Chapter 92

"Did you commit a crime?"

After Xu He dismissed Wen Zi, Zhang Shiyue lifted the door curtain, came out and asked carefully.

"My little brother is too old to stay at home."

After hearing this, Zhang Shiyue roughly figured out what was going on without asking any more questions.

Zhang Fangyuan is young and strong, and her family is well-off. She has only one husband by her side. Not to mention those with evil intentions, even those with good intentions would want to send someone over. In the past two years, many people have been trying to make insinuations about her.

Seeing that the couple had a good relationship, Zhang Shiyue did not go and say something to rub shoulders with them. The way the people in the room behaved was both unexpected and understandable.

What surprised her was that Wen Zi, who usually looked honest and a little timid, dared to be so bold as to flirt with Zhang Fangyuan.

"As for this matter..." Zhang Shiyue hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Does Ayuan know?"

"That's what he meant."

Zhang Shiyue breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.

Xu He smiled and said, "Second Aunt, are you afraid that I will punish him privately and make A Yuan unhappy?"

If Wen Zi dared to seduce Zhang Fangyuan, Zhang Shiyue was afraid that Zhang Fangyuan would agree. It would be bad if the couple got into trouble because of a servant.

"I'm just asking."

Xu He wanted to say that if he didn't punish Zhang Fangyuan, he would be unhappy, but he didn't say much about it. He just told Zhang Shiyue seriously, "Second aunt, I let Wenzi go to the tea shed to work this morning. Please keep an eye on him."

"He is so bold because he was instigated by his father. If he still doesn't behave himself, his family will not keep him."

Zhang Shiyue frowned, "His family would buy things for the teahouse from time to time, and now he's working there, so we can't let them meet again in the future."

Xu He shook his head: "No, let them see."

"What's the point? If Wen Zi is easily deceived again, won't he go astray again?"

Xu He said slowly, "Even though we know he is easily deceived, we have to test his determination. We can stop him from seeing his family once, but his family already knows where he works. Whether we can stop him once or not depends on his determination. If he is instigated by his little dad to do something that is not good for the boss again, we will not give him the opportunity to stay at home and work."

"You've thought it through very carefully." Zhang Shiyue nodded: "I'll keep an eye on it secretly."

After Xu He finished explaining, he breathed a sigh of relief, patted his clothes and went into the house to see the children. Now that Wen Zi had been sent away, he was the only one left to do the work. Zhang Fangyuan said that he would find an honest person to help at home.

He did not refuse. His family had a lot of business and they really needed manpower. He couldn't be so scared after being bitten that he would never buy servants to use in his home again.

When Zhang Fangyuan arrived in the city, he had overheard where Wenzi had been. He was planning to go back to Yahang to buy two slaves. Before leaving, he went to see Song Yong first.

"It's been more than half a year since we last met. Is business going well, Boss Song?"

The two of them had another meal in the restaurant and chatted and exchanged news about Suzhou and Siyang.

"Business is not very hot, but it's still okay. In addition to shipping and receiving goods, I came to Siyang this time to discuss a business with Boss Zhang."

"We are old acquaintances, Boss Song, please feel free to talk."

Now Song Yong has been coming to Siyang to get toothbrush goods for about three or two years. Since he only comes twice a year, he opens and sells the goods when he arrives at the prefecture and county town. Often, the goods are sold out before he returns to Suzhou, and every time he returns to Suzhou, there is not enough goods.

Seeing that there is profit to be made, how can the merchants sit idly by? Toothbrushes and tooth powder are not rare treasures, and it is easy to imitate them. There is business to be done in Suzhou. Song Yong has already started preparing his own shop, and now he can run the business even if he doesn't come to Siyang to find Zhang Fangyuan to get the goods.

He did not hide it and told Zhang Fangyuan directly that he also had his own toothbrush shop in Suzhou.

Zhang Fangyuan knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. Suzhou was a vast land with dense population, and the toothbrush business was easy to do. Song Yong was not a fool, and he would be able to make a toothbrush after taking the goods a few times. He was not angry: "If this is the case, what business do you want to discuss with me, Boss Song?"

Song Yong laughed, "Boss Zhang is a straightforward person, and I don't like to beat around the bush. The toothbrush and tooth powder are easy to make, but the most valuable tooth incense token is hard to imitate. Suzhou is full of wealthy families, and if you don't have tooth incense tokens, you will lose a lot of business."

Originally still thinking about this, Zhang Fangyuan said bluntly: "Boss Song wants the secret recipe of the tooth fragrance chips?"

