.

  Dong Zhaode's words resonated deeply with Chen Qu Shui.

  At the age of fifteen, he would never have dreamed that his journey as a candidate for the imperial examination would end in failure; at thirty-three, he could not have imagined that he would fail to even become a decent staff member; at fifty-six, he thought he would spend the rest of his life alone and unnoticed in the cramped little house on Dongxiang Street, but he never expected to move to this peaceful village, where on snowy days, he sat by the window with glass panes, burning a brazier, warm as spring, drinking Liu'an melon seeds with a twelve-year-old girl.

  "So that means those assets are in your name but you can't use them?" Chen Qu asked, taking a sip of the clear tea.

  "Unless I marry far away," Dou Zhao said with a smile, "the steward will have to follow me to my husband's household; otherwise, replacing him would offend the second mistress."

  "What a pity." Chen Quanshui sighed, "I carefully looked at the list of assets under your name, and the shops are spread all over the country. If we can establish some rules, these shopkeepers and apprentices will become our eyes and ears in no time, and nothing that happens in the world will escape our notice."

  Dong Zhao was startled and laughed, "People who do business are not necessarily good at being a commander, and commanders are not necessarily good at doing business. To find someone who can do both is too difficult, and it's probably very costly to maintain, not worth the gain." But Chen Quanshui's words also reminded her, she thought for a moment, "So I think, can't we start another business outside of the Dong family's industry? The funds don't need to be too large, best if we can open branches. From Kyoto to Zhen Ding - we need to keep an eye on Wang You Sheng and Kyoto's movements, so that if something happens, we won't react slowly and become passive."

  Chen Qu Shui thought for a moment and said: "I found out that Miss's ancestors made their fortune by lending money at interest..."

  Dong Zhao's face turned slightly red.

  "Miss, don't misunderstand me," Chen Qushui hastily said. "If you want to know the dynamics of Kyoto, the best way is to do a business that allows you to talk to those high-ranking officials at any time. And all those high-ranking officials are scholars. Why don't we open an ink and brush store, and also sell some current writings, official records, and alumni records?" He said this with a strange smile, "If someone needs it, we can also lend them some silver for temporary use." What do you think?

  Dòu Zhāo thought carefully and had to admit it was a good idea.

  "Who can I let take care of this pen shop?" she pondered, "Zhao Liangbi is too young and can't hold his own, besides the Duan family has always mistakenly thought he was a member of the Zhao family and suspected that he might be my uncle's informant. As a result, they would tell him everything, so I could always know what was going on over there. I also wanted to let Zhao Liangbi learn from the experienced managers at the Duan family, just in case we had a falling out with them one day and needed someone to help manage the situation. He is absolutely indispensable. As for others... Cui Da won't do, and Cui Thirteen, I plan to have him follow Duan Qijun..." Surprisingly, she couldn't find anyone suitable, or rather, in this lifetime, it was hard to find a few people who could be trusted.

  Miss seems to trust Xiū Sān very much?

  "They need silver at home," said Du Zhao, "and the boys in their family are the most numerous. If there is a division in the house, there will be more people who can speak." Of course. The main reason was Du Qijun. Fifteen years later, his edge directly threatened Du Shixu. She pondered that if Du Shixu couldn't fight against Wang Xingyi, should she support Du Qijun and Wang Xingyi to fight?

  In the past she didn't dare think about it, but now that there's someone helping her with foreign affairs, maybe she can give it a try.

  Isn't it said that the brave get killed by being too full, and the timid get starved to death?

  Dong Zhao thought for a moment, then heard Chen Qu Shui say: "Miss, whether at home or in the temple, what makes others surrender is not necessarily the one with the loudest voice, but the one who speaks with the most weight. Since you've made up your mind to rely on your nephew from home, why don't we start now and pick a few key ones among your nephews to interact with..."

  "This matter will trouble Mr. Chen then." She chose Dou Qijun, but this life and the previous one had a big change, choosing a few more would be more powerful for her later, and it was also a test of Chen Quanshui's eyesight. Dou Zhaosheng said, "I grew up in Dongdou since I was young, these people are all very good in my opinion, I'm afraid it's hard to be impartial."

  What kind of family is the Dòu family?

  In front of and behind, there were more than ten jinshi, which was the kind of family that had been passed down for hundreds of years in Jiangnan, and even they didn't dare to underestimate him. He could pick out supporters from among the Yu family's children, and Chen Quanshui's heart, which had long since cooled down, began to thump thump thump again, as if a scorching summer day was about to arrive.

  "Alright." He said without hesitation, "I'll send over some candidates in a few days. You can see who's suitable and who isn't."

  Dong Zhao was very pleased and said, "I think it's better this way. We'll open a pen and ink shop, the head of the shop will be a serious businessman, and the second in charge will be Cui Shisan. His main task is to socialize with the nobles in the imperial court and then feed back some information about Kyoto to us in time." At this point, she couldn't help but burst out laughing, "This kind of thing he's most skilled at and also likes the most."

  He turned around in a circle, and in the end, Cui Thirteen still returned to her hands. However, from being the respected steward of the Jin'ning Marquis's estate, he became the second-in-command of a small shop. If he knew about his past life and present life, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would jump up?

  "Should we write a letter of surrender?"

  "No!" Du Zhao almost shouted back.

