Chapter 97: Drink Wangji Tea to Relieve Heat
In the blink of an eye, ten days have passed since Li Huaigu and Yunxiang got married.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter, especially at noon, when the sun was so strong that it could cause the dockworkers and boat trackers to get their skin chapped and raw.
The various government offices in Shuzhou, which were originally worried about the Chishui River flooding, immediately changed their focus from flood prevention to water diversion and canal construction.
To prevent droughts in various regions.
Fortunately, the summer harvest is approaching, and preparations for the summer harvest are gradually being made for the vast fertile fields outside the city.
Even the three major military towns of Tiebi, Canglang, and Xuanjia were notified in advance to carry out the summer harvest in order to alleviate the shortage of money and food for the Dingyuan Army.
Inside the city, however, all was peaceful and serene.
Kangning Street in the north of the city remains a popular spot for talented men and beautiful women to relax, but the topics they discuss have changed several times over.
Besides the usual discussions about the north and south of the country and the political situation at court, it's also worth mentioning the grand wedding of the third-ranked scholar and Mr. Yue Ming's protection of the Xiao family's son-in-law.
Some people spoke up for the two talented scholars, Xin Nian and Gui Yun, saying things like "one should be lenient when possible."
Some believe that Mr. Yue Ming did the right thing, that moral character should match academic talent, and that punishing them by making them copy the academy's rules was reasonable, although a thousand times was really too much.
In the end, most people would say, "The son-in-law of the Xiao family is quite domineering."
But despite the talk, the incident of "the Xiao family's son-in-law forcibly taking a woman" was as if it had never happened, and no one mentioned it again.
In addition, the poem that shone brightly at the banquet was also spread by busybodies.
"Do not waste your golden robes, but cherish your youth. Pluck the flower while it blooms, lest you break an empty branch when there are no flowers left."
Li Huaigu's unwavering commitment to marry Yunxiang became a much-talked-about story on Kangning Street.
But those talented men and beautiful women clearly forgot that the person who wrote this poem was none other than the "son-in-law of the Xiao family" whom they had verbally belittled.
People's likes and dislikes are obvious.
However, there are two sides to every story; while some criticize, others praise.
In the brothels and entertainment districts of the south of the city, someone has already written lyrics and composed music for this song, which is now being sung.
It must be said that it was very attractive to those pretentious and dissolute scholars, who would often reward them with a considerable sum of money.
In no time, the names "Chen Yi and Chen Qingzhou" were remembered by all the brothels.
Including the previous birthday poem, they have already made money twice from Chen Yi's poems.
As a result, word spread that as long as Mr. Chen came to their door, even the most popular courtesans would be willing to welcome him with open arms.
Some people even wrote notes and delivered them to the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence.
The content is brief, consisting of only one sentence: "I urge you to gather more."
Following that are the seals of Chunyu Tower, Yihong Courtyard, and Yanyun Pavilion, as well as the signatures of their respective top courtesans:
“Zhuyin, Jiaoniang, Yuan’er…”
There weren't just three courtesans, but a full ten.
This immense attraction abruptly ended with Xiao Wan'er.
After reading the note, she asked Shen Huatang curiously, "Aren't they afraid of incurring the wrath of my Marquis's mansion?"
Shen Huatang thought for a moment, "Wealth can move people's hearts, right...?"
Xiao Wan'er nodded and then instructed Cui'er and Juan'er to take the account books and other items to Chunhe Garden.
The reason, of course, couldn't be the note, but rather that the weather was hot, and sitting in the pavilion in Chunhe Garden would provide some relief from the heat.
But Xiao Wan'er...
She's not afraid of the heat.
Shen Huatang knew the truth perfectly well, but had no choice but to follow him to Chunhe Garden.
From a distance, the group saw Chen Yi sitting alone in the pavilion playing chess, Xiao Wuge fishing, and Xiao Die resting her chin on her hands, lost in thought.
At first glance, it truly lives up to the description of "peaceful and serene times".
A faint, almost imperceptible resentment appeared on Xiao Wan'er's delicate, pale face.
She had thought that Chen Yi, knowing the threat posed by Linglanxuan, would pay more attention to Jishi Pharmacy.
Little did anyone know that since the third-ranked scholar got married, he hasn't even stepped out of Chunhe Garden.
He spent his days playing chess and drinking tea with Zhang Guogong and Mr. Sun, living a very comfortable life.
As Xiao Wan'er thought about it, the difficulties her pharmacy business had recently encountered inevitably came to mind.
First, the medicinal herbs were stolen, and so far, no government office has found any clues. The prefectural criminal court speculates that after the group stole the herbs, they drifted downstream along the Chishui River.
Then he was refused when he tried to buy medicinal herbs... but it wasn't a complete refusal, and he eventually managed to buy herbs worth a thousand taels.
With the current business of these few pharmacies, they should be able to hold out until next month.
The biggest challenge, however, is Linglanxuan.
Someone in the manor suggested finding a pretext to make them close the gates, but Xiao Wan'er refused.
