69 Chanting

◎It is difficult for an ordinary man to catch her eye, and it is difficult for an ordinary courtship to win her heart◎

Song Jinyi didn't expect her to say it so directly. She subconsciously looked around. The guests around her were talking loudly and no one paid attention to this side.

She said to Shen Lingyuan, "Please wait for me for a moment. This is not a place to talk."

After a while, the milk tea in the store had already been sold out and there were not many customers. She said something to Xu Ruolan, and then took Shen Lingyuan to find a secluded place to talk.

Pavilion in the center of the lake.

It is cold in winter, especially when the sun sets and the golden light has not yet faded. The biting cold air pounces on passers-by like a ferocious beast or a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

The two men stood in the pavilion, put their hands in their sleeves, crossed their feet and stomped their bodies, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Shen Lingyuan felt her teeth hitting her lower lip, almost breaking it. She asked in a trembling voice, "Why do we have to talk in this drafty pavilion?"

Song Jinyi sniffed and said, "Look at this road, where is there no one? Only here are there few people, so it's convenient to talk."

…

Shen Lingyuan was silent for a moment, then asked a soul-searching question: "We are not in a relationship where we cannot see each other, right?"

Song Jinyi tightened her collar and asked, "Do you have anywhere to go?"

Shen Lingyuan said: "Let's go to my place. I'm alone."

Song Jinyi followed Shen Lingyuan to the inn where she was staying. There was charcoal burning in the room, melting all the snow on her dress.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Song Jinyi learned that Shen Lingyuan was actually a scholar in ancient times. She was passing through Yunzhou and was going to Baichuan Academy.

"Disrespectful, disrespectful, it turns out it's the scholar, Prime Minister Genmiao."

Shen Lingyuan blushed, "Sister, don't make fun of me. I'm just a tiny slag among the vast number of talented people. I'm far from that high position."

The two of them chatted for a while, and Shen Lingyuan asked about milk tea. "I didn't expect that I could taste the nostalgic taste here. It seems that delicious drinks are popular here regardless of time.

It would be great if it could open in Shengjing in the future. Then I can drink milk tea every day when I go to Shengjing."

"To be honest, my milk tea shop adopts a franchise model and is still expanding. I've been thinking about it recently. By the way..." She looked at Shen Lingyuan and said, "I have an unwelcome request and I'd like to ask for your help. Look at the people buying food on the street. Who doesn't sing a few lyrics? Even in my previous life, the most famous one was "You love me, I love you, Bingxue balabal."

When Song Jinyi said this, Shen Lingyuan immediately understood, "Sister, do you want me to help write the poem? But it's a small matter, not really a help. I just hope you won't despise me and call me a scholar seeking fame."

"I'm so honored that you're willing to take this trouble..."

Shen Lingyuan brought her own writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in her package. She took up her pen and remained silent for a moment before writing:

The moon reflects the fragrance of tea, and the wind brings the love of milk tea.

Beside the ancient road and next to the small bridge, the aroma of milk tea wafts in the air.

Picked from Yunshang Tea House, the red leaves and golden buds grow in the sun.

Spring rain is moist, summer is sunny, autumn breeze is caressing, and winter snow is hidden.

The fragrance is as mellow as silk, sliding across the lips and teeth.

Sweet but not greasy, bitter followed by sweetness.

A pot of good tea can give you half a day of leisure in your busy life.

******

Recently, there has been a trend of portable drinks in the south city.

Walking on the street, you can see people carrying bamboo tubes with two holes drilled in them and tied with hemp ropes for easy carrying.

Looking more closely, one could see a piece of white paper pasted on the bamboo tube, with the words "Tea Fate" written on it. If someone approached to ask, the enthusiastic person would tell them everything he knew: "It's sold by the Chayuan shop in Shuchengfang in Nancheng. It costs twelve cents inside the store, and you'll get a bamboo tube for taking it away, plus three cents..."

Those who are shy and embarrassed to ask others can always find the store after seeing its name.

It is equivalent to an invisible advertisement.

This tea incident quickly became a hot topic among the crowd, with people saying that the shopkeeper was young and quick-witted. Those with sharp eyes could see that the shopkeeper had huge ambitions, and that his ambitions were not limited to this small market town, but also to the small southern city, and even...

Song Jinyi came up with this portable recipe because Shen Lingyuan was about to leave for Baichuan Academy, which was hundreds of miles away from Yunzhou. The journey was too long and she was afraid that she would not be able to taste this thing again, so she repeatedly begged Song Jinyi to let her take two cups away.

Song Jinyi had thought herself an outsider in this world, all alone, but not lonely at all. Now that she had finally met a true "fellow countryman," she felt a surge of intimacy, and since he had written a hymn for her, how could she resist?

She pondered over the idea of ​​a drink container. A clay pot for tea leaves came to mind, but it was heavy and expensive—no! A tea bowl? It had a low rim, was fragile, and difficult to carry...

It was not until Li He accidentally swept the bamboo cup down while cleaning the table that it was as if a drop of clear spring water hit her brow. She was blinded by the leaf and did not notice the answer right in front of her.

She walked over, picked up the bamboo cup, and examined it carefully. It was lightweight, unbreakable, and easy to carry even with a hole. Then she thought, if she could create a suitable container, wouldn't it be possible to take it out? That would alleviate the supply shortage and allow her to put stickers on the cups, a subtle promotional tool.

She is indeed a genius!

The more she thought about it, the more interested she became. She turned around and looked for the craftsman who had customized the bamboo cup. They talked for a long time. Because the bamboo cup customized before only had one bamboo section, it was easy to spill when taken out, so she extended it by two bamboo sections to make a tube.

