Ye Wenxue's thoughts were very simple.
She changed her mind. She didn't want to simply act as a go-between for the bandits and the Xu family; she wanted to take this opportunity to make some money.
Then nothing can happen to the Xu family, especially Old Master Xu.
The bamboo house is close to both the valley and the village, making it convenient to look after both sides. It also grows a lot of vegetables, which can improve the Xu family's meals.
It's not a big deal if half of the bamboo house is burned down. There are so many people in the village; they can call a dozen or so people and rebuild it in a few days.
The only problem is that the bamboo house belongs to Su, not Ye Wenxue.
However, it's not a big problem; at worst, we can compensate Su Jiu for some rent later.
Right now, Ye Wenxue's mind is completely focused on making money, and no one can stop her!
Xu Lin fell into deep thought after hearing her describe the location of the bamboo house.
Ye Wenxue thought he was unwilling to move, so she thought for a moment and tentatively said, "If you don't want to go, then let the old man, the old lady and Lan Qing move over."
Xu Lin: "......"
Everyone else in the family moved there, but he's blind and can't even cook.
Ye Wenxue and the bald man went to see Grandpa Xu together.
Grandpa Xu turned his head away and remained silent.
He built this thatched hut in the valley bit by bit when he was young, and he has a deep affection for it, so he finds it hard to part with it.
But he also understood that compared to truly deep mountains and forests, this place was not very safe.
Considering his son's limited mobility, Old Master Xu sighed and said, "Lin'er, you decide."
Xu Lin remained silent for a while, took a deep breath, and nodded: "Go. But there are a lot of broken belongings, so it will take a few days to move everything over."
The bald man waved his hand and said, "No need, I'll call my brothers over, and we can move it for you within a day."
Ye Wenxue slapped the bald man on the head, almost knocking him under the table: "What are you saying? Be more civilized."
She looked at Xu Lin and said, "The bamboo house needs to be rebuilt, which will take four or five days. You should be ready to move at any time. The old man should rest and recover from his injuries these few days. Once we move there, he will have to work overtime."
Grandpa Xu had no objections and closed his eyes to rest.
Xu Lin took out another piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the bald man: "This is the method for building charcoal kilns. Tell your brothers to build more charcoal kilns as soon as possible. Time waits for no one."
He is blind, but his perception of temperature is more acute than that of ordinary people.
The temperature did not drop sharply after the rain, but it got cooler day by day.
It's likely to snow in about half a month.
Although charcoal sells better when it snows, every extra bit of money counts.
The bald man rubbed his head with one hand and took the paper with the other, glancing at it a few times: "...Alright, I'll go back to the mountain stronghold and find someone who can read to urge the brothers to build the charcoal kiln as soon as possible. We'll just wait for the old man to recover and give us some pointers on how to burn charcoal."
Xu Lin was neither surprised nor contemptuous of the bald man's illiteracy, but rather treated it with a normal attitude: "Then you should find a few more brothers who can read, and take turns going down the mountain to sell charcoal. Each time, there should be someone who can read and keep accounts."
Baldy's greatest strength is his strong execution ability: "You're in charge. I'll first send someone down the mountain to check the price of charcoal, and then we need to set a reasonable price."
Ye Wenxue interjected, "The price can't be too high or too low. If it's too high, no one will buy it. If it's too low, it will cut off the livelihood of other people who make a living by burning charcoal."
“I’ll decide.” Xu Lin agreed with Ye Wenxue’s words and even felt that her approach was very humane. “Although I haven’t delved deeply into arithmetic, I have learned a little bit and can help out.”
The three quickly finalized their idea of selling charcoal together.
The Xu family contributed charcoal-making technology and received 40% of the profits; the bandit stronghold handled all miscellaneous matters and provided manpower to sell charcoal, also receiving 40%; Ye Wenxue provided ideas and used force to intimidate, receiving 20% of the profits.
Baldy rubbed his hands together, glancing at Ye Wenxue from time to time. He wanted to give her another 10% of the profit, but he was afraid that Xu Lin would feel uncomfortable if he heard it.
Xu Lin and his grandfather had mixed feelings. They only needed to come up with the idea of making charcoal and occasionally guide the villagers in making charcoal to earn 40% of the profits, which they felt was too much.
But this was something Ye Wenxue fought for for the Xu family, so they couldn't be ungrateful and refuse it.
Xu Lin was restless and uneasy.
Ye Wenxue noticed that Xu Lin was acting strangely and knew what was wrong with him, so she comforted him, "The method of charcoal making is the key. If we don't have Grandpa Xu's method of charcoal making, even if we want to sell charcoal, we won't make much money because the quality is not up to standard."
Xu Lin remained silent. If it were anyone else, they would have said that he only offered a method and wasn't responsible for anything else, hence his smaller share. Unlike Ye Wenxue...
After a long pause, Xu Lin shook his head: "No."
If it weren't for Ye Wenxue, where would they have gotten the opportunity to work together and make money?
After a heated debate, the division was decided: 35%, 40%, and 25%.
This is just a preliminary agreement. After we've made some money, we can discuss it further if any party is dissatisfied.
"Then it's settled for now. Baldy, you take the lead in rebuilding the bamboo house, digging the charcoal kiln, collecting firewood, and sending people down the mountain to get medicine for Old Master Xu and Xu Lin. The money will be paid on credit until we earn it."
"Xu Lin, you and Grandpa Xu should take good care of your injuries during this time, and also pack up your belongings. As for me... I'll focus on stocking up on food for the winter. If you have any questions, have someone tie a red string to the door of the bamboo house, and I'll go check on it when I have time."
The bald man slammed his fist on the table: "Good!"
Xu Lin and Grandpa Xu looked at Ye Wenxue with complicated expressions. They also needed to stock up on rice and flour for the winter!
After finalizing everything, Ye Wenxue shrugged and said, "Baldy, you take Doctor Chen away first. I still have something to say to Xu Lin."
The bald man glanced at Xu Lin with envy, then turned and left with Doctor Chen.
"Is there anything else?" Xu Lin asked blankly.
Ye Wenxue picked up a bag of brown rice from the corner:
"You guys eat first, I'll bring another bag over in a couple of days. Have you picked any mountain produce? If not, I'll bring some with me next time. Don't leave the valley these days, I've set up a few traps at the entrance, be prepared."
Xu Lin blinked slowly, "Huh?"
Ye Wenxue continued, "You didn't actually believe what the bald guy said, did you?"
Xu Lin awkwardly looked down and fiddled with the table: "Didn't we already discuss this? We haven't even seen the money yet, he shouldn't..."
"Aren't you afraid that while I'm not here, he'll kidnap your father and take him up the mountain in the middle of the night, using you as leverage to force him to work for him?" Ye Wenxue's head throbbed; this man was just too heartless.
Xu Lin and Old Master Xu looked at each other, "It can't be that bad, can it?"
Well, Ye Wenxue thought to herself, thank goodness she intervened, otherwise who knows how badly the Xu family would have been tricked.
"Human hearts are unpredictable, especially when money is involved." Ye Wenxue called over the only girl with a bit of sense, Lan Qing, and said, "Keep an eye on your father, grandfather, and grandmother. Don't let them leave the valley these days. They still have enough food, right?"
Lan Qing nodded, then unhappily corrected her, "He's not my father."
Ye Wenxue: "...Look, when it comes to money, they don't even recognize their own father."
The Xu family: "......"
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