During the past month, Zhang Sanzhuang felt like he was soaked in chicken blood every day. All the meat he had eaten in the past two years as the shopkeeper was lost. He did not feel tired at all and was determined to run the Jufu Inn well.
Today, the newly built houses in the southern area are divided into ten lanes. The two main roads in front and back intersect into one at the front, leading directly to the north side of the block. Going left at the intersection is the wealthy west area, and going right is Xining Commercial Street.
Because the alleys are of the same length, there is an open space in the middle when they intersect.
The new Jufu Inn was built on this open space, with three stories high, and spacious courtyards in front and back. It almost replaced the original street and became the most imposing building in Xining Town.
This means that from Jufu Inn, the distance to anywhere is about the same. The geographical location is very advantageous, and it is equivalent to becoming the new center of Xining Town.
If it weren't for the sword above my head, it would be a pipe dream to think of this building.
But this place has something for everyone.
If you want to communicate with others from all over the world, it is most convenient to come to the inn.
If outsiders want to sell or buy things, there are many ways to go.
At first, Ruan Jialin and Zhang Sanzhuang didn't understand why the inn had to be so big.
The two asked Miao Wan.
If we consider it from the perspective of making money, and in order to allow the merchants to return to the northwest as soon as possible, we should open Qianjinlou first.
Why did they distribute all the recipes of Qianjinlou, but chose to open an uninhabited inn first?
Although Xining Town can be considered brand new now and most of the roads have been paved, the common people are still very poor. They live on the work points earned by Miao Wan and don't have enough money to spend in the inn.
As for the rich, they stay at home and seldom go out. Their own houses are more comfortable, and no one is likely to stay in an inn.
Zhang Sanzhuang also had concerns in this regard. When he opened the inn, he had nothing to do in his spare time and secretly visited all the inns in the county town. He found that almost no inn was fully booked. If the inn was half full, it was considered good business.
After all, when the weather gets cold, most merchants will enter the pass. Unless the merchants outside Dayue are greedy for a comfortable life in the county town, most of them will go home to celebrate the New Year. The journey is long, and they will have to set off in October at the latest.
At this moment, the inn business is not doing well.
"Who said that I want to do business with merchants and traveling merchants?" Miao Wan asked the two of them.
"Xining Town can't survive without traveling merchants and businessmen? What if one day they really stop coming? Are we just going to hang our necks and wait for death?"
Xining Town was poor in the past, but with the arrival of traveling merchants, the economy has improved and life has become much better. Everyone is begging traveling merchants and businessmen to come and do business, and also asking them to transport things from the interior.
This was originally guided by Chen Sixu in order to make money and deliberately improve the status of merchants. Also, because there was nothing to gain in Xining Town, the merchants were more relaxed and used this place as a transit station to conduct business between the south and the north.
Then when Xining Town develops well, if the merchants unite and threaten to "never come again" to force Xining Town to lower prices and agree to their other unequal terms, it will be even more difficult for them.
When Miao Wan explained to the two, her face was full of the pride of standing on the shoulders of giants, "This inn is for us Northwestern people to live in."
As long as she can use marketing methods to attract customers to Xining Town, traveling merchants will surely flock to it, and then she will have to set up thresholds for those who want to do business.
As for your threat to leave? Haha, as long as she takes over the resources in the northwest, the worst that can happen is that she can train her own team and enter the customs.
In later generations, the Northwest became one of the commercial centers for import and export in the Flower-Growing Country. Although it was not as prosperous as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, it was also a leader in the agricultural products such as cotton, fruits and grains.
When Northwest cotton, highland barley wine, and dried yak became nationally famous, naturally countless people came to do business.
"Do you want people from the county town to stay in our inn?" Ruan Jialin and Zhang Sanzhuang were even more confused about why Miao Wan wanted to build the Jufu Inn.
"The county town has everything, why would they come here?"
Miao Wan was unconvinced. "Do they have beet sugar? Do they have hundred-flower essential oil? Do they have steamed buns? Do they have chili sauce? Do they have thirteen spices?"
Ruan Jialin was speechless after being criticized. These were indeed not the case.
