Chapter Thirty-two: Preparations for Departure, Sincere Confession

  The next day, Li Jiancheng came to the wine tower early in the morning after finishing breakfast. He also brought several toothbrushes and toothpaste that he had made in his spare time. At this time, there were not many people, so he went straight to the neighboring residence. I guess now many people know that he has a favor for He Qing, so he came to find He Qing without worrying about anyone raising any suspicions.

  "Huh? You've arrived at the wine house so early!" He Qing exclaimed in surprise as she came out to wash up.

  "Up so early, little brother!" Qin Yao, who was washing up with He Qing, greeted him as soon as he arrived. However, Qin Yao's words made him feel quite annoyed, but since he was younger, he could only go to the side and cry.

  "Cough, cough... Aunt He, use these two things." After finishing speaking, he handed over a few toothbrushes and toothpaste, then explained the usage method once, before saying: "After you've washed up, come to my room, I have something to discuss with you." After finishing speaking, he went to his own room, thinking about what he had to entrust.

  "Jian Cheng, I'm coming in!" He Qing shouted from outside the house.

  "Come on in, Aunt He doesn't need to be so polite," Li Jiancheng said.

  "Hehe, you're still bigger after all, some things are always inconvenient." He Qing said with a smile, "By the way, where did that thing come from earlier? It's very useful, and after using it, not only does your breath not smell bad, but it also feels cool and refreshing."

  "Haha, that thing was something I found myself from a miscellaneous book, made with materials such as pearl powder, mint leaves, and slaked lime." Li Jiancheng said slowly, not in a hurry to get down to business since it was still early.

  "What? There's even pearl powder inside. I reckon only rich people like you can afford it, ordinary families can't." He Qing said exaggeratedly.

  "I'm also helpless, I originally wanted to promote it, but without the pearl powder, it can't solidify, and I couldn't find a substitute. I'll write down the method for you, Aunt He, try it out when you have time. If Aunt He can think of a solution, it will benefit the people, and maybe you'll even be recorded in history, leaving a good name for generations to come." Li Jiancheng said with a smile, but actually, it was just a joke. Unexpectedly, He Qing remembered it in her heart, and when Li Jiancheng saw her again, she had already solved the problem. Later on, she indeed became a historical figure, but that's another story for now.

  "Okay, I'll try." He Qing nodded and silently memorized the words. "By the way, you came to find me today, it's not just for this matter, right? You wouldn't come here if there was nothing going on, being a boss like you is already quite leisurely."

  "You have the ability to solve it, I'll just hold down the fort in the back." He replied with a sentence, then continued: "My father has been transferred to Taiyuan as a guard, so we need to move together. In the future, the wine tower will rely on you."

  "Want to move to Taiyuan... what? Move to Taiyuan?" He Qing was initially puzzled, then reacted.

  "That's right!" he emphasized again. "Normally when I'm not around, you guys are also doing well, so my moving out won't have a big impact on you. The main reason I came today is to arrange some things for you to do next."

  "Oh!" He Qing was still in a daze, apparently He Qing was stunned by this remark. So Li Jiancheng stopped and gave He Qing some time to digest the news. After a while, He Qing finally came back to her senses, saw Li Jiancheng looking at her, slightly embarrassed, "Hehe, I was shocked by the news, if you have anything to say, just say it! I'll listen carefully."

  Here is the translation:

  He saw He Qing come back to her senses, and then Li Jiancheng continued: "There are three things. First, the training of those orphans cannot be relaxed, and the formation training must continue to strengthen; second, the wine shop will open branches in Luoyang, Lingnan, and Hangzhou, and you will take care of the specific operations; third, it's about our future practice." He wrote a "5" on the paper with his pen and continued: "I will make three tokens with this mark, made of bronze, silver, and gold. I will show them to you before I leave. If someone holding one of these tokens comes to find you, you will follow their orders according to the number on the token. Remember, if all three tokens appear at the same time, listen to the person holding the golden token." There's nothing else, just some details that need to be taken care of by He Qing. As for promoting Arabic numerals, Li's family is not yet in power, so they don't have the conditions to do so, and can only wait until later.

  He Qing opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then closed it again. Li Jiancheng saw this and said to He Qing: "Auntie He, if you have anything to say, just say it, what's not good to talk about between us?"

  "I was just asking casually, don't mind." He Qing explained and then asked: "I can understand opening branches in Luoyang and Hangzhou, but is it necessary to open one in such a remote and barbarous place like Lingnan?" Indeed, what He Qing said was not wrong. Since ancient times, the southern regions have always been considered barbarous lands, and because of the hot weather, people from the south are often thought to be barbarians. Haven't you seen those officials from the Song Dynasty who were demoted and sent to the south?

  Li Jiancheng's expression suddenly turned serious, and he couldn't care less about anyone else, but the people around him had to know: "He Yini, you have to understand that all of us Huaxia people are descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors, there is no difference between us, only different places. Just like many people think scholars are superior to others, merchants are looked down upon in their eyes, but what we need to do is not discriminate against anyone. If you want to be respected by others, first learn to respect others. If it goes on like this, even gender equality will be possible."

