"This Lord Qi is the prefect, how could he possibly take a fancy to a widow?"
Gao Liu's voice wasn't loud, but it was full of sarcasm.
Shen Qing snapped out of her reverie, looked at her, and said without much emotion, "Don't worry, I have no intention of getting involved with Lord Qi. Right now, I just want to do business, make money, and pay off my debts."
Speaking of the Gao family's debts, Madam Gao's tone lowered: "It's not that I disagree with your remarriage, but as widows, we should know our place. If you want to find a widower or something, I won't say anything... but you're thinking of marrying Lord Qi, is that even possible? I'm afraid you'll be laughed at..."
Shen Qing: "..."
Chunju suddenly realized that her words had harmed Shen Qing. Feeling guilty, she was also very angry that Gao Liushi had ridiculed her master like that.
Although she also thought that Shen Qing's future might be with a widower, it was wrong for Gao Liu to say it like that!
Who doesn't have something to look forward to?
In a fit of temper, she blurted out, "Madam! My young lady is still young, not even twenty, and has no children. She doesn't need to find a widower!"
Gao Liu pursed her lips and turned over with a cold laugh.
Chunju looked at Shen Qing with red eyes: "Young Madam..."
Shen Qing patted her shoulder weakly: "It's okay, go to sleep."
She was so exhausted that she simply didn't have the energy to dwell on these things anymore.
The next day, Qi Zhenheng's men came to report early in the morning—
There was no movement from Master Zhao's side last night, nor did he send anyone to cause trouble at the Gao family's house.
Shen Qing felt a little relieved and decided not to bother Qi Zhenheng any further, so she took Chunju and the others back to the Gao family.
As she disembarked from the carriage, Old Xu reminded her that she had to go to the duck farm to collect spring feathers in five days. If she was late, the farm would resell the collected feathers to the pharmacists, and the 100-tael deposit would not be refunded. Furthermore, if she decided to collect all the spring feathers from the other ten duck farms, she also had to send her deposit within the next two days.
Entering the third month of the lunar calendar, all duck farms begin harvesting spring duck feathers. Whoever comes to the farm first and pays a deposit gets the duck feathers.
Shen Qing glanced at the blazing sun overhead, but her mood was as cold as an October winter.
Without a single ounce of silver, how can we collect spring wool?
She sighed and said to Old Xu, "Okay, I understand. I'll try my best to raise some more money in the next couple of days."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to enter the Gao family's gate when a sedan chair stopped in front of the Gao family's gate.
Shen Qing paused.
The sedan chair door opened, and the eldest son of the Gao family hurriedly stepped out, calling out, "Niece-in-law! Nephew-in-law!"
She thought the eldest son of the Gao family had come to ask her to repay the money, and she couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Niece-in-law! Your uncle has something to ask of you!" Grandpa Gao stepped forward and said urgently, "Come on! Let's go inside and talk!"
Hearing the sound, Gao Liu, who was walking in front, turned around and asked curiously, "What can my daughter-in-law do to help my elder brother?"
In the eyes of everyone in the Gao family, the eldest son's branch, who was in the business of selling horse feed to the government, had a certain network of connections and was the most successful in the entire family.
Given the current dire situation of the second wife, what can she possibly do to help him?
Shen Qing himself was also full of questions.
As the group entered the main hall, Grandpa Gao, without even taking a sip of his hot tea, anxiously said, "Niece-in-law, I heard that the position of the Imperial Carriage Officer in the Ministry of War is going to be replaced!"
Shen Qing nodded: "And then?"
"The former official in charge of the imperial carriages, Lord Cao, was an old friend of mine. Now he's been replaced, and the new official doesn't want my horse fodder anymore! I just spent all my money at the beginning of the year to buy all the horse fodder from Baotou, and now..."
He was on the verge of tears as he spoke, repeatedly patting his palm with the back of his hand and pacing back and forth.
Shen Qing could understand his anxiety.
Their situations were similar: one had spent all his savings on horse feed, and the other was buying duck feathers.
And now they all face the same fate of losing everything.
Shen Qing sighed, "Uncle, I understand how you feel, but how can I help you with this?"
Grandpa Gao glanced at Gao Liushi, hesitated, and didn't dare to say anything.
Gao Liu said anxiously, "Brother, please tell us! We'll definitely help if we can!"
Grandpa Gao looked at Shen Qing.
“Niece-in-law, don’t you have a…” He paused, then awkwardly corrected himself, “a fellow villager, that Boss Cheng! His father is a third-rank official appointed by imperial decree! He’s an old friend of the newly appointed Imperial Censor…”
Shen Qing understood.
The plan was to use her to find Cheng Zhiwen and have Cheng Zhiwen's father plead with the newly appointed Imperial Censor to continue using the eldest son's horse feed.
Shen Qing hesitated.
Although she was familiar with Cheng Zhiwen, she knew nothing about Cheng Zhiwen's relationship with his father, or whether his father was willing to act as a mediator.
Moreover, doing something that drains one's relationships diminishes them by a third each time it's done.
Today she asked Cheng Zhiwen for help on someone else's behalf, and Cheng Zhiwen did it for her. But if she asks Cheng Zhiwen for help on her own behalf in the future, Cheng Zhiwen may not be willing to help her.
Therefore, Shen Qing didn't really want to do this kind of thing.
“Uncle, although I’m from the same hometown as Boss Cheng, we’re far from being close enough for me to ask for a favor… I can’t help…”
Before he could finish speaking, Grandpa Gao had already pulled out a silver note from his sleeve pocket and said generously, "All my assets are left with this ten thousand taels. If Boss Cheng is willing to lobby for me, this ten thousand taels will be his expenses!"
Shen Qing swallowed hard.
Ten thousand taels was enough for her to pay off all the spring wool orders, and the remaining five thousand taels could be used as funds for researching and developing down-proof lining fabric.
She looked at the silver note, and a light returned to her eyes, which had been filled with despair.
"Uncle, if the newly appointed Imperial Carriage Official is willing to continue accepting your horse feed this year, how much silver can you earn from this batch of horse feed?"
Grandpa Gao was more cautious and stammered, unable to give a clear answer.
Shen Qing knew what he was thinking, smiled, and said, "If we give you this year's share of horse feed, do you think Lord Chejia Qingli doesn't know how much profit you'll make? It's such a lucrative business, yet you're only contributing 10,000 taels as operating expenses. Do you think Lord Chejia Qingli and Lord Cheng will be happy about that? If they're not happy, how can we give you the share?"
She now feels that this eldest son isn't cut out for business.
Businesses with profits of hundreds of thousands or even millions of taels of silver were presented to him, but he only wanted to offer ten thousand taels to appease everyone.
Ten thousand taels might be attractive to her, a down-on-her-luck businesswoman, but to Cheng Zhiwen, the Cheng family, and even the imperial magistrate, it was nothing!
Shen Qing cursed inwardly, "He doesn't know how to handle things," but didn't show it on his face.
For her, this is an opportunity.
Although she wasn't sure if Cheng Zhiwen was willing to make the connection, she was determined to seize the opportunity that was presented to her!
Let's do it first, and see if it works out later!
Grandpa Gao had a sudden realization about what she had just said. He stroked his goatee and thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay!"
Shen Qing raised an eyebrow, pretending not to understand.
"If you give me this horse feed business this year, I can give up 10% of the profits to the Cheng family and Lord Chejia Qingli!"
Shen Qing was satisfied: "Great! You're very sincere, this matter is definitely worth discussing!"
Grandpa Gao asked happily, "Then when are you going to find that Boss Cheng?"
"If you grant me one request, I'll go immediately."
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