Chapter 055 Signing a document to be responsible for one's own profits and losses
She was wearing a dark cotton and linen coat, and her hair was casually tied up with a branch, but she didn't look vulgar at all, instead she exuded an otherworldly aura.
She was not tall, but she didn't walk like the other girls, hunched over and hiding her chest. She took long, steady steps, her chest straight, her back stretched, her figure as straight as a pine tree, making anyone dare not underestimate her.
Xu Qingying walked onto the stage and looked at the withered and thin faces below, those pairs of eyes that showed expectation, anxiety, and disdain. Then she retracted her gaze and showed her signature smile on her face, appearing neither distant nor friendly.
She spoke softly and slowly, trying her best to make sure everyone could hear her clearly.
"Everyone, our exile to Qianzhou can be considered a fateful relationship. Since it is fate, we should cherish it and support each other. We couldn't have relied on the care of Zhao Bantou during our exile, and we must thank him for opening the door and giving us this opportunity."
The leader should be thanked first.
When Zhao Bantou heard Xu Qingying say this, he felt extremely satisfied.
"I have a recipe for making something called soap, and I need help. I don't have much capital right now, and I can only pay you after I sell the soap. So, if you work for me, I won't pay you in cash, but only by work points. One work point is one cent, and the minimum daily wage is twenty cents. The rest is paid by piecework. In other words, the minimum daily wage is twenty cents. The more you work, the more you earn. I'm currently planning to recruit about ten people, two men and eight women. I'll give priority to those who are diligent and clean. I won't accept those who are cunning or gossipy... Oh... By the way... Anyone selected will be exempted from shackles. You can discuss it among yourselves. If you are interested, please come to me and sign and seal..."
One stone can cause a thousand ripples.
Not only were everyone stunned, but the Xu family was also stunned. Even Miao did not expect that Xu Qingying did not even discuss it with her family. She just did it on her own. Judging from the situation, she had even convinced Zhao Bantou.
This has really stirred up a hornet's nest.
Not to mention what other people were saying, there was also a huge quarrel within the Xu family.
The eldest aunt kept pulling Miao and muttering, "Oh, what's wrong with this sixth girl? Did she get kicked in the head by a donkey? Why do you need help from outsiders for such a good thing? We have more than 20 people in our family, all strong and able to work. Why is this good thing going to outsiders? Go and talk to that girl--"
Xu Degui also said: "What recipe? Where did she get it? Why didn't she discuss this with us? She is so bold——"
Xu Lezhi fanned the flames, "Look, Sixth Sister always wants to show off. What's she up to this time? She can't even read, and she wants to learn how to run a business?"
The eldest uncle was also anxious. "What does this sixth girl mean? Why is she so ungrateful? She can make money and break the shackles. Our whole family is still breathing. How can she give such a good opportunity to an outsider?!"
Miao was so anxious that her forehead was covered in sweat. She was speechless and said, "That recipe belongs to my father. She remembered it herself. I didn't know about it. She just said she wanted to make money. I didn't expect her to tell Zhao Bantou so quickly... Oh... I don't know, I really don't know..."
Xu Qingying's head was buzzing with the noise. Looking at the chattering crowd below, she raised her hands and clapped three times. Everyone turned to look at her again. "If you have any questions, raise your hands. I can only ask if I draw a question."
Zhao Bantou also swung his whip, "If you make any more noise, I'll whip you!"
As expected, the threat of force is effective. Everyone hesitated and looked at each other. Finally, after one person raised his hand, the others followed suit.
Xu Qingying held her forehead with her hand. These people were like primary school students, and yet they still needed to maintain order.
After glancing around, Xu Qingying randomly picked a few people to answer.
“Only those who work can be freed from their chains, but what about those who don’t work?”
"No. So you can only hope that my soap business does well, because the better it does, the more manpower I'll need, and the more people will be able to unlock the shackles."
"You just said you'd get twenty cents for the work. When will you settle the payment?"
"All my money has been invested in purchasing raw materials. I can only pay you after I sell the soap. For now, I'll pay you on credit using work points."
"What if you don't keep your word and don't pay us?"
