Chapter 79: Poaching Talent

Pei Jun, the chief official of the Patrol Guard Division, returned to the Neicheng after finishing his official duties; he had two days of leisure time, so he went home for a visit.

He had tidied up the house just a few days ago, so there should be no major issues, but he had previously received a letter from Pei Jing mentioning the matter of Glass, so he would ask about it while he was back this time.

However, upon arriving home, he discovered that Pei Jing was not there. From his wife, he learned that Pei Jing had been staying over at Jingxing Fang for some time lately.

It seemed he was participating in some affairs.

Pei Jun was puzzled; what kind of affairs were there to participate in over at Jingxing Fang?

With his position, he naturally knew that the Jingxing and Qingyun two wards had been favored by the Young Master, and Jingxing Fang had even set up a Wanfu Garden. Nothing could be done this year, so they were just breaking ground slightly and stockpiling some prefabricated parts.

The development prospects of Jingxing Fang were very good, but it was currently just a newly opened ward, and compared to other wards, there was certainly a gap in existing conditions.

Perhaps it was good enough for commoners, but for aristocratic families and nobles, it was merely in the "thatched hut" stage of starting out.

He worked so hard outside, besides inheriting the family glory, because he also wanted his relatives at home to live better in these difficult times.

On such a cold day, his own younger brother was not staying in the warm and bright rooms of the Pei Mansion, but running off to Jingxing Fang to suffer?

So, he rode his horse to Jingxing Fang.

While still at a distance, he saw that Jingxing Fang and Qingyun Fang, near the location of Jingqing Lane, had symmetrically erected tall cloth sheds within their respective wards.

Many craftsmen were busy over there.

Because of his well-informed position, Pei Jun knew about the construction activities in these two wards. But knowing was one thing; this was still the first time he had seen it with his own eyes in recent days.

Although it hadn't snowed during this period and there hadn't been a stronger Cold Wave, the outdoor temperature was still on the low side.

At this time last year, one wouldn't even see a few people outside...

No, it was the same this year; the other wards remained desolate, and only the surroundings of these Jingqing Two Wards were exceptionally different.

Vehicles transporting materials, laborers, commoners joining in the bustle, and City Defense Army soldiers on rotation rest...

The personnel were quite complex.

There were no Idlers who dared to cause trouble.

Personnel maintaining order in the two wards walked about from time to time. They wore armbands embroidered with the character "Jing" or "Qing," and had clubs tucked into their waists.

At the entrance of the lane, someone was reading a newspaper, and discussions frequently arose.

The various movements broke the desolation of this winter day.

Bustle meant that this place possessed more vitality.

Commoners in the city were not afraid of being busy; they were only afraid of having nothing to do and being unable to earn money and grain to support their families.

Pei Jun observed his surroundings and rode his horse into Jingxing Fang.

A sharp-witted person wearing an armband hurried over to ask what the noble guest needed here.

Pei Jun looked at the other person.

His expression was clearly quite gentle, but when his gaze swept over, it felt like a cold pool beneath an abyss, making one uncontrollably feel fear.

Pei Jun was merely analyzing the identity of the person in front of him; when the other person was about to start trembling, he shifted his gaze away and asked, "Where is Pei Jing?"

"Oh, looking for Young Master Pei!" The man breathed a sigh of relief.

He had been so scared he thought an official had come to investigate a case!

He hurriedly said, "He is at the office; I will take you there."

He Da's people were not here, but he had left a follower behind, who, seeing this, ran off to inform Wen Gu.

Listening to the description, Wen Gu guessed who it was.

He said to He Xiaodi, who was organizing documents nearby, "Little He, come, you run an errand in a moment."

On the other side, Pei Jun arrived at the office of Jingxing Fang.

It was actually just a courtyard, renovated on the original foundation; from the outside, it could only be considered ordinary. At least in Pei Jun's eyes, it was so.

The person leading the way entered the courtyard to ask, then came over to point out the direction to Pei Jun: "Young Master Pei is currently over at the workshop."

There were people in the courtyard responsible for tethering horses, but Pei Jun did not let them, leading the horse to the stable himself.

It was quite clean; one could tell the stable was tended to diligently.

He checked the water for feeding the horses before tethering the horse and walking inside.

He had not come for official business this time; he had only come to see what was going on with Pei Jing, and feeling worried, he went to find him first.

"Workshop? A handicraft room?"

