The three of them left Qingyang Street.

Take a walk by the lake and return to the carriage.

On the way, Pei Shisanniang was holding a package of candied fruits, and Yan Liulang was following behind with a knife.

Ouyang Rong spoke without looking back, breaking the silence:

"Why is the Thirteenth Lady here too? She's not hosting the banquet?"

"I still like to be with the young master, I feel more at ease."

"In the past, you were not at all comfortable."

Ouyang Rong chuckled.

Pei Shisanniang hesitated for a moment, then boldly said:

"I used to be very afraid of the young master. Although I am still very afraid now, I feel more at ease with him."

"Well, I feel at ease."

Pei Shisanniang nodded and repeated, looking at his back and said:

"Not only do I feel at ease when I'm with the young master, I also feel at ease when I'm in Xingzifang and Xunyang City."

"Didn't you feel at ease before?" Ouyang Rong asked with a smile.

"In the past, I always regarded myself as a guest in a foreign country. I thought I would leave when I could make money. I would go wherever I could make money. If I couldn't make any money, I would leave immediately and go to the next place where I could make money, just like a traveler.

The next stop is the same."

Pei Shisanniang raised her head and said seriously:

"Occasionally in the dead of night, my heart feels a little empty. When I wake up from a dream, I don't know where I am. In other words, it doesn't matter where I am, just like a ghost."

"What about now?"

"Now... I have met the young master, Yan Canjun, and many interesting Xunyang people. During this period, I persuaded my colleagues to invest most of their money in this Xingzifang.

"Young master, I haven't had many feelings before, but when I see these houses being built little by little, when I see them rising from the ground like high-rise buildings, and when I see the families who live in these houses reunite, the joy on their faces

With a smile, I suddenly understood what the young master wanted to do."

Ouyang Rong remained silent and walked in front.

When Pei Shisanniang said this, she sounded a little embarrassed, shook her head and said:

"Actually speaking, when I first followed the young master's instructions and built these ordinary houses that made no money and could hardly repay the money, I was still a little bleeding. I felt like I wasted all my money. I even felt that if I didn't make any money, it would be a loss.

.

"However, when I gradually accepted them, when I saw that they were really completed and people were actually living in them, and when I saw the lively scene of everyone being happy today, I suddenly felt relieved and felt that it wasn't that bad after all. I felt faint

There is still some stability.”

"Safe?" Yan Liulang raised his eyebrows.

"That's right, safe and sound."

Pei Shisanniang nodded and her eyes became brighter:

"If I had followed my previous temperament and bought all the mansions and compounds, I would have made more money, but I would have just treated it as a business. Business is of course profit-oriented, and I only pursue higher profits.

No matter how luxurious, exquisite or unparalleled these houses are, they are nothing more than a piece of business. I only talk about money and not about feelings."

"Now, are you talking about feelings?"

"Not really. After the house on Qingyang Main Street was built, I suddenly felt very at ease. I haven't experienced this sense of at ease for a long, long time.

"Well, I experienced this once when I first made money from business and used it to improve the life of my mother-in-law. At that time, I felt that I did it based on my own ability. It was because I had a talent for doing business. At that time, I

I am excited and excited. Seeing the happy smiling faces of my family makes me feel very at ease physically and mentally.

"But later on, I don't know when, I began to pursue maximizing profits more and more, and many other things were gradually discarded, including some ethics, some compassion, and even my father, mother, and concubine went back to see me.

They received little money, but just sent a sum of money regularly so that they could have enough food and clothing in their hometown.

"But my body has become erratic. From Yangzhou to Jiangzhou now, before I met the young master, my heart has been completely unsettled. It seems that only by making profits one after another and gaining a more glorious identity step by step can I vaguely feel something

I have a sense of being alive, but it is still very empty, and I often wake up in the middle of the night..."

She raised her head and whispered:

"I just accompanied the young master to the courtyard of my family. I was actually a little leisurely to look at the details of the eaves, doors, and walls. I felt quite satisfied. They may not be as exquisite as those of the mansions and courtyards, but they are so beautiful to me.

I have the patience to look at it, but I don’t know how to describe this feeling. What I said is a bit confusing. Don’t blame me for you and Yan joining the army..."

Pei Shisanniang sighed, a little bit embarrassed, and then let out a breath of relief.

Ouyang Rong nodded lightly and said no more.

Yan Liulang laughed casually:

"Thirteenth Niang just feels at ease. In the words of the Ming Dynasty, this is called alienation. Power and force are the easiest things to alienate people, followed by money."

"Alienation..." Pei Shisanniang chewed carefully.

"That's right."

Yan Liulang nodded heavily and looked at Mingfu's silent back with admiration:

"What you are doing now is a formal business. The pursuit of profit in the past was too sick and it was easy to hit the wall. In other words, there is no end to pure money making money. Use money to mobilize resources and do some real things.

, only then can you feel down-to-earth and have peace of mind.”

His eyes were somewhat reminiscing:

"It's like this when doing business, and it's not like that when you're an official. I was like this when I was in Longcheng. Until I met Mingfu and followed Mingfu, I also had a similar sense of stability as you."

Pei Shisanniang's face was stunned, and she looked at the quiet Ouyang Rong in front of her.

At this time, the three people came to the carriage and stopped one after another.

Ouyang Rong took the candied fruit brought by Pei Shisanniang, and before getting into the car, he patted Pei Shisanniang on the shoulder.

"Thirteenth Niang, go back and rest early, Liulang, come up."

Pei Shisanniang was left with mixed feelings, and Yan Liulang followed Ouyang Rong and got into the carriage.

After burning the incense, the groom Ali saw Yan Canjun get out of the car with a serious face and leave in a hurry.

As the carriage continued to move forward, inside the carriage, Ouyang Rong opened the package of candied fruits and took a look.

He bent down and took out a small wine gourd from under the seat, put it to his ear and shook it. The gourd was filled with thick, turbid wine mixed with talisman ash.

Ouyang Rong was silent for a while, then closed his eyes and entered the Tower of Merit.

His eyes fell on the blue-gold font above the small wooden fish:

[Merits: Eight Thousand Three Hundred and One]

After a dinner party and a walk after dinner, the price increased by a small hundred.

It’s rare for merit to be so abundant.

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips and left the Merit Tower.

Opening his eyes, his perspective returned to the slightly bumpy, dim car.

"Tonight I'm going to have to suffer from Ali again."

Ouyang Rong suddenly spoke.

Ali's muffled voice came from outside:

"It's not hard work. I brought the rations and I'm willing to protect you, sir." After a pause, he asked for the first time: "Sir, is there any danger in the temple?"

Ouyang Rong didn't answer this simple man's intuition and whispered:

"At the back door of Chengtian Temple, find a shelter and stop."

"yes."

In the carriage, Ouyang Rong leaned on the back of his seat, lowered his head, and gently tapped a pack of candied fruits and a small wine gourd on his lap with his palms.

His eyes were a little dim and his expression couldn't be clearly seen.

"Whoosh."

"Crack-!"

There was another firework in the night sky on the other side of the lake, piercing the sky.

Ouyang Rong's eyes regained his sight, and he turned to look at the short-lived fireworks outside the window for a while.

His eyes were lost in thought for a moment.

"Wait, let's go to the courtyard first."

Ali seemed stunned for a moment, but immediately agreed: "Yes, young master."

The carriage turned around and drove towards a quiet courtyard by the lake not far away.

Ouyang Rong lowered his head, opened the package of candied fruits, twisted a candied fruit out of it, and wrapped it carefully with the handkerchief left by his junior sister.
To be continued...