In the tenth winter of Jinghan, Bianliang.

The snow started falling in December. Although everyone said that a timely snow promises a good harvest, in this tenth year of the Jinghan reign, the entire second half of the year had been quite prosperous, with a longer period of warmth, providing more opportunities for many.

As the cold season arrived, the entire city of Bianliang, both inside and outside, seemed to be enveloped in a warm current. The relief and distribution of porridge and food by wealthy families inside and outside the city to beggars gathered outside the city had never ceased. With the recovery of Yanjing, the nation's enthusiasm for war seemed even higher. Wealthy merchants and gentry outwardly called for the early pacification of Yanyun, while inwardly engaging in acts of benevolence and kindness, truly demonstrating a unified national spirit from top to bottom.

For the literati, the city of Bianliang in this winter was a place that everyone flocked to. Since autumn, scholars from all over the country had gathered in Bianliang. Some were candidates who had come early for the spring imperial examinations, while others were seeking official positions after the news of Yanyun's recovery.

There were already too many scholars in the Wu Dynasty, and the problem of having more with official titles than available positions persisted and continued to grow. However, if the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were to be recovered, a large number of positions would immediately become available. Under such circumstances, it was definitely necessary to lobby for an official position.

The gathering of literati not only caused all the inns in the capital to be overcrowded but also led to a continuous stream of literary gatherings and events, making the brothels' business exceptionally booming. Although, in the eyes of some harsh literati, the large number of eulogistic texts inevitably suffered from the regret of being repetitive and lacking innovation, such a prosperous era was still worth praising. With the imminent capture of Fang La, the pacification of Yanjing in the north, and the execution of the Liangshan bandits, the style of poetry prevalent in Bianliang during this period was slightly more heroic than before. The scholars seemed to have the ambition of Ban Chao, who traded his pen for a sword.

Under such circumstances, in a sense, a name that had been somewhat related to Fang La, Liangshan, and even the poetry of Bianliang this year gradually faded from the upper circles of Bianliang after the uproar of the Dragon Boat Festival, becoming an existence that only some people knew, and whose mention would evoke feelings of regret and incomprehension. This name was Ning Yi, Ning Liheng.

After returning to Bianliang from Shandong, he did not formally join the Secret Intelligence Division, nor did he enter the Imperial Academy, seek fame, or appear in any public official settings, as Qin Si Yuan had suggested he consider. Apart from holding a nominal position among Qin Fu's staff, for the rest of the time, this meritorious official who had just broken up Liangshan returned home, entering a leisurely life that seemed to be focused on "supporting his wife and raising his children," and "enjoying his old age," with only some commercial plans arranged behind that life gradually taking shape in a relaxed manner.

But of course, for people of Qin Si Yuan's caliber, business was completely outside the concept of "major affairs."

At this time, due to managing the Northern Expedition, his reputation also rose with the tide, and within the Right Prime Minister's mansion and the Secret Intelligence Division, which almost held power over the court, the truly exciting event of this year was neither Tong Guan's Northern Expedition nor the Southern pacification. Only Ning Yi's going to Shandong and resolving the Liangshan hidden danger in two months was a real shot in the arm.

Regarding Ning Yi's abilities demonstrated in these matters, especially his skill in controlling people's hearts revealed in the great defeat of Liangshan, although it was eerily close to demonic, if one wanted to accomplish something, ordinary matters would certainly not be difficult for him. Qin Si Yuan had ideas on how to use this person, but even after discussing with Jue Ming, Yao Zunian and others, he could not grasp it accurately. However, in the end, Ning Yi returned to Bianliang but chose to hide behind the scenes, which was indeed beyond everyone's expectations.

If it were an ordinary young man, Qin Si Yuan and others would not have allowed him to "mislead himself" like this. But Ning Yi acted and spoke with a natural air, especially this time when he returned, although he confessed to others that he did not want to enter officialdom now, his attitude towards future matters did not show a sense of escape but seemed to have his own ideas. He promised that he would definitely come out to help if the Prime Minister's mansion had anything to do in the future, but beyond that, he seemed to have a large number of his own ideas that he wanted to pursue, giving people the feeling that he could not be distracted.

Qin Si Yuan knew that he was complex. After the events in Hangzhou and Liangshan, it was difficult for everyone to see clearly what his Confucian system and the ideal of creating peace for all generations really looked like. According to their previous thoughts, Ning Yi might have encountered difficulties when he was disheartened at the beginning. Now that he had his own plans, it must have been due to this. After failing to persuade him, they said nothing more, only saying that they would give him a staff position in the Prime Minister's mansion and a position in the Secret Intelligence Division. Although he would be idle on weekdays, he would have to come over to help when needed. Ning Yi nodded in agreement.

In this way, he faded out of the Bianliang circle.

Of course, for the past three months or so, Qin Si Yuan and others might have regretted their initial decision about Ning Yi. Because during this period, he had not done much at all. If it were to be summarized, in the bustling and noisy atmosphere of Bianliang for several months, Ning Yi had started a troupe of jugglers, bought several blacksmith shops, paper mills, kilns, wineries, and even shops selling rice...

And so on.

For ordinary people, these odds and ends seemed complicated, but in the eyes of Jue Ming, Yao Zunian, and others, they were just small errands that could be bought casually with money. They didn't know if Ning Yi had done any research beforehand, but the whole buying process seemed very leisurely. Ning Yi didn't put in much effort, as if he had just bought some things casually while enjoying his leisure time, and then concentrated the resources and manpower of these things to a manor in the suburbs, making some centralized and directional transformations.

