After that topic ended, the two began discussing matters related to the branch store.
Zhou Yin is a very reliable partner with a keen eye, which Cheng Ruyi greatly admires. However, because the Zhou family doesn't have many resources in the prefectural city, they haven't been able to find a suitable location to open a branch. Zhou Yin wasn't satisfied with any of the options, so he asked her to come and take a look in person.
“I think the shop on Shiguang Street is more suitable. Although it is a bit small, the layout is similar to that of shops in our county town, so it is easier to renovate. It shouldn’t be too difficult to open for business before the Mid-Autumn Festival.”
Cheng Ruyi looked at a total of six houses yesterday afternoon and this morning, each with its own problems. After looking at them, only this one was somewhat pleasing to the eye.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yin shook his head, "That house is too small, not even enough space to build a garden. It doesn't suit the aesthetics of the high-ranking officials and nobles in the prefecture, and they won't be interested."
"Then let's go to the shop on Yuanjing Street. It's the biggest of all the houses there, and there's a large wasteland in the backyard that can be used to build a garden."
"That won't work either. Not only is it too remote, but the surrounding area is full of all sorts of people. It's neither safe nor elegant, and it doesn't match the style of our shop at all!"
Cheng Ruyi: "...You chose all these places, and now you've personally rejected them all, so what do you mean?"
Zhou Yin pondered for a moment, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes. After a long while, he stood up and said in a calm tone, "Come with me."
Oh? It seems Zhou Yantang already had a place in mind. Why didn't he say so earlier? She wouldn't have objected anyway, so why go through all this trouble?
Although Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but complain in her heart, she still obediently followed the other person out of the private room.
Zhou Yin picked up Huang Youcai and a servant boy at the entrance of Zhiwei Restaurant. The group walked for less than a quarter of an hour before arriving at a charity hall.
“Guangshantang…?” Ruyi knew that in this era, a charitable institution was essentially a privately-run orphanage. The Zhou family also had one in Huaishan County. She looked at Zhou Yin, who was standing silently in front of the charitable institution, and wondered if the place he was interested in was this very charitable institution, but his family needed to be mindful of their reputation and couldn't bring themselves to ask, so they sent her to inquire.
Just as Ruyi was hesitating whether to rush in and ask, the door of Guangshantang was suddenly opened from the inside, and the person standing behind the door was the young servant whom Ruyi had seen twice that day.
"Master, why are you so late? Aunt Lu has been waiting for you inside for a long time!" The young servant's attitude towards Zhou Yin was strange. He was just an ordinary servant, but his tone was somewhat resentful and blaming.
What's even stranger is that Zhou Yin wasn't angry after hearing this. Instead, he smiled, picked up his fan, and tapped the young servant on the head, saying with a touch of indulgence, "You're so disrespectful! Alright, go back to work now."
The young servant scratched his head, muttered "I understand" in a low voice, and ran away.
Ruyi glanced at the direction the other person was running in; it seemed to be the way they had come from. Were they heading back to Zhiwei Restaurant? Then why was he here? Judging from what he just said, it seemed that Guangshantang had a close relationship with the Zhou family.
After Cheng Ruyi followed the group through the spacious and clean front yard, she found that Guangshantang was much larger than she had imagined, and its location was also quite ideal. Like Zhiwei Restaurant, it was barely on the edge of the city center. The key point was that the place was built very quietly and elegantly, and if it were used as a branch, it wouldn't even need to be modified too much.
After passing through several gardens and corridors, the group finally entered a relatively secluded and quiet courtyard. At this moment, a kind-faced but somewhat thin woman of about forty years old was sitting in the main room of the courtyard.
"Aunt Lu, I heard you haven't been taking your medicine on time again. A few days ago, your old ailment flared up and you almost fainted. Is that true?" Zhou Yin asked with deep concern and reproach as soon as he stepped in, his tone as natural as if he were the elder.
When Lu Mei saw Cheng Ruyi inside the house, she was pleased and excited that the boy would bring a woman to visit her. So, she didn't pay attention to Zhou Yin's tone and attitude. "I'm just a little stuffy, probably from the hot weather lately. It's nothing, nothing at all."
She interrupted Zhou Yin, who was about to continue lecturing, and walked straight to Ruyi, asking with some excitement, "And who is this young lady?"
Zhou Yin was perfectly aware of Lu Mei's thoughts at that moment. He introduced her calmly and indifferently, "This is Madam Cheng. She has some business dealings with our family. She's come here with me to discuss business."
"We're here to discuss business?" Lu Mei was somewhat disappointed. She had originally thought that she was bringing this girl here to show her around, but what kind of business required being discussed in a charity hall?
After Zhou Yin helped Lu Mei, whose face was somewhat pale, to sit down, he slowly explained the purpose of his visit that day.
From their conversation, Cheng Ruyi roughly understood the relationship between Guangshantang and the Zhou family.
It turns out that the old master of the Zhou family had a younger sister named Zhou Jin. Because she was more than ten years younger than the old master, she was closer to her nephew Zhou Yin, who was about the same age. Zhou Yin also treated this aunt as an older sister.
Decades ago, Zhou Jin married into the Fan family in Fucheng in a grand ceremony. After the marriage, she continued the habits of the Zhou family and opened a charity hall here, intending to build good relationships and do good deeds for the Zhou family. That's how Guangshantang came about.
However, Zhou Jin herself was not good at business management, so she could only ask her husband's family to find a steward to maintain the daily operation of Guangshantang.
Guangshantang would distribute porridge and provide free medical consultations on the first and fifteenth of each lunar month. On other days, it would also take in orphans, widows, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled for lodging. Over the years, its reputation grew better and better.
