Chapter 69

"Mr. Lin, guess what I want to talk to you about?" Xu Yu's face was full of joy, but he kept the question in suspense.

Lin Shuge welcomed him in, "Has the legendary book been printed?"

Xu Yu's expression changed slightly, and he said unhappily, "How did you know? It's really boring to talk to you."

"You came to me so excitedly, could it be that 'Xing Xian Ji' is a big hit again? Today's 'Confucius' is just a bonus performance and will not affect your business. After thinking about it, the only thing left is the legendary book."

He grabbed Xiaobai who ran to the table and touched its head. Xiaobai turned over in his arms, revealing its furry belly. "Tell me, how was the response to the first volume?"

"That's definitely great. I listened to your suggestion and added some more symbols to help with punctuation when the book was published. Your symbols are really convenient to use, and the text also makes Lu Yuechuan's writing easy to understand. It's really popular, and all the handwritten and printed copies have been sold out recently." Xu Yu reached out and touched Xiaobai's belly, saying with a smile.

"You didn't see the scene. At first I thought it wouldn't sell. After all, Haoranzhai has been selling more classic books recently. But after the first round of sales, word spread quickly and the bookstore emptied out all its stock."

"Even the batch that my craftsmen worked overtime to make was sold out. It is said that many of this batch were bought by people from other places. Mr. Lu Ming's name is now well-known. Who doesn't know Mr. Lu Ming's "Xuan Ming Ji" now?"

Mr. Luming is the pen name Lu Yuechuan gave himself.

Xu Yu talked nonstop today, which showed that he really made a lot of money.

Lin Shuge asked Lin Qingyuan to take Xiaobai to dinner, and asked Xu Yu, "Then why did you come here today?"

"Are you showing off? Can't I be happy? Let me tell you, if you go to the entrance of Haoranzhai tomorrow, you will see that the line is almost extending to the bank of Ganzhou River." Xu Yu said with his hands on his hips.

Lin Shuge looked at him indifferently.

Xu Yu let out a sigh of relief. "Well, actually I heard that Magistrate Li's term of office will expire this year, so I wanted to sound out the next Magistrate..."

Lin Shuge restrained his smile and said, "Xu Yu, I will pretend that I didn't hear these words today."

"Hey, why are you in such a hurry? Everyone in Ganzhou knows it well. Who else could be the next one if not you? Our place is remote and far away, and also close to the Huns. We might be needed to go to the battlefield at any time. I don't believe that those young masters from Yandu and Nanjun will come here." Xu Yu explained.

Lin Shuge knew clearly that Xu Yu was afraid that if the next county magistrate was someone with ulterior motives, how could he give benefits to merchants and people like them? Looking at the current development of Ganzhou, they were afraid of being targeted by others and being discarded. They were just merchants, and who dared to really fight against the officials?

Seeing that Lin Shuge looked unhappy, Xu Yu asked again: "Since you took office, we in Ganzhou have been making paper and printing books, as well as agricultural implements and acrobatics. Everything can make money. Aren't you afraid that someone will take advantage of this place..."

Lin Shuge was silent for a moment and said, "Xu Yu, how could I not have thought about these things? Ganzhou is far away from Yandu, and this is an important frontier area. It is not like Yandu where there are many powerful families. In addition, Magistrate Li and Envoy Wei are both people who serve the country and the people. That is why I want to make various laws that benefit the people come into the world."

He looked at the gloomy sky above his head. "Marquis Jingyuan promised me that day that he would help me in Yandu, but I don't know how long he can help me. If some people with bad intentions see that there is profit to be made here, who knows what will happen?"

"I know you are worried and confused, but it is not appropriate to say these words now. As for what you said, I don't know, but I promise I will do my best to protect this place." Lin Shuge said with his back turned.

Xu Yu sighed, "I'm sorry, I was too anxious today and forgot that you are the one who least wants this to happen. But you don't have to worry too much. Dingyuan County has always had a precedent of the county governor directly appointing the county magistrates under his jurisdiction. You have a good relationship with Envoy Wei, and he will definitely be interested in you."

Lin Shuge shook his head and said nothing more. Everything is subject to change. No one can predict the future, and not everything can go as planned. What's more, he was just a small county magistrate, which was quite respectable in Ganzhou County. In the eyes of the nobles in Yandu, he had neither a noble family background nor the ability to flatter, so they could kill him with just a finger.

Lin Qingyuan was in the room and heard their voices sounded strange, as if they were arguing, so he came out holding Xiaobai.

"Brother, you guys..."

"It's okay, we just chatted for a few minutes, I'll cook later."

Xu Yu also said: "I want to talk to your elder brother about something."

Lin Qingyuan was half-believing and half-doubting, and carried Xiaobai into the kitchen. It seemed that his elder brother would not be able to finish what he said for a while, so he decided to go to the kitchen first to see if there was anything he could do.

Xu Yu saw Lin Qingyuan walking away and then said, "I forgot to tell you that the main purpose of my coming here today is to urge the manuscript. Has Lu Yuechuan finished writing the second volume of "Xuan Ming Ji"?"

Seeing that he changed the subject, Lin Shuge said tacitly, "You should print the manuscripts of other gentlemen first. As for the one you mentioned last time who was over 50 years old, Lu Yuechuan probably needs to rest for a few days."

The donkeys in the production team didn't do that.

Xu Yu nodded, "Okay, but I can't rest all the time. I can't explain to those people."

"If you really can't rush it, you can try this." Lin Shuge taught him a trick.

Xu Yu nodded and looked at him hesitantly. Lin Shuge smiled and said, "Why? You still want to stay at my house for dinner?"

Seeing how open-minded he was, Xu Yu also smiled and said, "No need for today. There are still a lot of things waiting for me in the study. I must try your cooking skills next time."

