Chapter 53
"How long will it take?" Jiang Wanning asked.
Lu Shang thought for a moment and said, "Two months at most, but I can't rule out any special circumstances along the way. I will definitely be back as soon as possible."
Logically speaking, Jiang Wanning should give it her all if she has such a good opportunity.
But whenever she thought about the fact that she and Grandma Lu would be the only ones left at home, and that would have to last for two months, she couldn't help but feel timid. She opened her mouth and almost spit out words to persuade Grandma Lu to stay.
Fortunately, at the last moment, she finally suppressed her true thoughts and nodded: "Okay."
Lu Shang vaguely felt that she was in a bad mood, but if he really wanted to leave, he would have to wait until after the Mid-Autumn Festival. There would be about ten days in total. It would be okay to wait and slowly comfort her, or he could consider taking her away directly.
Jiang Wanning waited until he lay down before going out to have dinner with Grandma Lu.
Grandma Lu couldn't help but express her concern for Lu Shang. She felt relieved to hear that he had only drunk a little and wasn't drunk. But she couldn't help but remind him, "Shang'er never drank alcohol before. I'm worried he might be feeling unwell. Wan Ning should take care of him at night."
"Okay." Jiang Wanning agreed, and after thinking about it, she prepared two more bowls of sobering soup.
At night, Lu Shang's body really started to heat up. Although it was not as high as before, his body temperature had risen a lot.
Jiang Wanning was sleeping in a daze. She touched him while half asleep and half awake, and was immediately awakened with a start. She got up in a panic and subconsciously went to wake Lu Shang up.
Who would have thought that Lu Shang had a fever, but his mind was still clear. He didn't even feel uncomfortable. After being reminded by Jiang Wanning, he belatedly replied: "It's a low-grade fever..."
"I don't think it's a big deal. It should be fine. Don't worry about it, Aning. Go to sleep first."
As he spoke, he tugged at Jiang Wanning's clothes, trying to get her to lie back down.
"..." Jiang Wanning was calmed down by him. She carefully crawled down from under his feet and lit the candles in the room. Only when the room was bright could she take a closer look at him.
Lu Shang's face was a little red, and the hand on his chest was not as pale as before, and his breathing was steady, as if nothing serious was wrong.
But Jiang Wanning didn't dare to be careless at all. She searched the cabinet in the corner for a long time. Fortunately, there were still some medicines left at home. They had been stored for two or three months, so there shouldn't be any big problem.
She covered Lu Shang with a thin blanket, put on only an outer coat, and hurried out. She was busy in the kitchen for half an hour before she finally boiled the medicine.
When he came back, he saw that Lu Shang was still the same as before he left. He felt nothing and was not in any pain, except that the temperature on his forehead was still a little high.
Jiang Wanning woke him up, fed him some medicine, felt some hot sweat on his body, found a warm towel and gently wiped the exposed parts, and finally put the thin blanket on him again.
During this process, Lu Shang opened his eyes several times, but after just a few glances, he fell into a deep sleep again.
Jiang Wanning did not sleep for half the night. She waited until Lu Shang's body temperature returned to normal before she lay down with peace of mind. At this time, the morning light was already visible outside the window, and the roosters behind the rockery were crowing.
She was so exhausted that she could only rest for half an hour before lying back on the bed.
When it was time to get up, Jiang Wanning's eyelids trembled slightly. Somehow, the light in front of her eyelids dimmed, and a low voice rang in her ears: "Go to bed, it's still early..."
Her eyes trembled again, a soft murmur came from her throat, and her consciousness fell into chaos again.
Next to her, Lu Shang was sitting against the headboard. After waking up for a while, he had already remembered most of what happened last night. Looking at the dark circles under Jiang Wanning's eyes, he could easily guess everything.
After coaxing Jiang Wanning to sleep, he got out of bed, changed his clothes, and tiptoed out of the room.
When he turned around, he ran into Grandma Lu who was coming back from buying breakfast. He waved to her and gestured to keep quiet.
Grandma Lu waited for him to come over and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"
Lu Shang said, "I had a low fever last night. Aning took care of me all night and went to bed at dawn. Don't disturb her."
Grandma Lu was startled: "Low fever!"
"It's okay, it's okay. You see, I'm fine now." Lu Shang quickly hugged the old lady. "A Ning made some medicine for me last night and stayed with me all night. I'm completely fine now."
