Chapter 58: The Outliers of the Zong Family
Shopkeeper Xiong gritted his teeth and said, "All the processes were provided by those helpers. They must have played tricks."
No wonder Qinghui Nuanrongge didn't react when its client was poached. It turned out they had already dug a trap for him.
He ran to the workshop and got angry, threatening to send the helper to the government office.
Sue them for fraud.
The helpers rolled up their sleeves and surrounded him.
"Who are you calling a scam? You provided the chemicals for cleaning down and wool. Can you blame us if they don't clean them properly?"
"I told you to wash it eight times, but you thought it was a waste of water and refused to let me wash it after four. How dare you blame us?"
"You want to sue us? We want to sue you too! The contract clearly states that we can only work four hours a day, and any overtime must be paid separately. And you made us work overtime and didn't pay us a penny!"
Shopkeeper Xiong was almost frightened to death.
He then reported it to Ning Fengluan with exaggerated details.
"Qinghui Nuanrong Pavilion is deliberately trying to mess with us! These helpers can't even wash the materials properly. They're clearly the ones who were eliminated, and yet they're actually instigating them to demand triple their pay!"
Old grudges were added to new hatreds, and Ning Fengluan was so angry that her teeth were itching.
"Bitch! If you don't let me live well, I will never let you live well!"
She went to find her fourth uncle Zong Hebai.
The Zong family is a family of generals. The sons learn martial arts from a young age and join the military camp when they are sixteen years old. They follow their fathers into the battlefield to kill the enemy and live in the frontier all year round.
Zong Hebai is an outlier in the Zong family.
Although he had learned martial arts, he did not like marching and fighting, but preferred doing business.
At the age of twelve, he opened a grocery store with the money he earned from serving as a guide for wealthy children from other places who came to Beijing to travel. At the age of fifteen, he formed his own caravan and traveled all over the country to do business.
In just ten years, he turned his caravan into the largest traveling merchant in Xi State.
The wool used in the Qinghui Warm Velvet Pavilion workshop was supplied by one of his shops.
Ning Fengluan was actually a little afraid of her fourth uncle. She felt that his eyes were too sharp, as if they could see through people's hearts and skin, which always made her feel uneasy.
But he had a very good relationship with his mother, and he loved his niece as well. The most expensive birthday gifts she received every year were given by him.
The year she came of age, he even gave her a mansion on the central axis of the capital.
Her little sisters were so envious that their eyes turned red.
She rarely bothered him with anything, so she thought he wouldn't refuse her request.
Sure enough, after she told him how Feng Qingsui had deliberately bought out Madam Xu, opened a shop to compete with Jinyi Pavilion for business, and used his helpers to cheat her, Zong Hebai promised, "From now on, my shops will not supply them with goods."
Ning Fengluan felt relieved and was about to thank him when she heard him say, "But your shopkeeper needs to be replaced too. If he can't even do the inspection properly, what's the point of having him?"
"But... I don't have anyone else on hand, and Shopkeeper Xiong was given to me by my stepmother..."
Zong Hebai frowned slightly: "How can you use your stepmother's people to run the dowry shop your mother left you?"
Ning Fengluan didn't say anything.
It’s hard to say because it was her stepmother who helped her find out about the bad debts, and she trusted her stepmother so she hired Xiong Zhanggui.
The Zong family didn't like her being too close to her stepmother.
"I'll assign someone to you, but it's just temporary. Replace him once you find the right person."
Ning Fengluan nodded hurriedly: "Thank you, Fourth Uncle!"
After she left, Zong Hebai sighed.
This child follows his elder brothers, second brothers, third brothers and fifth brothers all day long, playing with swords and guns. He has grown up with such a smart mind. How could he not be on guard against his stepmother?
But he could also understand. She lost her mother when she was born. When she was a child, she was ignorant and called her aunt "mother". Later, when she knew that she had no mother, she cried bitterly.
Zhong really treated her as her own daughter. Once, she climbed a tree and fell from a three-meter-high branch. Zhong used her as a cushion and even lost her own child, but she didn't blame her.
It's normal for her to trust Zhong.
But...if my sister knew about this, how would she feel?
His mood suddenly became heavy.
The Zong's Grocery Store suddenly notified the workshop that it would stop supplying wool. Aunt Xu was shocked and went to ask their manager.
The shopkeeper just said that it was the master's intention, and said that the master asked him to convey a message to her: Don't forget the way you came.
Aunt Xu was once a servant of the Zong family, so this naturally meant that she should not do anything to let down the Zong family.
She opened her mouth, but swallowed the words back.
After returning to the workshop, she called Qingli and Qingmai to discuss the matter.
Qing Li frowned. "The trade in the nomadic lands is almost monopolized by the Bailan Trading Company. They won't sell us wool, and we can't find anyone else to buy it from."
Qingmai was melancholy. "I had originally thought of expanding the workshop this year and selling my down jackets and sweaters elsewhere..."
Aunt Xu couldn't think of any solution for a moment.
At this moment, A Yu actually pushed the door open and said, "I have a way."
He was the foreign boy that Feng Qingsui rescued from Paiyun Tower. After his injury healed, he refused to leave and stayed in the workshop as a helper.
"I know quite a few tribes and can convince them to sell their wool to us, but the journey is long and it's inconvenient for me to go out alone. If we can form a caravan, I can lead them there and open up trade."
He spoke with such certainty that Nanny Xu reported it to Feng Qingsui.
Feng Qingsui came to the workshop to see him and asked, "Are you just trying to use us to escort you back, or are you really looking for a source of goods for us?"
A Yu looked at her with burning eyes: "I am sincere."
He added, "My life was saved by my sister. I wish to serve you wholeheartedly for the rest of my life."
Feng Qingsui: “…”
"Call me Madam."
“…”
A Yu reluctantly called her Madam.
Building a business team is no small matter. Feng Qingsui does not have such big ambitions at the moment. She only agrees to hire a security team for A Yu. If he really negotiates a deal, she will let the security team deliver the wool back.
"Once trade is truly established, we can consider establishing a caravan."
A Yu nodded and said okay.
Feng Qingsui handed the matter over to Aunt Xu.
Three days later, A Yu set off with his escort team to the northern border.
Feng Qingsui did not go to see him off. She accompanied Qi to Taihe Garden to see the plum blossoms.
Taihe Garden is a royal garden that is only open to the public in spring every year for sightseeing and entertainment.
She had no intention of appreciating the flowers, but went to see Anguo Temple.
Anguo Temple is right next to Taihe Garden, and you can have a panoramic view of it from the nine-story white pagoda in Taihe Garden.
——As a royal temple, it is only open to members of the royal family.
“The view from here is really nice.”
After reaching the highest point of the White Pagoda, Qi sighed.
Feng Qingsui nodded.
She looked down from her high vantage point and carefully inspected the Anguo Temple, from the back hall to the front gate, without missing any corner.
There were quite a few monks moving around in the courtyard, and their faces could be vaguely seen.
Among them was the former crown prince Zhao Bixiang.
Just as he was about to look away, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a master and servant walking in through the gate - Han Ruixiang and her maid.
Why were they able to enter the temple... She soon realized that it must be the Queen who gave her a warrant.
Why did the Queen ask Han Ruixiang to meet Zhao Bixiang?
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