Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

Rui Xin lowered his head and thought for a moment, then slowly raised his eyes and said, "Master Min is wrong."

Min Qingshu asked, "What's wrong? I'd like to hear the details."

"You said I have to defeat Chen Lang to win her heart, but that's not true," Rui Xin said. "Chen Lang's main business is brewing, and the Min family's main business is textiles."

"Becoming an imperial merchant is Xu Mengru's dream, not Chen Lang's."

"If he fails, Chen Lang will leave this business. If we want to defeat him, we have to start with winemaking."

"Every industry is like a mountain between two worlds. Chen Lang crossed over into the cloth industry, and the Min family could teach him a lesson, but when it comes to the winemaking industry, the Min family has no way to deal with him."

"In that case, it makes absolutely no difference whether I join the Min family or not."

Min Qingshu was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "What Shopkeeper Rui said does make some sense."

"But if you continue to stay with Xu Mengru, you'll just be selling women's clothes. You have so much talent, but you have no room to display it. It's really a waste of talent."

Rui Xin said calmly: "What Chen Lang couldn't do for Xu Mengru, I can do."

"In that case, you and I would be rivals." Min Qingshu smiled and shook his head, saying, "Shopkeeper Rui, a real man is born in this world, how can he be burdened by the beauty of women?"

"One day in the future, when you reach a higher level and look back, you may realize how naive you were today."

"I once had a crazy crush on a woman. I almost broke off relations with my father because of her. But now, I can't even remember what she looked like."

"Women are all the same even after the lights are blown out."

Rui Xin frowned and said, "Master Min, I'm not here to listen to your lectures."

Min Qingshu shrugged. "Honest advice hurts, Shopkeeper Rui. I know these words will ruin our friendship, but I said them anyway. Do you know why?"

"I just want you to understand that as a man, you should not only have a broad vision, but also a long-term vision."

"Linshui is just a small piece of land within the Kyushu region. How can men like us be bound by this tiny patch of land?"

"What our Min family wants to do is not to be the number one cloth merchant in Linshui, but to be the number one cloth merchant in Guangling Prefecture, Qinzhou Road, and even Dayan."

"I want to build the Min family into a wealthy and prestigious family like the Fanyang Lu family, the Longxi Li family, and the Qinghe Cui family, and pass it down from generation to generation."

"Such a grand wish, don't you want to participate?"

Rui Xin chuckled, "Master Min has great ambitions, and I admire him."

"But Rui is just a small shopkeeper and doesn't have that much foresight."

Min Qingshu sighed deeply.

If it were anyone else, their blood would have boiled with excitement after hearing what he said just now, but this guy Rui Xin... was really like a stone in a toilet, smelly and hard.

But then again, the more capable a person is, the more stubborn they will be in certain aspects. If you want to convince such a person, it is indeed not possible to do so with just a few passionate words.

After a long while, Rui Xin said, "Master Min, since you think so highly of Xu Mengru, you should know that she is not a woman who will willingly accept failure, especially in this way."

Min Qingshu raised his eyebrows: "Does she think she will take revenge?"

Rui Xin said: "Given her personality, she will definitely do that."

Min Qingshu curled his lips and said, "How can she take revenge?"

"Currently, Xu's Cloth Shop only has a dyeing workshop, not even a weaving workshop. The formula is in my hands, and she can't increase the output of cloth by overwork. What else can she do except watch me become the imperial merchant?"

Rui Xin said: "Unite with the Lai family."

Min Qingshu laughed out loud and said, "Unless the Lai family is crazy, they will cooperate with Xu Mengru."

"Because behind Xu Mengru is Chen Lang, and Chen Lang and Lai Han are already enemies."

"But your warning is also unreasonable... How about this, if Xu Mengru really shows any signs of collaborating with the Lai family, tell me immediately and I will personally put an end to it!"

Rui Xin said, "Chen Lang is incredibly talented and adept at making up stories. Aren't you afraid he'll spin your dirty deeds into a joke and have the storytellers at Guhong Tower tell it every day?"

Min Qingshu said calmly, "Chen Lang is also a businessman. He understands that business competition is inherently deceitful. If he fabricates his competitors simply for this reason, then he will no longer have a place in Linshui's business."

Rui Xin said: "Since you have thought it through so clearly, we have nothing more to say."

"Please send someone to escort me out of Baoningfang."

Min Qingshu snapped his fingers, and the person who had picked up Rui Xin before appeared again.

"Shopkeeper Rui, what I just said is valid forever. When you figure it out, you are welcome to come find me."

Rui Xin said without turning around: "I think it is unlikely that we will meet again in the future."

After Rui Xin walked away, Min Qingshu picked up the chopsticks, fished out a piece of overcooked beef from the copper pot, and threw it on the ground.

"I don't know how to praise."

……

The Imperial Merchant Selection Meeting that Linshui cloth merchants have been looking forward to will be held on time on the evening of the second day of August.

In the morning, Chen Lang came to the door of Xu Mengru's boudoir.

After this period of rest, Xu Mengru's complexion has returned to about 70% of its normal level. However, because the knife wound on her back heals slowly, it is easy to tear the wound when she gets out of bed and walks, so she still spends most of the day lying in bed resting.

"Miss Xu, I'm Chen Lang. Can you please have a few words?"

"Mr. Chen, please wait a moment." Hong'er's voice came from inside the room.

After a cup of tea, Xu Mengru appeared behind the door with the support of Hong'er.

Chen Lang asked, "Why are you up?"

Xu Mengru said, "I have to get out of bed and walk around. I've been lying in bed for so many days, and I feel like my legs aren't my own anymore."

"Let's talk as we walk."

Chen Lang nodded: "Okay."

"I came here to tell you that even though there's a 90% chance that I'll be eliminated, I'll still go to the Imperial Merchant Selection tonight."

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Xu Mengru curled her lips and said, "I can't even be selected, what's the point of giving instructions?"

Chen Lang smiled and said, "Isn't this just to make you feel at ease?"

Xu Mengru rolled her eyes: "It's obviously annoying."

"You wrote to me in Liao, telling me to prepare to become an imperial merchant. Do you know how happy I was?"

"Although it seems like I've only been preparing for a month or so, if you count the time I spent in Nanhe County, I've been preparing for the Imperial Merchant for five years."

"It looked like it was going to succeed, but then..."

When she said this, Xu Mengru's voice even became a little choked.

Chen Lang said: "Don't be discouraged yet, we haven't completely failed yet."

Xu Mengru said, "Mr. Chen, you don't need to comfort me. Shopkeeper Hou told me that there's no way to improve that recipe. Even if we can restore the original dark green color, it will still fade after a while."

Chen Lang blinked his eyes: "Just because Shopkeeper Hou can't do it doesn't mean I can't do it."