"…Theoretically, those restaurants with large crowds tend to see results within three to four days due to being overwhelmed. It's not exactly hiring someone, but calculated at the wage of hiring, each restaurant would cost at most two strings of cash. Currently, there are four restaurants, selling 60 to 80 preserved eggs each day with ease. Searching: \(?Complete?God?Station) to read excellent literature for free. Considering the profit, each preserved egg should yield eight *wen*, in a little over half a month, the investment can be recovered…"

The sound of the abacus clattered in the room. Ning Yi spoke continuously, doing the calculations casually: "However, if the market expands too quickly and we don't have enough pickled eggs from before, I'm afraid demand will exceed supply. So, in my opinion, there's no need to consider expanding the target further for now. But no matter what, it's always possible to open up sales channels for new products."

Kang Xian took a sip of tea and raised an eyebrow. "I've seen it these past few days. I just thought what brilliant method you had, but it turns out you're just hiring people to act as shills. The method is too simple."

"Hehe, in war, there are orthodox and unconventional tactics. When the orthodox fails, the unconventional comes into play. It's a simple matter in itself, as long as the problem is solved, why consider too much?" Ning Yi smiled.

"That's true." Kang Xian nodded. "But Li Heng, is this method of yours orthodox or unconventional?"

Old Qin laughed from the side: "Both orthodox and unconventional. If we only talk about the method, it should be considered unconventional, but here, there's nothing unconventional about it; it should be considered orthodox." He thought for a moment: "Li Heng, how do you plan to sell the eggs for 50 *wen* each, as you mentioned before?"

"Heh, above 50 *wen*, there's no limit. We're not just selling preserved eggs anymore." Ning Yi smiled, "Wealthy Eggs, Emerald Eggs. If I had my own restaurant, decorated it lavishly, and then hyped up the symbolism of these eggs. If I put a bowl of them in every banquet, said some auspicious meanings, and wrote some short stories, then people wouldn't be eating eggs anymore, they'd be placing them there for the symbol of wealth. Fifty *wen*, a hundred *wen*, even one or two *guan*, that's just the asking price. If wealthy people like Old Kang place a few bowls at their banquets and say a few words, their value will naturally be even higher. Rich people will flock to them, there's nothing strange about it."

"That day, when Li Heng mentioned 50 *wen* per egg, I thought it was some amazing strategy, but unexpectedly, it's still this ordinary statement." Kang Xian shook his head with a smile, then thought for a moment, "However, thinking about it, that's indeed how it is."

Ning Yi laughed: "There are no amazing strategies in this world. In the end, it's all about setting a goal and then solving the problem. Just like on the battlefield, using orthodox and unconventional forces, achieving victory with inferior strength. In reality, there's no such thing as victory with inferior strength. To be honest, it's all about winning with superior strength."

"This kind of statement is unprecedented." Old Qin frowned. "In military books, although using unconventional tactics is considered inferior to using orthodox tactics, advocating the orthodox method, and avoiding taking shortcuts, all changes in military tactics strive to achieve victory with inferior strength. After all, if I am strong and the enemy is weak, whether there are military tactics or not has little significance. I cannot agree with Li Heng's statement."

"Uh, there's no such statement?" Ning Yi was slightly stunned.

"Indeed, there isn't." Kang Xian laughed. "As Li Heng said, if strategies are used to solve problems, it's naturally when the enemy is strong and I am weak that there is a problem. If I am strong and the enemy is weak, what's the use of military tactics? Therefore, what's recorded in military tactics, if not the basics of military formations, is mostly about exploring situations of dealing with strong forces with weak forces."

"That's indeed the case." Ning Yi nodded with a smile. "It's just a difference in perspective. I'm just discussing military matters on paper, hehe, pardon my ignorance."

"It's just discussing military matters on paper, and I'm originally not familiar with military tactics..." Old Qin took a sip of tea, as if recalling some past events, and after a smile, he became slightly complicated, then said, "Anyway, there's nothing to do, where exactly did Li Heng's statement come from? It might be worth explaining it in detail."

Ning Yi thought for a moment, then pulled over the chessboard next to him: "It's just a different perspective, but the matter is the same. The art of war, of winning with inferior strength, in my opinion, is actually about how to reverse the strength and weakness of both sides."

He took out ten white chess pieces from the opposite chess container, and then took out five black chess pieces from his side, and then, divided the white chess pieces into portions: "Simply put, the enemy's quantity is ten, and I only have five. I can't win in a direct fight. With strategy, I calculate to divide them into four parts, each being one, two, three, and four. With my five parts, I attack their four parts, defeating the enemy. Under my advantage, I lose one part, leaving four parts. I use four to fight three, then three to fight two, then two to fight one… the battle situation is set, winning with inferior strength, but in fact, breaking it down, each time is winning with superior strength."

