Chapter 149 Not a Good Thing
The matter of Li Daya being sold off was like a drop of water falling into a clear lake, creating only a slight ripple before disappearing without a trace.
Shengyuan was short-staffed, so Sheng An took a break from his busy schedule to go to a nearby brokerage firm and spent less than half an hour buying four people: two elderly people and two young people.
The two women weren't too old; they were women in their early forties with no family or children. Their real names were Mulan and Guo Erjian.
The name Guo Erjian was so insulting that Sheng An changed her name to Guo Zhen.
Guo Zhen was illiterate and did not know the meaning of the character "珍".
When the broker told her that "zhen" meant "precious treasure," this woman, who had been nicknamed "Second Bitch" for most of her life, couldn't control her emotions and burst into tears on the spot.
The two young masters were about the same age as the four of them, around sixteen or seventeen, and they all had a clever and quick-witted air about them.
Sheng An continued the practice of naming children after books, using the names Shu Da and Shu Li according to their ages.
Mulan and Guo Zhen were assigned to Granny Sun, who was tasked with helping them familiarize themselves with Shengyuan Garden and its daily operations.
Shuda and Shuli will be temporarily led by Shuqi, and their specific tasks will be arranged by Shuqi.
Despite her age, Granny Sun was very sharp-minded. After arranging accommodations for Mulan and Guo Zhen, the first thing she did was to subtly encourage them by mentioning Li Daya's matter:
“There was a man who lived with an old woman. A few days ago, she offended her master and was sold off. I heard that the brokerage firm would sell offenders to the worst places. I don’t know if she can endure the torture.”
Mulan and Guo Zhen weren't stupid; they immediately understood Granny Sun's intention and said tremblingly, "We will definitely be careful and not cause trouble for our master."
Granny Sun stared at the two of them for a long while before slowly nodding: "As long as you don't have any improper thoughts, the master will not treat you unfairly."
Then he went on to explain the benefits and compensation offered by Shengyuan.
They receive a monthly allowance of one tael of silver, two sets of new clothes and shoes every quarter, and three full meals a day, with at least one meal consisting of meat. Good performance will result in an extra month's allowance at the end of the year.
The fact that they were provided with three full meals a day, with at least one meal consisting of meat, made Mulan and Guo Zhen happy, excited, and a little incredulous.
When they ate three dishes and a soup at noon, one of which was a large piece of meat, the two of them cried as they ate, and their anxious hearts finally calmed down.
With Granny Sun keeping an eye on the two newcomers, Sheng An wasn't worried about them causing trouble for the time being and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his money-making endeavors.
That morning, she was instructing the four treasures on how to prepare the ingredients when Shuqi ran over excitedly: "Master, a guest has accepted that painting of a flying dragon!"
Sheng An was overjoyed, his eyes beaming with delight: "Who has such a discerning eye? What was the final price?"
Shuqi smiled and said, "It was Master Cheng, who often comes here to eat. He took a liking to Flying Dragon in the Sky at first sight and bought it for the original price of fifty taels of silver."
As he spoke, he took out fifty taels of silver and a receipt with Master Cheng's name on it.
Sheng An took it and glanced at it, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled: "Not bad, not bad. In less than ten days, two out of six bamboo weaving sets have been sold."
The "Fortune, Prosperity, and Happiness" painting was sold a couple of days ago. The buyer's grandfather was interested in novelties, and since the old man's birthday was approaching, the buyer spent twenty taels of silver to buy it to make the old man happy.
There are only four bamboo weaving sets left, which is a bit too few to display in the large hall. Sheng An immediately instructed Shu Qi: "Have someone go to Huai Shu Village and invite Miss Zhang over."
Zhang Zhaodi received the message and rushed over that afternoon.
The two bamboo weaving sets sold for a total of seventy taels of silver, which were split 50/50, with Zhang Zhaodi receiving thirty-five taels.
