After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The side dish was just a plate of cold pickled cabbage, crisp and crunchy, with sugar added, meant to feed Aunt Beizhi.

After learning of the sudden death of her second brother, Ning Zhiyuan, Aunt Beizhi's eyes had been red and swollen from crying for days. She hadn't been eating and almost fell seriously ill.

Fortunately, Ningnan addressed the problem by preparing some refreshing cold dishes, which finally got the little girl to eat a few bowls of rice.

Uncle and Madam Xiao were overwhelmed with emotion and deeply grateful to their grand-nephew.

These past few days, after school, Ningnan would always come to Qinfang Garden at the Jingbei Marquis's residence to visit her aunt, tell her stories, cook for her, and chat.

My aunt seemed preoccupied, so to distract her, I naturally tried to engage her in conversation about poetry.

Her idol is Xu Yang. Some of her close friends and confidantes who attend the poetry gatherings, after learning about her situation, have been sending her copies of Xu Yang's latest works these past few days. At these times, Ning Nan will pretend to pick up Xu Yang's latest poems and offer her comments.

Two maids served her meals, while two old women simmered porridge for the young lady.

My aunt has been enjoying pickled cabbage with rice porridge lately, and Dr. Jiang Sixue agrees, saying it's a good way to eat and that we shouldn't eat too much meat or fish these days.

As the aunt chewed on the sweet and sour, crunchy cabbage stalks, she listened to the talented men from both the north and south commenting on their idol's poems, nodding her head in satisfaction.

Even though he was unwilling to accept that Xu Yang had lost to the North-South Talent, things suddenly took a turn when he realized that the North-South Talent was actually his own nephew.

Things are naturally another matter... Hmm... My nephew's writing is indeed a tiny bit better than Xu Caizi's. No wonder he shares the same surname as me, Ning... She nodded to herself inwardly, but didn't say it aloud, lest her nephew become arrogant and stop striving for improvement.

"You must write a poem for me for the Mid-Autumn Festival," the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion ordered her nephew earnestly, her tone filled with certainty.

"I've run out of ideas," Ning Nan sighed, resorting to his old excuse.

"I don't care. Otherwise, I won't give you the money."

"Then I don't want a thousand taels," Ning Nan said, spreading his hands. "Give me a hundred taels."

"Not even a hundred taels."

"Ten taels?"

"snort."

"One or two taels should be alright, right?" Ning Nan said helplessly.

"No way." The eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion said with a stern face.

Ning Nan sighed, feeling helpless. His purpose in asking his aunt for money wasn't because he was truly short of cash, but rather to secure an investment from her.

After all, the title of Marquis of Jingbei will either be inherited by him or by his son.

Although he planned to give all the other properties of the Jingbei Marquis's mansion to his aunt as dowry, he still felt somewhat indebted.

In addition, he did need to support a group of people.

This forced me to do something, like opening a business to make some money.

He planned to give his aunt 30% of the business's shares.

After she gives birth, we'll give it to her child.

With her under her watchful eye, even if her children squander money in the future, they can only squander their monthly dividends; they won't lose their entire fortune. In that case, her aunt should be able to live a happy and carefree life.

In addition, there are some reasons that cannot be spoken... It seems that the title is something that lasts for generations, but in reality, given the situation in the Southern Dynasty, if the Northern Dynasty were to invade from the south one day, the court might not be able to withstand it. If I don't inherit this title, then naturally I will do my best, and if all else fails, I will take my whole family and run away.

But since I've inherited this title... and only I can inherit it... there's nothing I can do about it.

Even if he couldn't win, he couldn't run away, otherwise, his uncle might go from being remembered for his virtues to being remembered for his infamy.

At the very least, one should be like Zhuge Zhan.

But even if he were to die, he still had to find a way out for his wife, Cui Cui, and his aunt.

This soon-to-open trading company is our fallback plan. We can expand southwards and northwards as well. If things really go badly, we can have Cui Cui's wife take her family and aunt south to Fujian or Guangdong. If all else fails, they can go to Southeast Asia. We'll always be able to survive.

Asking her aunt for some money is just a formality; it makes her feel involved and more comfortable accepting it. She'll even feel smug, thinking it's because her aunt was farsighted.

It's just a pity... they won't spend a single tael of silver now.

"Hmph," the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion wrinkled her nose, "My niece-in-law Cui Cui told me the other day that if you don't listen to me and bully me, she'll help me deal with you!"

Uh... Ning Nan was speechless.

Cui Cui's wife has been quite busy lately. Although she didn't come in person, she sent a letter and talked to her aunt. The aunt replied in a very serious manner, and Cui Cui's wife wrote another letter... The aunt replied again, and the two became close pen pals.

Although I don't know how my wife will deal with me, just the fact that she won't let me sleep in her bed at night is already unbearable.