Old Qin smiled: "What Li Heng said is too logical..." He was about to finish speaking, but suddenly froze, then looked at the chess pieces, frowning and thinking about writing things. Old Kang originally wanted to say that this statement was too ideal, just talking on paper, but seeing Old Qin's expression, he also fell into contemplation.

Ning Yi smiled: "Too ideal, that's indeed the case." He reached out and gathered the white characters again. "The actual battlefield is too complex, it is indeed impossible to achieve such an ideal state, but this is just a method of seeing things, not something that can be calculated so accurately from the beginning. But if you push back from the result, every war that wins with inferior strength or wins with superior strength, when divided, is such a situation. There is no state where truly weak soldiers can defeat strong soldiers, because strength and weakness are inherently determined by their ability to defeat and kill each other. Here, success and failure determine heroes. If the enemy is strong and I am weak, then I will find a way to separate, divide, and manipulate them, trying to make every battle win with superior strength locally. In detail, it can even be divided to each soldier. Of course, no matter how good a general is, it is impossible to grasp the overall situation to this extent, but each troop, when facing the opponent's other troop, whether it wins or loses, ultimately has a simple grasp."

"Business, battlefield, being a person, doing things, I don't believe there is a truly winning with inferior strength. Of course, many unseen factors are probably part of the strength and weakness, intelligence, people's hearts, likes and dislikes, and even luck. The goal is placed in front, the road may not be seen, or there may be many roads, how to reach the step before the goal, but you can reverse it back like this, if you divide it into steps, you may find that each step is very simple, just solving the problem, so I don't believe there are any brilliant strategies." He thought for a moment, pushed back the chessboard, and laughed mockingly, "Of course, on paper, those generals who lead the troops, even if they don't think so, will be very powerful, in short, it's just how to look at things, it can't solve practical problems."

"But in detail, it is indeed winning with superior strength, there is no reason to win with inferior strength." Old Qin sighed, "Li Heng's statement is indeed superficial, but it fits the great principles. Military tactics... it is indeed turning weakness into strength, not winning with weakness. If you distinguish between these two, that would be..."

A matter is placed there, how to look at the rules in it, for ordinary people, I am afraid it is of no use, but for people like Qin Siyuan and Kang Xian, the meaning is different. When Old Qin was in deep thought, Kang Xian shook his head slightly.

"This kind of statement is too clear. Li Heng values that the study of material things, is different from others, and can get this understanding, which is indeed thought-provoking. But have you ever thought about what people are in these calculations? Even people's hearts, the world, these many things..."

Qin Siyuan is a practical person, but he is also clear about the world and human relationships, but perhaps he is troubled by some past events, he felt some emotion when he heard Ning Yi's statement. Kang Xian valued the world and human relationships more than Qin Siyuan, and first noticed these. After saying this sentence, Ning Yi glanced at the chessboard, smiled and shook his head, without answering.

The way he used to act and do things was the modern analysis system, everything in the world, were all data chess pieces, luck and accidents, were only regarded as a probability. To a certain extent, so-called clever plans do not actually exist, it’s merely a difference between a big appetite, a bigger appetite, and an excessively big appetite. But now it's different, *Tian Xing Jian, Junzi Yi Ziqiang Buxi* (天行健，君子以自强不息 - As Heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement). Confucianism is an extremely moderate, conservative and rigorous field of study, but one aspect of it gives people a sense of extreme upward hope, necessarily requiring the greatest affirmation of self-cultivation and effort, affirming the significance of the individual, affirming self-reflection, even if facing thousands of people, I will still go forward. The reasons behind it are very complex, but to some extent, this may be the reason why Confucianism restrains the study of material things, and why it has diverged further and further from the rigorous, cold logic system of the West, that of "because, therefore."

He couldn't delve too deeply into the matter. Afterwards, they naturally discussed some trivial matters. Ning Yi also casually asked about the *Wu Lie Jun* (武烈军 - Valiant Military Army) Commandant Song Xian. Amidst the curiosity of Old Qin and Old Kang, he also frankly admitted it was due to the Lantern Festival incident. Kang Xian then laughed: "Haha, *Zhong Li Xun Ta Qian Bai Du* (众里寻他千百度 - Searched for him thousands of times in the crowd). I originally just thought that Li Heng used this *ci* (词 - a type of Chinese lyric poetry) to express his ambition, but I never expected that there would really be a *Zhong Li Xun Ta Qian Bai Du*. I wonder what people would laugh at if they found out... It's surprising that Li Heng, you're interested in the style of *Wu Ren You Xia* (武人游侠 - martial arts vagabonds). That's not good; even the most skilled are only capable of handling ten or a hundred enemies. It's better to develop your aforementioned theory; although there are some problems with it, developing it further could make you a Confucian general, capable of handling ten thousand enemies... By the way, A'gui, come here."

