Chapter 22. At first glance, Xiao Hong, the helper, seems like a kind and honest villager...

At first glance, he looks like an honest and kind countryman.

Yinghong looked at it several times, still somewhat doubtful. She lowered her voice and asked, "Really? Are you sure it's this person?"

Cao Daya said angrily, "It's him."

She looked at the old man who looked miserable and pitiful, and said indignantly, "There were several tofu sellers at the time, but I bought from him because he was old and looked pitiful, and the price was cheap."

Who would have thought that this person would be so shameless as to put the spoiled tofu into his own bamboo basket?

If it weren't for Han-jie helping her out, she probably would have made a huge fool of herself in the kitchen, and might have been taken back by her mother the very next day.

In the following days, Cao Daya wanted to look for that man again when she went out, but she couldn't find the old man who had cheated her, so she gave up.

Unexpectedly, she saw it today. Cao Daya remembered being scolded by her mother for twisting her ear, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Just as she was about to step forward to argue, she heard a quarrel erupt in front of her: "You shameless thing, how can you be so heartless, selling me rotten tofu!"

Su Zhihan and the other two looked in the direction of the sound and found that the person arguing with someone was the old man. They followed the crowd of onlookers and their gazes fell upon a young woman who looked to be about their age.

The young woman, blushing, stood in front of the old man and said, "Look at this! This is the tofu you put in!"

She placed the bamboo basket on the ground and took out the tofu one by one. Apart from the two layers of good tofu on top, the tofu underneath was all bad.

Cao Daya exclaimed in surprise, "Just like that day!"

The old man shook his head repeatedly, looking at the young woman with a look of fear and trepidation: "No, no, no, what are you saying? I only sell good tofu."

"How dare you talk nonsense!" The young woman was so angry that her eyes turned red. She picked up the bamboo basket and showed the tofu inside to the people around her: "Look at this! I just bought it from him. This man switched the tofu when I wasn't paying attention. He put so much bad tofu in there."

"Injustice! Injustice!" the old man cried out, opening his basket for everyone around him to see: "Look, look! I've put all good tofu in there!"

Lift the coarse cloth, and underneath is all white tofu.

Su Zhihan tiptoed and carefully examined the tofu in the basket. Just as the old man had said, the tofu in the basket was jade-colored and clearly good tofu.

Cao Daya stared wide-eyed: "How could this be!"

The young woman also exclaimed in surprise, her almond-shaped eyes wide: "How could this be!?" She took a few steps forward in disbelief, even taking all the tofu out of the old man's basket to check it.

"You little brat, I kindly sold it to you cheaply, and you're slandering me!" The old man plopped down on the ground, staring at the tofu scattered everywhere, tears streaming down his face. "Look at this! Look at this! Now you've taken all my tofu out of the ground, how am I supposed to do business! Who's going to sell all this tofu?!"

The young woman was dumbfounded when she couldn't find the rotten tofu. Her face turned even redder upon hearing this: "But I, I clearly bought them all from you... Could it be that you're hiding the rotten tofu somewhere else?"

"How can you be so rude, young lady!"

"They smashed the old man's things and are now slandering him," the men at the nearby stalls chimed in, seeing the situation.

The men were tall and burly. When they stepped forward and stood in front of the woman, she immediately felt intimidated and took a few steps back in a panic.

Seeing this, the old man cried out in anguish, his sobs growing louder. In the end, the young woman not only had to return the bad tofu to the old man, but she also had to pay for the rest of the tofu, and even had to pay the old man several dozen copper coins in compensation amidst the accusations of the man beside her.

As the excitement subsided, the gossiping crowd dispersed. Su Zhihan and her two companions mingled in the crowd, whispering amongst themselves. Cao Daya exclaimed that it was impossible, while Yinghong offered a suggestion: "Could it be that the old man only kept a few pieces of rotten tofu on hand and gave them all to that young lady at once?"

Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence that it was given to that woman and then disappeared?

Upon hearing this, Cao Daya nodded repeatedly.

Su Zhihan, however, had a different opinion. After thinking for a moment, she asked Cao Daya, "When you bought tofu that day, did you see those vendors next to you?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Daya was taken aback at first. After thinking carefully, she gasped and said, "Yes, yes."

"I had just paid and was packing the tofu."

"As a result, the vendors next to me started arguing and bumped into me. I argued with them for a few words before turning around and continuing to pack the tofu."

Yinghong looked at Su Zhihan: "Sister Han, do you mean... those people are in cahoots?"

Su Zhihan did have this thought. Why put all the tofu stalls together? Moreover, the young lady didn't show up when she was talking about the old man, but she came out to stop her as soon as she mentioned hiding somewhere else, which made her suspicious.

After receiving a positive answer from Cao Daya, Su Zhihan said to the two of them, "My mother told me before that these vendors who come to the city from outside often sell fakes as genuine and deliberately take advantage of young and naive women. She taught me that when I run errands, I should buy from a shop instead of a vendor, and if I really have to buy from a vendor, I must not be distracted."

