Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun left with bags, just as they had arrived.
All the gifts were from Lady Yu and Gu Shicheng, with the primary focus on gifts for Su Xiaoqi.
They contained food, drinks, toys, decorative items, as well as jewelry and fabric.
Before they departed, Lady Yu summoned people from her embroidery room to take Su Xiaoqi's measurements, instructing them to quickly make two sets of fine clothes for both her and Shen Yun within two days.
Stepping out of the Gu mansion, Su Xiaoqi found the sun overhead exceptionally bright.
They had eaten lunch at the Gu mansion before leaving.
It was already the afternoon.
The business was concluded.
Zhao Laoshi, after being treated to a meal at the gatehouse, had been waiting by the entrance of the Gu mansion.
Upon seeing them, his thin, dark face broke into a wide smile.
He would have quite a story to boast about back in the village.
He had actually dined at such a fine establishment as the Gu residence.
Furthermore, judging by how much the host seemed to favor young Master Shen and his wife, they had received half a mule cart's worth of goods.
As the mule cart set off, Su Xiaoqi suddenly remembered something and anxiously asked, "By the way, did you handle the matter of the joint guarantee?"
Speaking of which, her premonition grew stronger.
She had a feeling that something would happen during Shen Yun's provincial exam.
Shen Yun smiled mysteriously, drew her into his arms, and whispered in her ear, "My wife is thoughtful."
Su Xiaoqi rolled her eyes. So much for her worry; Shen Yun was too cunning, and all her fretting had been in vain.
However, she was still concerned. "Logically speaking, Zhao Haihua and Huang Yuanxiang know that we discovered their secret. Given their character, they wouldn't be this quiet, would they?"
Although Su Xiaoqi appeared carefree these days, focusing wholeheartedly on making lotus root powder for profit, she had actually been keeping this matter in mind.
Not only that, but there were also the brothers Zhao Baoren and Zhao Baoyi.
And most importantly, there was the matter of Su Yuru.
She kept insisting that she had taken something from their family, but what was it?
She wasn't the original owner and truly didn't know. She had searched through the original owner's memories, but there was no mention of such a thing.
Yet, Su Xiaoqi knew they wouldn't let her off easily.
After all, from Su Yuru's anxious tone, she could tell it was something very important.
Therefore, things should not be this calm.
The more this was the case, the more worried Su Xiaoqi became.
She felt as though it was the prelude to an approaching storm.
Shen Yun was aware of Su Xiaoqi's anxiety throughout.
However, he was also curious about what Su Yuru believed Xiaoqi had taken from their family.
And what was this business about the original owner?
In fact, Shen Yun wanted to tell Su Xiaoqi not to worry.
The people she had mentioned had not been idle since their conflict.
"They are not good people. What is my wife thinking about?" Shen Yun suddenly spoke.
He himself hadn't expected that one day he would speak faster than he thought.
Perhaps it was due to spending so much time with Xiaoqi.
"Ah, you, what did you say?" Su Xiaoqi was momentarily stunned, then quickly regained her composure. She blinked her long eyelashes and asked uncertainly, "What did I just say?"
Shen Yun tilted his head and smiled, "Does my wife not even know what she said?"
At this moment, he absolutely would not tell her that he could know her thoughts.
Su Xiaoqi was confused, but she wasn't one to dwell on things. She shook her head and quickly let it go, deciding to assume she had spoken inadvertently.
Thinking that the matter had been brought up, she might as well elaborate.
"You're saying they never intended to let us off the hook, so why..." Why hadn't she felt any of their attacks?
Shen Yun smiled without speaking.
Su Xiaoqi suddenly understood, "Could it be, could it be you..."
She finally realized that it wasn't that those people hadn't thought of dealing with them.
It was that every move they made was effortlessly neutralized by Shen Yun.
That's why she had no idea.
Considering that Shen Yun was destined to become a powerful minister, those people were at best minor figures to him, not even worth his thought.
Su Xiaoqi sighed inwardly. With him as such a mighty tree offering shade, why was she worrying at all?
Overcome with emotion, she threw herself into Shen Yun's arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pecked his thin lips heavily.