Sheng An placed the silver ingots in front of her; they were five taels each.
Seeing so much silver for the first time, Zhang Zhaodi felt it was unreal, and her hands trembled with excitement: "An'an, did the bamboo weaving really sell for so much silver? You didn't just buy it to make me happy, did you?"
Sheng An was speechless: "It's not like no one wants your bamboo weaving, why would I bother doing this?"
Zhang Zhaodi touched this silver ingot, then that silver ingot, her eyes brighter than fireflies on a summer night: "Wouldn't this count as becoming rich overnight?"
Sheng An nodded vigorously: "Of course it counts!"
Zhang Zhaodi was so happy she wanted to roll on the spot. Without hesitation, she made arrangements for the thirty-five taels of silver: "I've inquired, and a small house near Da Kui's house can be bought for one hundred taels. I plan to buy one myself."
Sheng An asked, "Do you not want to live under the same roof as your aunt and uncle after marriage, and are planning to move out and live separately with Da Kui?"
Zhang Zhaodi quickly shook her head: "No, Da Kui's yard isn't very big. They raise pigs in the back and slaughter them in the front. I won't have any space to do bamboo weaving in the future. Besides, I plan to take on apprentices, and there might be more than one. It's inconvenient for them to be coming and going from their in-laws' house all day."
Sheng An understood her meaning and nodded in agreement: "We can buy it and turn it into a bamboo weaving workshop. If we don't have enough money, we can rent one nearby for the time being."
As she spoke, she winked at her best friend: "If you don't want to rent, I can lend you money. You can just weave me a chicken, duck, or goose later."
She has cats and dogs, but she's still missing chickens, ducks, and geese. She plans to "collect stamps" to gather all kinds of poultry and livestock, and her display shelves will be very lively then.
Zhang Zhaodi didn't stand on ceremony with Sheng An: "Okay, if I don't have enough money, I'll borrow it from you."
Sheng An was genuinely happy for her best friend's promising career: "Take advantage of this relatively less busy period and knit more with your grandfather. Once you're done, send them over immediately."
Zhang Zhaodi spread out her hands, all ten of them covered in calluses and wounds of all sizes: "I knit every day, my grandfather doesn't even want to see me anymore."
My grandfather is getting old, and his eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, so weaving these intricate things is a bit difficult for him.
Ever since she "clung to" him, my grandfather has become exceptionally busy, to the point that he looks down whenever he sees her.
Sheng An was both amused and exasperated: "Send some things your grandfather likes. After you marry Da Kui and live in the city, he might even come over to help you train your apprentice."
Zhang Zhaodi chuckled: "That's what I was planning to do too. He's just sitting around doing nothing anyway. I'll buy Grandpa a jar of good wine later; he really enjoys it."
My maternal grandfather is in good health; you can tell at a glance that he is a long-lived old man.
Several of my maternal uncles and aunts felt that my maternal grandfather was biased. They had argued a lot about his care in his old age, which made him so angry that he built a small hut to live in alone and asked each family to send him ten catties of grain every month.
Even with just ten jin of grain, the three uncles would delay as long as possible, or they would send sweet potatoes and bitter melons that were not suitable as staple food but weighed a lot.
My maternal grandfather had always been very good to her family. My parents wanted to invite him to live with them for an extended period, but he refused. My uncles were also afraid of gossip from the villagers, so they strongly opposed my parents' suggestion.
She couldn't do anything for her grandfather before, but now that she has the money to take over a bamboo weaving workshop, she urgently needs someone to lend her a hand. Isn't this a ready-made reason to bring her grandfather to live in the city for a long time?
Sheng An coughed lightly: "Then you should coax her well. If you make the old lady happy, then whatever you say will go."
If she were old and her eyesight were failing, she would have to run around taking care of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she couldn't help but shudder.
Sheng An suddenly felt that she was no good at all, having given her best friend such a terrible idea. She felt ashamed.
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