But even if there are people in the county town who are willing to come to Xining Town for these things, they will only have spare money, which is not much, and ordinary people are still poor.
These are not necessities of life.
Miao Wan also knew, but——
"What if these things were free? Or what if something of equal value could be exchanged for double the goods? Even if it wasn't double, what if something of equal value could be exchanged for both silver and goods of equal value?"
Ruan Jialin and Zhang Sanzhuang were both stunned. This... they had to crawl over here even if they had to.
They are all good things, free of charge, just a little bit of travel expenses, who wouldn’t want to come?
But if that’s the case...won’t they lose everything?
Miao Wan explained to them carefully, "Think about it, I've taught out the things that don't make that much money, and the rest are all very profitable. Even if we give them away and exchange them at half price, we're still making quite a bit of money.
If everyone knew that, regardless of whether it was food or something else, as long as they came to us to exchange for something, spending a certain amount would get them a free room in the inn, and that for the same amount of money, they would also receive precious goods of the same value. They wouldn't have to worry about getting up early and returning late, and they could buy most of what they wanted from us, would they be reluctant to come?
The two people were speechless after being asked by Miao Wan. If that was the case, it would be unacceptable for Xining Town to be so unwelcome.
Miao Wan smiled playfully, "Think about it again. When the common people get used to it and the merchants can't receive or sell their goods, what will they do?"
Ruan Jialin's nostrils flared and his eyes shone with unprecedented light. The cake drawn by Miao Wan was like a meteorite from outer space, which opened the door to a new world for him and made his blood boil.
Even Zhang Sanzhuang was so excited that he clenched his fists and was speechless.
From a short-term perspective, it is just a transition from huge profits to high profits. There is still a lot of money to be made, but it will be slow at best.
But once everyone gets used to bringing good things to Xining Town, they can exchange them for good things or silver that they cannot afford on ordinary days. Even people from the Northern Mongolians and the Western Regions will not resist coming to Xining Town to do business. Anyone who doesn't take advantage of a good deal is a fool.
Wouldn’t that mean Xining Town has become a benchmark for business in the eyes of people in the northwest?
If traveling merchants wanted to get or sell goods, there was no other way to go, unless they were willing to lower the price and work hard to wander around the streets and alleys.
But if that's the case, what's the point of them going out of the country to do business?
The two men were so frightened by Miao Wan's ambition that their hearts were pounding, and their faces were flushed with excitement at the prospects she described. It was like an enhanced version of chicken blood.
Zhang Sanzhuang hadn't been to many places, and as a local resident, he was still a little worried. "But when the weather gets cold, things aren't always peaceful outside. Besides, not every household has a horse-drawn carriage or a mule-drawn cart. It's okay in the countryside, but it's not that close to Xining Town from other places."
It takes most of the day to walk from Xiyong County. And it's not just in winter, it's not peaceful outside in all seasons. Not only are there bandits from Western Xia, but there are also many bandits who can't make a living and become bandits.
Miao Wan had discussed all of this with Qiao Ruichen repeatedly, so her pretense was very smooth. "Why do you think I'm bothering with work points and field work in the Gubei Army?"
Except for patrolling the border, the soldiers of the Gubei Army stayed in the barracks all the time. They would occasionally go on training marches. If the weather was too cold, they would hide in the tents and move as little as possible to keep warm and save some food.
That’s such a waste. Your salary can’t be reduced, and you can’t skip meals. I’ve given you enough winter clothes, so get moving, Miao Shiren!
Just treat this trip back and forth as a training exercise. Eat more and exercise more, and you'll be in good health.
Oh, there's something even more impressive. She picked up her tea and drank it slowly. "As for the round trip, we bought so many camels and horses, we have to let them run a little."
In fact, before buying the camel, Miao Wan had never thought about this. She had originally thought of hiring a mule cart from the county town. This would save her money and improve her status at the same time... Ah, this chrysanthemum tea tastes so good.
The two of them were stunned by Miao Wan's calm and composed (pretentious) look.
They felt that they had underestimated their sister/cousin. They always thought she was not very reliable, but they did not expect that she was such a perfect and calculating person. It really made them ashamed.
