Chapter 41
Fan Changyu's forehead twitched when he heard this, and he pushed the door open and walked in: "Ning Niang."
"Ah...sister." Chang Ning, who was so arrogant just a moment ago, immediately put on a submissive expression with a guilty conscience. He just glanced around with his grape eyes and did not dare to look at Fan Changyu.
Xie Zheng followed her into the house, with a subtle smile on his face. When he saw the boy in satin, his eyes paused and he asked, "Whose child is he?"
The boy had baby fat on his face and looked no more than five or six years old. He had big, round eyes with slightly drooping corners, like a puppy. His clothes were embroidered with gold thread and his small belt was inlaid with gems.
Standing next to Changning, he looked honest and simple, just like the foolish son of a local tycoon.
After Xie Zheng asked, he puffed out his chest and said, "These houses are all mine."
Fan Changyu remembered that Chef Li had told him that Yu Qianqian had a child, and the child said that these houses all belonged to him. Could he be Yu Qianqian's son?
Just as she had this guess in her mind, she heard the housekeeper's voice outside the courtyard calling out, "Young Master, where have you been hiding?"
The child said outside, "Madame Fang, I'm here."
The housekeeper heard the noise and quickly came over: "Why did the young master hide here? It's hard for me to find him..."
Seeing Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng there, she said apologetically, "My son is still young, and I accidentally broke into your residence. I apologize to you two."
Fan Changyu just said it was nothing, and then asked, "Is this the child of Shopkeeper Yu?"
The housekeeper responded with a smile.
Fan Changyu learned from the housekeeper that the boy's name was Yu Baoer, and everyone in the building called him Baoger.
In Fan Changyu's impression, her family was quite wealthy, and they would always name their children with names that sounded cultured. She was really surprised that Yu Qianqian's child was simply named Baoer.
Thinking of Yu Qianqian's personality, she suddenly felt that everything made sense.
Several people walked towards the lobby of Yixianglou together. On the way, Changning became bolder and quarreled with Yu Baoer from time to time. Xie Zheng walked at the end, looking at Yu Baoer's back with frowned brows and dark eyes.
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When they arrived at the lobby, Yu Qianqian learned that Yu Baoer had hidden herself in the room where Fan Changyu and the others lived, and she was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
When she asked Yu Bao'er about her homework, she saw Chang Ning and asked Fan Changyu casually: "Has Ning Niang started to learn? If not, you can send her to my place. I have hired a teacher for Bao'er. It doesn't matter if I teach one or several children. I will send all the employees in the building who have children to study together. I don't ask her to become the top scholar in the future, but it's good for her to learn a few words."
Fan Changyu's admiration for Yu Qianqian increased a little more. Although she was tempted, it was still a long way from the town to the county seat, and Changning was still young. If Changning came to study with Yu Qianqian, someone would have to pick her up in the morning and evening. Besides, she was not an employee of Yixianglou and had already received a lot of favors from Yu Qianqian. She could not take this favor for granted.
She said, "Thank you for your kindness, shopkeeper. She has only learned a few words from her brother-in-law, so she is not yet enlightened. She is still young and afraid of studying. Let's wait until she is older."
Chang Ning immediately responded: "Ning Niang can write her own name now!"
As she spoke, she gestured in the air with her chopsticks: "Wood, Yao, Wood, Da, Fan."
Yu Qianqian laughed and praised, "Ning Niang is really smart."
She turned her gaze towards Fan Changyu, with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes: "I forgot that you have a talented and good husband at home. Why does Ning Niang need to be taught by others?"
Fan Changyu said those words originally to politely reject Yu Qianqian's kindness, but when he was teased by her, he just smiled and said nothing.
Xie Zheng glanced at her and said nothing.
Yu Qianqian talked to Fan Changyu about other things. "I can rent the shop outside my restaurant to you for a long time. If you are too busy, I can let the staff of the restaurant sell brine for you. The tenants can either pay a year's rent directly or give me two levels of profit from the business. If you are interested, I can give you a lower rent."
Today, Fan Changyu witnessed how prosperous the shop outside Yuxiang Tower is.
She said, "The shopkeeper treats me too well."
This made all the employees in Yixianglou laugh.
The cashier said, "Our shopkeeper is a kind-hearted man. He is very kind to all the employees in the shop. Madam Fan, please don't be so reserved."
