Chapter 124

Jiang Yanyi finally persuaded Madam Chu with all his persuasion. After bidding farewell to the old lady, he took Chu Yan back to the main street of the Protectorate.

Qiu Kui was a hard-working person, and with the help of Aunt Guo, he managed to keep everything in order at home. Starting from the sixth day of the first lunar month, the shop started selling oden and instant noodles.

What surprised Jiang Yanyi was that Mrs. Chen and her husband, who owned the clothing shop next door, closed their shop and returned to their hometown.

"Mrs. Chen said that embroidery work is difficult nowadays. If it weren't for the clothes you ordered in her shop, Huahua, her shop would have closed down long ago. Her parents in the countryside are old and need someone to take care of them, so she went back to her hometown with Brother Chen. Before leaving, she made a new set of clothes for you, saying that she wanted to thank you for taking care of her business for the past few months."

Qiu Kui took out the clothes that Mrs. Chen ordered from the cupboard and gave them to Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi pinched the edge of the fabric. The fabric was not the best, but the embroidery was exquisite. She sighed and said, "Why didn't she say anything before?"

Aunt Guo had been on the main street of the Protectorate. She naturally knew that Madam Chen came to give her a gift. She said, "Maybe she was afraid that you would be upset. Madam Chen also said that she would come to see you when she goes to the city in the future, and she could also bring you some fresh mountain products."

The interpersonal relationships between wealthy families may be mixed with some interests, but the interactions between small families are really just the relationship between neighbors.

Jiang Yanyi sighed and said casually, "I wonder what kind of shop will open next door." She

had to hope that the owner of the shop was someone who was easy to get along with. Although Jiang Yanyi was not afraid of anyone, if someone with the same personality as He Xingniang who owned the jewelry shop across the street came, and their two shops were next to each other, there would be chaos in the future.

Aunt Guo smiled and said, "Don't worry, the house next door has been rented out. The tenant is a girl. It is said that she is a relative of Advisor Chi and is also acquainted with Master Chen. She often comes to play chess with Master Chen."

Jiang Yanyi paused as he put down his clothes and asked, "Is the girl's surname Xie?"

Aunt Guo was surprised and said, "Do you know the girl?"

Jiang Yanyi said, "Of course I know her."

That day, after Xie Chuji handed over the evidence to Feng Shuo at the Chu family, she asked to see Chi Qing, and Feng Shuo's people took her away from the Chu family.

Previously, Feng Shuo had set up secret guards throughout the entire street of the Protectorate in order to protect her and the Grand Empress Dowager.

I think it was to ensure Xie Chuji's safety. It just so happened that Madam Chen would not rent the shop after the New Year, so Feng Shuo's men gave the place to Xie Chuji.

Feng Shuo and Mu Xuanqing went to great lengths to find no clues. Xie Chuji was able to obtain these evidences to vindicate the Mu family, which can only be said to be Liao Kun's retribution.

The Xie family is a pure minister. The current empress dowager and the empress are both daughters of the Gao family. The Gao family used the military power of the Mu family to support Feng Shiyan's ascension to the throne, and made great contributions. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Gao family has been able to cover the sky with one hand in the court in recent years.

The Xie family, which was engaged to the Mu family, was naturally targeted by the Gao family in every way, and gradually weakened in the court. Liao Kun was at odds with the Gao family on the surface, but he was promoted all the way behind the scenes.

When Xie Chuji and Mu Shizi were engaged, no one in the capital could say anything about the talent and beauty of the girl. Liao Kun felt that everything he had now was comparable to that of Mu Wuhou, so he tried to let his eldest son marry Xie Chuji.

Xie Chuji didn't want to marry, so she deliberately bribed some local ruffians to spread rumors that Liao Kun's eldest son was marrying a broken shoe when he married her.

She didn't know at that time that Liao Kun was a lackey of the Gao family, and she just wanted to smear her reputation and make the Liao family give up the marriage.

As expected, the Liao family couldn't live with the situation, so they decided to marry Xie Chuji's sister.

Xie Chuji regretted it too late, but the matter was a foregone conclusion.

After her sister got married, because Liao Kun's eldest son was always living a life of debauchery and even fooling around with a maid in the study, her sister went to make trouble, but was given a divorce letter saying that she was jealous and wanted to divorce her. Her sister smashed Liao Kun's eldest son's study in anger, and then she accidentally found a secret compartment and found these letters.

The Gao family kept Liao Kun just to use him as a hidden chess piece, and from Liao Kun, they knew the progress of the Mu brothers in finding evidence. Liao Kun also knew that if the Gao family was completely free of the threat of the Mu brothers, they would definitely find ways to get rid of him, so he kept all the letters he had exchanged with the Gao family over the years, in order to protect himself when he was at the end of his rope.

