After the city gates were closed, Qin Lao had been staying at home most of the time, not going out much. Occasionally, old friends like Kang Xian would come over for a gathering, but it wasn't as frequent as their chess games used to be. Today, Ning Yi and Nie Yunzhu arrived in the afternoon. After being greeted in the living room and chatting for a while, Ning Yi and Qin Lao strolled and talked in the courtyard outside the study, while Nie Yunzhu was called over by Yun Niang and Madam Qin. They probably already knew about Yunzhu's situation and showed her great warmth and kindness.

Ning Yi had previously brought up the idea of Nie Yunzhu recognizing Qin Lao as her adoptive father, but it hadn't been formally discussed between Qin Lao and Nie Yunzhu. Therefore, it was better for Ning Yi to bring it up at this time.

Regarding the issues that arose from this matter, Ning Yi naturally couldn't say that he and Nie Yunzhu were not involved. Of course, he wouldn't think that Nie Yunzhu was responsible either. It's hard to say who's right or wrong, but since it happened, it's best to handle it and avoid causing trouble for others. Fortunately, Qin Lao was understanding. When Ning Yi roughly explained what happened at Yan Cui Lou last time, he understood what Ning Yi meant and why he brought these things up.

However, after pondering for a long time, he didn't immediately express his attitude.

"This year's flood, the scale of the disaster upstream, is the worst in decades. Although Jiangning and its surrounding areas have closed the city gates, it seems calmer than in previous years. Do you know why, Liheng?" Qin Lao paused. "In Jiangzhou, although the disaster is severe, the relief organizations have already taken in over two hundred thousand homeless victims, and the number is still increasing. Yet... it is said that the order is well-maintained, and no epidemics have occurred. In Hedong Province, which was hit by the Yellow River's breach, Fenzhou and Jinzhou, as well as Langzhou and Guizhou, are all properly handling the aftermath. In the past, epidemics would have broken out and become difficult to control. Although there are some epidemics this year, they are being isolated by some well-ordered prefectures and counties and have not continued to spread..."

"Oh." Hearing Qin Lao mention this, Ning Yi nodded. Since the city gates had closed, information from outside was difficult to get in, and Ning Yi hadn't been paying much attention. Only after hearing Qin Lao did he vaguely know about these events outside Jiangning.

"Jiangzhou, Fenzhou, Jinzhou, Langzhou, Guizhou, and other places have mostly used or referenced Liheng's methods. Although they seem simple, they are very effective. I have recently been thinking about the reasons behind this. In any case, hundreds of thousands of people have benefited from Liheng. Yet, Liheng came today just to talk to me about trivial matters of reputation..."

Qin Lao smiled, but Ning Yi shook his head and smiled, "One thing at a time. Originally, it was taking advantage of you, Qin Lao. You're not particular, so agreeing is a favor, and not agreeing is reasonable. But once you've received a favor, it's not good to push your luck. Qin Lao, you may not care, but I can't take it for granted. That's the principle of being a person. It's hard to say whether this matter is right or wrong, but reality is reality. If we add more trouble, it won't be good. The main reason isn't that I feel bad, but that Yunzhu feels bad..."

Qin Lao nodded and remained silent for a long time. Later, the two set up a chessboard in the study, and the old man said, "A few days ago, I heard Minggong mention your conversation with Li Pin. Have you seen Mingyun recently, Liheng?"

Ning Yi shook his head. "I've been busy lately, but he sent a pair of quirky siblings to seek me out as their teacher. Haha, it's good that I haven't seen him. Brother Lu said that he might scold me if we meet..."

"Haha, those are the Zhou family's siblings, Zhou Yong's children. They are promising talents, but their status limits them. If they really want to do something in the future, it will probably be difficult." Qin Lao smiled, picked up a chess piece, and then paused. "It was because of Liheng's remarks that I discussed it with Mingyun for several days. Then, after hearing about the Su family's affairs, Mingyun explained it in a complex way. Do you have any idea about it, Liheng?"

"It should be resolved."

Ning Yi didn't take the matter to heart and replied casually. Qin Lao looked at him and finally put down the chess piece. "That's good then. Since Li Pin is your friend, and I heard Mingyun say that he is quite talented, if he goes to the capital, I can write a letter of recommendation for him."

"Then I will thank Dexin for that." Ning Yi smiled. "By the way, that Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Fu Ying, wasn't he in your faction before?"