Yu Qianqian also said: "I make friends based on first impression. I liked your personality the first time I saw you. Don't be shy with me. Just tell me if you are willing to stay in my Yixianglou."
Fan Changyu said, "I'm willing. The rent is not bad, but I really can't look after the shop by myself. If I borrow the shopkeeper's manpower, I will pay him another salary."
Yu Qianqian smiled and asked the staff in the building: "You all heard it. If you are willing to earn more wages, you can stand up now and let Boss Fan recognize you."
When Fan Changyu heard the title "Boss Fan", he felt embarrassed but also found it strange and novel.
Unlike the people in the town who directly called her Changyu, it seemed that she had another identity, and this identity was like a small boat, although it was still small at the moment, it could carry her to farther places.
The employees in the building talked among themselves for a while, and soon a woman who looked quite capable said, "I'd like to sell brine in the shop in front."
Fan Changyu had an impression of this woman. It seemed that she was the one who specialized in receiving female guests. She was very organized and sweet-spoken.
Yu Qianqian said to her, "This girl is called Fuling. When she was a child, she was sold to be a maid. After she saved money to redeem herself, she happened to see that my building was recruiting workers, so she came to work here. She is a capable person. What do you think?"
Fan Changyu nodded: "It's her."
Fuling was a man who knew how to handle things, and immediately said obediently, "Thank you, shopkeeper. I hope Mr. Fan will take good care of me in the future."
Yu Qianqian pointed at her and smiled at Fan Changyu: "Look at how good you are at talking nonsense."
Fan Changyu couldn't help laughing.
After the meal, Fan Changyu said goodbye to Yu Qianqian. She had rented the best shop in the county town, and would have to supply brine for a long time. She had to go back and think about whether to hire a car or buy an ox cart directly. As for the bacon from the county school, she would also have to deliver it to the fat shopkeeper when she returned in the afternoon.
Yu Baoer followed her mother to send Fan Changyu and his party to the door of the restaurant. The adults spoke their own words, and they, the children, also had their own words to say.
Yu Baoer said to Changning, "Next time you come, I'll take you to see my study. There are so many books in it, as well as clay figurines, wood carvings, and coral ornaments. They are so beautiful!"
Chang Ning tightly grasped the corner of Fan Changyu's clothes, pursed his lips, and thought hard. Finally, he came up with something to show off: "Come to my house, I will take you to see my elder sister's pig-killing knives. There are more than a dozen knives of different sizes! If you are lucky, I can even take you to see my elder sister killing a pig! Have you ever seen a pig being killed?"
Yu Baoer shook her head, with envy in her eyes.
Chang Ning gestured with both hands: "My sister can knock a pig unconscious with just one slap!"
Fan Changyu: “…”
Facing the shocked looks from Yu Qianqian and her son, she quickly coughed and said, "Ning Niang, I'm leaving."
Changning then followed her out in small steps, but with his head held high and his chest puffed out, like a rooster that had won a battle.
Although Fan Changyu tried hard to smother his face, his ears turned red, as if he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Xie Zheng glanced at the two sisters from the corner of his eye, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
When the three of them were riding on a ox cart back to the town, Fan Changyu couldn't help but express his admiration for Yu Qianqian's kindness.
Xie Zheng just sneered.
Fan Changyu frowned and asked, "Did I say anything wrong?"
Xie Zheng raised his eyes calmly: "You have been sold out, and all you can do is rush to count money for others."
Fan Changyu was unhappy and said, "Manager Yu is a very good person. Why do you want to slander him?"
Xie Zheng said mercilessly: "Then don't forget that she is a businessman. You did business with her and didn't get much benefit from her. Now you are just being grateful to her."
His eyes turned colder. "I'm afraid you will never be able to learn her method of winning people's hearts and minds in your lifetime."
Fan Changyu liked Yu Qianqian very much. Hearing Xie Zheng talk about her like this, he was not very happy: "Why do you always think the worst of people? Shopkeeper Yu has really helped me a lot..."
Xie Zheng interrupted her: "What did she help you with?"
Fan Changyu met his sharp gaze and was speechless for a moment, then said: "I just started selling salted meat. If it weren't for the opportunity given by Shopkeeper Yu, I wouldn't have been able to do business with Yixianglou so quickly."
