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Autumn passed and winter arrived, the weather turning cold. Across the plains, caravans came in waves, and then departed.

In the southwestern lands governed by the Huaxia People's Government, workshops near several large cities began to multiply at a visible pace. Simple and complex relay stations flourished with the passage of merchants, and surrounding villages, relying on the roads, began to form more distinct population centers.

The riots or grand gatherings that occurred in Chengdu during July and August brought a substantial number of trade orders to the Southwest. Private merchants, having witnessed the bustling activity in Chengdu, opted for simple cash-and-goods transactions. However, representatives from various warlords and powerful clans who attended the ceremonies secured even larger-scale trade agreements with the Huaxia Army, including not only the first batch of excellent military supplies but also numerous technology transfer agreements to be implemented over the next year or two.

For these warlords and clans, both types of transactions had their advantages and disadvantages. Purchasing cannons, rifles, and fine steel blades from the Huaxia Army meant acquiring immediate usable items. However, choosing technology transfer required the Huaxia Army to send skilled workers as instructors, covering everything from workshop construction to assembly line operation and management. This comprehensive talent training was costly and time-consuming, but it granted them their own capabilities, eliminating concerns about future conflicts with the Huaxia Army.

At this time, the Wu Dynasty was moribund and had recently disintegrated. Every emerging warlord and power was in a sensitive period of adjustment and adaptation. Some, realizing that the Wu Dynasty could no longer control them, began to dictate their own fates. Prominent families stepped out from behind the scenes, their scions ready to shoulder responsibilities for the common good. Meanwhile, those who had endured countless hardships during the wars began to shout, "Are kings and generals born with noble blood?" During this period, some local officials were still waiting for the Wu Dynasty Emperor's return, but time would tell who was merely chanting slogans and who was genuinely sincere.

In such a chaotic situation and complex transition, whoever could not guarantee the food supply for their people might resort to armed force to seize food from nearby areas. Therefore, first purchasing a batch of weapons produced in the Southwest was the most reliable way to survive in this turbulent world—of course, this was also a common sales pitch used by the Huaxia Army's supply officers.

Due to the recent warfare in the Southwest, materials and production lines were strained, and weapon orders were processed on a first-come, first-served basis. However, those who could supply large quantities of weapon materials, exchanging metal for cannons, could receive a slight priority.

During this period, Liu Guangshi, known for his extensive connections and ambition, became the Huaxia Army's first major client, ordering the largest batch of military supplies in exchange for significant quantities of iron, copper, grain, and ore. After the entire order was negotiated and reported, even Ning Yi, who was accustomed to grand occasions and had just assumed the position of Chairman at the August Representative Assembly, could not help but sigh in admiration: "Generous, magnanimous, Liu Guangshi is destined for greatness. He should be the leader..."

His words almost implied a willingness to give Liu Guangshi his own title as leader in exchange for more orders.

Of course, the orders were already sufficient. From Liu Guangshi onward, a series of primarily military-related orders and intentions were enough to keep the Huaxia Army's current production plan booked for the next two years.

Besides materials, technology transfer methods were diverse. Some involved inviting Huaxia Army technicians to come over, but this method suffered from a lack of supporting facilities, requiring the entire workforce to be trained from scratch, which took longer. Others involved recruiting reliable personnel locally or directly sending family members to Chengdu, embedding them in factories for training according to the contract. This approach took some travel time but resulted in faster skill acquisition. Still others wanted to recruit people in Chengdu for training and then take them away, but the Huaxia Army did not guarantee that they would actually leave after completing their training...

Naturally, the more personalized and complex the training method, the higher the cost. This was perfectly reasonable.

Liu Guangshi also purchased the most expensive and critical military technologies. At least according to the contract, he would completely replicate the Huaxia Army's entire military industry, excluding rockets. Although such an order would drain his coffers, surrounding warlords would undoubtedly follow his lead within a few years. Even Ning Yi had a very warm smile when meeting with members of his delegation, including Yan Daolun and Yu He.

With such trade flowing in both directions, the land and water routes from Chengdu to Jiange became bustling with traffic from September onward. The rugged mountain roads and plank roads near Jiange were carefully widened and reinforced twofold by the Huaxia Army's engineering corps. The waterways out of Sichuan were even more prosperous, with large and small ships plying the Jialing River, and shipyards accelerating their production to meet the demand.

Nearby powers were now busy transporting materials to the Southwest. Goods had to arrive first, so that cannons could be shipped out first. Once cannons were shipped out, whether for suppressing bandits or defending against them, they would have the upper hand—the Huaxia Army's supply officers' words were also reasonable, and no one found them absurd. They themselves might not be crazy, but who knew if their neighbor might suddenly go insane? With the Emperor no longer in charge, the only thing they could trust was the swords, spears, and clubs in their own hands.

