Ji Chengkang looked at Lu Lin with some suspicion and asked, "You want to bring a few children with you to Kyoto?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "I'm not a child anymore."
Ji Chengkang: "..." To Ji Chengkang, a half-grown child is still a child.
Lu Lin looked at Ji Chengkang and said, "I have prepared their travel expenses and supplies for the journey. I would like to trouble you, General, to keep an eye on them for me."
Ji Chengkang looked at Lu Lin and said, "Lord Lu, are you sure you want to do this? The road ahead is long and arduous, and I can't guarantee that nothing will go wrong."
Lu Lin hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I still hope they can go to Kyoto and broaden their horizons."
Ji Chengkang nodded and said, "If Young Master Lu is determined, I can do my best to ensure their safety."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "That's great."
Lu Lin walked into the room and saw Chen Xiaomi looking worried. "Xiaomi, what's wrong?" Chen Xiaomi hesitated for a moment and said, "Xiaomai heard that Xiaocai can go to Kyoto, and he wants to go too."
Lu Lin sighed, unsure of what to say for a moment. "Xiaomai, he's probably just a child at heart."
Chen Xiaomi rubbed her forehead and said, "He seems quite determined this time."
Lu Lin went to find Chen Xiaomai, who was packing her bundle. Inside the bundle were a few pieces of clothing and some sesame seed cakes.
Yuanbao looked at Chen Xiaomai with a look of utter dejection, "Uncle, you're going to Kyoto too? What am I going to do then!"
"I'll bring you some delicious food from Kyoto. I've heard that Kyoto is full of culinary delights," Chen Xiaomai promised.
Lu Lin: "..." Even if Kyoto has a lot of delicious food, it would have gone bad long ago if I brought it over.
Looking at the several oily sesame cakes, Lu Lin rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
Putting food next to clothes is so typical of Xiaomai! She's had this habit of haphazardly hiding food for so many years, how come she just can't break it?
Yuanbao sat on the couch, pouting as he watched Chen Xiaomai busy herself.
"Daddy." Yuanbao jumped off the bed when he saw Lu Lin.
Lu Lin nodded and sent Yuanbao out to play.
"Xiaomai, why did you suddenly decide to go to Kyoto?" Lu Lin asked.
“My second brother is going to Kyoto, and I want to go to Kyoto too,” Chen Xiaomai said.
“Your second brother is going to do business. If you go with him, it will cause some trouble,” Lu Lin said seriously.
Chen Xiaomai hesitated for a moment and said, "Will it be very troublesome? But Brother Ji asked me to go with him!"
Lu Lin was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but be a little surprised. Lu Lin originally thought that Chen Xiaomai was just being playful, which was why she wanted to go to Kyoto with the Ji family's group. But he didn't expect that Ji Yun'an had also interfered. So it turned out that Chen Xiaomai wanted to go to Kyoto because of Ji Yun'an, that little devil?
"What did Ji Yun'an say?" Lu Lin asked.
Chen Xiaomai blinked and said, "Brother Ji said that there are many fun places in Kyoto, and he can take me there. There are also many delicious foods in Kyoto, and he can take me there to eat..."
Lu Lin: "..." This brat really knows how to get people to their death. This Xiaomai has absolutely no willpower when it comes to food and toys.
"When did he say that?" Lu Lin asked.
Chen Xiaomai tilted her head and said, "A couple of days ago, I told him that my second brother was going to Kyoto to make a fortune, and he said that I could go with my second brother."
Lu Lin: "..." So, Ji Yun'an was too embarrassed to speak up at first because he was going to send Chen Xiaolai to Kyoto, so this kid Ji Yun'an just went along with it? So young, yet so full of bad ideas.
"Brother Lin, what are you thinking about? Your expression is strange."
Lu Lin: "..."
Do you want to go to Kyoto yourself?
Chen Xiaomai hesitated for a moment, blushed, and nodded.
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomai, sighed, and said helplessly, "Since you want to go, then go."
Chen Xiaomai hugged Lu Lin and said, "Thank you, Brother Lin."
Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomai with concern and said, "You can go to Beijing, but when the time comes, you must come back with your second brother!"