Although he said that, he still called in his attendant named A'gui. Although this man's name sounds common, his status is probably not low, he's just respectful in front of Kang Xian. Ning Yi knows his full name is Lu A'gui. Afterwards, Kang Xian asked about the assassination of Song Xian. The man thought about it.

"I'm not very clear about Song Xian, but if Master Ning is interested in martial arts, it is said that he is indeed a man with profound martial arts skills. Ordinary dozens of people cannot get close to him. He is also highly valued in the Wu Lie Jun, and now commands the most elite guards battalion. But... this person has a bad reputation in terms of character. It is said that he is arrogant and vindictive. In his early years, he came from the Green Forest and killed many of his former companions in order to seek fame. If Master Ning is interested in martial arts, but if you are not familiar with him, I think it's best to avoid approaching him as much as possible. After all, the profession itself is all taboo in the Jianghu (江湖 - martial arts world)."

"Then… Brother Lu, do you know if there are many people with such profound martial arts in the Jianghu?"

"Profound martial arts, does Master Ning mean internal energy that can really topple trees and shatter stones? There are really very few of these people. At this time, in various military brigades, there may be a few more or less. Among several rebel armies, there may also be such strong men. Like the assassin who assassinated Song Xian that day, although I have not seen him, I have heard about what happened that day. This person did not succeed in one strike, went on a killing spree in Feiyan Ge (飞燕阁 - Flying Swallow Pavilion), and later injured more than ten people, including Song Xian, before leaving, the injuries were still not serious. Song Xian himself is a master, this person is already a super-first-class master in the Jianghu, but even so, I can't guess who she is."

He paused, actually, he has met Ning Yi many times, and sometimes chatted a few words, he still has a good impression of him, he clasped his fists and said: "Actually... Excuse me for speaking frankly, most of the profound internal skills only work if you start practicing from a young age, and not to mention whether Master Ning can find such a person, even if he can find one, it is useless now, and… even if it is useful, the magical thing about martial arts is not internal energy. Even if a set of the most powerful boxing techniques is practiced and refined for decades, and you have amazing talent in this area, it is useless. These kinds of skills all need to be constantly honed in combat and killing, and you don’t need to think carefully about how to respond to an opponent’s attack in order for it to be useful, and then the important things are speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy, the aura of killing intent, internal energy is just a method of exerting strength, if you only practice these, you can’t beat an old soldier who has experienced battles. Master Ning is a man of great talent, and in the future, whether you become an official or a general, you will be capable of handling ten thousand enemies. Why abandon the fundamentals to pursue the trivial in this matter?"

No matter how romantically it is written in martial arts novels, in reality, who would really yearn for that kind of life where they don't know if they'll have a tomorrow after today. The vast majority of people still have the idea of learning literary and martial arts to sell to the imperial family. This Lu A'gui has been by Kang Xian's side for a long time, and he probably thinks that Ning Yi is extraordinary, and that it is a pity to waste time practicing martial arts. The meaning is simple: you are a scholar, you don't have the opportunity to fight, without an environment for integration, practicing martial arts is equal to not practicing it. Ning Yi knew that he could say this sincerely, and quickly thanked him for it.

After chatting for a while, Ning Yi bid farewell. In the afternoon, the sun was just right, and the spring scenery on the banks of the Qinhuai River was pleasant. He strolled along the riverbank for a while, still thinking about martial arts, and as he approached the small building where Nie Yunzhu lived, he saw a column of black smoke rising from that side of the river bend, almost as if it was on fire.

He went all the way, and when he reached the front of the small building, he saw thick smoke billowing from the kitchen. A figure was submerged in the smoke, waving things around, fanning the wind, coughing, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden, and then finally ran out of the room.

That was the embarrassed Nie Yunzhu, her face covered in streaks of black marks from being smoked, even though it was a cool spring, she was covered in sweat. She ran to the corridor with a large palm-leaf fan in her hand, looking back at the kitchen surrounded by smoke, probably still thinking about how to kill her way in. When she turned her head, she saw Ning Yi on the road in front of her, and was slightly stunned.

Ning Yi couldn't help but laugh. Then, Nie Yunzhu also laughed, awkwardly wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand, leaving a more obvious black ash mark on her face from the sweat.

There was some shyness and embarrassment in that smile, but for some reason, coupled with the streaks of black marks on her cheeks, it only made people feel pure and beautiful…

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Continue to write, there will be another chapter in the morning, please vote for recommendations ^_^

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