"Ah, I've heard my mother mention it too." Yinghong also remembered this incident. When she first started working in the kitchen, her mother was worried that she would be cheated when she went out to run errands, so she taught her that when running errands, it was better to buy expensive items from the store than to be greedy for cheap ones.

However, after Yinghong entered the kitchen, she did the work of washing vegetables and dishes every day and was hardly ever sent to do shopping or run errands. Over time, she forgot all about it.

She only remembered this when Su Zhihan brought it up.

Needless to say, Cao Daya was tricked and was scolded by her mother for fifteen minutes after returning home. She also knew about the incident: "...I just didn't expect that there would be such a way to do it. This, this, this is too cunning!"

They even set up separate stalls, pretending not to know each other.

When someone comes to make a scene, they pretend to step forward and try to persuade them, eventually leaving the person confused and unable to get their money back; in fact, they end up losing tens of dollars.

Thinking about the group's actions, and then about the young woman walking away in tears, Cao Daya felt both heartbroken and angry. She whispered, "Why don't we go—"

"Stop, stop, stop! I'm not going to report this to the authorities." Yinghong interrupted Cao Daya, muttering, "If they find out you're the one who reported it, they might try to ambush you in the marketplace!"

"How could this be..."

“Why not? Let’s not even talk about whether the government will accept such a small case. You saw those tall, burly men; their fists are as big as our heads.” Yinghong was shocked by the men’s tall and strong physiques as she looked at them from afar.

“I heard that someone tried to report it to the authorities before, but was beaten up by that person’s relatives and friends.” Su Zhihan nodded in agreement. She wasn’t even worried about the argument and fight, but more worried that these idlers were vicious and might have other ideas later.

Putting everything else aside, the most valuable asset in this day and age is women. Seeing Cao Daya's skepticism, Su Zhihan whispered, "Forget about beating us up or not, what if these idlers block our mouths, gag us, and drag us out to be sold?"

"...No way?"

“Of course it is.” Yinghong pursed her lips when she saw Cao Daya’s surprise. “Otherwise, where did all these people who were abducted go?”

It is said that the sale of slaves throughout the country was permitted by the government, with contracts of servitude signed. However, the law also explicitly prohibits the sale of wives and daughters, yet many people still do it secretly. Some even sell their wives and daughters and then claim that they ran away with men, throwing mud at people.

Cao Daya shivered, and her heroic spirit vanished instantly.

The three of them, having encountered this situation, lost all interest in leisurely strolling. After buying the necessary vegetables, fruits, and river fish, they returned to their residence. However, what Cao Daya and Yinghong did not know was that after Su Zhihan returned and put her things down, she left the residence again.

She turned left and right through the alleyways, and soon arrived at a house. Before she even went inside, Su Zhihan heard intermittent sobs, intermittently accompanied by an old voice that gently comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright, let's be more careful next time."

"Xiao Hong, Grandma Chen." Su Zhihan pushed open the door and entered.

"...Han'er is here?" The old lady, who was comforting the weeping person, looked up and smiled kindly when she saw Su Zhihan enter. She patted the young lady's shoulder and urged, "Xiao Hong, look who's here?"

The young woman sitting on the bench was a beat slow. She stood up, rubbing her eyes with her head down, and said, "Madam Su."

If Cao Daya and Yinghong were here, they would immediately recognize that this was clearly the young woman who had just argued with the old man.

This young woman named Xiao Hong was the one Su Zhihan had hired through the brokerage firm. She was two years younger than Su Zhihan, had lost both her parents, and now lived with her grandparents.

However, as the two elderly people grew older, one became frail and sickly and took medicine all year round, while the other was old and had poor eyesight and could no longer do manual labor. As a result, Xiao Hong had to register her name at the brokerage firm in hopes of finding a job doing laundry and odd jobs.

Su Zhihan originally wanted to find someone older, but seeing that Xiao Hong had a pitiful background, was obedient and honest, and was cheap and efficient, she chose her.

Xiao Hong sniffled and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. She looked up and smiled at Su Zhihan, "I tripped and fell on the way here, that's why I cried. I hope Madam Su can laugh..."

“I just saw it.”

"...Huh?" Xiao Hong's expression froze instantly.

Su Zhihan frowned and asked Xiao Hong, "Didn't I tell you to buy tofu from Uncle Li this morning? Why did you buy it from a different stall?"

“I didn’t buy it from a different place on purpose.” Xiao Hong waved her hands repeatedly and explained to Su Zhihan, “Uncle Li’s family came to tell us this morning that Uncle Li was injured and can’t work. He will need to rest for half a month before he can continue working.”

"I only found out this morning. I was afraid I wouldn't make it to the lunch break, so I switched stalls to sell my goods." Xiao Hong wiped away her tears. Originally, she should have waited until the afternoon to tell Su Zhihan about the problem and then followed Su Zhihan's instructions.