As for the price, I used the old method, which was to lower the price by quantity. I first asked for one hundred bamboo tubes, and each bamboo tube cost two cents.

When she walked back carrying the customized bamboo tubes, because there were too many things, she had to wear ropes all over her body. She hung three or four around her neck, held twenty or thirty in each hand, and tied seven or eight around her waist. Only then did she barely bring back half of them.

She was very upset. She came out in such a hurry and should have brought Li He with her.

On the way back, I happened to meet Aunt Wang who was selling braised pork next door.

She called out, "Isn't this Aunt Wang? Long time no see..."

After exchanging pleasantries, Song Jinyi got down to business and asked, "Why haven't I seen Brother Wang lately? Are you busy?"

Aunt Wang was startled, and glanced away awkwardly. After thinking for a moment, she finally said, "Well, your brother Wang didn't handle that matter well. I'm embarrassed to talk about it these days, and I'm embarrassed to see you."

Song Jinyi asked in detail what happened.

It turned out that the first half of that day was similar to what Song Jinyi had thought. Carpenter Zhang was naturally happy to see someone buying his daughter, and everything went smoothly. But because it went too smoothly, something unexpected happened.

Brother Wang was so proud that he talked too much, which made the other party realize that they were not the real buyers, but someone else.

Zhang the Carpenter thought, what does this mean for the other party's roundabout way of beating around the bush? It means he cares, and it means his daughter is valuable.

He immediately raised the price, asking for a whopping fifty taels. Even a rabbit would bite when it gets angry. A profiteer would rather spend money than his life. He was not afraid of Brother Wang's muscles at this time. He picked up the chopsticks and swept the man out, "Get out!"

This matter failed inexplicably, and Brother Wang didn't know how to explain it to them, so he hid in the store to avoid them.

Aunt Wang explained the matter and returned the ransom money.

After Song Jinyi returned, she thought about this matter and couldn't help but sigh, "It's difficult."

She had agreed to bring the person back to him in the next two days. How was she going to explain this to Sister Ruolan?

After she finished fiddling with the bamboo tube, she neither returned to the house nor went to the yard. She just sat quietly in the front hall.

The sky gradually darkened, and the house seemed to be covered by a pitch-black cloth, with no light coming in.

Xie Wuyang came in from outside and saw that the shop door was not locked. He thought that the fool Li He had forgotten to lock the door. Only when he came in did he find someone hiding in the dark.

He straightened his back, looked at the figure, and took very light steps towards it until he stood still in the darkness. He looked the figure up and down, his eyes changing from vigilance to a gentleness that he himself did not even notice.

He gently placed his hand on the woman's hair, brushed it slowly, and looked at her sleeping face in the darkness.

Perhaps sensing someone, Song Jinyi woke up from a nap. Although she couldn't see, she could feel a familiar breath. She asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you back?"

There was a "hmm" sound, and then a warm yellow light suddenly lit up in the room. She had just woken up from the darkness and felt a little uncomfortable for a moment, blinking her eyes.

She heard Xie Wuyang ask, "Sis, since you feel sleepy, why don't you go back to your room and sleep? Is there something bothering you?"

She stroked her forehead without saying a word.

"Is it because of Craftsman Zhang?"

Hearing this, she looked at him in surprise and told him what happened today without hiding anything.

"If the deal doesn't work out, just find someone else. Why should I worry about this, sister?"

"You don't understand. This person means a lot to your sister Ruolan. Besides, I promised her. A gentleman's promise is as heavy as a thousand pounds. I must do what I say." Song Jinyi said, frowning unconsciously.

The room was silent for a moment, and Xie Wuyang said slowly, "That craftsman Zhang was just complacent for a while, and when no one was interested, he relaxed. Sister, there's no need to worry about it."

Song Jinyi asked, is it really like this?

Xie Wuyang nodded, "It's such a small matter, just let me handle it, sister."

He spoke with extraordinary determination, as if he was completely sure of it.

******

In the distant suburbs, a powerful horse neigh was heard, followed by the sound of rapidly rolling wheels. From afar, two tall horses were pulling a wide carriage towards Zhangjia Village.

The carriage was covered with soft velvet carpets and hung with two layers of Xiangyun gauze door curtains. There was a tea table inside with all the necessary tea utensils carefully arranged.

Xie Wuyang leaned against the back of the car with his eyes closed. Hun Namu lifted the curtain, glanced at the scenery outside the window, then turned back to look at Xie Wuyang, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xie Wuyang glanced at him and asked, "Are you asking me why I do this?"

Seeing that he saw his doubts, Hun Namu did not hide them. "The prince wanted the Song family's help, but now he has not received a penny and has to pay money back. Forgive my stupidity, I can't see how it is worth it."

Xie Wuyang chuckled. "You know there's a saying in Daxia: You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. Song Jinyi is different from other women in Daxia. She's free and easy, with a natural temperament, a delicate heart, and a way of doing things. Ordinary men wouldn't catch her eye, and ordinary courtship wouldn't win her heart."

Now she has finally encountered something she can't solve. If I help her solve this problem, she will naturally feel differently about me."

Hunnamu remained silent. Was he doing this to exploit him? Or was he trying to help him? No one except the prince could tell.

During the conversation, the carriage arrived at the destination and Xie Wuyang asked, "Has the matter at the gambling house been settled?"

Hunnamu replied that everything was ready.

Xie Wuyang laughed twice, "It's already been done, why are you still fussing about it? The money you spent today will have to be paid back to me later."