However, one day, rumors suddenly spread that Zhou Jin had an illicit relationship with the steward of Guangshantang, and that Guangshantang was just a place they used to hide their secret rendezvous.
Although the housekeeper immediately resigned and left, the unreliable rumors not only did not dissipate, but instead spread more and more wildly and became increasingly outrageous.
When the Fan family found out, instead of protecting Zhou Jin, they sent people to search Guangshantang in a grand manner. They then claimed to have found some evidence and divorced her for committing adultery, one of the seven offenses!
Just then, the old master of the Zhou family fell seriously ill, and Zhou Yin was studying at the academy to prepare for the imperial examination. By the time the two received the news, Zhou Jin had already been kicked out of the house after her husband's family swallowed up all her dowry and assets. Even the servants she brought from the Zhou family were detained and not allowed to inform others.
Lu Mei was Zhou Jin's personal maid before she got married, and naturally she came to live in the city with her. The two grew up together and had a deep bond, like sisters. When Zhou Jin was penniless and wandering the streets, it was Lu Mei who risked her life to escape from the Fan family and has been taking care of and protecting her ever since.
Unfortunately, this incident was too much of a blow to Zhou Jin. Ever since being divorced, she has been in a daze and spends her days in tears.
On the way back to the county town after being found by Zhou Yin, Zhou Jin took advantage of everyone's inattention and suddenly jumped into the icy Jinshui River, her small body instantly submerged in the surging water...
"From then on, the master never went near the Jinshui River again. Every time he went to the prefectural city, he preferred to drive."
As Huang Youcai led Cheng Ruyi on a tour of the garden, he told her everything that had happened back then.
After hearing the whole story, Ruyi searched through the original owner's memories of Zhou Jin and found that the only impression was that the Zhou family had held a very grand funeral. The funeral procession was so long that it could not be seen at all. They also invited monks from Dabeisi Temple to chant sutras for a long time. At that time, people in the city could hear the sound of monks chanting sutras and smell the strong incense for a whole month. Everyone said that the Zhou family really doted on their daughter. The original owner was very envious and shocked by this.
"And then what? Did you just let the Fan family off the hook like that? Besides, there's something fishy about this whole thing; there must be a trap involved!"
The whole thing is too coincidental, and the Fan family's behavior is particularly strange. If they really suspected that they had been cuckolded, shouldn't they have handled it discreetly to protect their reputation? Moreover, the timing of their divorce was also very subtle, which is really too suspicious.
When Huang Youcai heard Cheng Ruyi ask this question, he became even more excited. "Of course we didn't let it go! It's just that the boss was still young at the time and couldn't get involved in many things. It was because of this that the boss chose to leave Lingshan Academy early to officially take over the Zhou family."
As they talked, the two walked to a pavilion in the backyard and sat down.
"After the master took over, he didn't make a move for several years, so the Fan family gradually lowered their guard. Now they finally slipped up and gave the master an opportunity!" Huang Youcai said, and whether he was too excited or really thirsty, he gulped down several cups of water before continuing, "As expected! The Fan family was the mastermind behind the whole thing. Although the Fan family had fallen on hard times, they were still ambitious. They wanted to rely on the Zhou family's financial support to make a comeback, but the old master was unwilling to participate and only wanted to stay in his place. When the Fan family saw that they couldn't reach an agreement, they resorted to this tactic, swallowing up a huge dowry and making the Zhou family lose face."
“It would be difficult for the Fan family to carry out this task on their own, right? They must have other helpers... and these helpers are probably in Huaishan County?” Cheng Ruyi speculated.
"That's right! They found the Zhou family's rival in the county town and planned to join forces to deal a heavy blow to the Zhou family. They not only poisoned the old master, but also tried to attack the master. Fortunately, the master stayed at the academy and they couldn't find an opportunity!"
Ruyi understood what was going on. She nodded and said, "Well, the Fan family probably initially planned to cut off the Zhou family's lineage and then take Zhou Jin hostage to control the Zhou family's wealth and power. However, they failed and had no choice but to turn their attention to Zhou Jin. In any case, they've at least smeared you."
"Wow, Madam Cheng! You guessed right, that's exactly it!" If it weren't for the heavy topic, Huang Youcai would have almost clapped and cheered. He never expected that Madam Cheng was so smart, almost as smart as their boss.
What followed was that Zhou Yin found crucial evidence and spent a lot of money to smooth things over, eventually avenging Zhou Jin. The Fan family was exiled for murder for money, and their accomplices were also punished with beatings and their property confiscated. These people never appeared in Huaishan County again.
In fact, the most innocent person in this matter is Zhou Jin. She did nothing wrong, yet she suffered such harm. Women in ancient times truly lived on thin ice. Even a girl from a wealthy family like the Zhou family could be pushed into an abyss of no return because of a baseless rumor.
Ruyi couldn't help but shudder at the thought. No wonder Zhou Yin was so concerned about the separation of men and women, no wonder he repeatedly reminded her to be careful of rumors and to bring a maidservant... Sigh...
The plan to convert Guangshantang into a branch ultimately fell through.
Firstly, Cheng Ruyi objected, and secondly, Zhou Yin himself was reluctant. In the end, he decided that it would be fine to make the branch in the prefectural city smaller and take the route of small but exquisite. Perhaps this would play a role in making things more valuable through scarcity!
This way, you can immediately find a suitable shop among the several options.
Once the decision was made, Ruyi dared not delay any longer and immediately rushed to the dock to meet Cheng Yan. By the time they returned to Huaishan County, it was already completely dark.
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