"I heard yesterday that you drank alcohol, and I was worried something might be wrong. Thank goodness Wan Ning was here... Shang'er, although grandma doesn't know what you're doing out there, but yellow soup is not a good thing. Even if you ignore Wan Ning's hard work, you should at least care about yourself."
Grandma Lu didn't want to be the one to talk too much, so she gave a few words of advice and then stopped talking about it.
"Okay, I know I was wrong. I won't drink so much anymore. I'm going to the school now to help Aning with her lessons. Grandma, thank you for warming up the porridge for her so she can have something to eat when she wakes up."
Grandma Lu nodded. "You don't have to tell me. I know. I think Wan Ning really liked yesterday's sticky corn. I'll buy two more and cook them in her porridge. I'll also add a little minced meat and make what you called... lean meat porridge?"
Lu Shang smiled and said, "Yes, do you have any money?"
"There's still a lot! Wan Ning gives me some every few days, and I don't spend money. Why don't you keep the money for yourself? Why always give it to an old woman like me..." Grandma Lu said, and she wanted to take out the money she had saved these days.
Lu Shang quickly stopped her: "No need! Just keep it if Aning gave it to you. You have to spend money every day to buy vegetables and meat. Besides, if you like anything, you can just buy it directly."
"Okay, it's almost time. I'm going to school first. If Aning wakes up, tell her I'm going to school."
"Okay, okay." Grandma Lu watched him leave. After he left the door, she remembered that she had forgotten to ask him to bring buns for breakfast.
Lu Shang was a frequent visitor to the school, and the children were used to him teaching in place of the female teacher. They were even used to it. When they met the male teacher, they always had to learn some strange arithmetic methods.
But it’s true, even though this arithmetic sounds unreliable, it can actually be used when doing accounts at home.
Just as Lu Shang expected, Jiang Wanning woke up in the middle of the morning. She opened her eyes and found that the time was wrong. She thought she was going to be late. After getting used to it in a panic, she rushed out.
It was not until I went out and ran into Grandma Lu feeding chickens in the yard that I realized Lu Shang had left.
Jiang Wanning finally felt relieved, and was then sent to the kitchen to eat some lean meat porridge. After drinking it, her stomach felt warm and comfortable. Before she could think about what to do next, Grandma Lu appeared at the kitchen door: "Wanning, have you finished eating?"
"I'm done eating. What can I do for you?"
Grandma Lu came over and pushed her: "It's okay, it's okay. I see you've finished eating, so go back to your room and rest. Shang'er said you didn't sleep all night last night, so you have to make up for it."
Jiang Wanning was stunned at first, then she was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
She did not refuse the old man's kindness and obediently returned to her room. When she really lay down on the bed, sleepiness quickly came over her.
At noon, Lu Shang came back with Dabao and other children. They had lunch together and then went back to their rooms.
Since several children have the habit of taking naps, it is not a good idea for them to lie on the low table all the time. Not long ago, Lu Shang thought of a folding bed. After describing it to Jiang Wanning, she quickly asked someone to make one. The bed is wide and large, and can accommodate four or five people. Moreover, the wooden bed is cleverly made, so it is not only light, but can also be folded up when not in use, making it just the right size to put in the primary school.
She went over to help unfold the folding bed, and saw the three children, big and small, lying down side by side before she left the primary school.
But when she returned to the room, she found that Lu Shang had changed into a light shorts and looked like he was going out.
Jiang Wanning habitually went over to help him adjust his hair crown, and then asked, "Where are you going, husband?"
"I'm going to go look for Lu Qi and the others. Didn't they recruit 70 or 80 long-term workers in Pingshan Village? Only 40 or 50 have shown up so far. I'll go ask them when the rest of the group will arrive."
"As for the several bosses who agreed to cooperate with us yesterday, I have an appointment with them tonight to discuss in detail so that we can finalize the contract as soon as possible. As for the farmers who can supply goods, we will wait until after the Mid-Autumn Festival to discuss it."
"There are only these two things. I will try to finish them today so that I can have time to prepare for Mid-Autumn Festival with you."
Jiang Wanning's eyes widened. "Mid-Autumn Festival! I mentioned it not long ago, but I forgot about it recently..."