It is an indisputable fact that they operate openly and honestly, and their doctors and prescriptions are superior to those of the Xiao family's pharmacy.
Ultimately, it will benefit the people of Shuzhou, so it's not appropriate to use dirty tricks to stop it.
If she said she wasn't in a hurry, probably no one in the entire Marquis's mansion would believe her.
They exchanged a few pleasantries.
Chen Yi tidied up the chessboard and pieces, and watched curiously as Xiao Wan'er and her people busied themselves around the stone table.
Juan'er and Cui'er were clearly very good at arithmetic; one of them used the abacus while the other recorded the data, and they did so very quickly.
Two stacks of ledgers, three pages were calculated in the blink of an eye.
Xiaodie watched from the side, her big eyes filled with envy. She also wanted to learn how to keep accounts.
It was obvious that she couldn't say anything at a time like this.
Xiao Wan'er would ask a question or two from time to time.
Shen Huatang, holding information she had somehow obtained, said, "Besides Linglanxuan, there's another establishment called Baicaotang that's been gaining momentum lately."
Xiao Wan'er asked, "Are they also from Jingzhou?"
Shen Huatang hesitated and said, "It is said that the manager of that Baicaotang is Wang Ji, who was originally the owner of Jishi Pharmacy."
"oh?"
Xiao Wan'er was slightly taken aback. Her eyes looked at Chen Yi, who was sitting quietly to the side. When she saw him smiling, she turned her gaze back to him without making a sound.
"What else?"
"All we know for now is that they have partnered with several pharmacies to specialize in selling inexpensive medicinal herbs."
Shen Huatang paused for a moment, "I also heard that they will give each guest a complimentary tea drink."
Xiao Wan'er looked at her in confusion: "Tea?"
Shen Huatang nodded and read aloud from the note in her hand: "Drink Wangji tea, it's refreshing and relieves the summer heat, and... there's also tea to relieve fatigue."
"Is it really that amazing?"
"I guess so……"
Chen Yi listened from the side, turning his head to look at the pond, a smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.
Previously, the prescription he gave to Wang Ji included not only "Wang Ji Tea", but also "Shennniu Tea" to relieve fatigue and "Lao Baijin Tea" to nourish the body of the elderly.
The name has a touch of his wicked humor to it.
And unsurprisingly.
The people who reserved that batch of medicinal herbs were none other than Wang Ji and Yan Hai from Baicaotang.
Although those medicine merchants did stockpile a lot of medicinal herbs, the amount of herbs needed by Baicaotang was too large.
The medicinal herbs, worth nearly 20,000 taels of silver, were categorized and almost emptied their pockets.
Chen Yi knew perfectly well what was going on, but he couldn't say it out loud, so he could only temporarily make Xiao Wan'er feel wronged.
As he pondered this, he took out a small teapot and sipped his tea, thinking about the future of Baicaotang and Linglanxuan.
Baicaotang opened quietly, but the effects and reputation of its tea drinks have not yet been demonstrated, and it needs to wait for the right opportunity.
The matter of Linglan Pavilion is currently only suspicious; the mastermind behind it and their true colors have not yet been revealed.
It should still be in the planning stages.
As for the stolen medicinal herbs, which were worth 20,000 taels of silver at the time, he didn't believe those people would be willing to throw them into the water.
Ultimately, this matter is not yet settled...
At this moment, Juan'er, who had finished calculating the accounts, said, "Miss, the pharmacy in the east of the city was the least affected, thanks in no small part to Physician Fang."
Xiao Wan'er nodded slightly. "Cui'er, remember to take five taels of silver from the storeroom and send it to him later."
"yes."
"The one with the least revenue, but the biggest impact..."
Juan'er glanced at Chen Yi's retreating figure and hesitated before saying, "It's the Jishi Pharmacy that Second Son-in-Law is in charge of. Yesterday, they only received two taels of silver..."
Xiao Wan'er turned her head to look at Chen Yi and saw that he seemed to be lost in thought, still slurping his tea. She immediately scolded him:
"Brother-in-law, you don't seem to care about the pharmacy at all."
Chen Yi snapped out of his daze, "Huh?"
Seeing the blank look on his face, Xiao Wan'er also showed a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, and got up to throw the note in her arms to him.
"You've caused this trouble, so you'll have to deal with it yourself."
After saying that, she told Cui'er and Juan'er to pack up the account books and prepare to return to Jiaxing Garden.
Don't be angry, don't be angry. My brother-in-law is a scholar; he really can't be a businessman.
Chen Yi took the note, glanced at it, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
These brothels are quite famous in Shuzhou. To invite him over, ten courtesans prepared a grand welcome. Tsk tsk.
They're good at business.
Upon hearing the voice, Xiao Wan'er turned her face slightly to the side, her eyes sweeping over the sound, and said directly, "Let's go."
She walked along, frowning, thinking to herself:
When my second sister comes back, she'll see me. I promise...
(End of this chapter)
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