minions live

Chapter 775 Matchmaker
The news spread quickly to Pinghai County.

But the message didn't reach Wan Shilei's family, nor did it spread to the Donghai Fortress Daping Camp; instead, it reached Pinghai City.

On this day, the winter sun shone brightly, a rare sight.

Gu Shengnan is leisurely spending time at home with his children.

After glancing at the message, he instructed his maid to go find Gu Fugui.

The loyal old servant arrived in haste.

In recent years, the Marquis of Zhongyong's family has performed admirably, and the Gu family's merchant caravan has also prospered.

Gu Fugui no longer needed to travel around with the caravan, enduring wind and rain, and at this moment he seemed to be ten years younger.

"This old servant greets Madam." He smiled broadly. "Please rest assured, Madam, everything is ready for the New Year at home."

"If Madam has any other instructions, this old servant will do them as soon as possible."

Gu Shengnan smiled and waved his hand.

"I have no worries about Uncle Gu's work. Come and sit down, don't tire yourself out."

After Gu Fugui sat down, she pointed to the letter on the table in front of her.

"It has nothing to do with the New Year. We have a message from Xingji City."

Gu Fugui was taken aback and quickly opened it.

The content is minimal, consisting of only one line.

But after reading it, his expression turned serious.

"Wan Shilei..."

As they read the unfamiliar name, the two looked at each other, both somewhat bewildered.

In recent years, during the anti-Japanese wars in the East China Sea and Baekje, the entire East China Sea defense line was mobilized.

Countless soldiers fought bravely during this period.

But the people who live far from the war are not well informed.

Gu Shengnan and his group had a close proximity to the source, but they still only knew about the generals who were heavily publicized in the newspapers.

In particular, the young generals who escorted prisoners back to Beijing on behalf of various corps after the war were very well-known.

For example, Lu Ping'an, who was born in Pinghai County, is now a household name in the county.

Even upon hearing the surname Lu, ordinary people would give a thumbs up.

As for Wan Shilei...

Who is this?
After a moment of silence, the master and servant read the information on the table again.

“Madam,” Gu Fugui said carefully, “Does Her Majesty mean for you to act as a matchmaker?”

"Yes." Gu Shengnan nodded slightly.

She didn't know Wan Shilei or even the Wan family, but she knew Li Hebai very well.

Nowadays, Tieshu leads the Gu family caravan, almost exclusively traveling the north-south route.

Most of the goods transported were rubber products from Guangxin County.

Putting aside everything else, there was a shortage of tires for horse-drawn carriages alone.

Often, before the caravan even sets off, all kinds of goods have already been pre-ordered by the counties and prefectures along the way.
If it weren't for the special status of Xingji City and Sulan City, which required freeing up some goods, caravans wouldn't have needed to travel so far.

The source of these rubber products was the guerrilla general's mansion in Guangxin County, or more precisely, the Li family.

Li Hebai's Li.

"This is to find the mistress of the General's Mansion for the next ten or even several decades," Gu Fugui murmured.

At the same time, it also serves as a way to find a manager for Guangxin's massive rubber industry.

It involves not only their Gu family caravan, but also Ren Ning, the Prince of Zhenguo's Mansion, the Grand Tutor's Mansion, and the Marquis of Zhongyong's Mansion in the Imperial Palace.

He couldn't help but take it seriously.

Ha ha.

Gu Shengnan chuckled, "I estimate that in a few years, this general's mansion will become a count's mansion or even a marquis's mansion."

After saying that, she looked down at the name on the letter.

These Wan families seem to be mostly fishermen.

"Don't worry, Madam," Gu Fugui smiled and glanced at the location of Xingji City, then said cryptically, "The current atmosphere in the court is completely different from when the late emperor was in power."

Gu Shengnan realized what he meant and nodded slightly, "Indeed."

Putting everything else aside, there are currently only two female masters in the palace.

Despite their humble origins, they lived a carefree life and enjoyed a stable position.

This made those powerful and influential people who wanted to take advantage of the new emperor's overdue reign to interfere in the harem extremely envious.