On such a cold day, running to this place to do handicrafts?

The courtyard was not large, and he quickly found the location; there was even a wooden sign hanging outside for guidance.

He confirmed he hadn't found the wrong place. But as he got closer, Pei Jun's gaze fixed.

The doors and windows here...

The windows were covered with a layer of water vapor, making it impossible to see clearly inside, only allowing one to see some blurred shadows.

Without deliberately softening his footsteps, Pei Jun walked closer and knocked on the door.

He even touched the light-transmitting part of the door, something embedded that looked like ice crystals.

It felt cool to the touch.

Once close, one could actually see the situation inside through this almost transparent window.

At this moment, Pei Jing's voice came: "It's Big Brother, right? Come straight in."

Pei Jun pushed the door and entered.

The space inside was not large, and only Pei Jing was there.

"Didn't bring any attendants?"

"Someone just came to say you had arrived, so I let them leave first."

There was a newly renovated kang in the room with a kang table on it, and Pei Jing was sitting there assembling objects.

Beside the kang were several large windows, which were extremely bright.

A coal stove was placed near the corner, with a long exhaust pipe leading the waste gas out the window, while also conducting heat into the room. The window area had been properly cut and sealed, so there was no need to worry about waste gas being blown back in by the wind.

Hot water was being kept warm on the stove, and a pot of medicinal herbal tea suitable for winter drinking was also on the table.

Pei Jing swept a glance over the room's furnishings.

Beside it was a large wooden table, on which were arranged shelves and porcelain plates of varying heights, containing...

Glazed Ware?

Crystal?

He looked at the window again.

"Is this that... Glass you mentioned?"

Pei Jun took off her leather gloves and walked over, picked up a small bamboo clip from the table, picked up a small piece of glass from the plate, and observed it against the light.

"Mm, the craftsmanship has been gradually improved, and the newly produced batch of glass windows has finally met Wen Gu's requirements. A batch was sent to the Zhao Family, and the rest were all used in the offices of Jingxing Fang and Qingyun Fang."

Pei Jing did not stop the movement of assembling parts in his hands.

"Wen Gu seems to still want to make something else, letting the craftsmen continue to improve the craft, but it is enough for making windows. The Zhao Family Workshop has already started work, and our family will be able to use the next batch. Our family provided the craftsmen, so we have priority."

Pei Jun switched to a glass pane of a different color and said, "No wonder the Zhao Family Workshop has hired more people."

Important workshops were all located between the military workshops in the Outer City District, so she naturally knew the trends.

"A good thing," Pei Jing said.

"Indeed," Pei Jun smiled and put down the tweezers in her hand.

The more people who can survive, the greater the chance of winning this battle for survival.

This item, glass, caused no harm to their interests and could even improve their lives.

"Wen Gu is truly remarkable," Pei Jun suddenly asked. "Does one know who his teacher was? Does his family have a massive collection of books?"

Pei Jing's hand paused, his face no longer as calm and indifferent as before, revealing surprise and envy:

"He said that actually many things were not his own ideas, but that he had seen them during his study tour."

Pei Jun nodded: "That is also true; ordinarily, it is difficult for one person to understand so many categories of knowledge. Especially since he is still so young."

Pei Jing sighed: "I should have gone far away on a study tour back then!"

The more he thought about it, the more regretful he felt.

"In this world today, I don't know when it will settle down, and I don't know if there will be a chance to go on a study tour in the future."

"It will settle down eventually," Pei Jun said.

Who wouldn't want to return to the days of the past?

Bypassing this topic, Pei Jun looked at what the other was assembling.

"A flying bridge?"

"It is a flying bridge, but only a section built above Jingqing Lane."

The overall structure had already been decided, and the rest was artistic decoration; Pei Jing had been obsessed with this for the past two days.

He had a bound notebook at hand, and having adapted to the charcoal pencil, he would draw whenever he had inspiration.

Amidst the casual chat, the two siblings continued to talk about the matter of glass.

"That craftsman has already been requisitioned and went to the Zhao Family's workshop, and the formula was also handed over to the Zhao Family. Actually, it was a formula jointly tested by Qingyun Fang and that craftsman; even without our family, in half a year or a year, Qingyun Fang would have been able to figure it out," Pei Jing said.

Pei Jun nodded. Even if the formula were developed, it wouldn't be of much use in their hands, but handing it over to the Zhao Family could yield greater benefits.

