It turns out that as Gan Mingyi's culinary skills improved, 'Gan Ji's' capacity to serve customers also greatly increased, and Gan Li planned to expand the scale and hire more staff.
Moreover, she still vividly remembered the villagers' united actions when the Wu family caused trouble last time, so she decided to continue recruiting people from the village.
The news caused a sensation in the village. The village chief once again stepped in to organize the competition and set a date.
On the day of the competition, Ganli returned to the village. After a fierce competition, six villagers who were skillful and efficient were finally selected.
Without exception, they were all women.
Some people had some complaints, but Ganli shut them up with a single sentence.
“Originally, most of the workers in our area were young women and wives. They were meticulous and hardworking, that’s one reason. Secondly, everyone lived there, and since it was all women, it was convenient.”
Now everyone was speechless. After all, if they said anything more, the men whose wives worked in the restaurant would quit.
—They already said it's all women inside, what are you grown men trying to do by squeezing in? If you're so capable, let the women in your families do it! It's not like we didn't give them a chance.
So everyone was speechless.
This 'tradition' was maintained thereafter, whether Ganli opened a branch or did other 'side businesses', the tradition of only hiring female workers was preserved.
Having chosen her companion, Ganli didn't plan to stay overnight in the village. Just as she was about to return to town and get into the carriage, she noticed a shadowy figure lurking in a corner, watching her.
Gan Quan also noticed the furtive figure in the corner.
He exchanged a glance with Gan Li, and Gan Quan nodded, crouching low and tiptoeing past.
A short while later, a short cry of surprise was heard, and Gan Quan picked up the sneaky figure like a chick.
"Auntie, it's Xiao Si."
Gan Li recognized him too; wasn't this child Gan Tao's younger brother, Xiao Si?
However, when she saw the thin, battered little man in front of her, she couldn't help but frown and her heart skipped a beat.
Previously, when Xiao Si testified for Gan Tao in the county court, although he wasn't exactly chubby, he at least had a rosy complexion and a sturdy build.
But now, the child's face is pale and sickly, his chin is so sharp it looks like it could kill someone, and his clothes are wrinkled and look like they were pulled out of a pile of rags.
His hands, face, and other exposed areas were covered with bruises and welts, clearly not the result of a fall.
In just over twenty days, a perfectly healthy child had been reduced to a state worse than a homeless beggar. Even Gan Li, with a heart as hard as iron, couldn't help but feel a pang of pity at this moment.
This child is really pitiful.
To everyone's surprise, as soon as Xiao Si saw Gan Li, she burst into tears, crying incoherently for help:
"Auntie! Save me! If you save me, I'll do whatever you say from now on!"
Gan Li was startled and quickly asked, "Xiao Si, don't be afraid, tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"
Gan Quan also comforted her, saying, "Xiao Si, don't cry. Tell us what's wrong. Don't be afraid."
With the two comforting words, Xiao Si gradually calmed down and sobbed, "My...my mother...she's going to sell me!"
"Sold?!" Gan Li and Gan Quan exclaimed in surprise, thinking they had misheard. But when they saw Xiao Si nodding with a pout, they realized it was true!
How could such a thing happen in broad daylight?
"Why did your mother sell you?" Gan Quan asked, puzzled.
Xiao Si shrank back, his eyes darting away, seemingly afraid to speak.
Ganli looked at it and wondered if there was anything she didn't understand.
"Is it because your mother is blaming you for testifying for your older sister in court before?"
Sure enough, Xiao Si couldn't hold back any longer when Gan Li brought it up.
He cried, feeling wronged, "After we came back that day, Mother fell ill. We didn't have any money to treat her, so my brothers blamed me, saying that if it weren't for me, our fifty taels of silver wouldn't have been stolen! They beat me and wouldn't give me food. I thought that once Mother recovered, she would stand up for me."
But Mother woke up, and she blamed me for testifying for my eldest sister, and even had my brothers beat me. Aunt, I don't understand. If I hadn't testified for my eldest sister, wouldn't she have been beheaded? She's my eldest sister, why couldn't I save her? Did I do something wrong?
His eyes were filled with self-doubt and struggle, not understanding why he had to be punished so much for doing something he thought was right.
Although Gan Quan had guessed the reason, he still clenched his fists in anger when he heard Xiao Si say it.
Gan Li felt even more sorry for the child. She reached out and touched his head, her tone firm:
“You did nothing wrong. You are good to your family and understand the greater good. What did you do wrong? They are the ones who are wrong. They are too greedy.”
Xiao Si's mood improved slightly upon hearing this, but she was still puzzled:
"Then why should I be punished? Mother said it's all because of me that the family's money is gone, and the Wu family keeps coming to ask for money every day. She's going to sell me to pay back the Wu family's money."
“Perhaps she’s just trying to scare you? Wealthy families aren’t stupid. Even if they were buying someone, they wouldn’t spend that much money,” Gan Li said deliberately.
Xiao Si didn't catch the probing in her words and excitedly said:
"It's true! She really said she's going to sell me! Matchmaker Li said that the Nanfeng Brothel in the prefectural city offers a high price, and she happens to have connections there. If we can get through there, they'll pay more..."
"Auntie, what kind of place is Nanfeng Pavilion? Why are they spending so much money to buy people?"
People from the countryside have limited knowledge. Let alone Xiao Si, even Gan Quan, upon hearing "Nanfeng Pavilion," wouldn't know what it was and simply asked Gan Li:
"Auntie, how come they're so willing to spend money to buy people there?"
Gan Li's face was ashen, and her voice was icy: "Do you know what a brothel is? Whatever the girls in a brothel do, the men in a brothel will do too."
Upon receiving this explosive information, Gan Quan's expression froze, and then cracked inch by inch.
Coming to his senses, he exclaimed incredulously, "This is her own son!"
Pshaw—Gan Tao is still her own daughter!
Gan Li thought that Gan Tao Niang would take her anger out on Xiao Si because of this, but she never expected that Gan Tao Niang would be so heartless and insane.
And that matchmaker Li, she also did a great job in Gan Tao's matter. We didn't have time to deal with her last time, but this time she's starting to jump around and harm people again?
Gan Li has never had the urge to do anything chivalrous, but this time, she wants to teach this matchmaker Li a lesson.
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