Chapter 34 The Drum Shop Invites You
Su Jingge continued, "It's alright, but your general may only know how to use troops. He is a pure minister on the battlefield, using all his skills on troop deployment and charging into battle. His mind is like a drawn sword, straightforward and direct."
He is loyal and devoted to his soldiers and honest and open to the emperor, but the civil service is full of intrigue and deceit. He may not be able to read the subtle differences in the court and the backstabbing among his colleagues. Perhaps he is too pure of heart and may not be able to deal with him.
Fei Jian's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up: "That's right, even Young Master Xiao Ziyu is more cunning than my general."
Su Jingge smiled and said, "Your understanding is correct."
He blinked again: "Huh? You seem to know a lot about my general?"
"Alright, let's go back and discuss how to get the timber and cement."
Yunque Restaurant.
Xiao Linyuan heard about this, but he wasn't worried about Su Jingge, because this woman was much stronger than he had imagined.
He used sign language: "This time Zhao Zhou definitely won't dare to delay payment again, but... your future path may be even more difficult than it is now."
A faint sadness crept onto the man's brow.
Su Jingge smiled calmly: "What's meant to happen will happen. Different people have different opinions, and the people and officials can certainly fight each other!"
Three days later, at dusk.
The second-class houses were almost finished being repaired when Xie, the county magistrate, came to the restaurant and informed Su Jingge that the silver had been fully transferred to Xie Mo.
This person was Ding, the clerk, equivalent to Xie Mo's 'secretary'.
He reminded her, "Please also make a copy of the list of materials to be purchased, Assistant Manager Su, so I can hand it in."
Su Jingge understood what Zhao Zhou meant. Although Zhao Zhou had provided the money, it wouldn't pass through her hands but would be given to Xie Mo, since he was an official.
It is perfectly reasonable to settle accounts according to the list.
"Alright, I'll have someone make a new copy right away."
Su Jingge glanced at Xiao Linyuan at the front desk.
The man happened to be looking at her too.
Having understood the meaning, Xiao Linyuan began to grind the ink and pick up his brush.
After copying it, Su Jingge handed the document to the man, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Clerk Ding."
The man cupped his hands in greeting: "Then I'll take my leave first, Assistant Manager Su."
As soon as Su Jingge saw the person off at the door, she saw the junior manager of Linlang Drum Shop walking towards her not far away.
Just then, someone saw her, and the boy waved at her, smiling and calling out, "Assistant Su."
Su Jingge waved to him as well.
Upon reaching them, Su Jingge tried to usher them inside.
The steward, Jingfeng, waved his hand to politely decline: "I won't go in to talk to Assistant Manager Su. I'm just passing on a message to my master. He said he wants to cooperate with you."
Su Jingge's eyes curved into a smile: "Then I thank you for your trust, Master Linlang."
Jingfeng then said, "Manager Su, you need to come back to Guhang with me. My master said that the materials this time are a bit special, so it would be best if you could take a look at them in person."
"Okay, let me explain."
Su Jingge looked at Xiao Linyuan, who had overheard their conversation, and said, "I'll be back in a bit."
Xiao Linyuan used sign language: 【Then should I have a flying sword pick you up?】
"It's just a short distance, you think I'll get ambushed?" Su Jingge smiled. "Let's go."
After leaving the restaurant, Jingfeng looked up and asked, "General Xiao was worried about you just now, wasn't he?"
"Speaking of which, I think Xiao Linyuan is different from his younger brother. General Xiao is a gentleman, while Xiao Ziyu is just good-looking, but his temperament does not seem as steady as General Xiao's."
Su Jingge looked at the person and raised her eyebrows: "Little brat, you know a lot."
Jingfeng scratched his head and smiled憨厚ly: "I heard about what happened to Assistant Manager Su at the county office that day. When I got back, I even told my master that Assistant Manager Su was really fighting against the officials, and he even won."
"Guess what my master said?"
Su Jingge looked at Jingfeng, who was talking non-stop, and asked with great interest, "How so?"
“My family’s owner said that the drum shop should start doing business.”
"..." Su Jingge choked, "Your master really is detached from this, with nothing to his name."
Jingfeng bowed shyly and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Assistant Manager."
"Then I told the corridor manager that Manager Su's illness was cured, he was no longer stupid, and he had even become the assistant manager of the county. Manager Su's uncle was still doing business as a merchant. Why not get the goods from Manager Su's shop? Anyway, Shanggu Zhai's goods are slow and expensive."