  He Qing was initially intimidated by his serious expression, fearing that he would scold her. Later, she realized that he was only educating her, and when he finally spoke his last sentence, her eyes lit up: "Jiancheng, He Niang knows, I will correct my own views." He Qing was shocked, although it had not yet reached the abnormal era of Zhu Xi in Southern Song Dynasty, the constraints on women were already appalling. However, the status of women was still very low. Now, hearing Li Jiancheng say these words showed his respect for women, and his last sentence made He Qing's certain idea even stronger, originally still under construction, but now it had reached the point where it must be executed.

  "As for opening a branch in Lingnan, you will find out its purpose later." Li Jiancheng said lightly.

  He Qing was about to ask, but suddenly she thought of something: Jian Cheng had opened a branch in Taiyuan and trained orphans in the early years. Had he expected that they would move to Taiyuan? Or was it unexpected? If he had expected it, then Jian Cheng's ability could no longer be described as human. It seemed that the Lingnan branch had played a big role. So He Qing didn't ask any more questions.

  After chatting with He Qing for a while, I left and he came to the blacksmith's shop to order three bronze, silver and gold plaques. After explaining his requirements, he went to Dugu's house. It had been many years since he first visited Dugu's house, so the guards at the door knew about his relationship with Dugu Feng. Therefore, when he arrived, he didn't need to report and could go straight in to find her.

  He arrived at Dugu Feng's room and it seemed like there were sounds coming from inside. It looked like she was in, so he raised his hand to knock on the door.

  "Don't come in, I don't want to see anyone." Dugu Feng shouted loudly. She had already said that she wouldn't see anyone today, but unexpectedly someone came to disturb her, so she was very angry. Li Jiancheng was also puzzled, what play is this?

  "Feng'er, you don't want to see me, then I'll leave." After saying that, he stopped talking and just stood at the door.

  "Oh no, it's Brother Jian Cheng. How can I let him see me like this? Will he dislike me because of this?" Dugu Feng muttered to herself before remembering that she had to leave, so she hastily rushed over to open the door. As soon as she did, she saw Li Jian Cheng standing at the entrance with a smile on his face. Suddenly, Dugu Feng's face turned bright red, just like an apple, extremely cute, making him want to take a bite."

  "Jian Cheng brother, I didn't know it was you, please come in quickly." Dugu Feng said with a coquettish tone, then ushered him in and followed behind him like a mistreated little daughter-in-law.

  "Feng'er, who made you suffer again?" Li Jiancheng asked with a smile.

  "It's you, it's really you..." As she spoke, Dugu Feng suddenly burst into tears.

  This made Li Jiancheng cry and laugh at the same time, what else did he do to her? So he gloomily asked: "Feng'er, what else did I do, tell me clearly, let me die with a clear conscience!"

  "You also said you were going to Taiyuan, but didn't come to tell me. Just now your mother came and told grandma, I heard it all from outside the door, don't you want Feng'er anymore!" Dugu Feng said tearfully.

  Li Jiancheng listened and felt helpless, it turned out to be this matter. He asked with a bitter smile: "Feng'er, I didn't come to see you. Besides, you heard what my mother and your grandmother said."

  "No, anyway they know you're leaving, don't leave with a sad heart just because of me." Feng continued to say while crying.

  Li Jiancheng was really speechless, he hadn't even finished listening to her when she suddenly stopped talking. Thinking about this made him angry, so he picked her up and sat her on his lap, raised his palm and slapped her buttocks three times, slapping her until she forgot to cry, staring blankly at Li Jiancheng, her face turned red again. Seeing her like this, Li Jiancheng finally couldn't help but bite down on her lips, while Dugu Feng was stunned, unable to react.

  "Ah..." Li Jiancheng exclaimed, it turned out that Dugu Feng had subconsciously bitten his lip, and he was in pain, blood flowing out.

  "Ah! Jian Cheng, it's not on purpose, who made you suddenly like this, I didn't react in time." Looking at Dugu Feng with a wronged expression again, he couldn't help but smile. "Jian Cheng, why are you smiling? You're too bad, hitting me... and then kissing me, only to abandon me afterwards." Seeing her on the verge of tears again, he had no choice but to explain.

  "You said you didn't finish listening to my mother and your grandmother's conversation, right?" Seeing her nod, Li Jiancheng continued: "My mother came to discuss with your grandmother that we would postpone our wedding date, wait until the Li family is settled in Taiyuan, and then discuss the marriage again. You got angry without finishing listening, you say I should or shouldn't hit you." After hearing his explanation, Dugu Feng finally looked down in embarrassment.

  Seeing her like that, Li Jiancheng turned her around to face him. Dugu Feng looked weak and pitiful, asking: "Brother Jiancheng, what are you going to do again?"

  Li Jiancheng said seriously: "Feng'er, Brother Jiancheng understands your heart's intention. Therefore, Brother Jiancheng will never give up on you for this lifetime and will forever guard you. You must believe in Brother Jiancheng, do you understand?" Upon hearing his words, Dugu Feng nodded her head excitedly.

  Then Li Jiancheng said: "Also, that was my first kiss just now, you have to take responsibility for me from now on!"

  "What is a first kiss?" Dugu Feng asked in confusion.

  "The first kiss is like just now, mouth to mouth." Li Jiancheng mysteriously pulled her head over and explained in her ear.

  "Jian Cheng gege, you're so bad! Just now was someone else's first kiss, and you also want to be responsible for me..." Du Gu Feng said with a pout.