Chapter 37 Blushing

Xiao Heng washed the pig offal himself. When Wei Lin came back from fetching water, he saw his own prince washing the stinking pig intestines. He felt so uncomfortable that he immediately asked his prince to get up and do it himself.

At this moment, Gu Xiyue came out of the house with a cloth in her hand. She walked behind Xiao Heng with a smile, took the cloth around him, and finally covered the lower half of his face, his mouth and nose, and tied it tightly behind his head.

"Your Highness, I really want to help you wash it, but I can't stand the smell, and it won't get clean, so I have to trouble you."

After Gu Xiyue finished speaking, she felt embarrassed.

Especially when she saw Wei Lin rolled up his sleeves and prepared to wash himself.

Xiao Heng didn't move. After she tied the cloth for him, he continued to wash the pig intestines and lungs.

"If you want to help, go under the pot and shovel some ash for me."

There was no emotion in his voice, nor on his face. Only the slightly curved corners of his mouth were hidden beneath the cloth.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiyue immediately turned around and went into the house, found a clean wooden basin, and dug out the ash from the stove.

Finally, a full basin was brought out.

"Is this enough? If not, I'll take more." Gu Xiyue smiled, her eyes fixed on the pig intestines in Xiao Heng's hand.

He just turned it inside out, and Gu Xiyue was a little disappointed to find that the large intestine was not as fat as its name said. There was not much white fat in the large intestine.

It seems that the pigs here are not fat.

It’s more like calling it thin intestine.

But the taste is not light at all.

Seeing her frown, Xiao Heng urged her to go away, "Wei Lin and I can handle this. Go get some sleep. You'll be busy in a couple of days."

Gu Xiyue clapped her hands, went to wash her hands, and then walked into the west room with peace of mind.

Meixiang had just finished tidying up the room when she saw Gu Xiyue coming in. She quickly said, "Miss, I'll wait for you to rest."

Gu Xiyue waved her hand. "No, it's past my nap time. Bring me some paper so I can draw something."

Meixiang tried to persuade her a few more times, but seeing that the young lady still refused to sleep, she had to give up and turned to get two pieces of paper from the east room. They had pens and ink in their room, but no paper, so they had to go to the east room every time they needed paper.

Xiao Heng treated paper very preciously and was unwilling to waste a single piece.

So every time Gu Xiyue needed paper, he could only take one or two sheets, no more.

Meixiang placed the paper on the table, turned to look at the door, and said in a low voice, "Miss, when I brought the paper over just now, His Highness glanced at me."

Gu Xiyue smiled, wiped her hands, sat down, and spread out the paper. "After the sea salt is sold this time, I will buy some more and put them in our room. Then we don't have to go over to get paper every time."

Meixiang nodded heavily. Seeing that the young lady had already started to think about it, she took the initiative to step aside, turned around, poured her a cup of tea, placed it beside her, and began to grind ink.

She thought the young lady was going to write something this time, but she found that the young lady was holding the brush in deep thought. After thinking, she began to write. At first it was rolling mountains, and finally it was the sea. She was still wondering, such precious paper, but the young lady used it to draw for fun. If His Highness knew about this, he would be heartbroken.

As she was painting, she found that the painting looked a little familiar.

Look at the path above, the houses at the foot of the mountain, and the salt fields by the sea. Isn’t this the Southern Wilderness?

Why are you drawing this, miss?

Seeing that the young lady was painting very seriously, she didn't ask too much. After she finished the first piece of paper, she saw the young lady nodded with satisfaction, then gently blew on the ink on it, gently moved the painted paper to the left, smoothed out the second piece of paper, and began to paint.

What she didn't expect was that the young lady didn't draw the Southern Wilderness this time, but started drawing lines, arranging the lines in arrays, and there were words written in many blank boxes, such as residential area, commercial area... She was dazzled by it, and had no idea what the young lady was doing.

When Gu Xiyue finished the last stroke, she nodded with satisfaction, put down the brush gently with a smile, stretched her sore wrists and neck, turned her head, and saw Meixiang's puzzled expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Miss, what are these you drew? Why can't I understand them?"