"The owner of the corridor said that he needed a batch of materials, so he asked me to come and invite people in person."
Su Jingge knew the "Master of the Corridor" that Jingfeng mentioned; he was a person with mobility issues who used a wheelchair.
He was only thirty years old, and despite his physical disability, he was determined and did not give up his career.
For so many years, I have been traveling all over the country and crossing the sea by boat.
Linlang Drum Shop is different from other drum shops. The drumheads of Linlang Drum Shop are all painted, and they make exquisite custom-made drums.
Linlang painted all the drums herself; her painting skills are exceptional.
However, after the disaster, not only was the drum business bad, but everyone's business was bad, so he went south to see if there was a market for drums.
She greatly admires those who persevere despite adversity.
He then asked, "Is your master's leg feeling any better?"
"Thank you for your concern, Assistant Manager." Jingfeng frowned slightly and sighed. "No, it's just that my legs are hurting more and more during the rainy season. The wheelchair was made of the finest nanmu wood that your father brought back from the south when he was alive. Now my master travels around and the wheels are broken, but he can't bear to replace them. I don't know how to fix them."
"I'll take a look later."
Jingfeng's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for taking care of my master, Assistant Manager."
Su Jingge patted his head: "You're being so polite."
"My master taught me that one must always be polite, especially to a good friend like Assistant Manager Su..."
Su Jingge was slightly surprised: "Does your master consider me a friend?"
"Of course, my Lord of the Corridor doesn't have many friends, and he doesn't approve of many people either. Hehe, Assistant Manager Su is one of them. What, you don't consider my Lord of the Corridor a friend?"
Su Jingge blinked: "Yes, yes."
The little brat is quite clever.
Jingfeng chuckled.
Along the way, many people followed Su Jingge in paying their respects.
"Assistant Manager Su, where are we going?"
I'm going to Linlang Drum Shop.
"President Su, come over for tea when you have time."
Su Jingge smiled and said, "Okay."
Then I met a young child: "Sir/Madam, my roof no longer leaks, and I don't have rashes anymore."
"It's good that you don't have a rash, you're such a good girl."
"Assistant Su, I just picked some scallions, would you like to take some back with you?"
"No, no, thank you."
“Assistant Su, you did a great job repairing the roof. When will the county land be repaired too? My mother pushes her two-wheeled cart, but she always has trouble pushing it.”
Assistant Manager Su looked at the ground and thought, "What kind of rubbish is Zhao Liuxiu's? It's just a charade."
This person is completely unreliable.
"Okay, I'll come up with a plan later."
The people were overjoyed, their eyes glistening with tears: "Really? Assistant Minister Su, you are our benefactor!"
Smoke was rising from every household's chimney, and the newly thatched roofs gleamed evenly in the sunlight.
The widow at the west end stood on tiptoe and used a bamboo pole to hang strings of dried chili peppers under the eaves.
Then, a woman next door stood with her hands on her hips, looking at her husband: "Look! Look closely, the young widow's roof is newly plastered with yellow mud, so smooth it reflects your image."
"Whose figure is that?" the husband asked, tilting his head.
The woman grabbed her husband's ear: "Look at your shadow! Look carefully!"
"Ouch, my wife, I was wrong, it hurts, it hurts."
Upon seeing Assistant Manager Su pass by, the two immediately became respectful: "Oh, it's Assistant Manager Su. Would you like to come over for dinner?"
Su Jingge smiled and said, "I'm afraid there will be one more person."
The man scratched his head shyly: "Hehe, Assistant Manager Su was just joking."
As I passed by Aunt Li, she came out with a wooden basin to splash water. The water droplets hit the half-broken bluestone slab, and the splashing water reflected the brand-new blue tiles on the opposite roof, making them dazzlingly bright.
Even the shyest girl carried a basket of fresh dates and walked towards Su Jingge: "Assistant Su just picked these crisp dates."
Su Jingge took two, gave one to Jingfeng, and popped the other into her own mouth: "Mmm~ so crisp and sweet, one is enough for me."
She felt happy to see that everyone's roofs had been repaired.
This is not just about a sturdier roof; it's about a stronger sense of unity among people.
A breeze blew by, carrying the fresh scent of new grass, mixed with the aroma of cooking from every household, swirling and lingering above the chimneys.
Beautiful and peaceful.
The two then entered the Linlang Drum Shop.
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