While overt trade flourished, covert black market business and smuggling also gradually arose. Even if they weren't official merchants, people like Dai Mengwei, who couldn't directly do business with the Huaxia Army, were happy to purchase some of the new-style guns and cannons smuggled out of the Southwest, and perhaps selling them to Wu Qimei in Lin'an could earn even more—the "perhaps" was because there hadn't been enough time to make a round trip to Lin'an, so no one knew what Wu Qimei's reputation was like.

The immense prosperity brought immense impact and chaos, so that from August onward, Ning Yi remained stationed in Chengdu, personally overseeing the gradual return of the overall situation to normalcy. The Huaxia Army internally purged several batches of officials.

After the great victory came the awarding of merits. Now, suddenly becoming the focus of the entire country, receiving all kinds of flattery and temptation, this was the first group of people to start reaching out their hands. Ning Yi, as he had said in previous meetings, made them examples of strict handling, ranging from execution to imprisonment, and all positions held by offenders were stripped to the bottom.

In this manner, by the middle of December, Ning Yi temporarily released Chengdu, which was basically on the right track and could operate independently under the leadership of officials. On December 20th, he returned to Zhang Village to spend the Little New Year with his family.

The carriage traveled through the roads of the plains. It rarely snowed in the Southwest in winter, but the temperature undoubtedly dropped. Ning Yi sat in the carriage, and only when he was free did he feel tired.

He had been having more and more "What am I doing?" thoughts lately because the pace of his work was getting closer and closer to the rhythm of his previous life: meetings, inspections, conversations, weighing people's hearts… He was working non-stop every day. The situation in Chengdu was uncertain, and except for Xi Gua, it wasn't good for other family members to come here. As he became increasingly powerful and influential, coupled with his domineering style at work, he might have been meticulous in leading the team during the initial startup phase, but once things were on track, he became the type who believed that "You don't need to understand me, just look up to me." Occasional reflection made him feel that there was not much difference between his current life and his previous one.

He returned home in the afternoon of that day. At this time, the school in Zhang Village had not yet started its winter vacation, and several children of his family, Yun Zhu, Jin Er, and others were still at school. After getting out of the car at the entrance of the courtyard, he saw a figure waving on the hillside not far away. It was Hong Ti, who had been protecting the safety of Zhang Village these days. She was wearing a camouflage military uniform, and even from a distance, he could see the smile on her face. Ning Yi also waved exaggeratedly, and then signaled her to come over quickly.

Hong Ti pointed to the courtyard and said, "You go first."

There was no one in the outer courtyard. When he entered the inner courtyard, he saw two figures sitting at a small table picking vegetables. Su Tan'er was wearing a white dress with red patterns and a red cloak. Her hair was tied in a long ponytail, a girlish dress that seemed a little strange at first glance. Ning Yi thought about it, but it was many years ago, when he woke up from his coma and met this runaway wife for the first time.

At that time, she was about to meet this strange husband for the first time. On the one hand, she wanted to give him a hard time, and on the other hand, she also planned to make peace, so her dress was very particular, and it was estimated that she had spent a lot of time choosing it. Perhaps it was also because of this that she still remembered this outfit.

Xiao Chan, who was sitting on the stone table, had already seen him and waved her hand. Tan'er turned to look over, with a smile on her face: "How is it?" She had an oval face, and hadn't changed much over the years, but after managing the family for many years, she had added a bit of introverted wisdom and maturity between her eyebrows. Sitting sideways at this time, with her long braid hanging down, she also had a bit of girlishness. Ning Yi smiled at her outfit.

"It looks like it's almost faded, but you still keep it."

"Does my lord still remember this outfit?"

"I can't forget it."

"I almost forgot about it earlier. When I escaped from Jiangning, I specially brought this outfit. Later, I kept it in the closet. I recently took it out to dry in the sun. I used to like this red cloak very much, but now it's a little furry."

Ning Yi smiled and said, "I heard that you've been wearing a red cloak recently, and it's almost made people terrified. Those who come to kill you think you're the Blood Bodhisattva."

He was referring to the large and small disturbances that occurred in Zhang Village in July and August. At that time, a group of people ran over excitedly and said they wanted to attack Ning Retribution's family and children. Most of them failed and were caught. When they were dealt with, they could see Tan'er's cold face. The punishment here has always been at the top of the scale. Anyone who causes serious personal injury is executed, and anyone who causes property damage is sent to the mines to work with the Jurchen laborers. Silver and money are not accepted for redemption. Most of these people may be released after more than ten years of hard labor in the mines, and more may die from various accidents during this period.

