Chapter 126
"The guys in your shop must hire the people I designate," said General Qiao.
What is the condition? Why do we have to hire the person designated by General Qiao?
Gu Ran and Pei Liu were puzzled. After General Qiao sighed and explained the whole story, they finally understood General Qiao's good intentions.
More than ten years ago, the soldiers who went to Quangang with General Qiao went through life and death with him. Some of them died in the confrontation with the Japanese pirates, while others died in the conspiracy of Du Jiang and the Zhou family. Especially those who risked their lives to rescue General Qiao, none of them were left.
Because they were accused of defeat and rebellion, the families of these soldiers also suffered a bad fate.
Those who were convicted were convicted, those who were expelled were expelled. Today the truth came to light. General Qiao went through the soldier roster one by one to find people and issued pensions. He found out that the descendants of these subordinates were having a hard time. Many of them were just like the Qiao family, with few descendants. Even those who survived were poor and looked down upon by others.
Although the situation has improved since this incident was exposed two years ago, most people are still displaced. Even those who remain in Damao City are just barely surviving. Now that they have received relief money, it is still a drop in the bucket.
General Qiao was always depressed when he saw this, and he tried to find a way to find a way out for these military families.
"Because they were considered traitors, the government confiscated their land and property. Many people in Damao City looked down on them, and no one was willing to hire them. To survive, many had to flee far away and hide their identities. They have only returned in recent years, but with the changing times, it's difficult for them to find a foothold in the city."
General Qiao sighed, "This all started because of me. I can't just watch them suffer any longer. Second Mother, your shop is looking for assistants. If you can give them a job, I'll let you do business here even if I don't charge rent."
"What are you talking about, Grandpa Qiao? Rent must be paid. You can collect the rent and use it as financial aid or do something else for them." Gu Ran understood and nodded. "I'll discuss this with Huanhuan. However, even if we send people to us, we still have to evaluate them. Otherwise, if they can't do the job after hiring them, it will be difficult for us to do our job."
"Hey, they are all people who have suffered a lot. If you give them a job, they will definitely work hard." General Qiao disagreed.
"In short, we will choose from the families recommended by Grandpa Qiao. We will always be able to choose the right one, right?" Even if the herbal jelly shop is opened and hired, there will only be four or five people. General Qiao has so many military families under his command, it is impossible that he cannot find a suitable guy among so few.
General Qiao nodded, took a look at the shop, and became worried again.
"How about you open a few more grass jelly shops and hire more people?"
I guess they saw that the shop was small and not many people could fit in.
"Don't we already have a Shengyun Academy in the outer city? Why don't you open one in the west district?" General Qiao clapped his hands. "I'll go get you another shop."
"No, Grandpa Qiao, there's no rush for this. Let's wait a moment." Gu Ran said with a smile.
Opening a third branch? That would be great.
But even a good cook cannot cook without rice. We have to first see if the dried herb and konjac sent from Jianzhou are enough. If not, we won’t be able to open two more branches.
"Oh!" General Qiao had a headache.
"Well, Grandpa Qiao, if you want to settle other people, I think there is a place I can recommend to you."
"Where?" General Qiao asked quickly, "Which place is hiring?"
"Do you still remember the young master of Fusheng Trading Company who came with us?"
That one, Xu San?
Gu Ran's words immediately awakened General Qiao.
By the way, Xu Sanlang came to Damao City to conduct an on-site inspection and build a Fusheng Trading Company, right?
The business needs people, the transportation of materials needs people, and even unloading materials from Cang Port requires people.
"I'll go find him right away." General Qiao was about to leave, but after a few steps, he came back and said, "Hey, Second Mother, do you know which inn Xu San is staying at?"
Of course he knew. As soon as Xu Sanyi settled down, he sent a letter to the Qiao Mansion, fearing that he would lose contact with Gu Ran and the Qiao family behind him.
It’s just that Gu Ran hasn’t had time to pay attention to him these days.
So the group went directly to the inn to find Xu Sanlang.
As for Xu Sanlang, after arriving in Damao City, he began to wander around the inner and outer cities, getting to know the local customs and habits, and also becoming familiar with the business companies stationed in the city.
Fusheng has been very successful in the capital in the past two years, but it cannot be said to be the only one in the market. There are many other trading companies that are equally powerful as it. It is even far behind Jimin Trading Company, the largest trading company in the capital and the largest imperial merchant in the Dasheng Dynasty.