"That's right." Song Yong felt that he was being a little dishonest. He took the goods and did business with others, but now he came to buy the secret recipe: "The price is negotiable. I can offer this amount."

Zhang Fangyuan looked at Song Yong's two raised fingers, and he understood what he meant. Two hundred taels was a considerable sum. It seemed that incense chips were indeed easy to sell in Suzhou. However, he had no intention of going to Suzhou to do business. Not to mention that he was unfamiliar with the place, if he rashly went there with valuables, he would easily be beaten by the local bullies.

In fact, it would be best to sell it to someone who has bought the secret recipe and take the opportunity to make a fortune. Sooner or later, this thing will be imitated by someone. However, if it is sold to Song Yong now, it means that the shop has lost a big customer, and it will definitely not make as much money as before.

Zhang Fangyuan held the wine glass with a smile on his face, but he had actually weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

"It is an honor for me that Mr. Song is interested in this business, but I think Mr. Song also knows that the tooth incense chips are the treasure of the shop. Even if the price is higher, it will be a one-time deal and there will be no room for struggle."

Song Yong knew what Zhang Fangyuan meant. He could not agree to it immediately, but he still had some reservations: "If Boss Zhang is not satisfied with the price, we can still negotiate."

Zhang Fangyuan said, "Price is not a problem. I have had a pleasant business cooperation with Boss Song over the past two years. I would like to continue to do business with Boss Song."

Song Yong took a sip of wine and said vaguely, "I will definitely come to Siyang to ship goods in the future. As long as Boss Zhang wants silk cloth, I will definitely guarantee to give it to Boss Zhang at the lowest price. I will regard it as the goods I brought to Boss Zhang, and I will not make any profit."

Zhang Fangyuan didn't care about that at all. He raised his lips and said, "Thank you, Boss Song, for your kindness. Your biggest business is reselling silk. Other businesses are just embellishments."

Song Yong narrowed his eyes: "Boss Zhang, why don't you speak frankly."

"I have silk on hand. Even if I don't get a toothbrush from Linglong Shop in the future, I hope Boss Song can get silk from me."

Song Yong frowned: "Boss Zhang has silk?"

Zhang Fangyuan responded.

"If Boss Song comes to Siyang to ship goods in the future and still takes them from me, the secret of the Yaxiangchou can be handed over to Boss Song."

Song Yong pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "I didn't know that Boss Zhang still had silk. This will make it easier to discuss."

"Suzhou is rich in beautiful silk and has a huge demand for silk. Although there are silkworm breeders everywhere in Suzhou, most of the silk is monopolized by the big merchants in Jiangnan, and little of it can flow to other merchants."

It's a good thing to have another route to get silk. Besides, he comes to Siyang every year to ship cloth, and he can take the silk away on the way, which is as convenient as before. He had not known before that Zhang Fangyuan had this kind of business, and he asked about it in detail with great interest.

When he learned that some villagers were raising silkworms, he immediately said, "This is great, great! Boss Zhang should have written to inform us sooner rather than later."

Song Yong felt that Zhang Fangyuan was generous and was sincerely willing to make friends with him. However, after all, merchants maintained their relationships based on interests, and it would be difficult to continue to interact if the interests were severed. What's more, the two of them were not merchants from the same place.

It would be great if he could continue doing business this day, and he was really happy about it.

The two parties discussed the time to pick up the goods and also the price. The market price was decided in advance, but the specific price would depend on how the goods were sold at that time.

If the cocoons are sold directly, the price will certainly be lower. If the processed silk is sold, the price will be much higher. However, selling the silk directly is very labor-intensive, and the extracted silk will be divided into different lengths and qualities and given different purchase prices.

Zhang Fangyuan has not yet considered whether to sell cocoons or silk. Before supplying Song Yong, he has to collect silk in the village first. When the time comes, he will sell whichever type he receives from the villagers. It is an easy task.

The two had a very pleasant conversation and signed a treaty and pressed their fingers. After they each kept the signed documents, Zhang Fangyuan sold the secret recipe of the tooth incense chips to Song Yong.

In this way, even though he lost a big customer of Linglong Shop, he opened another business and solved the villagers' problem. Zhang Fangyuan felt comfortable both physically and mentally.

He was still relieved after seeing Song Yong off, so he hurried to do some more things and went straight to Yahang.

"Boss Zhang, please come in!"

