Xuan Zhi presented his name card, which caught the attention of the registration clerk. At present, conscription was not compulsory and not enforced household by household. Moreover, most families in Yun County were not so hard - pressed that they would join the army for the meager subsidy grain. The young man in front of him looked good - looking and was dressed well, like a young master from a wealthy family. It was really unexpected that he would be willing to enlist.
However, the clerks were quite troubled by the difficulty in recruiting soldiers. They were afraid that if the recruitment situation didn't improve, the imperial court would change the voluntary conscription policy to a household - based one, which would be even more troublesome.
So, the clerk showed a big smile to the young man in front of him, saying that it was really admirable for a young man of his age to have such a sense of responsibility.
Xuan Zhi didn't waste time talking to him. After finishing the registration, he went into a food shop. He bought the spiced pork elbow that Shen Yuning liked. After thinking for a while, he also bought some snacks for Yuanbao and Huzi. Then he carried the food bag and went back home.
As soon as he got home, he saw Dr. Hu holding a pot of wine, happily saying goodbye to Shen Fugui.
Xuan Zhi stopped in his tracks. Standing at the door, he felt extremely nervous and even a bit hesitant.
Shen Fugui glared at him impatiently: "Why did you secretly learn massage? We can afford to hire a doctor. Why waste your time on this? Hurry up and come in. Your sister - in - law has stewed soup today."
Xuan Zhi's ears turned red as if they were bleeding, but he pretended to be calm on the surface: "Anyway, I have nothing to do... It's a pity that I'm going to join the army soon. I won't have the chance to massage for sister... in the future."
Shen Fugui took the food from his hand, carried it to the kitchen and arranged it. Then he called the whole family to have dinner.
Compared with the talkative Shen Yuning and Zhang Rong, the two men in the family were much calmer. They said that Xuan Zhi was old enough and should make a name for himself. He couldn't follow Shen Yuning around and be a silent laborer all his life.
Xuan Zhi kept silent. When he heard Zhang Rong say something about making contributions and finding a suitable wife in the future, he finally looked up seriously and said: "Actually, I'd rather be a laborer following sister."
Zhang Rong spat and said: "Nonsense! If you always rely on your sister, which well - born girl would take a fancy to you?"
Xuan Zhi didn't mind. He gave a soft laugh and asked: "Then what kind of men do well - born girls like?"
Zhang Rong counted on her fingers: "Good - looking, from a good family background, and with their own abilities. Such young men are what girls like."
Hearing this, Shen Fugui immediately got agitated. He probably meant to say that wasn't he good enough and wasn't it out of necessity that Zhang Rong married him back then?
Xuan Zhi didn't listen to their argument. He just lowered his head and thought carefully. The one who excelled in all these three aspects was probably Chen Wenwei from the Chen family.
Old Man Zhang didn't think that much. He put a chicken drumstick into Xuan Zhi's bowl: "Eat more. You're too thin. Don't listen to your brother and sister - in - law's nonsense. You're still young. It's not too late for a man to get married at twenty."
Then he sighed deeply: "It's your sister that I'm really worried about. She's already eighteen or nineteen years old. She's too picky. It's really a problem."
Shen Yuning didn't care at all: "Why worry about me? I'm the head of my own household now and I have money. It's not a big deal if I never get married in my life."
Old Man Zhang quickly scolded: "Yuning, don't talk nonsense. How can a girl not get married? People will laugh at you!"
Xuan Zhi chimed in: "What's there to laugh at? With my sister's looks and qualities, ordinary people are not worthy of her. Moreover, she's already a rural noblewoman. Do you still want to find a match for her in Xitian Town, Uncle?"
This was exactly what Old Man Zhang was most worried about. Although he always showed disdain for others outside, saying that his rural noblewoman in the family wasn't in a hurry to get married. But it was actually him who was anxious in private. That Master Chen had sent a letter, but it seemed that Yuning didn't take it seriously.
If she didn't marry into a good family like the Chen family, where else could Yuning marry?
Xuan Zhi continued: "When I earn military merits in the future, I can support Yuning for the rest of her life."
If Old Man Zhang hadn't been inconvenient to move at that moment, he would really have stood up and beaten Xuan Zhi. What did it mean to support Yuning for the rest of her life? Did it mean that Yuning would never get married?
Xuan Zhi ignored Old Man Zhang's anger. He just stared at Shen Yuning seriously: "Yuning, marriage is a major event. It's better to be single than to marry the wrong person."
Shen Yuning agreed deeply. She nodded with a slight smile: "Don't worry about me. But you must write letters often after you leave. Don't be reckless. Do you understand?"
Such nagging words continued until Xuan Zhi set off. The whole family was reluctant to part with him, but they still saw him off.
A few days after seeing Xuan Zhi off, Shen Yuning welcomed the former Master Wan again.
The whole Zhang family was on high alert when they saw Master Wan. However, Master Wan looked sincere this time. He didn't look like the frivolous suitor he used to be.
"I'm just passing by here. I just wanted to come and see how you all are."
Since he was polite, Shen Yuning wouldn't make things difficult for him. She nodded and said that everything was fine. Then she casually asked: "Where are you going, Master Wan?"