On the surface, his study was heavily guarded, but the Gao family was so powerful that Liao Kun, the spy planted around him, did not dare to remove it. His own study was not safe, so he put all the letters in the secret room of his eldest son's study.

Xie Chuji's sister took the divorce letter and these letters back to the Xie family that day. Mr. Xie was afraid of the Gao family and Liao Kun's revenge, so he immediately arranged for his family to leave the capital and return to Sheng'an.

Sheng'an is under the jurisdiction of Prince Anyang. If the Gao family wants to move against the Xie family, their influence cannot reach so far.

Xie Chuji sent letters to Xizhou several times, but Chi Qing had previously told Duke Chen that if there were any letters from Xie Chuji, he should not give them to him or reply to them.

With her brother dead and engagement no longer in sight, Chi Qing hopes Xie Chuji will marry a good family and stop worrying about the Mu family.

But Xie Chuji couldn't contact Chi Qing, and thought something had happened to him. She wanted to overturn the case for the Mu family, so she took the letter and several servants to Xizhou. She was chased by Gao's people along the way, and the servants were killed or injured. She herself escaped by hiding in a flower house.

Jiang Yanyi could see that Chu Chengmao was still unwilling to propose marriage, and was still waiting for Xie Chuji. Xie Chuji was indeed a girl who deserved to be loved.

But how could an outsider tell whether it was worth it or not, or whether it was suitable or not?

If Xie Chuji had always been thinking about Master Mu, Jiang Yanyi felt that Chu Chengmao would probably never see Xie Chuji come back in his lifetime.

Who could forget a person who was so good until death?

However, in the next few days, Jiang Yanyi discovered that Chu Chengmao, who seldom came to the main street of Duhufu, would "happen" to pass by Xie Chuji every morning when he went out. Occasionally, he would say hello and say a few words, but more often, he would just nod and greet and pass by.

Jiang Yanyi squatted at the door of the shop every day at the beginning, eating pancakes and peeking at him with great interest. Later, she just got used to it and thought that when Chu Chengmao came back, Huo Jianjia would carry a pot of wine out to him.

Let alone sparks between the two of them, she felt that they were almost like a pool of stagnant water.

One day, the county head of Xing'an Hou also walked into the shop in silence, ordered a bowl of oden but didn't eat it, and watched Chu Chengmao passing by the door with his chin supported by one hand. Jiang Yanyi was completely numb.

Huo Jianjia looked envious and regretful: "I wish I were the second son of Chu."

Jiang Yanyi was puzzled: "Why?"

Huo Jianjia held her big knife wrapped with cloth strips and looked fascinated: "The county head is good-looking and good at fighting. It would be great to practice martial arts together every day."

Jiang Yanyi was amused by this silly girl.

Yang Zheng and Xie Chuji are both very good girls. It is lucky to be liked by them, and it is worth it to like them.

Jiang Yanyi sincerely hopes that these three people can be well and find their own happiness.

Feng Shuo has been busy again since he got the evidence to redress the Mu family. In this era, the voices that the lower-class people can hear are spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred to their ears.

If you want to make the voice of redress louder, there must be someone behind the scenes to add fuel to the fire.

It was Feng Shuo's people who were responsible for finding Confucian scholars to write articles to denounce the court. There were not many storytellers in the whole Xizhou City who could tell the story as well as the old scholar.

The old scholar told every story about the injustice of the Mu family in those days. When it came to the exciting and tragic parts, he could make the diners in the restaurant cry.

Jiang Yanyi also funded the troupe to arrange a play about the murder of the Mu family. The storytelling and the play on the stage eventually set off a huge wave among the people. This wave rushed out from Xizhou, and it could roll up higher waves wherever it went. When it arrived in the capital, the Gao family and the Liao family had already been cursed by the people.

The articles written by Confucian scholars seeking justice for the Mu family were passed on by word of mouth among the scholars in the world, and some people even wrote doggerel poems for the children on the street to sing.

Back then, the Gao family supported Feng Shiyan to ascend the throne. Now Feng Shiyan was naturally suspected of being the mastermind behind the Gao family. For a time, the Great Xuan Dynasty really had the tendency to fall.

The capital city was in turmoil. Feng Shuo's men had gone there to fish. Jiang Yanyi started this fire to avenge his original body being exiled to the army by the emperor. He turned around and started to work on his porcelain export business.

