Tangli Fried Snow

Lin Wanjun turned back to Hong Zhiying and said, "Sir, my younger sister is frail and has caught a cold from traveling recently. It's really not good for her to be out in the wind. Please forgive us, sir. We'll take our leave now." After saying that, she took Xue Li's hand and walked back.

Sherry turned around and glanced at the handsome guy again, giving him a bright smile.

Hong Zhiying was dazzled by her smile, feeling refreshed and invigorated, as comfortable as if he had drunk a glass of fine wine.

The two returned to the cabin, and Lin Wanjun tidied her clothes while saying, "Sister, the people on the ship are mostly soldiers or roughnecks. It's best not to stay outside for too long. We'll be there in two more days."

I've seen plenty of soldiers and roughnecks," Shirley thought to herself, but said aloud, "Yes, sister-in-law, I understand."

Over the past few days, she had come to realize that Lin Wanjun was the leader of this group, her direct superior. Obedience was the simplest form of communication. Anyone who dared to talk back or had too many of their own ideas would be met with even more intense discipline and nagging.

Lin Wanjun has many rules. She can only eat and drink warm food and water, and cannot drink cold tea or wine. She cannot make noise while eating, and she cannot eat too much rice or sweets, otherwise she will gain weight.

Sydney's sitting, standing, and even lying down all have fixed postures. Her voice, the curve of her smile, the placement of her hands, and her walking posture all have standards.

Her favorite saying was: "From now on, you are a lady of high society." A lady of high society should... blah blah blah.

Sherry used to be a fine young woman of the motherland, but then she transmigrated to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion and later stayed in the military camp. These places didn't require so many rules. She felt like a puppet these days. Being a young lady from a wealthy family was so tiring. She didn't want to be a young lady!

"Come on, wash your hands before you eat." Lin Wanjun brought over a basin of warm water with flower petals in it, and then looked at her with a smile.

Oh, this isn't handwashing, it's an assessment. It's time for the daily exam. A well-bred lady's handwashing isn't the modern standard of a few steps. A well-bred lady's handwashing posture is elegant: she lowers her head, gently rinses her hands twice in the water, then raises her head to wipe them on the handkerchief Lin Wanjun hands her. Exam over.

The key point is to be elegant. The advantage is that it's very simple, but the disadvantage is that it doesn't matter if you're clean or not; the main point is to be pleasing to the eye.

Lin Wanjun nodded in satisfaction, cleared the food away, and served her a meal of three dishes and a soup. Eating was a crucial part of the test.

She used to devour flatbread with gusto, filling her stomach in just five or six minutes. Now, faced with this exquisite and delicious food, she has to act coy and pretentious, taking a full 15 minutes, or half an hour, to eat each meal.

The dishes were different every day, with exquisite preparation and elegant presentation. Xue Li thought it was already very good, but Lin Wanjun would sigh every time she looked at the food: "Sister, we're on a ship now, so there's nothing good for you to eat. When we get there, your sister-in-law will definitely make sure you try my cooking."

Shirley always smiled and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I'm looking forward to getting there soon."

That evening, they had reached the Yingzhou area. The river was calm and the roads were narrow. The atmosphere on the boat suddenly became tense. There were constant sounds of people and footsteps outside. She had only curiously stuck her head out of the window when a voice suddenly shouted from above: "Don't show your face!"

She looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Hong Zhiying.

There was no joking look on his face. "Close the windows right now!"

Seeing the serious atmosphere around her, which didn't seem like a joke, Shirley hurriedly and nervously closed the window. Lin Wanjun quickly walked in and closed the door tightly as well. "Sister, something's wrong outside. It seems like there are bandits."

After hearing her words, Sherry became extremely nervous and fidgety. "Isn't this an official ship? An official's ship, how dare they rob it?"

Lin Wanjun said, "The bigger the ship, the more cargo it carries, the higher the official rank, and the more gold and silver treasures it holds. Right now, things are not peaceful outside, and there are wars everywhere. As long as there are many bandits and they are skilled, they can even rob official ships!"

Sherry got goosebumps all over and muttered, "What should we do? There are only about a hundred soldiers. If they attack us from both sides with several large ships, how can we fight back?"

Seeing that she was truly frightened, Lin Wanjun comforted her, saying, "Your elder brother told me that this ferry crossing leads to a gorge where the current is swift. Our boats need to hoist their sails fully so we can go at full speed and leave them behind. As far as I know, river bandits mostly rob slow-moving cargo ships carrying large quantities of grain; they rarely target official boats like this. We shouldn't move around unnecessarily; we should just observe and wait, and stay inside."

Soon, the entire ship shook, followed by faint shouts. Sherry felt uneasy, the feeling of wanting to see but not being able to made her heart ache like it was being scratched by a cat.

She and Lin Wanjun listened intently, but no shouts of killing came from them. It seemed that no fighting had broken out on the ship and the two sides were still negotiating.

Sherry couldn't help but think of Hong Zhiying again. Judging from his attire, he must be a small leader. He must be on the scene right now. It must be dangerous and exciting.

Fifteen minutes later, the boat picked up speed, and a violent jolt shook the cabin, making both men's hearts tremble.

The anticipated water battle did not occur. After a while, the eldest brother, Jin Qingyan, knocked on their door: "Open the door! It's me!"

Lin Wanjun quickly got up, opened the door, and let him into the room, anxiously asking, "How is he?"

Jin Qingyan said, "Luckily, the boat captain was a shrewd man. He knew this route very well, knew many people, and had a lot of influence. He spoke some secret language with the bandits at the bow, negotiated a price with their leader, threw some money at the bandits as a bribe, and they left." He paused and then added...

"It's just a notification to have the people on board share the cost; consider it paying for peace of mind."

After hearing this, the two breathed a sigh of relief. Problems that can be solved with money are not really problems. If a fight really broke out, it wouldn't take many people; ten or twenty would die as easily as playing a game. Being able to spend money to ensure their safety is already a stroke of luck.

Each person paid twenty taels of silver, and the group of seven paid one hundred and forty taels in total.

The large ship arrived safely in Jiyue City the following evening. The journey had cost several hundred taels of silver, all paid for by Lin Wanjun, who was the head of the group.

Jin Qingyan hired four carriages at the dock, two for passengers and two for transporting cloth.

These fabrics are all high-end goods from Suzhou. They are tightly wrapped and need to be waterproof and scratch-resistant. Lin Wanjun whispered to her that among these two cartloads of goods are many priceless Song Dynasty embroideries. As long as a few pieces of embroidery find suitable buyers, they can easily sell for thousands of gold coins.