Extra 1
Lu Shang's family's move to the capital did not cause much sensation.
It has been more than two years since he won the top spot in the imperial examination. Moreover, after the special examination that year, the regular examination came. The top three in the new class all stayed in the capital. Both their knowledge and political views were consistent with those of the ministers in the court. Compared with the special examination winners personally selected by the emperor, they were more favored by the court officials and were shining brightly in the court.
Lu Shang rarely appeared in public back then, and he was not appointed as an official after the palace examination. After he returned to Songxi County with him, he completely disappeared from public view. Although the maritime merchants in the court had been making a lot of noise in the past two years, the ones who showed up were all the emperor's men. Lu Shang only commanded and dispatched in secret, and was even less known to the public.
Now that he has returned as the son-in-law of the Jiang family, few people associate him with the dark horse champion of the past two years. Even more people may not recognize him if they meet him face to face.
Lu Shang was happy with this and just stayed at the Jiang family to take care of his wife and children.
It just so happened that he was worried about Beijing in the first two years and had never taken a good look at this prosperous capital. Jiang Wanning had not been to Beijing for more than ten years and was curious about everything.
After the two of them discussed it, they simply entrusted Lu Nian'an to a few elders and went out to take a look around.
Lu Nian'an is An An's full name. An An is three years old this year. She is at the age of being clever and smart. Her family takes good care of her, but unlike other families, she is not always confined at home.
When she was one or two years old, she followed Jiang Wanning to a private school. There were many girls there, and they were all kind and careful. Sometimes Jiang Wanning was too busy, so the girls would help take care of the children.
This year, An An was able to walk and jump on her own, so she started to go to the countryside with Lu Shang.
Lu's Logistics has grown stronger year by year, and its business scope has become wider and wider, from the initial escort of goods to the current self-production and self-sales. In addition, precious goods brought back from overseas are sold to various places by the logistics team.
For example, the two Breaking Waves ships that went out to sea at the beginning of this year, although most of the crew members on board were from the imperial court, the captain and several deputies at the helm were all from Lu Logistics.
But no matter how it develops, Tang Town, as the birthplace of Lu's Logistics, has never lost its status as a base camp, especially since Lu Shang has been free from the pressure of scientific examinations in the past two years and has focused most of his attention on his own business.
Under his careful planning, the subordinate villages of Tang Town have become clustered, encompassing the entire Tang Town. He has vigorously developed agriculture, breeding and aquaculture, and relied on efficient logistics to deliver vegetables, fruits, fish and meat to surrounding towns and cities, improving the quality of life of thousands of farmers.
In addition, Lu Shang also contacted Jiang Zhiyu who was far away in the north. The north has a vast territory and a large amount of pasture, which is a perfect place for raising cattle, sheep and horses.
Raising a large number of horses might be suspected of hoarding troops for rebellion, but at least Lu Shang was still working for the emperor.
He only needed to submit a memorial to the emperor in advance, blaming the reason for horse breeding on maritime merchants. With a legitimate reason, he would not be afraid of those false accusations.
It must be said that the cattle, sheep and horses raised in the north are just the best. The free-range cattle and sheep have delicious and firm meat, and the foals have been frolicking in the fields since they were young. Their endurance is also better than that of the horses in the Central Plains. It is precisely because of these horses that the logistics teams' delivery speed is getting faster and faster, and their equipment is becoming more sufficient.
Little An An likes to go to Tang Town with her father the most. There, not only are there many brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts to play with her, but she can also ride a big horse and touch small fish. In summer, she can even climb trees to catch cicadas. It's so much fun.
So when the whole family moved to Beijing this time, the one who had the biggest objection was little Lu Nian'an.
All the way from Songxi County to the capital, Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning took turns coaxing the little girl and took her to see the beautiful scenery and novel things along the way, and only then did they coax the little girl into submission.
Jiang's father and mother left when An An was very young. An An only knew that he had a pair of grandparents, but had never actually seen them. This time he moved into the Jiang family, and was taken away by the two elders to the main courtyard to be raised.
Father Jiang had to go to court every day, but Mother Jiang didn't have much to do.
She called Grandma Lu to go with her, and took little An An with her. They first went to a temple on the outskirts of the city to ask for a peace talisman, and then went to the pastry shop on South Street to buy some delicious sweets. In just two days, An An became very close to her grandmother. Every day when she opened her eyes, she would either call her "Grandma" or "Grandma".
It was because of this that Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning had the opportunity to live in their own world.
The two of them went out, but they couldn't decide where to go.
Finally, Lu Shang asked, "Where did Aning often go when she was a child? Can you take me there to see it?"
Jiang Wanning's face flashed with embarrassment, and she hesitated, "When I was a child, the places I often went to were teahouses and bookstores, or rouge and powder shops that only girls would go to. If my husband wants to go..."
"Of course I do!" Lu Shang was very excited and pulled her hand and walked outside.
As he walked, he thought, "An An has Grandma and Mom looking after her. She won't miss you or me for at least three to five days. I was thinking we'd just stop in Beijing for the first two days. First, we'd go see the teahouse and bookstore you mentioned, then buy some new jewelry and cosmetics. Of course, we'd also need spring and summer clothes. We'd also need to prepare them all."
