Update the fastest web chapter (15 points)
Ye Yiqi sighed and said: "Du Gong, he is an extraordinary person, even Nie Daoshi has to show him courtesy."
"Oh? Isn't that just some royal prince?" Ye Zhuo was somewhat disdainful. Those royal princes were only made to look dignified by relying on their ancestors' prestige and inherited titles, they themselves didn't have anything impressive. On the other hand, the people of the Nie family made her admire them. Their status was equally noble, but generation after generation of direct descendants studied hard and mastered the most exquisite jade carving skills, firmly grasping it in their own hands, to the point where they were deeply rooted in this land, actually holding onto the mining rights of the southern jade mines, making those royal princes who coveted the huge profits from them stare blankly - you should know that all the jade utensils used in the imperial palace and the jade carvings given as gifts by the emperor to other countries were all made by the Nie family. If you take away the Nie family's mining rights, they won't carve for you, and the one who will suffer losses is the emperor."
Ye Yiqi shook his head: "That's not it. You have to know that those jade mines are not inexhaustible, and they're not something you can just dig up anywhere on a mountain. A new large vein of jade, even with the Nie family controlling the amount extracted, won't last more than a few years. So we have to keep searching for new jade mines all the time. And predicting where there might be jade requires investing a huge amount of money and manpower to excavate. If the judgment is wrong, the loss will be enormous. That's why jade excavation is called 'gambling on mines'. If the Nie family fails at gambling on mines several times, with only investment and no output, even if they have the most exquisite carving skills in their hands, it's impossible for them to keep the excavation rights. And Du Gong's master is a high-stakes gambler."
Ye Zhuo's eyes widened in surprise: "You mean, Du Gong's mining skills are also very impressive?" He had such a noble temperament, even better than Nie Bowen, and he didn't expect him to be good at mining too.
"I'm not sure about the specifics, but there's a rumor that Du Gong's mining skills are even more impressive than his master's." Ye Yuqi turned around, "So, he's extremely favored by Nie Daoshi. If he helps you out, Nie Daoshi will definitely give you some face and provide you with an opportunity to try your hand."
Ye Zhuo had nothing to say.
Although she had just asked Du Haoran for help without hesitation, it was because she knew that her request would not put Du Haoran in a difficult position. With the power of the Nie family, he only needed to come to the workshop once, and no words were needed to intimidate those people. However, as for asking him for help, she thought that they had not reached that level of familiarity yet. Moreover, if there was an opportunity to compete fairly with others and enter the Nie family's line of sight, she really did not want to owe Du Haoran such a great favor. She was now a commoner-born businesswoman, not the noble-born Imperial Princess Consort, the wife of the Grand Tutor, from her past life. Owing someone such a huge favor, she might not have the ability to repay it.
"Grandfather, the Nie family wants to get the best jade carvers under their control. They should be looking for people with high talent to cultivate, right? Do you know what the Nie family's procedures and standards are for accepting apprentices?"
When Ye Yuqi heard this question, he gave Ye Zhuo a nod of approval. From the beginning of contact, he knew that Ye Zhuo was an extremely intelligent person. And from her experience in taking over the main house and buying the workshop today, it has been proven that she is meticulous in thinking, brave and knowledgeable, and also very kind-hearted. Now, seeing the micro and knowing the macro, from the current situation of the Nie family, we can infer the way they expand and grasp the technical core, which is something that ordinary people cannot do. It's ridiculous that Ye Yuzhang was blinded by interests, so much so that he didn't recognize a precious gem. Now that their main house has such a granddaughter, it can be imagined that their future days will get better and better.
"The Nie family holds a jade carving competition every three years," he said loudly. "This competition not only offers rich prizes and fame in the jade carving world to the top 50, but also allows those under the age of 30 who make it into the top 20 to be taken in as apprentices by the Nie family, which is no less than a golden opportunity. Therefore, all jade carvers are eager to participate in this competition. Think about it, every three years, how many good jade carvers will be caught and tied up, this is the reason why the Nie family can sit firmly on the number one throne of the Southern School."
"Good trick." Ye Zhuo said with a smile. Then asked: "When is the next competition going to be held?"
Ye Yuqi turned around to gaze at Ye Zhuo: "Next spring." He vaguely sensed the implication behind Ye Zhuo's question, and he admired Ye Zhuo's temperament, however...
"But you have to think, with so many participants in this competition, it's going through layers of screening and the competition is fierce. You've only been learning jade carving for a short time, and I couldn't find any good masters to teach you either. It's very difficult to win and enter the sight of the Nie family. Why not let Du Gong help you instead, that way it's more secure."
Ye Chou shook his head: "Grandfather, I'm actually not familiar with Du Gong, and I don't want to owe him such a great favor. I will strive for it through my own efforts. If I really have the talent you say I do, then gold will always shine, and we won't be lacking in this regard."
"Good, she's a descendant of the Ye family, with spirit." Ye Yuqi praised, and dotedly patted Ye Zhuo's head, "Her grandfather was an unlucky man. He didn't know how to cherish such a good granddaughter, and it all went to waste for that old man of mine, haha..."
"So, you're adopting me, aren't you? Don't you regret it?" Ye Zhuo teased Ye Yuqi with a bit of mischief. Probably because Ye Yuqi and Guan Shi always treated her like a child, she would occasionally reveal some childishness in front of them.