This was still the result after Ning Yi's persuasion. Tan'er's mind was good, and she was more open-minded than other women in many ideas, but when facing these things about her family, she was no better than a simple landlord's wife. A group of people making trouble for her husband in Chengdu was not enough, they also had to run over here and try to kill or abduct her children. According to her original intention, those who had this idea should all be subjected to the slow slicing death.

Therefore, during that time, she personally inquired about every incident that occurred. Ning Yi demanded that it be handled according to the law, and she demanded that it must be punished according to the most severe provisions of the law.

At the end of July, many greenwoodsmen were still having fun, busy with the Chengdu incident, and those who went to Zhang Village one after another were also high-spirited. By the time the military parade ended in August and the representative conference was held, the details of the Zhang Village incident were passed on, and none of those who actually took action had a good ending.

As for the woman who appeared at the scene every time like a Yama, she was also vividly described in rumors. Everyone said that this was Ning Yi's wife, nicknamed "Blood Bodhisattva," who had killed countless people in Mount Lüliang. Lin Zongwu was her defeated opponent, but she didn't take action much after marrying. This time, those who went to Zhang Village had all angered this Grandmaster.

In the past, some people in the Jianghu knew about Hong Ti's affairs, but the propaganda of Bamboo Records often bypassed her. Therefore, for more than ten years, the Grandmasters that everyone cared about were usually only the upright "Iron Arm" Zhou Tong, the villain "Piercing Forest North Leg" Lin Zongwu, and the indescribable Grandmaster Ning Retribution. This time, the Zhang Village incident was so sensational that some people dug out the matter from the depths of their memories and gave Hong Ti a hard wave of presence.

Speaking of this, a bit of murderous aura flashed between Tan'er's eyebrows, and then she smiled: "I have discussed with Sister Ti, and from now on, the nickname 'Blood Bodhisattva' will be given to me, and she will use another one."

"What do you use?"

"Blood Grape." Xiao Chan搶着说到。

"..."

Tan'er burst out laughing. Ning Yi was stunned for a long time, then sat down next to her and kissed Xiao Chan hard on her face: "...It's still...pretty cute, so let's decide that. Our family has a Blood Bodhisattva and a Blood Grape. Grape sounds like a follower, but in reality, her martial arts are the highest, which is also good."

The three laughed and arranged for the one with the highest martial arts skills and the most easy-going temperament in the family. Ning Yi began to ask about the situation of the children in the family.

At this time, from Ning Ji downward, Wenwen, the eldest daughter born to Yun Zhu, was already twelve years old, loved to read, and when she smiled, she was simply a replica of her mother. Ning He's personality was not strong. At the age of eight, he looked like an ordinary silly boy. In the absence of external pressure, he did not even show the martial arts talent of his mother, Hong Ti. His grades were also just average. Perhaps Hong Ti, who lived in a peaceful era, would not have become the world's number one martial artist. Ning Yi didn't plan to over-exploit his potential.

Ning Ke, who was the same age as Ning He, maintained her consistent lively and helpful personality. She had the most friends and the best popularity in the school. She worried about this and that every day, and served as the entertainment and life committee member in the school. However, being enthusiastic about other people's affairs always caused her homework to be left behind, which made Jin Er very worried. Jin Er had always claimed to be selfish, and couldn't understand why her daughter had always been so silly.

Of course, Ning Yi thought about it privately, but he could understand some of it. If Jin Er in her childhood had not been sold because of her poor family, and had not experienced so many hardships, then perhaps today's Ning Ke would be another version of her.

Seven-year-old Ning Shuang and Ning Ning entered the first grade this year. The two children, who had grown up like conjoined twins since childhood, had always been close. Xi Gua's daughter, Ning Ning, had a high talent for martial arts, but as a girl, she loved swords but not sabers. This once made Xi Gua quite distressed, but thinking about it, when he was a child, he learned the broadsword and was brainwashed to say that "a chest full of hair is a hero," it was also because he met an unreliable father. He was relieved about this. In addition to martial arts talent, Ning Ning's academic performance was also good. She recited ancient poems one by one, which made Xi Gua quite happy. His daughter was not stupid, and neither was he. He was corrupted by his unreliable father...