As soon as Zhang Fangyuan walked into the shop, he was greeted warmly by the boy and led inside. The boy's eyes were very good. It had been a long time since he last came here, but he still recognized him at a glance and called him by his name.

"Are the two you used earlier still useful? Which one do you want to see this time?"

Zhang Fangyuan said, "We need two young ones, no older than twelve or thirteen. Put them in the courtyard to work."

The boy readily agreed and immediately went to pull two people out. Zhang Fangyuan took one look at the handsome boy and nodded his head.

"Is this quality not enough?"

"We need two honest and decent people who are not likely to cause trouble."

The boy came up and brought two more, but he was afraid that Zhang Fangyuan would be dissatisfied and think that he had fooled him with such people, so he said, "Although they don't look very smart, they are hardworking."

Zhang Fangyuan was satisfied. As he was an old customer, he made the order without much negotiation. The last time he came to buy servants, he had negotiated the deal with Song Yong and came to pick them up. This time it was the same again. Zhang Fangyuan thought he should not do it the same way as before.

As usual, he went to the county government office to complete the formalities and prepared to go to the shop to pick up the two new servants to take home. However, after leaving the government office, he first went to the bakery to bring some food back for Rui Jin and Rui Li.

Although Heger liked to cook for his two kids and rarely buy snacks for them in the city, lest they eat too much snacks and skip meals, every time he came to the city he would always remember to bring something back for the kids, such as snacks, stuffed dolls and toys.

"Doctor, hurry up! Human life is at stake, please leave as soon as possible!"

Just as Zhang Fangyuan stepped onto the steps of the bakery, he saw a woman rushing into the clinic, crying and jumping while pulling an old doctor.

He thought the voice was familiar, so he leaned forward to take a look, and unexpectedly it was the lady from the Fei family.

Hearing this, he frowned. What happened? He hesitated for a moment whether to go forward and ask, but it was Fei's mother who noticed him first.

"Zhang the butcher, you have a horse, maybe you can take the doctor to the village quickly?"

Seeing someone asking for help, Zhang Fangyuan didn't think too much about the grudges. He took the doctor and rode back to the village and went straight to Fei's house.

One horse could not seat three people, and Zhang Fangyuan had no idea what had happened on the way back with the doctor. It was not until he arrived at Fei's house and saw people circling anxiously in the yard and wailing in the house that he realized that something had happened to Fei Lian's concubine.

There were two female relatives in the Fei family at the moment. When they saw the doctor coming, they hurriedly brought him into the house. Fei Lian stood outside with a pale face, looking panic-stricken.

The Fei family was in chaos for a while, and the situation was finally settled when the doctor came. After a while, Xu Shaochun came out of the house and saw the child and Zhang Fangyuan in the yard, so he poured a bowl of tea to express his gratitude.

She complained to Fei Lian for not greeting anyone, but she didn't know if Fei Lian heard her. Instead, he asked, "What happened to Feng Ge'er?"

Seeing Fei Lian's concern for his concubine, Xu Shaochun was not angry or jealous, but said calmly: "The doctor is treating her, but there is no result yet."

"What happened?"

Although Zhang Fangyuan could see that something had happened to Fei Lian's concubine, he didn't know what happened. It wasn't that he liked to pry into other people's secrets. It was mainly because he had come a long way and had to return to the village in a hurry without even bringing back the slaves he had bought. He had to get to the bottom of it so that he could explain to He Ge'er when he returned.

When asked, Xu Shaochun sighed and had no answer. He seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Feng Ge'er was frightened and hurt the fetus. She has a stomachache today."

He didn't say specifically what frightened him, but Fei Lian's face turned even paler. As soon as he finished speaking, the doctor in the room came out.

Seeing the three people outside, he shook his head.

Everyone knew immediately that the child was gone.

"If we had called a doctor when the symptoms first appeared, and given him acupuncture, maybe the child could have been saved. But we waited too long, and the child would have died long ago. Fortunately, the doctor was called. If I had come a little later, I'm afraid both the adult and the child would have died."

Fei Lian almost staggered after hearing this, and Xu Shaochun was also frightened. It would be a real sin if two lives were lost in one day.

Then the old doctor frowned and taught earnestly: "Although you can have sex after the first few months of pregnancy when the fetus is more stable, you must not have sex too frequently or too violently. This can easily cause miscarriage, which can lead to the loss of the child or even life. My words may sound harsh, but as a doctor, I have a kind heart. Both you and your wife must keep this in mind to avoid another tragedy in the future."

