Chapter 120: A Different Feeling
Although Jin Sui refused to become sworn brothers with Gu Changxiao, he directly addressed her as ‘Brother Ji,’ and his intimacy made Jin Sui suspect he had ulterior motives.
It was like how big bosses in later generations insisted their employees become legal representatives during the startup phase. Was it that easy to be a legal representative? If something went wrong, I’d end up going to jail for you!
Jin Sui was originally hesitating, wondering if she should stay in the border city after Grandpa Ling arrived and their identities were swapped back.
Now that it was decided, she was leaving! She absolutely had to leave!
Gu Changxiao’s attitude meant he either wanted her to be a worker and work herself to death for him.
Or he wanted her to be a Zhuge-like military strategist, also working herself to death for him!
No! My life after transmigration has been miserable enough. If I can escape now and live a stable life with Grandpa and Jin An, getting too entangled with him again would mean working for him my entire life!
She tried hard to convince Gu Changxiao that she was truly not holding back, showing him the fish oil and then giving him her suggestions for the future development of fish oil firearms.
For example, the battle of burning the border city was an ambush to lure the enemy into the city. This tactic is only suitable for defense. If our army is attacking, we can try tying fish oil bottles to arrows.
We can improve the bows and arrows, and have skilled archers like Hei Hu shoot them. The power of one arrow could throw the enemy army into chaos!
“Hei Hu is a bit slow-witted. You must explain everything clearly to him, otherwise, he won’t be able to keep up.”
“But he is extremely loyal, obedient, strong, and a good archer. Please don’t look down on him.”
Jin Sui knew that Gu Changxiao’s old guards were all skilled. For instance, the youth who captured Qing Feng was more skilled than Han Xing and Hei Hu.
She was afraid that after she and Gu Changxiao swapped identities, Gu Changxiao would no longer think highly of Hei Hu and the others.
Gu Changxiao heard her speaking as if she were giving parting words, and his heart sank. What could he do to make Daoist Ji lower her guard and be willing to stay?
“Don’t worry, Brother Ji. The Black Feather Camp was trained by you and is capable of great things. How could I look down on them?”
“Moreover, I see they listen to you very well. If you can continue to guide and teach them, I believe the Black Feather Camp will become an elite force!”
Jin Sui chuckled, “They are already an elite force! At least they’re better than the Yan Prefecture Army.”
“I don’t know any military strategy or martial arts. What can I teach? Han Xing taught me how to ride a horse, and I learned a few flashy moves for scaring people with a saber from Hei Hu.”
Gu Changxiao suddenly took out a book from his embrace: “But this 《Thirty-Six Stratagems》 is a profound military treatise, written by Brother Ji.”
Jin Sui waved her hands repeatedly, “It wasn’t written by me! I said that deliberately to sell it at a high price. It was written by an otherworldly master. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Seeing him repeatedly refuse credit, Gu Changxiao chuckled, “But your battle against the Tartars was witnessed by all.”
Jin Sui denied it even more, “The strategy for that battle was too crude, causing countless casualties among our troops. Even I would have died at the hands of the Tartars if you hadn’t arrived in time.”
Gu Changxiao didn’t argue further but flipped through the pages, “I heard the one you sold to Yan Jiu was Ten Thousand Taels. What’s the difference between that and this one?”
Jin Sui smiled, “No difference. It just had a dedication written on the title page and two extra personal seals.”
Speaking of personal seals, she said sheepishly:
“That ‘Limitless Wrath’ personal seal was out of necessity at the time. I didn’t know your real name and was afraid others would see through it, so I had to bluff and deliberately use this method to get by.”
“If you don’t like it, after our identities are swapped back, you can have a new personal seal made. Please don’t use this one anymore.”
Unexpectedly, Gu Changxiao shook his head, “I like it very much!”
Jin Sui: …Are you out of your mind?
Perhaps Jin Sui’s expression made Gu Changxiao a bit embarrassed, so he awkwardly touched his nose and said,
“I mean, people seem to like this personal seal very much. I heard many people bought this book just for that personal seal. I don’t dislike it; it can be kept.”
He suddenly added, “What dedication did you write for Yan Jiu? It was worth Ten Thousand Taels?”
Jin Sui quickly explained, “It wasn’t any secret dedication, don’t worry, I didn’t disgrace Prince Li. He paid Ten Thousand Taels because he bought the exclusive rights to that dedication, meaning I couldn’t write dedications for anyone else.”
“Besides, there isn’t another fool in the world who would pay Ten Thousand Taels for a sentence. I agreed immediately.”
Then Jin Sui felt Gu Changxiao’s gaze change, as if he were afraid his excellent employee would be poached by someone else.
He said, “Yan Jiu is a man of deep schemes. You should interact with him less.”
Jin Sui quickly replied, “From now on, you will be the one interacting with him. I’m just a young Taoist, how can I interact with such a head of a family?”
