Chapter 92 The Coming Summer

Baoqin walked to the bookshelf, and her fingertips could not help but touch the spines of the booklets.

Her fingertips moved around, and the touch was different, and there was another taste in her heart.

She had read these stories several times, and she knew the contents of them by heart.

She knew how delicate the writer's thoughts were hidden in these lifeless words.

She moved two steps to the right, and her fingertips stopped on the book she bought recently. She took it off and opened it in her palm, and Baoqin's eyes fell on the preface at the beginning.

The preface was very short, and it was specially written for this edition by a famous scholar in Yangzhou invited by Mr. Hu. The text was full of praise, but Xue Baoqin had no intention of reading it carefully, but just raised her hand to turn to the next page, which was the self-introduction poem written by Mr. Yuanhe for the first edition of the booklet.

At that time, Mr. Yuanhe was still a fledgling writer, and no one in Yangzhou knew his reputation. Even the preface of the first book had to be written by himself.

"Let's just listen to what I said,

The rain is like silk on the bean and melon trellises.

I guess you should be tired of human language,

and love to listen to the ghosts singing poems in the autumn tombs."

After reading it softly, Xue Baoqin couldn't help but recall that it was also a rainy season when she first read "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". Midsummer was approaching, and in the dark night, she took the books that Xue Ke brought home and sat in her own courtyard, relying on the candlelight and sandalwood, and looked up to see the bright moon and stars.

That night, Mr. Yuanhe's writing style and stories always took her to places she had been to before.

For example, Hangzhou, Taiyuan...When the disappeared place names appeared in her mind, they were followed by her own memories of them.

This text touched her past experiences, making Xue Baoqin subconsciously imagine Mr. Yuanhe as a person similar to Xu Xiake.

He would carry a book box and walk through places one by one, taking notes of the local customs and people. She would also be very interested in collecting stories about gods, ghosts and strange things from passers-by she met by chance.

She naturally yearned for such a life. It was also because she could not continue such a life that she transferred this yearning to Mr. Yuanhe and left the pseudonym of Yanxiake in Jing'an Literary Society.

"Why is it you?"

Xue Baoqin said softly, and she couldn't tell whether she was disappointed or excited in her heart.

Maybe it was the disappointment after the answer was revealed, or it was the coincidence that she had brushed shoulders with Chen Heng many times.

Her face turned slightly red, and she couldn't help but pick up her hand and gently fan it towards her face. When her mood calmed down a little, she suddenly remembered the paper cranes fluttering under the peach tree in the academy.

"Why is it you?"

She sighed faintly, and sat in front of the dressing mirror with some annoyance, with a wooden box of food on the table.

After a long time, Yan'er's voice came from outside the door.

"Miss, the lady said it's time to eat."

A soft response came from inside the door, and after a burst of tiny sounds. Xue Baoqin opened the door and stood in front of the maid.

She saw the surprise on Yan'er's face and couldn't help laughing, "What's wrong?"

"Our young lady is so beautiful." Yan'er said sincerely.

Her young lady was wearing a goose yellow gauze skirt today, which was similar to the moonlight tonight. The pearl hairpin and tassels on her head were more majestic and dignified than before, and set off her fair skin, making people unable to take their eyes away.

Xue Baoqin didn't say anything, just playing with the round fan in her hand, walking along the corridor with her clothes fluttering.

It was a coincidence that the master and servant were halfway there when they ran into two figures in the distance, also coming towards them.

Before the two parties met, Baoqin could already hear the voices from the other side.

"If it were you, we would just print 10,000 copies next time so that more people can see it."

"Aren't you afraid that it won't sell and will be a waste of money?"

Chen Heng's chuckle came from the wind.

"How can that be possible? Don't you think about the fact that we are..." Xue Ke said halfway when he saw a figure in front of him.

Yan'er was holding a lantern in his hand, and his sister was bowing to them on the side, "Brother, hello, Brother Chen."

