Chapter 159 The Long Winter
The income from that visit to the palace was not small, and the ten thousand taels of silver were not wasted. Just as Li Rusong said, the day after Su Luo returned from the palace, many officials came to the palace in plain clothes. Although there were no heavyweights, Li Rusong said that big names are big names, and they can't just show up in public. The small shrimps who come now are all from parties and factions, and being a representative is enough.
So Su Luo began to have smooth sailing. She prepared for the toy store and the clothing store branch. As long as she had the intention, she would always get the most discounts with the least money. So in the political center, relationships with the upper class are very important.
Li Rusong stayed in the capital for ten days before leaving. Su Luo knew how anxious he was and believed that Li Rusong would be sensible in doing things. Whether it was Qin Huai or Yun Lang, he would let them return to him safely.
However, Su Luo now has hidden worries. Although everything is easy with Wanli as a backer, business is still about trusting your own people. Su Luo asked Li Rusong to bring a letter to Su Jiang, intending to ask Su Jiang to recommend two capable people. Unexpectedly, two months later, Su Jiang appeared in front of Su Luo with a designer.
Su Jiang said that the business of Luoyang Garment Shop had stabilized, and with Su Hong and Bi Hen looking after it, there should be no problem. In comparison, Su Luo seemed lonely and weak in the capital, so he came to help.
However, Su Luo was still a little suspicious of Su Jiang's purpose. Was she afraid that she would get too close to the power center and do something that would affect history, so she came to watch her? It wasn't that Su Luo was stingy, it was because Su Jiang looked at her with a compassionate look at every turn, as if she was the next historical sinner, which was really annoying.
But it doesn't matter, she will use facts to tell Su Jiang what the goal is. Her goal is the richest man in Ming Dynasty, not the prime minister of Ming Dynasty, there is a fundamental difference between the two.
After reading Su Luo's plan to open a store, Su Jiang was a little worried, saying that the profit margin of a toy store was not large and she should think about it again. In fact, Su Luo understood it well. Toys in this era were relatively simple, and she wanted to focus on various dolls and pillows, which first limited her customer base.
Generally speaking, those who like cute things are little loli, but in the current social environment, most people don't pay much attention to their daughters, so the probability of buying toys for them is much smaller, so Su Luo first ruled out the possibility of the low-end route and set his goal on the mid-to-high-end route. Although the rich and powerful may not pay attention to their daughters, they probably won't pay attention to the few taels of silver either.
The most important thing, the motivation for Su Luo to keep the toy store open is that... she has already made a promise to Su Jiang that she will sell toys and dolls. Although Su Jiang may not care, for Su Luo, this is a matter of dignity, and she has never been convinced by Su Jiang.
After all, this was Su Luo's business. Su Jiang knew that Su Luo was deliberately angry with her, and she didn't want to get too entangled in this matter, so she just obeyed her orders. It must be said that Su Jiang's business acumen was much better than Su Luo's. Su Luo had always relied on luck to do business, while Su Jiang had always been a strong player , from accounting, supervision and signing contracts to recruiting and selecting talents, she was good at everything. When she came, Su Luo immediately had a lot of free time.
Not to mention being free, Su Luo also had her own things to do. Less than a month after Su Jiang arrived, Princess Huairou and Su finally arrived in the capital.
The two of them took Su Yi from Nanjing and went to Zhuxian Town to get a divorce. After that, they traveled around for two months. Finally, they remembered to go to Beijing to contact Chinese studies for Su Yi. So the three of them went to Beijing on a windy and snowy day and landed in front of Su Luo like gods.
Su Luo was not surprised at all about how the princess knew that she was in the capital. People of status always have to be well-informed. So Su Luo no longer had to stay in an inn, and moved into the imperial residence of her second aunt.
This was a family reunion, and everyone was happy. Although Su seemed to want to go back to Nanjing earlier, she was reluctant to leave her son in the capital, and Su Luo was also busy with business and could not go back for a while, so she just stayed there. Only Su Luo knew who her mother was thinking about, and secretly wrote a letter back to Nanjing to ask about the situation of the beauty salon, and said that if it was not too busy at the end of the year, she would let Bao Zixing rush to the capital so that the whole family could celebrate the New Year together.
The afternoon he received the letter, Bao Zixing packed his small bag, arranged his affairs in the store, and set off for Beijing alone, not for anything else, just to "spend the New Year with the whole family."
In a blink of an eye, it was the end of the year, and the preparations for the toy store and the clothing store were coming to an end. As long as they found the right time to open, everything would be fine. At this time, Su Jiang resigned from Su Luo, and she also wanted to go home for the New Year.
Su Jiang said: "After a period of observation, I finally felt relieved."
Su Luo was speechless. Did she think she was a peacekeeping police? Still observing? Still at ease?
Perhaps Su Luo's expression was too obvious, Su Jiang chuckled, "I did have some misunderstandings about you before, I'm sorry."
Su Luo was stunned for a long time, scratching his ears, wondering if he had heard it wrong.
Su Jiang still smiled faintly, "I was too self-righteous before. I always thought that someone as cheerful as you must not be willing to be lonely."
“I really don’t like loneliness…”
"I mean, I thought you would want to do something earth-shattering in this era."
"I do want to do big things. Isn't the goal of becoming the richest man in Ming Dynasty big enough?"
