Chapter 35: Year-End Trivial Matters

Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year, as new peach wood talismans replace the old.

The lively and bustling New Year period, lasting until the Lantern Festival, brought with it all sorts of activities. Even as a live-in son-in-law, Ning Yi couldn't avoid these events. Before the New Year, Su Tan'er had asked him to accompany her on various visits, preparing for this period. There were indispensable visits to relatives from both the main and second households, extended family, and business partners. If they were visiting family members, Su Tan'er and Ning Yi would go together. For visits outside the household, they mostly accompanied Su Boyong, as Su Tan'er hadn't officially taken over as head of the main Su family branch yet. Before the New Year, she only discussed business; after the New Year, these initial, symbolic visits to solidify their presence still needed to be led by Su Boyong.

Before the New Year, Governor Song Mao, who had been making numerous visits, departed from Jiangning. Thanks to a few complimentary words from Song Mao, Ning Yi's standing in the Su Mansion became more respected. Among the servants, there had never been any 'servant bullying the master' incidents, but few bothered to interact with him, and others were naturally indifferent. Now, however, many servants became more amicable, though Ning Yi found this change largely inconsequential.

Among the masters of the house, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth young masters clearly didn't look kindly upon Ning Yi anymore. Previously, they had merely been indifferent; now, they had to be wary. Of course, there wasn't much they could do, as the Old Master had clearly started to value Ning Yi more. After the examination in the library, Ning Yi's standing had significantly increased. The Su family members all knew the Old Master's long-held wish: he had always hoped the Su family could produce some scholars, to shed a bit of their merchant identity.

What good was being a wealthy merchant if, once something went wrong, you couldn't protect yourself and were simply at the mercy of officials? Scholars, however, were different. As long as they achieved official rank, no matter how humble, they would always have the ability to speak for themselves. The Wu Dynasty, though named for its martial prowess and originally founded on military strength, experienced several major upheavals in its early days. The rulers learned their lesson and thereafter governed through scholar-officials. Now, just like the Song Dynasty that Ning Yi knew, scholar-officials were treated with extreme generosity, and civil administration was prioritized over military might.

Since Ning Yi had given the Old Master this hope, he naturally became even more valued. Especially during New Year greetings, the Old Master's conversations with Ning Yi were noticeably longer than with others, and everyone observed this. The Old Master primarily wanted to discuss topics like studying and schools with Ning Yi. Ning Yi casually offered principles of 'learning through enjoyment.' The Old Master didn't quite grasp these; he was more inclined to believe in 'a filial son comes from a harsh upbringing' and 'a strict teacher produces a skilled student.' However, being accustomed to leading a household had its benefits: he never dictated to professionals. He listened with a smile and simply said, 'If there are disobedient ones, feel free to discipline them however you see fit.'

Afterward, he sighed with emotion, 'Brother Zian has a good grandson indeed...' He was referring to Ning Yi's grandfather.

The Old Master was still in good health and high spirits. Although he didn't impose much discipline on his grandchildren and appeared benevolent, peaceful, and unassuming, his control over the family was never ambiguous. In the current Su family, no one dared to casually offend the Old Master on such matters. After that conversation on New Year's Day, Ning Yi certainly received plenty of scoffs and gossip, even more than before. However, thoughts of undermining him, causing trouble for Su Tan'er, or disrespecting the Old Master were likely few and far between.

Nevertheless, although the academy was now closed for holidays, Ning Yi occasionally encountered Su Chonghua and could sense a hint of wariness in his eyes, which Ning Yi found somewhat amusing.

These were merely minor changes. Ning Yi didn't pay much attention to them, regardless of whether they occurred. Low-level individuals couldn't cause huge waves; even if those who rolled their eyes tried their hardest to do something, it would likely only result in others rolling their eyes back at them. During the day, he generally ran hither and thither. Occasionally, at the homes of merchants who collaborated with the Su Mansion, those who knew of Ning Yi's reputation would call their scholarly children to 'get to know' him. These were well-intentioned gestures, of course, though the children had only read a few poems and essays, making for rather mild exchanges.

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the poem 'Shuidiao Getou' became known, Ning Yi had largely disappeared from the mainstream conversation circles in Jiangning. Although 'Shuidiao Getou' was still sung daily, discussions about him had largely lost their fervor. Truth be told, the fellow was twenty this year, a live-in son-in-law in the Su Mansion, teaching at the unremarkable Yushan Academy, where he reportedly even introduced some strange blackboard. He rarely interacted with scholars or literati. This reclusive lifestyle, though peculiar, only suggested he was an eccentric character. Scholar-officials who were skilled at networking might achieve fame quickly, but there were many 'homebody' type scholars who were completely inept at it. It was just that a dazzling poetic line like his was quite rare.

Since that evening's conversation, his relationship with Su Tan'er had grown much closer. Previously, Su Tan'er had treated Ning Yi like a bookworm, always trying to dominate their interactions. After initially 'understanding' Ning Yi, she relaxed considerably. The realization that they were both 'eccentrics' pleased her, primarily because Ning Yi didn't mind her conducting business in public. She also became more casual when discussing merchants with him, sometimes bringing up difficult problems, then explaining her solutions to Ning Yi and asking, 'What do you think, husband?' Of course, it was mostly to satisfy her innate desire for communication and expression. Ultimately, too few people understood and accepted her. Even though she occasionally spoke with Xiao Chan and others, it was akin to talking to herself. Being able to discuss business with Ning Yi, who was unrelated to the trade, was naturally a good form of relaxation for her.

