Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

With the wedding date still some time away, Lin Yanzhou considered it and decided to go back to Xuanshuo to see how things were going.

Lin Yanzhou didn't delay the procurement of supplies. The morning after returning from the Civil Affairs Bureau, he went to the wholesale market on the outskirts of the city. The market was huge, with a continuous stretch of corrugated iron roofs, and boxes of goods piled up on both sides of the aisles. The air was filled with the smell of cardboard boxes and plastic film.

He pushed a flatbed cart through the aisle, stopping first in front of a daily necessities wholesale store. He discussed several sizes of instant noodles with the owner: boxes, bags, flavors didn't matter, any instant noodles would do. The owner paused after hearing his order, his pen hovering over the paper as if to confirm: "How many do you want?" "Five thousand boxes," he said, then added, "and bottled water too, five thousand boxes." The owner turned to look at the inventory list, muttered a number, and quoted another price. The owner took the form, filled it out, stamped it, and asked, "Are you dealing in disaster relief supplies?" Lin Yanzhou didn't answer, but simply took the form, folded it, put it in his pocket, and continued pushing the cart inside.

He walked past several shops and bought boxes of shampoo and soap, as well as bundles of towels. He also ordered a batch of liquor and beer. When he put the stock into his ring space, he arranged them along the corners for easy access later.

He paused as he passed the chemical raw materials section and went into a shop. The shop wasn't large; the owner behind the counter was squatting on the floor arranging a stack of woven bags. Lin Yanzhou stood in front of the counter for a while, looked at the price list, asked about the prices of saltpeter and sulfur, and then gave a number. The owner stood up and glanced at him: "What do you need so many for?" Lin Yanzhou said, "For use in the mines."

The shopkeeper didn't ask any more questions. He turned and went to the warehouse to prepare the goods. When he came out, he was pushing two flatbed carts, each loaded with neatly stacked woven bags, the openings sealed tightly. Lin Yanzhou paid the money, and after the shopkeeper turned back, he also put the bags of raw materials into his ring space.

The hardware store is located at the very back of the market. Its storefront is narrower than those outside, but it is very deep, with shelves extending all the way to the back.

When he entered, the shop owner was sanding the handle of a file with a piece of sandpaper. He glanced up when he saw a customer come in. Lin Yanzhou walked around the shelves and picked out high-carbon steel files, precision tweezers, vernier calipers, and magnifying glass sets. The quantity was not large, but the variety was complete, all of which were needed for delicate work in the North Campus.

While waiting for his boss to issue the invoice, he casually added, "If you have any sand molds or refractory clay for casting, please prepare a batch of each for me as well." The boss closed the invoice and said, "These things aren't always in stock. If you need them, you'll have to wait until this afternoon."

"No rush, let me know when it's ready."

When he came out of the market, his trunk was empty, but the ring's storage space was already filled with quite a few items.

As he started his car and drove towards the city, he glanced at the silver ring on his left hand while waiting at a red light—the surface of the ring gleamed with a uniform, dark sheen in the sunlight. He thought to himself: This ring is truly a treasure.

When they returned to the villa that evening, Xiaoya had already prepared dinner. Xiaozhou was doing his homework in his room, and only one lamp was on in the living room, casting shadows on the edges of the dishes on the table.

Xiaoya sat across the table, picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it in his bowl: "Leaving tomorrow?"

"Hmm." He finished his food and said, "The matter over there can't be delayed any longer."

Xiaoya didn't say anything for a while, then asked, "How long will it take?"

Lin Yanzhou said, "Um, it could be a day if it's fast, or a week if it's slow." She nodded, lowered her head and continued eating, without asking about the specific duration.

After dinner, Xiaoya washed the dishes. Lin Yanzhou sat in the living room for a while and heard the sound of the faucet being turned off in the kitchen.

When she came out, she took off her apron and draped it over the back of the chair. She stood by the table and glanced at him. "Then get some rest." Her tone didn't change much when she said this, but she didn't leave immediately. She was waiting for him to put down what he was holding or stand up first.

Lin Yanzhou turned off the living room light, and the two walked back to the bedroom along the corridor. The streetlights outside cast a thin, dim light on the curtains. She lay down first, turned to her side, and faced him. The light was still on, and the light fell on the edge of the bed, illuminating the space between them clearly.

The light had a different texture than the one I saw that night in Moscow; it was warmer, like a layer of residual heat being slowly absorbed by the air, continuously penetrating along the texture of the skin.

"Aren't we legally married tonight?" Lin Yanzhou said mischievously, putting his arm around her slender waist.

"You're so annoying..."

The next day, before dawn, Lin Yanzhou woke up. He didn't turn on the light, but first turned his head to listen to Xiaoya's breathing. She was still asleep, turned towards him, her shoulders rising and falling slightly in the morning light.

As he got up and dressed, she turned over in bed, her voice still groggy from just waking up: "What time is it?" "It's still early. Sleep a little longer," she mumbled in response, then curled back into bed.

Before leaving, Lin Yanzhou went to Haozi's factory. The door to the spare workshop was already open, and the ventilation system was being installed, with ducts extending along the ceiling. When he went in, Haozi was squatting at the stern of a ship, holding an angle grinder, grinding the rust layer at the hull seams, sparks flying onto the ground and then going out.

He heard footsteps, looked up, and turned off the angle grinder. Lin Yanzhou stood in the workshop for a while, checking the installation progress of the air circulation system and the extent of hull corrosion: "How long will it take to repair these ships?"

"A month if things go smoothly," Haozi said. "Two coats of primer and one coat of topcoat are needed. The propulsion system can only be installed after the hull is cleaned of rust, but we can decide on the location in advance." He paused, turned his head to look at him, and asked, "How long can you wait?"

Lin Yanzhou said, "Just proceed at your own pace." He bent down and touched the bottom of one of the ships, feeling the surface of the hull slowly adjusting its temperature, as if it were transitioning from a humid port storage environment to a constant indoor temperature environment.

He straightened up, turned his head to look at Haozi, and said, "I'll take those farm tools with me when I come back next time. If there are any finished parts, bring them along too. Just follow the original plan." Haozi nodded, restarted the angle grinder, and sparks began to dance on the edge of the hull again.

As Lin Yanzhou walked out of the spare workshop, sunlight streamed in from above the factory gate, casting a growing glare on the ground. He opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, and started the engine. He didn't rush off; he sat behind the wheel for a while, confirming that the supplies in his ring space had been properly arranged. Daily necessities and hardware tools were in their proper places, and the explosives raw materials were stored separately in a designated area, kept at a distance from the surrounding items. Then he shifted gears and drove the car out of the factory gate.

I wonder how things are going with Xuan Shuo. The ore hasn't given any warnings, so everything should be going smoothly. I wonder how the princess, Xiao Lan, and Xiao Yu are doing.