She rarely went out these days, and at most she just walked between school and home. Even if she occasionally saw guests coming and going from her neighbors' houses, she would only be slightly suspicious and not think much about it.
Who would have thought that she even forgot such an important festival as Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lu Shang rubbed her wrist and said, "It's okay. When I come back tomorrow, we'll see what to buy."
"Okay, then I'll go tell the neighbors this afternoon that the school will be closed starting tomorrow. We'll have three days off around Mid-Autumn Festival, and then we won't have a monthly holiday at the end of the month. And what about Uncle Pang and the others..."
"It's all fine. Just make your own arrangements."
Lu Shang tidied his appearance, said hello to Jiang Wanning, and quickly left home.
Now, in addition to the villagers of Pingshan Village, there are also several people from Lujia Village living in the houses near the city gate. Lu Qi also lives with them and only goes home once every seven or eight days.
Each house hired three old women, who looked to be in their fifties or sixties, who were only responsible for the daily meals and housework of the farmhands.
Lu Shang walked around everywhere, looked at the living environment of the farmhands, and looked at the food prepared in the kitchen. The kitchen was clean and tidy, and the vegetables and meat were all the freshest.
On the contrary, the rooms where the farmhands lived were a bit messy, and since they were all men, they didn't care much about hygiene.
Lu Shang had no choice but to give another instruction: "Make sure the room is well ventilated. The old ladies just do the laundry and cooking. Remember to clean up your rooms. If you really can't remember, we can just arrange shifts and each person will take a day."
We are all grown men, and it would be embarrassing for everyone to be said like this openly.
As soon as Lu Shang left the yard, they packed up everything quickly and even sent the sheets and quilt covers out for washing.
After walking past several houses, Lu Shang finally called Lu Qi and Hunter Zhan to the front and said, "You also attended the business banquet at Guanhe Tower yesterday. The logistics team will soon have new business, so the number of permanent workers is not enough."
"Brother Zhan, do you think the other people from Pingshan Village still want to come? If those who signed up earlier don't show up, I can recruit people as soon as possible. Also, as for the Lingnan escort, is there anyone willing to take charge of this long-distance logistics?"
Hunter Zhan wrote down everything, and Lu Qi also asked, "Should I go with you to Lingnan?"
Lu Shang said, "Not for now. I will personally follow up on the shipment in Lingnan. You can stay in Tangzhen and take care of the daily deliveries."
"Okay, I'll listen to Brother Lu."
"Besides, Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. Guanhelou will be closed for the next few days, so there will be no need to deliver during the Mid-Autumn Festival. I will ask the new partners later to see when they will start. I will try to postpone it until after Mid-Autumn Festival so that you can have a holiday."
It would be great to be able to go home during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but if it is inconvenient, they will not force it.
Hunter Zhan said, "We can do it all. It's all up to you, boss."
Lu Shang made a few more suggestions on the escort of goods, which were nothing more than the same old things about safety and quality.
He didn't stay here for long. Thinking that the time was about up, he immediately went to Yi Jiangnan, which was the restaurant in Mr. Zhang's family.
He waited in the restaurant for about an hour before the agreed time arrived.
The three bosses came together. They had almost finished discussing the relevant terms at Guanhe Tower yesterday. Today they are just doing the final inspection and making the final price.
This was the first time for the two restaurants to cooperate with Lu's Logistics, so they still had other concerns. The quantity of goods was still small. They only needed fresh fish, chicken, duck, and pork, which could be delivered every two days. The price they offered was almost the same as that of Guanhelou.
The clinic collects a large variety of herbs, both good and bad in quality. No matter how often they are delivered or where Lu Shang finds the supplies, as long as he sends them, the clinic will accept them all.
Rather than saying that the clinic is looking for a logistics team, it would be more accurate to say that it is looking for a middleman who can recruit individual customers. Just recruiting a few people will do the job. There is no reason for Lu Shang to refuse the business that comes to his door.
The shopkeepers brought by several merchants drafted the deed, and after both parties checked it and confirmed it was correct, they signed it.
When Lu Shang asked about the delivery time, the other two restaurants were not short of three to five days, so they readily agreed to start after the Mid-Autumn Festival. If they were not satisfied with the goods provided by Lu Shang, they could also request a replacement or terminate the cooperation.
