What's more, if he really did something, all kinds of changes may occur in the next month and a half, and it is impossible to ignore it completely.
Everyone drank tea and laughed for a while. After a while, a cousin frowned: "But... what if it was?"
"Uh..." Su Zhongkan was stunned for a moment, then the atmosphere in the room cooled down a little, and they looked at each other. The cousin thought for a while.
"When I think about it at this time, I think it's really strange. Ning Liheng didn't care about business before. After the second girl fell ill, he really planned to get it right, but after August 25th, the second girl took over. He suddenly pulled away again, it's possible to say that he was hit on that day. It's just... It was too thorough. After that, he didn't care about business affairs at all. Others said that he was scolding him. It looks like he is living his life as usual, as if he is completely concerned about these things, and does not seem to have any influence... If he is really so angry, shouldn't he feel guilty or care about it later? so powerful?"
When he said this, some strange feelings surged in everyone's heart. Indeed, for the past month and a half, the family has been fighting openly and secretly, the tide has ebb and flow, both inside and outside are fighting for many things, and everyone has spent the most effort. Many people also set their sights on this scholar, taking him as part of the struggle, trying to keep his face and displeasure out of the Su family, at least causing disturbance to Su Taner. But for this couple, one is stubbornly doing some silly things that others don't understand in the center of the whirlpool, and the other... Now it seems that they don't seem to take these things to heart and live as usual. They all felt that he was enduring, but being able to endure to this extent was indeed a bit too much.
However, this was just a casual guess, and after a while, everyone shook their heads and laughed.
"How can the scholar be so powerful..."
Su Chonghua probably knew the most about Ning Yi, and at this time also laughed the most interesting: "I think too much, the Wu family just had some small problems, thank you for taking the hearsay seriously. If Liheng is really so powerful, then But it's not the Ning Liheng that you and I know, but Zhuge Wolong, who is ordered to do what he needs to do when he is in danger, and walks away when he is done. It is true that some literary talents are cultivated, and their temperament is different from others. In the past, he was questioned by everyone because of his poetic talents, and he was too lazy to say a word of defense. At this time, he was abusive and talked about, but it’s okay to endure it…”
"Hehe, Chonghua is right, you guys are really thinking too much..."
While joking, everyone immediately forgot about these things, but perhaps because they had talked about these things in the afternoon, when he met Ning Yi who was returning home that evening, Su Zhongkan couldn't help but look at him a few more times. The young man in a blue robe was holding an old book he bought from an unknown place in his hand. As he walked, he looked at the sunset in the western sky, wondering what he was thinking. Noticing his gaze, he turned around and smiled at him: "Second uncle."
The two sides greeted each other and passed by, Su Zhongkan shook his head slightly. Indeed, he is too young to see a calmness that belongs to young people, but he does not see too much scheming, and such calmness, when placed on young people, is mostly pretended. In the past month or so, he has been subjected to so many scorns and abuses, and it is estimated that he is holding back in his heart, but he has to act like this...
He thought about it this way, and then he focused on how to convince the youngest ninth uncle among the uncles tonight, and no longer consider these matters about Ning Liheng.
It's always a matter of the juniors, so he doesn't have to get involved.
*****************
In the same evening, Wu Qilong and Xi Junyu met in a restaurant room on the banks of the Qinhuai River. The two of them could be regarded as an "accidental encounter", and they each had other things to do. They came and went, trying to guide and lay out some things, and now they have achieved results. Tonight, I made an appointment with a few children of the Su family to have dinner nearby, and there is not much time left at this time.
"Brother Xi, how are you doing recently?"
"Everything is fine, but it's your Wu family, something happened in the past two days?"
Wu Qilong looked at him for a while, then took a sip of tea: "It's okay, I just want to ask you how you thought about what you said before. For the past month and a half, you have been working hard to get the Su family to take the royal business's business. It was Ning Yi's fault, and I also let someone help you to promote it outside. The biggest problem with the royal business at this time was that Ning Yi did not keep the dyeing recipe, but it seemed that the effect was limited. Up to now, you how to think?"
