Hearing him say this, Qin San Niang was speechless.
Thinking that she had just attended the birthday banquet of the county magistrate's daughter, the price of a single cup of wine might be enough for a family here to eat for seven or eight days, not to mention those golden goblets and jade dew, those brocades and jewelry, which were astronomically expensive!
Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the streets, the bones of those frozen to death lie—this is no different!
Guo Er seemed to hear the other party sigh, and he was quite surprised. This female demon could actually sigh in agreement? Had he lost his mind or gone deaf?
"Even so, that's no reason for you to give up on yourselves, don't you think?" Qin San Niang had an idea. Originally, she just planned to spend her money here, but now she had a new idea.
"If I were to show you a broad and promising road, would you be willing? If you follow me, I can't guarantee you'll become outstanding individuals, but you'll certainly have enough to eat every day."
Besides, you wouldn't want your parents and siblings to worry, would you? What you're doing now carries considerable risk. Wouldn't it be better to have a proper job with a salary? Furthermore, with your looks and abilities, what girl would want to marry you? And even if they did, what about their parents? Would they be willing?
I see you two are getting on in years; it's time to get married. If you keep drifting along like this, it's fine when you're young, but what will you do when you get older? Will you still be doing this kind of thing? You won't be able to do it anymore!
Qin San Niang's words were all reasonable and hard to refute.
These men were all over twenty years old, long past the age of marriage, but because of their poverty and lack of proper livelihood, no family was willing to marry their daughters to them! Even if they had girls they liked, they could only watch from afar and dared not let anyone know.
“Madam, what you say makes sense, but I don’t know what we can do? We’re not very skilled. If you asked us to guard the house, that would be quite suitable!” Guo Er stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said with a rare serious expression.
He thought to himself that his brothers didn't have any special skills, and if they messed up someone else's business, it would be embarrassing if they couldn't continue working. It was better to make things clear now.
“I know, but you’re all young. What can’t you learn? I plan to build a charity here to take in homeless children, women, the elderly, or the disabled. Charities need management. What can you do about it?”
Who says homeless people are all good people? There are always exceptions. That's why Qin San Niang set the rule: only women and children, the elderly over 60, and the disabled are allowed in. Others are generally excluded. Those strong young men wouldn't starve even if they went to work; if they ask for shelter, it's definitely because they're lazy. In short, even a charitable organization needs a few capable people to manage it, and Guo Er is perfectly suited for this task!
"That's wonderful! We brothers can do this job, and we certainly won't let you down, Madam! But the charity will probably cost a lot of money." They also need to buy grain and houses, which are not things that can be done overnight, but rather over many years. Although someone like Qin San Niang looks respectable, she is not a wealthy idler who wears gold and silver.
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re afraid that if I run out of money, this charity will have to close down, and then you’ll really have nothing to do.”
However, this charity is not the same as that charity. People who enter our charity, even children, need to complete cleaning tasks. For the older ones, we will find someone to teach them a skill, whether it is embroidery, sewing, or cooking. The older ones can start learning right away. When I open a shop later, they can also go to the shop to help out.
In short, our charity should make the best use of everyone's talents. If they learn skills, they can set up their own shops and go out to make a living. That would be fulfilling our mission. Besides, we won't lose money. Don't you think so?" Qin San Niang looked at Guo Er and said calmly and patiently, which made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.
Qin San Niang herself was not a rich person; she had only occasionally received a sum of money and didn't know how to spend it.
If a charitable institution could be established, it would not only solve the people's basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, but also provide a pool of capable individuals for her. Everyone could be utilized to do what they could. The capable ones could be taken in for her own use, as she would need manpower to open a shop or engage in other businesses in the future.
Just consider the land she buys later; won't she still need to hire people to do the work in the fields? And won't she need people to continue making earmuffs, gloves, scarves, and hats in the winter? All of this needs to be prepared in advance.
The silver stolen from Chen Yushan amounted to a staggering three thousand taels, enough to sustain the charity for two or three years without any problem. By then, these people should be able to earn money, and the expense problem will be solved.
Upon hearing her words, Guo Er felt as if a golden light had suddenly shone down upon him. If he were more educated, he would have called it a moment of enlightenment. Unfortunately, he was illiterate and could not express such a profound idea.
"I understand, Madam! We would do anything to gain your trust! But, I wonder if you have found a suitable place yet?"
"Um, not yet. I just came here today to do some sightseeing, but I didn't expect to run into you all. It's really a case of being lucky to be here. I'm not very familiar with Yangshu Street, so why don't you show me around, or recommend a suitable place?"
Guo Er and his friends began to ponder, their hearts pounding with excitement. Gou Dan was especially overjoyed, practically jumping for joy! They even secretly thought that it was totally worth it for Guo Laoda to get beaten up! Look, he'd even given them decent work! If his mother knew, wouldn't she be overjoyed?! No, she'd be laughing and crying at the same time, practically going crazy!
Then a rather thin young man nearby said, "Madam, Boss, I know a place, I wonder if it would work?"
"You tell me, Ergen! You always have the most tricks up your sleeve!" Gou Dan urged. This guy was ruthless, but he was very quick-witted, and Gou Dan was definitely no match for him.
"Oh? Then tell me." Qin San Niang chimed in, her smug look at Gou Dan'er was just too obvious, so she could only agree, though she was also eager to know.
“In our Yangshu Street, near where Boss Guo’s house used to be, there was a big mansion there, right? It’s been abandoned for who knows how many years, and it’s probably under the jurisdiction of the government now. It’s been deserted for so many years, so it’s a bit desolate, but if we clean it up, maybe people can still live there. And since it’s an old mansion, no one has bought it, so the price shouldn’t be too high.”
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