There is such a huge difference!
Zhang Sanzhuang and Ruan Jialin were both excited. One went to the county town and worked hard to learn how to be an innkeeper, while the other traveled back and forth between the alkali factory and the county town, and occasionally went to Anyong County to count the goods worth purchasing in the northwest.
After more than a month, both of them lost a lot of weight, but their eyes became brighter and brighter, and they became much more reserved than before, but they looked more trustworthy.
At this moment, Zhang Sanzhuang was talking to Miao Wan about the manpower they needed, and he spoke so clearly that everyone couldn't help but listen.
"An inn is generally divided into three parts: carriage and horse storage, overnight stay, and accommodation, but we need far more than that."
"We need guards to prevent theft and disturbances, as well as to prevent conflicts among guests, and to help guests with moving things. We need at least eight people, four people in a team, two in the courtyard and two in the inn, like guards."
"There needs to be someone at the horse and carriage storage area to clean the carriages and feed the livestock. It needs at least six people, three on duty each. In case someone is sick, two people can cover the shift."
"My father-in-law and his apprentice are more than enough to take care of the food in the lobby and the private rooms, but we need a second innkeeper and a bookkeeper up front. The second innkeeper will be in charge of welcoming guests and seeing them off when I'm not around, and the two bookkeepers will have one to keep the accounts and the other to check the accounts. It's easier to make mistakes with them."
"Of course, there are waiters. There are at least two people serving the dishes, three people tending to the customers, and two more people boiling water and fetching it at night. That's at least ten people."
"As for the rooms, there must be six men to clean the rooms, and at least four women to do the laundry. The sewing can be left to Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Li, but getting things from the storeroom must be done by two storekeepers in shifts."
"It will take forty people." Zhang Sanzhuang thought about it and felt that this was enough for now. There wouldn't be too many people at the beginning, so he secretly recruited some extra people to avoid running out of time to train more people.
Miao Wan nodded as she listened. "Third brother, you've only been working in the county town for over a month, and you feel like an old shopkeeper now."
Zhang Sanzhuang was delighted when he heard this. Just as he was about to brag a little, he heard Miao Wan sigh, "If I had known earlier when we were at the Jufu Restaurant, I should have sent my third brother to work in the county town during Xunxiu's absence."
Zhang Sanzhuang: “…” You devil!
Miao Wan thought to herself that this was a really good idea. She could only be considered a technical talent (a foodie), and her greatest experience in business was the pig farm, which did not require much interaction with people.
For businesses that you have never done before, one way is to let your talented people work for free in other successful shops for a period of time.
You don’t need to steal other people’s recipes, you just need to learn the operating philosophy. Isn’t that what many entrepreneurial giants did before starting their own businesses?
Thinking of writing this down in her little notebook later, she went to see Ayuan again.
Ayuan is not as capable as Zhang Sanzhuang, but her job is not to greet guests. She is careful and tight-lipped, so she is suitable to be the director of an alkali factory.
She was thinking carefully when Zhang Sanzhuang was speaking just now. Now she smiled shyly and organized her words.
"What Manager Zhang said makes sense. We also need guards and workers working in two shifts. Someone tried to break into the alkali factory before, but Ah Cheng and his gang shouted at the people at the kiln, and the military officers heard them, so they ran away."
When she mentioned this, Miao Wan suddenly had an idea. Oh, how could she forget about the disabled soldiers? If she invited these soldiers to serve as guards, she wouldn't have to buy servants.
No matter how powerful the young men we bought were, their fighting skills were not very good. Moreover, in order to prevent them from escaping, they were usually not given enough food. It took time for them to recover, so it was too difficult for them to be guards.
She first took out a small notebook, gently wrote down the words with her right hand, which was almost used, and then signaled Ayuan to continue.
"We need six more female workers to make alkali and essential oils, working in two shifts with the six of us. Beet sugar and chili peppers require physical strength and tough skin, so men are better. If Ah Cheng and the others are going to go to the inn, we'll have to add at least the same number of people as we have now."