"Then I will be waiting for you."

Xu Yu nodded and waved goodbye to him.

After he left, Lin Shuge stood in the yard, looking at the rolling dark clouds in the distance. A storm was about to come. He stood there silently for a long time before going into the kitchen.

Lin Qingyuan was lighting a fire in the kitchen. When he saw Lin Shuge coming in, he asked, "Brother, are you guys done talking?"

"Well, we're done talking." Lin Shuge took out a handful of leeks and said.

Lin Shuge looked at Lin Qingyuan and asked, "Ayuan, if there are some things that you cannot predict the consequences of, what will you do?"

Lin Qingyuan glanced at his brother in confusion. In his impression, although his elder brother looked gentle and refined, he was very decisive in doing things. Why would he hesitate today?

He replied, "Brother, didn't you teach us that? No matter what happens, no matter what the consequences are, as long as we believe in the right thing, we should just do it."

Lin Qingyuan thought of what happened between him and Xu Yu in the courtyard today, and paused, "Brother, is what you are going to do difficult?"

Lin Shuge nodded.

Lin Qingyuan had an innocent look on his face, but his tone was firm, "Then I will always stand by Big Brother's side. Oh, and there are also Axuan and Erlang. Erlang is so powerful, he will definitely stand by you."

"Ayuan, thank you." Lin Shuge said sincerely.

He pulled himself out of his previous emotions and prepared a sumptuous dinner for the two of them and Xiaobai. Lin Qingyuan looked very much enjoying the meal.

"Ayuan, I'll make something tonight. I'll bring a portion for Axuan when I drop you off at the academy tomorrow." Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, Lin Shuge touched his no longer chubby cheek.

"Brother, what are you going to do?" Lin Qingyuan asked curiously.

"You'll know in a moment." Lin Shuge said as he packed his things.

After seeing this, Lin Qingyuan hurriedly said, "Brother, I'll do it. I'll do it. You go ahead and do it."

It was drizzling outside the house. Lin Shuge listened to the sound of the rain and kneaded the dough vigorously with both hands. After the dough had risen, he added clean water into it and began to knead and wash the dough over and over again.

Lin Qingyuan had a look of surprise on his face, but he resisted the urge to ask.

After kneading it almost done, Lin Shuge took out the washed gluten separately, rinsed it with water, and then put it in the pot to steam.

The washed batter needs to be filtered and then settled. Lin Shuge closed the kitchen door. The rain outside had stopped, the clouds had disappeared and the air was exceptionally fresh. He and Lin Qingyuan sat in the yard and chatted.

Xiaobai was very excited today, wagging its tail and sweeping around the two people's feet. Lin Shuge deliberately ignored it, which made Xiaobai so angry that he meowed and jumped onto the table.

The furry head rubbed against Lin Shuge's hand, and Lin Shuge then reached out and touched it.

Lin Qingyuan held it in his arms, "Brother, we will have a field holiday soon, and Axuan and I can stay at home for a long time." He and Xiaobai were playing the cat's paw game, "Axuan hasn't met Xiaobai yet."

Field holiday is also called busy farming holiday. Every May during the busy farming season, the school would give students a holiday of about a month so that most students could go home to help their families harvest wheat. What's more humane is that for students who live far away from the school and have inconvenient commuting, the time spent on the road will not be counted in the vacation, and students can apply to the college to extend the vacation.

Lin Shuge was counting the days in his mind. It was indeed almost time. When the time came, he could take the twins back to Qingxi Town to stay for a few days during his break.

"By the way, brother, has Erlang sent a letter?" Lin Qingyuan hadn't seen Xie Chen for a long time, and asked with concern in his eyes.

"Yes, he sent a pigeon, saying that it would be convenient to contact. The last letter he wrote said that everything was fine, but he was busy with affairs and had to keep an eye on the movements of the Xiongnu. It was a bit tiring."

In fact, Xie Chen always only said things that made him happy in his letters, and Lin Shuge inferred these from the letters.

Lin Qingyuan nodded, his focus was on another aspect, "Where are the pigeons?" He stood up and looked around the yard.

"I went to deliver the letter." Lin Shuge said as a matter of course.

You guys communicate quite frequently, Lin Qingyuan thought silently in his heart.

His thoughts came and went quickly, and in a blink of an eye he began to guess what his brother had done today.

Lin Shuge walked into the kitchen with a smile, "Liangpi, it's perfect for hot weather, you can try it later."

The starch in the basin has already settled. Lin Shuge pours out the water on the top, adds salt and stirs the batter evenly. Then he brushes a layer of oil on the steaming tray, scoops a spoonful of batter on it, spreads it evenly, and then steams it in a pot of boiling water.

After a while, a piece of cold skin was ready.

He cut a piece of cold skin and a small piece of gluten, added cucumber shreds, bean sprouts, coriander and various seasonings, mixed them well and pushed them to Lin Qingyuan who had been watching eagerly for a long time.

The cold noodles are crystal clear, topped with emerald green cucumbers and bright red chili oil. They look colorful and very beautiful.

"Try it."

Lin Qingyuan picked up one with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The cold skin wrapped in various sesame sauces tasted fresh, spicy and chewy. It was paired with fresh and refreshing cucumbers and bean sprouts. It was so delicious that Lin Qingyuan fell in love with it as soon as he tasted it.

"Brother, it's delicious. I want to bring some with me when I go to the academy tomorrow."

Lin Shuge knew that he wanted to bring it to Qian Ying and Wu Yuanguang.

"Sure, I'll make some more and bring some for Zhou Du and the others tomorrow." Lin Shuge put the batter into the steaming tray.

See how Zhoudu reacts.