The doctor thought that everyone in the room was his closest family members and treated Zhang Fangyuan as his elder brother, so he did not hesitate to directly lecture him on the reasons for the miscarriage.

After hearing these words, Xu Shaochun felt quite ashamed and embarrassed, while Fei Lian's face turned from pale to red. He turned his face away and was turned away. However, Zhang Fangyuan touched his nose with a little embarrassment, but he looked calm.

Now he felt that it was not surprising that Fei Lian did something, and he couldn't say that the young man was pitiful. He didn't believe that Fei Lian forced him to submit. It was probably because he came to the house to compete for Xu Shaochun's favor and that's why he pestered Fei Lian. The two of them couldn't control themselves and ended up losing the child.

There are so many interesting things happening every day. No wonder Xu Shaochun has become calm. Except for going home to take care of the children, he spends the rest of the time working hard in their capture shed. Who would want to stay in the house every day with so many troubles? It is better to work outside, which makes him feel more relaxed.

"In that case, I will take my leave now. Doctor, you can ask someone to send me back. I have other things to do, so I won't stay here any longer."

Fei Lian had been hoping that Zhang Fangyuan, a stranger, would leave. After hearing what he said, not only did he not ask politely to stay as a guest, but he did not even say a word of thanks after sending the doctor back. Instead, it was Xu Shaochun who greeted people and took care of the interpersonal relationships at home.

There is no wall that is impenetrable, and there is nothing that can be completely kept secret in the village. Within two days, everyone in the village knew that the child in Fei Jiaxiao's body was gone, and it was just a joke.

Losing a child is a very common thing in the village. Not to mention miscarriages, there are countless children who were born safely but died halfway.

It's just that the world has been peaceful in the past two years, and there are few families around Siyang City who cannot afford food and are starving to death. As a result, more children are raised than in bad years.

But the villagers didn't know the specific reason why he had no child, otherwise Fei Lian would really be gossiped by the villagers and buried in the earth. Zhang Fangyuan only discussed this matter with Xu He, after all, it was a family matter.

Xu He was very sad and couldn't help but feel scared, thinking that they had slept together when they had a child before, but fortunately nothing happened.

Zhang Fangyuan said, "Fei Lian is not a man who can control himself. The young man is a prostitute. He has no idea of ​​the seriousness of the situation if he hooks up with her. He only thinks about winning Fei Lian's heart, but doesn't care about the child."

They were very careful before, and it didn't happen twice, but they still have to learn from it.

Although Xu Shaochun went to work in the poultry shed as usual and Xu He could see her from time to time, he did not take the initiative to ask about the Fei family's affairs. Instead, Liu Xianglan came in a hurry and scolded them while the brother and sister were there.

"I think that little bitch deserves it. He has no self-discipline every day. No wonder he comes from that kind of place. It's retribution for him to get such a small punishment today! Fei Lian is also getting his retribution."

Xu Shaochun was somewhat calm and let her mother yell and scold.

"How's that one now?"

Xu Shaochun sighed, "Although the child was lost, Fei Lian felt sorry for him and was ashamed to see him, so he asked a doctor to prescribe good medicine to take care of him. He has been resting in my room these days. The boy was also making trouble, but now he has lost his child as a talisman. My mother-in-law is not in a good mood either, and he is scolded every now and then. I see that my husband doesn't mention him anymore, so he has calmed down now, taking care of himself, and doesn't dare to yell at me anymore."

Liu Xianglan slapped her thigh happily: "This is great news!"

She said as if no one was around: "You should seize this opportunity and get pregnant again. Then I'll see who in the Fei family will dare to neglect you again!"

Xu He listened to the mother and daughter talking. He just drank tea and did not interrupt. Although he was now sitting in the main seat in the Zhang family, he still habitually listened to the conversation from the side.

But after hearing this, he still said, "Second sister just gave birth to a child not long ago, her body has not recovered yet, isn't this like forcing a duck to climb a tree?"

"That's true." Liu Xianglan smacked her lips and said, "Since we already have a little grandson, there's no need to be so anxious. We can just take good care of him."

Xu Shaochun sighed deeply, there was something in his heart that he didn't know how to say.

She and Fei Lian were married for life, so they knew him. When they were staying in her room, they had thought about it once, but they couldn't think of it halfway.

Telling this matter to others would be more embarrassing than losing the child. She persuaded Fei Lian to ask a doctor to take a look, but was scolded. Thinking that their relationship was just that, Xu Shaochun let him do as he pleased.