"Oh, and there has to be someone in the warehouse who's in charge of the accounting." A Yuan said a little embarrassedly, "We can't read, so we just draw lines on the wall to count the quantities. When Manager Ruan is free, he'll come over to take inventory. If there are too many things later, I'm afraid he won't be able to remember them all or will make a mistake."
By this calculation, twenty people are needed.
Sun, who had come over to listen, also raised her hand and interjected, "Although the common people are weaving cloth here now, I am in charge of inspection, storage, and work points all by myself. I am really too busy to handle it all. I need two literate young ladies."
Actually, Gongcao Si can also have clerks to help record work points, but Sun is a married woman, and it is not pleasant to deal with clerks all the time. She would rather bring a few more young ladies to do this job.
Li was in charge of tailoring. All the young ladies in Xining Town were happy to learn this. Several young ladies from tailors' families also followed her. They could learn a few words and slowly teach them, so there was no need for help.
The problem was that Sun himself could not read or write, so he had no way of teaching others.
Miao Wan wrote it all down. When she and Qiao Ruichen took the mule cart to the county town, she first mentioned the matter of the veterans. Qiao Ruichen patted his forehead.
"I didn't think of this. Awan is smart. If disabled soldiers can be taken in, some old stubborn people will be much easier to talk to." His father had specifically reminded him of this, but Qiao Ruicheng was so busy that he forgot about it.
Miao Wan chuckled at the compliment, "You don't live much at General Yunhui's mansion anyway, so why not arrange for four servants for you, two in the county town and two in Xining Town, and let A Dun follow you. If a new general comes and doesn't ask you to be General Yunhui, they all have work to do in Xining Town."
Qiao Ruichen is too busy now, and four errand boys are just enough for him, and adding Adun is almost enough.
He nodded and said, "I will listen to you, my lady. You should also arrange a few people around you."
Miao Wan snorted, "Do you even need to tell me..."
Before she could finish her words, Taotao poked his head out of his father's arms and pointed at himself, "Taotao, I want one too."
"Yes, yes..." Taotao asked for a long time, but he actually didn't understand what his parents were saying.
But a few days ago, when she was playing hide-and-seek with Tiedan and the others, she hid in the firewood pile in the kitchen and listened to the chatter of the old women who were helping to make dumplings outside.
Speaking of which, the garrison commander's wife has only given birth to a daughter, and she shows no signs of being happy again. She is busy with so many things that she has no time to take care of her husband and child.
Some people speculated that if this continued, the garrison commander would inevitably have people currying favor with him while living in the county town, and he might even take a concubine. They all felt worried about Miao Wan.
Taotao was a little smart kid. He could tell that the mothers-in-law meant no harm, but he also knew that the garrison commander's wife was his mother and the garrison commander was his father.
So she held it in for a while, and finally said what she wanted, "I want a concubine! Just like my father!"
Qiao Ruichen:?!
Without waiting for Miao Wan to say anything, Qiao Ruichen immediately lifted the little girl up into the air with her arms folded. "Who told you I want to take a concubine? Qiao Aqian, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"
Taotao was held up, his armpits itchy, and he twisted his body with laughter, "I'm not talking nonsense, my mother-in-law said that Daddy wants to take a concubine, and Taotao wants one too!"
Qiao Ruichen's desire to survive was stronger than ever before. He immediately looked at Miao Wan and cursed and swore, "This is absolutely not what I meant. Madam, I have already told you in front of the saints that I will never take a concubine."
Look at my sincere eyes!
Miao Wan laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. After playing hide-and-seek, Taotao fell asleep in the firewood pile. Aunt Geng and Aunt Zheng were afraid that the child would think too much, so they talked to her and advised her to keep a closer eye on Qiao Ruichen.
Then she has been very good to Qiao Bailao, and there is a saying about widowhood that would tremble even the saints, so Miao Wan is not worried at all.
Anyway, even if Qiao Ruichen dared, even if she couldn't become a widower, she wouldn't mind having another Sister Qiao.
Miao Wan pinched Taotao's little face and taught her earnestly, "Taotao, dear, you are a girl, you can't take a concubine. Girls can only marry or marry into a family."