The more she said this, the more Gu Changxiao worried. Little Daoist Ji liked silver. Compared to Yan Jiu’s wealth, he couldn’t compare now.
What if Yan Jiu tempted her with money then? What would happen if Little Daoist Ji went to the Yan Clan?
But he was not the type to sow discord, so he could only find a way to make Little Daoist Ji realize that the Yan family was not worthy of her!
As they spoke, they arrived at the salt fields. From afar, they saw a expanse of snow white. Gu Changxiao, seeing the seaside for the first time, initially thought it was sea waves or sand.
Until Jin Sui dismissed her attendants and they walked towards the salt fields, she waved her hand and smiled, “Your Highness, please look. This is the salt field I’ve built for you!”
Having burned down his border city, she had to show some achievements, otherwise, she wouldn’t even have the face to ask for a salary.
Gu Changxiao didn’t look at the magnificent sea but squatted down to examine the salt field. When he saw that the snow-white grains were all salt crystals.
His heart pounded like thunder. He had seen salt wells and salt lakes, but this was his first time seeing such a salt field.
He asked in a deep voice, “Is the method for producing sea salt difficult?”
The simple process of making fish oil had already shocked him. Who would have thought that a weapon with such great destructive power could be refined from fish innards?
Looking at this sea salt, transforming from seawater into salt crystals must have been very difficult!
Then he heard Little Daoist Ji say in a slightly exaggerated tone, “Not difficult at all! You just need to filter the seawater, and it’s done once it’s sun-dried!”
“Look, I’ve left dozens of people by the East Sea, and they’ve already sun-dried tens of thousands of catties of sea salt and produced a thousand bottles of fish oil.”
“This salt field can be set up like farmland, with salt farmers, allowing a large number of people to sun-dry salt by the sea. If the taxes are low, it can allow the people to live and work in peace and enrich our border city.”
“The key is secrecy. The reason I wanted to keep Li Heng was for this. The sun-drying salt method is too simple once revealed, and it’s easy for others to learn. Maintaining secrecy is too difficult.”
“But with the Prefect Li Heng helping with secrecy, and selecting people from the refugees for our border city, we can at least maintain secrecy for two or three years. In that time, our border city will become prosperous.”
Gu Changxiao loved hearing her talk about the future development of the border city, especially when she said ‘our,’ as if she already considered the border city her own.
For a moment, Gu Changxiao even thought it would be good to let her continue being Prince Li if it meant keeping her.
The two walked slowly along the salt field path. Jin Sui explained the principle of sun-drying salt. That area was the filtration pool, and the area ahead was the salt mud field. When the quantity was small, it relied on people stomping, but now that the quantity is large, mud-treading tools have been created…
Unknowingly, they walked a long distance. Beyond the salt field area was fine sand. In the shallow sea area in the distance, soldiers were setting up fishing nets.
It happened to be sunset, with the remnants of the sea spread across the water, half the sea surface a fiery red.
The sea breeze blew the waves, crashing at their feet in clusters. Jin Sui, on a whim, quickly took off her shoes and socks and stepped into the sea.
Seeing Gu Changxiao standing still, she smiled, “Your Highness, why don’t you come down and step in the seawater too! It’s very comfortable. Don’t be afraid, the tide hasn’t come in yet, so you won’t fall into the sea.”
Gu Changxiao’s gaze followed the sunset and the sea, finally landing on her smiling face. Watching her feet kicking the water, his heart involuntarily fluttered.
Little Daoist Ji’s feet are really small!
He quickly shifted his gaze, pinching his palm hard. Even though he was unwilling to admit it, he couldn’t lie to himself; this feeling was very wrong.
This was not a feeling one should have for a man.
Suddenly thinking of Yan Shiyi Lang’s annoying face, Gu Changxiao cursed inwardly. It was all his fault for talking nonsense that day, which made him unable to help but think in that direction!
He and Little Daoist Ji are innocent. Little Daoist Ji has a pure heart. I shouldn’t be thinking such things.
Seeing him motionless for a long time, Jin Sui, holding up her hem, ran over, “Are you afraid of the sea?”
She wanted to reach out and pull Gu Changxiao, but felt the action was too intimate, especially since he was her boss.
She had no choice but to tempt him with ‘work,’ smiling and pointing at the sea, “Let me tell you, this stretch of sea is very useful. If we move those rocks in front, it can be used as a salt field.”
“This shallow sea area can be used for aquaculture, raising fish, shrimp, and kelp. In the future, it will be our border city’s specialty product.”
“When we have more silver, we’ll build sea vessels and go out to sea to catch large fish. The fish oil from large fish can be used not only for weapons but also for lamp oil, and fish liver oil is very nutritious.”
“Many soldiers suffer from night blindness. This fish liver oil is the best for the eyes…”
As she spoke, she walked into the sea. Gu Changxiao was unconsciously drawn to the scene she described. If they could really build ships and go to sea, then the border city would not be a small border town, but a great prefecture city comparable to Suzhou and Hangzhou!