Meixiang saw that the young lady looked very satisfied, and she felt that she was becoming increasingly confused by the young lady.

Gu Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes sparkling. She picked up the first drawing, pointed at it, and said, "This is a rough sketch of the Southern Wasteland. I drew it simply. This one is the rough layout of the future Southern Wasteland. When we have money, I will build it according to this. When it's completed, you'll know."

Meixiang glanced at the second picture casually, with no idea in her mind. She always felt that it would take at least several decades for the Southern Wilderness to undergo a major transformation, and she didn't know if she could live to see that time.

Gu Xiyue put the two pictures away and went to help. Xiao Heng had already washed all the pig offal and soaked it in a basin. They looked fresh and white. Wei Lin was making a fire, and Xiao Heng stood beside the pot, preparing to put the pig offal into the pot.

Gu Xiyue walked in with his hands behind his back, took a look around, and asked with a smile: "Your Highness, what are you going to do with these things?"

Xiao Heng gave her a neutral look, even looking at her arm. "What did you write? Are you done?"

Gu Xiyue put his hands back in front of him, crossed his arms and squatted in front of the pot. He reached out and patted Wei Lin, "You go and rest for a while, I'll light the fire."

Ever since Wei Lin went out with Gu Xiyue to look for partners, his opinion of Gu Xiyue has changed qualitatively.

In the past, he looked down on her a little, thinking that she was a scheming woman who had used some trickery to marry his Highness, and ended up being exiled together with him. She acted like a jerk on the way here, and after arriving, she was so depressed that she wanted to commit suicide. However, since that failed suicide attempt, she began to change.

Until he was ordered by His Highness to protect her outside, he was completely convinced by her when he came back. In his heart, Gu Xiyue was now his second master.

He glanced at the prince, and seeing that he had nothing to say, he got up and went outside to clean up the yard. The water in the water tank had been used up, so he grabbed the shoulder pole, picked up two empty buckets and went to the east to fetch water.

Gu Xiyue sat in front of the stove. The hot steam from the pot rushed towards her instantly. She moved back and poked it twice with a fire poker. The fire became a little smaller. Seeing this, she grabbed a handful of soft firewood and stuffed it into the pot. The fire was instantly suffocated and billowing black smoke came out. She could not see the fire. She became anxious and hurried over to blow with her mouth. In an instant, a flame came out of the pot and rushed towards her face.

Gu Xiyue thought to herself that the flames would definitely burn her hair, and she wouldn't even have time to retreat. But she still subconsciously leaned back.

It was just a matter of a moment, and Gu Xiyue was hugged and moved away. She felt dizzy and when she looked closely, she found that she was already several meters away from the pot and was leaning steadily in Xiao Heng's arms.

His hands were wet and his fingers were slightly cold as he held her arm.

"How can you light a fire like that?"

A low scolding voice came from above my head, with a hint of worry.

Gu Xiyue took a breath and felt her feet firmly on the ground. "I was scared to death! You're too fast!"

She didn't even see how he moved, how he was so fast, how he could pick her up and turn her away in an instant.

Her voice was deliberately lighthearted.

"Come here, I'll teach you!"

Xiao Heng's voice was not relaxed. He had a serious face, pursed his thin lips, held her arm tightly, and dragged her to the pot.

Gu Xiyue was pulled by him to squat down, and her whole body was held in his arms. He picked up the fire poker and asked her to hold it, then held her hand and started to poke the fire.

"The heart of the fire needs to be empty so it can burn. Don't put too much firewood in. This is enough. If the fire is about to go out, dig it out here, then put a little soft grass in, and stir it gently. When you stack the firewood, leave some space between them. This way it will burn quickly..."

At first, Gu Xiyue listened to him very seriously. He led her to poke in the pot and mix the firewood. But as his back pressed against her from time to time, she became a little distracted.

In the end, I couldn't listen at all. I just felt like I was having a fever. I didn't know if it was because of the fire or because his arms were too suffocating.

The person behind her had not changed at all, and taught her sincerely like a strict teacher.

"Do you understand?"

Xiao Heng stopped, released the hand that was holding her, stood up and stepped aside, and asked with a serious face.

