Why was Zhuang Xiaohui so obsessed with not lowering the price of cotton cloth? Because after her rebirth, she knew that this winter would be the coldest in a hundred years. Heavy snow fell for two whole months, collapsing many houses and freezing many people to death.
What’s even more terrifying is that every winter to come will be as cold as this year.
Therefore, the prices of cotton cloth and cotton will gradually rise and become luxury goods that most ordinary people cannot afford.
In order to keep warm, people could only stuff straw and reed fluff into their clothes, but these things were becoming increasingly scarce.
The colder the weather gets, the more expensive the things that can help them get through the difficult times become. It's a vicious cycle.
Once, Zhuang Xiaohui accompanied Yu Yuxian's mother to distribute porridge outside the city. As soon as they set up the stall, a group of half-naked and skinny people rushed up, their turbid eyes filled with blood and tears.
"Save us! Save us!" They stretched out their hands, which were so thin that only skin was left, and cried helplessly.
Yu Yuxian's mother screamed in fear and fainted. Zhuang Xiaohui had to suppress her fear and escort her back to the city. Passing by a dilapidated temple, she saw many people huddled together and shouted, "Porridge is out front!"
However, the servant who was in charge of escorting them stopped them and said, "Young Madam, please stop shouting. They are all frozen to death."
So many people, hundreds of them packed so densely, just froze to death. Zhuang Xiaohui was stunned at the time, and after she came to her senses, she shed two lines of tears.
The servant said nonchalantly, "Don't be afraid. Hundreds of people freeze to death outside every night. You'll get used to it after watching it for a while."
How could it become a habit for so many people to freeze to death every day? At that time, Zhuang Xiaohui was in so much pain that she could hardly breathe.
But she was powerless to change anything because the weather was not something humans could control.
But humans can control the prices of food, cotton cloth, cotton, charcoal and other materials.
Yet, human nature is a dark thing. To profit, the colder the weather, the more merchants hoarded goods. They monopolized essential items like grain, cotton-padded jackets, cotton cloth, and charcoal, constantly driving up prices and profiting from the national crisis.
Under such circumstances, the poor people have become complete victims.
Zhuang Xiaohui will never be able to forget the tragic sight of the stiff purple corpses lying in the snow. It was a real hell on earth.
She guessed that her reborn brother would invent these machines and let her open a cotton spinning factory, probably with the purpose of saving the poor people.
But his factory is just a drop in the bucket for the entire Dayan, and his brother's wish should be difficult to achieve.
Zhuang Xiaohui shook her head and sighed.
Seeing that Liuyunzhai was almost there, she quickly forced herself out of the carriage. Just as a burly man her sister-in-law had lent her reached out to help her, she jumped down without even using a stool.
The hem of the skirt, embroidered with auspicious clouds, blossomed like a flower, emitting a faint fragrance that flushed the big man's face. He quickly withdrew his hand, lowered his head, and stepped aside silently.
Zhuang Xiaohui glanced at him and found it interesting that this man as strong as an iron tower could also be shy.
But with important matters at hand, she didn't think much about it.
She raised her head and looked upstairs, and found that several men from the Chamber of Commerce were leaning on the railing on the second floor, looking down at her with lewd smiles on their faces, and it was obvious that they were up to no good.
Zhuang Xiaohui's face immediately turned gloomy. She smoothed her skirt, straightened her back and strode in.
These people in the Chamber of Commerce were hypocrites, full of evil intentions, yet pretending to be righteous on the surface. They were no better than the beggars in her previous life, worse than animals. In confronting these people head-on, Zhuang Xiaohui didn't think her life was in danger.
She is not even afraid of animals, so how could she be afraid of such a small scene?
Zhuang Xiaohui walked up the stairs step by step, with her posture held high and straight.
Looking at her dashing back, the burly man smiled secretly.
Yu Yuxian was also on the second floor, chatting and drinking with a group of people from the Chamber of Commerce. She would glance toward the stairs from time to time, imagining Zhuang Xiaohui's face turning pale with fear at the sight of such a scene.
If an unmarried girl is threatened by so many men at the same time, will she cry and beg for mercy?
Thinking of this, Yu Yuxian's eyes showed pity, but her heart was filled with a strong sense of superiority. Although she was a woman, she was raised as a man by her mother. Her talent, temperament, and character were naturally different from those of ordinary women.
Putting away that trace of pity, Yu Yuxian showed an expression of disgust again.
She now knew that the shop across the street was actually owned by Zhuang Li's sister, Zhuang Xiaohui. The siblings had lost their mother when they were young, and their father had disliked them, so it was no wonder they had such poor upbringing.
Zhuang Xiaohui was really stupid. In order to attract customers, she sold cotton cloth at such a low price that Yu Yuxian's shop had no business for more than half a month and was on the verge of collapse.
Yu Yuxian was always busy in official circles and seldom took care of the family business. After his father passed away, his mother had no talent in this area, so many of her family's shops were losing money, and the only shop that made money was the one selling cotton cloth.
Yu Yuxian said that it must not fall down no matter what, otherwise dozens of people in the family would have nothing to eat.
