Thinking that Brother Tieshan and Shopkeeper Xiaomiao might need to rest in the city in the future, Shen Qing instructed Li Shuming to clean up two empty rooms in the courtyard. It doesn't need much decoration, as long as it is clean and tidy. It will be very convenient for taking a lunch break or staying in the county town temporarily in the future.
After explaining all this, Shen Qing left in a hurry, leaving everyone in the yard nervous and worried.
Mudan and Li Shuming, the first batch of half-grown children bought by Shen Qing, have been living a fairy-like life since they were bought into this courtyard. They have no worries about food and clothing, and their master does not live here. They are so free and happy that they have even forgotten half of the rules of serving that they learned in the pawnshop. Now that Shen Qing is finally going to move in, they are naturally nervous.
The Xie brothers and sisters and the newly bought servants were naturally even more nervous when they arrived in a strange environment on their first day.
Mudan led them to choose a house. Naturally, the Xie brothers and sisters, who are obviously different and probably the master's concubines, will be chosen first. When they first arrived in a strange place, the Xie siblings did not want to separate, so they chose a suite with one bright and one dark room. Xie Shiyun lived in the dark room inside, and Xie Miyun lived on the couch in the bright room outside. The two maids who were originally from the Xie family chose an ear room next to them, but now they were squeezed together with the brother and sister.
These two maids were not originally serving the brother and sister. One, named Xianglan, worked as a first-class maid serving Jie Miyun's stepmother, and the other served Jie Miyun's grandmother and her name was Ruyi. But after the disaster in their family, they were able to meet again here, and even those who were not very familiar with each other before felt close to each other.
My grandmother was old and died shortly after being imprisoned. No one knows where their stepmother and concubines were sold to.
"When I was sent here, I only knew that the eldest and third young ladies were sent to the Jiaofangsi in the prefectural city. The wives and concubines were old, and the Jiaofangsi would not accept them. After that, they were taken away, and no one knew where they went..."
Xie Miyun listened to Xianglan's narration in a crying voice. The eldest sister and the third sister are the most beautiful among their siblings, so Xie Miyun should be thankful that he is not as good-looking. In fact, he still doesn't know what crime his father committed, whether he really deserved it or was wrongly accused. Those were things the men did outside, and he didn't even know about it, let alone participate in it. However, once something happened, the wives would be imprisoned and suffer the consequences.
The room was bare, with nothing in it except basic furniture. Not long after, Mudan brought over two quilts.
Mudan was originally a farmer's boy. He had never seen the world and had little contact with Shen Qing. It was the first time she saw people like the Jie brothers and sisters. She felt curious and awkward at the same time. She stole a few glances at them, put down her bedding, and ran out with her head down without saying a word.
Xianglan stopped crying, frowned slightly, and looked at Mudan's back as she ran away, and whispered, "I don't know what kind of family this is. They are so rude and don't even answer my questions."
Xie Miyun was silent for a while before he said, "With my current identity, how can I report back and how can I call for help?"
Slaves are not slaves, and concubines are not concubines. The young master neither introduced his and his sister's identities to the servants in the mansion, but asked the two maids to continue serving them, which was really embarrassing. In this situation, how can we find fault with others?
Hearing Jie Miyun say this, Xianglan also fell silent. Now that they are no longer in the Tongpan Mansion, the young master and young lady of their family are no longer the young master and young lady.
The one called Ruyi was more prudent. He had secretly asked the people in the pawnbroker about Shen Qing before. Shen Qing was also quite active in selecting people: "I heard that this young man came here from another place to visit relatives and take care of his aunt. As a result, his aunt had a hard time, so he stayed here for a few more days. The boy just now was also a newly bought servant. It is normal that he does not know the rules. It is not like in our family. The new maid has to be taught by the nanny for one or two months before she can serve the master. Even this house was newly bought for his aunt. I see, I wonder how big the family business of that young man in another place is!"
They had just seen the gift that Shen Qing asked the man with the golden teeth to give to the chief clerk and the clerk. It was indeed a generous gift! They had seen colored glaze and agate before in the Tongpan Mansion, but just taking the colored glaze cup as an example, not to mention that its clarity was far inferior to the one Shen Qing brought out, originally only the old lady, the master, and the mistress each had a set in their rooms, and the young masters and young ladies could not use it!
That young man's roots are not here, but he is willing to spend so much money just to come to Anping County to help his relatives. I wonder how rich his family is! She looked at the two distracted siblings, and said in a half-comforting and half-persuading way: "Our family is already like this, we dare not think about the old days anymore, young master and young lady should seize the opportunity now! If you can please that young master, you can stay in Anping County as a concubine, and then ask the young master to redeem the relatives scattered elsewhere, and the family will be reunited!"