Ning Ning, who was both civil and martial, had only one shortcoming: she didn't talk much. As her name suggests, she liked to be quiet. Ning Shuang, as Yun Zhu's second daughter, was often the spokesperson between the two. Ning Shuang often said anything, but she still said less than others. This may be because since she had a suitable friend since she was a child, she didn't need to talk too much.

The only accident was that Ning Ning fell on her way home recently, and as a beautiful and quiet little beauty, she broke a front tooth. She didn't say it, but she actually cared about it.

"When you see her later, don't laugh at her front teeth. Otherwise, she will cry." Tan'er told him, thinking that Ning Yi was likely to do such a thing.

"Don't worry, I'll pretend I'm in the office and won't laugh." Ning Yi said and laughed, feeling that this kind of thing was really like Xi Gua's version back then. He broke his front teeth in a serious manner...

In addition to these little ones, Ning Ji's situation has actually been worrying recently. Perhaps because he went to the battlefield too early and saw life and death, his emotions have not been stable. Of course, he is highly skilled in martial arts, and he is also good-looking. He is quite popular among a group of younger siblings, but these days his personality has been changing from extroverted to introverted. Especially after October, sometimes he sits on the roof in a daze, sitting for a long time at a time, even sighing, and he doesn't know what he is sighing about. Later, he even started looking for books to read.

Xiao Chan was frightened. Ning Ji actually started reading books. She always felt that he didn't know if he was sick, or if he would suddenly escape into the Buddhist gate and become a monk one day.

Of course, in addition to these abnormal phenomena, he did not delay his martial arts practice. He could even easily adapt to some special operations training in the army and intelligence training in Bamboo Records. Hong Ti and Xi Gua also said that his future achievements would be limitless.

"This is the second stage, and the whole person is neurotic, all the same. In the future, Wenwen, Ning He, Ning Ke, and them will be the same. Children of this age can't be controlled, and they have a lot of ideas. They will slowly get better when they are seventeen or eighteen years old." Ning Yi used a "no one understands education better than me"

The educator's posture comforted Xiao Chan.

He actually understood in his heart that Ning Ji was thinking about a bigger world and a bigger Jianghu. If he couldn't keep him, when he trained him to be seventeen or eighteen years old, perhaps he could only let him go for a walk. Of course, it would be even better if he didn't want to leave after the second stage. The most important thing now was to use the "delay" tactic to let Hong Ti and Xi Gua give him more difficult problems and tell him that it was still too early for him to go out.

"But Ning Xi didn't do this at the beginning..." Xiao Chan frowned.

"Ning Xi is silly."

Ning Yi spoke rashly, and then was hit by Tan'er on the hand: "Don't say that about him."

After a few people finished talking about the children, Hong Ti also came in. Ning Yi told them roughly about the situation in Chengdu, talking about the business with each family and how he took advantage of them, and also talked about Zuo Huai and others. They left Chengdu at the end of August. According to the itinerary, if there were no accidents, they should have arrived in Fuzhou now. He didn't know what the scene there was like.

During such conversations, Yun Zhu, Jin Er, and the children of the family also came back one after another, and everyone greeted and frolicked for a while. Ning Ning was made to cry by her unreliable father. With tears in her eyes, she wanted to run to a corner where no one was, but Ning Yi held her in his arms and didn't allow her to leave, so she had to bury her head in Ning Yi's arms and bury her tears as well.

When eating, the Su Fang and Su Yu brothers also rushed over. Ning Yi asked about the situation of some of the younger members of the family when Su's split up. The protests from the clan were naturally there, but they were suppressed by a series of beatings and scoldings from Su Tan'er, Su Fang, Su Ding and others.

In the past, the old master Su Yu was always worried that the children of the family would not become talented. At this time, the backstage of the Su family not only included Ning Yi and Tan'er, but also Su Fang, Su Ding, Su Yu, Su Yanping and others who had already been able to take charge. For those in the family who had no ability and no vision, there was no need to give them the right to speak.

After eating, Fang and Yu said goodbye and left. That night, after playing with the children for a while, Ning Yi began to go up and down the stairs, visiting the women of good families. He was not yet forty years old, and he practiced martial arts, so his body was very good. He tossed about all night until late at night. After everyone and the children had fallen asleep, he walked around the courtyard in and out of each room, looking at the sleeping faces of his wives and children, and then sat on the bench in the outer courtyard, quietly thinking about things.

I don't know when, Tan'er walked out from the inside and took him a coat: "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about the things that spoil the women of good families."

"Don't toss around like this, you're not young anymore, you're about to be spoiled by the women of good families."

Ning Yi laughed and hugged her in his arms.

"You know that when I'm working, I'm different from when I'm at home, right?"

