Back at Zixiao Temple, Chen Jingke was about to talk to his master about the matchmaker. As soon as he entered the door, he heard Qin Qiong's gentle and magnetic voice:
"This is my honor. Please rest assured, I will handle this matter beautifully."
Sun Simiao smiled and said: "Of course I can rest assured that Duke Qin will take action..."
Well, Chen Jingke didn’t know what was going on. His master had already expected that the engagement would go on as scheduled and invited Qin Qiong over in advance.
Alas, I seem to be the dumbest in the family. He couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh, this time traveler was so frustrating.
But fortunately, there is such a family of monsters, otherwise I would not know how I died.
Entering the lobby, you saw Sun Simiao and Qin Qiong talking and laughing happily.
When the two saw him coming in, they laughed again.
Sun Simiao said: "Ke'er, you are back, are things going well?"
Chen Jingke first saluted the two of them, and then replied: "I have agreed with my aunt, that is... the acceptance period remains unchanged, and I will have to trouble my uncle in two days."
Qin Qiong laughed and said: "Haha... It's good to be troublesome. The more troublesome this kind of thing is, the more I like it."
Then he looked Chen Jingke up and down and praised: "Not bad, not bad, a talented person, a perfect match for Princess Jinyang."
Chen Jingke said sheepishly: "My uncle has given me a compliment. I only thank the saint and my aunt for their love."
In fact, he has already begun to complain in his heart, Qin Shubao is illogical when he praises people. The little Sizi is only four years old, and he can see how well matched he is.
However, everyone can understand his mood. It is naturally a happy thing for allies to become stronger.
After that, they began to discuss the specific procedures. In fact, these matters had nothing to do with Chen Jingke.
Marriage matters are dictated by the parents and the matchmaker, and the elders have to worry about everything. He can just sit back and wait for his wife.
But after all, it was his marriage, so he still chose to sit in and watch.
In fact, the aristocratic engagement ceremony adopts ancient Zhou rites, with fixed etiquette steps, and even the gifts are fixed.
The so-called fixation means that there are certain things that must be present, such as the wild geese at the time of adoption. If there are no wild geese, it is an insult to the woman.
Apart from the wild geese, it doesn’t matter anything else. Just bring something with you and don’t go empty-handed.
Even if you are a rich and powerful family, you will not give away many and expensive things at this time, as you will be ridiculed by the nouveau riche.
If you really want to show off your wealth, you have to wait until the fourth ceremony. In addition to the prescribed gold and silver jewelry, the more other things you have, the better.
Zixiaoguan is also in a dilemma over the fourth ceremony.
It's easy to say when you want to accept it, just add a few pieces of silk and pastries to the wild geese.
The fourth gift is difficult to give. Too little is unjustifiable. After all, she is the legitimate princess. Zixiaoguan cannot afford to give too much.
Qin Qiong, the matchmaker, didn't know how much he should get for the moment, and was even thinking about whether he should help a little.
Chen Jingke knew it already and said, "Don't worry about the betrothal gift. We just need to prepare the necessary gold and silver jewelry and cakes. Others will be delivered today or tomorrow."
Qin Qiong guessed a possibility after thinking for a while, pointed upward and said: "Over there?"
Chen Jingke replied: "I just entered the palace to deliver betrothal gifts. The saint and the empress were very satisfied. The things the palace gave us were just for us to show off to outsiders."
Qin Qiong understood immediately and did not ask what he had given the emperor. He said: "That will be easy. I will help others to make gold and silver jewelry later, and I will go to the palace to propose marriage in two days."
…
After seeing off Qin Qiong, Chen Jingke chatted with Sun Simiao about the recent affairs and made sure that there were no omissions before he resigned and left.
Then we went all the way to the outer courtyard and found Wu Shu who was busy in the printing shop.
"This batch is sent to Luoyang. This batch is going north along the Grand Canal to Zhuozhou. There will be people at the docks in every important town along the way. Please place the goods according to the list and don't mess up."
"This batch is going south along the Grand Canal, and the goods are dropped off at the same important points along the way as the ones heading north. Don't make the wrong mistake."
Seeing how busy she was and sweating profusely, Chen Jingke felt very distressed. However, he did not come forward to disturb her. Instead, he waited for her to finish her work before coming over with a cup of warm tea and said:
"Sister Wu, thank you for your hard work."
Wu Shu breathed a sigh of relief, took the teacup and said, "I'm just talking, it's nothing hard. Are you done with your work?"
"I can only say that I'm done with today's work." Chen Jingke took out his handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat on her forehead.
Wu Shu immediately calmed down and quietly enjoyed his thoughtfulness.
After wiping the sweat from her forehead, cheeks, and nose, he said: "Don't worry about the channel. Take your time. The worst we can do is give out a few more issues for free."
Wu Shu knew that he felt sorry for her, and he felt very relieved, but he did not agree with his point of view at all: "You are not a family member and don't know how expensive food, rice, oil and salt are."
"We gave away 30,000 copies of the first issue, 35,000 copies of the second issue, and 50,000 copies of the third issue alone. I don't know how many we will have in the future. It's all money."
"I know you must say that we are not short of money, we just need to make Mochizuki Tan famous. That's what you say, but our money doesn't come from strong winds. We can save whatever we can."
Listening to her talk and plan carefully, Chen Jingke was not only not annoyed, but felt particularly warm. He smiled and said: "Yes, yes, yes, Sister Wu is the most diligent and frugal in housekeeping. We all listen to you."
Wu Shu glanced at him and said: "It's good to know. Wangyuetan has finally gained some fame, which will be of great help to us in establishing sales channels."
"Now many booksellers from other places have begun to contact us proactively, hoping that Wang Yuetan can enter their stores. In just one month, I have opened channels in more than ten major cities along the Grand Canal."
"Next, I plan to open up sales channels in important towns along the Yellow River, Huai River, and Yangtze River, so that fifty-six out of ten important towns in the world are included."
"Even if we part ways with Daomen by then, we don't have to worry about not being able to sell our books."
Chen Jingke said with admiration: "Awesome. Fortunately, I have you. If I were asked to do it, I might never be able to do this in my life."
Wu Shu said happily: "Don't you always say that everyone has their own strengths? Don't compare your own shortcomings to others' strengths."
"I am better than you at doing these mundane things, but when it comes to knowledge and creativity, I am far inferior to you."
"Without the stage you provide, no matter how great my abilities are, they will be useless."
Seeing her comforting him in turn, Chen Jingke was very moved. He was so lucky to have traveled through time.
Wu Shu also spoke eloquently, describing his plans. He said he would wait for several major water transportation channels to be opened and then build channels along the secondary rivers.
The land channel only needs to open up a few key towns. Second-level towns are not necessary for the time being. It is not cost-effective to invest too much in transportation inconvenience.
She had been in contact with Chen Jingke for a long time and was influenced by him. She opened and closed her mouth with special terms from the previous life, and she used them very skillfully.
As his influence increases and Mochizuki Tan becomes more popular, these words are gradually being accepted and used by more and more people.
He is like a drop of ink, slowly but increasingly deeply affecting the world.
