The afternoon was still early. The cart hadn't been pushed back yet, probably because Hu Tao and Er Niu were watching over it. Nie Yunzhu returned first, burned some camphor wood at home to make ash, and was genuinely surprised to see Ning Yi. (Search: , Complete, Divine, Station, ) to read high-quality literature for free.

Pickled eggs needed more than twenty days to cure. She had prepared a batch in advance when she first thought about doing this business. Of course, because Nie Yunzhu was unsure, most of the quantity was added at Ning Yi's request, but now it seemed that it was still not enough.

She had told Ning Yi about the potential shortage of pickled eggs, and Ning Yi had offered some opinions, nothing more than increasing income and reducing expenditure, nothing extraordinary. The solutions to problems were never extraordinary to begin with. On the cost-cutting side, she would limit the number of eggs delivered to each shop, and of course, she had to coordinate with all parties and say some nice things. On the income side, there was no slacking, just speed. Nie Yunzhu had been extraordinarily busy these days, but she couldn't possibly tell Ning Yi much about her busyness in the morning, only happily reporting the results.

Ning Yi had asked her to use camphor ash to pickle the eggs before, so now she was also bringing back camphor wood every day to burn. Today, the firewood was quite damp, and she accidentally filled the entire kitchen with smoke. Afterwards, Ning Yi went in with her to deal with it, and it took them a while to clear the smoke. They took out some of the damp wood from the stove and lit a small fire to burn slowly. While Ning Yi sat in front of the stove watching the fire, Nie Yunzhu washed her face and hands next to him, then took a wet towel and gave it to Ning Yi to wipe his face. When she handed the towel over, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her wrists were trembling slightly, but no one would notice except herself.

Since they rarely had guests at home, the towels were only hers and Hu Tao's. She couldn't give Ning Yi Hu Tao's, so she had to use her own. This gesture seemed a bit too intimate. Her heart felt like it had a little mouse in it as she watched Ning Yi casually wipe his face and then reach out to take it back. She said some idle words, "Liheng...where did you come from just now?"

"I just came from Old Qin's place." Ning Yi threw in a piece of firewood. "It was originally a bet with Kang Xian, so I went to show off a little. Hmm, it was very impressive."

"That's good then." Hearing Ning Yi say this, Nie Yunzhu also felt a little happy in her heart. She had originally worried that the bet wouldn't be fulfilled, causing the other party to lose face, but she didn't expect it to be fulfilled so quickly. "This morning, another shop wanted to have pickled eggs delivered, so that makes six..."

"So fast..." Ning Yi thought for a moment. "But around that street, there are only a few that can afford them, right? If we can maintain this situation in the future, it should be about the same..."

If she didn't consider expanding the scale and was purely doing it for fun, being able to maintain the supply for these few restaurants should already be the limit for Nie Yunzhu and Hu Tao. As for whether or not to expand, that was her business, and Ning Yi didn't want to interfere. Nie Yunzhu thought for a moment, squatted down next to him, and smiled:

"It's too fast, Yunzhu can't react at once. To be honest, a few days ago, I was always worried that I would miss Liheng's bet."

"Heh, the bet is actually a small matter, just a joke, but...being able to win is of course the best, haha."

"That old man is the Imperial Son-in-Law, you know. When I went to deliver pickled eggs last month, the mansion was so big, a Princess's residence. Actually, when Liheng introduced him before, I was wondering if it was him, but I didn't expect it to be true. Liheng is really amazing, to be able to talk and laugh with someone like that, and even make bets."

These words were not flattery. No matter what, people of Kang Xian's status should be Liheng's elders. She had seen many such people before. With such an age gap, they would definitely treat each other with the etiquette of nephews and disciples. Even if the elders were kind, it would only be kindness towards their juniors. But she had never seen anyone like Liheng, who seemed to be relaxed with everyone. Thinking about it that way, wasn't she one of them?

"I met him playing chess. Maybe there's not much of a desire for personal gain." Ning Yi stirred the flames. "They are all sensible old men. Respecting his knowledge and views is enough... Uh, had you heard of who he was before?"

"Of course I had heard of him. Before Liheng introduced him, I might have seen him once or twice... maybe twice. One year, there was a performance at Bailuzhou Head. Ming Gong must have been there, but there were so many people that I can't remember everyone..." She recalled those things, and then laughed softly. "Moreover, there were many young talents present at the time. Hu Tao, other sisters I knew, were only concerned with looking at those talents. People were also discussing the high officials in the main guest seats, but although Ming Gong was knowledgeable, he was the Imperial Son-in-Law, and he was already old, so I don't remember them. I think Ming Gong also doesn't remember Yunzhu..."