However, it was all in vain. Ren Ning held absolute power and could do whatever he wanted, so he didn't need to care about the help or opinions of these people.

Fortunately, both Yingpan and Li Hezhu lived up to expectations, and their behavior, character and virtue silenced many people's criticisms.

"Then this old servant will go and prepare."

"Go ahead." Gu Shengnan smiled and stretched. "It's been a long time since I've gone out. I'm really looking forward to seeing Miss Wan."

Pinghai County was a large county.

Wan Shilei's family did not live in Pinghai City, the prefectural capital, but in a small county not far to the north.

Gu Shengnan arrived with gifts on the afternoon of the third day.

Upon receiving the news, Wan Shilei rushed home and stared in disbelief at the large and small bags of gifts.

"So you are the head of the ancient merchants. I have long admired your name."

As the only female business leader in the entire Yun Chui region, Gu Shengnan was renowned.

Moreover, this is her hometown, Pinghai County, which Wan Shilei has naturally heard of.

"General Wan, you flatter me." Gu Shengnan looked him up and down for a moment, then smiled and bowed. "Shengnan has no empty title. It's just something people on the trade route call him in jest."

"General Wan is quite young, yet he has already taken command of an entire fleet. He truly is a hero among the young. Sheng Nan admires him."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two took their seats as host and guest.

With the year-end approaching, Wan Shilei is also busy.

He picked up his teacup and asked directly, "What brings you to my humble abode, esteemed head of the ancient merchants?"

“That’s certainly a good thing,” Gu Shengnan smiled. “However, I’m not here today as the head of the Commerce Department.”

As she spoke, she glanced towards the back of the house.

"I wonder if your sister is at home, General Wan?"

"My younger sister?"

Wan Shilei was taken aback. He quickly glanced at the many gifts around him and suddenly realized what was going on.

Gu Shengnan nodded, "General Wan guessed correctly, I did come here for your sister."

Wan Shilei couldn't help but wipe away his sweat.

He was quite skilled at fighting and killing, but he was really unfamiliar with blind dates.

"In that case, Chief Merchant, let's not bother with any 'General' or 'Little General.' You're probably a bit older than me, so just call me by my name or Brother Wan."

"That's perfect." Gu Shengnan nodded with a smile.

She has never been a fussy or nagging person.

"Then Brother Wan, please don't stand on ceremony and call me 'Head of Commerce,' just call me Sister Gu."

After the two agreed on their titles and dismissed the servants, Gu Shengnan explained the reason in detail.

"This kid," Wan Shilei said, both surprised and delighted.

He slapped his thigh.

"No wonder he always liked to come to me after we got ashore, saying things like 'Let's discuss and learn, let's learn.' It turns out his real intention was not what he was looking for."

"What does Brother Wan mean..." Gu Shengnan probed.

"What do I mean?" Wan Shilei was about to agree readily, but quickly stopped himself. "I need to sound out my little sister first."

“Of course.” Gu Shengnan was not surprised. “Marriage is about uniting two families, and the most important thing is that they are of one mind and have mutual affection.”

Wan Shilei nodded, and was about to take a step when he suddenly stopped.

"Sister," he hesitated, "is Her Highness the Imperial Concubine aware of this matter?"

Gu Shengnan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he understood the danger.

"Don't worry, I came here on the orders of the Imperial Concubine."

"I see." Wan Shilei wanted to ask something more, but in the end he held back and went to the inner courtyard with a frown.

The Wan family has expanded their house over the years, but the back courtyard is not very large.

After turning a slight corner, we found Wan Yueming feeding the fish.

Wan Shilei was quick-witted and explained his purpose in no time.

The little girl was so stunned that she forgot the bait in her hand and poured it all into the water.

She remembered Li Hebai.

That tall, upright man with a hearty voice, and as dark-skinned as his older brother.

The two even fed the small fish at their feet together.

“Brother,” the fisherwoman, regaining her senses, said without any embarrassment, “I don’t dislike him.”