Chapter 450 She left so decisively

In the farmyard.

Song Yuqiu held Xie Zhuoning's arm, as if she had endless things to say.

"Sister Zhuo Ning, you don't know that when the Niyifang in Nanyang opened, the streets were packed with people. In order to grab our latest styles, those ladies almost fought in the street!"

"Sister Chunmei is now very capable. She can remember all the accounts after just one review, and she manages our Niyifang in perfect order. And the second in command often sneaks in to spy on Sister Chunmei. Oh no, now we should call him Mr. Lai. He is now a staff officer for Yang Lie. Although he has no official position, he has done some good jobs, and the people below seem to respect him very much."

"Hehe, I also invested part of the dowry you gave me to open a branch. Now even if I lie down for the rest of my life, I can still live a carefree life by eating the dividends every year until I'm old!"

When talking about excitement, Song Yuqiu danced with joy and his tone was full of ups and downs.

Xie Zhuoning listened attentively at the side, the smile on his face never faded.

"Oh, by the way, there's also that little guy Wen Yan..." Song Yuqiu wrinkled his nose, as if he remembered something unpleasant.

"Sister Zhuo Ning, you don't know that Wen Yan made great contributions in suppressing bandits last time. The imperial edict came from the capital, conferring him a fourth-rank Mingwei general. But not long after the edict came, the Wen family's group of snobbish people came to our door!"

When Wen Yan's father was alive, their family was ostracized by the family. After Wen Yan's father passed away, they and his mother were kicked out of the house and all the family property was seized.

Now seeing that Wen Yan was rising rapidly in the career and had a promising future, the so-called "family members" began to shamelessly ask Wen Yan to return to their ancestral home.

"Wen Yan won't go back, and neither will Aunt Zhou." Xie Zhuoning was very determined.

Because she was the only one who knew how much suffering Zhou Yaoniang and Wen Yan, mother and son, had endured after being driven out of the Wen family.

Song Yuqiu grinned, "Sister Zhuoning, you're right. They wanted to see Aunt Zhou, but she said she was sick and stayed indoors. They went to find Wen Yan, but he put a knife to their necks, so they ran away scared. But I see that family is unwilling to give up, so who knows what else they'll do next."

Xie Zhuoning stroked her hair gently and raised the corner of his mouth, "You have to believe that the current Wen Yan is not the same Wen Yan as before."

In the past, the Zhou family dared to bully them because one of them was a weak woman with no power and the other was a teenager who had not yet grown up.

But since that night when Wen Yan dared to hold a hatchet and kill the thugs who intended to insult his mother, he was no longer the little boy who allowed himself to be bullied.

"Hey," Song Yuqiu slapped his thigh, "Wen Yan said the same thing! He and his mother asked me to bring you a lot of things. I can't carry so many things, but I thought you like sweet food, so I brought you some candied fruits."

Xie Zhuoning's mouth twitched slightly, "..."

Is it me who likes to eat it or is it she who likes to eat it?

Song Yuqiu took out the candied fruit and strongly recommended it, "Sister Zhuo Ning, try it. It's really delicious and different from the taste in Beijing!"

Xie Zhuoning took one of them and put it in his mouth with some doubt. He took a bite and nodded. "It's different indeed. The texture is softer and stickier."

"Is that so?" Seeing that Xie Zhuoning liked it, she was as happy as a child.

Under Song Yuqiu's eager eyes, Xie Zhuoning ate a few more pills and asked casually, "Where's Yang Lie? How is he?"

She talked about many people and said many things, and she could even talk a lot about a candied fruit.

But she didn't mention Yang Lie at all.

Song Yuqiu's face froze, and then he said in a casual tone, "He is just like that. I heard that he is very busy. After all, he has to integrate so many new recruits. He has to arrange for tens of thousands of people brought back from Xichuan. He has to take care of food, drink, defecation, military pay and training. It is good enough if he can get a good night's sleep."

Xie Zhuoning nodded, and he also understood Yang Lie's difficulties.

There were quotas for conscription in various places, and the military pay issued by the court was also fixed. From the moment they decided to incorporate the bandits of the Green Forest Alliance, they knew that this would not be an easy task.

The reason why she wanted to expand the store was, on the one hand, to settle the innocent women who were captured on the mountain, and on the other hand, to earn enough money to cover the expenses in Nanyang.

When the opportunity is right, Niyifang will surely expand slowly to the whole Daye.

But she still asked, "What about you?"

"I'm fine," Song Yuqiu said, "I have money and dividends..."

Xie Zhuoning: "You know, that's not what I'm asking."

"I..." Song Yuqiu paused, then smiled, "To be honest, I seemed to be sad at first, but later on, I didn't even feel sad anymore."

"I was with him not because of love, but because of mutual benefit. As we got to know each other better, I seemed to have a different feeling, but it wasn't so deep that I had to be with him."

"So I am very grateful to Zhao Yi for helping me stop the damage and cut off everything in time. So I am fine now, but it is unlikely that Yang Lie and I will be together again."

…

Nanyang, in a small tavern.

Mr. Lai looked at the man drinking across from him and couldn't help but sigh.

He had finally had a day off, and just as he was leaving the barracks and preparing to go to Niyifang, he was dragged here by Yang Lie.

When he arrived at the tavern, he ordered some Shitanzi liquor and started drinking without saying a word. He drank so much that he could hardly bear it anymore.

"My Lord, why don't you say a few words?"

What's the big deal about just drinking?

Yang Lie said nothing, but took another sip from the wine jar. The wine flowed down the corners of his mouth and wet his clothes, but he didn't care.

Mr. Lai said, "It seems that the Marquis does not need a listener, so I will go to the Niyifang first and come back later..."

He saved several months' salary and bought a hairpin, planning to find an opportunity to give it to Chunmei.

"Stop!" Yang Lie finally spoke, his face already flushed with drunkenness, "Tell me, why is she so cruel?"

Mr. Lai sat back down and said, "Who are you talking about? Miss Song? She didn't do anything cruel..."

"Not yet!" Yang Lie gritted his teeth, angry and bitter, "She talked and laughed with everyone but me!"

"Maybe she didn't notice you, Lord. Sometimes, as a man, you have to take the initiative..."

"She often provides free clinics on the street, but she didn't even come to see me when I was sick!"

"Maybe she doesn't know you're sick..."

"She even feeds others food affectionately!"

"Maybe she... that was a bit too much. Who did she feed?"

"Chun Mei!"

Mr. Lai said sternly, "My Lord, this is a little unreasonable."

Yang Lie took another sip of wine. The strong liquor went down his throat, and it was so spicy that he wanted to cry. "You know what? I was busy all day and all night. Just when I was about to rest, I heard that she was leaving. I immediately rode after her, and I chased her for dozens of miles before I caught up with her."

"She sat in the carriage, swinging her legs and singing, very happy, without even turning her head."

His eyes were sore and blurry from looking at her, but she still left so resolutely without even looking back.