77. The general is tired.
"The general is not tired."
That night, Xiao Pingchuan held the person tightly the whole way until he brought them back to the General's Mansion.
Shen Suqin had never been inside the main house of the courtyard before. Today, upon seeing it, she realized that the main house was incredibly simple and clean. Apart from the bed and the table and chairs, there was nothing else. It was as cold and hard as an ice cellar.
"You sleep in a place like this?" Shen Suqin asked after looking her over for a while.
Xiao Pingchuan: "Is this all that Steward Shen is seeing now?"
As he spoke, he untied his outer robe, which was covered in dust and wrinkled from the wind and sun along the way, making him look quite disheveled.
Shen Suqin took two steps closer, reached out to brush away the stray hairs from his forehead, and said, "Of course, the general is the most handsome."
A cool fragrance wafted from his sleeves, hitting Xiao Pingchuan head and face. He took a deep breath, his outer robe hanging on his arm, and for a moment he forgot to take it off.
Shen Suqin pressed down on the clothes on his arm, wrapped her hands around his back, and bound his arms behind his back. With a force, Xiao Pingchuan had no choice but to straighten his chest.
In May, the clothes were no longer thick.
The thin undergarment couldn't conceal the smooth, full lines of his muscles. Shen Suqin's gaze lowered slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips as he blatantly described the scene before him, clicking his tongue and saying, "Truly a magnificent sight."
Xiao Pingchuan's ears turned red. He could easily break free of the restraints with a little effort, but he remained silent and motionless, letting Shen Suqin do as she pleased.
With a smile, Shen Suqin, having watched enough, raised her other hand and pressed it against Xiao Pingchuan's chest muscles to lift herself up on her tiptoes. She pressed her lips against Xiao Pingchuan's prominent Adam's apple, her warm tongue licking it like a kitten, causing the Adam's apple to tremble uncontrollably.
“Pay some interest first,” Shen Suqin said.
Then she let go of his hand, took a big step back and said, "General, you must be tired after your long journey. Suqin will go back first. See you tomorrow."
With that, Shen Suqin turned and left.
Xiao Pingchuan flung off his outer robe, grabbed her, pulled her into his arms, and whispered in her ear, "Trying to run away?"
Shen Suqin: "The general is tired."
Xiao Pingchuan: "General, are you not tired? I've said before that I wanted to offer myself as your bedmate, but you've ignored me. Are you planning to use me tonight?"
Shen Suqin's face flushed red, her eyes darting around, and she hurriedly said, "I, I'm tired."
"Why didn't you say you were tired when you were acting strangely earlier? But, Madam, did you agree to let me pursue you?"
Xiao Pingchuan needed to get to the bottom of things. He felt that everything concerning relationships should have a clear and serious beginning.
Shen Suqin lowered her eyes and chuckled softly: "If I don't tell the general to chase, will you not chase after him?"
"Of course not, I'll just be more restrained."
"I understand," Shen Suqin said softly. "Go ahead and pursue her if you want."
Xiao Pingchuan immediately burst into laughter, and after he finished laughing, he released the person and took a step back, saying, "Then I will take Madam back first, and I will come to your residence to find you tomorrow."
Shen Suqin nodded.
"Wait a minute." Xiao Pingchuan held the back of her neck, gave her a light kiss on the cheek, and said, "Let's collect some interest first."
The next morning, Xiao Pingchuan packed up and went to stay at the Shen residence.
After summer arrived, the business of Tuanyuan Hot Pot gradually declined.
Shen Suqin knew that the ice-making business could be boosted, so he sought out Zhou Baihu and Su Yubai.
“It’s such a waste to leave the greenhouse empty. We can make use of it by removing the oil paper,” Shen Suqin told them.
"What does the master intend to use it for?" Zhou Baihu asked.
Shen Suqin handed him the ice-making recipe, saying, "In the hot summer, this ice-making method is low-cost, so you can use it to make ice and sell it."
Zhou Baihu had seen her make ice before. At the pork jerky workshop, ice was often used to preserve pork that couldn't be processed all at once.