Xie Zheng asked her, "You are not the only one selling salted meat in the whole Qingping County. Why did she choose you?"
Fan Changyu said: "It was Master Li who recommended me..."
Xie Zheng looked at her without saying anything, and her voice gradually became quieter.
After a moment of silence, Xie Zhengcai said, "It's true that the chef recommended you, but if the food you make is not good enough, people won't choose you. Merchants will not choose inferior products because of personal relationships. They will only give a favor to people of the same quality."
Fan Changyu clenched his clasped hands even tighter and continued, "Shopkeeper Yu originally didn't want the money for the salted meat today, but she accepted it only after I insisted."
Xie Zheng asked her, "How much did you earn? Maybe it's even less than what she earned from her table."
Fan Changyu pursed his lips and said, "It's not about the amount of money. It's a token of their love."
Xie Zheng frowned and said, "I'm not asking you to take this favor for granted. I'm just telling you that the benefit she gave you is not equal to your gratitude to her. You can remember her kindness, but there's no need to lower yourself just because you've received this benefit. Besides, today, you and she are both getting what you need, and she supports you in order to suppress Wang Ji."
Fan Changyu remained silent.
Xie Zheng knew that she was kindhearted, and if others treated her well, she would always want to return the favor.
He paused for a few seconds and said, "I am not slandering the shopkeeper by telling you this. Now that you can see everything clearly, you may become her best friend in the future. If you only remember to be grateful and show her kindness, then there will be no difference between you and the honest employees under her."
No one has ever taught Fan Changyu these things since she was a child.
After her parents passed away, except for Aunt Zhao's family who helped her, she took care of everything else by herself. Suddenly being given so much kindness by Yu Qianqian, she felt like a person who was about to freeze to death in the harsh winter had been warmed, and she instinctively moved closer to the warmth.
After a long while, she finally said, "Thank you."
The voice is a little muffled, but not dull.
She knows that she still has a long way to go and a lot to learn, and it is not too late to understand some things that she did not understand before.
When she looked at Xie Zheng again, her eyes were filled with a desire for knowledge: "Yan Zheng, please teach me more. I want to be as amazing as Manager Yu in the future."
Xie Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Forget about your business. I told you before that her most commendable quality is her ability to employ people."
Fan Changyu pretended to listen attentively.
Xie Zheng didn't want to say more, but he still said: "Just like she lent you the waitress in the building today, you must have thought of her kindness in your heart. But she just gave you what you needed when you needed it. Put aside all human feelings, you don't owe her anything. You paid rent for renting her shop and paid wages for borrowing her waitress. On the contrary, using her own waitress to manage the shop you rented is a hundred benefits for her and no harm."
His eyes darkened: "She just wants to know your account, it's just a simple question."
Fan Changyu said: "I believe that Manager Yu is not that kind of person."
The shock in her heart made her fingertips numb. She used to think that Yu Qianqian was just a good person, but now she felt that besides being kind, Yu Qianqian was also very smart.
In fact, she admired Yu Qianqian more for who she was, and suddenly understood why Yu Qianqian, a weak woman, could open two such large restaurants on her own in just a few years.
Xie Zheng said venomously: "This is just her trick. You may never be able to learn the tricks she uses to deal with merchants and officials' families in your lifetime."
Although Fan Changyu was scolded, he didn't bother with him because he had taught him so many things. Instead, he said, "Yan Zheng, please teach me how to read."
Xie Zheng looked at the man in front of him who was holding his chin with his hands and sighing. He looked like a young lion who was frustrated at his first try. He looked a little pitiful, but he was stubborn in his bones.
He replied calmly, "Okay," just as he had promised her before.
When the ox cart arrived at the town, Xie Zheng passed by a bookstore and bought five books in addition to paper and ink.
Fan Changyu was a little dumbfounded when he saw it: "Buying so much?"
Xie Zheng put four thick books in her hands and handed a thin one to Changning: "Give the Three Character Classic to your sister, and the Four Books are yours."
Fan Changyu flipped through the books and found that he had said before that he would not teach her "The Analects" and "The University", but now he still bought these two books. She couldn't help but grin. It turned out that this man was just a sharp-tongued person most of the time.
She held the book in her hands and said happily, "I will start studying hard tonight!"
