Film and Television World Life Record

"To expose his true colors, we must get close to him. Once he's off guard at the banquet, my uncle can take the opportunity to test him. Even if he wants to refuse, he won't be able to."

"Wen Tian, ​​how could my uncle, such an important figure, have such simple considerations as you!"

He patted the folding fan in his hand and said, "Tonight, everyone, please enjoy the show!"

……

When Ning Yi returned to the courtyard, news of his return with Song Mao, and their pleasant conversation, had already spread throughout the Su family. After all, one was a son-in-law who had married into the family, and the other was one of the Su family's powerful backers in officialdom, as well as a relative of the second branch of the family. The fact that the two could chat and laugh so happily had indeed surprised many people.

At Qin Siyuan's residence, Song Mao personally revealed his kinship with the Su family, presumably hoping to strengthen their bond. After mentioning this kinship and hearing that he and Li Mu were also related, Qin Siyuan and Kang Xian indeed showed less of their usual verbal politeness towards him.

Song Mao may seem simple and honest, but he is actually quite shrewd. Dealing with such a shrewd person is actually quite easy for Li Mu.

Because such people are better at weighing the pros and cons and are more pragmatic.

As soon as she returned to the courtyard, Xiao Chan saw him, called out "Young Master," and skipped over.

"Young master, you don't know, we have guests today, and there will be a banquet at the manor tonight..."

……

The banquet began as usual, with seven or eight tables set up. The main members of the Su family, as well as some shopkeepers who lived nearby, all came.

Naturally, the younger generation, including Su Wenxing, could not be absent either.

As soon as Li Mu and Su Tan'er sat down, Su Wenxing and the others also sat down nearby, quietly observing them, looking like they were watching a good show.

Su Wenxing, in particular, whispered smugly, "You guys watch closely, my uncle will definitely come over later to test Ning Yi's knowledge. The show is about to begin."

However, to their disappointment, Song Mao seemed to have no intention of doing so. He chatted and laughed with the elders of the Su family for quite a while before standing up, picking up his wine glass, and walking around a few nearby tables to say hello, which was quite a show of respect.

Soon, the scene that excited Su Wenxing and the others arrived. Song Mao came to Li Mu, chatted casually for a few moments with a smile, clinked glasses with him, and then returned.

Everyone was surprised by Song Mao's politeness, but Su Wenxing and his group were stunned.

"how so…"

"Didn't we say we were going to test him?"

"Wenxing, what exactly did you say to your uncle? Not only did he not test you, but he also gave him so much face."

Su Wenxing's face was ashen as he hesitated, "Perhaps, Uncle feels the time isn't right, and he'll make his move later..."

However, even after the banquet ended and Li Mu and Su Tan'er left hand in hand, the scene remained calm.

Su Wenxing listened blankly to the complaints around him.

"What? There's no chance at all..."

"Wenxing, I'm not trying to criticize you, but if you can't persuade your uncle to help, just say so. Why do you have to fool us? And what's with all this talk about watching a show tonight?"

……

After leaving the banquet and returning to his residence, Song Mao washed his face and immediately felt much more awake.

I carefully opened the two calligraphy pieces I brought back today, admired them for a while, and then put them away.

Today's visit to Duke Qin was originally a routine one, but it was extremely fruitful. Putting aside everything else, my relationship with Duke Qin has clearly progressed further, and I also got to know Duke Kang.

Thinking of Kang Xian, he prepared pen and ink, took out a visiting card, pondered for a moment, and wrote: "To Kang Gong, my wise and virtuous friend..."

After finishing writing the invitation, Song Maosong breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he could take the opportunity to present the invitation and pay his respects to the esteemed gentleman the next day.

As for his adopted nephew, asking him to test Ning Yi's knowledge? What a joke! He had no intention of interfering in the Su family's affairs, and besides, his adopted nephew was utterly useless; why bother?

Chapter 593 Bamboo Record

After the banquet, back upstairs in the courtyard, Li Mu stood in front of the second-floor railing, listening to the distant temple bells and admiring the twinkling lights before him.

Suddenly, footsteps approached. Li Mu knew who it was without turning around. Unlike Xiao Chan's lively and energetic footsteps, Su Tan'er's footsteps were always so calm and quiet, showing the demeanor of a well-bred young lady.

Sure enough, after a short while, a silvery-white color came into view. It was the fox fur coat that Su Tan'er had just bought a few days ago after the weather turned cold.

Su Tan'er walked to Li Mu's side and stood in front of the railing as well.

The two were silent for a moment, admiring the myriad lights below. Li Mu turned to look at the beautiful yet somewhat naive face before him: "My wife."

Su Tan'er blushed slightly: "Yes, my husband."

She quickly composed herself and asked, "Does my husband enjoy the scenery here?"

Li Mu smiled and said, "Isn't the view excellent?"

Su Tan'er nodded slightly, a smile appearing on her lips.

"My lord may not know, but Tan'er used to live in this little building. She also loved the view from here and liked to stand here and look around."

As she spoke, she pointed around: "That's where Dad and Mom live...and Second Aunt's too, Grandpa's is a little obscured...Second Uncle's house is over there, Third Uncle's house is over there..."

As Su Tan'er pointed, she knew the Su family mansion like the back of her hand. Each courtyard was clear and distinct under her guidance. She even recognized most of the stewards and servants carrying lanterns and walking around the courtyards, pointing them out skillfully.

