Time passed, and it was already the end of the year in the blink of an eye. A heavy snowfall enveloped the entire Jiangning. In such weather, for poor people, they did not even have clothes to keep out the cold, and it was almost difficult to go out. Some even could only wrap themselves in quilts all day long.
Nestled in bed.
Rich people are better off, but the heavy snow has closed their doors, and they generally don't go out unless there is something important.
Li Mu got up in the morning, practiced the Songhe Boxing Sutra for a while, and practiced Yangwu Sword for a while. Su Tan'er and a little maid also got up.
After a few people washed up, they also set up their postures and practiced the Songhe Boxing Sutra.
After such a long time, several people naturally learned the Songhe Boxing Sutra. The best ones were Xiao Chan and Su Tan'er. Xiao Chan had the first-mover advantage because she learned it the earliest. Su Tan'er relied on her own intelligence.
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Juan'er and Xing'er started practicing a little slowly, but they started to learn one after another last month.
After getting started, the efficacy of this Songhe Boxing Sutra gradually became apparent. Not only did my physical strength improve, my whole person felt full of vitality, and my spirit also improved.
This immediate effect also makes the girls practice with great energy.
Not only Su Tan'er and the others, Li Mu also taught Nie Yunzhu the Songhe Boxing Sutra. Nie Yunzhu was naturally intelligent and had good martial arts qualifications, and he mastered it quickly.
After breakfast, there was snow everywhere outside, so naturally I didn’t go out.
Li Mu led a few little girls to build a snowman and had a lot of fun. Then he returned to the study and continued reading and writing.
Several little girls went back to the room and gathered together, warming the brazier, chatting, playing chess and reading books.
From time to time, Su Tan'er would choose some pieces of fabric and make some embroidery with a few girls, creating a cheerful scene.
After a few days like this, the snow began to melt and the Su family also became lively.
The New Year is approaching, and some shopkeepers from nearby Jiangning have begun to gather in Jiangning to review performance and determine dividends. In addition, some cousins from the Su family will come here to celebrate the New Year, visit the house, and come in and out of the house every day.
,Crowded.
There are many wealthy households in Jiangning City, so scenes like this are common every year.
Li Mu didn't like this kind of atmosphere very much. After all, he wasn't familiar with her, and his status as son-in-law also allowed him to get rid of some welcome and greetings.
In addition, the academy was also on holiday. So, when he had nothing to do, Li Mu would go out for a walk, or go to Qin Siyuan's house or Kang Xian's house, drink tea and play chess; or go to Nie Yunzhu's place to talk about music and plan bamboo records.
future development.
He has a lot of things to do in the future. As the Su family's son-in-law, there are natural limitations. Many things cannot be done directly. It is necessary to cultivate a force to help him do some things and prepare for the future.
Bamboo Ji can also be said to be one of the forces he deliberately cultivated.
However, initial capital accumulation is always slow, especially for a small business like Zhuji. It takes too long to rely on Zhuji to make money, accumulate capital, and grow.
As long as the foundation is laid well and the rules, regulations and various processes are well established, it is possible to accelerate development a little.
For this reason, Li Mu invested two thousand taels of silver into Zhuji. It’s not that he couldn’t invest more, but the foundation of Zhuji was still shallow. If it was too much, it would undermine the growth, and if it was less, the development speed of Zhuji would be affected.
Li Mu originally thought that Nie Yunzhu would not accept it easily, but Nie Yunzhu was not polite. He seemed to be dissatisfied that Zhuji was not developing fast enough and spent almost all his energy on Zhuji.
Thirty of the dining carts designed by Li Mu were ordered at one time, costing more than 500 taels of silver.
In addition, as the scale expands in the future, the processing of some ingredients will not be suitable in the small building where they live, and the two of them will be too busy.
So, I bought a two-bedroom house not far away and spent money to renovate it. From now on, I will store all the ingredients here.
The next step is to recruit people. Whether it is a food truck or food processing, you need to undergo certain training before you can get started.
It happened to be freezing cold, and many people lost their livelihoods. It was also very easy to recruit people. We carefully selected more than 80 people, and took advantage of the free time before the year to train them. When the food truck is built after the year, we can open the stalls on a large scale.
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Naturally, Li Mu also understood that relying on this kind of food stall could not develop on a large scale or make a lot of money, but it was a good way to train the team and lay the foundation.
…
On the other hand, even if he takes a break, as the New Year is getting closer, there are some occasions that he cannot avoid.
For example, taking advantage of the Chinese New Year to get together, Su Tan'er and Su Tan'er visited relatives and friends of the Su family.