"Wow, you're so amazing, so amazing!" Su Xiaoqi had wanted to use some nice words to describe Shen Yun.
But in her excitement, her mind was mostly blank.
Only the repeated words "You're so amazing!" came out.
"Oh, how amazing?" But Shen Yun didn't play by the rules; he insisted on asking for clarity.
"Magnificent and heroic, peerless, unparalleled divine skill, uh, bah bah, wrong, you're incredibly intelligent, learned, insightful, and resourceful..."
Seeing that Su Xiaoqi was speaking more and more absurdly, Shen Yun simply gave up. He cupped Su Xiaoqi's cheeks and gently kissed her.
The soft and delicate warmth of her lips was captivating.
Su Xiaoqi hadn't expected to make her lips swell just by praising someone. She looked at Shen Yun with the wary eyes of someone guarding against a thief.
Shen Yun, however, looked innocent.
"My wife is being unreasonable. You kissed me, and as your husband, in the spirit of reciprocity, I returned the gesture. Yet you look at me like this, alas..."
He clutched his chest, feigning heartbreak.
"Oh, you, no, that's not how it works," Su Xiaoqi said. "I only gave you a light kiss; I didn't linger."
Shen Yun smiled enchantingly, leaned closer, and concluded in a husky voice, "When giving gifts, do we differentiate between light and heavy gifts?" The implication was that no matter how light or heavy the kiss, it was still too little.
His kiss was merely a return gift.
Su Xiaoqi's argument was immediately silenced by him, making her feel quite exasperated.
The following evening, Shen Xiaomei returned home after a day of work and told Su Xiaoqi that Aunt Chen had asked her to pass on a message: the esteemed customer had already purchased the lotus root powder.
"Oh, how much did it sell for?" Su Xiaoqi put down the jewelry box she was holding, her interest immediately piqued.
Shen Xiaomei, however, gave her a playful smile and told her to guess.
Su Xiaoqi thought for a moment and held up one finger.
Shen Xiaomei asked, "Ten taels of silver?"
Su Xiaoqi shook her head, looking at Shen Xiaomei with amusement.
This girl was so straightforward.
She was supposed to be testing Su Xiaoqi, but with a little guidance, she had easily turned it into a test for herself.
"One hundred taels..." Shen Xiaomei said, seeing Su Xiaoqi's smiling face, and exclaimed excitedly.
"Sister-in-law, you're so amazing, you guessed it, you guessed it."
Su Xiaoqi chuckled.
Shen Yun, standing nearby, looked somewhat speechless. His cunning little wife had merely held up a finger and said nothing, and his foolish sister had already revealed herself.
Alas, to play mind games with Su Xiaoqi, she wouldn't be qualified even after ten more years of practice.
Seeing the smile on Su Xiaoqi's face and the obvious disdain on Shen Yun's, Shen Xiaomei finally began to catch on.
It turned out she had just put on a one-woman show.
She felt dejected, but quickly became happy again.
After all, the lotus root powder that her sister-in-law had guided them in making was selling for one hundred taels of silver per jin.
As sister-in-law said, as long as they persisted in doing what they loved, they would always create extraordinary value.
"One hundred taels per jin, so ten jin would be a thousand taels. Did she buy it all?" Su Xiaoqi stopped teasing the simple-minded Shen Xiaomei.
"Alas, it's a pity she didn't bring enough money. She only bought five jin and said she'd come back tomorrow to buy the remaining five jin.
She also asked us to reserve some more for her." Shen Xiaomei's main purpose in returning was to convey this message.
They were running out of stock.
"The remaining amount can be discussed, but it will be two hundred taels per jin. This batch is the premium quality," Su Xiaoqi said, taking out the last ten jin she had kept for special occasions.
However, she unceremoniously raised the price.
She also instructed Shen Xiaomei to have Chen Jinniang spread the word about this tomorrow.
Lotus root powder at two hundred taels a jin, even if the Marchioness of Yong'an was reluctant to buy it, there were plenty of other wealthy families in Mianzhou City willing to do so.
Shen Yun looked at Su Xiaoqi with shock. His little wife was truly a shrewd businesswoman. He had to be careful, lest she trick even him one day.