Chen Xiaomai nodded happily and said, "Okay, Kyoto is a great place, but I'll miss you, Brother Lin, even though I'm leaving you behind. I'll come back after I've had my fun."
Lu Lin: "..." I'm afraid they'll get so caught up in the fun that they won't want to leave.
Seeing Chen Xiaomai's happy expression, Lu Lin couldn't find any words of advice to offer.
Lu Lin suddenly felt a sense of desolation, a bittersweet feeling akin to a father-in-law marrying off his daughter.
After visiting Chen Xiaomai, Lu Lin went to see Chen Xiaocai and instructed her to take good care of Chen Xiaomai. Chen Xiaocai assured him that she would take good care of Chen Xiaomai and would not give any unscrupulous people an opportunity to take advantage of her.
Chen Xiaocai's guarantee filled Lu Lin with awe.
Lu Lin suddenly realized that it wasn't just him who thought Ji Yun'an might be a bad guy; Chen Xiaocai felt the same way! Chen Xiaocai had really grown up; that guy surnamed Ji didn't seem like a kind person.
"You're saying that Ji Yun'an sent Xiaomai to the capital?" Chen Xiaomi asked with a strange expression.
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Not bad."
Chen Xiaomi said unhappily, "What is this brat up to?" Lu Lin narrowed his eyes, vaguely feeling that Ji Yun'an was a scoundrel.
Inside the Qin family residence.
"Brother, Kyoto is a place where wealthy and powerful people gather. When you get there, you must not cause any trouble and cause problems for the two young masters!" Qin Lang instructed.
Qin Ming nodded solemnly and said, "Don't worry, brother, I know."
Qin Ming is already a big kid now. Originally, Lu Lin wanted Qin Lang to go instead of protecting Chen Xiaocai and Xiaomai. However, Qin Lang is currently engaged and is not young anymore, so Lu Lin didn't want to delay him.
Actually, Qin Ming was quite happy about going to Kyoto. Over the years, he had been to quite a few places, but most of them were relatively poor. Chen Xiaolai had hinted to him that they were going to Kyoto to do big business. Thinking about big business, Qin Ming couldn't help but feel excited, as if supporting Chen Xiaolai to achieve great success and rise to prominence was just around the corner.
Qin Ming was filled with pride. In the past few years, Qin Lang had been working with Lu Lin, and Lu Lin had entrusted many things to him. Qin Ming had been working with Qin Lang. Although it was easier to handle many things by working with his older brother, Qin Ming still hoped that he could take charge on his own.
Kyoto is the capital of the emperor. Qin Ming felt that even if he went to the capital and didn't gain anything, he would still have something to brag about when he came back.
Lu Lin prepared horsehide and dry rations for the younger children, and made custom-made clothes, pants, and shoes for Chen Xiaocai.
Lu Lin sewed small denomination banknotes into Chen Xiaocai's clothes, pants, and shoes. Lu Lin told Chen Xiaocai that if she was short of money, she could take them out and spend them without being too polite.
Lu Lin mainly prepared money for Chen Xiaocai, and food for Chen Xiaomai.
Lu Lin specially prepared a large package and packed all sorts of food that could be stored inside for Chen Xiaomai.
On the day of their departure, Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi saw Chen Xiaocai and the others off.
In order not to slow down the team, Lu Lin prepared two horse-drawn carriages for the children. Horses are much rarer than mules, and each horse cost Lu Lin fifteen taels.
Before, when she was at home, Chen Xiaomai kept telling Lu Lin how wonderful, prosperous, and delicious the capital city was, according to Ji Yun'an. But now that she was really leaving, Xiaomai had a sad little face and looked very reluctant to go.
Ji Yun'an looked at Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi and said, "Lord Lu, Brother Xiaomi, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Xiaomai."
Lu Lin felt that Ji Yun'an's guarantee was a little strange, so he forced a smile and said, "Alright then, I'll entrust the wheat to you."
Ji Yun'an seemed encouraged and nodded solemnly, saying, "I will."
"Go ahead." Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Lin gave Chen Xiaomai a push, not wanting to waste any more time.
Chen Xiaomai waved to the crowd and climbed into the carriage.
