Di Ming

Chapter 14 Shocking Change
Ning Caiwei called out "Aunt Xu" and then froze.

She rubbed her eyes, looked around at everything, and slowly a bitter smile appeared on her face.

"So it wasn't a dream after all."

"I thought... I would just fall asleep and go back."

Two lines of tears silently slid down, dripping onto the animal skin rug.

Zhu Yin stroked the mottled patterns on the wall and said in a desolate tone:

"A gamma-ray burst is a once-in-a-millennium event. That night, we must have encountered a time wormhole created by a gamma-ray burst."

"It was a flashpoint in the universe that we just happened to witness."

"Sigh, I still have so many things to do."

“My parents only have me as their son. They are getting old and will never see me again. I haven’t had a chance to fulfill my filial duties.”

"At least you should be able to fulfill your filial duties to your parents and your two brothers."

At this point, Zhu Yin couldn't help but shed tears.

For many years, he hasn't shed a single tear.

He was worried about his parents!
Ning Caiwei reached out and wiped away Zhu Yin's tears. "Why are you crying too? Let's not cry anymore. You are a citizen of the country. You have been designated as a martyr. Your parents will be taken care of."

"Compared to you, I'm not worried about my parents. What I'm worried about is... the Ning Group."

Zhu Yin patted her hand, "As long as we survive, you will definitely be able to rebuild the Ning Group. Sister Caiwei, with you, there is the Ning Group."

Ning Caiwei, her tears still wet, smiled a fragile smile, as delicate as Ru porcelain, and nodded:
"You're right, I will definitely build another Ning Group. The company name will be Ningyin Trading Company, what do you think?"

“Ningyin Trading Company?” Zhu Yin thought for a moment. “Very good. It can represent the Ning Group and also conforms to the ancient naming conventions for commercial entities.”

Ning Caiwei said, "And I'm representing you too. Without you protecting me in the officialdom and shielding me from the storms outside, what could I possibly achieve?"

"I can't even imagine what would have happened if it were just Qingchen and me without you?"

"I'm afraid the best outcome would be to become the wife of an ancient man, forced to abide by the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, and become a victim of feudal ethics."

"With you, I have hope and direction."

She is a very clear-headed person, and has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, with a knack for seizing opportunities.

The moment she realized she had traveled to ancient times, she knew that Zhu Yin was her only hope, her irreplaceable and unique resource.

She must be firmly bound to Zhu Yin, becoming an unbreakable community of shared destiny.

As for the method, nothing is more suitable than emotion.

No matter how rich or powerful she was before, it's all useless now.

She had to adjust her mindset immediately, change her role, and establish a new relationship with Zhu Yin on an equal footing.

She did it in just one day.

Next, she must ensure that Zhu Yin is not assimilated by ancient men or poisoned by feudal ethics, maintains the respect and tolerance that modern men have for women, and upholds the awareness of gender equality.

If she can do this, she's already halfway to success!
This man is a smart one. To achieve this, she must reciprocate with sincerity, genuine feelings, and honesty.

Then, Ning Caiwei suddenly added, "There were a lot of rumors circulating in the company before, about us. I was never actually angry."

"For the sake of the Ning family, I have never been in a relationship or had any romantic experience. Looking back now, it was a very correct decision. Well, I guess you could say it's a blank slate."

Zhu Yin understood Ning Caiwei's meaning when he heard her words.

She was subtly telling herself that she was still a virgin.

I got a great deal.

Another underlying motivation was exchange; the other party wanted to proactively share their own romantic experiences.

Zhu Yin couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

This woman is a bit clumsy when it comes to relationships. Her hints aren't clever at all; instead, they make her seem rather naive.

Zhu Yin, of course, wouldn't immediately reveal his romantic history, so he feigned ignorance and changed the subject, saying:
"Oh no, how are we going to wash up?"

"We don't have toothbrushes or toothpaste."

Ning Caiwei, who is naturally fond of cleanliness, was immediately and successfully attracted his attention.

"Damn it! What do we do? How do the Jurchens wash themselves?"

Zhu Yin said, "Using a pig bristle brush is very rough. As for toothpaste..."

"With salt?" Ning Caiwei asked.

Zhu Yin shook his head: "The Jurchen nobles used tooth powder purchased from the horse market trade, which is the Ming Dynasty version of toothpaste. The effect was quite good, not much worse than toothpaste in later generations."