Gu Xiyue lowered her head, not daring to look up at him, and nodded quickly, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will."

After saying that, she stuffed two more pieces of firewood into the pot and poked it twice with the fire stick. Unable to stay any longer, she quickly stood up without even looking at him, "Your Highness, the fire is very big now. No one needs to watch it for the time being. I have something else to do, so I'll go back to my room first."

Her face had already turned red and was so hot that she didn't dare to look up at him.

It would be so embarrassing if he saw that I was blushing.

People were explaining things to her properly and teaching her how to make a fire, but she was just letting her mind wander and making herself blush.

It's so shameful that she did such a shameful thing.

You have to know that in her world, she is going to be the heir to the family business. This little bit of intimate contact is nothing. She should be stronger than men.

Before Xiao Heng could respond, she ran out of the house quickly. Although she lowered her head, Xiao Heng still saw some of her blushing cheeks.

He was speechless and moved his slightly stiff right hand.

She blushed, and he himself was no better.

Xiao Heng raised the corners of his mouth slightly, turned around and covered the pot. While he was busy, he heard Meixiang's voice.

"Miss, why is your face red? Are you feeling unwell?"

“…”

I couldn't hear what Gu Xiyue said. After a while, I heard Meixiang muttering to herself, "Is it so hot that your face is smoked like that? I often make fires, but I've never seen your face so red."

Xiao Heng held his forehead and smiled.

Everyone can imagine that Gu Xiyue’s face must be even redder at this moment.

After the pig offal in the pot was cooked, Xiao Heng took them out, cut them into pieces, and cut out a large basin of pig intestines. He scraped the water in the pot, washed the pot, and started to braising. As soon as the intestines were put into the pot, Madam Shen came over with dinner. Xiao Heng and Gu Xiyue asked her to take it back to share with the villagers, but Madam Shen refused to do so and just put it down and left.

After Madam Shen left, Xiao Heng noticed that Gu Xiyue was staring at the roast pork with beans and swallowing silently, so he smiled and said, "Why don't you eat some now."

Gu Xiyue shook her head. "I'm not hungry yet. Wait a minute. When the villagers are almost done eating, I'll go to the canteen. I have something to say to them."

"I'll go with you!"

Xiao Heng said gently.

Before leaving, Xiao Heng looked at the charcoal in the pot, and then at the large intestine in the pot. He told Wei Lin, "No need to add more firewood, just leave it like this. We'll be able to eat when we come back. If you and Meixiang are hungry, eat the food that Madam Shen sent first."

Wei Lin and Meixiang nodded and let them go without worry.

The two of them went to the cafeteria and spent half an hour there. When they came back, they saw Meixiang and Wei Lin sitting at the door with eager eyes, looking very anxious.

Seeing the two of them walk into the courtyard, Wei Lin stood up happily, "Your Highness, Madam Gu, you are finally back. You don't know, this smell made us so greedy that we almost couldn't help it."

"While we're not here, you can serve some food first!" Gu Xiyue smiled, looked at the two of them and honestly sat there waiting for them to come back.

If she were asked to wait, she would definitely not be able to bear it and would definitely take out some to eat first.

Seeing them enter the room, Meixiang turned around immediately and said, "I will go get some pig intestines right away."

"Wait a minute!" Xiao Heng called out to her.

He picked up a bowl from the chopping board. In the bowl were chopped green onions and garlic leaves. He walked towards the pot with the bowl and said, "I'll serve. You guys serve the rice."

Gu Xiyue followed him and saw him open the lid of the pot. He quickly poured in the chopped green onions and garlic leaves and stirred them. The aroma wafting from the pot almost made her bite her tongue.

Xiao Heng slowly prepared the large intestines, carried a large basin of temptingly colored and fragrant pig intestines to the middle of the room, and placed it steadily on the table.

The meal was already placed on the table, and the two dishes brought by Madam Shen were also placed on the table.

Wei Lin and Mei Xiang stood nearby, staring intently at the pig intestines. Xiao Heng put the wooden basin away and waved at him twice, "Let's sit down and eat together."

Wei Lin and Meixiang quickly sat down, picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and stared at Xiao Heng and Gu Xiyue.