After reading the prescription, Zhou Baihu handed it to Su Yubai.
“The greenhouse business was good before, but Zhou Baihu couldn’t get away. Now, I’ll take this opportunity to clarify the division of labor between the two of you.”
Since they were all family, Shen Suqin spoke without much restraint.
"The businesses in the western suburbs include the soap workshop, the dried meat workshop, the greenhouses, and the ice-making workshop that's about to open. I plan to hand them all over to Head Su for management. Any new businesses that follow will also be handled by Head Su. As for Zhou Baihu, the workforce in the western suburbs is now close to ten thousand, and new people are constantly being brought in. Managing personnel is a major task, and you've been doing it very well. From now on, I'd like you to be in charge of this area exclusively, and I don't want you to have to worry about anything else. Do you two have any objections?"
Su Yubai naturally had no objections.
"We'll do as the master says," said Zhou Baihu.
"Alright, let's do it this way. We need to get the ice-making project done as soon as possible while it's still hot."
Su Yubai nodded: "Don't worry, I'll have someone arrange it when we get back."
"Don't worry, boss, I'll make the arrangements right away."
After the two men left, Xiao Pingchuan emerged from behind the screen with a cup of tea. "Is this Commander Zhou still usable?"
Shen Suqin took the tea: "You are so capable. The people who retired from your army are all very useful. Thanks to them, my Guzongfang, which is located in the western suburbs, has been able to develop so quickly."
Because that area in the western suburbs was adjacent to the Guzong River, it gradually became known as Guzongfang.
Shen Suqin liked it very much, so she started calling him that too.
"They only found a way out because they met you. If they had relied on me, they might still be begging for food right now."
He had visited his brothers in the western suburbs several times in the past two days. They were all well-off and had food, clothing, and shelter. Some of them had even gotten married and started families, something he had never dared to dream of before.
Now that the people from Shule River know they have a place to go after their military service, they are all at ease and no longer have any other thoughts.
"It's also a mutually beneficial relationship," Shen Suqin said.
As the two were talking, Yuanxiang came to the door and said to Xiao Pingchuan, "General, your maternal relatives from Liangzhou have arrived. Your cousin, Zhao, is waiting for you at the manor."
"The Zhao family of Liangzhou?" Xiao Pingchuan frowned and thought for a moment, but couldn't remember who it was.
"She is your mother's sister's daughter, your cousin Zhao Yunxiang."
Upon hearing this, Shen Suqin smiled meaningfully and said, "How come the general has another cousin?" As she said this, she looked directly at Yuanxiang, "I'm afraid this cousin is also someone who has her eyes on the general."
Xiao Pingchuan said helplessly, "I'll go take a look."
Shen Suqin stood up: "Let's go together, perfect, I'm so bored."
Xiao Pingchuan nodded.
Upon arriving at the General's Mansion, a rather luxuriously decorated carriage was parked at the main gate, making the mansion's gate appear rather shabby in comparison.
Upon entering the mansion, Aunt Jiang was serving a beautiful woman in fine clothes. She was quite plump, with relaxed eyebrows and eyes, and her every move exuded elegance and grace.
Beside the beautiful woman was a stunningly beautiful woman, whose every move was graceful and dignified. Upon seeing Xiao Pingchuan, she took the initiative to bow and greet him, saying, "Cousin, Cousin-in-law, Yun Xiang greets you."
One shouldn't hit a smiling face, so Shen Suqin returned the greeting and invited her to sit down and talk.
The beautiful woman sat still, clearly waiting for Shen Suqin and the others to come over and pay their respects.
Xiao Pingchuan called out "Aunt," and Shen Suqin followed suit.
"Good, good, Jin'an has grown up so much and become so accomplished," Aunt Zhao said. "I suddenly missed your mother at home, so I took the liberty of coming here. Jin'an doesn't mind, does he?"
Xiao Pingchuan: "How could that be? Auntie is too kind."
"This must be the one His Majesty has betrothed to," she said, looking Shen Suqin up and down. "She is truly beautiful and intelligent."
"Auntie, you flatter me," Shen Suqin replied.