Taotao only half understood what he heard, and looked at his mother with pouting lips, unhappy. What children hate to hear most is "no" and "can't".
Seeing that she was really unhappy, Miao Wan brought her daughter over and comforted her softly, "But if you are not happy after getting married in the future, you can divorce and keep a few more men to make you happy."
Qiao Ruichen: “!!!”
He pinched Miao Wan's arm, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Don't tell her everything..."
Seeing Miao Wanqing's piercing eyes glancing at him, Qiao Ruichen turned his words around, "Taotao's mouth is not much better than Xiaorui's."
Miao Wan: “…” That makes sense.
Apart from Qiao Ruichen, it was the first time for Miao Wan and her daughter to visit General Yunhui's Mansion. Although it was the residence of a third-rank official, its size was not as big as the garrison headquarters in Xining Town.
Moreover, the original General Yunhui was probably a rough man, and he did not take care of the house as carefully as Qin Mao. Overall, it was in line with the characteristics of the houses in the northwest, rough and spacious.
Qiao Ruichen introduced them to the mother and daughter: "We have doormen and cleaners. Now that the empty houses in the county town have been sealed and the people have been sold off, I asked for two of them to come over."
The doorman was an old man in his fifties, and the sweeper was a man who had one ear deafened by one of Chen Sixu's adopted sons. They both looked honest and worked very efficiently, sweeping the house spotlessly clean.
Taotao was carried around by A-dun. Miao Wan leaned over to him and whispered teasingly, "Do you want to arrange two young ladies to take care of your food and daily life? You always feel that I am not taking good care of you."
Qiao Ruichen held her in his arms and walked inside, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I'm used to cleaning up by myself. Having a servant is enough. I have enough young ladies around me. I can't have more."
Including his younger sister, there are three of them now. It's a whole drama, and he really can't handle more than that.
Miao Wan raised her eyebrows and deliberately covered her belly, "What if I give birth to another little girl?"
Qiao Ruichen was stunned for a moment, his heart tightened, "You..."
"No, no, but I don't have the final say on what to have in the future. It's up to you." Miao Wan glanced outside before chuckling and whispering, "After we're done with this, let's have another one during the Chinese New Year, right?"
She was still thinking about meeting "Miao Wan" again, what if it worked?
Maybe this is a golden finger given to her by God. As long as she can give birth to a few more children, she can see "Miao Wan" several times. In the meantime, she can ask "Miao Wan" to help her collect some weapons and machines. Wouldn't it be easy to kill the Xixia bandits?
It's not very realistic, but I still want to dream about it.
Qiao Ruichen didn't understand what she said, thinking it was about the question of whether a man could do it or not. He looked at her meaningfully, "It seems my past performance didn't satisfy you, my lady? I promise to work hard to help you have a baby."
Miao Wan: "..." We are talking at cross purposes, seriously! Do you believe me?
Taotao went to sleep after dinner. Adun made the bed for him. I don’t know when he learned so many skills, but he is very good at taking care of children.
Taotao asked him to look after him and he stopped asking for his parents. He didn't even think about Awan until he went to bed.
This made Miao Wan want to bring back more of Adun's fellow countrymen, and she never gave up her dream of forming an Adun brand guard team.
When the human traffickers were invited over, Miao Wan was calculating how many people she needed.
Of course Miao Shiren also needs secretaries, at least four, and four of them must be younger and trained in advance, so that makes eight people.
The garrison is so big that there are six departments outside, but they cannot enter easily. There are at least four gatekeepers in the inner house and the back door, who take turns day and night.
The backyard is bigger than General Yunhui's mansion. Someone is needed to do the sweeping, washing, sewing, and taking care of the children's food and drink. Aunt Geng and Aunt Zheng are busy with kitchen work and taking care of the children, and they are so tired that they have dark circles under their eyes.
Nowadays, we still hire maids from outside to do the washing at home, which is why Taotao has learned so many gossips. It’s not a good idea after all. Roughly speaking, it would take at least a dozen maids.
There must also be servants in the mansion to do the shopping and run errands. At least thirty people are needed just for the garrison.
