Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 510 Extra Chapter 2: Not Like a Youthful Wanderer Anymore

Lin Congyan had been pondering a question.

Why was his older brother, Lin Congrong, able to follow in his father's footsteps and go to the battlefield, while he could only follow his second uncle to escort goods to Yunnan?

In Dasheng, making achievements and establishing a career is an honor, but engaging in business is considered inferior.

Therefore, Lin Congyan was completely dispirited on the way to Yunnan.

His second uncle, Lin Qingshou, was very experienced in business and basically didn't need his help.

After arriving in Yunnan, Lin Congyan had a lot of free time.

Lin Qingshou couldn't stand it, so he gave him a task: to find a suitable tea garden to supply tea to the Lin family.

In Lin Congyan's eyes, Yunnan was remote and not as good as Shengjing.

Moreover, he was preoccupied with practicing martial arts, so he had no interest in finding a tea plantation.

Soon, he found a seemingly honest and simple manager and asked to sign some documents and pay a deposit.

"This young master has a discerning eye! Everyone who has tasted our tea raves about it!" The steward's eyes lit up as he flipped the document directly to the stamping area.

Lin Congyan took out his private seal out of boredom and wanted to stamp it without even looking at it.

"and many more!"

A woman's reprimanding voice rang out.

The next moment, Lin Congyan's wrist was grabbed. When he looked up, a cold and beautiful woman suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"You unscrupulous merchant, trying to cheat people again? Everyone knows that the quality of your tea garden is extremely poor, only good enough to fool spoiled rich kids from out of town." The beauty's aloof demeanor vanished the moment she spoke.

The manager, losing face, slammed his hand on the table.
"Qin Yunxiu, stop talking nonsense outside. What does a woman know about doing business?"

Qin Yunxiu picked up the documents on the table:

"A pound of tea costs twenty taels of silver. If it's any more expensive, it'll almost be comparable to tribute tea. You still say you're not a profiteer?"

"Twenty taels of silver?" Lin Congyan frowned.

Even if he knew nothing about business, he would know that the price was too high.

He was born into a military family, and the steward ran away in fright at the slightest frown.

Having almost been tricked, Lin Congyan was furious and immediately wanted to chase after him.

But Qin Yunxiu held him tightly, preventing him from leaving for a moment.

Lin Congyan raised an eyebrow, took out a tael of silver and placed it on the table: "Miss, thank you for speaking up for me earlier. This is my reward."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

But Qin Yunxiu still wouldn't let go: "Young master, I don't want your money."

Lin Congyan frowned. Born into the Changning Marquis's family, he was always surrounded by women wherever he went, but this was the first time he had encountered such a bold woman.
"Let go, I'm not interested in you."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yunxiu released Lin Congyan's hand, but she still didn't let him leave.

"You've misunderstood. I'm not interested in you either."

"Are you looking for a tea plantation? My family owns a tea plantation with top-quality tea. If you want it, I'll sell it to you at a low price."

"A tea garden?" Lin Congyan was somewhat surprised, but remembering Qin Yunxiu's righteous words earlier, he still went with her.

As Qin Yunxiu said, the quality of her family's tea garden is indeed very good.

But Lin Congyan still had some doubts in his heart: why hadn't such a good tea garden been sold yet?

What if Qin Yunxiu is in cahoots with the previous manager and is deliberately putting on an act to inflate prices?
Therefore, he did not agree immediately, but decided to discuss it with Lin Qingshou before making a decision.

He just hadn't expected Qin Yunxiu to be so persistent.

After Lin Congyan made a polite remark, Qin Yunxiu waited for him at the inn where he was staying all night.

He inquired around and roughly learned about the Qin family's situation.

The Qin family has also had a tough time. An accident many years ago caused the passing of Mr. and Mrs. Qin, leaving only Qin Yunxiu and her brother to depend on each other for survival.

Qin Yunxiu's brother went to serve in the army on the frontier a long time ago, leaving her alone to struggle to support the family business.

In Dasheng, women who engaged in business were considered unlucky.

This is why the Qin family's tea plantation has been slow to sell.

Lin Congyan thought for a moment. Although Shengjing City also disliked this kind of thing, it wouldn't be difficult for the Changning Marquis's Mansion to revitalize the Qin Family Tea Garden.

After making the decision, he personally drafted the document and approached Qin Yunxiu.

But Qin Yunxiu rejected him:
“You’re too late. I’ve found a like-minded person who’s willing to buy my tea plantation.”

Lin Congyan didn't feel it was a pity; he could just look for another tea garden. However, he was somewhat curious:

"Who is she? Besides me, who else would dare to buy your tea plantation?"

Lin Congyan spoke frankly, and Qin Yunxiu didn't mind: "Her name is Wu Qing, and she comes from the capital. She's a remarkable lady."

Beijing?

Lin Congyan tried to recall, but couldn't find any information about Wu Qing.

Perhaps it was a tea vendor.

Lin Congyan became interested: "What's so amazing about it?"

While drying tea leaves, Qin Yunxiu said, "Madam Wu said that she believes that one day women will be able to wield power just like men."

"I believe too."

Lin Congyan couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

Born into an official family, the closest place to the imperial court, he knew very well that women could not hold power.

