Chapter 14 A Mutual Understanding

Unlike Miss Zhuo, who had been brewing her emotions for quite some time, Ye Tao was momentarily at a loss as to what he truly felt. He didn't know whether he should laugh heartily or cry his eyes out, and both urges surged within him simultaneously. Fourteen years. Fourteen years! He had never imagined that someone from his own era would appear. That string of terms, incomprehensible to others, brought an entire era crashing down upon him. In that moment, he knew he was no longer alone.

If he were still in that world, even the sudden announcement of the existence of aliens wouldn't have moved him as much. Aliens were indeed a rare thing, but unless they planned to invade Earth, they were irrelevant to him. However, the words that had been bottled up for fourteen years, the lonely life among friends and family for fourteen years, could finally be spoken to someone, finally be understood. Mutual understanding—what did that mean to a person?

Ye Tao trembled all over, tightly gripping Miss Zhuo's hand. He couldn't predict how his emotions would manifest in the next moment. At that moment, it felt as if only the two of them existed in the world.

Miss Zhuo was also excited, but her emotions, brewing for so long and channeled through so many carefully planned conversations, had already transformed from a raging flood into a mountain stream, still rushing, but harmless, especially to herself. Tears welled in Miss Zhuo's eyes, but her face was radiant with smiles.

"Don't you dare cry. It's not like I'm bullying you." Looking at the overwhelmed Ye Tao, Miss Zhuo spoke, not pulling her hand away from Ye Tao's, even though it was starting to hurt a little.

Miss Zhuo's words were too devastating, like a needle pricking a balloon full of emotions. Ye Tao's surging emotions seemed to deflate with a "whoosh."

"You… you… you really are…," all his excitement was turned into a mixture of laughter and tears by Miss Zhuo's one sentence.

"Hehe," Miss Zhuo laughed triumphantly, gently withdrawing her hand from Ye Tao's. Miss Zhuo was also fourteen; she could finally shed the fourteen years of pretense and talk with Ye Tao in the most natural way. "Look at you, so strong. My hand hurts."

Ye Tao scratched his head, wanting to hold Miss Zhuo's hands again to comfort her, but he felt it would be too abrupt. "It's my fault, it's my fault…" He quickly apologized.

"Let's eat first, don't give anything away." Hearing sounds from the stairs, Miss Zhuo lowered her voice.

Now that the most crucial issue had been broached, everything else could be taken slowly. They had enjoyed fourteen years of disguised lives in this world, and they were naturally skilled at handling such small matters.

The dinner was exquisite. Although Miss Zhuo and her party had only recently arrived at Xunfeng Pavilion, various items had already been procured. Several delicate dishes were placed in the exquisite porcelain of the Ningcheng Yun Kiln's "Jade Quality Golden Sound" series, making them even more visually appealing. The problem was that Si Si and Qiao Er didn't seem to consider Ye Tao as someone to be invited to dinner; they had only placed a set of chopsticks in front of Miss Zhuo.

Si Si and Qiao Er were masters of this game. In the capital, there were quite a few annoying people who surrounded Miss Zhuo, and Miss Zhuo, being in charge of some affairs, couldn't always refuse to see them. When Si Si and Qiao Er delivered the food each time, placing down the chopsticks and seeing the meager portions, even the most thick-skinned fellow would immediately take his leave. However, Si Si and Qiao Er were now looking at Ye Tao with interest, as if today's dinner was a bit strange; it was not Ye Tao who felt slightly embarrassed, but their Miss Zhuo.

"Bring another set of chopsticks for Young Master Ye. I'll eat with Young Master Ye today," Miss Zhuo instructed.

"Oh," anyway, using this trick to chase away guests had always been Miss Zhuo's invention, and now suddenly wanting to keep a guest for dinner was also Miss Zhuo's decision. Si Si and Qiao Er were also maids trained by prestigious families who had seen many things; they didn't feel embarrassed at all.

"These two little girls are used to it; they always prepare so little food." After Qiao Er and Si Si put down another set of chopsticks and stood aside, Miss Zhuo said with a soft smile, using words of praise to express her reproach.

Ye Tao also understood how to read faces and knew that the maids who could follow Miss Zhuo must be very close to her heart. He repeatedly said it didn't matter, that he was intruding, but he was still too embarrassed to touch the meager amount of food.

"Young Master Ye, from what you said at the entrance of your workshop, your workshop can already repair and assemble military equipment?" Miss Zhuo asked after picking up a chopstick of food for Ye Tao.

"Actually, before the Ye Family Workshop was officially established, Governor-General Peng and Lord Min entrusted my father with the repair and assembly of some military equipment. After all, my father is the most skilled craftsman in Yicheng, and military equipment cannot be taken lightly. Especially in recent years, the stone cannons equipped on Lord Min's naval warships, although their mechanisms are intricate, are also too easily damaged. Only after the Ye Family Workshop was established, with the first and second batches of apprentices setting up repair workshops in the army, could the malfunctions be dealt with more quickly. But there are still some things, such as the repeating crossbow carts, that are still sent to the Ye Family Workshop for repair. Although the Ye Family Workshop mainly focuses on woodworking, it has now developed into a comprehensive workshop that can handle metalworking, pottery, and other crafts. Not to boast, but from the city walls and ports to the teacups at home, there really isn't anything that the Ye Family Workshop dares not repair or cannot repair." Ye Tao spoke eloquently, obviously very proud of the current state of the Ye Family Workshop.