When A Dun went to find the human trafficker, he asked him to bring all the people over. This time he wanted to buy at least a hundred people, so he had to be selective.
This was a big deal for the human traffickers, so they didn't dare to delay at all. They brought their people here in the afternoon. There were about four or five hundred of them, and they stood in a large crowd from the backyard to the second gate.
"Madam, please look here. This is the list of names. What kind of servants do you want? I will have them come to the front and let you choose."
Miao Wan saw that the older people were all lined up at the end. The second door was facing the wind, and they would probably get cold if they were exposed to the wind for too long.
She didn't even look at the brochure because there were so many people that she couldn't see them all. Geng had told her a lot about how to select people.
"First, call over the women who are thirty years old and above, in rows of ten."
The trafficker knew that the men were going to pick out the rough servants first, so he quickly told his men to shout loudly and ask the servants to come forward first.
The inn needs six people to do the laundry, and one more person has to be arranged in the county town. She still feels sorry for her own man, and she is afraid that the boy will ruin the clothes when washing them.
There are at least six laundry maids in the garrison, with so many adults and children. If a new shop needs laundry, Aunt Zheng and Aunt Zhao won't have to work all the time.
There weren't many women in their thirties who were traffickers here, only forty-two in total. Miao Wan simply and roughly eliminated those who looked too sad.
Only half were left, and she picked thirteen people with an honest or efficient look on her face.
The rest were young ladies. The human traffickers even brought over twenty Bodhisattvas. They all had fair complexions and small hands as white as jade. They didn't look like they were working.
"Is there anyone who can read?" Miao Wan asked.
Two Bodhisattvas stood up.
"You can only do chores here. You are not guaranteed a husband, nor are you allowed to be a concubine. If you are willing, then step forward. If you want to seek other opportunities, forget it."
One of them thought for a moment and stood back, leaving only the one with a humble look, who did not even hesitate and stood firmly beside the old women.
Miao Wan likes people who are willing to plan for themselves. She is not afraid of being stuck in a quagmire, but she is afraid of not wanting to climb out of the quagmire and only wanting to sink in this chaos.
She will not judge right or wrong, she can only say that it does not conform to her values, and she does not have the mentality of being a savior.
There were a total of 137 Han ladies left. Miao Wan still had a similar statement. They had to be literate first, and there was no allocation according to the husband's requirements and the concubine's dreams.
This time, the number of people who stood up was greater than Miao Wan had expected, a full forty people. Miao Wan was a little surprised. She was suddenly relieved that there were so many women who could read and write.
The trafficker explained with a flattering smile, "During the raid on the house a number of servants from the rear quarters were found. Most of them had learned to read and write under their masters. They were questioned by the government office and found no problems. It was a coincidence that the Madam wanted them when she wanted them."
Miao Wan suddenly realized that they were from the house of Chen Sixu and his adopted sons, and she became a little wary.
The inn doesn't need young ladies, only the alkali factory needs six, she needs eight to be by her side, Sun needs two, and a few more people can be needed to take care of the children.
She asked A Dun to get paper and pen, and asked forty people to write a sentence each. They said that handwriting reflects a person's character, and maybe she could reveal something.
Miao Wan rolled her eyes and gestured to Adun, asking him to invite Qiao Ruichen over as well. She couldn't read the characters, so she had to ask Qiao Bailao to do it.
It’s a good opportunity to take a look at other things.
After forty people came forward and wrote a sentence each, Qiao Ruichen had just finished dealing with the reports that came to him and came over from the front.
The yard was full of people, and a small number of them were young ladies in their twenties. When a handsome man suddenly appeared, they couldn't help but look at him secretly.
Miao Wan noticed that among the forty people who could write, some had red cheeks, some subconsciously lifted their hair, and some looked at their noses and their hearts without moving at all.
Tsk tsk, she felt that she still didn't have enough momentum. Some of these people probably thought that since she didn't guarantee them a job, they could find their own future.
"Husband, please help me pick out twenty-five pairs of calligraphy." Miao Wan smiled and gestured to Qiao Ruichen, "I want those that you think have clear strokes, neat strokes, and beautiful fonts."
