Chapter 21
Ning Qingxi was exceptionally efficient. Huo Yanci watched as she produced a stack of notebooks within three days. She even cleared out a room specifically to store these notebooks. There were two tables, two chairs, a wooden shelf, writing brushes, ink, paper, and two boxes of inkpads—that was all there was.
She specifically called over the person in charge of money: "From now on, you'll stay here during working hours. If there's work, you'll do it; if there's no work, you'll still have to dawdle here for me."
The man knew he had done something wrong, and now he was being very cautious. He nodded but didn't say anything.
Ning Qingxi was very satisfied and opened one of the notebooks: "In that case, let's start with you."
This is a notebook that records everyone's name, age, gender, address, salary, and when they arrived. Ning Qingxi and Huo Yanci's names were already written in the first two lines, and he followed suit in the third line. Ning Qingxi glanced at it and saw that his name was Zhuo Miao.
After finishing the first notebook, Ning Qingxi handed her another one.
It is a pledge promising not to steal or do anything that violates the collective interest while I am here, and that if I do, I can take it to the authorities.
After writing his name, Huo Yanci handed him a box of inkpads and asked him to press his fingerprints onto both notebooks, which would then cover his name.
After finishing, Ning Qingxi was very satisfied. She turned to Huo Yanci and said, "I need to call everyone over to press them later, otherwise if something else happens, I'll not only have worked for nothing, but I'll also have to pay out of my own pocket!"
Zhuo Miao volunteered to do this work.
Ning Qingxi looked suspicious.
Zhuo Miao scratched his head sheepishly and said, "It's about making up for my mistakes with good deeds."
Ning Qingxi waved her hand and told him to get to work.
Watching Zhuo Miaole run off happily, Huo Yanci asked, "You trust him that much?"
"Otherwise what? Haven't you heard the saying, 'If you can't lead a team, you'll work yourself to death'?"
Huo Yanci: "Where did you learn so many strange things?"
Ning Qingxi turned around and rummaged around in the cabinet, saying casually, "Guess."
Ever since the trees died, Ning Qingxi has become more and more unrestrained. That afternoon, she tried to save them, but by nightfall, she had managed to kill all the trees. With both feet firmly planted on the ground, Ning Qingxi simply gave up and went all out.
However, it wasn't all bad news. For example, Ning Qingxi had a sudden inspiration and added several more blueprints for doors, such as the Treasure Bottle Door, the Gourd Door, and the Palace-shaped Door.
Several blueprints were neatly stacked on the side of the table. Huo Yanci, having nothing to do, leaned against the table, picked them up, glanced at them, and was immediately amazed.
Although Ning Qingxi's paintings still lack structure and have uneven lines, ignoring these details cannot negate her extraordinary talent.
Huo Yanci was somewhat annoyed: "Why don't you put this much effort into the courtyard you drew for me?"
Ning Qingxi had just unearthed a wooden box, opened it to find it empty, and tossed it back. Hearing Huo Yanci's words, she was also surprised: "You know that's a courtyard, not a garden? Tell me what kind of bedroom you want to build for your bedroom, Miss Huo."
Huo Yanci: "I want one like that too."
"...Would you like a miniature landscape as a gift?"
Huo Yanci: "?"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhuo Miao returned with her entourage. The large group of people stood outside the door, looking quite hot.
Ning Qingxi instructed the kitchen to bring two buckets of tea and place them in the east room, along with a few stools. Everyone was to go in and wait, leaving one or two to fill their cups at a time.
She always wanted someone to do the work for her, and now that Zhuo Miao was busy redeeming himself, she didn't stand on ceremony and happily let him do it. Watching him teach everyone how to write their names, Ning Qingxi felt particularly comfortable. If only she could have a handful of melon seeds...
"Here you go."
Ning Qingxi looked down and saw that Huo Yanci had a handful of roasted, golden-brown melon seeds in her hand.
"No one knows a father better than his son!"
After Ning Qingxi finished cursing, she quickly snatched the sunflower seeds and cheerfully spat the shells onto her handkerchief.