He naturally took off his shoes and socks, and like Jin Sui, held up one side of his hem. The two walked slowly in the shallow sea area, feeling the wonderful sensation of the seawater and sand.
“Before arriving at the border city, I thought being exiled to the borderlands meant a lifetime of gloom.”
“Now, listening to Brother Ji’s words, I feel that being exiled to the border city is truly the greatest fortune of my life!”
Jin Sui smiled, “It was always like this! No prosperous city is born naturally; it is built by our human efforts.”
“Although the border city is on the frontier, with Tartars outside and gentry within, the border city has a good geographical location, backed by mountains and facing the sea, with abundant supplies. As long as Your Highness is willing to put in the effort to build it.”
“Attract refugees from the mountains and let the people settle here. I believe that in a few years, the border city will be better than the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi!”
She genuinely encouraged Gu Changxiao. She saw how difficult life was for the people of the border city. Sometimes, a small decision by someone in power had a huge impact on the common people.
She hoped Gu Changxiao would shift his focus from the struggles in Chang’an and concentrate on building the border city, and be kinder to the people at the bottom level.
Just then, Jin Sui suddenly felt a sharp pain under her foot and cried out in surprise. She lifted her foot to see what had pricked her, but a wave washed over, and she slipped, falling backward.
Gu Changxiao instinctively reached out to grab her but missed, and they fell into the sea together with Jin Sui.
Seawater mixed with sand splashed on their faces. Although they quickly sat up, seeing each other covered in sand, Jin Sui was the first to burst into laughter, and Gu Changxiao followed suit.
Soon, the culprit was caught: it was a small sea crab. Jin Sui’s foot was pinched and bleeding.
Gu Changxiao was even more worried about her thigh injury. He quickly held her ankle and first washed the sand from the wound on her foot, then tore off a piece of his hem to bandage it.
Jin Sui felt very uncomfortable with his large hand holding her ankle, her face burning. She struggled, “This small injury doesn’t need bandaging.”
Gu Changxiao ignored her and continued bandaging. He then touched the wound on her thigh, “Let me see if it’s soaked.”
Jin Sui was greatly alarmed and hopped back on one foot, “No, no, don’t touch it.”
Gu Changxiao had initially just been concerned about her injury, but her reaction made him feel his actions were too rash, and his face also burned.
He quickly said, “Brother Ji, please don’t misunderstand. I was just afraid your wound would relapse. If the medicine couldn’t be changed in time, the injury would worsen.”
Jin Sui also felt her reaction was too affected. If she were a woman, this reaction would be normal, but for two grown men, acting like this was pretentious!
Are you going to say you’re a eunuch, so you’re not used to people getting too close?
Jin Sui couldn’t bring herself to say that; it was too affected!
She quickly changed her expression to a smile and proactively stepped forward to support Gu Changxiao’s arm, “The wound on my leg has already scabbed over and won’t worsen easily.”
“Please trouble Your Highness to help me back to the camp.”
Gu Changxiao reached out and supported her shoulder, and after reaching the shore, he carried one of her shoes for her. The two walked slowly towards the camp.
However, Gu Changxiao couldn’t help but think, Little Daoist Ji’s shoulders are truly so slender.
That night, Gu Changxiao carefully prepared a basin of warm water, intending to help her clean the wound on her foot.
Jin Sui decisively refused and cleaned it herself before applying medicine.
Due to the camp’s simplicity, only she had a tent to sleep in; everyone else slept under thatched sheds.
Although she knew Prince Yu’s assassins wouldn’t reach this place, Gu Changxiao habitually took a straw mat and slept outside the tent.
That night, the bright moonlight shone overhead, and one could see the sea reflecting the moonlight by looking up, with the sound of waves in their ears.
One inside the tent, the other outside, separated by a thin layer of cloth, both were unable to sleep for a long time.
Jin Sui couldn’t help but think about the moment they fell into the waves, his hand propping himself up beside her, his face so close…
She wasn’t a naive little girl. Although she had been single her entire life in both her existences, she understood what this feeling was.
It was dangerous!
This man was too dangerous! Getting too close to him would make her waver!
She had to stay far away from him, especially since she was still Little Daoist Ji.
If Gu Changxiao knew that Little Daoist Ji had developed different feelings for him, wouldn’t he be disgusted and want to kill her?
Jin Sui quickly shook her head, stopping herself from overthinking.
She admonished herself, though her heart was unwilling, “You still have a lot of things to do! You burned down the border city, and a group of people are worried about winter. You have to take responsibility!”
Grandpa and Jin An would be arriving soon, and the tasks left by the original owner hadn’t been completed yet.
The identity of Prince Li must be handed over as soon as possible, and the work that should be handed over to Gu Changxiao must be accelerated.
Now was not the time to be thinking about other things!
Dear readers, because Jin Sui’s performance is not ideal and the average subscription rate is too low, I plan to update with 4,000 characters per chapter for a while to try. Please continue to support Jin Sui.
Thank you!