Because Lu's Logistics does not provide advance payment services, the two restaurants each prepaid 200 taels of money for the goods. The medical clinic gave more, 300 taels, but if they came across any old ginseng or Ganoderma lucidum, I'm afraid 300 taels would only be enough to pay for the goods once.
Lu Shang explained to them everything that needed to be considered, and only after seeing that the bosses were satisfied did he say goodbye.
By the time we left Yijiangnan, it was already past dinner time.
Lu Shang put away the deed and didn't think about buying anything else. He hurried home and ate a bowl of hot noodles. He felt refreshed.
The next day, the school was on vacation and the logistics team stopped working. It was a good time to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning left home early in the morning. They originally wanted to bring Grandma Lu with them, but Grandma Lu was afraid that she would become a burden due to her mobility problems, so she declined their invitation and went to find the old lady of the Tian family with a small stool.
It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and there are obviously more vendors on the streets.
Some pastry shops and clothing stores also hung decorations outside, and there was a constant stream of customers coming in and out.
Although they came out, neither Lu Shang nor Jiang Wanning had a clear purpose for buying anything.
The two of them walked around the street for a while before Jiang Wanning thought, "Since it's a holiday, my husband, would you like to prepare some gifts for the workers in the logistics team?"
Lu Shang suddenly realized: "I should prepare something, but how much should I give?"
Jiang Wanning inquired about the number of people and pondered, "How about giving each person two pounds of meat and an ounce of sugar? If anyone likes to drink, they can also add a jar of yellow wine. I saw a tavern I just passed by that sold a jar for only ten coins. If you don't like to drink, we can change it into copper coins."
"I was thinking, after all, they're still receiving their monthly bonuses, and they haven't been with my husband for long, so these holiday gifts are enough. If they're still around in two years and their work is good, it won't be too late to give them more."
"Then do as you say." Lu Shang made the final decision.
The two of them got down to work immediately. They first went to the tavern they had just passed by and ordered thirty jars of wine. Since the quantity was large, the tavern could deliver it to their home, so Lu Shang reserved a place for the long-term worker's residence.
Not far ahead was a grocery store, and they ordered another ten pounds of sugar, one or two bags per portion. Each portion was not large, and the total amount only filled a basket.
Then there was fresh pork. There were less than fifty farmhands in the town, so they bought a hundred pounds of meat and also sent it to where the farmhands lived. The butcher also gave them two pounds of large bones, which Lu Shang kept and would use to make soup at home.
These things may not sound like much, but we had to choose and bargain along the way, and it was almost noon by the time we had everything arranged.
Lu Shang thought about it and decided to go to the city gate again, together with Jiang Wanning, to give the farmhands a holiday gift and tell them to have a holiday.
Jiang Wanning didn't want to appear in front of the farmhand, but she couldn't stand Lu Shang's repeated dissuasion, so she had to go with him in the end.
On the way there, Lu Shang thought, "After we give the farmhands their gifts, we'll go buy some food for our family. It's a rare Mid-Autumn Festival, so I have to show off my skills at the family reunion banquet."
Jiang Wanning's eyes narrowed as she asked softly, "Then...are you going back early tomorrow morning?"
"Where to go back?" Lu Shang was confused.
Jiang Wanning said, "It's not a reunion banquet, aren't we going back to Lujia Village?"
Who would have thought that Lu Shang's mind would race: "No, no, it's just you, me and grandma. The three of us will be reunited. We'll stay in town and not go anywhere."
"Is that so..." Jiang Wanning tried her best to remain calm, but a hint of joy could not be suppressed in her words.
Lu Shang didn't notice this subtle point, and just kept muttering: "If you feel that it's not lively enough with so few people, then ask the neighbors. If anyone's family has few people, you can also gather around a table to eat."
"No need." Jiang Wanning refused quickly, "Just you, me, and grandma."
"Alright, I'll do whatever you say!"
When the two of them arrived at the farmhands' residence, the rice wine and pork had already been delivered. A group of people were gathered around the cart, confused. When they saw Lu Shang coming from a distance, they quickly called out, "Boss!"
Lu Shang took Jiang Wanning over and first asked them to move the wine and meat to the courtyard. He paid for the wine and meat, and then told everyone about the festival gifts. Finally, he said, "Madam, remembering everyone's hard work, specially prepared these."