Huo Yanci was scolded even after giving out melon seeds. For a moment, she didn't know whether to be angry at the person for being heartless or to laugh at her for being so carefree. However, scolding was better than having a long face.
Huo Yanci clicked her tongue.
When did his standards become so low?
Ning Qingxi didn't notice his many little emotions and nudged him with her elbow: "Speaking of which, where's the riding outfit you made for me? It's been ages and there's still no sign of it?"
Huo Yanci: "You really do things on a whim. Where did this one come from?"
"I want to go horseback riding. Aren't you bored staying here for so long?"
Huo Yanci deliberately contradicted her, saying, "Don't you think so? Why are you so easily angered?"
Ning Qingxi: "Yeah, then go and bring my clothes and horse over, I'm going out to play."
"Where did you get your horse?" Huo Yanci's mind raced, and she couldn't help but tease him, "If you say something nice to me, I might just take you for a ride."
"The handsome and dashing Prince Jing!"
Huo Yanci pouted: "I'm not really keen to hear that."
"You don't like being praised? What, you prefer to be criticized?" Ning Qingxi said, pulling her chair back with a look of surprise. "Have you been holding it in for too long and gotten yourself sick?"
Ning Qingxi was overjoyed to see Huo Yanci get the short end of the stick.
She's not much of a person, except she's very vengeful. She'll dig a pit and wait for you to fall in. Although she doesn't have any invincible rhetoric, once people remember how to retort, the topic will probably be over.
Ning Qingxi tilted her head, looked Huo Yanci up and down, and suddenly asked, "Did you sneak out to play? I don't think you've gained any weight at all."
Cooking in the kitchen was like beating an oil seller to death; every day, a thick layer of oil floated in the dishes, but it actually tasted delicious! Ning Qingxi condemned herself every day, but then resolutely refused to deprive her mouth of anything.
Although there was no scale here, she estimated that she must have gained a lot of weight. Her arms, which were so thin that you could see the outline of her bones before, had gradually become rounded and turned into white lotus root segments.
Therefore, she touched her face and belly every day, becoming more and more worried each day.
If I keep eating like this, I'm bound to get fatty liver!
Huo Yanci's gaze lingered on Ning Qingxi's face twice, making Ning Qingxi's mind go blank and her face turn as red as if she had applied a box of rouge.
Then I heard Huo Yanci say, "Aren't you doing well now? I'll have an artist paint two portraits of you for the New Year, so you can hang them at home and use them to paint dolls for the New Year."
Ning Qingxi: "...Okay, I'll draw two for you too. I'll put them up at home from when I drew those little boys."
Huo Yanci: "Why are you putting up pictures of me in your house? Do you like me that much that you have to look at my pictures and miss me when you can't see me?"
Ning Qingxi: "Then you..."
Huo Yanci: "Yes, that's me."
Ning Qingxi: "..."
When it comes to being flirtatious, she can't outdo Huo Yanci. The next topic is indeed a bit dangerous, so Ning Qingxi wisely shut up.
However, she has good judgment, but others don't.
Huo Yanci: "Say something."
Ning Qingxi finished cracking the last caramel-flavored melon seed in her hand, clapped her hands expressionlessly, and said, "You're the smoothest talker in the entire capital. Do you need me to set up a stage for you?"
"There's absolutely no need for that."
Ning Qingxi shrugged, then suddenly stood up and strode over to Zhuo Miao: "You've been working all morning, are you tired? Come on, let me take over for you for a bit."
Zhuo Miao looked bewildered: "Am I... tired?"
Ning Qingxi nodded: "You're tired."
There's a kind of exhaustion called "your boss thinks you're exhausted."
Zhuo Miao was unaware of what had happened when she was pushed aside. She looked at Huo Yanci with an innocent shrug, while Huo Yanci remained expressionless, making it impossible to tell whether she was happy or sad.
To be precise, Huo Yanci had already anticipated Ning Qingxi's reaction before he spoke, but it was nothing to him.
His life philosophy has always been to face challenges head-on. After two decades of smooth sailing, he has never learned how to be tactful. However, after being rejected so many times, he is somewhat puzzled.