Years ago, Yang Xiu and Bing Shao had already organized the caravan. When they transported the first batch of official porcelain out of the customs, Jiang Yanyi even brought a pot of chili peppers to show them, so that if they saw such plants outside the customs, they could bring more seeds back.

Now that Huo Jianjia was by Jiang Yanyi's side, Yang Xiu and Bing Shao were much more relieved. Jiang Yanyi arranged for Yang Xiu to follow the caravan out of the customs, and he did not refuse.

Jiang Yanyi told Yang Xiu: "Be careful when you leave the border, don't show your wealth, and try not to cause trouble with the locals when you get there."

Instant noodles and dried meat became the must-have food for the journey. If

you only eat dry food, you will probably eat your mouth out of shape after a few months. However, the diet of the foreign gangs going there is different from that of the Daxuan Dynasty. Many people in Daxuan are not used to the food there and would rather eat the dry food they brought with them.

Yang Xiu agreed one by one and said, "Don't worry, boss. Bing Shao has poached the guide of the previous caravan that went out of the customs to sell porcelain. Compared with other caravans, we know the market situation better this time. We know what prices are offered by which tribes and small countries. I guarantee that we will be the first one to return to the customs at a high price."

Bing Shao has always been a man of few words and only focuses on work. If Yang Xiu hadn't said it, Jiang Yanyi would not have known that he had secretly brought the guide of the caravan here.

She smiled and said, "I'll give Bing Shao a raise this month."

Bing Shao said hurriedly, "It's all because of the foresight of the boss. That caravan has hoarded a large amount of porcelain. Now the porcelain kilns are supervised by the government, and the seals have been changed. The porcelain that is to be shipped out must have a customs clearance document. The caravan got the document, but the porcelain in their hands is different from the porcelain that is to be shipped out in the document. If the goods cannot be shipped out, they can only lose money. Most of the people under them ran away, so I poached their guide."

Jiang Yanyi said, "Don't shirk it if it's your credit. Who would feel guilty about money?"

Bing Shao touched the back of his head, smiled innocently and said nothing.

After the caravan transported the porcelain out of the customs, Jiang Yanyi had solved a worry.

However, there was no pepper field. Jiang Yanyi went to the suburbs several times, but couldn't find a suitable field for growing peppers.

Chen Niangzi happened to rush to the city and sent Jiang Yanyi a basket full of bamboo shoots. After hearing that Jiang Yanyi wanted to buy land in the countryside, she asked about her needs and chose a few fertile plots for Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi went to see it in person and found that the soil was really rare and fertile.

She bought the land and was in need of help to take care of the peppers. In order to take care of the two elderly people at home, Chen Niangzi and her husband only let Chen Dalang go to the fields to farm. Chen Niangzi wove cloth and made clothes to supplement the family income while serving the elderly at home. However, she was still very tight every time she went to see a doctor and get medicine.

Jiang Yanyi asked Mrs. Chen and her husband to help her manage the pepper field in the future, and she would pay them a fee.

The fee she paid was of course much higher than the market price. First, it was to repay Mrs. Chen's favor, and second, peppers were expensive, and Jiang Yanyi was not at ease hiring unfamiliar farmers. She still trusted the character of Mrs. Chen and her husband.

After planning for the whole New Year, everything was in place. The business of Ruyi Building and the noodle shop was still hot. The wealthy businessmen in the Chamber of Commerce began to test Jiang Yanyi's intentions to attract others to invest.

Jiang Yanyi naturally hoped to expand her business, but with more people, management and systems had to keep up. Otherwise, the hot pot she sold was just a hot pot in Xizhou City, but she didn't know what it would be like if it was sold in other places in the West. If she wanted to expand her business, she must build a good reputation.

The franchise deal was not settled, and Jiang Yanyi had been busy like a top for so long that she wanted to take a few days off, so she ignored the wealthy businessmen who had been trying to bargain with her.

Probably because she was too tired these days and had eaten a lot of meat and fish during the Chinese New Year, Jiang Yanyi was sick of meat now and had no appetite for anything.

Auntie Guo watched Jiang Yanyi take a few sips of the lotus seed soup and then put it on a small table beside her. Seeing that she was not in good spirits, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her: "Boss, you don't have to worry too much about business. It's important to take care of your body."

Jiang Yanyi slumped on a rocking chair covered with a wool blanket, with a fat orange that was getting rounder and rounder lying on her shoulder. She said weakly: "Auntie, I want to eat stinky tofu."

Jiang Yanyi didn't know what was wrong with her. She suddenly missed the snack street in front of her former home. There was a middle school next to her house, and there were always vendors selling snacks there.