"But these poor Jurchen hunters certainly couldn't afford it. They probably used bone meal, mostly fish bone meal mixed with wood ash. That certainly wouldn't be very effective."

Ning Caiwei got up. "It's good that we have something to use. I thought we wouldn't have anything."

"Hmm, once we get back to the Central Plains, we'll make it ourselves. And toilet paper... that's a real problem."

The two changed into a set of Jurchen fur coats and put on leather hats, making them indistinguishable from Jurchens at first glance. Upon entering the courtyard, they saw the host family wiping their faces with snow.

Sure enough, they used an extremely rough wild boar bristle toothbrush, almost rough enough to brush shoes.

The two chose a new brush, dipped it in a suspicious, grayish powder, and almost spat it out when they put it in their mouths.

The smell of wood ash mixed with fish bone powder is more than just bad.

After brushing their teeth, both of them felt a burning sensation in their mouths, which was very uncomfortable, and their throats even hurt a little.

But it does seem to have a cleaning effect.

Ning Qingchen, who was in the cradle, had already had her fill of Jilan's milk and smiled as she looked at her older sister.

But when she saw Zhu Yin, her gaze became extremely complicated.

The black dog had finished drinking its milk and was brought back from the neighbor's house by Meh.

Zhu Yin stroked the black tiger's fur and felt that it was much smoother than yesterday.

After a quick wash, it was time for breakfast.

Compared to yesterday's occasional splurge on a "feast," this morning's meal was clearly a "home-cooked meal."

There were only dark, mixed-grain steamed buns, a little mare's milk for each person, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a little dried meat.

This is the everyday life of poor Jurchen people.

Don't assume that just because the Jurchens were a fishing and hunting people, they could eat meat freely.

They were required to regularly offer game and grain to the Mukunda and the city lord, and they were also exploited.

Hunting and fishing are mostly fruitless, and it also depends on whether the hunter god will be lenient.

They also farm, but the harvest is poor and the yield is low. They also have to make regular offerings, which are of course not enough to eat.

Overall, there was meat, grains, vegetables, and dairy. Sounds good, but there was very little of each.

Only on special occasions such as inviting shamans, welcoming guests, celebrating festivals, or holding sacrificial rites will people have a special feast and eat more lavishly.

But in Zhu Yin's view, the life of the Bo Luoli family was probably better than that of the most miserable Han Chinese people in the Central Plains.

After all, they have the bounty of forests and rivers, and their population is sparse. No matter how hard life is, they won't starve to death.

After eating, the Boroli father and son hurriedly went into the mountains to hunt again.

Young Meh was going to break the ice and catch fish in a nearby river, and Zhu Yin went along to help.

He can't just sit around doing nothing. His employer isn't wealthy either.

As expected, the Jurchen girl named Galo gathered a few girls who hadn't grown their hair long yet and came to find Ning Caiwei to pick mushrooms.

Several young girls rode half-grown horses, carrying light bows of three or four pecks each, looking quite dashing.

Ning Caiwei had practiced horseback riding before, but her riding skills were only average; it wasn't that she couldn't ride at all.

She went mushroom picking with Galo and the others on horseback. Ning Qingchen, the infant, was naturally cared for by her wet nurse, Jilan.

……

The days passed like this.

Zhu Yin followed Meihe and other Jurchen youths every day to fish and hunt.

Ning Caiwei followed Galo and the others to pick mushrooms and look for ginseng every day.

Ning Qingchen and Black Tiger were only responsible for nursing.

Every night, Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei would chat for a long time on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) before falling asleep.

The two gradually became familiar with this way of getting along, their feelings for each other deepened, and they became more and more accustomed to each other's presence.

The weather is gradually warming up, and more than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

February has arrived.

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei decided that they would set off in a few days to leave this fence.

On this day, Zhu Yin and Meh had just returned to the courtyard when a Jurchen woman rushed in, looking terrified.

"Oh no! Zhu Yin, your young wife has been kidnapped!"

"It's a cavalry unit from the west! They captured Galo and the others! They're not from Wangjia's tribe!"

Zhu Yin's expression changed drastically, as if he had been stung by a scorpion.

"Cavalry from the west? Are they Nurhaci's men?"

His voice trembled.

I can't imagine Ning Caiwei's situation.

"Yes, yes!" The Jurchen woman stamped her foot. "From what I heard them talking, they're going to offer several young princesses to Nurhaci!"

(End of this chapter)