Qiao Ruichen ignored the human trafficker's flattery, listened carefully to Miao Wan's words, and without asking why, he quickly lowered his head and chose the words according to Miao Wan's request.
To be honest, the characters before him were not good enough for someone like him who had been forced by his tutors to practice calligraphy for many years. It was harder to pick out 25 characters from a group of dwarfs than to ask him to read 20 letters.
Miao Wan took the calligraphy he had chosen and refused to let him go. She read them one by one and asked the young lady who wrote them to come forward and claim them.
Qiao Ruichen's eyes were sharp, and the ones he chose were basically those whose performance in the past particularly met Miao Wan's expectations. Only three people thought of Miao Wan's request and couldn't help but approach her to speak. Their voices made Miao Wan feel numb.
Oh, if she really didn't have time to deal with all these thoughts, she would actually be willing to take a few girls with nice voices back with her. No matter what they were thinking, the root of the problem was with the men, and it would take two hands to clap.
The voice is nice, and you can let them sing some little songs every day.
It's a pity that she is too busy, and Taotao is at the age when he has the strongest desire to learn, so it's not easy to give Taotao more opportunities to learn how to act like a spoiled child.
She wanted all the remaining twenty-two people.
Of course, being illiterate doesn't mean you have no chance at all. Miao Wan looked carefully at the remaining one hundred or so young ladies, and picked out twenty with gentle faces, decent complexions, and clean hands, and asked them to stand aside.
What remains are the guards and waiters needed by the Ju Fu Restaurant, and the servants needed in the mansion.
"Sir, you choose. You want eight guards, thirty servants, and ten footmen."
Qiao Ruichen was a little surprised, "So many?" Didn't they say that less than a hundred people were needed on the mule cart?
Counting like this, there are more than a hundred people, not counting the Kunlun slaves.
Miao Wan didn't explain. The county city also needed people. Otherwise, if Ruan Jialin knew that he was left alone, he would cry to death in front of her.
Qiao Ruichen made the selection quickly. The trafficker asked his men to take the people that Miao Wan didn't choose back first, and he went into the front hall to negotiate the price with Miao Wan.
He was originally worried that Qiao Ruichen, who had a somewhat intimidating aura, would back Miao Wan up, but he didn't expect Miao Wan to directly drive Qiao Ruichen back to the study.
The human trafficker breathed a sigh of relief and started to think carefully when he made his offer.
"Let my lady know that the people you have chosen this time are all the best of my talents. You and the general have excellent tastes. However, the price is a little high."
Miao Wan smiled kindly, "You can talk as much as you want."
The trafficker sighed, "The cheapest maids are two taels of silver each. Bodhisattva Man can read, so if you buy her to be a concubine or a maid in a noble mansion, it will cost at least twenty taels of silver. I will only charge you fifteen taels. Other maids who can read will cost at least five taels of silver each. Illiterate maids can be cheaper, three taels of silver each."
As for the boys, they're more expensive. Guards are all good at fighting and kicking, so they're ten taels of silver each. The boys you want to buy as servants are already grown up, and I've spent a lot of food to feed them, so they'll cost at least eight taels of silver each. The same price for the servants."
The trafficker came with an abacus, and after counting for a while, he grinned and said, "Sincerely, the total is 611 taels. Just give me 610 taels."
Miao Wan laughed out of anger. When they were in Xining Town, Uncle Wu and Aunt Zheng only asked for one or two taels of silver, and the most expensive one who could read only asked for five strings of cash. But when they arrived in the county town, this human trafficker dared to ask for double the price.
Miao Wan didn't rush to bargain. She nodded at the twelve Kunlun slaves she had specifically asked to stay, "Where are they?"
The trafficker smiled even brighter, "Madam, you have good taste. This Kunlun slave is a hot commodity. General Xuanwei also wants one. I just bought it and kept it specially for General Xuanwei.
But the master is still at Goddess Peak, so I am keeping them. The price to General Xuanwei is fifteen taels of silver each. If you are willing to add an extra tael of silver, I will give it to you first, and I will trouble you to go look for it again."
