The evening breeze is light and the lights are dim.
Fu Xiaoguan sat by the window with two letters in his hands.
One letter was written by Fu Daguan and the other was written by Dong Shulan. He opened the letter from Dong Shulan.
This little girl's handwriting is really beautiful. Every time Fu Xiaoguan sees the tiny calligraphy on the paper, he is very envious. Then he makes up his mind to practice calligraphy, and becomes exhausted.
"My dear little official, I am glad to receive your letter!
There have been heavy rains in Jinling recently, and the flowers in my yard were blown all over the ground. It looked quite desolate, so I pulled them all out.
Fu Xiaoguan laughed. This girl was getting more and more deviant.
"Now that the wine is finished, I'll send some more. Of course, I still don't have any money, but the book 'A Dream of the Red Chamber' is selling extremely well, and I made a total of 3,700 taels of silver. I was planning to send you your share, but then I realized the shipping fee is quite expensive, and it would be even more uneconomical if something goes wrong along the way. So, I'm telling you, I've deposited all the money in my account, and I'll give it to you when you arrive in Nanjing."
"I also want to go to Xishan Villa, but I don't have a reason now. Dad won't let me run around, saying it's not decent."
"That book hasn't been updated in a long time. The bookstore is constantly urging me to update it, but the main pressure is from the palace. I'm asking you to write faster. It's all about money. Although the previous ones are selling well, if you stop like this, I think those ladies will really come to Linjiang to look for you."
"I've been bored lately, so I thought about making you a dress. I bought some cloth, thought about your size, and cut it out, but when I was sewing it, I sewed the front and back wrong. I didn't mean to do that, so I had Xiaoqi buy some more cloth. I'll send it to you next time I write."
"What have you been up to lately? I'd really like to know. Oh, by the way, that Zhang Wenhan came to see me a few times and even invited me to a poetry reading, but I declined. He's so annoying, like a fly."
"Okay, that's it. I'm fine, and I hope you're fine too!"
Simple.
Fu Xiaoguan likes it very much.
The two exchanged letters many times. Although they had never met again, they seemed more familiar and intimate, and their words became more casual.
That ray of affection remained buried deep in their hearts, with no one actively bringing it up, seemingly letting it take root and sprout freely. As for whether this seed would eventually grow and blossom and bear fruit, neither of them had given it much thought at the moment, but on a certain quiet night, gazing at the starry sky, they felt a certain longing.
He thought about it and wrote a letter.
"Hello Shulan!
I've been really busy recently. Construction on Xishan is in full swing, and everything is proceeding in an orderly manner."
"You were right to pluck the flowers there, because I have many, many, many flowers planted here, of all kinds. In a few months, those flowers will bloom, and the whole village will become a sea of flowers."
"There's a glimmer of hope for the rice I mentioned before, but it will take at least three years to see results."
"I've only written two chapters of A Dream of Red Mansions. I'll send them to you first. I'll try to finish the rest. It's best to keep the money with you. If you see anything worth investing in, spend it. It's not worth saving money."
"I've grown a little taller, so I don't know if the clothes you made will fit me. But no matter what, I like them very much."
"Also, I've designed a dress for you. If you can make it, I guarantee it will be very comfortable to wear."
"If you have a chance, come to Linjiang and I'll take you there to play."
"I almost forgot. I'll send you some wine, but drink less. Okay, that's it."
Fu Xiaoguan picked up a piece of paper and drew a bra and a cup on it with charcoal, noting the materials used and how to measure the size. Then he laughed, wondering if the girl would be embarrassed when she saw this thing.
He believed that Dong Shulan would be able to come up with this thing because she had a strong ability to accept new things.
This is actually a business opportunity with a huge market, but Fu Xiaoguan doesn’t have time to take care of it now. Let’s see if Shulan will run this business.
Then he opened the letter from Official Fu.
"Son, I'm currently processing the mining permit you requested. I contacted Mr. Liu San and asked him to contact the prefect, Liu Zhidong. It's already in his hands and will probably be approved soon. However, the government will collect 30% of the production as tax, so you need to consider this."
"You need to go back to Linjiang. First, the approval document needs your signature. Second, I am a little overwhelmed. Many women from wealthy families want to marry you. I don't know if you have a favorite woman, so I dare not make a decision for you. I am in a dilemma."
"I met Zhang Zhice a few days ago, and he looked very unhappy. Did you do something to his daughter? I've met Zhang Pei'er, and she's quite good. If you've already got her, marry her and don't ruin her reputation."
"Seeing you spend money like this, your father is very happy. Don't worry, spend boldly. Only then will your father feel that making money is meaningful."
After that, they talked about some trivial matters. Fu Xiaoguan touched his nose. He didn't expect that he would become such a hot commodity now.
I haven’t written poetry for a long time, and I’ve been very low-key, so why is this happening?
He thought about it and realized that everything in Xishan was going on in an orderly manner. This was the only way for the time being. So he decided to go back to Linjiang tomorrow. He just needed to find Yuji Glass Shop to make some test tube bottles. The laboratory was still under construction and the flowers were just sprouting. Fu Xiaoguan decided to get the equipment for extracting alcohol in advance.
…
Fu Xiaoguan didn't know that the book A Dream of Red Mansions was not only popular in Jinling, but had now spread to Linjiang.
Zhang Pei'er has a copy in her hand, and it is the latest issue.
She sat by the window, staring at the book, tearing it page by page until it was torn to pieces.
The title page of this book has four big characters written on it: "Fu Xiaoguan". This was done intentionally by Dong Shulan. She wanted to make Fu Xiaoguan famous and give herself an advantage in overcoming the problems she might face in the future.
At present, everyone in the palace who has read this book knows that there is a talented man named Fu Xiaoguan in Linjiang. I think it has also reached the ears of His Majesty. This is the result that Dong Shulan hopes for. Even though Fu Xiaoguan has no official position, he is famous all over the world, and his parents and brother will naturally think more about it.
However, Zhang Pei'er felt extremely irritated when she saw the name.
Of course this book is well written, and this person is certainly very talented, but he... rejected me!
Hearing that many girls wanted to marry him, Zhang Pei'er smiled contemptuously, fearing that these girls were just like herself, with affection but indifference.
Does he really like Dong Shulan?
There is no possibility for them. How could the daughter of a Shangshu family marry the son of a merchant family?
If I can't get him, no one else can!
She set the debris on fire, and the flames illuminated her face.
The girl, who was only fourteen years old and still ten days away from turning fifteen, made a bold decision.
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