"Regret, I'm too late in regretting it, regret not having you adopted earlier." Ye Yuqi burst out laughing.
The three of them had already walked to the end of the alley, and in the distance they saw smoke rising from the chimney of the Ye family's large house. It turned out that after being outside for so long, it was already time for dinner.
Jian Ye Zhuo and Ye Yu Qi returned home together, both with a smile on their faces, happy and harmonious. Guan's mood was excellent. When she heard that the workshop had been bought, she hurriedly called Qiu Ju to go out and pour wine for Ye Yu Qi, it was a joyful occasion, letting him drink two cups.
"Your grandmother usually keeps such a tight rein on me, I'm not even allowed to have a sip of wine. Today, thanks to you, she's finally showing some mercy." Ye Yuqi whispered to Ye Zhuo, complaining.
"You old scoundrel, what bad things are you saying about me and Zhu'er?" Guan's wife glared at him from behind.
"Hey, you're quite concerned about me, knowing I want a drink, hurry up and buy one for me."
"Beautiful you!" Guan's wife gave him a glance and went back to serving dishes.
Listening to the old couple's bickering, I feel warm and fuzzy inside - this is what a real home feels like! Unlike when I was in the second house, although there were many people, but between each other, there was only mutual calculation and weighing, even sitting down to eat a meal together was cold and lacking warmth.
Ye Yuxiu liked to drink, but due to his old injuries on his legs and hands, he would feel a dull ache on rainy days. Usually, Guan's family took care of him and didn't let him drink too much. Today was an exception, they originally wanted him to indulge in drinking, but unexpectedly Ye Yuxiu only drank two cups and stopped Autumn Moon from pouring more wine, saying "Enough".
"Grandfather, would you like another drink? Have two more cups," Ye Zhuo persuaded.
"I won't drink anymore. Later, I still need to go to the second house and ask your uncle's grandfather to go to the government office tomorrow to handle the transfer of ownership. Incidentally, we'll write a few invitations for the manager on that side to send out. So this wine, it's not too late to drink it in two days." Ye Yuqi said.
"That's right, let's get down to business." Guan said hastily, remembering this matter.
After dinner, Ye Yuqi indeed went to the second house and didn't return until nightfall when he was escorted back by an old servant from the second house carrying a lantern.
The room arranged by Guan and Zhao for Ye Zhuo was clean and cozy, with new bedding and curtains. They also bought her a new dresser and vanity table, making Ye Zhuo feel extremely touched. That night, she slept very well.
The next day, after breakfast, Ye Yuqi went to find Ye Yuzhang and then waited for Zhou Laoban at the intersection of Yi Ren Street. Whether it was Ye Zhuo's transfer procedures or the registration of the workshop, they had to go to the government office, so it was convenient for them to do things together. Ye Zhuo took Qiuyue to Guangneng Temple instead.
Du Haoran arrived early and found Ye Zuo sitting at the stone table in the Zen temple where they had played chess last time, having tea with Master Neng Ren.
"Master Du." Ye Zhuo greeted the two with a bow and twitched his nose, saying: "Top-grade Iron Guanyin, Master, enjoy!"
"Does Miss Ye still understand tea?" Master Neng Ren raised an eyebrow, took a clean cup and poured a cup for Ye Zhuo as well. "Come on, you also have a cup. However, after drinking, you must show some skills, or it would be in vain that I invited you to drink tea."
Last time when Ye Zhuo came to play chess with Master Neng Ren, he was also familiar with him. He knew that on the surface, Master Neng Ren seemed like a high-ranking monk who had attained enlightenment, but in reality, he still had a childlike heart and especially loved to joke around, and was very easy-going. So upon hearing this, Ye Zhuo smiled and said: "This tea, I'm afraid it's not Master Neng Ren who specially invited me to drink, I just happened to be basking in the glory of Du Gong. If I have to thank someone, I should also thank Du Gong."
Master Neng stroked his beard and burst out laughing: "No matter who you thank, you have to come up with some good tea."
She was known as a talented woman in her previous life, and naturally, she had done extensive research on the art of tea. She took the cup and brought it to her nose, but didn't rush to drink it. Instead, she gently smelled it, then carefully examined the color of the tea. Finally, she lifted it to her lips and took a small sip. Once in her mouth, she didn't swallow hastily, but rather let the tea liquid spin around her tongue before slowly flowing down along the sides of her tongue. After a while, she said: "The color of this tea is like honey, with a bright and transparent luster; its fragrance is as elegant as orchids, rich and long-lasting; when entering the mouth, it's thick and smooth, with a hint of rice porridge aroma, and an extremely delicate and silky texture. The aftertaste is quick to emerge and long-lasting. It truly lives up to being one of the best autumn teas, but unfortunately, I'm drinking the third infusion, so the flavor has thinned out a bit."
Since Ye Zhen said that, except for getting up to see a courtesy, Du Haoran sat there quietly drinking tea and didn't say a word. At this time, after hearing Ye Zhen's words, his eyes suddenly became extremely bright, staring at Ye Zhen for a moment before moving his gaze away, savoring the tea soup in his cup carefully.
Sorry everyone, I'm sick today and my head is splitting. My concentration isn't focused, so this chapter took a full five hours to write, which is why it's late. There will only be one chapter today, sorry about that. Also, I'll shamelessly ask for pink tickets again. If you still have pink tickets in your personal center, please vote for Leng Shui during the New Year's double points period!
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