Qin Yunxiu, however, saw through his disdain and immediately stopped him at the door, refusing to speak further.

Lin Congyan treated the incident as a minor accident and didn't take it to heart.

Not long after, Qin Yunxiu reappeared at the foot of the inn. Her eyes were lifeless, and she seemed to have lost her soul.

Upon meeting Lin Congyan, she asked only one question: "Are you still buying tea plantations?"

Lin Congyan had actually already found a new tea plantation, but seeing Qin Yunxiu's eyes, he still nodded as if possessed.
"purchase!"

After signing the documents and paying the deposit, Scholar Qin Yun thanked Lin Congyan.

Lin Congyan thought for a moment and then asked, "What about Madam Wu Qing?"

Qin Yunxiu sighed heavily:

"We both believe that women can make a name for themselves, but the reason she wants to fight for women's rights is so that she can enjoy life as much as men."

Lin Congyan understood; their ideologies were incompatible.

Since that's the case, it's impossible to determine who's right and who's wrong, so he simply changed the subject:
“I don’t think I asked you before why you wanted to sell the tea plantation.”

Mentioning this made Qin Yunxiu feel a little better, and a smile even appeared on her face:
"I want to find my brother, and someone else."

Lin Congyan had met too many women and knew very well what the smile on Qin Yunxiu's face meant. He asked:
Is your beloved also on the frontier?

"That's right." Qin Yunxiu readily admitted without any hesitation.
“He was my brother’s colleague. He had come to Yunnan with my brother before. He was a great hero.”

"A hero? That's certainly a good thing." Lin Congyan couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart.

He thought of his unfulfilled dream of joining the army.

At the same time, I felt a pang of sadness.

He helped Qin Yunxiu not just because he was kind-hearted.

He had never seen a woman like Qin Yunxiu before; whether it was a sense of novelty or simply being attracted to her, he was captivated.

But now, all emotions must be put aside.

Their social statuses were too different, so there was no way they could have a future together. Besides, Qin Yunxiu already had someone she loved.

Therefore, parting ways might be the best outcome.

Not long after that night, Lin Congyan embarked on his journey back to Shengjing.

Before leaving, he quietly went to the Qin family's tea garden and took one last look at Qin Yunxiu.

Anyway, we'll never see each other again, that's what Lin Congyan thought at the time.

But he didn't expect that he would see Qin Yunxiu again in just one year.

No, he should call her Third Sister-in-law.

Everyone in Shengjing knew that when Lin Congrong returned to the capital in triumph, he brought back a woman with him.

The woman was just an ordinary citizen, but Lin Congrong used his military merits to exchange for a marriage contract.

At first, the Lin family did not agree to let this commoner into their home.

But since Lin Congrong earned his imperial edict through military merit, no one dared to say anything.

Qin Yunxiu was pleasantly surprised when she saw Lin Congyan: "Congyan, it's you!"

But Lin Congyan just smiled and said, "You've lost a lot of weight."

Lin Congyan heard a lot about Qin Yunxiu.

For example, Qin Yunxiu's brother died on the battlefield.

For example, when Lin Congrong accidentally entered the Poisonous Mountain, it was Qin Yunxiu who risked her life to save him.

For example, Lin Congrong, influenced by Qin Yunxiu, wanted to make enemies of the world, open a girls' school, and fight for women's interests.

Because of various rumors, even Aunt Mu, who raised Lin Congrong, didn't like Qin Yunxiu much after she married into the family, and often made things difficult for her.

Lin Congyan had witnessed this situation several times, but he had neither the standing nor the right to speak up for his sister-in-law.

Fortunately, Qin Yunxiu always smiled.

She told Lin Congyan that Aunt Mu was a good person and had no bad intentions.

Lin Congyan didn't care what kind of person Aunt Mu was; on the contrary, he became increasingly curious about what kind of person Qin Yunxiu was.

But the deeper he understood, the more resentment he felt.

Why did Qin Yunxiu choose to marry Lin Congrong?
Lin Congyan was already quite resentful because all of the Lin family's resources were being directed towards Lin Congrong.

He did not feel that he was inferior to Lin Congrong.

This is precisely why Lin Congyan never forgot about Qin Yunxiu's marriage to Lin Congrong.

He often wondered if things would have turned out differently if he had met Qin Yunxiu earlier than Lin Congrong.
But the cruelest thing is that there are no "what ifs" in this world.

He could only sketch Qin Yunxiu's face on the paper, stroke by stroke, in the dead of night.

Recalling this point, Lin Congyan took down Qin Yunxiu's portrait.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Master, Madam was worried you were overworked, so she asked me to bring you a bowl of sweet soup that she made herself," the servant announced loudly.

Upon hearing this, Lin Congyan smiled and said, "Bring it up."

He finished his bowl of sweet soup and his gaze fell once again on the portrait.

Lin Congyan had been pondering a question: In relationships, does the order in which people appear really matter?
When he had just reached the age of twenty, the answer to this question was: important, very important!

But now that he is nearing forty, he is surprised to find that the question that has troubled him for half his life seems to have already been answered.

The warmth of the sweet soup still lingered on my fingertips.

Lin Congyan smiled and rolled up the portrait:

"Someone, take this portrait to Qing'er."

"Tell her that her mother is a wonderful woman."