Quick Wear: The first person to love the host

With the veterinarian's meticulous treatment and regular visits, the village has never again experienced a mass die-off of piglets.

Days passed by, seasons changed, and a year had gone by in the blink of an eye.

Those sickly little piglets have now grown into plump and strong big pigs.

On the day of slaughter, the villagers were filled with rare joy—every household drove their pigs to the pig farm to exchange them for heavy copper coins, and some families even touched silver coins for the first time.

The children circled around the adults, their eyes sparkling as they stared at the malt candy and hair ties on the peddler's shoulder pole; the women were planning how many feet of floral fabric they would buy to make new clothes for the whole family.

The food in the barracks has also improved significantly.

Every three to five days, a thick layer of oil would float on the surface of the large pot, and the aroma of the stewed pork could be smelled for miles.

The soldiers held their bowls, their faces beaming with long-lost satisfaction: "This meat is so delicious! It's much better than just eating dry bread!"

In the backyard of Su Ziyu's grocery store, there were piles of newly acquired pig pancreas and grease.

These were once unwanted scraps, but now they have become valuable raw materials for making soap.

The shop assistants were so busy that they barely had time to breathe, washing, boiling, molding, and drying the raw materials—the rows of light yellow, ordinary soaps were neatly stacked and quickly snapped up by nearby residents and passing merchants.

That year, the northern border region quietly changed its appearance.

The sound of looms in the wool workshop never ceased, day and night. Under Su Ziyu's command, every soldier was given a thick woolen sweater and trousers.

As winter approaches again, the soldiers on guard duty rub their hands together and smile: "This year is really different. We're warm both physically and mentally."

Even more remarkably, merchants from other regions flocked to the area, and wool products from northern Xinjiang became highly sought-after goods, selling to various parts of the Central Plains along trade routes.

The soap business is booming.

The most popular item among people in northern Xinjiang is the simple and durable standard version, which is strong in cleaning, inexpensive, and can last for more than a month.

In the Jiangnan region, however, it was a completely different world—the Shen family, with their keen business sense, continuously improved their original winter plum blossom soap, launching more than ten different floral scents, including orchid, osmanthus, and lotus.

The most sought-after item was surprisingly the delicate and refreshing bamboo-scented soap.

The Jiangnan region is prosperous, attracting numerous literati and scholars. These people are fond of elegance and value purity. The bamboo-scented soap, with its refreshing scent reminiscent of a bamboo forest after rain, perfectly resonated with the literati's hearts.

In academies, teahouses, and even on pleasure boats in brothels, one could hear such idle talk: "I heard that the Shen family has just released a bamboo-scented soap. After using it, the skin will retain its fragrance for half a day, as if you were in a secluded bamboo grove."

"Indeed, even Mr. Songtao praised it, saying, 'This thing has the air of a hermit in the woods.'"

Money flowed into the Shen family's accounts like water, and was then continuously transported to the northern frontier through secret channels.

-

Inside the Prince's study, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly.

Su Ziyu was bent over his desk checking the accounts, the abacus beads clicking loudly.

Over the past year, he has lost some weight, but his brows now display a composure and competence that he hadn't shown before.

The wind and snow of the northern frontier have worn away the last trace of his sickly, princely air. Now, he is more like a green bamboo that can take root and grow in chaotic times.

"Young Master, another letter has arrived from Jiangnan!" Liu Ye strode in, holding a thick stack of letters in her hands, her face showing both joy and helplessness.

Su Ziyu looked up, rubbed her sore eyes, and sighed, "Give it to me."

Since he asked his cousin to bring that confession letter back to Jiangnan a year ago, his maternal grandfather's reaction has been earth-shattering.

If it weren't for his uncles' insistence, the over-sixty-year-old man would have personally harnessed the cart and headed straight to northern Xinjiang to "capture" his audacious grandson.

That year, the old man's letters arrived without fail, every two weeks.

At first, there were heart-wrenching rebukes, scolding him for "not knowing what's important" and "ruining his future"; later, there were earnest and patient persuasion, listing all the dangers of staying there; and then, seeing that neither gentle nor harsh methods worked, the old man began to try a different approach—

The letters began to include name cards and portraits of young ladies from various families, with detailed descriptions of their family backgrounds, appearances, and talents.

A few months later, the situation worsened, and at the end of the letter, it was casually mentioned: "I have already asked someone to send a few kind and considerate people to serve you, please do not refuse."

Su Ziyu did not notice anything unusual at the time, until three blue-curtained carriages arrived outside the Wangfu.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and seven or eight young women stepped out.

Each of them was slender and beautiful, and their clothes and jewelry were unlike those of ordinary people.

They bowed gracefully to Su Ziyu, who came out to greet them, and said in sweet, melodious voices, "We have come to serve the young master on the orders of Old Master Shen."

Su Ziyu was stunned into silence.

His maternal grandfather went to great lengths to "bring him back to the right path." He found these stunningly beautiful girls from who-knows-where and sent them all the way to this harsh, cold place.

But how can the delicate flowers nurtured in the gentle water towns of Jiangnan withstand the harsh winds and frosts of the northern frontier?

Within a few days, the girls' delicate skin began to roughen, and they all looked worried.

The boldest of them all, the girl in red silk, actually knocked on Su Ziyu's door late one night, clutching a pillow, her eyes sparkling: "Young master, the north is bitterly cold, this servant... this servant can warm the bed."

Su Ziyu was so frightened that she retreated repeatedly, at a loss for what to do.

During that time, he did nothing but rack his brains to deal with this group of "hot potatoes".

In the end, they had no choice but to temporarily settle them in a newly opened cosmetics shop in the city to help out—coincidentally, these girls were quite knowledgeable about perfumes and cosmetics, and thus became the shop's living advertisement.

Thinking of this, Su Ziyu shook his head with a wry smile and opened today's letter.

He had only read a few lines when his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly stood up!

"Young Master?" Liu Ye was startled.

Su Ziyu's hands trembled slightly, and the handwriting on the letter was a little messy due to the haste; it was a personal letter from her uncle, Shen Boyuan.

Su Ziyu felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

My maternal grandfather... actually came in person?

That stubborn and uncompromising old man, disregarding his family's objections, dragged his ailing body across mountains and rivers, just to find his "unfilial" grandson.

He could almost picture the old man sitting in the bumpy carriage, coughing while clutching his chest, yet still stubbornly gazing northward.

Heartache, guilt, worry, fear... a flood of emotions surged up, making his eyes burn and his throat tighten.

Su Ziyu's fingers, gripping the letter, turned slightly white, revealing distinct knuckles.

“Liu Ye,” he heard his own voice unusually calm, “immediately have Steward Wang dispatch two teams to search along the three official roads leading south.”

Pack warm clothing, a charcoal stove, and medicinal herbs, especially Danshen pills and heart-protecting powder for treating heart ailments. When you see your grandfather's carriage, be sure to greet him respectfully, but do not try to persuade him to return—you cannot change his temper.”

Liu Ye solemnly replied, "Yes, I will take care of it right away."

What must be faced will eventually come to an end.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away on the official road, an inconspicuous blue-canopied carriage was braving the cold wind and struggling to travel north.

Inside the car, the white-haired old man, wrapped in a thick fur coat, looked tired but his eyes were sharp. He tightly clutched a worn-out amulet in his hand—a gift his daughter had personally obtained for him before her marriage.

"Soon," the old man murmured, gazing at the vast snowfield outside the window, "I'll see that kid soon."