These things should have been done when he and Su Tan'er got married.
However, at that time, Su Tan'er was a little opposed to the marriage arranged by Mrs. Su. She went out of town to deal with matters on the day of the wedding. Naturally, the process of visiting relatives and friends was not carried out. Now it is made up for.
During the visits, Su Tan'er would also tell him some interesting stories about his family and relatives.
Occasionally, some children of the Su family would take advantage of the festive atmosphere before the New Year to say a few festive words, but they said they were short of money; there were also some who came directly to complain, saying that they had run out of pocket money.
, how tight money is now.
In short, they all want to make some money.
Su Tan'er has a good attitude towards these brothers and sisters. As long as you know the appropriateness and listen patiently to Su Tan'er's nagging and instructions, you can still get some money.
More is not too much, less is not less, thirty or fifty guan is enough for them to spend a few nights drinking on the Qinhuai River.
At this time, seeing Su Tan'er's serious preaching and admonitions, Li Mu really admired her.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that these people are basically here to enjoy the autumn breeze. Su Tan'er can naturally see that, but she seems to know nothing and listens patiently to the various reasons given by the other party.
No matter what reason the other party gave, she always appeared to believe it, and sometimes she would sincerely give suggestions and tell them not to spend money frivolously.
She was so kind. Even after these people left, she still kept a smile on her face without changing her expression. She told Li Mu some interesting stories about these cousins in the past, and acted like a brother and friend to the highest standard.
Perhaps she was still a little immature in many aspects, but the sense of propriety contained in her actions was already rare at her age.
In addition to visiting relatives and friends of the Su family, Mrs. Su also began to gradually delegate power. Su Taner was in charge of more affairs and had more people to visit.
Especially during the Chinese New Year, business partners also need to move around and maintain themselves.
It was inevitable that Li Mu was pushed out of his prime position again, but in terms of decoration, he was still competent.
While Su Tan'er was discussing business or reminiscing about old times, Li Mu would drink tea and add a few words from time to time, so as not to become too alienated.
These merchants also knew his name. He was a famous talent in Jiangning. He not only wrote good lyrics but also had better handwriting. Although he was a son-in-law, no one dared to neglect him.
Everyone was polite to him, and some even took the opportunity to ask for words on the spot.
Li Mu's calligraphy has been in great demand recently, and coupled with his deliberate restraint, it is really difficult for ordinary people to get his handwriting.
After a busy few days, the people who were supposed to visit also came to visit. It just so happened that Su Tan'er's best childhood playmate, Sudan Hong, returned to Jiangning. The two best friends who had not seen each other for a long time reminisced about old times, and Li Mu finally felt at ease.
As the only child in the eldest family, Su Boyong was quite resentful about not having a son, and he also felt hot and cold towards Su Tan'er when he was young.
After Su Tan'er became sensible, she could not help but be rebellious and even withdrawn for a period of time. At that time, in addition to the three girls Chan'er, Juan'er and Xing'er, the only people who accompanied her were the eldest daughter of her cousin Su Yunsong, who was the shopkeeper of Jiangning at the time, Sudan Hong.
Sudan Hong was also lively and active, and gradually became gentle as she grew up. After Su Yunsong left Jiangning to manage affairs in other places, the two sisters rarely saw each other again.
Now that she was back, Su Tan'er was inevitably happy and put down the account book in her hand: "Where is cousin Danhong now?"
Juaner said: "Over there in the front yard, I just met some shopkeepers. They were talking there and they didn't leave for a while."
Su Tan'er knew that her cousin was already married, and her husband was a shopkeeper of the Su family cloth shop. She also gave birth to a son this year, so she did not attend Su Tan'er's wedding.
Su Tan'er said: "Okay! Let's go and take a look." She tightened her silver-white fox fur and walked towards the front yard with a smile.
After passing through the courtyards, I saw Sudan Hong dressed in red: "Sister Hong!"
"Sister Tan'er."
The two hadn't seen each other for a long time. After greeting each other, Sudan Hong asked about Su Tan'er's current situation.
"We haven't seen each other for two years, but we are already married. I heard that the old man chose your wife personally. Unfortunately, I was pregnant when you got married, and it was inconvenient to ride in a carriage, so I didn't come back in time."
"How about my brother-in-law? I heard he is a talented man."
Su Tan'er's face turned red: "My husband...my husband is very good."
Sudan Hong smiled evilly and said: "Very good, which aspect is good..."
