Chapter 661 Buying a Steward and Sending a Girl
Wang Jiawei saw through what Wan Laoer was thinking at a glance, but Wang Jiawei knew that although the price offered by the steward was high, there was indeed not much room for bargaining.
"The total for the five of us is three hundred and sixty taels of silver, right?"
Shopkeeper Chen immediately smiled and nodded, "That's right, Sect Master Wang is right."
"Isn't this a bit too expensive? Three hundred and sixty taels is enough for our whole family to eat and drink for a lifetime."
Wan Laoer felt a sharp pain in his flesh.
Wang Jiawei also smiled and bowed to Shopkeeper Chen, "Shopkeeper Chen, we are old acquaintances. Is your price not honest?"
Shopkeeper Chen laughed, "Master Wang, our friendship is friendship, but business is business, right? I'm giving you three hundred and sixty taels for your sake. If it were someone else, I'd consider the four hundred taels."
After hearing this, Wan Laoer wanted to just get up and leave. He would think twice about even the three hundred taels, even the four hundred taels.
Wang Jiawei held up two fingers and said, "Manager Chen, if you really want to save me, then give me twenty taels less and give me a maid. I don't want a pretty one, just one who can serve me. To be honest, my husband has gone insane, and my life is miserable now. I just want a maid who can serve him well. The rest doesn't matter."
Shopkeeper Chen was filled with sorrow after hearing this. He never expected that such a good man could have gone insane.
"Master Wang, for your kindness and loyalty, we won't say anything. We have been friends for many years. This girl is a small gift from me to my sister-in-law. Can you increase the price a little? I really can't give you a discount of twenty taels. I have to bribe the middlemen one by one. Otherwise, how can this manager be assigned to our border?"
Shopkeeper Chen looked embarrassed.
"Shopkeeper Chen, I accept your favor. When my second brother comes back from overseas, if he has any good stuff, I will definitely send it to you first. Do you think this price is acceptable?"
Shopkeeper Chen sighed, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, this is all for your sake."
"I know, otherwise I wouldn't come directly to you, right?"
After the two men agreed on the price, Manager Chen left and went to the back yard to pick a maid.
"Brother-in-law, isn't this price a bit high? Three hundred and forty taels for five people, an average of more than sixty taels per person, this..."
"Second brother, you won't suffer any loss. Trust me, especially the manager with two hundred taels of silver. I can guarantee that he can earn back double the silver in a month. This is still a conservative estimate. I have been doing business with my second brother for twenty years, and I am very good at judging people."
Wan Laoer's heart was bleeding, and he gritted his teeth and took out three hundred and forty taels of silver.
"But, you just said he would just give us a random girl. He won't give us a fool, right?"
"Second brother, you worry too much. At least those who buy and sell people are not fools. If there are fools, they will be sold cheaply to widowers as wives. They will never be sold to the master's family. Such people can only give birth to children and can't do anything. They can be bought with one or two taels of silver."
Only then did Wan Laoer feel relieved.
Not long after, Shopkeeper Chen brought in a maid. The girl was wearing a gray summer dress, had big hands and feet, and an average look. However, she looked strong and sturdy, and was definitely a girl who did rough work.
"Master Wang, look at this girl. What do you think? I picked one who can work. Look at her figure and teeth. She can definitely serve my sister-in-law."
Not to mention Wang Jiawei, even Wan Laoer thought that this girl was really good.
"Shopkeeper Chen picked it out, so of course it couldn't be wrong. This is the silver, please check and see if there is anything wrong with it."
Shopkeeper Chen took it with a smile, counted it in front of him, and then said, "Yes, just right, these are their indentures. If you have time today, we can go to the government to have them stamped with the official seal. From now on, their life and death will be at your disposal."
"Then I'll trouble Manager Chen to accompany you for a walk."
"It should be. It should be."
Wan Laoer drove a horse-drawn carriage and took a group of people to the yamen. The brokers had good relationships with them, so it didn't take much time to get the indentures done.
Wan Laoer held a stack of papers in his pocket, feeling both happy and heartbroken.
Before leaving, Wang Jiawei did not forget to give instructions to Shopkeeper Chen.
"If there are any people who are in charge recently, please keep an eye out for me and go directly to Wan Kee Potato Noodles on Yong'an Street to inform them."
"Oh, so Mr. Wan is the owner of Wan Kee Potato Noodles? The shop has only been open for half a year, but it's already a household name. There's a long queue every day. My husband has to get up early to queue up if he wants to have a bite."
"Shopkeeper Chen, you don't have to queue up in the future, just go directly. Tell me in advance and I'll save a seat for you." Wan Laoer also knew how to behave himself, and quickly agreed. He would have to deal with Shopkeeper Chen in the future, so he had to establish a good relationship with him now so that he could buy the person he wanted in the future. They dealt with hundreds of people a year, and they were much better at judging people than he was.
"Oh, thank you so much, Master Wan. I will tell my wife this good news when I get home and make her happy."
"Shopkeeper Chen, take care. I'll treat you to a drink when I have the chance." Wang Jiawei saluted with his fists.
Shopkeeper Chen smiled, waved his hand and went back.
Wan Laoer brought the people he bought back to the shop.
The shop is very busy right now.
Wan Laosi also went to the kitchen to help in person.
Wan Laoer brought a group of people to the shop, and several of them put the equipment into use immediately.
Anyway, I will have to deal with potato flour in the future, so it’s better to get familiar with it sooner.
Wan Laoer sent Wang Jiawei and the maid home.
"Brother-in-law, I'm going back tomorrow. Please pack up and I'll pick you up tomorrow."
"Thank you for your hard work, second brother." Wang Jiawei felt that he finally saw the light of day. If he continued to live in this muddle-headed state, he didn't know how long he could hold on.
Before leaving, Wan Laoer gave Wang Jiawei five taels of silver.
"Take this first, buy some clothes and pack up."
Wang Jiawei's eyes turned red as he looked at the huge pile of silver. He didn't expect that the Wan family would save him from danger for the second time. He could finally repay the favor he owed the Wan family in this life.
Wan Laoer patted Wang Jiawei on the shoulder, sighed, got on the carriage and left.
When I got back to the shop, it was already busy past lunchtime and was finally idle.
After observing at noon, Wan Laosi found that these people were indeed more capable, but he did not have time to ask Wan Laoer how much silver they had spent.
"Brother, come and eat."
Wan Laosi asked the kitchen to cook two side dishes, and he and Wan Laoer ate them in the backyard.
"Fourth brother, how are you going to arrange these people?"
"Second brother, how much silver did you spend?"
"Three hundred and forty taels, and a maid as a gift. I asked my brother-in-law to take her back."
Wan Laosi was not too surprised. He had lived in the capital city for a long time and knew something about the market situation.
"The oldest one spent two hundred taels. What do you think?"
"I can't see anything special about it yet, but it's expensive for a reason. I plan to let them open a branch in the capital first to test their abilities before sending them out. Also, it's time to harvest potatoes in two months. Shuang'er and Zhengyang are not at home this year, so you, second brother, will definitely not be able to handle it alone, so I must send a manager back to help you."
"Don't worry, there are people at home. The two girls that Quan'er gave to Fubao are pretty good. I'll ask them to help keep the accounts when the time comes."
"No, this needs to be managed by someone special. We need to collect the money every year. We can't fool around. From now on, all the income and outgoing payments for this item need to be managed by someone. Those two girls can't do it."
Wan Laoer didn't argue anymore. He didn't understand anyway. After finishing this year, he would concentrate on farming.
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