Ning Qingxi turned her head and saw Huo Yanci swaying the two strands of hair hanging down her forehead in front of the mirror on the wooden frame. For a moment, she was a little confused as to why this person had suddenly gone to look in the mirror.
Then the person in front of her, who was copying her name exactly, suddenly shouted loudly, "Miss Ning, I really can't write this character. Why don't you write it for me?"
Ning Qingxi: "..."
Distracted like this, Ning Qingxi had long forgotten Huo Yanci's strange behavior. She felt like she was teaching kindergarten children to read all morning. By the time she finished recording everyone, Ning Qingxi was only one step away from going crazy.
While packing her things, she was even a little glad that she hadn't made a rash decision to become a glorious people's teacher when she came here, otherwise she might really be glorious now.
After she had finished preparing and locked the notebooks in the cabinet, she was satisfied and ready to call Huo Yanci to go out for dinner when she turned around and saw that he had disappeared. She asked Zhuo Miao, "Where is Huo Yanci? Have you seen him?"
Zhuo Miao looked blank: "I don't know, wasn't it just here a moment ago?"
Ning Qingxi waved her hand: "Never mind, I'll go find him."
Stepping outside, the sky was cloudless, a perfect day for getting scorched by the sun. Ning Qingxi plunged in, her eyes glazed over by the intense sunlight, and it took her a while to adjust.
Her days no longer follow the calendar, but are entirely based on the garden. For example, these past few days, the temperature has been too high to transplant saplings, and she guesses that summer is approaching.
If you want to plant trees, you can only wait until autumn, during those mild days, otherwise they will all freeze to death in just a couple of days when winter comes.
Seeing her standing there in a daze, Zhuo Miao followed her gaze in confusion and saw only a large blank space. He thought to himself, "The rumors are indeed true. She's so absent-minded just because we didn't eat a meal together."
As Zhuo Miao was sighing, she suddenly heard Ning Qingxi say, "This afternoon, let's call over the other landscape architects as well. There are some things we need to discuss."
"good."
Ning Qingxi pondered that the garden was now like a disassembled structure, and the door frame drawings she had made were just one of the components. They needed to discuss which one was the most suitable.
In the afternoon, many landscape architects gathered together. There weren't enough chairs, so most of them brought their own stools. They formed a circle around a table, in the center of which was the overall design drawing. Around the edge of this drawing were several stacks of smaller drawings, which were arranged by category, such as doors, windows, hitching posts, and drum-shaped stones.
“Come on, we’ve called everyone here today to brainstorm,” Ning Qingxi said. “This is what I drew. We’re going to discuss which one is suitable for which place. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to bring them up, and we’ll discuss them together.”
When Ning Qingxi laid out the blueprints, there were more than ten different designs for the light gate alone, a dazzling array of content.
"Wait a minute," someone asked doubtfully, "Miss Ning, isn't our gate supposed to be square? This fancy decoration seems a bit lacking in grandeur."
Regarding this issue, Ning Qingxi felt it wasn't a big deal: "Is our overall garden design really that grand?"
She tapped the table and said seriously, "Ladies and gentlemen, our garden design style is already unique, pursuing fun and elegance. I hope you can understand that we cannot simply follow what 'everyone' does in these small accessories. What we want is to be consistent with the overall garden design style, and on this basis, to further enhance these characteristics through these elements."
With so many garden designers in the capital, most of them are old-fashioned, and it's impossible for just one garden designer to supervise the construction of a garden. Therefore, the others were all found locally to assist Ning Qingxi.
Ning Qingxi relentlessly ruined people's lives, using pictures and text to show the little antiques how out of place a traditional and grand square gate would be here, directly shattering their original view of garden design.
As dusk approached, Huo Yanci stood at the door and saw a group of people staring in disbelief at Ning Qingxi's passionate speech. For a moment, she wanted to laugh, so she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame to watch.
After Ning Qingxi had explained things and finalized the design details, it was already dark. She dismissed everyone and belatedly realized that she hadn't drunk any water all afternoon. Her throat was so dry it felt like she had swallowed a handful of sand. Just as she was looking for water, she turned her head and saw Huo Yanci at the door. On a whim, she plopped down on a stool.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just want some honey water."
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