Fu Man'er only sent someone to deliver some messages to the collateral branches of the Chu family, and the Chu family began to suffer again.
There was really no way to deal with Madam Chu, so all these people were running to Master Chu's place.
The ailing Master Chu was so tormented by them that he shut himself away from visitors.
But the problem still needed to be solved. Master Chu was reluctant to give these workshops away, so he could only convert them into cash and give them to them.
The Chu family's accountant spent a long time calculating and came to a conclusion.
To settle all the accounts of these collateral branches, the Chu family would have to empty most of its coffers.
With most of their wealth gone, the Chu family doesn't have much cash left to use for intermediaries.
"These people are all ungrateful wretches. Keeping them around is worse than keeping a dog."
"Even dogs wag their tails when they see their owners, and these people are turning around and blaming me."
"Pah! These people will get struck by lightning sooner or later."
Master Chu was so enraged that he couldn't even think of a word to curse, and he was panting heavily as he ranted.
Those collateral branches used the Chu family's name to do favors before, but now that the Chu family is in trouble, they are getting rid of them faster than anyone else. However, Master Chu also knows that times have changed. He hasn't left the house for the past few days, but whenever he does, people will talk about him wherever he goes.
"How's that merchant who said he wanted to buy cloth doing?"
Despite his anger, Master Chu finished his rant and got down to business.
The steward replied, "I've had people keeping an eye out for fabric these past few days, checking out the various fabric shops."
"Sir, if I may be so bold as to say this, given our current situation, we really shouldn't be holding onto so much cloth."
The Chu family is not what it used to be; now many places avoid them like the plague, burdened by so much cloth.
Many cloth workshop workers were already in a state of panic, fearing that the Chu family would not be able to pay their wages.
"Our household expenses are considerable, and now we have to give money to those side branches. If this cloth remains unused, I'm afraid we'll have to cut back on expenses later."
Cutting expenses is an understatement; the entire Chu mansion has dozens of people, from top to bottom.
There are also hundreds or even thousands of workers in the workshops, and their daily wages alone amount to a considerable sum.
If the steward could think of something, how could Master Chu not have thought of it?
He was simply unwilling to accept that he had to lose so much money.
That's enough. As long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood.
Master Chu closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before waving his hand to send the steward out to carry out his business.
By evening, Fu Man'er's men had already taken all the cloth to the northern merchants.
Fu Man'er did not go there herself, but arranged for many people to guard the place.
Once the northern merchants return tomorrow and check everything is in order, we can set off.
"Miss, you're amazing! You've earned so much money in just a few days."
Shuangxi looked at the box on the table filled with silver ingots, his eyes filled with admiration.
Fu Man'er slightly raised her chin, a gesture she often made when she was proud.
"Hehe, I can't do it all by myself, I have to thank Brother Zixuan and Sister Lusheng."
If these two people hadn't come into the play, her scheme wouldn't have been so easy to orchestrate.
The cloth was bought at a low price from Master Chu and then sold to northern merchants at a normal price.
The price difference belongs to her, but of course, that's not the most important thing.
She wanted to pull the Chu family down from the top of the cloth industry, so that they would no longer have the right to be arrogant.
"Shuangxi, the fabrics from these fabric shops are all quite good. You should ask around again."
"If it's suitable, I'll buy them."
Fu Man'er pulled out a list from her sleeve; the fabric workshops listed were all inconspicuous little workshops.
Many families couldn't afford to hire workers, so they relied on their own family members to weave and dye the cloth.
The looms and dyes they used were the most ordinary ones, a world of difference compared to those of the Chu family.
Even so, the cloth they produced was no worse than that of the Chu family.
Some even surpassed the Chu family.
Fu Man'er went to investigate and found that many families here still use very ancient dyeing techniques.
The process was complicated; in the same amount of time, the Chu family could dye two bolts of cloth, while they could only dye one.
Merchants value profit above all else; if they can earn a penny or two, no one wants to earn only five hundred coins.
Fu Man'er did not want these ancient dyeing techniques to be lost, and found a way to balance them.
Expensive things have their reasons for being expensive, and there's no shortage of wealthy people in the area.