Su Tan'er glared at her: "Sister Hong, if you want to know, just ask Li Heng when you meet him."
Sudan Hong said with a naughty smile: "It seems that Tan'er is satisfied with this marriage. In fact, a few years ago, I thought that my uncle would recruit Xi Junyu for you... Shopkeeper Xi is very capable, but he is not suitable for the Su family.
I didn’t expect that the old man would personally take action and find you a perfect husband.”
"My brother-in-law is really famous. His water tune song "Sister", I often heard people singing it in Hangzhou. At first I thought he had the same name, but after asking about it I found out that he is really my brother-in-law. Not only is he a good poet, I heard that my brother-in-law has the same name.
His handwriting is also outstanding. As soon as I entered Jiangning, I heard that my brother-in-law's handwriting was worth a thousand dollars."
"Mess Tan'er is so lucky!"
Su Tan'er's face showed a bit of cunning: "Sister Hong, back then we were competing to see who could find a husband, but now it seems that my sister has won."
Sudan Hong couldn't laugh or cry, and the two joked for a while, inevitably talking about some gossip and some boudoir matters.
Suddenly, Sudan Hong covered her mouth in shock, looked at Su Tan'er up and down, and said after a while: "So, you have been married for more than half a year, and you haven't consummated your marriage yet. You still... you will be husband-to-wife, so there won't be any problems."
Su Tan'er's face turned slightly red, and she gave Sudan a red look: "My husband is fine, but the main reason is that Tan'er couldn't accept grandpa's arrangement at first, and ran away on the wedding day. When he came back, he found that my husband was actually quite good, so he slowly started to
Accept it. It’s just that we have already lived separately, and I think it’s good this way. My husband also respects Tan’er, so it’s always been like this..."
Sudan Hong opened his eyes wide and looked at Su Tan'er: "You really met a good husband, you can bear this."
"However, my cousin would like to advise you, since your husband is also satisfied with you, don't delay any more. Maybe you think it doesn't matter that your brother-in-law is generous, but as a woman, sometimes you still have to be proactive and gentle. No matter how beautiful you are, if
If you are too strong, men will get tired of it after a long time. Women should know how to be gentle and use softness to overcome toughness."
Su Tan'er blushed and said, "Sister Hong...you..."
Sudan Hong said: "That's you, sister Tan'er. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't say it so bluntly. But Tan'er, I want to tell you one more thing. You have been married for more than half a year, and you are also satisfied with your husband.
Are you sorry? Let’s move in together earlier.”
Su Tan'er blushed and nodded. She had always been calm, but her heart was racing like a deer at this moment, and she didn't know what to do.
Sudan Hong said no more and just watched with a smile.
In the small courtyard, two figures, one red and one white, contrast with each other.
…
Time passed very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, New Year's Eve arrived, with light snow falling in the sky. The Su family held a banquet.
Some of the housekeepers' servants sat down one after another in the misty snow.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of people, countless firelights illuminated the Su Mansion as brightly as day, with green tiles and cornices, carved corridors and painted buildings. The banquet was a lively scene, with everyone laughing and drinking, and it was so joyful.
Li Mu and Su Tan'er sat together, feeling the lively atmosphere around them, and seemed to be infected.
"Ms. sir." Su Tan'er picked up the wine glass and poured it for the two of them: "Ms. sir, I would like to propose a toast to you."
Li Mu glanced at her in surprise: "Okay!"
After a glass of wine, Su Tan'er's face was stained with red clouds: "My husband, thank you so much for indulging Tan'er."
Li Mu smiled and said: "You are my wife, why are you so polite."
Su Tan'er stared at Li Mu and smiled: "My husband is a very good person."
Li Mu held her hand and said, "My wife is also a very good person."
The two looked at each other and smiled, filled with a touch of sweetness.
After all, it was New Year's Eve, so the banquet started early and ended early, ending before eight o'clock.
The two of them returned to the courtyard hand in hand and stood in front of the railing on the second floor, overlooking the lights in front of them.
Su Tan'er's eyes were gentle and she said, "Mr.
Li Mu looked at her pretty face stained by red clouds and felt so seductive that he couldn't help but gently pull her into his arms.
Su Tan'er didn't resist, and softly called "Ms. sir."
The two of them leaned in front of the railing and were silent for a while, enjoying the rare silence. After a long while, Li Mu leaned into Su Tan'er's ear and whispered something, and Su Tan'er's pretty face and ears instantly turned red.
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Although he didn't answer, his attitude showed everything.
With a smirk on Li Mu's face, he held the princess in his arms and walked towards the room.