Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 196: Soul Match, Someone in the Boudoir

Holding the pure white silk in her hand, a bird's-eye view of the entire Cangzhou city was clearly visible on it.

From the canal dock outside the city to the main road in the city, all the way to the government office, including the road he and Lin Daiyu walked yesterday, everything was very clear and marked with some small characters.

The remaining blank spaces were places she had never seen before.

Such a systematic map must have been drawn by her after she had consulted many books for reference in advance and based on what she had seen and heard, without any feng shui consultation.

Even a simple diagram is very difficult.

Today's Cangzhou City is in tatters and needs repair almost everywhere. A new map that better fits the current Cangzhou City will indeed be very important for Yue Ling's future planning of the city.

Lin Daiyu was able to keenly perceive and think so deeply about him from the few times he mentioned government affairs, so how could Yue Ling not be moved.

Raising his hand and slowly brushing the silk, Yue Ling carefully examined the picture, his heart was more and more shocked, and he once again had a deeper understanding of Lin Daiyu, the talented woman.

The original version of Dream of the Red Chamber says that Lin Daiyu could finish reading all sixteen acts of The West Chamber in the time it takes to eat a meal, and could even memorize the poems in it.

How could such an excellent talent be used only to memorize "Romance of the West Chamber" and indulge in love affairs? There is a vast world for him to do great things, as can be seen from today's map.

Thinking of this, Yue Ling couldn't help but frown.

"No wonder when I first met Sister Lin, she always sighed and groaned at the table. For a girl like her who is so sensitive, she would remember a small thing that made her sad for a long time and could not forget it. Moreover, she had lost her mother at that time, so when she recalled every little thing in her life since childhood, wouldn't it all become sad things?"

“Sometimes having a good memory may not be a good thing.”

However, his existence completely changed Lin Daiyu's fate.

From the first time they went to Beijing hand in hand, to the release of lotus lanterns on the Dragon Boat Festival, and the daisies that were still hanging by her bed in Cangzhou Prefecture, Lin Daiyu's memories must have been filled with many beautiful things.

Yue Ling sighed softly and looked at Lin Daiyu beside him again.

Seeing Yue Ling frowning slightly, the joy on his face faded a little. Lin Daiyu looked worried, leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Brother Yue, is this not good?"

Yue Ling spread his arms, leaned down, and silently embraced Lin Daiyu in his arms.

Feeling Yue Ling's sudden action, Lin Daiyu was startled, her mind seemed to be blank, and she didn't know what was going on.

Lin Daiyu leaned on Yue Ling's shoulder and looked around the room secretly. She felt relieved when she found that Zijuan was no longer there.

"I still remember the last time I hugged you, it was when Big Brother Yue returned victorious and we hadn't seen each other for a long time. What's wrong with Big Brother Yue now?"

"Could it be that Brother Yue was wronged outside? This is impossible."

Lin Daiyu completely forgot to struggle, or perhaps she didn't even want to struggle. She felt more and more at ease with her head resting on Yue Ling's shoulder. It seemed that such a situation had only happened to her the last time Yue Ling slept in the wrong room.

But this time both were still awake.

Lin Daiyu's originally smart little head was a little slow at this time. After a while, she heard Yue Ling say: "It must be tiring to remember too many things."

Lin Daiyu's heart trembled again. She felt that Yue Ling's words were a double entendre and were not just about the map.

Only because they had been together for a long time and their souls were in harmony, could Lin Daiyu hear the deeper meaning in his words.

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat.

For her, who was only six years old at the time, the death of her mother who had taken care of her since she was a child was such a sad thing.

She was precocious and understood the meaning of death better than her peers.

Later, she was sent out by her father to the unfamiliar capital city. Fortunately, she was in Yue Ling's courtyard instead of the Rongguo Mansion which left her with psychological trauma the first time she met him.

Lin Daiyu wiped the corners of her eyes gently. She knew that Yue Ling hated her tears the most. She took a deep breath and responded to Yue Ling's words: "It's okay. It's good to be able to help Brother Yue. After all, Brother Yue has helped me a lot and has always been accommodating to me..."

Yue Ling felt a little relieved, loosened his hand, and helped Lin Daiyu sit down beside him.

Lin Daiyu smiled, causing Yue Ling to smile along with her.

"I thought you were holding a blanket to cover yourself, but it turned out to be a map you drew. It took you only two days to draw this map? This map must be as big as your body."

Lin Daiyu raised her head proudly, and was very pleased with Yue Ling's praise.

"Am I more powerful? More powerful than the girl from the Xue family?"

Seeing Lin Daiyu comparing herself with others like the little maid again, Yue Ling couldn't help but smile.

With his fingers bent, he gently scraped the tip of Lin Daiyu's nose, and Yue Ling agreed, "No one is better than you. With such a level, it would be a waste of your talent if you don't work in the Ministry of Industry."

Lin Daiyu leaned over the desk, her eyebrows curved, and a smile on her lips, "I won't go, I only work for Brother Yue."