"Nonsense, you brat..." Qin Lao scolded with a smile, but then sighed. "I had already resigned when Li Pin was selected, but Fu Ying was indeed promoted by me in those years. He has a somewhat biased personality, but he does things well. In certain matters, factionalism is common in the court, and I can't do much about it. I heard Mingyun say that Li Pin's policy essay happened to contradict Fu Ying's proposed salary increase policy, and his words were a bit harsh. Scholars are like that, and there are always shocking articles every year. Who knew Fu Ying's reaction would be so intense? He probably got mocked by some political enemies in public. Sigh, this kind of thing..."

From beginning to end, Qin Si Yuan didn't mention Ning Yi's conversation with Li Pin that day again. The two played a game of chess and only talked about trivial matters, as well as some information about other places. When Ning Yi and Nie Yunzhu bid farewell and left, it was almost evening. Neither of them mentioned their attitude towards the "adopted daughter" matter again.

"Liheng... have you already said it?" On the way back to the small riverside building, Nie Yunzhu asked softly. Ning Yi nodded. "I said it, but he didn't nod or shake his head."

"Hmm?"

"Haha, Madam Qin and the others are very good to you, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are very good." Yunzhu nodded with a smile. "I'm just afraid of burdening them in return."

"From now on, just treat them as relatives and visit them occasionally. There's no need to formally recognize anything. After a while, it will naturally fall into place. They are all good people, so it's fine to be friends."

"... Okay." Yunzhu thought for a moment and nodded. "Aunt Yun asked me to go shopping with her tomorrow and to bring Jin'er along."

"That's good."

After sending Yunzhu home, Ning Yi was about to turn back when she called him to stop.

"Liheng, the Su family's matter..." Yunzhu looked at him, thought for a moment, and then found the words, "It will definitely be okay."

Ning Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Don't worry."

He returned home, and it was already dinnertime.

Afterwards, time gradually entered August. It was a serious, chaotic, yet seemingly stable month. Except for some truly insightful and intelligent manipulators, perhaps very few people could see clearly what was happening in Jiangning's weaving industry during this month, and what trajectory those surging undercurrents were following.

The city gates were closed, but life had to go on as usual. Every day seemed no different from the past. People worked and lived their lives. The brothels were still lively every night, while the disaster victims inside and outside the city were living in increasingly dire straits. If the new disaster control methods used by several other prefectures hadn't relieved the pressure on this side, the sense of oppression in this city would probably be even more severe. Of course, even if it was severe, it was only something that ordinary civilians could feel.

The matter of the imperial merchant for the Weaving Bureau would surface for the first time in late August. It was said that there would be a gathering of the weaving industry at that time, a celebration in the name of congratulating the successful disaster relief, and then interested merchants would bring their fabrics to present to the imperial family. The decision had already been made, but the news was only circulating in private. For example, to celebrate the successful disaster relief, the merchants would certainly have to take practical actions to give enough porridge and share the burden of the government.

The few merchants who had previously taken on the role of imperial merchant would naturally not give up, and the Su family, Xue family, and Wu family's expressed interest in the imperial merchant also drove some medium-sized merchants, turning the recent situation in the weaving industry into a muddy pool. Among them, although Su Boyong was paralyzed and Su Tan'er was bedridden, the Su family's momentum was still the strongest. At the end of July, after Su Boyong's injury stabilized and was made public, the Su family's Old Master's efforts and various connections finally paid off. The assassin who attacked Su Boyong, Chen Er, confessed that he was indeed instructed to assassinate Su Boyong, and that the Su family had framed him for the death of his wife and children.

Who was behind Chen Er could not be found out, because he didn't know either. But after the bad reputation was cleared, it undoubtedly increased the Su family's chances of winning the imperial merchant, and the managers and stewards of the main branch were greatly encouraged. The second and third branches were relatively silent. Even if the Su family was confirmed to have driven someone to kill their whole family, the impact on overseas business would be limited. On the other hand, the imperial merchant would be the first to be affected. Now the Old Master was paving the way for the imperial merchant. Could it be that the Su family would really be led by Su Tan'er in the future?

In the midst of the chaos, no one could see what late August would bring. The second and third branches seemed calm, and the Xue family, Wu family, and other merchants were also competing for the imperial merchant in their own ways, discussing business, seeking connections, and no schemes or calculations appeared on the surface. During this period, Ning Yi, as the temporary leader of the Su family's main branch, began to integrate into the Jiangning weaving family.