Master Wan smiled: "I'm going to Wuyun."
The Wan family was a well - known merchant family in the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was normal for them to go to Wuyun to buy and sell goods. But perhaps because of the letter from Wuyun Prefecture before, Shen Yuning had some thoughts in mind. Hearing what Master Wan said, she looked up at him. After hesitating for a moment, she said:
"I've heard that the goods in Wuyun are exquisite and very valuable. I think Wuyun must be a good place."
Master Wan shook his head lightly: "It's not entirely true to say that they are exquisite. The goods in Wuyun are just special. As for the place, it's close to the barbarian lands. There's a lot of sand and dust. It's not a good place."
Shen Yuning looked at him in confusion. If it was so bad, why was he going there?
Master Wan seemed to see what was on her mind. He continued to smile and said: "Normally, even for business, I don't need to go there in person. But since a war is about to break out, the Wan family has prepared carriages, horses, food and fodder and is going to transport them there in advance."
Shen Yuning was even more surprised. Carriages, horses, food and fodder were things that the imperial court should prepare. Why were the merchants asked to prepare them in advance? And even if the imperial court assigned the task to a merchant, shouldn't it be the Qiao family, the number one imperial merchant?
Could it be that the title of the number one imperial merchant was going to be given to the Wan family?
Shen Yuning had had an encounter with the Qiao family before. She didn't like the way the Qiao family looked down on others. But the Qiao family had been the imperial merchant appointed by the emperor for generations. How could it change so easily?
Master Wan drank the bitter tea brewed by Old Man Zhang. The bitter taste covered the original fragrance of the tea, but it didn't make people feel disgusted, just like this family.
He looked up and said: "In this kind of major event, the imperial court officials all declined the task of escorting the food and fodder. They knew that the Ministry of Revenue had no money, and there was no profit in this task. If a war really broke out in the future and the subsequent supplies couldn't keep up, they would be the ones to be punished. In the end, it was Lord Chen, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue, who took on the task and was willing to escort the food and fodder there in person."
Lord Chen, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue?
Shen Yuning opened her eyes wide and asked: "Is it... the fourth son of the Chen family who used to serve in Yun County?"
Master Wan nodded: "It's him. I know that he had an acquaintance with you before. But this time, it's not that he didn't want to come and see you. He really has too many things to deal with. Raising food and fodder has already kept him extremely busy."
Shen Yuning didn't care about these things. She was just confused about why the Wan family was involved.
Master Wan said calmly: "People often say that there are no honest businessmen, as if we have no conscience. I used to be a person who only cared about profit. But last time, after hearing what Miss Shen said, I suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment. Whether the Wan family is the first or the second is just a vain name. But when I think about it carefully, the great wealth of the Wan family has no solid foundation. It's normal for it to collapse in an instant."
He looked at Shen Yuning blankly for a while and then continued: "Foundation is not something that can be obtained overnight. In comparison, conscience is the first step. People often despise merchants for being short - sighted. But if there were no merchants, how could people's exchanges and the country's development be so fast? This time, I know that the war drums on the border are about to sound. I just thought that since the Wan family has come this far, it's time for us to do something to benefit the common people."
It wasn't until Master Wan said goodbye to Shen Yuning, got on his carriage and left that Old Man Zhang patted his chest in fear. Looking at Shen Yuning, he asked: "I was really afraid that he would come again and force you to marry him. Now that Xuan Zhi is not here and Lord Chen has also left Yun County, if he forced you, I really don't know what to do."
"He won't." Shen Yuning didn't say much. She went back and drank the half - cold tea on the table. "But Uncle, your tea - brewing skills have improved a lot."
Old Man Zhang gave a silly smile and didn't say a word.
Shen Yuning looked out of the window. They were staying in this small town and only had a vague idea about the big events outside. But today she suddenly realized that peace only existed in this small corner. Outside, it had already been hit by storms. Otherwise, why had they only heard the news of voluntary conscription here, but the imperial court had already arranged for supplies to be transported to Wuyun early?
As for that Master Wan, she used to think that he was probably just a direct descendant of the Wan family, so he could do whatever he wanted. But now it seemed that this Master Wan must have a lot of power in the Wan family, which was why the family agreed for him to take on this difficult task that the Qiao family didn't want.
She stood up and found Shen Fugui: "I'm going to take a trip."
Shen Fugui was in the kitchen, making dinner with Zhang Rong. Hearing this, he looked back at his sister in surprise and asked: "Where do you want to go? Let's go together after dinner."
Shen Yuning shook her head: "I don't mean that. I'm going to travel around other prefectures, counties and towns."
Shen Fugui stopped what he was doing: "Do you want to open a shop? Isn't all this the business of Uncle and the others? You just need to stay at home and manage the overall situation. Just wait for their letters."
Shen Yuning laughed: "Brother's words make me think of the story of Zhao Kuo fighting on paper. It's the same with opening a shop. I just make random guesses based on the letters from the prefecture government about where it's suitable to open a shop. But all these are just what others told me. I haven't seen it with my own eyes. How can it count? I want to go there myself, choose the place myself, and manage my own shop myself."