There are many kinds of beauty, and everyone has different aesthetic preferences. Some like cleverness, and some like fairy spirit. But there is another kind of beauty in the world that will unify everyone's aesthetics.

Chen Heng's eyes were stunned. In the evening breeze, he saw the bright moon hanging on the treetops of the rockery outside the gallery of the painting building, and the gentle yellow moonlight.

"Hello, Sister Xue."

After Chen Heng bowed, he couldn't help but be moved by the other party's impeccable facial features.

There are really people who can be beautiful from childhood to adulthood, and can become more and more beautiful, which is simply incredible.

Xue Baoqin stood up gently, covered her mouth with a round fan, and said softly to the two of them: "Two brothers, please hurry up, Daddy and Mommy are waiting."

After that, she walked past the two of them like moonlight.

Xue Ke finally reacted, rubbed his head strangely, and looked at his friend beside him with excitement, boasting: "I said it back then, ten years later, my sister will be the best-looking one. Look, it's only been a few years."

Chen Heng was also a little helpless, so he had to follow his words and said: "Brother Xue is right, Brother Xue has always had such a good vision."

The two of them hummed and hawed all the way, and then followed Baoqin into the front hall.

Dinner was eaten together by everyone. Although there was an outsider Chen Heng, after all, there was only one person, and it was not exaggerated to leave the table.

Xue Zhen was not a person who adhered to conventional etiquette. He only invited the family to sit together. After a harmonious and warm meal, he arranged for someone to send Xue Ke and Chen Heng back to the inn.

That night, after Yan'er helped the young lady wash up, she saw Baoqin lock all the jewelry she wore today in a small box.

She was very surprised and said, "Oh, young lady, why did you lock it? This is your favorite set."

Xue Baoqin smiled at Yan'er, "It's because I like it that I want to hide it."

Yan'er didn't understand, but the young lady naturally had her own reasons for doing things. She responded softly and led Xue Baoqin to bed.

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The next day, Xue Zhen came to the newspaper shop as promised, and Chen Heng and Xue Ke immediately told him about the situation of the newspaper shop.

As the real helmsman of Jing'an Newspaper Shop in the future, Chen Heng was indescribably satisfied with being able to invite Uncle Xue.

Where can you find such a person with work experience, knowledge and connections, and who can be completely trusted?

To say something a little disrespectful, Chen Heng felt that he had recruited the number one general, and his heart was surging with ecstasy of drawing an orange card.

The newspaper shop was still very busy today. Fortunately, by noon, Xue Zhen also understood the situation clearly and personally redistributed the work of the four guys.

When everything was in order, the servants of the Xue family also brought their lunch.

The three found a table upstairs and sat on the floor without paying attention to cleanliness. While chatting about meeting County Magistrate Zhang the day after tomorrow, they talked about the situation of the newspaper.

Xue Ke took out two dishes in a row and suddenly wondered: "Why are they all dishes that Brother Heng likes to eat."

Chen Heng laughed, "It seems that Auntie still cares more about my nephew."

Xue Zhen naturally didn't have to do the chores of serving dishes and chopsticks, and only responded, "Why are you in a hurry? What you like should be on the second floor."

Xue Ke opened the food box on the second floor and couldn't help but say happily: "It's indeed on the second floor."

The three of them were busy in the newspaper shop for another two days before they took a carriage to Jiangdu County Government. Lord Zhang was very happy about their arrival, and with Xue Zhen as the host and guest, he controlled the atmosphere of the chat.

After a lively party, the three of them left the county government office with a lot of copied files, feeling satisfied.

Chen Heng felt that this was a good start. As long as this line was maintained, people from Jing'an Newspaper Shop in other counties in Yangzhou could slowly establish connections.

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When 5,000 newspapers were sold again in Yangzhou City.

Chen Heng and Xue Ke had already left the newspaper shop and returned to the academy after many days of absence.

When it was time to post at five o'clock, I felt that it was still a little short, so I rewrote this chapter. Hahahaha, there are still three updates today.

Go!