Chapter 15 The Boy Who Sells Himself
Hearing what Carpenter Gao said, Shen Ning instantly understood.
The toilet in her yard has been replaced with a water toilet. The devices in the water tank are all made of wood. Gao Shu has excellent craftsmanship and the parts he made are perfect. Chen Ning finally no longer has to face the torment of a dry toilet.
She had thought that this flushing device would definitely be popular among the rich, and was planning to promote it to the shopkeeper Su at Rongkangji. Unexpectedly, before she could do so, someone came to her door.
Shen Ning replied, "Then please tell Uncle Gao to reply to them. Tomorrow morning, I will personally bring the drawings to Jufulou in the county town to negotiate the price with them."
Gao Shu nodded repeatedly, and was about to leave when he hesitated and said, “Madam Shen, uncle doesn’t know where you learned that thing from, but based on my years of experience as a carpenter, it is a good thing and should be able to sell for a good price. Don’t be cheated.”
Shen Ning smiled and nodded: "Thank you Uncle Gao for reminding me, I understand."
The next morning, Shen Ning left some delicious food for Xiao Nanchen, and then took an ox cart to the county town.
Not long after Shen Ning left, Xiao Nanchen walked out of the room, washed up, and went straight to the kitchen. When he stood next to the stove, he regained consciousness.
He has been awake more and more these days, but he has never shown it in front of Shen Ning.
When you open the lid of the pot, you will see breakfast in the pot: sticky millet and pumpkin porridge, two baked buns, a boiled egg, stir-fried water bamboo shoots, and cold shredded ear mushrooms. It is simple yet exquisite.
Xiao Nanchen brought out the food and sat down at the small table next to the stove to eat breakfast... In fact, he was really a little surprised.
These days, not only Shen Ning's medical skills, but also her cooking skills have surprised him.
They are all simple ingredients from the countryside, but she can make simple things taste extremely delicious.
Xiao Nanchen was not a greedy person, and he had been eating meals cooked by the imperial chef since he was a child. Even when he later set up his own mansion and lived alone, the chef in the mansion was transferred by the imperial chef.
But in all these years, he has never tasted such cooking skills anywhere else.
At first, Xiao Nanchen thought that the imperial chefs in the palace were useless, and their cooking skills were even worse than those in the countryside.
But after he had eaten twice at Zhao Tong's house next door, and saw the reactions of Lian'er and Zhao Tong after eating Chen Ning's cooking, he realized that it was not that the title of imperial chef was unworthy of his reputation, but that Chen Ning's cooking skills were indeed extraordinary.
I glanced at the small jar next to the stove. Inside was something Shen Ning said she made herself, Thirteen Spices?
She said that this is what makes the flavor...
It seems that this woman is not as superficial and simple as she appears.
After all, over the past few days, Shen Ning had only touched him randomly when he was unconscious at the beginning, and he had been very careful during the dressing changes afterwards, so she had not touched him randomly again.
It's barely a measure of propriety.
And last time in the mountains...
Thinking of the frail woman carrying him on her back as she walked out step by step, and how she protected him tightly against the wolves, Xiao Nanchen felt that this woman was not so hopeless after all.
Thinking of the woman's heart-wrenching tears when Zhao Mu was buried, and her determination when she told the matchmaker a few days ago that she would mourn for Zhao Mu for three years, Xiao Nanchen's original opinion of her had begun to change.
Maybe I treated him like that before because I was confused for a moment, but now I think I know I was wrong and I am willing to correct it.
Since she is not hopeless, there is no need for him to divorce her and drive her away on Zhao Mu's behalf.
Her family seems to be unreliable. If she is divorced, she, a weak woman with a certain appearance, will have difficulty finding a place to stay.
Xiao Nanchen thought that if she really behaved herself, he would leave her some money when he left, and let her stay here peacefully as Zhao Mu's widow.
As long as she could observe the three-year mourning period for Zhao Mu as she had said, after three years, she could remarry as long as they were not having an affair without a matchmaker.
Chen Ning didn't know that the future Emperor Jingyong had even planned for her remarriage. After arriving in the county town, she went into Jufulou alone and asked for a small private room.
Pingning County is quite prosperous because it is not far from Xinzhou and the city is relatively large. Jufulou is one of the famous restaurants in the county. It was chosen here because it is close to the silver bank.
Next to it is the branch of Dehuiyuan, the largest silver bank in the Daxuan Dynasty. If she sells the drawings this time, it will definitely be a large sum, so it is safer to keep them.
Before entering the private room, Shen Ning spoke to the shopkeeper, went in first, and ordered a pot of tea to wait.