The Xu family knew that their foundation was weak, and they were able to stand out among the many businesses in the capital in the past two years and become one of the most watched businesses in the capital. This was also because after he was exiled to Jianzhou, he opened up the situation by transporting goods from the south to the north. In addition, the konjac and orange series products they cooperated with Gu Er Niang were unique and had no other substitutes, which attracted the attention of the powerful marquisates in the capital and greatly increased their value.
Fusheng Trading Company's current position is still unstable. If it wants to continue to maintain its current reputation in the capital, it must not only continue to operate all existing cooperation, but also continue to increase Fusheng's size or market share. This is why Xu Sanlang came all the way to Damao City.
The reason why Jimin Trading Company has been able to dominate other trading companies for many years is that it not only opened shops in the capital, but also has been established in Damao City for nearly a hundred years.
In comparison, Fusheng is just a little brother.
Fusheng made his fortune in Zhengzhou, and only after obtaining the qualification of an imperial merchant did he move to the capital. To get to this point, he had already spent the family fortune accumulated by three generations of the Xu family. Fortunately, the Dasheng Dynasty was a peaceful and prosperous time, where people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and businesses were thriving. The Xu family had worked diligently for decades to achieve their current status, and now they were even more dependent on Xu San, which had elevated their status a lot.
Precisely because they had tasted success, the Xu family wanted to go a step further. When Xu Sanlang proposed to visit Damao City, the Xu family thought that the time might have come.
As a relatively well-known trading company and an ambitious imperial merchant, how could he not want to open a store in the old capital of Damao City?
So Xu Sanlang came.
He has looked for many shops these days, but since each household can only rent or buy two shops, he has not yet decided which two to buy.
Moreover, the value of shops in Damao City is obviously higher than that of shops in the capital because of the quota.
Fortunately, when I left Beijing, I took into consideration that I was coming to Damao City to establish a branch, so I brought enough banknotes with me. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to get a shop that was in a good location and big enough.
Even so, there are few good shops to sell.
When Xu Sanlang was worrying about the shop, he saw General Qiao and Gu Ran coming to his door.
After General Qiao stated his purpose directly, Xu Sanlang had to admit that he was very excited.
He originally approached General Qiao for the Qiao family's influence in Damao City. Now the conditions for cooperation offered by General Qiao were not harsh. On the contrary, many of the people he would recommend to work in his own company were locals in Damao City, and they were much more familiar with local goods and commodities than himself, a newcomer.
Moreover, agreeing to General Qiao's conditions meant that in Damao City, Fusheng Trading Company would truly have the Qiao family as its backer, and would not be afraid of being harassed by the government. Even if competitors started to bully them, they would still have someone to rely on.
The two hit it off immediately.
General Qiao would vouch for Xu Sanlang and recommend him to good shops. Xu Sanlang would then promise to hire military dependents who met the requirements as shop assistants.
"General Qiao, rest assured. We run a trading company and need people everywhere. Not only do we need people to guard the warehouse, but we also need people to go out and look for goods. Freight and sea transportation will naturally require more." Xu San said, "If we can open a trading company in Damao City, my Xu family will not only have to form our own caravan, but we will also need a station at Cang Port to supervise and unload goods. In addition, if the business grows in the future, I also plan to buy another cargo ship to transport goods from Cang Port. I will also need to hire a lot of guards and servants on the ship."
"Okay, okay." Hearing Xu Sanlang's words, General Qiao nodded repeatedly, feeling relieved that there were many people who could be accommodated. "In that case, I will go with you tomorrow to look for a shop as soon as possible and open your business."
"Then I'll trouble you, General Qiao." Xu San was also very satisfied.
He was able to cooperate with the Qiao family so smoothly. Although it was General Qiao himself who needed it, I am afraid that it was also inseparable from Gu Er Niang's recommendation. Otherwise, how could General Qiao trust him to entrust people?
Thinking of this, Xu Sanlang glanced at Gu Ran gratefully. Gu Ran was about to nod slightly when he was blocked by a figure.
It’s Pei Liu.
Although Gu Ran had to go there as the recommender in order to help General Qiao and Xu San do business, Pei Liu followed them and became very wary of the fact that Er Niang was going to meet Xu Sanlang.