That was why she had been invited here today to help deal with Zhuang Xiaohui. She believed that Zhuang Xiaohui had lost a lot of money in the past two weeks, and that with just a little pressure, she would probably give in.
Yu Yuxian, lost in thought, chatted and laughed with several wealthy businessmen who flattered her. Her looks combined masculine handsomeness with feminine refinement, a graceful demeanor and brilliant literary talent, making her the center of attention wherever she went.
She has long been accustomed to the feeling of being pursued by everyone.
Could Zhuang Xiaohui handle these people as easily and effortlessly as she did? Impossible.
A woman who is trapped in old conventions and customs, a woman who grew up under the constraints of women's discipline and training, will only reveal her timid nature in the face of male power.
Thinking of this, Yu Yuxian shook his head and smiled contemptuously.
It was at this moment that Zhuang Xiaohui stepped onto the second floor.
Arriving at a gathering with a group of grown men, she didn't deliberately hide her feminine qualities; instead, she magnified them. She wore a dazzling dress, the hem embroidered with large auspicious clouds and marigolds in gold and silver thread. She also painted her lips redder than blood, and her smile, curled into a smile, didn't reveal a gentle beauty, but rather a piercing fierceness.
This style was taught to her by her brother.
To use my brother's own words, when you magnify the disadvantages given to you by culture and use them as your weapon, people who hate these disadvantages will feel threatened. Because hatred is a negative emotion, it can easily turn into an even more negative emotion, that is, fear.
When she went out, Zhuang Xiaohui didn't understand what was said, but now, seeing these men frowning and then shifting their obscene gazes away from her glittering golden skirt, Zhuang Xiaohui finally understood.
It turns out that this is the wonderful use of "arrogance".
My brother is so awesome.
Thinking of her brother, Zhuang Xiaohui's spine stiffened even more. She walked into the hall slowly and sat down in the middle. She flicked her handkerchief to brush away the nonexistent dust on the table and said calmly, "What do you want to talk to me about? Tell me."
He took control of the whole situation with ease.
Forget the insincere pleasantries and the blunt force of the command. She'd just get to the point; she wouldn't accept the Hongmen Feast.
The burly man standing behind her was wearing a tight suit, with a dagger on his waist. His whole body was muscular, his temples were bulging, and his eyes were shining with coldness. It was obvious that he was a martial artist.
They came prepared!
The second floor, which was originally bustling with people drinking and chatting, suddenly became like a snowfall, with cold currents surging everywhere.
Seeing that Zhuang Xiaohui came to the party as a woman, but did not bow her head or kowtow, nor did she show the slightest cowardice, but was arrogant and domineering instead, Yu Yuxian felt very uncomfortable.
This was completely different from what she had expected. How could a woman be so confident? How could a woman sit on equal footing with a group of men to discuss business? Didn't she have any shame?
As Yu Yuxian's heart was corroded by strong jealousy, Meng Changqi, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, sneered and said, "You're an unmarried girl, running around with a grown man all day long. Aren't you afraid of being drowned in other people's spit? You shameless thing! If I were your father, I would definitely put you in a pig cage!"
Hearing this insult, Yu Yuxian's torn heart finally felt a little better. Yes, it was normal for a woman to be exposed to such humiliation.
This is the pain that Zhuang Xiaohui should endure.
Yu Yuxian picked up the teacup to hide the upturned corners of his lips.
The burly man standing behind Zhuang Xiaohui remained expressionless, but his hand slowly reached for the dagger at his waist, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
It was not until this time that everyone realized that he seemed to be too tall and too strong, and his aura was very terrifying, as if he had killed people and seen blood.
Meng Changqi had been doing business outside for many years, so he had some sense. He took a closer look at the burly man and suddenly felt as if his tongue had been cut off. He dared not say a single word of the curse words in his heart.
Zhuang Xiaohui glanced back at the burly man. Instead of feeling embarrassed or annoyed, she smiled brightly: "I just like men like this. What can you do to me? I take him with me everywhere I go. What can you do to me?"
Meng Changqi really couldn't do anything to Zhuang Xiaohui. This girl was shameless and didn't care about her reputation at all.
The expressions of everyone in the Chamber of Commerce looked as if they had eaten shit.
Yu Yuxian looked at Zhuang Xiaohui in disbelief, wondering why she could remain so calm and composed. Didn't she think her behavior was too extreme for a woman?
Zhuang Xiaohui curled her red lips into a sarcastic smile. The burly man standing behind her blushed, and his fierce aura softened.
"I know you don't like me, but so what? My father can't control me, and my brother lets me do whatever I want. What can you outsiders do to me?" Zhuang Xiaohui smiled with her cheeks supported.
This smile completely imitated her brother's, very bright, very arrogant, and naturally very annoying.
Everyone in the Chamber of Commerce's faces turned darker.
The burly man who quietly walked to her side stared at her smile without blinking, his eyes gradually widening.
Yu Yuxian clenched her fists and looked at Zhuang Xiaohui with a complicated look. She hadn't expected her to be so stubborn. As a woman in a man's place, she wouldn't give an inch.
She could only experience such scenes in her dreams. She had never lived so uprightly and freely.
For the first time in her life, she felt intense jealousy towards a woman.
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