Ning Yi naturally responded with a few teasing remarks or expressions of admiration. Su Tan'er would then feel content. This desire for expression had nothing to do with one's capabilities. Even highly capable individuals occasionally felt stifled and wished someone, preferably a completely unrelated person, knew what was on their mind. It was akin to digging a hole in the countryside, voicing one's secrets, and then burying the hole as a way to relieve stress.

Of course, most of their exchanges were unrelated small talk. In the evenings, they would eat, tell stories, and play Gomoku. Su Tan'er, who had initially found Ning Yi's stories a bit childish, now listened purely for relaxation, occasionally asking him to tell an extra segment. Sometimes she would boast a little proudly when playing Gomoku, though in truth, Xiao Chan was the most talented at Gomoku and won the most. Ning Yi, however, was the most troublesome opponent. When he played seriously, he was never in a hurry to win. As soon as his opponent placed two pieces together, he would immediately block them, blocking and blocking until his opponent felt stifled. Only after a large section of the board was filled would he launch a counterattack when his opponent wasn't paying attention.

His playing style was intolerable to the three young maids. In the warm room at night, protests occasionally erupted from Chan'er, Juan'er, or Xing'er: 'Young Master Ning is too cheeky!' Su Tan'er, with her strong learning ability and abundant patience, would pursed her lips and tediously block Ning Yi's moves back and forth, seeing who could last the longest. Once, they filled the entire Go board, ending in a draw. The three young maids whispered to each other, saying that their Young Master and Young Mistress must be mischievous spirits. Two days after this incident, Ning Yi smiled helplessly, 'Why do we torment each other like this...' Su Tan'er, who had been seriously blocking pieces, finally couldn't help but crack a smile. Then, with a playful grin, she blocked Ning Yi's piece again.

Afterward, they developed a bit of unspoken understanding, and their games no longer relied purely on testing each other's patience.

When Su Tan'er occasionally asked about the things Ning Yi was working on, he would often gesticulate and explain: 'Well, here we need a cylindrical iron tube, placed upright... and over here, we can pour water to cool it down... But it needs to be resistant to strong acids. I also have to increase the concentration of sulfuric acid, or rather, the 'strong water.' The problem is, without acid-resistant containers, I can't increase its concentration, and if I can't increase the concentration, I can't easily make acid-resistant containers. It becomes a chicken-and-egg problem... And making glass is also incredibly difficult... Uh, do you understand?'

Since she asked, Ning Yi didn't mind and simply explained. Su Tan'er, who had only asked casually, was now completely bewildered: 'Uh... Husband... what exactly are you trying to make?'

'Oh, it's something to eat. If you want to visualize it... it's probably similar to salt. You know, kelp soup, kelp soup tastes good, right? If we boil a hundred catties of kelp into a soup, filter it, and then dry out the water, we'd get a very tiny amount of something like salt, though not very pure. But if you add it to dishes, it would taste very good... Yes, that's what it is.'

'Uh... kelp soup... using the essence of a hundred catties of kelp to cook... how many dishes can that make?'

'One bowl of a dish should be fine,' Ning Yi said with a blink. 'That's why the consumption is too high. I want to find another way to produce it.'

'...Oh.' Su Tan'er nodded, resting her hand on her cheek, looking like she had a toothache. If casually creating something could be equivalent to the essence of a hundred catties of kelp, it sounded impressive, but... kelp soup wasn't necessarily that delicious...

'My husband is an eccentric...' she finally admitted honestly.

What Ning Yi wanted to make was MSG (monosodium glutamate). He had previous experience in this area; at least, he understood the modern industrial process for MSG production. But honestly, that process was meaningless here. Strong acid-resistant containers, fermentation enzymes, bacterial cultivation, crystallization, freezing, temperature control... these things were simple a thousand years later, but in the Wu Dynasty, they were pure fantasy. What's more, aside from knowing the most modern production process, he only knew about the historical purification of MSG from kelp soup. The vast gap meant he had no understanding of the initial, simpler industrial methods. To systematically produce monosodium glutamate, he would first need to spark half an industrial revolution.

Of course, idly waiting was not in his nature. He was determined to try making MSG. In recent months, he had already outlined a basic flowchart and, when bored, pondered alternative methods. Before the New Year, he had even toured various markets in Jiangning to gauge the level of development in this world and had even found and studied books like *Dream Pool Essays*. In any case, as he told Su Tan'er, this was indeed just a pastime concept for when he had nothing else to do. He didn't expect any results within a few years, nor would he assemble a team to force the creation of anything specific. The emergence of countless derivative products along the way could have varying significance, but for now, basic investigation was sufficient. Beyond these endeavors, he simply couldn't find many other interesting goals to pursue in this era.

However, there was one other thing that interested him, perhaps even more than MSG:

Learning martial arts.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, when he went out with Su Tan'er and others, he saw for the first time a legendary, true martial arts master. While not as exaggerated as in TV shows and movies, they were indeed quite formidable...