Seeing Xu San looking at Er Niang with a smile, he immediately stepped in front of Gu Ran and blocked her.
Xu Sanlang was caught off guard by Pei Liu's cold face. His smile gradually faded. He coughed dryly and started fanning himself.
Why did Pei Liuniang react like this?
Thinking back to the look she had given Er Niang when they were on the official ship, she couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart: No way? Should I remind Gu Er Niang?
Pei Liu saw Xu Sanlang withdraw his gaze and let out a long breath: Tsk, why are you trying to flirt with people for no reason? Disgusting.
After this day, not to mention that Xu Sanlang went with General Qiao to look for shops and plan to open a trading company, Gu Ran and Pei Liu went to He's shop and told them General Qiao's request, and He Qinghuan immediately agreed.
"That's great, of course. General Qiao can recommend people to help out in the store. If anything happens to the store in the future, he will definitely not stand idly by. This will provide an extra layer of security for our He family's livelihood."
"Who's in charge of that shop in the inner city?"
"Of course it's my mother. When we were in the county town, my father stayed behind to look after the stall at the dock, and Mother went to help out at the shop at the port first." He Qinghuan said, "It was Mother who brought my aunt out and made her able to handle things on her own, so she was transferred to the shop in the prefectural capital. Now that we're opening a second new shop, Mother should go. She has more experience than Father." As he spoke, He Qinghuan called out to the busy Aunt He, "Isn't that right, Mother?"
"Well, our Huanhuan says it is." Aunt He responded while working.
He Qinghuan and Gu Ran both laughed.
"That's fine. When General Qiao brings over, will you carefully select the people you want?"
"Okay, Senior Brother Lin is in the inner city. He lives close to the shop and can look after it when he has time."
"You two are always busy with the store business. Are you okay with your studies?"
"It's okay. Don't underestimate me and Senior Brother Lin." He Qinghuan smiled. "It's those who work harder who are capable."
"Ah, that's right, you two are great and capable." Gu Ran had to flatter.
"Well, did General Qiao really say that he could find a shop for us to open a third branch?" He Qinghuan asked happily.
"You're thinking of beauty." Gu Ran rolled his eyes at her. "You have to first consider whether the dried fairy grass and konjac shipped from Jianzhou can handle the needs of this second branch."
"Ceratonia is easy to grow. My grandfather's family has a lot of dried eratonia. If we want to open a third branch, just ask my uncles to plant a few more acres!" He Qinghuan pushed Gu Ran. "As for konjac, didn't you ask the people in your village to plant it? Just let them expand the planting area. Besides, Maixiang is already thinking about expanding the planting area."
"That will have to wait until production increases and we have stockpiled goods."
"Then, Sister Gu, when you go back, will you tell them about it?"
Gu Ran glanced at He Qinghuan, and He Qinghuan's big watery eyes stared at her.
Gu Ran was helpless.
"Okay, the second branch hasn't even opened yet, and you're already thinking about opening a third. If you really open three, are you sure you can do it?"
"Damao City is so big, and there are so many diners. Three restaurants will be enough." He Qinghuan said proudly, "If I had money, I would also plan to open one in the South District!"
"Tsk!" Gu Ran said helplessly, "That's something I'll have to wait until I get back."
"When you get back, tell my uncle Yang, the Mai family, and the other families in your village that our He family will harvest whatever they grow." He Qing laughed happily, "I plan to write a letter to Uncle Yang and grandfather to tell them about this!"
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say."
In the end, General Qiao did not collect rent from the shop. Instead, he used the rent as shares and took 20% of the interest every ten days. The remaining 80% was divided 50-50 between Gu Ran and He Qinghuan.
After the contract was signed, He Qinghuan began to look for shop assistants from among the people pushed by General Qiao, while arranging the decoration of the new store.
Gu Ran didn't intervene at all.
In the future, this shop will be managed by the He family, and He Qinghuan will naturally have the final say on who to hire, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble if the person she chooses is not to her liking.
Seeing that the branch's affairs were being carried out in an orderly manner, Gu Ran considered returning to Xiaxi Village as soon as possible.
Not to mention that she had to ask Village Chief Wu and several other families to plant more fairy grass and konjac, she also had a large orange grove to take care of. It was already the season for oranges to bloom, so she had to go back quickly to take care of it.