Xu Qingying thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I promise everyone, if the soap doesn't sell, I will pay you all within a month. Everyone here can testify to this."
The Xu family was anxious. The eldest aunt slapped her thigh and said, "Oh, oh, how much is this——"
Xu Deyuan also yelled, "You evil creature, who allowed you to go on credit? Now that we haven't even split up the family, you're already owing debts everywhere. Are you going to bury your whole family with you?!"
"Sixth girl, are you crazy? Twenty cents per person... Where can we find so much money? Even if you sell your whole family, you can't raise this much money... It's killing me..."
"Oh, right." Xu Qingying glanced at the Xu family members, her smile growing sweeter. "Since everyone is so opposed to this, then this debt is owed by the third branch of the Xu family, and it won't be counted against the entire Xu family. However, the profits from the soap will also belong to the third branch. I'd also like to ask Mr. Fang and Mrs. Fang to be witnesses."
The eldest aunt was not happy about this and shouted, "We haven't divided the family yet——"
"This recipe belongs to my grandfather. I found the man and I borrowed the money. There's no such thing as enjoying life without working. I'll sign the deed shortly. If you trust me, sign it with me to share the risk. If the product doesn't sell, you'll agree to pay off the debt with me. If not, then all the profits from this recipe will belong to my grandfather, our third branch, and no one will be allowed to ask for them in the future."
Xu Qingying turned her head and looked at Grandpa Fang. "Grandpa Fang, although my parents have no private property, this recipe belongs to my maternal grandfather. The money I used to purchase it was also subsidized by my fiancé's family after I broke off the engagement. Logically speaking, these can't be considered public property, right? If that's the case, then the subsequent profits can't be confiscated, right?"
Mr. Fang stroked his gray beard, his eyes sparkling, "Indeed."
Fang Ruyu listened to the entire thing, shaking her head with a hint of disdain in her eyes. She said disapprovingly, "How dare an unmarried woman compete with her elders for profit? She keeps talking about money. It's really disrespectful. Grandfather, how can you support someone like her?"
Old Master Fang, however, was just there to watch the fun. He smiled disapprovingly and said, "This exile is so boring. I just want to see how the sixth son of the Xu family can turn the world upside down—"
"Grandfather...you really are..." Fang Ruyu bit her teeth lightly and crushed her handkerchief, but she didn't dare to say anything bad about her elders.
But Fang Ningmo admired Xu Qingying in his heart.
This Miss Xu Liu is bold and daring, and she is very bold and aggressive, which is just what she likes!
With the support of Old Master Fang, Xu Qingying turned to the Xu family and said, "I think I have made myself clear enough. Those who are willing to contribute money and take on the risk with me, please come and sign with me. I will not force anyone who does not believe me. From now on, my honor or disgrace will have nothing to do with you. Everyone here is my witness—"
Seeing that Xu Qingying had made up her mind, everyone in the Xu family started to talk and calculate with each other.
Miao came over and said with a worried look on her face, "Ying'er, aren't we going too far? This will hurt your grandmother's feelings..."
"Mom, when it's time to make a decision, it's time to make it. When interests are involved in the future, it's best to speak up in advance so that we can take the initiative."
"But we are all family after all—"
Xu Qingying helped Miao sit down and advised, "Because we're family, we have to be clear. Otherwise, if the soap profits are huge, it will become a mess. There will always be people who have ulterior motives. If that happens, the family will turn against each other over money, which is not worth it. Now that the money is in our hands, we can show filial piety to Grandma when we want, and help whoever we want. Who can say no? Besides, our family will be divided sooner or later."
Miao felt apprehensive at the mere mention of "family division." She had grown up in a large family and was accustomed to its ups and downs. Suddenly being asked to make her own decisions was terrifying. She tugged at Xu Zhenying's sleeve, "Why are we dividing the family? Your brother is the only male in our family. How are we going to make ends meet if we divide the family without anyone to help us?"
"Mom, we only have one son, but my aunt's family has three. Just wait and see, when we get to Qianzhou, the first one to propose a division of the family will definitely be the eldest son."