I think it must be affected by Feng Ge'er's incident. It should be fine after a while. She is too lazy to care about it. Anyway, there are a lot of troubles, but at least it is much calmer than before.

Liu Xianglan watched her daughter sigh, and after some effort to comfort her, she also said in front of Xu He that she should let another widow do more of the work in the chicken and duck shed, and told her not to tire herself out. Xu Shaochun did not agree to Liu Xianglan's words, so Xu He did not say much either.

After the farce was over, Zhang Fangyuan took the clerk from the county government to the Yahang and took the person back.

Zhang Fangyuan originally had no intention of bringing the two newly bought servants to the tea stall, as they were both very honest and not suitable for looking after the business, so he could just arrange for them to stay in the house and take care of the housework.

But he transported some wine, sauces and other items to replenish the tea shed guesthouse, and also took people with him for a spin. This was a good thing, because in the future, if his family wanted to go to the tea shed guesthouse to get something, they wouldn't have to ask for directions a second time, and could just come over by themselves.

Although he was already a big boss and had enough staff in the guest house and teahouse, Zhang Fangyuan still often went to the city to pick up and transport goods by himself. He did not act like a host at all. Seeing this, the servants and helpers worked even harder.

Wenzi worked in the guest house, cleaning and serving tea and water. It was the first time he saw Zhang Fangyuan since he was sent here. Thinking of his previous reckless behavior, he wanted to avoid his boss. However, when he saw Zhang Fangyuan bringing back two servants, he could not help but take a few more glances at the two newly bought servants.

Wu Zi, who was also busy, saw him like this and patted him on the back: "Why don't you go up and pay your respects to the master?"

Wen Zi was a little panicked.

Although Wu Zi didn't know why Wen Zi was called here to work, he vaguely knew that he was sent here because he made a mistake. This was different from when he was arranged here early in the morning. But he didn't know the specific reason. The two of them came in together. Although they didn't see each other every day, they had a bond. Wen Zi was not used to many things during the first two days, and it was Wu Zi who took care of him.

"Go ahead. The master is not a calculative person. Today's business matters are complicated and he will not bear your previous mistakes to heart."

Upon hearing this, Wen Zi stepped forward, bowed his head and respectfully saluted Zhang Fangyuan.

Zhang Fangyuan waved his hand without saying a word to him, which made Wen Zi feel relieved. He then called Wu Zi again.

"Previously, a customer asked for lamb wine. This time, I went to the wine shop where I used to buy wine and ordered some lamb wine. If it sells well, you can go directly to buy it next time. Don't stock up too much at a time. Lamb wine is expensive."

"yes."

Zhang Fangyuan wiped his sweat and said, "Let's go unload the goods."

It's autumn now, and it's harvest time. More villagers come to the tea shed and guesthouse to buy meat, rice and flour, and many people come out to enjoy the cool autumn weather.

Business at the inn was good, but Zhang Fangyuan passed by the village every day, and seeing the villagers working hard and harvesting a good harvest, he felt a little unworthy.

His family had previously owned a lot of land. After he started running the village, Zhang Shicheng returned all the land that he had previously managed for him to him.

But he did not grow many crops. Building houses took up several acres of land, and the rest was used to grow vegetables to supply the tea shed and guesthouses. He only planted three or two acres of rice fields.

This year was a bumper harvest year, and he was envious of the landlord's large tracts of land and the cartloads of grain stored in the granary. His own house, which was even bigger than the landlord's, had many warehouses, but none of them were full.

Zhang Fangyuan thought that he needed more land to feel at ease.

However, the livelihood has been good in the past two years, and there have been no major natural disasters or man-made disasters. The people around him are living a decent life, and few people are selling their land, so it is not easy for him to buy land.

In fact, if he really wanted to buy land, he could buy it. After all, who can resist money? However, buying land in a good year would be a big loss. The price would be at least two or three times that of a bad year. He was just a family with a net worth of just over 1,200 taels, so he had to be thrifty and could not spend money carelessly.

After much thought, Xu He said that he had previously reclaimed several acres of wasteland to plant mulberry trees. Although the land was not as fertile as the land that the villagers had been cultivating all year round, it was still able to produce crops. After a few more years of cultivation, it would get better.

The main reason was that the imperial court encouraged the people to reclaim wasteland. As long as they went to the county government to go through the procedures and complete the registration, these wastelands could be sold at half the price of the good land that the people had managed, which was much cheaper than the land during famine years.

Zhang Fangyuan was somewhat tempted, so the couple inspected the wasteland in the village and inquired about purchasing land.