In addition, Xu San, who was looking for a shop to open a business in the city, also sent someone to bring a message to remind him: Don’t forget the red mushrooms this year, you have to go into the mountains to pick them in time to supply Fu Sheng!
And konjac sauce, ten jars of it every year, is it harvested in the mountains during this time? Don't miss the season.
His words and actions were urging her to go back to Xiaxi Village to work.
In that case, let’s go home!
Gu Ran first told Pei Liu about going back, and then said goodbye to General Qiao.
Although General Qiao was reluctant to let her go, he knew that Gu Ran would return to Xiaxi Village sooner or later. She was the one who bought the entire island to make a living for the Gu family's orange grove, and it was impossible for her to abandon such a large orange grove.
So one side agreed, and the other side asked the manager to find a car for Zhang Roma and go to Cang Port to book a boat ticket.
"Second Mother, now that you all have left, Xiao Jinhua should stay and accompany me!" General Qiao said, holding the furry ball in his arms and stroking the cat's head.
Although Xiao Jinhua's home is also in Xiaxi Village, she is now the closest baby to him, and her nest is in his dormitory!
Knowing that this was their general's favorite pet, no one in the Qiao Mansion dared to neglect her. They served her with delicious fish and meat, and Little Golden Flower lived a life of luxury. Now she is plump and greasy, and she eats and sleeps all day long. Oh, and she also fights with Little Tofu Pudding.
Xiao Douhua also ate and drank well. If Pei Liu hadn't stopped playing with the cat every day to exercise more, he would have almost become fat as a ball.
"Okay, Grandpa Qiao, I think Little Golden Flower likes you too, so let her stay with you!"
"Little Golden Flower is a lone cub, and she'd be quite lonely if she stayed here. How about letting Little Douhua stay here too, to keep her company?" Grandpa Qiao asked more and more.
Gu Ran looked at the two fat kids hugging each other and playing, then went to see Pei Liu.
Pei Liu brought Xiao Douhua out with him, so he had to ask her if she was willing.
Pei Liu nodded, and Grandpa Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. When he looked at the two fur balls again, his expression relaxed.
He still remembered that there were so many fur balls in the small house in Xiaxi Village. It looked festive and cute, especially on winter nights. Having two fur balls there was like booking two small heaters, so he would no longer be afraid of the cold.
After resolving the cat issue, Grandpa Qiao had his steward deliver several boxes of gold and silver, as well as some pearls and jade jewelry. Gu Ran was stunned by what he saw. After coming to his senses, he repeatedly refused: "Grandpa Qiao, aren't you worried about not having enough money to support your subordinates' families? You don't have to give me this money, you can keep it!"
"They have theirs, these are all yours." General Qiao waved his hand, "I have rewards from the emperor and Marquis Dingsheng, these are not much."
"Grandpa Qiao?" Gu Ran wanted to refuse.
She received a share of the reward for saving people from the Saint and Marquis Dingsheng. She had also received a thank-you gift from General Qiao in the capital before. If she accepted more, she was afraid that she would lose control of her greed.
"I told you, if you call me grandpa, I will acknowledge you as my granddaughter. However, this is probably all I can do for you."
Later, Gu Ran learned that although all nine members of the Qiao family were wiped out, there were still some distant relatives who, after hearing the news, secretly fled in order to preserve their offspring and bloodline.
Now that the injustice had been redressed, those tribesmen who had managed to survive dared to slowly come forward. Upon hearing that General Qiao had returned to the city, they all came to join him.
General Qiao has already met with several distant relatives of the Qiao family. It seems that he wants to revive his family with the help of these remaining members of the Qiao family.
No wonder General Qiao looked better and better these days. It turned out that he had found his relatives.
"Isn't that great? Grandpa Qiao, you have your own family. Even if you stay in Damao City, you won't be alone!"
General Qiao laughed heartily. "Second Mother, you are also my Qiao An's recognized family. When it is convenient in the future, please come back to Damao City to see your Grandpa Qiao anytime."
"good."
Gu Ran understood what General Qiao meant, and to reassure him, he readily accepted the money he sent.
Before leaving, Gu Ran and Pei Liu packed their bags and brought He Qinghuan and Lin Sandu to Qiao's house, asking them to take some things they had bought for their families back to Xiaxi Village.
"That's fine. We don't have much luggage anyway."
Because many of Gu Ran’s things were moved into the space.