"After we've toured the capital, I'll take you to the logistics team in the suburbs. The logistics team in the capital has been growing bigger and bigger in recent years, and it's next to the port, so most of the things brought back from the sea are in the suburbs. You can go and see if there's anything you like, so you can leave it in advance."
Jiang Wanning listened attentively, raised the corner of her mouth slightly, and replied softly, "Okay."
However, there are only a few teahouses and bookstores left from more than a decade ago.
Jiang Wanning searched several places based on her memory, but found that the buildings from her childhood had changed.
Her favorite teahouse with storytelling became a restaurant, and the small bookshop that few people visited became a well-known bookstore, filled with students.
After searching around, I finally found only one bookshop where people could play the qin. However, from the entrance, the decoration inside had changed. The place where anyone could play the qin before now had a fixed qin player, and there was sake on the side. Most of the people inside were drinkers who lived nearby.
Jiang Wanning couldn't help but feel melancholy. She clenched Lu Shang's hand and murmured, "These places...seem to be gone. My husband, I can't find them."
Lu Shang's heart tightened, and he subconsciously put his arm around her shoulders, lowering his head to comfort her, "It's okay, as long as you still remember them, they will always be there. Otherwise, Aning, tell me what the teahouse and bookstore look like in your memory? I'll help you remember it."
Jiang Wanning pursed her lips and remained silent for a long time before she spoke. "Actually, there's nothing special about it. Teahouses in Beijing are all pretty much the same. The only thing I like is that there's a really good storyteller who always tells bizarre stories. Many people say he's just playing tricks on people, but I find it quite amusing..."
"I remember that storyteller once told a story about a fox demon repaying a favor. It said a farmer saved a fox, and when the fox grew up, it wanted to repay the farmer. Coincidentally, the farmer's wife had died, so the fox demon used up all its power and possessed the farmer's deceased wife. Although it sparked rumors for a while, in the end, the farmer and the fox demon lived happily together."
Jiang Wanning said, looking up at Lu Shang slightly, and said with a smile: "I remember that my husband was not in good health in the early years, and there were some strange things in the funeral hall. Could my husband be some little monster I saved and he came to repay me?"
"But I don't seem to remember saving anything..." She herself felt that this was nonsense. She poked Lu Shang's forearm, leaned on his shoulder, and couldn't help laughing.
Lu Shang also laughed.
He had lived in this era for more than ten years and had long lost the strangeness and fear he had when he first arrived. Even if he heard a story similar to his own, it would not cause any ripples in his heart.
What's more, perhaps because he has a wife and a daughter, he still prefers the days in Dazhao, and the bizarre modern world has gradually become blurred in his mind.
Now he was thinking about—
It is possible that he was originally a sickly child from Lujia Village, and the past few decades in modern times have been just a big dream.
Near noon, the two found a nearby restaurant and had the most famous tea in the capital.
After they had finished lunch and rested for a while, the two went to the street again. They didn't have any destination, so they just walked in the streets and alleys. Occasionally, they would meet someone familiar to Jiang Wanning and stop for a long time.
The next day they went to the most prosperous shopping street and bought many new styles of jewelry and several boxes of popular cosmetics. The tailor shop was stocked with new summer clothes, all made of new materials shipped from the south.
It so happened that the clothing store they went to had a partnership with Lu's Logistics. After Lu Shang found out where they sourced their goods, he planned to bring some more fabric home when he returned to the logistics team to pick up the goods.
After a whole day, the two returned with a full load.
Jiang Wanning had been out for two days when she finally remembered her daughter who had been left at home. However, when she went to the main courtyard, she found out that Jiang's mother and Grandma Lu had taken little An'an on a boat ride and would not be back for three days.
After Lu Shang found out, he hugged her and laughed for a while: "I think it's good to live with my parents. An An doesn't have to bother you and me anymore. Why don't we just move out?"
She said that since she had the child, he had a wet nurse to look after him, but she didn't look after him herself, so she was always worried. She would go to check on him twice at night, and she would not do any extra activities before going to bed.
Lu Shang had long missed the days when he dragged Jiang Wanning along to do whatever he wanted. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed to him. If they hadn't agreed to go to the outskirts of Beijing tomorrow, he would have wanted to drag his wife to bed right then and there.
Jiang Wanning pushed him away and raised her hand to shield his eyes, not daring to look at the impulsiveness within. "Don't even think about it... It won't work without An An."
Lu Shang rested his forehead against her shoulder and said with a muffled laugh, "Don't worry, I'll do as you say."
That being said, Jiang Wanning had no control over what he was thinking.
Originally, they planned to go to the suburbs of Beijing and return late, but now that An An is not at home, they decided to stay outside for two more days. They heard that a farm stay has opened in the suburbs of Beijing, so they might as well stay there for a few days after they get out of the logistics team.
Before going to bed, Lu Shang packed his travel luggage. After Jiang Wanning counted and replenished it, the two of them hugged each other and went to bed, having a good night's sleep.
Extra chapters will be updated with the rankings~
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