Xiao Hong couldn't bear to stop working, so she decided to buy tofu elsewhere, but little did she know that this would lead to such a mess.

And Han Jie'er saw it all.

Thinking of this, Xiao Hong felt terrified. She was young and had no skills. She also had to go home every day to take care of her grandparents. As a result, she had been working at the brokerage for a long time but had not been able to find a suitable job. At most, she had worked as a flower seller or helped out at a weaving shop, earning a few copper coins.

Selling dried bean curd for Madam Su was a rare and good job. In addition to her monthly salary, she would receive a commission of two yuan for every ten packs sold. Moreover, the working hours were flexible, and she could go home to cook for her grandparents and clean up the house. It was much better than any job she had done before.

Xiao Hong grew increasingly anxious and frightened, tears streaming down her face. "Madam Su, I really didn't go to another store to buy it because it was cheap. I... I just saw that the old man was about the same age as my grandfather, and I remembered that my grandfather used to sell things like this... I... I..."

Grandma Chen was both distressed and worried, and hurriedly spoke up for her: "Sister Han, Xiao Hong is young and doesn't know any better. I've already told her that she should tell you if anything happens in the future, and she can't make decisions on her own."

When Grandma Chen heard about this, her heart skipped a beat, not because she had been deceived, but because of Xiao Hong's unauthorized decision.

Whether working in the household or outside, it is extremely taboo to make decisions without the master's permission.

Grandma Chen was even somewhat relieved that Xiao Hong's unauthorized actions today had only resulted in a loss of face and money, and had not caused a greater disaster.

She didn't reveal her true intentions at all. While observing Su Zhihan's expression, she slowly said, "We will bear the cost of the tofu we bought by mistake this time. Please forgive her this time."

Upon hearing this, Su Zhihan smiled and said, "No need. I think most of it is good tofu, and only a small portion is bad. Just Xiao Hong, you need to be more careful next time. If you have any questions, you should ask me first before you do anything."

Xiao Hong hesitated for a moment: "But I contacted..."

In the past, Su Zhihan would visit whenever she had free time, so she didn't know where to look for her.

Su Zhihan thought for a moment and said, "If it's really urgent, go to the back gate of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion and tell the gatekeeper that you're looking for Han-jie from the main kitchen."

"If they see it, they'll pass on the message for you."

"...Yes, yes!" Little Red was a beat slow and responded blankly.

Grandma Chen, standing nearby, stared wide-eyed. After hearing that her granddaughter had found such an easy job, she and her husband had even speculated about Han Jie'er's background.

Now that their origins are laid bare, Grandma Chen can hardly believe it. If she knew they were from the Marquis's mansion, she wouldn't have needed to fear those local thugs—

Su Zhihan seemed to see through what Grandma Chen was thinking, and looked up at her calmly: "I am just a servant in the Marquis's mansion, doing chores like washing and chopping vegetables in the kitchen. I have no special skills."

Grandma Chen said sheepishly, "Don't worry, I know."

She glanced at her bewildered granddaughter, then straightened her posture. Grandma Chen had been worried about her granddaughter's future. With no parents and her husband getting old, she feared her granddaughter would be lonely and miserable, and even if she found a family, she would be bullied.

She originally wanted to teach her granddaughter a trade at an embroidery shop so she could support herself in the future. But those places didn't want apprentices who knew nothing, and the places that were willing to take her in... Grandma Chen thought they were dirty.

In the end, she had no choice but to send her granddaughter to the brokerage firm, hoping that she could learn a trade in a good place and have more options for her future.

Now, the solution seems to be just around the corner.

If he could win the favor of the young lady in front of him, she might be willing to let Xiao Hong work in the Marquis's mansion in the future. That would be a real leap to the top, and she and her husband would never have to worry about anything again.

Thinking about this, Grandma Chen felt a little regretful. If she had known she would be so lucky, she would never have let the broker write down the employment period as short. She should have written it as long, at least three to five years!

Su Zhihan saw through Grandma Chen's scheme at a glance, but she couldn't say that the Marquis's mansion would fall into ruin in three years and discourage her from pursuing it.

Before the family fell into ruin, there were countless people all over the world like Grandma Chen who wanted their daughters and granddaughters to work in the family.

Su Zhihan could stop one, but how many? She only drew complaints from others. She pretended not to know Grandma Chen's ulterior motives, and simply told Xiao Hong to stop selling dried tofu for the next day.

She took out her purse from her bag, took out a banknote, and handed it to Xiaohong: "Tomorrow, rent a car and go to Uncle Li's house to see how he was injured and what his condition is."

Xiao Hong held the paper money and solemnly agreed.

Seeing this, Grandma Chen quickly replied, "Don't worry, Madam Su. Tomorrow I'll go with Sister Hong to take a look and make sure we get to the bottom of this."