Chapter 52: Sprouting

In the darkness, light came only from one side of the building, and the sound of Qinhuai River's flowing water came with the wind while night fog lay like mountains. Ning Yi looked at her expression, this time nodding clearly.

"Mm, got it." After a moment, he thought again. "So what exactly is your relationship with him?"

Nie Yunzhu's expression originally still held seriousness, but hearing these words, her facial expression became complex, as if struggling to continue that serious emphatic expression. She held it for several seconds like that, finally unable to help bursting into laughter.

"Someone I knew from Golden Wind Tower before."

She looked at Ning Yi, and for some reason, when Ning Yi had asked about Gu Yanzhen just now, her heart had suddenly grown nervous. Not knowing what he'd heard, what he was thinking, she'd tried hard to figure out how best to be frank, but now because of his words, when she spoke again, her heart carried not a ripple, as light as clouds and gentle as breeze, just like when they chatted before the building previously. Ning Yi paused: "Heard you mention him a few days ago—a very famous talent, right?"

"I found it strange Liheng hadn't heard of him."

"Forgot." Ning Yi shook his head. "So what now?"

"I don't know either, already thinking of having some of Er Niu's relatives help, but haven't figured it out yet." Nie Yunzhu held her chin, also somewhat troubled. "Originally, there wasn't much I could do—wanted to get a small cart, sell some pancakes, prove I wasn't completely useless—that's all. Thought the same about century eggs too, thinking it would take ages before people liked them, but who knew in just these few days, so many sold—can't even make enough. Too fast... Mm, I'm very happy, but what to do later—I really hadn't thought about it before. What does Liheng think?"

"Century eggs... do you want to keep doing this?"

"Originally I couldn't do business, so only planned a small stall..." Know thyself—Nie Yunzhu had seen quite a few truly successful merchants during her many years at Golden Wind Tower, and doing business, selling things—where there's profit there's risk. Some things weren't easily clarified by her temperament, but: "Business suddenly being so good, right before my eyes but unable to handle it... feels such a pity..."

"Things will get somewhat troublesome next."

"Mm?"

"Century eggs will sell even more, and you'll hire some people. The first month or two, sales will expand, especially... after Kang Xian also promotes them at home banquets—jade eggs, fortune eggs... demand exceeding supply, and you'll continue expanding scale. New things are all like this..."

Ning Yi took a twig, casually talking while drawing on the ground: "At this point you'll discover you lack management experience, and originally using somewhat familiar people like Er Niu's relatives and friends to make a small workshop—various bumps and conflicts will start appearing. Then on the other side, people will start copying century eggs—three months, about when they'll come out, perhaps even slightly earlier, and if secrecy is strict, still can't drag past four months..."

"The century egg process itself has low technical content—you drag dry firewood back daily to burn, buy lime powder—anyone interested can investigate these things. Now with some reputation, in a state of demand exceeding supply, starting to spread within several restaurants' range—perhaps people are already watching. You sell century eggs with unwashed mud powder traces on top, and others experiment using salted duck egg methods—no big problem. And if expanding scale to make a small workshop, exposing the method becomes even simpler."

"Then it's simple—price wars. More and more people can make them, and they'll also create new ways to eat them. Can't sell for twenty wen, you can only lower prices, they also lower prices, even more people can make them, and in the end, selling century eggs becomes about the same as selling pancakes... uh..."

Ning Yi spoke, turning to look over, and Nie Yunzhu was also holding her chin turning to look, seeming to have some laughter in her eyes. Ning Yi pursed his lips, pointing at her with the twig: "When that time comes, you'll be hit hard."

Nie Yunzhu was thinking of other things: "Actually Liheng is very capable at these things, right?"

"Mm? Which things?"

"Doing business."

Ning Yi was silent a moment, then said: "I'm an old monster reincarnated who's very good at business—should I tell you that too?"

Nie Yunzhu smiled with pursed lips, then smoothed the hair by her ear: "Actually I've always wanted to ask—century eggs suddenly selling so many, is it related to Liheng?"

"Made a bet, had to do something, couldn't just wait to lose." Ning Yi smiled. "Initially it was indeed my idea, and looking now, there was an accident—bungled it, actually increased your burden. Had I known, just hiring some idle people and stopping at the right point would've been good, and actually because I estimated you couldn't make so many, I specifically told Old Kang not to promote randomly at the imperial son-in-law's mansion..."

"So it really was like this." She murmured, a trace of smile seeping from her lips. "Liheng found shills?"

Ning Yi nodded.

"But Liheng... doesn't know Gu Yanzhen?"

"Met Li Pin that morning, casually mentioned this, and he said he had some friends who were idle anyway, could help—probably some talents and such. I don't know them, so that Gu Yanzhen might be among them. When betting with Old Kang, we agreed not to use reputation to promote these century eggs... Uh, remember you told me the second day that six century eggs sold? Heh, I bought four of them."

Nie Yunzhu squinted her eyes, looking suddenly enlightened: "Ah... I wondered why restaurant waiters would suddenly buy four century eggs—Liheng had just fixed up the cart, only the first day. So that's how it was... heh..."

In the darkness before dawn, stars still in the sky, Nie Yunzhu looked up and smiled as many things suddenly became clear in her heart.

"What does Liheng think should be done?"