In fact, in Ruyi's opinion, Shen Qing was so wealthy and tall and handsome that even before their family was confiscated, the illegitimate sons and daughters of the Tongpan would be considered a good match for marrying such a wealthy and talented businessman. It’s a pity that she can’t be the main wife now, so she can only let the young master and young lady of her family be concubines.
When Shen Qing bought her and Xianglan just now, he did not just randomly choose two people from the Jie family to serve the Jie brothers and sisters, but he carefully asked them about their abilities. Xianglan followed the lady, was literate and understood household affairs. She also knew a little bit about the old lady and was good at embroidery, so she was chosen. Ruyi guessed that this young man wanted to build an industry in Anping County, which was why he selected capable people.
It is common for these merchants to set up businesses while doing business outside. The young masters and young ladies in their family are all literate. If they can win over the young master, he can also help with his business. Wouldn't it be much more comfortable to find him a concubine and stay in Anping County than to go to the family as a concubine? Although the concubine is still a head shorter than the principal wife, but staying in Anping County makes both of them powerful, and there is no difference between her and the principal wife in terms of appearance!
There are only a few clumsy servants in this mansion. She and Xianglan can also take advantage of the young master's power and become respectable housekeepers!
This is the only smooth path they can take now!
Xianglan heard this and advised, "It's better for that young master to be a handsome man than to end up in a brothel."
Xie Miyun was in a state of confusion, he lowered his head and remained silent. Xie Shijun also had no idea, but when she thought of her aunt and sisters who were sold to who knows where, she was persuaded by Ruyi and pulled Xie Miyun's sleeve, "Brother..."
Just as I was struggling with this, Mudan pushed the door open again. This time, he brought a basin of hot water, towels, soap and other items for the Xie brothers and sisters to wash.
Ruyi hurriedly got up and took it. She saw that the box did not contain the common pancreas, but a piece of something that exuded a faint fragrance and was as white and clean as mutton-fat jade. She became more certain of her idea. She wanted to find out more about the news in the mansion, so she took the initiative to talk to him in a friendly manner: "May I know what this young man's name is? We are new here, and we will rely on your care in the future."
Ruyi was good-looking and spoke softly and politely. She was different from the people Mudan had met in the village before. He pinched the corner of his clothes nervously and whispered, "My name is Peony."
Others in the room: "..."
Although peony is a very good flower, it is also common for maids to use flowers as names. For example, isn't Xianglan the fragrant orchid? But the peony flower is not often used on maids. Instead, the girls in the brothels often call it by this name.
The smile on Ruyi's face froze for a moment. Could it be that she had misjudged him and that the young man was actually a playful person in private? Is it so interesting? "Did you choose this name, young master?"
Mudan shook her head: "I chose this name myself. The young master is very kind and allows us to name ourselves. If we really can't think of any, the young master can help us choose one. If you have any names you want, you can think of them first and tell the young master next time. The young master will definitely agree!"
In Mudan's heart, Shen Qing is really a good person. Giving them food and drink and treating them with tolerance, he didn't know what "respect" meant, but Shen Qing gave him the power to name himself for the first time, allowing him to have a name he liked.
Ruyi was stunned.
The Xie brothers and sisters also looked over. Seeing the happy face when Mudan mentioned Shen Qing, Xie Miyun suddenly felt that maybe he was really lucky this time, and even if he fell into such a situation, he could live without being so miserable.
Shen Qing returned to the village. Although the twenty or so people in the workshop did not delay their work, they were all craning their necks waiting for news, fearing that the first batch of starch sausages was not made well and the boss would not be satisfied.
The noble man was very satisfied and accepted all the orders. Everyone was very happy to hear that the shop in the county town would be opened soon, and they were more motivated.
Shen Qing took the opportunity to pull Aunt Guixiang and Aunt Yanzi aside, and first told Aunt Yanzi the news that he wanted Brother Tieshan to go to the city to work.
Aunt Yanzi is also a woman in the village who has a very good relationship with the Miao family. Although he was not as close as Second Aunt Lian, with whom he grew up and was related, they were still very good friends. She even gave food to Shen Qing when he was young.
When Aunt Yan heard that her own Tieshan was chosen to work in the county, she was extremely surprised: "Qing'er, just don't mind your brother Tieshan being stupid! If there is any rough or tiring work, just give it to him. He has endless energy!"
Brother Tieshan is as big as his name suggests, he is as strong as a mountain and the muscles in his arms are as hard as iron. Shen Qing took a fancy to him because he was afraid that some ignorant person would cause trouble in the shop, and with Brother Tieshan around, he could keep things under control.
Although he had informed the government, he had no way to seek justice when the uninformed ruffians showed up at his door.
"As long as it doesn't interfere with your work at home, it's fine." Shen Qing said with a smile. He was willing to help those who had helped him in the past. "Some things happened at home, so I'm going out of town today. Leave the matters of the county shop to me. Tomorrow, Brother Tieshan will go with me to the county to get acquainted with the roads. The salary will be the same as Brother Shitou's. We will all get the same salary."