Gu Xiyue picked up the chopsticks and looked at Xiao Heng, "Your Highness, please eat first."

Xiao Heng smiled and picked up the chopsticks. He added a piece of trembling large intestine and dropped it directly into Gu Xiyue's bowl. "You taste it first and help us test the poison."

Gu Xiyue smiled with her eyes curved, and quickly picked it up and put it in her mouth.

The fragrance instantly filled her mouth, making her nod repeatedly and use her chopsticks to signal everyone to eat quickly.

Seeing Xiao Heng looking at her, she didn't move his chopsticks. Wei Lin and Mei Xiang didn't dare to move their chopsticks. Before she swallowed the large intestine in her mouth, she hurriedly picked up a piece of large intestine and put it in Xiao Heng's bowl, then waved to Wei Lin and Mei Xiang, asking them to eat.

Wei Lin and Mei Xiang then started to eat.

Xiao Heng smiled and picked up the pig intestines that Gu Xiyue had picked for him and slowly put them into his mouth.

After taking a bite, he felt that this large intestine was even more delicious than the one he had made before, and it was the most delicious one he had ever made.

Moreover, this time, the spices used were much less than before, and he never thought that the taste could be achieved like this.

But it seemed... he discovered that whether the food tasted good or not seemed to have something to do with who he ate with.

Especially when he saw Gu Xiyue eating with a satisfied look on her face, he felt that the food tasted even more delicious.

The large intestine is soft and chewy, yet still retains some strength, and becomes more and more delicious the more you chew it.

That night, the four of them ate to their heart's content, and even Xiao Heng, who was usually reserved and restrained when eating, ate too much.

Not to mention Gu Xiyue. After finishing her meal, she sat there for a long time without moving.

Meixiang wanted to help her sit up on another chair, but Gu Xiyue told her not to move.

She was really full and felt a little uncomfortable when she moved. She had to wait for a while and it would feel better after a while.

Meixiang saw that her young lady was full, so she stopped talking, lest the prince and Wei Lin laugh at her.

Two days later, loading will begin.

That morning, the people in charge of loading the ship got up very early. Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng also arrived at the seaside dock as soon as possible, and together with Zhao Yancheng, they directed and helped everyone load the ship. She would go with the first batch of sea salt, and she would not have to go for the subsequent trips. At that time, Wang Hu and Zhao Yancheng would split into two groups and drive the ships over separately.

Although everyone was excited, they were also a little nervous. After all, it was the first time to ship goods by sea, and they were still a little nervous before the formal handover.

In less than half an hour, 150 bags of sea salt were stacked in the cabin and covered with oilcloth to prevent them from getting wet by the waves.

Everything was ready. Gu Xiyue looked at the time and got on the boat with Xiao Heng as soon as it was the hour of Mao. Wei Lin and Meixiang stayed at the dock, while Wang Hu brought a group of people to control the boat.

There were 7,500 kilograms of sea salt and eight or nine people on the boat. With the help of gravity, the boat floated down to above the waterline. Zhao Yancheng looked around on the shore and nodded to Wang Hu.

There is no problem with the buoyancy of the hull. It can hold another thousand or two thousand pounds, but for safety reasons, it is best to keep it like this.

After confirming that there was no problem, Zhao Yancheng shouted "Start" loudly, and the reins tied to the boat were untied and thrown onto the boat. Wang Hu called on the crew to row the boat, and the boat drifted away from the shore in an instant.

Under the operation of Wang Hu and others, the ship moved forward steadily. Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng stood at the bow, feeling the sea breeze and watching the receding sea water, feeling extremely excited.

The weather was very good today. As the sun slowly rose and the sea breeze blew, the first batch of goods was successfully transported to the Xifeng Town Pier.

Lord Deng of Xifeng Town Wharf was there to greet them early in the morning. Seeing Gu Xiyue personally escorting the boat over, he rubbed his hands excitedly. When the boat docked steadily, Lord Deng looked at the sea salt covered with oilcloth on the boat and was more excited than anyone else.