"Oh, oh." Ning Yi smiled teasingly. "You were only concerned with remembering those talents..."

If someone else teased her about this, Nie Yunzhu might feel uncomfortable, but she didn't feel that way at this time, only smiling: "Yes, the girls were performing at the time, so naturally they were only concerned with remembering some talents. Heh, Yunzhu at the time liked to remember those who were rich. Of course, if their poetry and knowledge were pleasing to the eye, that would be even better. I was busy currying favor, calculating the money for my freedom every day..."

She stopped there, and then said: "Liheng, do you know Li Pin, Li Dexin?"

"I know them, I mentioned them before. They are in a school together now."

"What about Cao Guan?"

"I've heard of him."

"Then... Gu Hong, Gu Yanzhen?"

As she said this name, she paid attention to Ning Yi's expression. Ning Yi thought for a moment: "I haven't heard of this one... who is he?"

"Nothing, also a talent." She lowered her head and smiled. "Unrelated people."

There were some things that Nie Yunzhu didn't tell Ning Yi. In fact, it wasn't appropriate for her to tell Ning Yi.

Gu Yanzhen had been going to her stall these past few days, saying some things. He was sincere, but it was quite troubling for her. Especially since some small problems had arisen. Gu Yanzhen probably learned from Hu Tao that she hadn't married yet. In these past few days, he had even been helping her drum up business for pickled eggs. The one this morning wasn't in the nearby district as Liheng said, but in a further place. Gu Yanzhen used his influence to ask his friends to help take care of it.

She naturally couldn't say these things. The business had started to grow, and she didn't know how to turn down the good intentions. Gu Yanzhen only thought, "You want to sell pickled eggs, so I'll help you," but he didn't know that she was almost too busy. Recalling Liheng's side, he only said, "These few are enough," which made her feel a little warm inside, but she couldn't ask him how to control the situation. She had some guesses in her heart, feeling that the market expansion might be related to Liheng, but now it seemed that it wasn't. She couldn't tell him that another man was helping her now, and that this man was someone she knew from the brothel...

She cared somewhat about what Liheng thought, so it was best not to say it anyway... Making the business bigger was always a good thing, and she was busy now. She would probably have to hire someone next, maybe have Er Niu's family help out... Sigh, she hadn't originally thought it would reach this point. What she originally longed for was probably just the fulfilling days of guarding the cart every day and earning a living...

Since she didn't say it, Ning Yi couldn't possibly know these things. In his view, the pickled egg business was already saturated for Nie Yunzhu, and he had also told Li Pin to tell his friends to stop doing it. Li Pin had asked him the other day: "What is Liheng's relationship with that pickled egg stall vendor?" Ning Yi only replied that she was a friend, and the other party didn't ask any further. He didn't notice anything inappropriate.

On the other hand, Gu Yanzhen had asked Li Pin about this the other day. At that time, Gu Yanzhen's heart was in a mess, and he was aggressive. After Li Pin probably knew that the owner of the pickled egg stall was the woman that Gu Yanzhen used to like, he didn't say Ning Yi's name. He was a thoughtful person. Ning Yi was originally the son-in-law of the Su family. It was impossible for him to have any ambiguity with that Yunzhu girl – of course, regardless of whether there was or not, it was always bad to let people know about this, whether it was the truth or a rumor, it was a big taboo. So he only said that it was a friend's game, and reminded Gu Yanzhen that Yunzhu girl might not be married yet. Gu Yanzhen later confirmed this with Hu Tao, so he didn't investigate further.

Actually, for Ning Yi, the pickled eggs on Nie Yunzhu's side were just small matters. They chatted while jogging every morning, which didn't take up much time. These were not the focus of his life.

He taught the children in the morning, and in the afternoon, he rented a house near Yushan Academy. If he didn't go to Old Qin's and Nie Yunzhu's places – actually, he rarely went – he would start some chemical research here. What he had now were some ancient versions of chemical books. These chemical books recorded many phenomena. Although they had nothing to do with the theory of modern chemical systems, they could at least point the way for the initial research.

