No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 712 Aunt, her last name is also Zhao [4k update, please give me a monthly ticket! Thanks to my friend "Mi Juice Ji" for the reward]

Walk out of Jiangzhou Lobby.

Ouyang Rong felt as if a heavy burden had been temporarily lifted.

Walk with ease.

Ever since he took over the post of acting governor of Jiangzhou in his capacity as the Sima of Jiangzhou, he has always felt as if a piece of iron was pressing on his heart, and his shoulders felt a little heavy.

It’s not like what Wang Caozhi said, that “Jiangzhou is one city and thirteen counties” is carried on his shoulders, and he became the weightlifting champion of Jiangzhou.

It’s that there are too many things to do and there is always something to do every day.

Although he could go home on time to rest every day and did not have to do much physical work, he would always be worried about many things when he got home: the Xunyang Grottoes, the Xunyang Palace, the Jiangzhou Hall, and Princess Anhui, all of which he had to keep an eye on.

When I open my eyes every morning, there are important things in front of me. My mind is always on them and I can't really rest.

Be prepared at any time in case Yan Liulang, Wang Caozhi, Pei Shisan Niang and others suddenly come to report urgent matters.

Not to mention that he had been running to the quiet courtyard in Xingzi Lake every day recently to accompany the embroiderer for dinner.

If this goes on for a long time, your body won’t be tired, but your mind will be tired.

In short, it's a lot of work.

In this situation, Ouyang Rong was really exhausted to be asked to guess the thoughts of Xie Lingjiang, Xiu Niang, Zhen Shuyuan, Rong Zhen and several other girls.

But as we all know, a man's energy is limited, unless he has several women at home, then it is unlimited, well, I mean big and small troubles.

After the last time the embroiderer was exposed and the Shura scene inside and outside the quiet courtyard occurred,

He has to coax them all, big or small, old or young.

Therefore, the matter that Xie Lingjiang had repeatedly reminded him of was scheduled for today.

Ouyang Rong got on the carriage and let out a long sigh.

He turned his head and looked at a food box on the seat next to him.

He reached out and touched the box, opened it a crack, and took a look.

A light icy mist emerged from the gap between the box openings, bringing a hint of coolness to Ouyang Rong's fingertips.

Crushed ice cubes are piled in the box for free, and wrapped outside with fresh straw, rice husks, leaves and other insulating materials.

A large bowl of chilled mung bean soup is stored safely.

"Sir, where are we going?"

"Where else can I go? Home." Ouyang Rong nodded seriously: "Going home during the holidays is only natural."

Ali: ...

In fact, Ali wanted to say that there were too many places for his son to go, and he couldn't remember the addresses he often went to. Ali even occasionally wondered if his son had other confidantes to meet secretly, and he, as a coachman, didn't know.

"Yes, son."

A carriage slowly drove out from the back door of Jiangzhou Hall and headed for the residence in Huaiye Lane.

It was the afternoon hour, which was around five in the evening. There were many pedestrians on the street, including many unfamiliar visitors from other places.

They were believers and wealthy guests who had come from all over Jiangzhou, preparing to view the Donglin Buddha after the celebration ceremony.

Some of them simply came to participate in the celebration ceremony. They were gentry from some counties in Jiangzhou who received invitations from the government.

After the collapse of the Xingzi Lake Buddha, Xunyang City, which had been silent for a long time, became more bustling and prosperous.

In the slightly bumpy carriage, Ouyang Rong withdrew his gaze and lowered the curtain.

He put the floral cloth bundle sent by Ah Qing aside and closed his eyes to rest.

The crisp sound of a wooden fish that rang in his ears at the right time reminded Ouyang Rong.

Ouyang Rong took advantage of the gap and entered the Tower of Merit.

【Merit: 7,208】

Looking at the shining cyan and gold characters above the small wooden fish, he looked a little surprised.

It has increased a lot in the past few days. The last time I checked, it was less than 6,500 merits.

In addition to the long-tail effect of merit growth provided by the construction of conventional projects such as the Zheyi Canal, Xingzifang low-rent housing, and the Donglin Buddha, there was another peak of merit growth after Ouyang Rong taught Pei Shisan Niang how to make ice with saltpeter and transported it to the Xunyang Palace.

Ouyang Rong thought about it and suspected that the source was either a new recipe for making ice or a new recipe for iced mung bean soup, or both.

Although they are not necessities for survival, these two items have obviously improved the quality of life of people in this era.

It is said that summer insects cannot talk about ice. Now they can talk, and they can help cool down.

No wonder Pei Shisan Niang carefully asked the gods the day before yesterday... No, asked her own young master whether he had told anyone else about the magical recipe for making ice with saltpeter.

After getting Ouyang Rong's answer "no", the beautiful woman was ecstatic.

She was clearly a charming young lady, but she was still like a young girl, kneeling down to massage his legs in a coquettish and cute manner, and she also gently reminded Ouyang Rong not to teach anyone else, and that this recipe was only known to her for the time being...

Ouyang Rong didn't care and agreed directly.

He didn't have the time to talk to others.