"Yeah, at that time...according to what you said, you're more handsome."

"I've dealt with a few batches of people recently, some people...you also knew them before...actually, they're almost the same as before. For so many years, either there are wars and deaths, or when it comes to a certain time, there are rectification and deaths, again and again...The Huaxia Army is getting stronger and stronger, and I'm getting more and more angry when I talk to them. Sometimes I really think, when will it end?"

"Probably there is no end..." Tan'er reached out from his arms and stroked his eyebrows, and then lay quietly on his chest, "I was a little unhappy when I said I wanted to split up the Su family before, and my family was even more unhappy, making a lot of noise. But then I thought, what are we doing for in this life? When I was a girl, I just hoped to help Grandpa manage this family, and when a promising child came out, I would hand this family over to him...After handing it over to him, I hope everyone can live well and this family has hope and hope..."

"...To this day, the things under the Su family's control are ten times a hundred times more than in the past. There is hope and hope. Next, will it be a thousand times ten thousand times? Can the days be a little better than today? When I think of these, I feel that it's enough. I see them taking the benefits of the Su family, wanting more and more endlessly, and they will all become the extravagant and lustful second generation...So, I beat them up again, and cut a lot of their monthly allowances. Those who mess around in the factory are not even allowed to take money! If Grandpa is still here, he will support me in this way...but you, my lord, are different from me..."

"It's really a good thing to think about it." Ning Yi hugged her and sighed, "I originally wanted to...Alas...I really can't let go today. So many people who shouldn't have died have died, fighting the Jurchen, recovering the originals, I don't know how long it will take to go forward, and afterward, I will fail all of their expectations, but in this room, I always feel that I will become a bad person again..."

Tan'er's head shook on his chest: "Since ancient times, there is no such thing as good or bad people in history books for those who care about the world."

"What I said is not what I meant..." Ning Yi paused, was silent for a long time, and finally just laughed, "It's good that you are all still here, if..."

Just as he was talking, someone seemed to be peeking outside, and then shrank back. Ning Yi frowned and waved in that direction: "What's the matter? Bring it here."

The person who appeared there was from the secretariat. The person walked in with a file: "It's an urgent matter from Chengdu, but it's not very important."

"Give it to me."

The secretary handed the intelligence to Ning Yi and turned to leave.

Tan'er said next to him: "Then I'll go to sleep first?"

Ning Yi glanced at the intelligence and shook his head: "Sit with me for a while, it's not a secret."

"What is it..."

"The Jin country has changed emperors...Zong Han and Xi Yin...are amazing..."

The news of the Jin Emperor Wanyan Dan's ascension to the throne was transmitted here as quickly as possible. Two months had passed. The first-hand news was extremely simple, basically the first-hand public statement issued by the Jin country, but many things inside could be guessed. Because of the ascension of this young emperor, the Jin country temporarily avoided infighting. This meant that the Huaxia Army might have to spend one or two more years, or tens of thousands of lives, when attacking the Jin country.

The couple sat together for a while. Ning Yi told Tan'er about the staff's deduction of these things.

"It stands to reason that the balance between the east and west governments of the Jin country is already very fragile. Is there no action in the northern Bamboo Records?" Tan'er asked in a low voice.

"After the end of the Southwest War, considering that the trend of hostility and even massacre of Han Chinese in the Jin country would increase, I have asked the intelligence system in the north to stop all activities and hibernate to protect itself, but I still got the news before. It was one step late. Lu Mingfang sacrificed himself this year..."

"Lu Mingfang...the Lu shopkeeper's family..." A look of sadness flashed across Tan'er's face. She also knew Lu Yannian back then.

"There is no one in the Lu shopkeeper's family..."

"Why didn't he leave any offspring when he came back before."

"He is in that kind of place all year round, who is willing to leave him any offspring...In fact, he himself is unwilling..."

There are dim yellow lights flickering in the courtyard. In fact, compared to the heroes who are still fighting in various places, what can his slight troubles in the rear be considered? Such a quiet atmosphere lasted for a moment, and Ning Yi sighed.

"Do you still remember...Tang Minjie?"

"I remember, I followed you to study in Xiaocang River, and came to our house to help, the one who moved things. I remember he was a little chubby and liked to laugh. But when he squinted his eyes, he was very evil, a person who could do big things...He committed a crime in Liangshan later, and you sent him abroad..." Tan'er looked at him, hesitated for a moment, "...He is now also...um?"

Ning Yi did not answer. He folded the intelligence in his hand, bent down, and pressed his head with his hand: "I hope he...can be calm..."

There are countless things in this world that make people suffer.

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