Miss Zhuo nodded slightly and said, "I also have some properties under my name, but I can't make my business as magnificent as yours. Just now, I was wondering what kind of person could make me constantly hear your name since I entered Yicheng. And the Ye Family Workshop has received such praise, there must be something special about it, which makes me a little yearn for it. I wonder if you can let me take a look?"

*She just wants to see how far I've advanced the technology,* Ye Tao thought with amusement. It was a pity that Miss Zhuo was so eloquent, but she had actually managed to say this in front of the two maids. It was indeed inconvenient for the Ye Family Workshop to be open to outsiders. Usually, even distributors and partners with good relationships would only wait in the specially designated lounge within the Ye Family Workshop when they came to pick up goods. Since the establishment of the Ye Family Workshop, only Naval Commander Min Yue had visited once, two years ago, to inspect whether the Ye Family Workshop had the ability to take over all the navy's repair work. In this era, entrusting the technical work of the military to a merchant could be regarded as a pioneer in technology outsourcing projects. But that was still two years ago, and in these two years, the Ye Family Workshop's technical level had improved by more than one or two notches. However, there was no need to hide anything from someone from the same era. Although not every modern person has the ability to develop a technical system after transmigrating, judging from Miss Zhuo's "power," she only needs to know a general direction, and she will naturally have the ability to invest countless amounts of money to allow the skilled craftsmen of this era to realize it. Perhaps it will be somewhat different from what was originally conceived in the mind, but it won't be too far off. Even Ye Tao, after carefully studying the technical levels of various industries in this era, couldn't help but admire them.

"If Miss is willing to take the time to visit the workshop and offer guidance, that would be a blessing we couldn't ask for. I wonder when it would be convenient for Miss; I will arrange it." Since he felt there was no need to hide anything, Ye Tao agreed very readily. The appearance of Miss Zhuo allowed him to see not only someone who would understand him and be understood by him but also countless opportunities.

"When would it be convenient?" Miss Zhuo tilted her head and thought for a moment, saying, "Let's make it tomorrow. Coming to Yicheng wasn't for anything in particular; if it's for appreciating the scenery or touring the local customs, it can be done anytime. Now it seems that there really isn't anything more attractive to me than your workshop."

"Miss is too kind. It's rare for women to be interested in this kind of craftsman's work."

Both of their conversations were guarded, speaking in a refined manner so as not to alert the two maids, Si Si and Qiao Er, who were standing by. Anyway, they had been doing this for more than ten years. Adapting to the linguistic style of this era was only the smallest problem to overcome; the more difficult part was that in the content of their conversation, they could both communicate with each other through subtext without revealing anything. From the moment they knew that the other person was from the same era as themselves, they knew that they would inevitably have intersections in their future lives. And the more they talked, the more curious Ye Tao became about who this Miss Zhuo really was. When she mentioned Peng De Tian, the Governor-General of Yicheng, and Min Yue, the Naval Commander of Yicheng, both very powerful high-ranking officials, she had such a tranquil expression, not taking them too seriously. Of course, being able to hold the Mo Yu (black jade) talisman, she really didn't need to take these second-rank and third-rank civil and military officials to heart, but her familiarity with these two could not be concealed.

Just as Ye Tao was pondering hard, hesitating whether he should directly ask this question, one of Miss Zhuo's guards ran upstairs and reported, "Miss, Naval Commander of Yicheng, Lord Min Yue, and Governor-General of Yicheng, Lord Peng De Tian, request an audience."

The joint visit of Min Yue and Peng De Tian could be said to be within expectations. The appearance of the Mo Yu tiger talisman in Yicheng would definitely cause a sensation among the local officials and the surrounding garrison. Peng De Tian was a civil official who had risen through the ranks of local officials. Only when he became Governor-General did he have a little military power, and he didn't know much about the situation in the capital, so he naturally couldn't judge the origin of this Miss Zhuo. However, in any case, he didn't believe the so-called claim that her family elders gave her the Mo Yu tiger talisman for protection. However, seeing the actions of this Miss Zhuo and her entourage in front of the Ye Family Workshop just now, they didn't seem like imperial envoys inspecting local affairs. After thinking about it until his head was dizzy, Peng De Tian thought of Min Yue, who came from the Imperial Guards. He had been with Min Yue in Yicheng for several years. Although, as the Governor-General in charge of the military and political affairs of one area, he shouldn't be too close to a high-ranking military officer like Min Yue, so as not to give the censors in the court something to talk about, Peng De Tian and Min Yue got along quite well in general.

As soon as Min Yue heard that the Mo Yu tiger talisman had appeared in Yicheng, he eagerly had Peng De Tian lead him towards the city. On the way back on the water, after listening to Peng De Tian carefully recount the whole matter, Min Yue was silent. Although Min Yue was in Yicheng, which could be considered a remote area, he still had members of the Min family in the capital write down various matters in detail and send them to him every month. It could be said that his understanding of the capital even surpassed some officials who worked there. Of course, Min Yue knew what kind of person would be qualified to hold the Mo Yu tiger talisman. Using the Mo Yu tiger talisman to settle the accounts for Ye Tao and the Ye Family Workshop was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Being able to have the Mo Yu tiger talisman in hand meant that the rank and status were definitely above Xue Yuan, but she just didn't want to reveal her identity. Putting several aspects together, and combined with the fact that she was a weak woman, the identity of this "Miss Zhuo" was already obvious. However, Min Yue really couldn't understand why this "Miss Zhuo" would come to Yicheng.