Pei Jing continued: "Our family is not lacking in money or grain; I asked for medicinal herbs and two female doctors."

The people in his family could all use the medicinal herbs, and the female doctors were for his pregnant sister-in-law.

These were the visible benefits, and there were also invisible ones. All were paving the way for the future.

The siblings didn't need to use polite words; Pei Jun gently patted the other's shoulder.

Since he had come, he still had to visit the host, so Pei Jun went to Wen Gu's side again.

It took only a short detour along the outer corridor to arrive.

He Xiaodi, who was organizing documents, saw the visitor, stood up to bow, and exited the door.

Nowadays, many distinguished guests came to Jingxing Fang, and Wen Gu had found someone to teach them common etiquette.

After exiting the door, He Xiaodi remembered Wen Gu's instructions and went to take a look at the stable.

Xiao Liu had just returned and was curiously looking at another horse in the stable.

"Are there visitors?" Xiao Liu asked.

"Yes, the Ward Chief has visitors, but it won't be long; wait for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before you go over."

"Got it!"

He Xiaodi went to handle other matters, and Xiao Liu did not leave, instead organizing the newly hunted prey.

Archery must be practiced often; now that conditions were better, one had to practice even more.

There was a limit to what could be practiced in the ward, so every few days he would go out to hunt.

It was a pity that the surroundings had been cleared out by the City Defense Army, and it was cold, so let alone evil creatures, even ordinary prey could not be seen.

So Wen Gu lent him a horse; Xiao Liu rode the horse, followed a familiar team of the City Defense Army to go out for a spin, and ran a bit further before coming back. He didn't need to be quarantined, and the entry fee he had to pay was also less.

Today's harvest was not bad; among it were some he had hunted himself, and some hunted by Matuan.

Their Ward Chief calculated work points for Matuan separately, and once the work points were enough, a luxurious bird's nest was built.

Xiao Liu modified the room he lived in, choosing a suitable angle to place it.

Both the person and the bird were very satisfied.

Wen Gu also said that when the work points were enough, he would exchange for a new set of arm guards for him next time, which both the person and the falcon could use.

Xiao Liu was filled with anticipation.

After Pei Jun finished talking with Wen Gu, she walked toward the stable and happened to see a young man walking toward the courtyard.

Wearing a slightly conspicuous leather Arm Guard, carrying a hunting bow, and holding a few small pieces of prey, he looked like he had just returned from hunting.

As he walked, he waved his arm to make a few gestures toward the sky.

Pei Jun looked up, where a bird was circling.

He had checked the identities of the important people around Wen Gu; this should be that young hunter who had tamed a Falcon.

At first, they were very worried that this Falcon would interfere with the messenger birds used for aerial communication, but after observing it, this Falcon was indeed very well-trained and had not done anything to hinder their affairs.

After that, they did not keep a close watch on it anymore.

With affairs being busy, he had almost forgotten about this young hunter.

Seeing Pei Jun, a visitor with a tall stature and an extraordinary aura, Xiao Liu stepped aside, calmly bowed, and only continued on his way to find Wen Gu after this person had passed.

Having gained experience by following Wen Gu and seeing many noble people, and with his own Ward Chief being a powerful person with connections, Xiao Liu's mindset was much more stable now; at this moment, he only thought about going to Wen Gu's place to record Work Points for Matuan.

Pei Jun walked a few steps, then turned his head to glance at the young man carrying the prey.

Xiao Liu, who had not noticed this scene at all, brought the prey to find Wen Gu.

"I still arrived a step too early; I ran into that visitor on the road," Xiao Liu said.

"Not early," Wen Gu smiled and said.

Not early and not late, just right; how could they have met if he had arrived a step later!

"How is Matuan?" Wen Gu asked again.

"I gave it instructions again before entering the house."

Every time Matuan finished hunting, it would be overly excited and its killing intent would be too heavy; to prevent it from accidentally harming the messenger birds in the Town, Xiao Liu had to give it instructions all the way back to remind it not to kill indiscriminately.

"Mm, very good, very good," Wen Gu said with satisfaction.

The next day, that Patrol Guard Pei came to Jingxing Fang again, this time finding Wen Gu directly to state his purpose.

"You said who?"

Wen Gu looked up from a pile of documents.

"You have your eye on Xiao Liu?!"

His eyes held strong dissatisfaction, with an expression of accusation that said, "You are actually poaching people from me."

(End of this chapter)