Chapter 88 Selling Goods

"Boss Wei, you've really kept us waiting! We've come two or three times already, but we still haven't gotten to eat your cooking."

"I had some business to attend to in the prefectural city, so I'm giving you a dish today as an apology!" Song Yushu knew they were regular customers of the restaurant, so he wasn't stingy and gave them a dish for free.

"Mr. Wei is so generous!" The guest was naturally pleased to be treated with such respect.

"This time I brought some new fabrics from the prefectural city that we don't have in our county. The patterns and colors are all the latest trends in the prefectural city. You can choose some first. Buying some to give back to your elders or wives would be nice. We only brought these few bolts. If we wait a few more days, they will be gone."

While they were talking, Song Yushu had Xiong Erni and Aunt Yang bring out the fabrics they had brought back from the prefectural city.

"I'll have to rely on my wife to choose the materials. I'll talk to her when I get back, and she'll definitely come over. As for how much these toys cost, my son will be ten years old in a few days, and I can give him some as a gift."

"I think these fabrics are nice. Reserve this one for me, I'll come over to pay later."

Several regular customers became quite interested when they heard that these items were brought back from the prefectural city.

There weren't many women and children who came today, so only a few bolts of cloth were sold.

"Why don't I take some to town to sell tomorrow?" Aunt Yang said anxiously, seeing that there weren't many buyers.

"Let Erni go with you tomorrow," Song Yushu thought it was a good idea, since there weren't as many people here as in the town.

Sure enough, apart from the women who came to visit the next day and bought a few bolts of cloth, most of them bought toys for their children. Aunt Yang and her family returned from town looking very happy.

"They're all sold out! We sold them for more than in the city, and we didn't expect so many people to buy them!" Xiong Erni excitedly told Song Yushu how popular their fabrics were in town.

"We haven't even sold half of it yet, but we've already recouped our cost of the fabric," Song Yushu thought, and he also told them to continue taking it to town to sell as usual, and to bring a lot of toys with them.

The goods brought back from the prefectural city were indeed very popular, and in less than ten days, all of them were sold out.

Aunt Yang repaid the principal she borrowed from Song Yushu and made a net profit of twenty taels. Xiong Erni earned ten taels, while Song Yushu, who bought more goods, earned more than forty taels.

Uncle Yang had been staying here for a while and had gained some weight. Now that the goods were sold out, he planned to take the two elderly people back home.

"Thanks to you this time, otherwise I don't know if your uncle would have been able to..." Aunt Yang held Song Yushu's hand and cried for a long time. She promised Song Yushu that she would not tell him about being captured by human traffickers, and she always felt indebted to him.

"It's alright, we're all family. Auntie, please bring your maternal grandfather and the others over to visit more often in the future."

“That’s right, come and sit down whenever you have time,” Mother Wei said, as she helped them onto the oxcart and stuffed them with plenty of medicinal herbs to nourish their bodies before watching them go back with satisfaction.

"Master Xue is here! It's been a long time. What would you like to eat?"

Upon hearing Xue Huai'an's voice, Song Yushu walked out of the kitchen without a second thought.

“Mother, let me entertain Master Xue,” Song Yushu said, leading the man upstairs.

"The case is solved, and those human traffickers have been caught. However, some women and children were sold to remote places, and the government sent people to negotiate for a long time but they refused to release them, which is why it has been delayed for so long." Xue Huai'an hadn't been able to rest properly during this period in order to deal with this human trafficking case as soon as possible, and his face looked somewhat pale.

What he didn't tell Song Yushu was that some women valued their reputation and committed suicide not long after being rescued, while some children were weak and died on the way out, their bodies thrown into the ravines by the traffickers.

Thinking about these things, he couldn't help but think of Song Yushu. Even the woman in his dream who died by hitting her head against the wall for the sake of her reputation had her face replaced by Song Yushu's, which made him suddenly wake up.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Song Yushu touched his face, somewhat puzzled.

"No, it's just that I haven't seen you in so long," Xue Huai'an said, his eyes were dark and his voice was hoarse from lack of rest.

“You should get some rest. I’ll take you to the cabin to rest. Don’t worry, I won’t charge you any money, it’s free,” Song Yushu said, seeing that he was in such a terrible state, and led him directly to the empty cabin.

"After you finish eating, take a bath and get a good night's sleep. You've had a hard time this time," Song Yushu said, looking at the exhausted man in front of her with a touch of heartache.

"How is Master Xue?" When Wei's mother saw her come out of the wooden house, she was not surprised, but she was concerned about Xue Huai'an's health.

"He's too tired, let him go and rest. Mother, you already knew about me and Master Xue, didn't you?" Seeing that she wasn't surprised at all, Song Yushu knew that they had been exposed long ago.

"Hmph! I've lived most of my life and seen everything. Your little tricks can only fool someone like your sister-in-law."

"That's because it wasn't certain at the time. I was afraid that saying it would only make you worry. I was even thinking that if it didn't work out, we could break up!" Song Yushu quickly explained.

"And now? Are you sure about him?" Seeing her like this, Wei's mother sighed.

"Not really, after all, I don't know what will happen later or whether our feelings will change. But right now, I think he's pretty good," Song Yushu said without hiding anything. At least for now, she really felt that Xue Huai'an was quite responsible and treated her very well. It would be hard not to be moved.

"You should think it through yourself. Master Xue is indeed a good man," Mother Wei said. She didn't object to them being together; on the contrary, she was happy for her daughter.

"But don't tell Chengyu yet. The child is about to take the imperial examination, and it would be bad if she got distracted," Song Yushu thought of the other candidate in the family who was at a crucial stage, and asked Wei's mother to keep it a secret for a while.

"That's true, I'm afraid the child will overthink things. You can't rush things," Wei's mother thought of her grandson and felt that she shouldn't make a fuss.

Xue Huai'an slept until dark before waking up, and his mind was clear after a good night's sleep.

"Master Xue is awake, come and have dinner with us," Mother Wei said, now feeling a bit closer to Xue Huai'an.

"This soup is freshly made, have a taste," Song Yushu said naturally as he placed the soup in front of Xue Huai'an.

This gesture flattered Xue Huai'an. He glanced at Wei's mother and the others subconsciously, and seeing that they didn't seem to mind, he picked up the soup and took a sip.

Xue Huai'an didn't stay overnight. After dinner, someone came to pick him up and take him back. He had just finished investigating the case when he came to see Song Yushu. Gu Cheng was waiting for him to go back to discuss some final matters.

"The higher-ups have already sent people down to investigate the corvée labor issue, so we don't need to get involved anymore. As for this human trafficking case, that Prefect She is probably involved. That brother-in-law of the Emperor in our court is truly heartless and ruthless; he even dares to earn this kind of money!"