Early the next morning, Lu Zheng habitually went to show his face at the Great Jing Dynasty, practiced a set of sword techniques in the backyard, and ate the millet porridge boiled by Aunt Liu.
"Young Master, are you not going out today?"
Lu Zheng thought for a moment, "Not going out in the morning, maybe I'll stroll over to the candy shop in the afternoon."
"Alright, I'll have my wife prepare lunch for you." Uncle Li replied, then cautiously said, "By the way, the second Miss from the Liu Family came looking for you yesterday, but you weren't here."
"Oh?" Lu Zheng asked, "Do you know what it was about?"
"I heard she wanted to invite you to go on a leisurely outing with them."
"Today?"
"Seems like it." Uncle Li nodded.
"Alright, I understand."
Lu Zheng nodded, turned back inside, and traveled back to modern times.
"Hey, good morning President Du!"
"Mr. Lu, hello, hello!"
"Here's the thing, President Du, I want to order another sword from your shop, a sharpened one."
"Sure, any specific requirements, or should I send you pictures of various swords?"
As the saying goes, familiarity breeds confidence. Having already sold a sharpened Brocade Spring Saber, Du Lin was straightforward this time.
"The scabbard doesn't need to be too ornate, preferably styled towards the Daoist Family. Or you can just send me the photos."
"For Daoist attire, right? Sure, I'll check. Actually, it's fine even if it's not included. We have an artisan who can manually forge brass fittings for the sword scabbard and handle, as well as custom patterns for the scabbard leather."
Impressive! Sleek!
"Alright, send me the photos first. If there's nothing suitable, I'll have one custom-made." Lu Zheng replied, "By the way, didn't I buy two sabers before? Can you help sharpen the one that's not yet sharpened?"
"Yes, bring it to the shop when you have time."
A moment after the call ended, Lu Zheng received dozens of photos on his phone, which had been filtered by Du Lin, excluding those overly ornate or unable to be sharpened.
Lu Zheng quickly browsed through and soon picked out a sword.
Longquan Sword style, black leather scabbard with white patterns depicting subtle clouds, brass fittings forged into cloud motifs.
It aligned with Lu Zheng's expectations.
So Lu Zheng ordered this sword without further ado, directly transferring the payment via WeChat.
Lu Zheng's decisiveness pleased Du Lin, "Come by anytime tomorrow afternoon to pick it up."
"Okay, but I might not be on time, I'll give you a call beforehand."
"Sure!"
After hanging up, Lu Zheng casually grabbed some snacks and quickly returned to ancient times.
"Is the eldest son of the Lu Family at home?" A voice called from the entrance, belonging to Liu Qingquan.
"I am!" Lu Zheng replied, heading to the front yard, finding Uncle Li leading Liu Qingquan around the screen wall.
"Just call me Brother Lu directly, can I call you Qingquan?"
Lu Zheng really disliked the term 'eldest son', it was inauspicious!
"Oh, okay." Liu Qingquan did not object, calling him Brother was indeed closer than calling him eldest son.
The bag of fruit candies from that day had already won her over, if she didn't listen to him, what if he didn't give out candy in the future?
If they became Brother and Little Sister... A Brother giving candy to his Little Sister should be natural, right?
"I heard you want to go on an outing?"
"That's right! Brother Lu, are you coming? My sister and I rented a carriage, we're about to set off!"
"Just you and your sister?" Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Are Uncle Liu and Aunt not coming?"
"Father still needs to work on opening his practice, Mother isn't going." Liu Qingquan shook her head.
Lu Zheng nodded, the current Great Jing Dynasty was considered peaceful, although there were minor thieves and bandits, they generally couldn't make a big scene and certainly wouldn't appear openly around the county during the day.
"Where to?"
"Peach Blossom Plain south of the city, I heard there's ten acres of peach grove there, with peach blossoms in full bloom, very beautiful."
"I heard there's even a Peach Blossom Fairy in the grove that many have seen."
"And many big peach trees in the grove, sometimes even little monkeys from the deep mountains come to play among the peach trees, quite interesting."
At the mention of playing, Liu Qingquan's eyes sparkled.
"Brother Lu, come along?"
"Sure."
Going out for fun, it's not complicated, Lu Zheng readily agreed.
...
Seeing Liu Qingquan bring Lu Zheng over, Liu Qingyan smiled sweetly, "Greetings, Lu Lang."
"Greetings, Miss Liu."
Lu Zheng climbed onto the carriage after Liu Qingquan, sitting properly on one side.
"The alcohol Lu Lang brought the day before yesterday was really good, my father slept soundly till dawn."
Lu Zheng chuckled, "I hope Aunt doesn't blame me for getting Uncle Liu drunk."
"Of course not, the fruit wine you brought was also delightful, none like it on the market, so fresh and clear, did you brew it yourself?"
"I did." Lu Zheng nodded decisively, claiming it.
"Then you actually shouldn't be running a candy shop, opening a tavern would be more profitable." Liu Qingquan shouted, "No wait, you should do both!"
Meeting Liu Qingyan's clear gaze, Lu Zheng smiled and winked, then explained to Liu Qingquan, "These wines are not easy to brew, not suitable for store sale."
Liu Qingquan half-understood, easily convinced, but Liu Qingyan caught on from Lu Zheng's glance.
"Lu Lang is indeed thoughtful, Qingyan was being inconsiderate."
Liu Qingyan, with her intelligent and perceptive nature, immediately understood that Lu Zheng preferred to earn less rather than attract greedy attention.
Anyway, money wasn't lacking, so why invite trouble?
Actually, Liu Qingyan's thinking was partly correct, as this was one reason Lu Zheng chose not to sell alcohol at the start. However, his primary goal was to use this high-grade wine to forge connections with cultivators.
Not speaking of this high-grade wine being common on the streets, if available through other channels, how would one's unique touch remain?
"Of course, if Uncle Liu wants some, I'll always have enough for him." Lu Zheng laughed.
This sounded normal, but Liu Qingyan noticed that when Lu Zheng said this, he was looking at her with an appreciative gaze, making Liu Qingyan blush and lower her head slightly.
"And the candy, can I eat it whenever I want?"
Liu Qingquan promptly disrupted the atmosphere, looking expectantly at Lu Zheng.
Liu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, and Lu Zheng decisively reached out to give her a head pat, "Of course, eat as much as you want, when it's finished, tell me and I'll replenish it."
"Really?" Liu Qingquan's eyes lit up, she immediately took a cloth bag from her bosom, pulled out a green hard candy and popped it into her mouth.
Apple flavored, really sweet!
Lu Zheng chuckled and pulled out another cloth bag.
Liu Qingquan's eyes lit up.
Lu Zheng poured out some preserved plums, handed them to the Liu Family Sisters, and then told Liu Qingquan, "Your sister can eat them, you're eating candy now, wait until you finish the candy before trying these, otherwise you won't taste the sweetness."
Liu Qingquan nodded repeatedly, Liu Qingyan bashfully took the preserved plums, listened to Lu Zheng's words, smiled, and sent them into her mouth.