In spring, there are grandmas who mix glutinous rice flour with mugwort juice to make fragrant and soft green rice dumplings. In summer, there are uncles pushing tricycles selling cold mixed rice noodles. In autumn, there are corn cakes wrapped in sycamore leaves or corn leaves and steamed with cornmeal. In winter, there are roasted sweet potatoes with a fragrant smell all over the streets... The most

popular things sold all year round are fried potatoes and stinky tofu, which you never get tired of eating.

"Stinky tofu?" Aunt Guo was stunned. "Someone is selling it in the west of the city. I'll ask Jianjia to buy some for you?"

Jiang Yanyi nodded, and she was listless and couldn't get interested.

She did know how to make stinky tofu, but it took fifteen days to make the brine for stinky tofu, which was really troublesome.

Huo Jianjia ran back quickly after buying some stinky tofu. When Jiang Yanyi ate it, it was still a little hot.

But she only ate one piece and put it down.

The tofu was not brined well and was over-fried. The shell was not crispy but a little hard, and the soup that infused the soul had not been poured in.

Seeing that Jiang Yanyi had lost his appetite, Aunt Guo reached out and touched Jiang Yanyi's forehead, and said in surprise: "Boss, you are probably sick and have a low fever."

Jiang Yanyi thought she was too tired. When Aunt Guo said that, she also reached out and touched her forehead. "It's not hot."

Aunt Guo said, "Your hand is hotter than your forehead. OK, I'll call a doctor for you!"

After the doctor took her pulse, he finally determined that Jiang Yanyi was overworked and caught a cold. Jiang Yanyi knew that Feng Shuo was busy, so she specifically told Aunt Guo not to tell Feng Shuo that she was sick.

She drank the medicine and fell asleep. Maybe she was always thinking about stinky tofu. She dreamed of eating stinky tofu.

However, this stinky tofu was worse than the one she had eaten during the day. Not only was it hard to bite, but the soup inside also smelled like medicine when she bit it open.

"Jiang Yanyi, let go of the spoon."

In a daze, Jiang Yanyi seemed to hear Feng Shuo's voice.

She stammered, and was going to call Feng Shuo's name, but unexpectedly she called out: "Stinky tofu..."

Feng Shuo sat on the bed, looking at someone who wrinkled his nose and asked for stinky tofu aggrievedly. He felt funny and distressed. He took out the spoon while Jiang Yanyi was talking, scooped up a spoonful of medicine and continued to feed her: "Take the medicine first, and then eat stinky tofu after you get better." Jiang Yanyi's facial

features wrinkled up when she smelled the medicine, and she avoided it and refused to open her mouth.

It was also the first time that Feng Shuo fed someone medicine, and he had no experience. After thinking about it, he stretched out his hand to pinch Jiang Yanyi's nose, and then put the spoon to her mouth.

As a result, Jiang Yanyi had difficulty breathing and was woken up by the suffocation.

After opening her eyes, she saw Feng Shuo was still pinching her nose. The two stared at each other for a moment before Jiang Yanyi asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing?"

Because of the low fever, her voice was a little hoarse, and her originally fair face was also steamed red. She had just woken up with mist in her eyes, and looked defenseless and easy to bully.

Feng Shuo withdrew his hand, moved his eyes away from her face, and said with a slightly deep look in his eyes, "Feed you medicine."

Jiang Yanyi rubbed the tip of her nose that was pinched and hurt, and the accusation in her eyes was obvious: "How can you feed me like this?"

"I have never served anyone before, and you hide when you smell the medicine. I can only resort to this last resort." He explained.

Jiang Yanyi felt a little relieved, but her head was still dizzy. She half sat up, took the remaining half bowl of medicine from his hand, and drank it down with her nose and eyes wrinkled.

Feng Shuo asked her, "Is it bitter?"

Jiang Yanyi frowned and nodded.

Feng Shuo supported her pillow with one hand, held her chin with the other hand, and lowered his head to kiss her.

Jiang Yanyi's lips were very hot, and his lips were slightly cool, but they soon became hot too.

When he finished, his breathing was not stable, and he stroked her white and pink cheeks with his fingertips, and said, "It's very bitter."

The night was deep outside the window, and the sound of clappers came from the street.

Jiang Yanyi was a little short of oxygen because of the kiss, and her mind was not very clear. When she heard him say it was bitter, she raised her head and kissed him back.

She was a little out of control afterwards.

The next day, Jiang Yanyi's cold was gone, but she wore a thick rabbit fur scarf at home. Aunt Guo thought she was afraid of the cold, but only Jiang Yanyi knew that her neck was too sore to be seen.

When copying the account book, she rubbed her wrist from time to time, because it was really sore.