  In her previous life, the Cui family was afraid of having a hard time, so they proactively wrote a letter of surrender and followed her into the Jin Ning Hou Mansion. Cui thirteen accompanied her with utmost loyalty, but from time to time, she was ridiculed by Wei Tingzhen, which was a pain in her heart.

  "If any descendants of the Choi family still want to rely on us," she said calmly, "let them write a letter of reliance."

  Chen Qu shook his head in satisfaction.

  Dong Zhao braved the wind and snow to return to Xi Dong.

  Mr. Jiang said that if you don't come back to class again, he will resign and return to his hometown.

  "Then let him resign and return to his hometown." Du Zhao said coldly, "You get me some hot water, I want to take a bath, and then accompany Aunt Cui to chat." Clearly telling Qiukui that she still wouldn't be going to class today.

  Qiu Kui did not dare disobey and followed Dou Zhao's orders to serve her in washing up.

  Jiang Yougong sat in the study, waiting until the lanterns were lit but still didn't see Du Zhao. He was so angry that his fingertips turned white as he held the book. He told a servant to pass on a message to Du Zhao: "With Spring Festival approaching, I haven't returned to my hometown for 7 or 8 years now. I want to close up shop early and go back home for New Year's." After that, without waiting for Du Zhao's response, he directly ordered the servants to help him pack his things.

  Dong Zhaorong sent twenty taels of silver as a farewell gift to Hongtou: "The mountain is high and the road is far, spring has arrived, it's time for snow to melt, sir should stay in the countryside to enjoy his grandchildren."

  Jiang Yougong immediately smashed a teacup at that time.

  Since the face was torn, Hai Tang didn't show any courtesy either. As he walked out, he muttered in a voice that Jiang You could hear: "Don't even look at where this is, that tea cup is a new Fencai from Guanyao, one set costs ten taels of silver, and you're still a scholar, how can you not have any eye for things?"

  Those little servants, maids and old women who came to serve also changed their faces, doing things in a slow and dragging manner. After two days of effort, they still hadn't finished putting things away. In the cold winter, the meals they brought were either cold or too salty and oily, making it hard for people to swallow.

  Jiang Yougong had never received such treatment since he came to He's mansion as a tutor.

  He couldn't wait any longer and found two people outside to help him pack his luggage, then hired a car back to his hometown.

  Only when he returned home did he remember that he should write a letter to He Wenda and Dou Shiying.

  When the letter arrived at He's residence, He Wenda had already received an apology from Dou Shiying in person: "...My daughter is shallow and ignorant, Mr. Jiang's lectures are ten times more than she can understand, and she is a weak and delicate woman who cannot persist in attending school every day. I apologize for the disrespect, please forgive me, Mr. Jiang. I have sent 500 taels of silver as a gift to Mr. Jiang."

  He Wenda was very anxious and recommended another one to Du Shiying: "This person is ordinary in terms of moral character, but he is proficient in all aspects of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. He is also a master of poetry and painting. Teaching Ling Ai some elegant and nourishing things would be quite suitable."

  Dow Shiying repeatedly thanked him and wrote a letter back to Dow Zhao: "This time, absolutely cannot let the person run away again. Once is someone else's fault, but twice, three times, can it also be someone else's fault? Some things don't need to be taken too seriously, just treat it as if our family has raised an idle helper."

  Is this what Father should say?

  What does she have free time for?

  Dong Zhao threw the letter aside.

  "Grandma called her over: 'The New Year is approaching, and the other family doesn't have any relatives, it must be very quiet. Let someone bring some New Year's goods to visit them. And then see if we can buy the martial arts hall of the other family. If I can die in my ancestral home, when I meet my ancestors in the underworld, I won't be ashamed.'"

  Dong Zhaozheng got on his horse and Dong Shiyin looked at the sky which had just cleared up, took the sweet dew and white silk to go to Zhendingzhou.

  Ganluo and Suoyu were on their first long trip in this life, seeing Doutu Zhao closing his eyes to cultivate his spirit. Along the way, they quietly lifted the carriage curtains to look outside, whispering and chatting about private matters, extremely happy.

  When they arrived at another house, they met Chen Qu Shui at the door. He was also carrying a lot of packages and had come to deliver goods for the New Year.

  Bie's sisters were very grateful and hurriedly invited Du Shaohe and Chen Quanshui to the barn, while Bie Sulan entertained Ganlu and Sujuan in the kitchen next door.

  Bie Gongyi had already fallen into a coma, and he was able to hold on for so long entirely because of the good medicine, most of which was bought with silver given by Duan Zhao.

  She handed over the deed of the Bie family martial arts hall to the Bie sisters.

  The Bai sisters burst into tears at once.

  Dong Zhao smiled and said: "You should thank Liu Zizhuang instead."

  Liu Zizhuang was the one who bought Bie's Martial Arts Hall when Bie was in a difficult situation. When Zhao Liangbi wanted to redeem Bie's Martial Arts Hall, he didn't say much and sold it back to Zhao at the original price.

  The Bian sisters nodded without a word, and Ganluo and Su Xiang looked at them curiously.

  Bie Sulan went to cook while Ganlu helped with burning fire beside her and quietly asked what was going on.

  A loud and clear voice of a young man came from outside: "Junior sister, I'm here to see Master."

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  Sisters, soon we will have 600 pink votes... o(n_n)o Haha ~

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