As long as your product is presentable, there will still be plenty of people willing to buy it.
Fu Man'er planned to have these veteran craftsmen exclusively make fabrics for wealthy families.
Moreover, it's tailor-made, especially for wealthy ladies and young women.
The most common comparison between women is that no one wants to be inferior to the other.
Things are valued for their rarity. I am the only one who has this cloth, and none of you do. It's worth any amount of money for this piece of cloth.
"Miss, are you buying all these fabric workshops?" Shuangxi roughly counted, and there were seven or eight fabric workshops.
Fu Man'er patted the money box on the table. "With so much money, are you worried about not having enough to buy?"
She had already planned it out. Most of the money she earned from the Chu family this time would be used to buy a cloth workshop, and the rest would be used to buy dyes, dyeing vats, and the like.
As for other expenses, they were all taken from her small storeroom.
Besides earning money through her bookstore, Fu Man'er also owned a lot of land and several shops.
She earns a considerable amount of money every year just from rent, and she doesn't spend much on herself, saving it all.
It can be said that she is the richest person in the Xu family besides Xu Genshan and his wife.
"Oh, by the way, when you go out later, please tell Sister Lu Sheng that I'm inviting her to dinner at Fu Man Lou tomorrow."
They've done me such a big favor, I should at least treat Lu Sheng and Cao Zixuan to a meal.
Shuangxi carefully tucked the paper away from her body. "Miss, don't you know? Miss Lu Sheng is going on her mission today!"
"Huh?" Fu Man'er was shocked. "How could that be? It's only a little over a month until the New Year!"
Moreover, just a few days ago, Cao Zixuan had sworn that he would never agree to Lu Sheng's escort duties again. Shuangxi slapped her forehead, "Oh dear, I was so excited I forgot to mention that."
"Young Master Cao is at Miss Lu Sheng's house right now. I heard from the gatekeeper that Young Master Cao's face is blacker than the bottom of our kitchen pots."
"Really?" The expert at watching the excitement couldn't sit still any longer.
She didn't want to hear Shuangxi's explanation; she wanted to see for herself. What could be more important than being there in person?
No!
Unfortunately, Fu Man'er arrived a step too late. Before she even reached Lu Sheng's door, she saw Cao Zixuan slam the door and leave.
Having known Cao Zixuan for so many years, although he sometimes acts like a spoiled young master, he has a very good temperament.
She rarely gets angry, and this was the first time Fu Man'er had ever seen Cao Zixuan so angry.
His eyes were red-rimmed, and he walked with a swagger; Fu Man'er hadn't even had a chance to call him yet.
Cao Zixuan had already mounted his horse and galloped away.
Fu Man'er was completely confused. What was going on?
"Sister Lu Sheng." She couldn't catch up with Cao Zixuan, so she could only go in and find Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng stood in the courtyard, seemingly gazing at the sky in a daze, lost in thought.
She didn't hear Fu Man'er calling her until Fu Man'er walked up to her, at which point she slowly lowered her head.
After staring at Fu Man'er's face for a while, Lu Sheng finally came to his senses.
"It's cold inside, let's go inside and talk."
As he spoke, he pulled Fu Man'er into the house, but the moment his hand touched her, Lu Sheng quickly let go.
Perhaps because she had been outside for so long, she had forgotten how cold her hands were.
Fu Man'er took Lu Sheng's hand with her warm little hand, and the two sat around the stove.
"Let me warm your hands." Fu Man'er grabbed Lu Sheng's hands and busied herself warming them with fire and breathing hot air on them.
After the young girl had finished her work, Lu Sheng took the initiative to speak.
"I want to leave Zhenyuan Escort Agency. This is the last escort mission I will ever take."
Fu Man'er tested the temperature of Lu Sheng's hand and found it to be about the same as her own, then she moved her stool next to Lu Sheng with satisfaction.
"You don't need to take this delivery to leave Zhenyuan Escort Agency."
Lu Sheng hasn't had a proper rest for more than a few days in all these years at the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.
The money she saved, while not a lot, was enough for her and Grandpa Hu to use.
Moreover, the Xu family is also taking care of Old Master Hu's side.
The Xu family children all regarded Grandpa Hu as their grandfather.
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