After he got on the boat, Gu Xiyue asked Wang Hu to untie a few bags for Lord Deng to check. Lord Deng saw that the salt was crystal white and there was nothing wrong with it. He waved his hand and asked them to tie the bags, and called on his people to start unloading.

"Madam Gu, we trust you to do your job well. Next time you come, there's no need to inspect the goods. We can just unload them directly."

Gu Xiyue was unwilling to do so and quickly said, "Master Deng, what are you talking about? Let's keep things separate. Business is business and can't be mixed up with other things. I can guarantee that there is no problem with my salt, but Master Deng also needs to take a look."

After that, let them weigh themselves as well.

Lord Deng smiled and waved his hand, but he still couldn't beat Gu Xiyue. When he took a look at the scales, he found that basically every bag was half a pound or a pound heavier, and there was no shortage.

I feel more at ease.

It was obvious that Mrs. Gu was someone who was going to do big things, but she had no integrity at all. How could they cooperate in the future? When they weighed the goods again later, she refused to agree and asked people to unload the goods directly into the warehouse.

The workers were busy unloading the goods, so he called Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng aside to talk about something.

"Madam Gu, I went to see the prefect yesterday. He has an idea. Please listen to it."

Gu Xiyue nodded and listened attentively.

"The prefect thinks this way. Judging from the past twenty days, the salt shortage is still quite serious in various places. I previously asked Madam Gu to supply 80,000 catties of salt per month, but I don't think it will be enough. So, Madam Gu, if you have more salt, you can supply it to us at any time. We can accept at least 200,000 catties per month."

Gu Xiyue pondered for a moment, then nodded and said with a smile, "Master Deng, please tell my adoptive father when you go back that our previous contract stated a minimum of 80,000 kilograms. Since you can accept at least 200,000 kilograms, I will naturally spare no effort to supply it. Please rest assured, my adoptive father and Master Deng."

When Lord Deng heard this, he immediately felt relieved. He smiled with ease and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Madam Gu, thank you so much, really!"

After saying that, he waved to the guards next to him and said, "You guys, go and carry the boxes from the room over there."

Two guards responded and quickly brought a box, gently placing it at their feet. Lord Deng bent down and opened it.

There was a lot of silver inside.

"Madam Gu, here's 1,000 taels of silver. Look, there's also a lot of small change. This is the money for 200,000 kilograms of salt. Take it with you when you go back. 200,000 kilograms of salt can be shipped here within ten days. If there's still salt left after ten days, we'll settle it. From now on, I'll give you a fixed amount of 1,000 taels of silver every month. Any excess salt will be paid separately..."

Gu Xiyue was completely dumbfounded. This man was too straightforward. He just gave him the silver for 200,000 kilograms of salt?

Were people in ancient times so honest?

Seeing Gu Xiyue's surprise, Lord Deng smiled amiably, "Madam Gu, to be honest, this is all your adoptive father's intention. Just accept it with peace of mind. Since we have cooperated with you, we must be sincere. We trust you and believe that you will not let us down. After all, you are our benefactor who saved us from danger, so we should also show this little sincerity."

Gu Xiyue no longer refused and nodded to accept the one thousand taels of silver.

"Master Deng, don't worry. I, Gu Xiyue, dare not say anything else, but the word integrity is the most important rule for me to do things!"

The two men talked for a while, and after all the salt was unloaded, the clerk counted and recorded it on the spot.

"Master Deng, there's no time to lose. We'll go back first. The second shipload of salt should be arriving soon. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard, it's not hard at all. It's Madam Gu who should be hard at work. Madam Gu, you must take care of yourself. When you have time, go to Ganzhou to see your adoptive father."

"Of course! Sir Deng, goodbye!"

Gu Xiyue asked Wang Hu and Jiang Bing to carry the box onto the boat. They waved goodbye and left. After walking a long way away, they could still see Lord Deng standing at the dock looking at them.

Gu Xiyue was in great joy. He had received one thousand taels of silver so quickly. In a few days, he would be able to pay his fellow villagers. Just thinking about that scene made him excited.

Just as I was daydreaming, I heard Jiang Bing scream "Ah", and then he ran towards me with a frightened look on his face, fear in his eyes.