In addition to books like *Dream Pool Essays*, he made some basic iron frames, ceramic bottles for test tubes, and oil lamps for heating devices. He also purchased various metal, wooden, and ceramic bottles and jars, and various chemical raw materials that he could find. Honestly, there were some large and small workshops in the Wu Dynasty that were involved in chemical reactions, but his current state looked more like alchemy than the research of those workshop technologies.

He had long returned the chemistry courses of his previous life to his teachers. Because he had been involved in many industries at that time, he could still remember some reaction relationships, but they were no longer systematic, like a fragmented tech tree when playing a game. Some chemical records in ancient books could evoke some memories, better than nothing. He needed a simple start, and at the moment, he could only randomly combine things and see the reactions. For example, he would put rusted iron into nitric acid and heat it up. After removing the rust, he would record this phenomenon in a small notebook. Then, he vaguely remembered some trivial theories, such as iron rusting being easily oxidized. He knew this, but as for what it meant to reverse this process, he had completely forgotten it. He didn't remember the chemical formula. He could only remember a chemical concept now and write it down in his small notebook, and then slowly mix things up.

The chemistry line started with strong acids like sulfuric acid and nitric acid, because the reactions were strong and easy to observe. Of course, the most important thing was to be careful to avoid problems and not get himself killed. He actually had a few advanced technologies, and if needed, he could make gunpowder and industrial alcohol or high-proof liquor. Distillation was simple after all. He would have to make an alcohol lamp after a while, although he didn't know why an alcohol lamp was better than an oil lamp. Probably because it was smokeless... He also understood the outlines of many large chemical industries, but the supporting technologies couldn't keep up. Of course, there were also some that didn't pay much attention. Traditional steelmaking was relatively simple. It was a mess in modern times, but it was fine here. He vaguely remembered it and would talk about it later if necessary.

It was always a bit boring to explore these chemical reactions at first. Most of the time, he didn't even know what he was burning. Xiao Chan often followed him. When he was doing experiments in the room, Xiao Chan would walk around under the eaves, bored. Occasionally, she would say to Ning Yi: "Are you making elixir?" Sometimes, the little girl fantasized that her master would suddenly fly away, holding her chin and sitting under the eaves, swinging her skirt while sitting on the railing, thinking like this, listening to her master casually tell stories called *Journey to the West* or *Investiture of the Gods*, she would be a little worried and a little longing.

Of course, most of the time, her master gave her a feeling of reliability and stability, but for a little girl, romance was something like this. Therefore, in her spare time, she would listen to her master's voice and have a small fantasy in her heart. If her master suddenly flew away, she would definitely cry and cry for a long time, but what if her master was willing to take her away... She would be slightly happy in her heart. She also thought that her master would have to take the young mistress with him... She would sit there, sometimes melancholy, sometimes smiling, secretly glancing at the door, telling herself not to think about these things anymore, and then quietly walk in, appearing cutely in front of her master: "Master, is there anything Xiao Chan can do?"

"Go out." The man wore a mask, weighing strange powders.

"Oh..."

Xiao Chan went out dejectedly. The spring sunshine was bright, the orioles were flying, the little maid hugged her knees and leaned against the eaves, looking up at the sky and thinking about her own little thoughts. Among the sparse wildflowers blooming in the courtyard, there was an unspeakable loneliness.

Inside the room, Ning Yi looked at the window next to him and frowned slightly. He had told her to be careful a long time ago. Although the chemical system wasn't pure now, there were corrosive or slightly toxic substances in the room. Although the little girl was usually clever in doing things, she couldn't be allowed to touch these things. Then, he continued to say some of the myths that he could remember. After a while, the little girl became happy again: "Master, master, Xiao Chan also heard a story with the young mistress at the restaurant yesterday..."

Then, she began to chatter. Soon after, Ning Yi came out of the room, and Xiao Chan's mood became even happier. They chatted and walked back home along the road as usual. Her master only seemed a little distant when he was in this room. Occasionally, when she remembered, she would turn around in the afterglow of the setting sun and make a face at the annoying house.

Apart from Xiao Chan, most of the time, Ning Yi's social life unfolded with Su Tan'er. In the current era, their mode of getting along was actually a bit strange...

*****************

Book Recommendation: Title: The Number One Young Master

Book Number: 1815450

Synopsis: He is the most powerful man on the continent. Facing the temptations of beauties, he takes them and changes them. His tough way of doing things, coupled with the life trajectory of stepping on whoever provokes him, has undoubtedly made him the number one young master in China with the most votes!

Next chapter at dawn ^_^

[bookid=1815450,bookname=《The Number One Young Master》]

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