Changning, who was holding the "Three Character Classic" with a wrinkled face and wanted to say that he didn't want to study, swallowed his words back in grievance when he saw this.
When they arrived at the door, Fan Changyu unlocked the door. Changning wanted to be the first one to enter. After pushing open the gate, she began to cheer: "Fian Fian! Fian Fian is back!"
After flying all day, the Saker Falcon returned to the courtyard at nightfall, but instead of waiting for a bowl of minced meat as a reward, there was a cold big lock on the door.
In the broken bamboo basket, it saw the three people who finally decided to come back, and it jumped out of the basket with a few fluttering fine feathers on its head.
Chang Ning rushed over to save Falcon's neck, her face flushed with excitement: "Brother-in-law didn't lie to Ning Niang, Falcon is really back!"
Fan Changyu was also quite surprised, as she originally thought that Tian Yan was just coaxing a child.
She looked at Xie Zheng and asked, "Are you so good at taming birds?"
Xie Zheng calmly replied, "Is it possible that you fed it too well?"
Fan Changyu's eyes widened: "... Can it still be like this?"
She turned to look at Haidongqing. Haidongqing was being hugged by Changning, but his small eyes were staring at Fan Changyu, as if asking when dinner would be served.
Fan Changyu walked towards the main house in disbelief. The Saker Falcon pecked at the ground with its beak, followed leisurely, and then... stood in front of the big bowl of minced meat for it inside the house.
Fan Changyu: “…”
Xie Zheng looked at this scene, and when he turned sideways, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Fan Changyu resigned himself to his fate and went to the kitchen to find a piece of meat. He chopped it up, put it in a bowl and handed it to Hai Dongqing. Then he went to the car dealership in the town to rent a car and delivered the bacon ordered by the fat shopkeeper to him.
The fat shopkeeper was well-informed. When he learned that Fan Changyu had rented a shop in Yixianglou to sell brined pork, he asked with a smile, "This brisket also belongs to Madam Fan. I plan to sell this brisket under the name of Fan's. What do you think, Madam Fan?"
After listening to Xie Zheng's explanation, Fan Changyu's mind became clearer. He said, "Okay, but the price you sell it for is higher than the original price. You can't show me a fake bill."
The fat shopkeeper quickly assured that he would not.
Fan Changyu and the fat shopkeeper shared the profits. As long as the fat shopkeeper didn't sell at a low price, she wouldn't lose anything, so she didn't say anything more.
On the way back, they met a group of soldiers. Fan Changyu recognized that the leader was the general who had helped her family survive an assassination attempt.
He was riding on a tall horse, and the soldiers below were escorting a dozen tied-up people. Judging from their clothes, those tied-up people were also soldiers, but their uniforms were obviously different from those of this group of people.
Fan Changyu looked carefully and found that they were the officers and soldiers who went to collect grain that he and Yan Zheng saw at noon.
Many people in the fields on both sides of the official road saw this scene and cheered and applauded: "We have a great government in Jizhou!"
"Mr. He is a good official who can truly see the sufferings of us!"
Fan Changyu thought of what Yan Zheng said at noon, and then looked at these grain-collecting officers and soldiers who were tied up and taken away, and he couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
After arriving home, she told Xie Zheng about what she had seen on the road. Xie Zheng's eyes paused for a moment, and then he pointed to the next page of the book with his long finger: "Continue to review your studies. I will test you on the chapter "Learning" at this time tomorrow night."
Fan Changyu shrank his neck and went to read with a frown on his face like Changning.
She really wanted to study hard, but she felt overwhelmed by all the complicated stuff, so she had to force herself to read it.
The window was not closed, and cold wind blew in from time to time, freezing people's necks. This prevented Fan Changyu and her sister from falling into a deep sleep while watching the scene.
Xie Zheng seemed unaware of the cold as he walked to the window, holding his scrolled hands behind his back, and staring into the distance at the night sky. His long hair and clothes fluttered in the wind, and his eyes were dark.
He Jingyuan openly kidnapped Wei Xuan's people, which meant he had no intention of saving Wei Xuan's face.
Given Wei Xuan's vengeful nature, he would have gone mad and gone to find He Jingyuan to fight with him before Wei Yan's transfer order came down.
His people can also take action.
The author has something to say:
Master Xie: I teach you how to employ people, how to deal with the world, and I also teach you knowledge. Do you want to sign up?
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