Chapter 21 The Craftsmen Collectively Claim Illness
Su Jingge blinked: "Why offer a bounty?"
"This is the fastest speed," Xiao Linyuan said.
"Will my uncle be in danger?"
The man shook his head: "I specifically instructed that the reward will not be paid if there are any injuries."
This is the best way to find my uncle right now.
"Alright, let's leave it at that for now, thank you."
Xiao Linyuan smiled.
The next day.
Su Jingge did not participate in the roof repairs today, but instead had Feijian and Qingyue keep an eye on it.
After taking a short walk, we returned to the restaurant.
A cry of alarm rang out: "Miss, Miss, something terrible has happened!"
Su Jingge was working on her tools in the backyard when she heard Qingyue's voice.
"The previous batch of bows and arrows all fell ill, so production has been halted!"
Su Jingge frowned slightly. How could they all claim to be sick?
"But what about food?"
"No, miss, all the food comes from the restaurant. We deliver it personally every day. How could it be a problem with the food?"
Su Jingge pondered that the sudden collective claim of illness must be due to pressure from the county magistrate.
They definitely don't want to spend money and are trying to delay the construction.
"Are Zhao Zhou's men on the scene?" Su Jingge asked.
Qingyue shook her head: "No, only the county craftsmen are here, I didn't see Zhao Zhou's men." Qingyue suddenly remembered something, "He wasn't here when I came back, only Fei Jian was keeping watch, but I guess he should be surrounded by people by now."
Qingyue looked anxious: "What should we do? The roof repairs have just started and then stalled. How are we going to explain this to the people?"
At this moment, Xiao Linyuan walked over: [What happened?]
“Work has stopped. It’s probably the magistrate’s doing. Now that we don’t have any craftsmen, how are we supposed to continue?” Qingyue said.
Only Su Jingge remained calm and pondered how to resolve the matter.
“If we don’t have any craftsmen, then we’ll develop our own. Zhao Zhou’s people were just a temporary measure; it’s impossible to continue using his people indefinitely.”
It was just a preliminary transition; it seems it can't even be a transition anymore.
“But where are we going to find our own craftsmen? There are only so many craftsmen in the city. Even if we do find some, with Zhao Zhou putting pressure on them, they probably won’t dare to,” Qingyue said.
Xiao Linyuan nodded: "That's right. You've taken Zhao Zhou's pastries. He definitely won't let you have your way. You might not be able to find the craftsman, and even if you do, he might not cooperate with you."
“I’m afraid the materials are all gone…” Su Jingge fell into deep thought.
The air suddenly became tense.
Why do you say that, Miss?
“The materials came from Gu Guang, who is both an official and a merchant. The county magistrate has the authority to order the distribution of the materials, so he wouldn’t dare to go against the official,” Su Jingge said confidently.
Xiao Linyuan snapped his fingers: "Right now, our only option is to go private. The price might be slightly higher, but someone will always be willing to take the risk."
Su Jingge's eyes lit up: "Yes, that's a good idea!"
“But we don’t even know where the private craftsmen are, so how are we supposed to find them?” Qingyue sighed, sitting by the window, extremely uneasy.
Xiao Linyuan used sign language: "That's easy. I know two craftsmen who worked on the construction of the Xiao residence before, but I don't know if they're still doing it."
“I’ll give it a try,” Su Jingge said.
Having obtained information about the two craftsmen, Su Jingge headed out of the restaurant. As soon as she stepped outside, she encountered a flying sword, and the man was covered in sweat.
Fei Jian watched Qingyue and Su Jingge hurrying out and asked, "Manager Su, are you going out?"
"How are things on your end?" Su Jingge asked.
"Now the craftsmen are sick. I just went to look for Gu Guang, but he's not home. He said he went out." Fei Jian frowned. "This must be Zhao Zhou's doing. Otherwise, how could so many people all be sick!"
"If the general hadn't resigned from his post years ago, he wouldn't dare to be so arrogant even if he had ten times the courage. He's just a seventh-rank official, with a small head but a lot of guts."
Flying Sword was furious.
"Flying Sword, come with me to find the craftsman. Qingyue, go to Xie Mo's residence and tell him about today's events. See if he has any information about the craftsman."
"Okay," Qingyue replied.
The group split up and acted separately.
Su Jingge and Feijian found the craftsman's house based on the information above.
Inside the house, a child was playing with mud and even smearing it on the dog. He did it very evenly, showing a natural talent for it.
Su Jingge knocked on the door, and a woman opened it.
"Who are you looking for?" the woman asked gently, dressed in simple clothes.
"Excuse me, is this the home of craftsman Xu?" Su Jingge asked again. "We need to speak with him about something."
"Who is it?" a deep voice rang out.
A man emerged from the house. He was burly and wore a blue cloth shirt with many patches. His trousers were rolled up, revealing his strong arms.
“They’re looking for our father…” the woman said.
So this is Xu the craftsman's son, Su Jingge thought to herself.
“My father has passed away. You can talk to me about anything.”
Su Jingge felt a chill in her heart upon hearing the news, but after entering the courtyard and looking around, she saw a shovel and a small chisel in the corner, and figured that these things were probably still in use.
I don't know why it was given to the child to play with.
When the man saw the flying sword, he paused for a moment and asked, "Excuse me, are you the flying sword's second-in-command?"
Fei Jian glanced at Su Jingge, then bowed to the man and said, "Yes, you recognize me?"
“You’ve forgotten that five years ago my father repaired the courtyard of the Xiao family’s residence, and it was you who gave him the reward money at that time.”
Fei Jian suddenly realized and smiled: "You were one of the craftsmen inside back then?"
The man smiled shyly and scratched his head: "To be honest, I was just an apprentice back then. My father told me to follow him to visit more households so I could become more skilled faster..."
The two were then invited inside.
After walking through the corridor to the main hall, the woman served tea.
Su Jingge thanked her, saying, "You're too kind, Madam."
"This must be Assistant Manager Su, right? I've heard about your story; you're a great benefactor to us." The woman felt as if a guiding light had been lit in her heart.
Su Jingge smiled and said, "Thank you for your trust. To be honest, I have indeed encountered a problem..."
She briefly outlined the situation to the man.
"So, you want to hire craftsmen?" the man asked in surprise, his eyes wide.
“Yes, the craftsmen are all claiming illness, so the repairs can't proceed.” Su Jingge paused, looked at the man, and asked seriously, “I wonder if Brother Xu has any projects still in progress?”
At this point, Xu Yuan's face tightened, his fists clenched with resentment: "We used to work for Magistrate Zhao, building his back garden, but Magistrate Zhao is a real scoundrel. He didn't pay us, kept delaying, and when things got out of hand, he even beat us up. Now we have no livelihood..."
A surge of emotion welled up within him, and his brow furrowed solemnly: "If Assistant Manager Su is willing to trust me, I am certainly willing."
"How many people are like you?" Su Jingge asked.
“Besides me, there are seven others. Now that we won’t work for Magistrate Zhao, even if we work for other families, they won’t dare to hire us.” Xu Yuan sighed deeply. “We’re already starving.”
The saying "Even a seven-foot-tall man will bend his back for a peck of rice" is true.
"If Brother Xu doesn't mind, would you be willing to cooperate with me? Don't worry, the money will only be more, not less." Su Jingge looked at him expectantly.
Xu Yuan immediately stood up, then lifted his shirt and knelt down with a thud: "Assistant Su, you saved me! You saved my whole family!"
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