Chapter 515 Sun Shuiqin Abandons Her Husband and Children

"Make a scene! Why can't I make a scene? I'm going to make a scene anyway!"

Sun Shuiqin laughed, but her smile was somewhat eerie.

She held out her hand, "Give me five thousand taels of silver, and we'll call it even."

Manager Hu exclaimed in disbelief, "You really dare to ask for such an exorbitant amount, five thousand taels right off the bat! Do you think money grows on trees?!"

“Your shop is so big, isn’t five thousand taels of silver easy for you?” Sun Shuiqin gritted her teeth. “My life has been completely ruined. I need this five thousand taels of silver to start over. You have to give me the money, you have to!”

"Fine, you insist on giving it to me!" Manager Hu sneered. "Then produce the receipt. If there's a clause stating that I must give you five thousand taels of silver, I'll hand over the money without hesitation."

Sun Shuiqin froze completely.

She remembered that when the villagers did business with Aunt Zhao, they would sign a contract, whether it was a big deal or a small deal.

When she approached Manager Hu for cooperation, how could she have forgotten such an important thing? Without a contract, there's no proof that they're in a cooperative relationship, and Manager Hu doesn't need to give her any profit sharing. No wonder she dares to be so unscrupulous.

Manager Hu sat down leisurely, and even asked the waiter to pour him a cup of tea. He smiled and said, "If you know what's good for you, take these five taels of silver and leave quickly. Otherwise, you'll see the authorities."

Sun Shuiqin was so angry that her chest felt like it was about to explode.

She turned and walked outside, shouting at the crowd on the street.

"Come quick, everyone! Manager Hu of Hu's Cloth Shop has made a fortune! Do you know how he did it? He swindled the people of Sui'an!"

Sun Shuiqin was really going all out; if she didn't get anything good, she wouldn't let Manager Hu get anything good either.

As more and more people gathered around, she raised her voice even louder.

"You people in Wanquan County probably don't know who Sui'an people are, so let me tell you..."

Someone in the crowd immediately said, "People from Sui'an, who doesn't know her? A court lady who was promoted three ranks in one year, I heard she's quite something!"

"I also heard that people in Sui'an are recruiting workers in the dead of winter, paying a dozen or so coins a day, with food and lodging provided, and even winter clothes and blankets. This is not a recruitment drive, it is clearly a relief effort for the poor."

“If Wanquan County weren’t so far from Dahe Village, I would have liked to give it a try.”

"Don't interrupt him! Hey, explain yourself clearly, how did Manager Hu cheat the people of Sui'an?"

Sun Shuiqin continued, "Everyone knows that the people of Sui'an are good at business, right? Manager Hu found out about it and intercepted the deal in advance, ruining the Sui'an business and causing them to lose tens of thousands of taels of silver. As for himself, he bought a shop and expanded his business, which is now thriving... The people of Sui'an naturally wouldn't bother with a mere merchant, and of course, they didn't have time to bother with him. They were busy giving the poor a chance to survive..."

Manager Hu was absolutely furious: "What nonsense are you spouting, you madwoman? Guards, seize her and take her to the authorities!"

He explained to the crowd on the street, "It's fake, everything she said is fake, there's no such thing..."

"Whether it's true or not, everyone can find out by asking around in Dahe Village, Ping'an County!" Sun Shuiqin dodged the touches of the cloth shop assistant and squeezed into the crowd. "If you people from Wanquan County still patronize Manager Hu's business, then you're going against the people of Sui'an. That's all I can say for sure!"

After she finished speaking, her figure instantly disappeared into the crowd.

Some people in the crowd had been to Ping'an County and had vaguely heard about it, but they didn't understand the specifics. Now that Sun Shuiqin had said this, the story started to connect.

"The cotton undergarments that Manager Hu sold last month were actually from Sui'an people in Dahe Village. He's the one who cheated the Sui'an people!"

"The people of Sui'an are dedicated to serving the people and have helped us so much. If it weren't for the people of Sui'an solving the famine and plague last year, would we still have the good life we ​​have today? Manager Hu, you even dare to cheat the people of Sui'an, you are a despicable person!"

"People from Sui'an earn money to help the poor, how can you cheat them out of their money!"

"..."

The crowd was enraged, and some people even threw rotten vegetable leaves.

Shopkeeper Hu was powerless to resist and he and his employees hid inside the shop.

Cheng Wanwan was completely unaware of what was happening in Wanquan County. All she knew was that Sun Shuiqin had run away. The village head mobilized the entire village to search everywhere, but they couldn't find her. Three days passed, and Sun Shuiqin still hadn't returned. Everyone finally realized that this woman had abandoned her husband and daughter and was unlikely to come back.

The villagers were at a loss for words. Some blamed themselves for pointing fingers at Sun Shuiqin, while others criticized her for being too heartless, simply leaving like that... But in any case, Zhao Shagen's family's life had finally settled down. Shagen had to raise his infant daughter alone, so naturally he didn't insist on leaving his job.

The weather is getting colder and colder, and in the blink of an eye it will be the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. This day is the Little New Year, and it is also a day when the workshops are on holiday.

Manager Yan gathered all the workers in the square. The soap workshop and the glycerin workshop together had more than two hundred people. The sight of so many people standing together was quite spectacular.

"That concludes this year's work. Thank you all for your hard work throughout the year," Cheng Wanwan said to everyone. "The workshop has prepared New Year's gifts for everyone. Come and sign to receive them and you can go home. We will officially start work on the seventh day of the first lunar month next year."

The people below cheered.

They had heard that working for the people of Sui'an meant receiving paid leave during the Lunar New Year and even New Year's gifts, and it turned out to be true.

The crowd lined up to receive their New Year's gifts. The two-tael silver New Year's gifts were quite generous. One tael of silver was given directly, and the other tael was for New Year's goods: ten catties of fatty pork, a chicken, a duck, two bolts of cloth, a large bag of rice, a large bag of flour, and ten catties of lotus root per person...

Cao Yingying's embroidery workshop naturally followed the same pattern as the workshop in arranging New Year's gifts.

Upon hearing this, Cao Defu and Old Master Qian quickly distributed New Year's gifts to all the managers and employees under the Cao and Qian businesses. A fifteen-day holiday was too long, and the businesses couldn't afford to be delayed, so they gave out more wages to make everyone happy.

As a result, many wealthy businessmen in Ping'an County and Hekou County were forced to give New Year's gifts to their workers...

As the end of the lunar year approaches, the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year grows stronger.

The lotus root harvest over the pond is complete. Although these are not seeds specifically for growing lotus roots, the yield is still quite impressive, with over 1,000 jin per mu. After deducting the seeds and the gifts given out during the New Year, there are still over 100,000 jin left from the 200 mu of land, all of which will be processed into lotus root powder.

The remaining winter clothes and quilts in the warehouse were kept for sale in the shop. And it's worth mentioning that many workers from nearby counties and towns, after receiving holiday bonuses, would bring their children to Dahe Village to buy cotton-padded clothes and trousers so they could have a comfortable New Year. The children's clothes were inexpensive, costing only fifty coins a set, and the quality was excellent; they could easily last five or six years...

Just as every household was preparing for the New Year, a magnificent motorcade came from the north, heading straight for Ping'an County. Led by Magistrate Shen, it made its way to Dahe Village in a grand procession.