Only when Ning Yi's interest involved rice shops did Qin Si Yuan remember something and have a chat with Ning Yi, mainly because of the "pounders" and "windmills" that Ning Yi had created in Hangzhou. These things had not spread at that time, but now Qin Si Yuan had to consider the impact they would bring. He asked Ning Yi, and Ning Yi nodded, admitting that he did want to write something on this.

At this time, the Wu Dynasty was rich, but the gap between the rich and the poor was large. For the upper class, eating refined rice was a matter of course. But honestly, the process of shelling rice grains had always been quite cumbersome, which to some extent determined the price of refined rice. If Ning Yi was really prepared to make these things, since the technical content of the pounders was not high, although they couldn't be profitable for ten or eight years, with Ning Yi's ability, it would be very easy to make a lot of money in the short term. If this rice milling process were to be expanded in the future and the price of refined rice were to drop, it might not be a bad thing, but at the moment, there would be quite some trouble.

"...Although my dynasty is rich now, the poor are not short of livelihood, but after all, it is a time of war, and the logistics are extremely tight. If the Jin people threaten again after the fall of Liao, this tension will continue. At this time, if the price of refined rice is suppressed, even those with slightly wealthy families will eat it, and the shortage of rice may become a problem. Therefore, I hope Liheng will temporarily seal this thing away..."

This was just one of the things that Ning Yi was interested in. Since Qin Si Yuan had spoken, Ning Yi gave up on this matter. As for other matters, apart from the high-proof liquor that he had had in Jiangning, his arrangements were casual and leisurely, and few people could see his intentions. In short, for Jue Ming, Yao Zunian, and others who were beginning to get to know Ning Yi, this young man, who originally had many opportunities to show his face in front of others, strangely disappeared from that time onwards, doing some small things that others couldn't understand in the complex circle of Bianliang.

The same confusion was also in the heart of Li Shishi, the top courtesan of Fan Lou, on the other side of Bianliang. Especially when winter came and literary gatherings flourished in Bianliang, she occasionally thought of that name and became even more puzzled.

When Ning Yi left Bianliang in May, she had been paying attention to various events in Shandong. Later, after hearing about the entire situation, it was difficult for her to describe what she felt. However, when Ning Yi returned from Shandong at the end of August, apart from seeing her once to report that he was safe to a friend, Ning Yi's name did not appear in the many grand events in Bianliang in the following months. She knew that this fellow villager was in Bianliang and also knew that he was very powerful, but like air, he had disappeared like that, and every time she thought about it, she became more and more puzzled. In such a feast where so many people were so wholeheartedly displaying their talents, what exactly was that person doing...?

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Early morning, a warm room. As the room's owner opened the window, letting a sliver of cold air into the room, the sounds that arose in the air, besides the ridiculously out-of-tune singing, were the baby's playful calls.

"Little girl... gets up early in the morning, insists on exercising! Good health! We sing, we dance, we wish everyone... Happy New Year..."

"Ah ah ah... Wah wah wah..."

The little baby, dressed like a ball, sat on the bed, waving his hands and calling out with his voice, showing his good mood. The woman who got out of bed was still buttoning her clothes: "Not ready yet, not ready yet, I haven't put on my clothes yet, don't open the window, husband, what if Xi'er gets cold..."

"Su Tan'er, how can you eat if you're so slow? My Ning Xi is not so pampered, right?"

In the room, in the stove used for heating, the honeycomb briquette, which had only appeared on this earth for the first time not long ago, was still burning, and the water on it was already very hot. When Ning Yi picked up the child who didn't cry much after getting up, Xiaochan and Juan'er had already brought in a basin of water. After mixing in hot water, they wrung out a towel and gave it to Ning Yi. After applying it to his face, Ning Yi pressed it on the baby's face to wipe him for a while while it was still hot.

Ning Xi cried almost when he was being messed around by his father, but after wiping, his face was red like an apple. When Xiaochan took the wronged child away, Ning Yi shook his head: "A little hotter is good, how dare you resist." Then he went to wash his face.

Su Tan'er walked over and poked Ning Xi's face: "Daddy is too bad, right?"

"I already heard you talking bad about me."

"Hmph!"

After moving out and living separately, the feeling of a family was formed in these two months. In fact, when Ning Yi had just returned from Liangshan, the feeling at home was not so lively. Su Tan'er was used to being precocious and managing a family, and Xiaochan and others had long been familiar with the pace of a large family. Rules must be strict, and the master must have prestige. Especially when Ning Yi left to avenge the Su family, Su Tan'er supported a family and needed more control over her family. In the beginning, they were worried about Ning Yi's safety and had to adapt to a new place, so the days... were a bit dull.

After Ning Yi came back, everything changed.

A family must have such a backbone. After he came back, Tan'er and others truly had a reliance. In the current world, this feeling was especially obvious. However, because of Ning Yi's return, everything seemed to have gone too far in another direction.

Ning Yi was not too particular about rules. Although he was the "master" in this house, he was only in his twenties and had no airs at home. Sometimes he carried the child around, made jokes with his wife and Xiaochan, and was kind to the new servants. Although some of the servants who had come from Jiangning knew how powerful Ning Yi was, the atmosphere of the entire family had become almost completely different from that of the Su family in Jiangning after two or three months...

After Ning Yi came back, everything changed.

A family must have such a backbone. After he came back, Tan'er and others truly had a reliance. In the current world, this feeling was especially obvious. However, because of Ning Yi's return, everything seemed to have gone too far in another direction.

Ning Yi was not too particular about rules. Although he was the "master" in this house, he was only in his twenties and had no airs at home. Sometimes he carried the child around, made jokes with his wife and Xiaochan, and was kind to the new servants. Although some of the servants who had come from Jiangning knew how powerful Ning Yi was, the atmosphere of the entire family had become almost completely different from that of the Su family in Jiangning after two or three months...

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Let us start a new story from a warm life ^_^