Not long after, there was a knock on the door of the private room. After Shen Ning answered, the waiter pushed the door open and said, "Sir, the distinguished guest you have been waiting for has arrived."
The waiter pushed the door open and a figure appeared at the door.
The young man was wearing a sky-blue robe, his hair tied up with a jade crown, his features were handsome, and his smile was elegant. After entering the private room, he stopped and bowed: "Are you Madam Shen from Qingyuan Village?"
Shen Ning stood up: "Exactly."
The man smiled warmly. "My name is Wei Lan. I'm from the capital. I came to Pingning County to visit my relatives. I happened to hear the carpenter mention the water closet equipment my wife made. I took the liberty to ask her for advice."
Shen Ning glanced at him and said, "Please sit down."
She took out the final assembly drawing of the water closet flushing design she had drawn, which was of course just the outline drawing, and opened it and put it on the table: "Young Master, you will be interested and I believe you know something about it. This is it, Young Master has also seen it.
I am just a commoner, and this thing is useless to me. If you are interested, you can buy out this blueprint."
Wei Lan smiled as he looked at Shen Ning, who was dressed as a village woman, and asked tentatively, "Forgive me for being so rude, but you really don't look like a country woman."
Even though she was wearing coarse clothes and a skirt and had no jewelry, her skin was clean and even under her simple bun. Although her clothes were simple and rough, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and beautiful, and her expression was relaxed. She didn't look timid at all and didn't look like a country person at all.
Shen Ning smiled: "It doesn't matter who I am, what matters most to you is what I have."
"That's true."
After thanking him, Wei Lan took the drawing and realized at first glance that it was a painting method he had never seen before.
Suppressing his curiosity, he read the introduction and external structure of the water toilet, his eyes becoming brighter and brighter.
The capital city has a dense population and has just built an underground sewage channel. If something like this were popularized, it would definitely make a lot of money.
“I wonder if Madam Shen has any drawings of the internal structure?”
Wei Lan asked, "And... I'd like to ask, where did Madam Shen get this blueprint?"
Shen Ning was well prepared and smiled when she heard this: "Of course there is a diagram of the internal structure, and you can rest assured, sir. This is something I saw in a rare book collected by the old man in my family when I was young. It should be an imported item from Fran. No one else in the entire Daxuan Dynasty will know about it."
Wei Lan nodded: "I need to see the internal drawings first."
Shen Ning smiled and shook her head: "Since you are an expert, you naturally know the importance of the drawings. If you show him the structural drawings, it will be no different from giving him the drawings."
Wei Lan laughed: "Then I wonder what Madam Shen means?"
"I have the structural diagram with me. Young Master, please sign the contract and pay for it. We will exchange the money and the goods. The contract can state that I cannot show the diagram to a third party. Of course, after this thing is made, someone will definitely copy it, and then it will have nothing to do with me."
Wei Lan became more and more certain that the woman in front of him could not be a country girl. He nodded and said, "Madam Shen, please name your price."
"Two thousand taels"
Shen Ning said: "The material of this thing is not valuable, the valuable thing is the structural design. After you buy it back, you can start to cash it in directly. The price is not high."
“Madam Shen is really…”
Wei Lan shook his head and smiled, "Two thousand taels, that's exactly the price I was thinking of."
Shen Ning also smiled: "That's a coincidence."
Wei Lan took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve and handed it to Shen Ning, while his expression was slightly restrained: "I have always believed that harmony brings wealth, and I don't like to bully others and do evil. But if someone wants to play tricks in front of me, I will not hesitate to use other means. Therefore, the picture that Madam Shen gave me had better be real."
Shen Ning raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, then took out the remaining drawings: “The actual product has been used for quite a while, if you don’t mind, you can go to my house and try it out.”
Wei Lan took the structural diagram, glanced at it, and then smiled: "That's not necessary. I will have it made tonight. If I don't go to see Madam Shen tomorrow, this deal between you and me will be done."
Shen Ning asked him: "Don't we need to sign a contract?"
Wei Lan smiled and shook his head: "No need, I believe Madam Shen will not cause any other trouble."
Shen Ning shook her head: "Let's sign a contract. My lord, trust me, but I'm just a village woman with no power or influence. I dare not gamble. Let's follow the rules."
Wei Lan laughed: "Okay, then let's follow the rules."
After signing the contract and receiving the silver, Shen Ning stood up and said, "We shall say goodbye now. I wish you a prosperous business."
After saying that, she nodded and turned to leave.
Wei Lan glanced at the blueprint in his hand, then looked at the door of the private room that had been closed again, as if thinking about something.
There are indeed many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in this world. He didn't expect that he would encounter such a business opportunity just by coming to visit relatives, nor did he expect that there would be such a wonderful thing among the people.