In fact, Ouyang Rong was aware of Pei Shisanniang's active thoughts, but he just didn't care.

This business woman had a keen sense of business and naturally realized the principle that scarcity makes things valuable and that monopoly is the key.

In the newly built Bingjian business, every link of ice production was strictly controlled by her. The same was true for several cave workshops that mass-produced saltpeter. They were strictly guarded, as if they were going to make the exclusive recipe passed down from her ancestors.

Judging from how much Pei Shisanniang values ​​it, the profits that this craft can generate are estimated to be greater than the Xingzifang land. It is still a very high-quality industry. In a sense, it is just like panning for gold...

Of course, it is estimated that Pei Shisan Niang is most happy about more than that. It is not only the profit, but also the fact that she can surpass Wang Caozhi. The latter is not in Xunyang City and is not with the young master, so she just missed this golden business opportunity.

It is no wonder that Pei Shisan Niang and Wang Caozhi did not get along at first sight. It was not just a dispute between the old and the new about who came first, but whoever was closer to Ouyang Rong would be more favored and more likely to get opportunities and good luck first.

Because both of them are big businessmen, they have a set of business teams that operate smoothly and are able to meet Ouyang Rong's needs. After being closer to Ouyang Rong, they can benefit more from him because even a little money that flows through the big men's fingers is enough to feed the people below. The most important thing is that the big men don't care and don't haggle like the small men.

Therefore, they can both replace each other and monopolize the "brother-in-law" or "young master".

When you dislike someone, don't doubt that he definitely dislikes you too.

Pei Shisan Niang deeply agreed with this.

When she thought about how Wang Caozhi would be beating his chest and stamping his feet when he came back and found out that she had taken away the "hen that laid golden eggs" first... Thinking of this, Pei Shisan Niang smiled happily and felt refreshed.

Ouyang Rong doesn't care much about these things. As long as the open and secret struggles among his subordinates under his nose are benign and within the framework of his plan, it's fine.

At the moment, he was only concerned about how much ice Pei Shisan Niang could supply to the Xunyang Palace and store it in the ice cellar.

This is what Ouyang Rong cares most about right now.

As for the impact of this saltpeter ice-making method, it has only just begun to show up and there is still a long way to go before it can be scaled up.

Whether it will be possible to help Pei Shisan Niang to develop a leading business that is famous in Da Zhou and monopolizes the industry is still too early to tell, and Pei Shisan Niang will have enough troubles to deal with.

However, after this incident, Pei Shisan Niang became even more loyal and even awed.

Because no matter how deep the faith or how much loyalty one has, it still needs some interests to maintain. People are born to admire the strong and want to stand on the side of the strong and the winner, even if they are the self-proclaimed winners, it is better than knowing that their side will definitely lose, unless there is a sacrifice plot. This is called seeking benefits and avoiding harm.

"Is the young master a god?"

Thinking again of the words uttered by the beautiful woman that day, Ouyang Rong couldn't help laughing.

I glanced at the still silent Fubao bell again.

Ouyang Rong touched the round little wooden fish and thought for a moment.

More than 7,200 merits were enough for him to use the Supreme Pure Art Descending God Order twice, and there were still 1,200 merits left. For a moment, he couldn't think of how to use it...

But soon, as if he had thought of something, Ouyang Rong covered his mouth, coughed, and walked out of the Merit Tower.

Inside the carriage, on the cushioned seat, Ouyang Rong opened his eyes again, touched his chin, and muttered in a barely audible voice:
"More than 1,200 strokes... I think the embroiderer should be able to bear it. She cried when she got to the end last time. She clearly wrote in her writings before that she was very good at enduring pain and had been used to suffering since she was a child..."

He was lost in thought for a while.

Until the carriage under him suddenly stopped.

The sound of the brakes brought Ouyang Rong back to his senses.

"Sir, we're home."

"Ah."

Ouyang Rong straightened his clothes and got off the car carrying a floral cloth package and an insulated lunch box.

Before entering the room, he suddenly remembered that he had not been intimate with the embroiderer for a long time.

There are so many merits that they are about to overflow.

One important reason was that he and the embroiderer had a three-day abstinence agreement.

Another reason was a series of events in the past few days, such as the incident when Junior Sister and Ms. Rong discovered the embroiderer, and the fact that he stayed in the closed Shuangfeng Peak for ten days.

These things delayed the two's mood, and for a moment they tacitly agreed not to go down that path.

Which path to take?

Of course, it is the way of the Yue girl killing the evil dragon and the gentleman ferrying people across the river to deliver merit.

……

When Ouyang Rong entered the room, Zhen Shuyuan was patrolling the inner quarters with her maids.

That's right, it's patrolling the territory.

Although the house in Huaiye Lane is small and exquisite and not very big, as the mistress of the house, she needs to manage the inner house and show her authority, which means she needs to take the maids around the house and clean up anything she doesn't like.

It's the same as the street urchins who spend all day shopping. If you don't walk around a few times, how can others know that it is your territory? One of the most helpless shortcomings of humans is that they can't mark their territory by peeing like lions, cats and dogs do.