"Who said the effect is limited?" Xi Junyu smiled, "The matter has not reached the last step, who knows what will happen? The current situation of the Su family, whether Su Tan'er or Ning Yi, must be simmering in dissatisfaction, Su Tan'er Now that I can't take care of myself, I want to seize the last chance, but it's too late to deal with these feelings. Ning Liheng... He has been enduring it all the time, and one day he will not be able to bear it... Once he loses his big house in Su Tan'er's hands, before She will remember everything that happened, and then she will remember that everyone said it was Ning Liheng's fault..."
"What if it wasn't so?"
Xi Junyu shook his head: "That's not something I want to consider now."
"Oh, it's really your character..." Wu Qilong laughed, then leaned back in his chair, "That's what I said, the door of my Wu family is open for you at any time, and when it's necessary, please think about it. "
Xi Junyu looked at him in silence, nodded first, then thought about it, and then said, "You're not quite right, is there something really wrong with you?"
"There is indeed a problem. There were several accidents in the workshop, and Uncle Qin suddenly fell ill. After all, things were too fast and the pressure was too tight. We are now considering negotiating with the Weaving Bureau for an extension. It's not a big problem, but it's not a good thing. , there can't be too many people who know, so I'm thinking, if there are more people available at home... "
"Be busy with your own business." After Xi Junyu finished speaking, he turned and left.
Wu Qilong watched him go out, then drank a cup of tea and sat quietly in the room. After evening, it turned to night, and when the lights became clear, a figure knocked on the door and came in. If there is someone from the Su family, they will definitely recognize the person in front of him. The middle-aged man who entered the door this time is also a steward of the Su family. His surname is Qi and his name is Guangzu. After closing the door, he fights with Wu Qilong. After saying hello, he sat down in the seat next to him, frowning.
"Uncle Qi, how are you?"
Then Qi Guangzu looked at Wu Qilong: "Young Master, is there really something wrong with the Wu family?"
Wu Qilong smiled and lowered his head and took a sip of tea: "Uncle Qi, if something happens to my Wu family, it won't do you any good, right?"
"I talked to Shopkeeper Zhou yesterday." Qi Guangzu frowned, "Manager Zhou and Shopkeeper Bai are the most low-key and cautious among the shopkeepers in the Su family's big room, so the second lady asked them to be responsible for the development of the dye. After the incident, the Su family was also doing self-examination. The two of them were also extremely neglected during this period of time, but after receiving the letter from you, Young Master, I had a drink with the shopkeeper that week the night before, which really surprised me... Little, what happened?"
Wu Qilong's expression became serious: "What happened, shouldn't I ask you? Uncle Qi, what did the shopkeeper say that week?"
"He... He basically didn't say much." Wu Qilong refused to say it, and Director Qi took a deep breath, "But during the whole process of being drunk, I didn't see any worries in him. I didn't know until yesterday. It can be seen that he seems... Not only is he not worried about the investigation of the Su family, but he is not even worried about the entire situation of the Su family at present. This is obviously the responsibility of him and the shopkeeper Bai. There is only one sentence that I remember most clearly. of."
Qi Guangzu paused: "He was drunk at the time and said... The whole Su family, besides the old lady, is what he admires the most..."
"Heh, is it your second young lady..." Wu Qilong could almost guess what happened next, and at this time he raised his teacup and sneered. Over there, Qi Guangzu looked at him with some embarrassment: "It's not... it's... Uncle Ning."
Wu Qilong was stunned there, he moved the teacup away from his mouth, and after a while, his eyes turned, as if he didn't know where to put the teacup, he took a deep breath, then opened his mouth, and sighed again. With a long exhale, his eyes turned back to Qi Guangzu.
"What did you say?"
************
Seven thousand words, even a sincere person ^_^