After rubbing Lin Daiyu's little head, Yue Ling responded repeatedly, "Okay, okay."

The two of them looked at the map together, filled in a few more strokes on it, and then rolled it aside. The planning of the town was even more complicated than the salt industry, and they could not make up their minds for the time being.

Yue Ling picked up the letter Lin Ruhai sent back and read it through. He couldn't help but sigh that Lin Ruhai's insights from more than ten years of hard work in this field were indeed comprehensive, and he had thought of all the factors that would affect the industry, as well as the difficulties that would be faced. After all, it was not difficult to produce salt in Cangzhou, but if he wanted to expand sales, Yue Ling still had to find a way himself.

However, Yue Ling had already thought about it.

Cangzhou is closer to the capital, so naturally the products will be sold to the capital.

The brine can be filtered several times, and more wood ash can be used to float out impurities to ensure the taste of the sea salt, so as to grab a share of the Shanxi merchants' business in terms of quality.

The production cost increases slightly, but a lot of savings can be made in transportation, so the two deductions are slightly advantageous.

Moreover, Yue Ling has his natural advantage, which is the vision from his previous life.

Product sales in this era still lack a way to advertise and market, and generally rely on word of mouth to ensure the popularity of the product.

This fragile propaganda has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that old customers will not easily change their supply channels. The disadvantage is that once a hostile merchant deliberately spreads some unfavorable remarks, it will be difficult to refute the rumor.

The Shanxi merchants were the only dominant force in the capital, so they were not affected over the years and no one had any evil thoughts.

In this regard, Yue Ling's plan is to choose a spokesperson.

If we were to choose a spokesperson in the capital, there would be no one more suitable than that one.

This is an advantage that Shanxi merchants cannot achieve.

Seeing Yue Ling's smile getting bigger, Lin Daiyu secretly thought in her heart, "Daddy is really amazing. I should write a letter home to praise Daddy. Brother Yue may need to ask for advice on other things in the future."

The two of them looked through the map and read the letter from home. The sky outside was getting darker.

The candle flame in the lampshade burned dimmer and dimmer, and many cups of tea were added. It was time to take a break.

"Sister Lin, it's getting late. You should rest."

Lin Daiyu reluctantly turned her eyes away from the paperwork written by Yue Ling, blinked and said, "Okay, then I will go back first and come to accompany Brother Yue tomorrow."

At this moment, Yue Ling was a little reluctant, but he couldn't just treat Lin Daiyu as his bed-warming maid.

Yue Ling nodded and smiled, helped Lin Daiyu up, and slowly walked her into the room opposite.

Waving his hand, Yue Ling said, "Have a sweet dream."

Lin Daiyu found Yue Ling's farewell words strange. The words she usually used were "rest" and "sleep well" etc. Wishing others a good dream was really a strange thing to say.

Lin Daiyu reflected Yue Ling's figure in her mind, then smiled and replied, "Yes."

After bidding farewell to Lin Daiyu, Yue Ling returned to his room.

As soon as he entered the room, he felt a little lonely without Lin Daiyu.

Yue Ling patted his cheeks and asked himself, "It seems that I am becoming more and more dependent on Sister Lin. Is she supporting me, or am I supporting her?"

Every bit of interaction with Lin Daiyu seemed to have become a habit.

Sighing, Yue Ling knocked on Zijuan's door again, "Are you asleep?"

Zijuan's trembling voice came from inside, "Not yet, Master, do you want to warm the bed?"

Yue Ling called out, "Of course, we can save it when the weather gets warmer."

Not long after, Zijuan, wearing a small shirt, came out timidly.

She was dressed very conservatively today, which was very different from her style yesterday, and made Yue Ling laugh.

"What are you afraid of? Also, why aren't you wearing your gauze skirt? It's very pretty and feels very comfortable to the touch."

Zijuan blushed and tucked her clothes in, saying, "That skirt is not mine, it belongs to Sister Keqing. It doesn't fit me..."

Yue Ling held his forehead with his hand, "It really is from Qin Keqing. What did she teach these little girls?"

At the same time, in the backyard of Yue's house,
Qin Keqing wore a thin single garment, sneaked out of her room, closed the door gently, and came to Yue Ling's bed.

Qin Keqing threw herself onto Yue Ling's couch, took a deep breath, took out her treasured sweat towel, covered her face with it, and gasped heavily.

"When will the master come back? The smell of the master in the room is getting weaker and weaker..."

There were no lights on in the room. If there had been some light, one could have seen that Qin Keqing's eyes were as charming as silk, her face was as delicate as a flower, and her willow-like waist was arched in a graceful curve.

Her legs were spread apart, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her breathing became heavier as her body rose and fell, until she let out a moan and gradually regained her composure.

"Oh no! This blanket is soaked again. I have to change the mattress and wash it tomorrow morning."

Qin Keqing felt annoyed for a moment, but seeing that things had come to this point, she simply ignored it and started the second time.

(End of this chapter)