Free Web NovelChapter 374: Chapter 147: The Solution (Part 3)
Sighing repeatedly, the Second Uncle’s wife left Zhao Jing’s home.
Only after she was out of sight did Chen Wanqing return to the house.
A moment later, she and Zhao Jing came out of a room together, with Xiang’er trailing behind them.
Xiang’er chattered away, "Big Brother, are we going to First Uncle’s house to get the ox-cart? At this hour, Dashan should have already taken people to the county town, right?"
Taking Chen Wanqing’s hand, Zhao Jing said, "We’re not going to First Uncle’s house. I made arrangements with Dashan yesterday for him to take us to the county town for the day. He should be waiting for us at the village entrance now."
Sure enough, Dashan was waiting for them under the willow tree at the village entrance.
Seeing them approach from a distance, Dashan extinguished his pipe and began to untie the cart’s rope from the tree.
Dashan had clearly heard that the villagers were no longer going to help Chen Wanqing make fragrances. When she came closer, he sighed and said softly, "Don’t you worry. If you really can’t find anyone, I’ll have my wife come over and help for a few days."
Chen Wanqing smiled and declined, "Please don’t worry. I have a plan."
"What plan could you have? Your business requires the utmost secrecy. Entrusting it to strangers is like putting your life in their hands, isn’t it? Ai, it’s all because this land reclamation business came up so suddenly. If it had just been a little later, you could have prepared in advance."
"It’s really not a problem..."
"Jing, you need to talk some sense into your wife. Don’t let her stew in anger. The most important thing right now is to hurry up and find more people..."
Zhao Jing spoke up to reassure Dashan. "That’s exactly what we’re going to do—find people. Don’t worry, this will be resolved soon."
"How can I not worry? It wasn’t easy for your wife to build this business, and she still has to support your studies..."
「At the county town, they headed straight for the Chen family’s home.」
Xu Suying was already packed and ready. Seeing her daughter, she gave her a meaningful look and said for show, "It’s hard to find reliable people. As soon as they heard it was an urgent job, they tried to jack up the price. I’m not about to indulge them. We’re not hiring anymore. We’ll just go buy a few maids."
Dashan was taken aback and blurted out reflexively, "Ah? Buy maids?"
"Not just maids, we’re just buying a few people. Old or young, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re quick and can work. Chen Song and I thought it over and over, and we feel this is the most secure way. With their deeds of sale in our hands, we won’t have to worry about anyone bailing on us at the last minute and screwing my daughter over again."
Xu Suying was blatantly expressing her displeasure.
Even though Dashan wasn’t the one who had screwed them over, it was his clansmen who did, and he felt ashamed.
He remained silent for the rest of the journey. Whatever Xu Suying said to do, he did. He drove the ox-cart so steadily and well that no one could find a single fault.
Chen Wanqing squeezed her mother’s palm, signaling for her to stop looking so stern. Dashan was clearly intimidated.
Xu Suying shot her a look, then forced a smile, but inwardly she was still seething.
Her unhappiness wasn’t just an act for outsiders; she was genuinely furious.
’Those people from the Zhao family are just the worst! The moment a better opportunity came along, they were quick to toss my daughter aside. Have they already forgotten all the flattery and nice things they said? If we hadn’t been prepared, the amount of silver my daughter would have had to pay in compensation this time would have been a huge sum.’
Xu Suying took Chen Wanqing to a brokerage and found a female broker with a solid reputation. She personally selected twenty people from inside.
Among them were men and women, old and young. Some were missing an arm, others had a "broken" leg. The first impression was that she had been driven to desperation and would take anyone who could work.
In reality, however, these were the very people Xu Suying had personally picked out the day before.
The one missing an arm was a former soldier, sold into servitude only because he was implicated by his master’s troubles. He was actually a loyal and righteous man with considerable martial skill.
The one with the "broken" leg merely had a sprained ankle. All he needed was to have the bone set and a couple of days’ rest.
The old woman was a cook. Her work was all in her hands. In the future, when others were busy making fragrances, this woman could be pulled aside to cook exclusively for her daughter.
As for the young one, though small, he was clever. He had single-handedly protected his older sister while she had a high fever. He was no ordinary child.
Xu Suying had originally set out to pick people who could simply work. But the more she looked, the more she felt that this group, just as the broker had said, was truly a good batch. So, she developed other ideas, picking out everyone who was either useful or had potential, all in one go.
As for the silver to buy the people and grease the wheels, if her daughter didn’t have enough, she would make up the difference.
She had recently designed several new makeup looks for clients and had a good amount of silver on hand. She could definitely support her daughter in buying people.
