Jiaohua

Upon returning to Yunwan Village, Xia Zhaoyi led Feng Ping and the others to find Ma first, while Shen Lie had to deal with the Fang family army.

By the time Shen Lie returned, it was already dawn.

Xia Zhaoyi was exhausted and fell asleep. She shared a room with Feng Ping and Li Xinya, so Shen Lie couldn't go in.

He was equally exhausted, but dared not sleep, knowing that she was busy with her schedule; once things were settled here, she would have to head back to the Northwest.

Shen Lie waited like that, and as expected, she didn't sleep for long before waking up at Chenshi (7-9 AM).

Xia Zhaoyi walked very quietly. When she came out, she saw Shen Lie sitting at the door reading a book. She whispered, "Aren't you asleep?"

Shen Lie stood up, his expression gentle: "I'm not in a hurry. Have you had enough sleep?"

Xia Zhaoyi glanced at the book in his hand and understood: "...Are you worried that if I wake up while you're sleeping, you might leave without saying goodbye?"

Shen Lie did not deny it and nodded.

Xia Zhaoyi recalled their parting at Qingji Pass during the Lantern Festival and laughed, "You are so remarkable that I feel ashamed of myself. At Qingji Pass, I couldn't hold out until I saw you off."

"You stayed up all night taking care of the wounded; how can you say you're not as good as them?"

Xia Zhaoyi smiled and said, "Have you eaten anything? If not, shall we go get something to eat now?"

"it is good."

The entire Yunwan Village was exceptionally busy.

Lu Wuwei's worries, and Xia Zhaoyi's attempts to scare Xie Huaichu, were all ineffective, because the old man intended to deal with this place just as he had dealt with Qianqiu Palace before.

The only difference is that Qianqiu Palace was filled in, while this place was dug up.

There were a lot of people, including Yan Jun, Fang Jiajun, and a large number of villagers hired from Xinchun County and other villages.

In the bustling and crowded Yunwan Village, Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie found a quiet corner to eat, sitting side by side on the low wall, watching the busy crowd in the distance.

They have been very restrained since they met last night.

They didn't mention missing each other at all, there were no kisses, no hugs, and they talked about serious matters. But the joy of seeing each other was undeniable, evident in their eyes and brows, vivid and bright.

Now, Shen Lie still reports on Fang Jiajun's affairs first.

Fang Yinai was found, seriously injured. Shen Lie returned him to Fang Yiping and told Fang Yiping to handle it himself.

Liang Jun added at the opportune moment that if Fang Yi had not listened to a villain like Xie Zhong, then the hundreds of Fang family soldiers who followed them to Yunwan Village and Hanjia Village would not have died in vain.

It is also said that there can be no two tigers in the mountains, and no two commanders in the army. If Fang Yinai were still alive, the Fang family army would never be completely loyal to Fang Yiping.

Finally, Liang Jun mentioned Xie Zhong, urging Fang Yiping to reflect on how much mistreatment he had suffered at Xie Zhong's hands over the past few months. He also urged him to consider the future of the remaining brothers in Fang's army.

Liang Jun's words finally made Fang Yiping make up his mind, and he ordered his men to drag Fang Yinai away and kill him.

Liang Jun smiled and said, "This life is on the shoulders of Yan Jun. We won't let Fang Yiping bear the infamy of killing his brother."

This is considered as doing him a favor as well.

Fang Yinai died, and then Xie Qiniang was found.

Fang Yiping waved his hand, ordering his men to strip Xie Qiniang of her clothes and hand her over to his soldiers to be defiled before killing her.

Shen Lie frowned unconsciously, and Liang Jun immediately said to Fang Yiping, "If you're going to kill someone, just kill them. It's not appropriate to waste them."

At this point, Shen Lie turned to look at Xia Zhaoyi: "I know you don't like these things. I only frowned slightly before Liang Jun spoke up." Xia Zhaoyi smiled: "It seems that this Mr. Liang's ability to read people is already superb. When you go back, please give him fifty taels for me. I hope he will continue to work hard and assist General Shen well."

Shen Lie smiled and said, "It seems General Xia is very satisfied. I'll add another fifty taels to reward him for making you happy."

Xia Zhaoyi slightly suppressed her smile and said, "I don't like to see someone being humiliated. You can kill them, but you don't have to dishonor them."

"Ah."

“Alright,” Xia Zhaoyi said again, “I’d like to talk to you about a few more important matters.”

"what?"

“Let’s talk business first,” Xia Zhaoyi laughed. “I’ve made a lot of money from Zhao Yu’s mines. Although it’s still early, the Northwest gets cold quickly, and winter will come soon. So, I want to buy a batch of winter clothes from you, Master Zhi. The craftsmanship in Jiangnan is good, and the quality of the clothes is even better. I trust it.”

Shen Lie smiled broadly: "Alright, let's be business. Let's see what price Miss Xia ultimately agrees to."

"Alright, then this young lady will give it a try."

The two sat side by side, chatting happily, from winter clothes to food, and gradually they talked about mines and the techniques of refining minerals.

After Shen Lie took over Jingshan City in Tanzhou, he also seized most of the large mines in Jingshan City.

Furthermore, because a large number of salt markets were vacated after Li Qian's downfall, he instructed Ji Xia and Du Xuan to seize them immediately.

The title "Master Zhi" not only helped him build connections and obtain intelligence, but also helped him expand into one market after another.

Xia Zhaoyi wanted to praise him for being a natural businessman, as expected of someone from the Shen family of Yunliang, but she was afraid that mentioning this would remind Shen Lie of Shen Shuangcheng and Shen An, so she didn't say anything.

Furthermore, Xia Zhaoyi also knew that compared to Shen Lie's other strengths, his business acumen was not particularly outstanding.

Finally, as the conversation continued, it returned to the topic of winter supplies.

Xia Zhaoyi became serious and prepared to discuss the price properly.

As a result, she only offered a "small knife," which was ineffective. Before she could even bring out the "big cleaver," Shen Lie voluntarily halved the price.

Xia Zhaoyi chuckled and continued to chop down a small piece. Shen Lie then brought out the free gift for her, a buy-one-get-two-free offer of equal weight.

Xia Zhaoyi shook her head: "No, no, I won't take advantage of you. If you do this, you'll go bankrupt."

Shen Lie said very seriously, "Then you will take me in."

"No way, you have a family to support and hundreds of thousands of Yan soldiers."

Shen Lie laughed and said, "It's alright, we are self-sufficient. When they are not on military duty, they are farming and are very diligent. We still have a lot of surplus grain. I will give you as much as you want."

Xia Zhaoyi said slyly, "So, how many? Are you really going to give them all to me? This concerns my troops, so I won't be polite with you."

The moment she revealed a mischievous look, her eyes became especially bright, and Shen Lie was absolutely smitten. If there weren't so many people around, he would have loved to reach out and pull her into his arms, starting with her eyes and kissing her lips.

Shen Lie nodded, his dark eyes gazing intently into the depths of Xia Zhaoyi's eyes: "It's all yours. I'll go hungry for a few meals, but I'll prioritize General Xia's soldiers. Anyway, I'm used to being hungry; I'm not afraid of being hungry—"

Although they were all jokes, the earlier jokes were relatively serious, but the voice grew lower and lower towards the end, and Xia Zhaoyi felt something was off.

Shen Lie gently wrapped her hand in his: "You're leaving again, and I'm going to get hungry again."

He spoke calmly and openly, but Xia Zhaoyi sensed a hint of grievance in his voice.

Moreover, this feeling of being wronged seemed contagious; she felt wronged as well, a touch of bitterness welling up inside her. (End of Chapter)