While discussing the new store with He Qinghuan, Gu Ran, while getting rid of Pei Liu, bought a lot of local specialties and food in restaurants in the inner and outer cities of Damao City and stockpiled them. He bought a separate batch for those that were to be shipped back by carriage or boat, but not much.
As for Pei Liu, he didn't give gifts or stock up, so he bought even less.
So the two of them didn't bring much luggage.
Originally, He Qinghuan and Lin San were worried that the two ladies would have trouble carrying things for both families, but when they saw how little they had, they felt relieved.
"Did General Qiao arrange guards for you on the way?"
"That's impossible. The Qiao family's guards would have to send us to Jianzhou and then back again, which would be too much trouble. So we hired a convoy to escort us back." Gu Ran explained, "Don't worry, it's only a half-month journey. We will proceed with caution, right, Liu Niang?"
Pei Liu nodded.
He Qinghuan and Lin San were relieved.
The night before leaving, Gu Ran quietly took out all the money, silver, gold and other items he had received as rewards during his departure from Xiaxi Village in his own room. He piled them on the couch, rubbing his hands and laughing:
There were still 1,800 taels of gold and silver left from the rewards bestowed in the capital the other day. Later, Marquis Dingsheng gave another 600 taels. The total amount of gold and silver given by Grandpa Qiao was more than 1,000 taels, making a total of nearly 4,000 taels of silver.
Add to that a pile of pearls, jade, and gold… wow, I didn’t expect that after leaving Xiaxi Village, I would definitely be a rich woman!
So, does it count as a glorious return for her to return to Xiaxi Village with such a huge fortune?
Gu Ran was laughing happily when someone knocked on the door of the wing room. Gu Ran's smile froze. He frantically tried to put away the gold and silver when he heard someone calling out from outside: "Second Mother?"
It’s Liu Niang!
Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, "Hey, Liu Niang, what's the matter?"
"It's urgent."
Gu Ran glanced at his belongings, lifted the quilt and covered them up. Then he went to open the door and saw Pei Liu standing at the door with a bundle. "Have you packed your bags?"
Pei Liu nodded: "Let's go in and talk."
After entering, Pei Liu sat at the desk in the outer room and placed the bundle on the table. "Six-Niang, please keep these for me."
"Is it something urgent?" Otherwise why would you say it was an urgent matter?
"Take a look?" Pei Liu nodded at Gu Ran.
Who's the relationship between her and Liu Niang? Since she wanted to see it for herself, of course she had to see it. She opened the bundle: it was also a pile of gold and silver.
It should be the same as hers, who also won the reward several times.
But it's obviously less than mine.
"Sixth Lady, why don't you keep your own gold and silver safe?"
"Hasn't it always been you who kept all the gold and silver I earned?"
After he stopped being a killer, he also deposited the most gold he earned with her.
Gu Ran remembered and chuckled at Pei Liu.
"These are also for your eyes, okay?" Pei Liu said softly.
"good."
On the next journey back to Jianzhou, we would not take the official ship and there would be no officials to guard us. We were afraid that the road might be bumpy. Liu Niang was good at fighting, and acting as a guard would involve fighting and killing. It would be difficult for her to carry the luggage, so it would be a good idea to let her keep it for me.
At least she had a space where she could quietly store everything except the cloth and silk that were difficult to fit in, and the red salmon that happened to be used as a decoy, without worrying about losing anything.
"That's great, we can go home tomorrow."
Counting the time, it has been almost half a year since I left Xiaxi Village. Time flies!
"Yeah!" Pei Liu looked at Gu Ran and nodded.
"Fortunately, Liu Niang is here with me!"
When leaving Xiaxi Village, Li Ji and the Shen family father and son, who were traveling with them, left first. Today in Damao City, they had to say goodbye to General Qiao, Xu Sanlang, the He family and Lin San.
Pei Liu glanced at Gu Ran and nodded: "If you like, I can accompany you wherever you go."
"Well, Liu Niang is really nice." Gu Ran didn't delve into it further and continued to nod with a smile.
In June of that year, when white orange blossoms were still filling the orange grove, Gu Ran and Pei Liu finally returned to Xiaxi Village.
It was at this time that Gu Ran realized that because she was the one who saved General Qiao and had met the saint in the imperial capital and received the saint's reward, she and Pei Liu and others had become celebrities not only in Xiaxi Village, but also in the entire Jianzhou.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
