Chapter 155 Women Will Do Crazy Things for Men

The matter of Widow Chu was considered a thing of the past in the village, but for Qingling, it wasn't.

She simply made a note of it.

I've always had a question in my mind: who exactly is this Cuixiang?

If she were to encounter this woman again someday, she would absolutely not hold back!

Meanwhile, Hongying, dressed as a peasant woman, had successfully left the capital city.

Sitting on the ship bound for Luozhou, she gazed towards the capital, a cold smile playing on her lips.

She didn't want to kill anyone.

But who told that widow to be so meddlesome?

While Hongying was recovering from her injuries, she asked the widow for directions to Luozhou. The widow, however, had never even left the town, and instead kept asking her all sorts of questions, which annoyed Hongying.

Hongying just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

And then there's Miss Qingling, who only showed up once and never appeared again, her haughty demeanor just like Zhou Zhining's.

“These noble ladies in the capital are the best at pretending. Zhou Zhining pretends to be gentle, dignified and generous in front of the Second Master, and acts like a kind-hearted person. But as soon as the Second Master leaves, she finds ways to torment me.”

"This Miss Qingling is the same. She looks kind and plump, like a good-hearted person. But these kinds of people are the best at pretending. She acts like a great philanthropist in front of those villagers, but she has people watching me and trying to find out my background."

"Zhou Zhining is currying favor with the Second Master. This woman must still be thinking about him. They both have feelings for each other, and the Second Master even dreams of her."

"Women will do crazy things for men. If Miss Qingling finds out that I serve the Second Master, she will be the second Zhou Zhining and will definitely try to get rid of me."

“The way that girl Taoye looked at me was very strange. I saw her give that widow a package. She’s one of Miss Qingling’s people, so she’s definitely planning to make a move.”

"Hmph, if they do the first day of the month, I'll do the fifteenth. Don't blame me for making things difficult for her. Once those villagers report her to the authorities and get her arrested, they won't have time to come looking for me."

“In their eyes, I am Cuixiang, and the person they are looking for is also Cuixiang. What does it have to do with me, Hongying?”

She wasn't afraid to return to the city with Second Master in the future.

When the Second Master returns to the capital, he will be a Vice Minister. As long as she wins his favor, she will become a favorite of the Vice Minister. Who can touch her?

The woman felt no remorse, only triumph and joy after her victory.

She won again.

Everyone says she's someone who survived a great ordeal; she's incredibly resilient. But who knows, how can one survive without being ruthless?

...

Not long after, Xia Chan's rice and oil shop opened.

Yao Qingling once said that firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea are essential to people's livelihoods. Profits may be small, but the business can last the longest.

Xia Chan didn't renovate her shop much; she saved the money from renovations and bought shops in four cities in the capital.

Four shops opened at the same time.

The harvested oil crops were processed into oil by the villagers and sold in shops. It was currently the season for new grain to hit the market, and both the new grain and the new oil were very popular.

Yao Qingling submitted the drafted household registration list to the government, obtained the household registration documents, and transferred some people from the estate to work as shop assistants in the shop.

Xia Chan took in this group of people and immediately made arrangements: some worked in the shop, while others went to the countryside to collect grain.

The merchants, seeing the decline in business at her general store, laughed at her for lacking business acumen, saying she was just wasting money and would eventually lose everything.

Now, seeing her open one shop after another is making people envious.

"Can grain and oil shops really make that much money? Why are so many opening at once?"

"Tsk, they're both selling grain and oil, but they're an excellent merchant, and the people only recognize their brand."

Some people said sourly, "She only made money when she opened for business. Look how many customers she had later."

"Hey, don't underestimate those few copper coins from ordinary people. As the saying goes, many a little makes a mickle. No matter how many nobles there are in the capital, can they outnumber the common people?"

Ordinary people are also human beings, and they also need to eat.

People thought Yao Qingling's business was booming and she was making money. Little did they know, her wealth came from other sources.

The more shops she has, the easier it is for her to launder Sheng Dahe's money and turn it into legitimate business profits.

"Jin Mantang snatched away Yao Niangzi's business with wealthy people. She still makes a fortune doing business with ordinary people."

"You know what? This Madam Yao has taken so many household registration documents and settled many refugees. People outside have started making up nursery rhymes about her and singing about her, praising her like a living bodhisattva. The prefect even wrote a memorial praising her as a heroine among women."

"From a divorced woman to a heroine, Yao Qingling is extraordinary. Zhan Xingzhuo is still in Luozhou, I don't know what he's begging for. He didn't want such a capable wife and ended up being demoted and banished from the capital."

There was much discussion among the merchants; some were envious, while others were eager to hire more migrant workers.

Putting everything else aside, cultivating a close relationship with the government and seeking protection is something that is difficult to achieve no matter how much money is spent.

Under Yao Qingling's leadership, many merchants hired migrant workers, and the security in the capital improved significantly. The prefect was no longer reprimanded by his superiors, and for this, he owed Yao Qingling a debt of gratitude.

At the dock, Yao Qingling delivered another set of household registration documents to Lin Shiyuan.

With these household registration documents, the bandits working at the docks could feel more at ease.

While chatting over tea with Yao Qingling, the prefect said, "If the resettlement of the displaced people is resolved, but the bandits cannot be caught, I will still have a hard time explaining myself."

The prefect's aide said that after the bandits looted the gold and silver, they fled to other places.

However, other staff members suspected that the bandits were still hiding in the city.

"After the incident, checkpoints were set up everywhere and wanted posters were posted everywhere. How could they leave the city so easily with so much silver? Unless they have the ability to fly or disappear into the ground."

"With so many migrants registering their household registration these days, it's hard to guarantee that some won't take advantage of the situation. You know, they robbed a huge sum of money and emptied Yongning Temple."

The advisors suggested increasing the scrutiny of all the merchants who had taken in refugees.

Yao Qingling remained calm and composed. After leaving the yamen, she immediately notified Taoye and Xiachan, asking them to make arrangements.

The dock was in complete chaos. Yao Qingling personally went to the dock to tell Lin Shiyuan about the situation and advised him to prepare accordingly.

Qing Ling frowned slightly and said, "I suspect that the Prefect deliberately let me hear those words."

The last time Yang Kuan led his men to storm the shop, it was a setup orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives, but fortunately it was foiled.

But someone must have noticed it.

The prefect was giving her a warning, telling her to keep a low profile.

She was personally awarded the title of "Outstanding Merchant" by the Prefect, who also wrote a memorial praising her as a heroine among women. If anything were to happen to her, the Prefect would not escape punishment.

The prefect did not want the fire to spread to him.

"...He has achieved the political achievement of resettling displaced people and maintaining social stability. Based on this alone, he can keep his official position. I think he will increase the inspection of merchants and probably arrest a few people to make up for it."

The real bandits were extremely vicious, and the government troops didn't want to shed blood or lose their lives, so they just grabbed a few to fool them and that was it.

This is their usual practice.

After listening to Yao Qingling's words, Lin Shiyuan frowned deeply: "These officials, no wonder the country has become like this."

Yao Qingling looked at him.

Although she also disliked the current atmosphere of the court, they were now also targets of the government's search and arrest.

Qing Ling looked at him coldly: "What, do you want to go back to jail? Don't forget, you're in the same boat as me now."

Lin Shiyuan: "..."

He still had a furrowed brow, but he didn't say anything more.

These days, he has come to understand that in this world, officials are not officials, bandits are not bandits, and ordinary people are not ordinary people.