Aunt Yanzi was so happy that she didn't know what to say: "We only have so much land, we can't waste any time! If it really doesn't work, I'll ask my brothers from my mother's side to come and help, you just take Tieshan away!"
Aunt Guixiang was a little surprised: "Did the noble leave?"
"Yeah, that's right." Shen Qing felt that most of his brain cells were now spent on how to cover up the lie, racking his brains every day. Tieshan and Xiaomiao will be living in the county town from now on, so it would be a bit strange that they have never met the legendary nobleman. "Something happened at home, so I couldn't make it in time for the shop to open. Everyone around me left, and I was left to take care of everything. I quickly asked Brother Tieshan to come over."
It created a very sudden and unexpected feeling, and also allowed Brother Tieshan to pick up a bargain.
As expected, Aunt Guixiang and Aunt Yanzi's attention was diverted. Aunt Yanzi patted her chest and felt thankful: "Oh, God has blessed us. You left at the right time!"
Shen Qing smiled and turned to Aunt Guixiang and said, "I think there are still too few useful people in our village. If there are people who can read and do accounting, I don't have to hire managers or stewards from outside. It's better to keep the wealth within the family and let people in our village take care of it. So I want to talk to Uncle Youdang and have the village allocate a piece of land to build a school. We can also learn from Shiqu Village. Not only can we not raise a scholar, but everyone can learn a few more words and learn arithmetic, and it would be good to be a steward or an accountant."
Aunt Guixiang slapped her thigh and said, "Who said it wasn't true?" Why is Shiqu Village rich? Isn't it because a scholar emerged in early years, and the rich led the rest of the village to become richer, making the whole village richer and richer! It's not that other villages are not envious, but firstly, there are no such promising children in their own villages, and secondly, if they want to copy Shiqu Village and set up a school, they cannot afford to hire a teacher.
After all, Miao Xiucai's family only collected a small amount of tuition in order to take care of the people in their own village. It costs a lot of money for children from other villages to go to school!
In addition, scholars these days were aloof and teachers would accept students based on their qualifications. There were not many teachers like Miao Xiucai who were not aiming for the imperial examinations and were willing to teach only arithmetic and accounting. Aunt Guixiang's father-in-law had also thought about this when he was still alive. He asked a few scholars but was ridiculed for his greed for money that had tainted the fragrance of books. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
Shen Qing said, "Leave the matter to me, sir. Just tell Uncle Youdang, if he is willing, he can allocate land to build a house, and I will find a way to handle the rest. But I have one request, that is, after the school is built, not only the boys in the village can come to school, but also the boys and girls."
Aunt Yan Zi was a little puzzled: "What's the point of this boy and girl going to school?"
"I didn't set up this school to let them take the imperial examinations," Shen Qing said. "Of course, if there are good people in the village who want to take the imperial examinations, I won't stop them. But the main purpose of my school is to let everyone recognize some words and do some math, so that they can go to the city to find a job that is easy, cheap and plentiful, like the people in Shiqu Village did."
"Since it's just for work, most of the people working in the workshops in our village are husbands and wives. If boys and girls learn how to do the work, it would be good to record how many sausages were made, how much meat and sweet potatoes were used, etc., wouldn't it?"
Shen Qing knew clearly that there were still many restrictions on men and women in this world. Even he himself was able to walk around so smoothly only because he pretended to be a man. He still needs to train some men with good character and intelligence to be responsible for some external affairs in the future, which can save a lot of trouble. Women and boys can work as managers in his own workshops or shops. His business will always give preferential treatment to women and boys, and they can also make a lot of money.
Seeing Aunt Yanzi nodding thoughtfully, Shen Qing said to Aunt Guixiang, "Let me be frank. If a family only allows the boy to come to school and does not allow the boys and girls to come, and detains the boys and girls to do housework, then the boy should not come. This family should not work in my workshop in the future."
"Don't worry, this is a great idea, your uncle will definitely agree once I tell him!" Aunt Guixiang's mouth was grinning from ear to ear. If this school is established, Zhao Shitou's children can also go to school, and maybe there will be a scholar in their family!
However, when she happily told Zhao Youdang about this at night, Zhao Youdang went from being excited and happy at the beginning to becoming silent. In the end, he slammed his pipe, turned his back to Aunt Guixiang, and remained silent.
"What's the matter? You don't have to spend a penny and I'll just let you mark out a piece of public land. The rest will be paid for by Qing'er. It's like pie falling from the sky, and you're still thinking about it?" Zhao Youdang's reaction was beyond her expectations. Aunt Guixiang was quite surprised.
Zhao Youdang smoked one puff after another, until half the room was filled with smoke. He finally let out a long sigh, "I see that Qing Ge'er is planning to make a big move!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