Seeing Ouyang Rong coming back, Zhen Shuyuan was a little surprised:
"Oh, it's rare to see Tan Lang before the sun sets. What happened today? The sun is rising from the west?"

Ouyang Rong looked a little embarrassed:

"Aunt, what are you talking about? This time, I will take three days off and be ready to accompany you."

After listening to this, Zhen Shuyuan's first action was to lean over and look behind Ouyang Rong, examining something carefully.

"What are you looking at, Auntie?"

Ouyang Rong also turned around curiously and looked behind him.

But there was no one behind.

He heard Zhen Shuyuan say in a serious tone: "I want to see if Tan Lang has finished accompanying the other girls, otherwise how can it be my turn? According to my summary, I should be the fourth or fifth in the order of Tan Lang's accompanying women. My turn has to be at night, and I will definitely not be able to make it before the sun sets."

Ouyang Rong:......

"Humph, brat."

Zhen Shuyuan snorted coldly and glanced at Ouyang Rong who looked slightly embarrassed.

But after all, he was the most beloved nephew, the only pillar and only child of the family, a relative who truly depended on each other for survival. Zhen Shuyuan would never blame Ouyang Rong. She criticized him verbally and then the beautiful woman in silk skirt happily ordered the maid to hand Ouyang Rong a face towel, took his dusty coat, and welcomed him into the main hall to have tea and rest.

After wiping his face vigorously, Ouyang Rong dismissed all the maids, leaving only him and Zhen Shuyuan in the main hall.

Ouyang Rong placed the floral bag and insulated food box he brought back on the table and handed them forward.

"what is this?"

Zhen Shuyuan looked a little curious and started to open the floral bundle.

Ouyang Rong said softly, "Ah Qing sent it to me. She asked someone to send it to me to celebrate your birthday."

Zhen Shuyuan smiled widely, but she hadn't completely unpacked the package with both hands, so she didn't know what the gift was inside.

"Okay, okay, it's not in vain that I love Ah Qing, and Tan Lang didn't make a mistake in recognizing his adopted sister. When I first saw her two years ago, I thought she was pleasing to the eye. She is filial and grateful, just like her brother..."

When Zhen Shuyuan said this, she noticed that Ouyang Rong's expression changed a little. Knowing that she had mentioned something that she shouldn't have mentioned, she immediately shut up.

After a while, she changed the subject.

"I like this shawl. Ah Qing's craftsmanship is really good... By the way, the contents of this box look like food."

Ouyang Rong saw Zhen Shuyuan take out a stack of bright red gauze shawls from her bag, unfold them with satisfaction, try them on the spot, and fiddle with them for a while. Then, the beautiful woman in the silk dress turned her eyes to the insulated lacquer box next to her.

"This is called iced mung bean soup, which is made by boiling mung beans and then freezing them..."

Ouyang Rong introduced it, opened the lid of the box, and brought out a bowl of soup.

Zhen Shuyuan picked up a silver spoon and asked with her eyes downcast, "Who gave this to you?"

"The soup is made of..."

Ouyang Rong spoke slowly, looking at Zhen Shuyuan's face from the side. After she scooped a spoonful and put it to her red lips to taste it, he said:
"It's the friend who sent me cakes last time."

"Sending cakes? Those mung bean cakes?"

"Ah."

Zhen Shuyuan suddenly dropped the spoon and said, "I can't eat cold food these days, especially this cold food. Take it away."

Ouyang Rong took the spoon, wiped it with a handkerchief, scooped a mouthful and put it into his mouth, and said in a somewhat unclear voice: "Well, it's my aunt's birthday in a few days, and my nephew plans to invite her over and bring some cakes..."

Zhen Shuyuan interrupted: "No, we don't need any cakes at home, and Wei Lai can make them, so we won't bother anyone else."

Ouyang Rong emphasized: "My nephew wants to eat it and loves to eat it. Only she can make it."

She said bluntly: "Go talk to Kankan."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "I have."

Zhen Shuyuan, who had originally snorted, suddenly frowned and looked Ouyang Rong up and down.

"You are well prepared, kid. What's her name? What's her identity?" She waved her hand, "Stop talking about good friends and being so secretive. Who is she from? What's her family situation? She can't be the lady named Rong Zhen, right? She looks too young, like a little girl. Can she have a baby..."

Ouyang Rong interrupted: "It's not her."

Zhen Shuyuan saw that her nephew was sitting upright, looking straight ahead, and asked seriously:
"Aunt, do you still remember that ice-white jade hairpin?"

Zhen Shuyuan said casually: "You kid are talking nonsense. How could I not remember the relic left by Sister Zhao? I gave it to you personally..."

Before she could say anything, she heard Ouyang Rong nod slightly and say something that stunned her on the spot:

"Send her."

"you……"

Zhen Shuyuan saw him pause for a moment and continued:

"It originally belonged to her. Her last name is also Zhao."

……

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(PS: Sorry it’s a little late, there will be another update around 5am!
Today is still a double update, please vote for me! )

(End of this chapter)