As Lu Lin watched Chen Xiaomai enter the carriage, he felt that the current situation was somewhat like sending Xiaomai away to marry.
After Chen Xiaocai and Chen Xiaomai left, the house suddenly became much quieter.
Lu Lin felt that Shen Chi had become increasingly busy after Xiao Cai left, so Lu Lin assigned Shen Chi two assistants.
"My lord, my lord." Yunniang walked in.
Lu Lin glanced at Yunniang, "What are you doing? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Yunniang said with some joy, "My lord, Young Master Shen is pregnant."
Lu Lin: "..." It actually happened now. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have sent Chen Xiaocai to Kyoto.
"Have you seen a doctor?" Lu Lin asked.
Yunniang nodded and said, "I've seen the doctor, and he said everything is fine." Yunniang paused, then added, "After seeing the doctor, Young Master Shen went to the trading company again."
Lu Lin: "..." Wheat's wife is a workaholic! How can someone like him who likes to sleep in feel so ashamed? He really felt ashamed.
Although Shen Chi repeatedly assured Lu Lin that he was in excellent health and could definitely handle the work, Lu Lin was still somewhat worried and delegated Shen Chi's tasks to others.
Zhang Rui came looking for him at this time, which made Lu Lin very happy.
"Arui, your family doesn't have any objections to you coming here like this?" Lu Lin asked.
Zhang Rui scratched his head and said, "My mother thinks I'm just freeloading at home. If I stay any longer, she'll stop feeding me soon." Zhang Rui was joking, but when he worked for Lu Lin, he earned two taels of silver a month and often received various benefits. Now that Lu Lin is gone, there's not much work left for Zhang Rui, and his income has plummeted.
Although the Zhang family slaughtered pigs, they didn't always have meat to eat. It was different when they followed Lu Lin; they could get meat dishes from time to time, although sometimes it was just some shredded meat.
After getting married and having another child in the family, Zhang Qin realized that things couldn't continue like this, so she sent Zhang Rui away.
Lu Lin: "..."
"Is your wife alright at home?" Lu Lin asked.
Zhang Rui nodded and said, "No problem. I'll work here for a while, and once I've established myself, I'll bring them over."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "That works too."
Zhang Rui looked at Lu Lin and said, "Brother Lin, you're really amazing. I heard you were commended by the Emperor. Da Shi Village is really glorious now." If a capable person comes out of this village, the whole village can benefit from it.
Lu Lin glanced at Zhang Rui with some surprise and asked, "Has the news reached Dashi Village yet?"
Zhang Rui nodded and said, "Yes! I heard from everyone that His Majesty also rewarded you with silver. When the old lady of the Lu family heard about it, she was very excited and said she wanted to come and find you."
Lu Lin narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is she coming?"
Lu Lin's eyelids twitched. He thought to himself, "If the old lady is determined to come, this will really be a problem. Haven't you seen how no one dares to mess with elderly people who stage accidents on the street?"
"It didn't work out. I heard that the Lu family originally asked a caravan to help bring the old lady over, but the caravan felt that the old lady was too old and they couldn't bear the responsibility if something happened to her on the way, so they didn't agree."
Lu Lin secretly breathed a sigh of relief; going far away did have its advantages.
Zhang Rui paused, then continued, "I heard that there was another reason why the caravan was unwilling to take Old Madam Lu with them. The caravan asked her for eight taels of silver as an escort fee, and she cursed them, saying they were robbing her, and also said..."
Lu Lin glanced at Zhang Rui and said, "What else is there to say?"
She also said that she was the grandmother of a high-ranking official, and that having them deliver the gifts was a favor to the caravan; offending her would result in the caravan suffering greatly.
Lu Lin: "..." That old hag, he'd already gotten so far away, and she was still drawing his hatred. "The caravan members didn't listen to her, did they?"
"Brother Lin, many people know about your affair with the Lu family. The caravan members are well-informed. Lu Lin is a celebrity in the county, and many know about his feud with the Lu family. Therefore, the caravan members only need to inquire a little to find out that the old lady and Lu Lin don't speak to each other, and there's even some animosity between them."
Lu Lin nodded and said, "That's good."
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