"Nephew," the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion, having finished her harsh criticism, was about to offer a sweet treat, speaking earnestly like a little adult, "Auntie is only doing this for your own good... Do you know? The Prince Xin's mansion is holding a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, and my mother is going to take me there! So many officials will be there, and if I show off my poem, even if it's terrible, it will still leave a mark on their minds..."

Ning Beizhi spoke slowly and clearly, and as she spoke, her tone became more and more confident, as if she really did it for her nephew's good!

The actual situation... is naturally not like that. The day before yesterday, the eldest granddaughter of Marquis Mingzhong, the eldest daughter of Marquis Jinxi, and several other noble ladies came to her place for tea. She whispered that the talented scholar from the North and South was her nephew, but was ridiculed by the group of noble ladies, who said that Bei Zhi was really so infatuated with Xu Yang that she was confused.

Who's better than Xu Yang? Why don't you just acknowledge him as your nephew? Making someone a generation below Xu Yang for no reason, that's quite something!

Furthermore, didn't you say back then that you and the talented scholar from the North and South were just casual acquaintances, and that he wrote "Cold and Desolate" out of public indignation for you? How come he's now your nephew?! Just because his surname is Ning?

Ning Beizhi immediately erupted in panic. "I didn't know before!" The eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion blushed with anxiety. "Oh dear! It's my nephew!"

The group of noble ladies, worried that she would upset herself, said dismissively, "Fine, fine, whatever you say." Ning Beizhi became even angrier, gritting her teeth as she said, "If you don't believe me, then don't believe me! Humph!"

The granddaughter of Scholar Liu frowned and said that her grandfather was a close friend of the talented scholars from both the North and South, and had sent them invitations. However, the scholars said they wouldn't be attending the Mid-Autumn Festival poetry gathering and wouldn't be composing poems. The noble ladies immediately expressed their regret, saying that it was such a pity; they had been really looking forward to seeing such a lackluster new work... Ning Beizhi's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but she immediately squinted, too lazy to argue with them... Humph!

"Nephew, you must compose a poem, titled 'A Mid-Autumn Festival Poem for Aunt Ning Beizhi'... Hmm, that's it... Aunt will reward you with a thousand taels, no cheating!... If you don't write it... Hmph... I'll tell your wife..."

With a look of grief and indignation, Ning Nan rolled up his sleeves and roared, "Ning Beizhi! In my entire life—have I ever loved money?!"

……

……

Regarding the trading company... Master Ning, who had never loved money in his life, dusted off the silver notes in his hand, got into the carriage, and started heading home... Master Ning had been pondering the matter of the trading company for a long time.

A few days ago, he had spent a long time discussing things with Chen Ruhai at Fulai Tavern. Although they didn't reach a conclusion, he learned a lot about commerce in those days.

We spent so much money on breaking through Black Tiger Mountain before, and at that time we said we would earn back the money for Changqing Trading Company. Now it's time to put making money on the agenda.

The imperial examinations and the eight-legged essay were still the top priority; making money was merely a pastime, something to be done to the best of one's ability.

I did have some ideas before.

He had originally thought of starting a carriage rental business in the capital, seeing that Zhao Jing and the others walked to the school every day. However, instead of renting out carriages directly like existing car rental companies, he wanted to set up fixed routes like buses in later generations, where people could ride for just a few coins.

But after conducting market research, they found that it was unlikely to be successful.

Wealthy families have their own carriages and drivers, so they don't need this thing; poor families... well, they don't have money to ride in one.

The driver needs wages, the horse needs fodder, and the horse's hooves wear out. If the horse runs for a whole day, it will probably die of exhaustion. If it runs for half a day, the horse will have to be replaced. In this way, the price cannot be low. If it cannot be low, people will just go to the carriage company to rent a carriage. Why bother using you?

So he decided to start a rickshaw business. Although many details are still unclear, in later generations, rickshaw services did indeed replace horse-drawn carriages to some extent in cities.

But when he found a carpenter and a blacksmith and managed to recreate a rickshaw from his memory, he found it was completely unusable.

That's too crazy.

Without rubber tires, rickshaw passengers would experience an unbearable bumpy ride.

It's difficult for people to pull, and if we use donkeys or something similar, we'll need another driver, the cart will need to be heavier, and the cost will go up again.

Huff... Ning Nan's eyes were serious as he slowly exhaled.

Rubber is the key ingredient, but he doesn't know where to get it.

As I thought about it...

The carriage stopped, and Uncle Ping pulled on the reins, whispering from outside, "Master, we're home."

Ning Nan nodded and just lifted the curtain.

Then a black carriage was seen parked outside the Ning residence.

"master,"

A servant came up to greet him, saying respectfully:

"The lady's family has arrived."