"I mean..." Su Jiang suddenly stopped talking, and chuckled as he watched Su Luo constantly distort his meaning. "Actually, there's nothing wrong with you doing this. At least you're doing what you want to do. For me, it seems like I'm overdoing it."
Su Luo waved his hand casually, "People live in different ways. Just envy each other. Don't take it too seriously."
Su Jiang nodded, "Then I'll leave first. I'll come back after the New Year and we can do something together then."
Su Luo suddenly felt that Su Jiang might be even lonelier than her. Was it because of loneliness that he didn't dare to act spontaneously?
"Hey!" Su Luo looked at Su Jiang's back and spoke hesitantly, "Don't you blame me? What happened that night." She was talking about the incident in Luoyang when she revealed the relationship between Su Jiang and Li Rusong.
"A little bit." Su Jiang didn't look back. "If you didn't say anything and let me continue to misunderstand, I might be happier than I am now."
"It's not a happy thing to like that man." Su Luo curled her lips, "But why should there be misunderstanding?"
Su Jiang was stunned, and Su Luo continued: "If you like it, why don't you turn the misunderstanding into reality? You look a lot like his girlfriend, which is an advantage."
Su Jiang's body stiffened, and he turned around and said in a harsh voice: "What kind of advantage is this? I would rather not have this face, and I would feel more comfortable in front of him!"
"Of course it is an advantage. When we first met him, didn't his attitude towards you and me explain everything? The problem is not your face, but your heart. You have been avoiding it. Is it because you lack confidence? Are you afraid that he will only think of ? If I were you, I would try my best to make him forget Xiaozhen. Even if he is facing the same face, he can only think of me!"
Su Luo's retort left Su Jiang speechless. Her eyes wandered a little, and finally she shook her head slowly, "I... am confused." Then she smiled again, "It's useless to say all this now. That night I saw through his heart and the relationship between us. You are the weird one, aren't you fond of him?"
Su Luo snorted, "Love is a matter between two people. It has nothing to do with a third person. Happiness also needs to be fought for by oneself. Even if I like him, I have to grasp this feeling myself. I don't care if you give up on him. Besides..."
Besides, Su Luo didn't say anything, but just slumped his shoulders in frustration, "I have no right to say anything to you, go away, think about it when you have nothing to do, think about what you really want. I have to think about it too."
Su Jiang nodded, said nothing more, said goodbye to Su and the princess, and left the capital.
After Su Jiang left, Su Luo suddenly became busy again. She followed the princess into the palace every day, met this lady and that lady, and had a hot relationship with the upper class. Because Su Luo was often invited to the palace by Wanli, she was a celebrity in the eyes of these ladies and wives in the harem. Many people guessed when she would officially enter the palace as a concubine, and deliberately harassed her.
Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages. Everyone is willing to flatter the emperor, but there are also people who dislike her. For example, Concubine Zheng, Wanli doted on her to the sky and wanted to make her son the crown prince. The ministers in the court disagreed and the two sides argued endlessly. It was she who felt that all the women around Wanli wanted to be his concubines, and Su Luo seemed a little special. You can imagine what Concubine Zheng's impression of Su Luo would be.
Fortunately, Su Luo knew what to do without Li Rusong's reminder this time. If the husband loves money, how could the wife not love money? Although the five thousand taels of silver bills were not much in her eyes, it at least reduced some of Concubine Zheng's hostility, and she didn't roll her eyes when talking to Su Luo. Su Luo took the opportunity to encourage her, saying that when the emperor was in Luoyang, he was the spokesperson for our clothing store. Shouldn't the queen follow suit and promote our branch store in Beijing?
The most important thing in this sentence is "husband sings and wife follows", and Concubine Zheng was indeed moved. Su Luo seized the opportunity to make a small plan with her BALABALA. Concubine Zheng was very happy. She looked at the scar on Su Luo's face, then looked at herself in the mirror, and then she was completely relieved.
Su Luo also breathed a sigh of relief. She had put a lot of thought into reassuring the imperial concubine. Fortunately, before Li Rusong left, he introduced her to a bank owner who seemed to be a direct descendant of the Li family. Otherwise, where would she get the five thousand?
I was grateful for Li Rusong's money, so I naturally thought of Li Rusong. He had been gone for half a year, and there was no news. I didn't know where he was now, and whether he had found Qin Huai. Or was it over? No, if it was over, Li Rusong should have informed me as soon as possible. So there was still no result? Qin Huai, where was he?
Su Luo sighed several times, and the sedan chair suddenly slowed down. Su Luo lifted the curtain and found that they had arrived at Princess Huairou's residence. Su Luo got off the sedan chair and was about to go in when the guard stopped her and led out a servant, saying that he was looking for her and had been waiting for her for most of the day.
The servant held a small box in his hand. He asked Su Luo's name carefully when he saw her, and then handed the box to her. "My master asked me to give it to you. My master said that when the south wind blows, we will meet again."
Su Luo took the box in confusion and opened it. A small emerald green bottle was lying there quietly. The bottle was covered with cracks, as if it had been broken and then carefully glued together.
Su Luo's eyes suddenly showed a sour feeling, but the corners of his mouth curved up involuntarily. A light snow began to fall in the air, but Su Luo felt a warm current rising from his heart, slowly flowing to his limbs.
Winter is about to pass;
Spring is coming.