Fran imported goods?
Maybe…
Shen Ning got the silver note, turned a corner and entered Dehuiyuan.
The denomination of the silver notes Wei Lan gave was quite large, one hundred taels each, but there were a total of twenty of them. It was a thick stack to carry around with me, and I felt a little uneasy keeping it at home. It might get wet, burned, or bitten by rats, so it was safer to keep it.
But here, not only do you not earn any interest when you deposit money, you also have to pay a storage fee.
After depositing the money and putting away the receipts, Shen Ning hummed a little tune and prepared to go shopping.
There is not much food left at home, and many of them are not available in the village or town. I can only buy more long-lasting food when I come to the county town, and I also have to buy medicinal herbs.
She planned to go to Rong Kang Ji to stock up on food. Although Xiao Baiyan was a bit snobbish, Rong Kang Ji's products were genuine, of good quality and had a wide variety. The scallops she used to make chicken essence last time were only available at Rong Kang Ji.
The thirteen spices she mentioned to the little fool were actually chicken essence, but she planned to use it to make money in the future, so she had to choose a good name. Otherwise, if she promoted it later, someone would ask why it was called chicken essence or why not pig essence or beef essence?
Just as Shen Ning was walking along the busy street towards Rong Kang Ji, her attention was suddenly attracted by a person kneeling on the side of the street.
There are many beggars in Pingning County. They often gather together in a corner, close their eyes and sleep, or catch lice for each other. They are pale and thin and do not look like human beings. However, the young man kneeling on the street in front has his back straight, so he is particularly eye-catching.
Shen Ning saw a straw tag stuck on the boy's head and "Fifty Taels" written on the ground next to him, meaning that he was selling himself for fifty taels.
In Pingning County, ten or so taels of silver were the maximum price to buy a strong slave. However, this young man was pale and thin, looking malnourished, and he actually wanted to sell himself for fifty taels.
There was a tattered mat on the ground next to the boy, and on the mat lay a girl who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, with her eyes closed and a sallow face.
Someone passing by deliberately asked, "What's so special about you that you dare to ask such a high price?"
The young man just looked up at the other person quietly without saying a word. The man felt inexplicably frightened by his gaze and then left in anger.
There were also fat and big-eared ones with lustful eyes: "Are you being sold as a rabbit? Come, stand up and let me see your figure."
The young man stood up expressionlessly and turned around to show him, seeming to be very obedient. However, the cold and gloomy look in his eyes made the man's smile, which was originally wretched, slowly freeze. Finally, the man turned up his lip and left.
Rabbit God should be gentle and obedient. This boy has a good appearance, but he looks a little uncomfortable for some reason.
People came and went in front of him, but the young man never said a word. Only when there was no one around, he turned around, carefully picked up the girl on the ground, and poured some water from the broken jar next to him to feed her.
But Shen Ning saw clearly that the girl could no longer drink water...
Shen Ning paused for a moment, then walked over there.
"I know some medical skills. Do you need me to see her?"
The young man kneeling on the ground suddenly looked up with a vigilant look.
Shen Ning's eyes were gentle and calm.
If the young man showed rejection, she would leave... As a doctor, she is kind-hearted and willing to treat the injured, but she would not rush to do so and cause dislike.
The next moment, the boy said, "I don't have any money."
The tone was a little stiff, as if he didn't talk much.
Shen Ning hummed: "It's okay, I may not be able to cure it, let's see first."
Ever since arriving in this world, Shen Ning was extremely grateful that she had sought out famous doctors in order to save herself and had learned many skills from great Chinese medicine practitioners. Even before she became unable to move her hands and lay in bed, there were still people who came to her for consultations.
Putting his finger on the girl's pulse, after a moment, Shen Ning frowned: "Poisoned?"
The boy's eyes suddenly lit up.
After they escaped, July became ill with the poison. They hid in Pingning County and looked for doctors everywhere, but none of them could find out what was wrong with July and said that she had contracted a serious illness.
But they knew that it was the poison they were fed on the island.
In order to help him recover faster, July gave him her antidote. They finally escaped, but July suffered from the poison.
The young man kowtowed directly to Shen Ning: "Please, save my sister."
Shen Ning frowned slightly: "Her pulse is complicated, I have to take a closer look. If you don't have a place to stay, how about I find an inn for you to stay for the time being?"
The boy shook his head: "We have a place to stay."
After saying that, he carried his sister on his back.
The girl with a sallow complexion was so thin that she was almost skin and bones, and looked pitifully weak. The boy carried her on his back and looked back at Shen Ning, motioning her to follow him.
Shen Ning hesitated for a moment and then followed. She had made up her mind that if she sensed anything was wrong, she would leave immediately...
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