Miao Wan let out a long sigh, smiled, and shook her head. "A gentleman doesn't take away what others want. Since he wants it, just give it to him. I'll find another trafficker to choose from. If there's no suitable one in the county town, I'm fine anyway. I can go to Anyong County to choose someone."
The human trafficker felt something was wrong when he heard this. Did this mean that if Kunlun slaves were not going to be bought, no one else would be wanted either?
He panicked and slapped himself in the face, knowing that he had said the wrong thing.
"Look at what I said. I have offended Madam. This was originally prepared for you. You are the wife of General Yunhui, so you are naturally more valuable than General Xuanwei. These people will naturally come after you. Fifteen taels, fifteen taels is all you need."
Miao Wan stopped laughing and sighed, "You still know that I'm a noble? I thought you took me for a fool."
The trafficker was stunned for a moment and cried out, "How dare I..."
"Did you know I bought quite a few people from Master Xiang Liu in Xining Town?" Miao Wan looked at him with a half-smile. "A Dun searched for Master Xiang Liu for a long time but couldn't find him, so he came to you. How dare you open your mouth? How about I send you to the Lion to see who's the more arrogant of you two?"
The human trafficker was frightened to his knees, or at least he acted as if he was frightened, but in fact he was cursing in his heart, "Bah, where did this lion come from in Xiping County? Do you think your uncle Lin was brought up by being scared?"
Although Miao Wan didn't know what the trafficker was thinking, she knew his weak spot. "I will buy people sooner or later. When I open my shop in the county town, I will definitely invite the ladies from the county town to come to my house for a small gathering.
By then, which dental clinic will be the most open-mouthed, and which one will be the most honest... Can you help me think about this, is this a good topic to start the conversation?"
Human trafficker: “…”
He understood that he had walked too much at night and had encountered a ghost, and it was a ghost pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, specifically targeting black people.
He said with a bitter face, "If Madam thinks it's good, then of course it's good. I was mistaken. Since you know Mr. Xiang Liu, this price can't be based on a new customer. Just name a number. As long as it doesn't lose money, I'll consider it a filial honor to Madam."
"No, you still have to treat him as a new customer. This is the first time I'm taking care of your business, so you shouldn't give me something in return, right?" Miao Wan smiled and asked Adun to help the man up.
"One tael for each old woman, eight taels for each Bodhisattva barbarian, three taels for each literate young woman, two taels for each illiterate, and five taels for each young man. You take care of this new customer of mine, and I'll take care of Boss Lin. I want all the Kunlun slaves, eight taels each, for a total of four hundred and thirteen taels. Let's round off the difference and make it four hundred and one, how about that?"
Human trafficker: “…” You are robbing!
"If it works, you can take the money and leave now. I don't need you to help me train the person. If it doesn't work, I won't make it difficult for you. You can just take the person and leave." Miao Wan smiled even brighter than the trafficker just now. "I was just joking with you just now. Don't worry, I won't say anything careless."
Just tell the truth.
The human trafficker came out of General Yunhui's mansion with gritted teeth. When he returned to the trafficking shop, he happened to see Mr. Xiang Liu from next door coming back from outside. He opened his mouth with his eyes and nose not eyes and not nose.
"Oh, Master Xiang Liu knew that our old customer was coming, so he deliberately avoided us without telling anyone. It's your brother who got ripped off."
Mr. Xiang Liu was scolded and was completely confused. "No, what are you talking about? I've been here the whole time. I just went out for a walk. Why are you avoiding your regular customers? Where did these regular customers come from?"
Uncle Lin snorted coldly, "Mrs. Qiao, the wife of General Yunhui from Xining Town, you're not saying you don't know her, are you?"
Master Xiang Liu: “…”
"Of course I don't know her. I'll cut the price in half and ask for a share of the profits. The money I lose is enough for me to eat meat for a year. I didn't know she was coming. If I had known, I would have hidden away long ago." After saying this, Mr. Xiang Liu still felt uneasy.
"No, she buys people all the time, and I don't have much stock here.
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