"Why do we have to split up when everything is fine——"
"The second branch will definitely be divided as well. Second aunt and the concubines must have some pocket money, so raising a few children won't be a problem. Fourth aunt's family is in business, and she herself is quite capable. Honestly, our third branch is the weakest. If I don't plan ahead, we'll be left with nothing when we get to Qianzhou."
Miao was still caught up in the panic of the family division, unable to recover for a long time. Xu Qingying had no choice but to say, "Don't worry, mother. I've already made arrangements with Zhao Bantou to have my father and brother come to help me. Their shackles will be removed shortly. Please talk to them first and tell them to keep a low profile so that others won't find out and gossip."
Sure enough, Miao's attention was diverted, and she immediately smiled when she heard this.
Meanwhile, the Xu family members nearby were still arguing.
"We don't have much money in the first house. Even if we wanted to help the sixth girl, we couldn't..."
"Third brother, this is outrageous! Look at you, what kind of person have you raised? She's so young, yet she's talking about money and brazenly talking about doing business. What does a girl know about business? She's just a girl, what does she know about business? She learned a few things outside, and you think business is easy? If you lose everything, how will you pay them back? I advise you to quickly take that damn recipe and tell Sixth Girl to give up the idea of doing business, so that the whole family won't have to suffer losses!"
"Uncle, what you said is inappropriate. Sixth girl is no longer the same as she was before. She is smart and clever. Maybe she really knows how to do business. Besides, even if she doesn't know how to do business, she still has me, her aunt, to help her. If you don't want to invest, I am willing to -"
"Oh, if you are willing, didn't you say that you four rooms have no money? Now everyone is showing their fox tails, and their feelings are hidden——"
"This business is so big, how can a little girl like her handle it? Twenty cents per person isn't much, but from the tone of the sixth girl, it seems that the stall is quite large. If she hires ten people now, won't she hire dozens more in the future? If you calculate it this way, I estimate the wages will be at least dozens of taels——"
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is incredible, this sixth girl is really crazy——"
"I told you, she even dared to rent a donkey cart for twenty taels of silver... She doesn't even feel bad about spending money..."
"That's absolutely right. Let's not even talk about the wages. Just look at the way Captain Zhao behaves. Sixth Girl must have bribed quite a few people. The escorts don't want these prisoners to be easily dealt with. If she dares to spend twenty taels to rent a donkey cart, she might as well spend a hundred taels to bribe the escorts. She might have already owed a lot of debts—"
Xu Yinxi wanted to help Xu Qingying clarify a few words, but the adults were talking back and forth, leaving her no room to interrupt.
She touched her belt calmly, and where the bulge was, Lian had helped her find a fifty-liang note. This was the only money she had left, and Lian had told her repeatedly that it was the foundation of their future in Qianzhou and could not be used until a critical moment.
She really wants to do business with her sixth sister.
Although Xu Yinxi was a daughter of an official, she learned mundane tasks like housekeeping. There were people to help her manage the family's shops and properties, so she never had to get involved in these worldly matters.
But she was a person who changed her mind very quickly and did not stick to her own identity. Since her exile, she was the one in the Xu family who faced reality the fastest.
What does other people's opinions matter? She has already been exiled. To put it bluntly, she has committed a crime. If she still sticks to the rules and dreams of returning to Bianjing City to live her previous life, that would be really ridiculous.
It is important for a person to know himself. She is unwilling to hold on to unrealistic dreams. She wants to give it a try like Xu Qingying!
But...neither Dad nor Mom would agree.
Xu Yinxi's eyes darkened, and she suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
If only she were a man, she would be more decisive and courageous.
Like other exiled prisoners, the Xu family members were discussing Xu Qingying's business ventures heatedly.
Exiled prisoners doing business is truly unprecedented.
Xu Deyuan said, "Since the Third House caused this trouble, they should naturally be held responsible. We won't pay the Sixth Girl the wages she promised us, nor will we pay the debts she owed us. It's best to write this down in black and white, so that we don't have creditors come to us and implicate our entire family in the future because we haven't divided the family."
Xu Degui glanced at Xu Deyuan in disbelief, only to be glared at by those cold eyes. Xu Degui felt a chill run down his spine. His mind went blank for a moment, and he mumbled, "Second brother, why are you doing this? We're all family—"
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