As soon as the words fell, everyone not only thanked Lu Shang, but also Jiang Wanning was thanked repeatedly.
Two pounds of meat, a little sugar and a jar of wine are actually not expensive in terms of price.
But it was the first time for everyone to encounter a boss who gave gifts during the holidays. No matter how much the gifts were, it never stopped them from being happy.
At the invitation of Lu Qi and Hunter Zhan, a group of people lined up in the yard and received their things one after another. Even the old ladies in charge of washing clothes and cooking in the yard were not left out.
After sending the last person off, Lu Shang clapped his hands and said, "Okay, we got the things, let's go home quickly."
"I'll give you two days off for Mid-Autumn Festival. Go home and spend some quality time with your wives and children, and then come back to work the day after tomorrow!"
"Thank you, boss! May you have a Mid-Autumn Festival reunion and make a fortune!"
"Thank you, Madam! I wish you and the boss a happy marriage—"
A group of people were shouting loudly, saying all kinds of things. Lu Shang couldn't stop them and could only let them make noise.
Thinking that they still had to go buy other things, the two of them didn't stay long. They said goodbye to Lu Qi and the others and left quickly.
At noon, the two of them did not go home, but just ate something on the street.
In the afternoon, I walked and bought everything from chicken, duck, fish, meat, fresh vegetables, various snacks, pastries, dried fruits, and sweet wine that was not intoxicating at all.
Jiang Wanning still remembered that Lu Shang had a low fever all night, so she refused to buy more. In the end, she only ordered a small jar of plum wine and shared it among the three of them, which was three or two sips per person.
Lu Shang also bought two bags of pepper from a small grocery stall, ground it into powder and sprinkled it into the bone soup to add more flavor.
After shopping for most of the day, we finally bought everything.
After walking outside for a whole day, the two were so tired that they couldn't even lift a finger when they returned home. Grandma Lu found it funny and gave them water and cooked for them. Only after she took care of them until they were comfortable did she think of going back to her room to rest.
At this moment, Jiang Wanning called her: "Grandma, wait a moment!"
She rummaged through the pile of things on the table for a long time and found a silver bracelet. The bracelet was very delicately made, but because it was hollow inside, the whole bracelet only cost three taels of silver.
Jiang Wanning put the silver bracelet on Grandma Lu and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work these days. I'm always busy at school. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be able to eat. It was just a coincidence that I bought you a bracelet today."
"Look, there are patterns engraved on it. Do you like it?"
"This, this, this..." Grandma Lu had never worn such a valuable thing before. After putting on the bracelet, she didn't dare to move.
Lu Shang said sourly, "This is the money Aning earned from writing calligraphy. She didn't buy me anything, but she just remembers you!"
"I don't want it, this won't do... This is too expensive, I don't dare to take it--" Grandma Lu couldn't help but tremble.
Jiang Wanning didn't even look at Lu Shang. She just smiled at Grandma Lu and helped her walk into the house. She explained in detail: "This is not expensive. Don't you think this bracelet is very light? It's only three taels of silver. I will replace it with a better one for you later."
"Do you remember that Grandma Tian also had a silver bracelet on her hand? Now you have one too..."
No one knew how Jiang Wanning persuaded her, but in the end the old lady was in tears, holding her hand and praising her as "good child". Even when she went to bed at night, she was reluctant to take off the bracelet and had to keep her hand under her body to feel at ease.
The next day, Grandma Lu wore the bracelet given by her granddaughter-in-law and showed it off in the alley.
The three of them stayed at home that day, preparing chickens, ducks, and fish, and then stewing bone soup.
Even though there were only three people at home, it did not prevent Lu Shang from preparing a table full of dishes.
Grandma Lu was actually interested in going home. It was obvious that the two of them were enthusiastically preparing the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner and had no intention of going home. After thinking for a long time, she finally decided not to go and spoil the fun.
The moon was above the willows, but the Lu family's yard was brightly lit.
Lu Shang moved the dining table into the courtyard, poured everyone a glass of plum wine, and gently clinked glasses: "Then I wish us to have this day every year."
Jiang Wanning sipped the wine, looked up at the full moon in the sky, and felt a pang of embarrassment in her heart.
I don’t know where my parents and elder brother are now, and whether they are safe.
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