"If you find it interesting, expand, if not interesting, stop—depends if you find it interesting."

"Actually it's quite fulfilling, feeling I'm very capable, but I also know I can't really do it. Will Liheng... teach me?"

Slight silence. Ning Yi looked at her: "...Alright."

On this morning in March of the eighth year of Wu Dynasty's Jinghan reign, this faint voice rang out in the fog before dawn by the Qinhuai River, and afterward just some trivial small matters—dining, chains, high-proof liquor, industrial chains and such random things. The two before the small building's steps talked as usual, and as for what they said, it wasn't important. In the room of the small building behind, the maid named Hutao lay at the window sighing, still worrying for her mistress in her heart.

White fog flowed and dispersed, sunlight rose, and crowds moved in Jiangning city. We speed up its pace, fast-forward the sun's trajectory, only releasing our fingers when time approached noon. Nie Yunzhu was now carrying a small package, aimlessly walking on the city's shop-lined streets, because Hutao and Er Niu were currently watching the stall.

By recent days' habits, she'd now hurry back thinking how to increase century egg production, where to buy firewood in the afternoon, weighing where prices were cheaper, but today was somewhat different. From morning, she'd been tightly wrapped in a mood, thoughts churning in her heart, and even now, not the slightest calming.

Since Hutao had told her days ago "Miss, you can't marry him"—or perhaps even earlier, since she'd noticed certain feelings of her own—to these past days with Gu Yanzhen's entanglement, the suddenly expanded century egg business and increased burden attacking together, her mood had actually been somewhat unsettled all along. But today wasn't like that, as the whole morning she'd been very happy, cheerful mood, various gloom swept away.

From far away she saw a Su's Cloth Store sign, and such cloth signs were often seen—Jiangning had several Su's branch shops. Previously because of Ning Yi's connection she hadn't looked much, but this time she stood by the roadside quietly watching for quite a while, watching customers come and go in the shop, business bustling.

In her mind constantly rang those words Ning Yi said today, that "alright" he'd nodded, and some later ones.

"...But there's just one thing you must remember. I want you to remember why exactly you decided to go further now. Even if money isn't much now, you're still very happy. You just wanted a pancake stall, to prove you could accomplish many things. That's the Miss Yunzhu I know. If someday in the future, going too fast, you must remember your current feelings. Stop when you should stop, retreat when you should retreat. Don't force it, lest in the end you put the cart before the horse, forgetting what you want. Sand you can't grasp—scatter it with your hand. Even returning to where you are now, you haven't lost anything..."

After nodding, Liheng said some things very casually, holding the twig pointing and drawing on the ground, not caring or perhaps practiced—"maybe" do this, "maybe" do that. Only these words he spoke solemnly, afterward seeming to smile self-mockingly, not knowing what he was thinking of. Nie Yunzhu remembered these words, but her feelings at the time weren't quite what Ning Yi said.

Some things, some feelings, happened quietly, and Ning Yi didn't know. In fact, yesterday morning Ning Yi went on an outing with Su Tan'er and the others, eating things, Chan'er and Juan'er flying kites, and many people were out. Ning Yi didn't know Nie Yunzhu and Hutao had seen them from afar.

At that time Nie Yunzhu and Hutao had contacted one of Er Niu's fellow villagers, then went to the countryside to buy duck eggs, and coming back, they saw Ning Yi and Su Tan'er over there. This was Nie Yunzhu's first time seeing Su Tan'er, and looking from afar, the two talking on the grass—indescribably complex feelings. In the morning when she'd met Ning Yi, her mood had been surrounded by low spirits, then Ning Yi suddenly asked about Gu Yanzhen, and in that instant she truly felt suddenly strangled by something.

Fortunately this mood was released afterward, but seeing Ning Yi, she kept remembering yesterday's grass field outside the city, remembering the richly dressed, young and beautiful Su Tan'er. But gradually other emotions surged up, especially after Ning Yi nodded admitting he was the mastermind behind century eggs, and this thought had existed for a long time, only now suddenly becoming clear. Like everyone outside said—such a person, why would he marry in as a live-in son-in-law?

Never mind the reasons, but Nie Yunzhu suddenly thought: Liheng has poetic talent, business talent, and living his current leisurely, indifferent days—is he truly happy every day? She hadn't understood much about the Su household before, even less after redeeming herself, only knowing the Su household was very rich, truly heaven and earth compared to ordinary commoners like her now. Later when Ning Yi became famous for two poems, she'd heard some news—saying Liheng had no business talent, while the Su family's young miss was very capable at business, would even take over the Su family in the future, but Liheng has business talent. With such abilities, yet as a live-in son-in-law, only able to hide his talents behind that Su Tan'er forever—what would he think?

Liheng casually solved the century egg matter—might there also be restlessness, unable to act at home, so outside, doing it in passing?

So she suddenly understood what she could do.

Perhaps become his tool, let Liheng prove through her that he's more capable than that Su Tan'er. If they could reach that point...

She was essentially still a woman of quiet temperament, and some things weren't good to think about. She held the small package in her arms, gently biting her lower lip, walking past the Su's Cloth Store entrance, and when passing, she still tilted her head to look inside. Then pursed her lips, thinking somewhat childishly: In the future her shop would be much, much bigger than this...

(End of Chapter)