He participated in some social events and met some people. In the past, as a scholar, he didn't need to participate in these things. But now that Su Tan'er was bedridden, he had some necessary social events to attend. The most important of these was probably the weaving industry gathering at the end of July, a gathering that was held every month. Because in Jiangning, the weaving industry had its own guild, and the head of the guild was the Wu family, now the leading player in Jiangning's cloth industry.

During this time, Ning Yi also met Wu Chenghou, the father of the Wu brothers, Wu Qilong and Wu Qihao. As the head of the guild, he was a seemingly humble and authoritative middle-aged man, and he specifically talked to Ning Yi for a long time: "We are all in the same industry, and although we are competitors, we are also good teachers and friends. If any family has goods that are not in place in time, others will lend a helping hand. That's the friendship. I have long heard of your talent, Liheng. The Su family has a good chance of winning the imperial merchant this time. You don't have to take the Xue family's words to heart..."

He said this probably because the Xue family and Su family had long had a feud. According to Chan'er and Juan'er, the Wu family had always mediated. This time, when he saw Xue Sheng, the father of Xue Jin and Xue Yan, the other side was somewhat lukewarm, but Xue Yan had a good attitude towards Ning Yi and specifically had dinner with Ning Yi to apologize for the last time.

In addition, there were Chen Dixin of the Chen family, Lu Tianhai of the Lu family, and so on. Over the course of nearly a month, Ning Yi roughly learned the entire outline of the Jiangning weaving industry, and these people in the weaving industry probably had a simple understanding of him.

He certainly had talent, after all, he was the number one talent, but a scholar entering the business world was obviously somewhat at a loss. Although he didn't participate in many social events, he spoke with grace and had a good temperament, but he also had an unchangeable scholarly air. The Su family was in trouble, and this son-in-law obviously wanted to help, but having no experience was just having no experience. After a month, he hadn't actually accomplished anything.

In fact, after that blunder at He Fang's place, he had only done two things in total.

The first was that he had closed a deal, which was originally a deal with no suspense, but since Ning Yi had signed it, it had to be pinned on him. There was nothing to talk about, but it was still something. And the other thing was that after racking his brains, he made a reform to one of the shops.

At the time, Ning Yi seemed very confident in everyone's eyes. He racked his brains for several days, then formulated some rules, and then let the shop assistants in one of the shops use them first. To this end, he trained these assistants for three days, told them to say "Welcome" when customers entered the store, and standardized some wording, adding many seemingly specialized terms. However, this reform only lasted for three days, and they scared away many customers because it made them feel uncomfortable.

Thus, this scholarly reform failed, becoming a joke in Jiangning's weaving industry. Ning Yi seemed to have been hit hard, and after that, he didn't do much other than the fixed daily inspections.

During this time, he also saw He Fang, but of course, they didn't talk too much about the imperial merchant. He also followed several stewards to solicit business and meet with some officials from the Weaving Bureau, but it didn't have much effect. Some people used to feel that he wouldn't be so simple—for example, Xue Jin, but after more than twenty days, he lost much interest because it was very simple, a scholar entering the business world was supposed to be like this.

He couldn't play any role in the matter of the imperial merchant, and perhaps he was just a facade. After that, no one relaxed their vigilance, because the Su family's stewards had been constantly operating under Ning Yi's performance, pushing the call for the imperial merchant to the highest level.

There were no schemes or calculations. During this period, the Su family had been advancing the process of obtaining the imperial merchant in an incredibly aboveboard and open manner. The Xue family, the Wu family, and others had no way to deal with it. Because in the final analysis, the Su family had been preparing for several years, but they hadn't. With a thin foundation, at least on the surface, they could only fall behind.

During this time, Zhou Pei and Zhou Junwu often came to the Su family's cloth shop to wait for Ning Yi to come over, and gradually developed a slightly strange way of getting along...

The seemingly calm, tedious, tense, and monotonous August was gradually coming to an end. The dark tide was accumulating under this normal appearance. At this time, no one knew that the next few days, and the month that followed, would completely change the current situation of Jiangning's weaving industry—of course, perhaps many people already knew. They were just guessing the wrong direction.

Ning Yi was just casually and boredly watching. For him, there were several interesting things in life, but the cross-section of life displayed in the various cloth shops at this time hadn't really entered the depths of his mind. He would occasionally glance at it casually and then turn his gaze elsewhere.

What was going to happen was just slowly waiting for it to happen.