“When I was little, I often came to play in this little building and looked around. When my mother gave birth to me, she actually hoped it would be a boy, and my father also needed a boy to inherit the family business, but it was a girl. My father said it was good, that she would be a lady from a good family, but he was not very happy about it.”

"After that, he desperately wanted to have a son, but he never succeeded. He then married two concubines, but the same thing happened. That's when he became disheartened, but I could still sense the regret in his heart."

"Father dotes on me immensely, and has carefully nurtured me since I was a child..."

"Later, as I grew older, I was able to choose my own courtyard to move out, so I chose this courtyard and moved here with Xiao Chan and the others."

“Back then, the light here was good and the view was wide open. The room I stayed in is the one you are living in now.”

Li Mu said, "Then why did you move over there? Tan'er wouldn't have given it up on purpose, would she?"

Su Tan'er blushed slightly: "Of course not, I moved there more than a year ago."

Li Mu asked, "Why is that?"

Su Tan'er thought for a moment and said, "They're probably tired of seeing it. With a better view, you can see others, and many people can see you too. The view from that small building is a bit worse, but it's much quieter. Sometimes I don't really like crowds."

After talking for a while, Su Tan'er turned her head and asked, "Husband, do you have any ideals or ambitions? Do you feel wronged to marry Tan'er?"

Li Mu smiled and said, "Ideals and ambitions, huh? I'm doing just fine now. I have plenty to eat and drink, and I'm carefree. As for feeling wronged, my wife is beautiful, gentle, and dignified. Although my reputation as a live-in son-in-law isn't good, it's not really a case of feeling wronged. I just wonder when my wife will move in..."

Su Tan'er's face flushed instantly, and she stammered, "Husband, Tan'er... Tan'er..."

Li Mu laughed heartily: "My wife is so cute..."

Seeing Su Tan'er's face flushed crimson, Li Mu changed the subject, asking, "Tan'er, what are your dreams?"

Su Tan'er quickly composed herself, her face still flushed, but she regained her composure.

“When I was a child, I watched the performances of the opera troupe and found them very magical. I wanted to become an apprentice to learn magic tricks, but my parents disagreed. They said that a young lady from a respectable family should not learn magic tricks from the opera troupe.”

"As for what I'll be like when I grow up, I can't really say I have any ideals."

Li Mu nodded and gently put his arm around her soft waist. Su Tan'er stiffened for a moment, but quickly relaxed and nestled against Li Mu.

The two fell silent, taking in the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere before them.

Suddenly, there seemed to be movement downstairs. The two looked down and saw that it was Xiao Chan and her maids hiding in a corner of the building, chattering excitedly at the two of them.

Li Mu didn't think anything of it, but Su Tan'er was mortified. Her face turned bright red, and she hurriedly went downstairs, glared at the maids, and returned to her own small building.

Li Mu smiled, waved to the several rosy-cheeked girls, and turned back to his room.

……

A few days later, Li Mu came out of the school and walked to a busy intersection. He saw Nie Yunzhu and Hu Tao selling things in front of a small cart.

People come and go from time to time, so business seems to be pretty good.

Li Mu walked over, and Nie Yunzhu was delighted to see him: "Young Master Ning."

Li Mu asked, "How's business?"

Nie Yunzhu said, "Business is alright. Jianbing guozi and roujiamo are selling well, but scallion pancakes are not selling so well."

Li Mu nodded, it was something he had expected. Actually, with his guidance and several experiments over the past month, he had managed to make liangfen (cold mung bean jelly) and liangpi (cold skin noodles).

However, the weather is getting colder now, which is not in season, so we haven't launched it yet.

Nie Yunzhu then excitedly added, "The dining car is finished too. Based on the blueprints you provided, we found a blacksmith and a carpenter, and yesterday we finally finished making the dining car. When will you go and take a look?"

Li Mu said, "Let's do it this afternoon. I'll prepare some more things. You guys wait for me at home this afternoon."

Nie Yunzhu nodded happily in agreement: "Young Master Ning, the preserved eggs you mentioned should be ready by now. Hu Tao and I opened one today, and it's already set. There really are preserved eggs inside, but the taste is a bit strange."

Li Mu smiled and said, "If you don't like the original flavor, add garlic juice and vinegar sauce, and the taste will improve."

Nie Yunzhu nodded and said, "Next time I'll prepare some garlic sauce and vinegar sauce."

After chatting for a while, Nie Yunzhu said, "Why don't you try it again and see if our skills have improved?"

Li Mu smiled and said, "Okay, I'm actually a little hungry."

Soon enough, I had a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and a shouzhuabing (hand-pulled pancake) in my hands.

After bidding farewell to Nie Yunzhu, Li Mu returned to the Su residence. He easily devoured the various snacks, demonstrating his considerable improvement; they were considered delicacies in this era.

In the afternoon, Li Mu bought some painting tools and a small amount of various paints on the street before arriving at Nie Yunzhu's house.

The newly designed food cart is not only more beautiful and stylish than the original trolley, but it is also much larger. However, since it is mostly made of wood, the weight increase is not significant.

Li Mu drew a simple sketch on the scrap paper, took out his paintbrush, mixed the paint, and began to work.

Having been a painter before, he possessed a solid foundation in landscape painting, sketching, and oil painting. With this skill, he even managed to seduce Tang Yun in Yu Huanshui's world. Now, his brushwork was even stronger, and his technique was superior.