Chapter 22 Finding a Craftsman
The woman was moved to tears.
"Brother Xu, what are you doing? You've actually helped me." Su Jingge couldn't lift the person up, so she glanced at the flying sword and said, "The flying sword will help the person up."
The man, with tears in his eyes, said, "I will definitely talk to those brothers. I don't think it's a big problem."
Su Jingge felt half relieved.
"Then I thank Brother Xu for conveying the message."
Xu Yuan said with a worried expression, "But the path for Assistant Magistrate Su is not easy. Magistrate Zhao will certainly not let you have your way..."
Su Jingge smiled calmly: "Since ancient times, it has been difficult to remove corrupt officials. My father couldn't be removed, so I have to give it a try, haha."
Xu Yuan sincerely admires this straightforward and frank woman: "I, Xu Yuan, am willing to follow Assistant Manager Su to build Yuxiang County!"
Su Jingge cupped her hands in a respectful gesture: "Let's work hard together!"
Su Jingge then asked Xu Yuan, "How did you calculate wages before?"
Zhao Zhou earns 30 coins a day by talking.
"I'll give you forty coins a day, all your food and drink will be on me, and there will be extra subsidies during holidays. How about it?"
Xu Yuan was surprised again, and he was extremely excited: "I'm willing, forty coins is a high price!"
"Let's do it that way!"
"However, some of our brothers' tools are at Magistrate Zhao's residence, which may not be enough..."
Su Jingge smiled and said, "I'll pay for it. Consider it as replacing your old batch with new ones. As the saying goes, 'If you don't have the skills, how can you take on the job?'"
Xu Yuan clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply: "Thank you very much for your help, Assistant Manager Su!"
Before leaving, Su Jingge hugged the little girl. The girl was very pretty, with big, round eyes and chubby little lips. She liked her very much.
She placed a silver ingot in the child's pocket.
"Then it's settled, Brother Xu. Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), you will bring your men to my Yunque Restaurant."
Xu Yuan regained his confidence and said with a solemn and respectful expression, "Definitely!"
After the two left, the woman noticed a bulge in the child's arms. She squatted down and touched it, and found a silver ingot inside.
"Husband, look!" the woman said excitedly.
Xu Yuan saw a silver ingot shimmering in the sunlight. With this ingot, they could buy rice. It was Assistant Manager Su who had helped them through their difficulties.
"I, Xu Yuan, will remember this great kindness and virtue, and one day I will repay it tenfold!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, at the Zhao residence.
Magistrate Zhao was drinking tea, listening to the good news brought by the registrar.
"Su Jingge has no craftsmen, so the work has stopped. Now the people's expectations have been dashed again. They say she's just a liar. There are even rumors that she'll give 20% of the money for repairing the roof, but it won't be free. You can exchange it for steamed buns at the restaurant. Tell me about this mess."
The anchor chuckled slyly.
Zhao Zhou sat leisurely in his rocking chair, half-closing his eyes, twirling two longevity walnuts in his hand: "Go ahead and mess around. Do you really think you can get things done smoothly by manipulating things? Cutting off my source of income and gaining a good reputation for repairs is just wishful thinking. In the end, it will all be for nothing."
"This wretched place, do they really expect a bunch of unruly people to get rich?" the anchor said sinisterly. "Right now there are no craftsmen, let's see how she continues the repairs."
Zhao Zhou snorted through his nose: "What about the materials?"
The registrar chuckled: "Don't worry, sir, I've already informed you. Just wait to take over her Cloud Pavilion."
Upon receiving the news, Xie Mo immediately stood up and paced anxiously back and forth in the room. His seven-year-old son, Lili, saw his father so uneasy.
He asked, "Father, is something troubling you?"
Xie Mo squatted down: "There's a problem with the person in charge of Daddy. Daddy will go and take care of it. You play with Mommy."
Xie Mo thought it over and over. The craftsmen were all under Zhao Zhou's control, so even if he went to find them, it would be useless. Right now, he could only look for private merchants.
Some people will always take risks for the sake of money.
Moreover, if we are to develop Yuxiang County, we must develop our own people.
He found a servant and asked him to deliver a message.
As soon as I stepped out of the house, I saw someone from the restaurant come to deliver a letter.
Xie Mo took the letter, opened it, and read it.
"The craftsman has been found."
Xie Mo breathed a sigh of relief and said to the page, "No need to go. Go find the material suppliers and tell them who will supply the materials. The wages will only be more, not less."
-
As soon as Su Jingge got up, she heard people gathered downstairs at the restaurant, shouting, "Why haven't you paid three days' wages? Manager Su, come out and give us an explanation!"
Qingyue, who was in the next room, sat up abruptly on the bed. "Who is it? It's so early in the morning, when will this end?"
Su Jingge walked downstairs and saw the craftsmen standing outside the restaurant, their faces flushed with anger, demanding their wages.
Su Jingge learned that they had worked for four days, but Zhao Zhou had only given them payment for one day!
Damn it!
That bastard, I'll beat him to a pulp sooner or later.
Su Jingge reassured everyone: "It was my fault regarding the wages. I will settle the accounts with everyone now."
Qingyue stopped her, saying, "No, Miss! Everyone knows that Zhao Zhou paid for the repairs and provided the technical expertise. Why should Miss pay for the labor instead of Zhao Zhou?"
Su Jingge said coldly, "Get out!"
Qingyue was fuming, her eyes red.
"Flying sword! Take him away."
Frustrated, Fei Jian could only pull the person away: "Aunt Yue, let's go downstairs for tea."
After settling all the money, Su Jingge said, "I'm sorry everyone, but I will discuss the wages with Magistrate Zhao, so please don't worry."
Gu Guang's men didn't say anything; the troublemakers were all Zhao Zhou's craftsmen.
"Enough nonsense! Magistrate Zhao is extremely busy, responsible for the affairs of the entire county. He doesn't have time to spend money right now, so what if your restaurant covers the cost?"
“You should pay us for the rest of the project. Once Magistrate Zhao finishes his official duties, you can ask him for the money. We are very busy and don’t have time to keep coming to the restaurant to ask for money.”
The workers went further and further as they spoke, with some even saying, "Everyone knows you, Su Jingge, are rich. You should just cover the cost."
"That's right, let's use a pad!"
"Insolence!" Su Jingge rebuked coldly, her aura sharp and imposing.
Everyone was stunned by the woman before them, whose eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
"My restaurant is part of the Su family's property, so I'm obligated to pay you wages?"
“You are Zhao Zhou’s craftsmen, his people. He owes you wages. Instead of asking him for them, you’re taking money from me. I’m giving it to you because I see how hard you’ve worked. If you think I’m giving it to you as a matter of course, then you should no longer participate in the repairs in Yuxiang County!”
These words left the entire room speechless.
All I knew was that Su Jingge was rumored to be a mentally unstable idiot, but now I see that she's not an idiot, and her personality doesn't seem to be the love-struck fool she was supposed to be.
He's a formidable and not to be trifled with.
One of the craftsmen scoffed, "Manager Su, you said you didn't need us anymore, but if you lose the craftsmen who can do the repairs, what will you use to do them?"
"Haha, that's right. Assistant Manager Su, don't be too boastful and end up failing to fulfill your promises, and then lose the restaurant."
Faced with ridicule and mockery, Su Jingge remained calm and composed: "The current renovation of Yuxiang County is for everyone's good, but there are always people who stir up trouble and don't want Yuxiang to develop. Are these people afraid that others will live better than you?"
"What did you say? How could I possibly be afraid of my fellow villagers living well?"
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