Aunt Zhao sighed and said to Xiao Pingchuan, "I heard that you two have been married for almost a year, but there's still no sign of pregnancy. If your mother knew this in the afterlife, she would probably be worried."
Shen Suqin: ......
She finally understood what they were up to.
“Auntie must be tired,” Xiao Pingchuan interrupted her. “Yuanxiang, tidy up the place and take Auntie down to rest.”
"yes."
"Auntie isn't tired." Aunt Zhao refused with a smile. "You haven't met your cousin Yunxiang yet, have you? Yunxiang, come here and say hello to your cousin."
Zhao Yunxiang blushed as she stood up and walked to Xiao Pingchuan.
“Yun Xiang is two years younger than you. She’s simple-minded. I’ve taught her with care. She’s good at everything, from formal occasions to domestic chores,” she told Xiao Pingchuan.
Xiao Pingchuan frowned as he listened, and asked bluntly, "Does Aunt want me to find a marriage partner for my cousin?"
These words clearly struck a chord with her aunt.
Shen Suqin laughed out loud and tugged at Xiao Pingchuan's sleeve, saying, "This is something for the women in our backyard to worry about. You're always wielding swords and spears, how would you know about these things? I'll take care of it for my cousin, don't you think so, Aunt?"
Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Suqin is right."
"Yuanxiang, take your aunt and cousin downstairs to rest first."
After finally getting the person down, Shen Suqin leaned back in her chair and said casually, "Your cousin has really high standards."
Xiao Pingchuan's mind raced. "You mean she's got her eye on that guy?"
“I didn’t say that.”
The newly added business of saltpeter ice was unexpectedly booming, and Su Yubai planned to open the workshop in the south, firstly to save on transportation costs, and secondly to save trouble.
This made Shen Suqin hesitate for two days.
Su Yubai's idea was correct, but once the workshop left Jinzhou, many problems would arise.
For example, confidentiality, and control.
The method for making saltpeter ice is not difficult; those who know how will learn it after a few glances.
She worried that if the workshop opened in another place, the formula would be leaked quickly, and then there would be saltpeter everywhere, how would they make money?
“Let’s focus on local business first,” she thought for a moment and replied to Su Yubai. “It’s not that we can’t open up the workshop to other areas. Let’s wait until Shenji’s reputation grows stronger and no one dares to touch Shenji before we do so.”
"OK."
As the scale of Guzongfang expanded, more and more people flocked to Ningyuan.
As mentioned before, due to the land distribution system, Jinzhou attracted many migrants, and it was simply unrealistic to register them all.
So those who couldn't get citizenship came to Ningyuan, hoping to find work in the famous Shenji.
When there are too many people, accidents are more likely to happen.
In early June, the first fight occurred in Guzongfang, involving a large number of people, which alarmed the Ningyuan magistrate.
When Shen Suqin rushed over, there was a mass of people lying on the ground, covered in blood.
Zhou Baihu rushed over, his face flushed and pale, and upon seeing the scene, he was utterly devastated.
"What happened? What exactly happened? Wang Dahu, come here." He pointed to a man with blood flowing from his forehead.
Shen Suqin glanced at him and saw that he was tall and straight with two fingers missing, so she knew that he was a retired soldier from the Black Flag Army.
“Commander, this is not our fault. These people insisted on going into the workshop in the backyard. When we didn’t let them in, they said we looked down on them. Then we argued for a bit and the two sides started fighting.”
Wang Dahu's voice grew softer as he spoke, because he noticed that Master Shen was looking at him.
"So you mean that two groups of people split up in the ancient clan compound, disliked each other, and then started fighting?" Shen Suqin asked.
Wang Dahu scratched the back of his head; that's roughly it.
Zhou Baihu's face turned bright red with embarrassment. Just two days ago, his wife had praised him for managing people well, and now he had been humiliated.
Tsk.
“Commander Zhou, this matter is your responsibility. Go with the sheriff,” Shen Suqin said. “Someone, go and fetch a doctor to treat their injuries.” She then said to Commander Zhou, “After you’ve dealt with this, write a report for me. I want to see how you handled it.”
"yes."
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