Xi Chun was not an oblivious person. Although her family was helping her because she was getting engaged to Fu Changfeng, their efforts showed how much they valued her.
Xi Chun thanked him repeatedly and gave the housekeeper a fried chicken to express her gratitude for his hard work.
“Miss Chen, you’re too kind. You’ve helped our master, which is also a help to us. Otherwise, we servants with indentures would probably have been resold. Now that we’ve saved our lives, this little thing isn’t worth Miss Chen’s concern.”
The steward had been with the Fu family for many years, so he was given a name by his master. The steward was called Fu Yuan, and the whole family were servants of the Fu family.
"Butler Fu, this is just a small token of our appreciation. We made it ourselves. Please take it home and try it with your wife and children. If you like it, feel free to come and get it next time."
"Thank you very much, Miss Chen. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me. The master and mistress of this shop intend to use it as a betrothal gift for you, so you can decorate it however you like." Butler Fu secretly revealed this information to her.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Butler Fu."
Because the shop was quite large, the monthly rent was five taels of silver. When Xichun took the silver to the Fu family, Master Fu said that he would only accept two months' rent first, and that eight taels of silver would be more auspicious. Xichun didn't hesitate any longer and agreed.
With the shop rented, Xichun focused her energy on renovating it. There were many restaurants in the county, and most of them served similar dishes. So if another similar restaurant opened, the competition would be even fiercer. Therefore, many shopkeepers were paying attention to the restaurant that was under renovation.
"Miss Chen, is this the shop you rented? What kind of business are you planning to do?" The shopkeepers were trying to find out information from her, and Xichun didn't mind and told them her plans.
"I'm planning to move my hot pot stall into a shop. That way, I won't have to worry about wind or rain anymore. Don't worry, I'll still be making these kinds of food once the shop is open," Xichun reassured them.
That's good. Even though another store has opened, as long as it doesn't sell the same things as theirs, customers can still come.
"Hehe, then I wish Miss Chen a prosperous business."
After a month, Xichun's renovations were finally complete, and she was preparing to open for business on an auspicious day. Fu Changfeng also sent Xichun a letter, which Fu Changjin personally picked up.
"Miss Chen, this is a letter from my brother. It must be good news. Take your time reading it. I'll be going now. By the way, can you read? Would you like someone to read it to you?" Fu Changjin didn't linger. After more than a month of recuperation, his health had improved a lot. It was just that his fingers needed more rest. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, but fortunately, he received timely treatment, and recovery was only a matter of time.
"Thank you, Young Master Fu. I learned some characters from someone before, so I can recognize a few common characters."
After finishing her work, Xichun opened the letter and read it.
In the letter, Fu Changfeng said that he had arrived safely in Yizhou Prefecture and asked Xichun to rest assured that everything was going well and there was no need to worry about him. He then mentioned the changes in the county magistrate and Guangming Prefecture. It turned out that the purpose of the governor's inspection tour of Guangming Prefecture was that someone had secretly reported the prefect, saying that he had increased taxes without cause and accepted bribes to help others get promoted.
This matter also involved the Jiannan Circuit Prefect. The two of them worked together to create numerous cases where officials were promoted by giving gifts. The Weinan County Magistrate also sought out these two people, and if anyone secretly reported them, they would only be killed.
Later on, if anyone was caught discussing it in private, they would be taken to another place and either forced to do hard labor or imprisoned on fabricated charges.
Therefore, after the governor obtained the evidence, the fate of the two men was predictable. A number of related officials were also implicated. Within a month, many officials from Jiannan Circuit and Guangming Prefecture were arrested one after another.
But the magistrate of Weinan County had something even more despicable about him. He was the one who hired those thieves. Because he was not a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) but a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examinations), he sold all his family property and hired people to help him get promoted from a low-ranking county magistrate.
The reason he colluded with the bandits was that those people were mountain bandits from the vicinity of that county. When the villagers reported that the bandits were ferocious, the county magistrate was captured during the encirclement and suppression of them. He saved his life by offering to protect them.
Therefore, he came up with a way to make money: he would support these ruthless killers and have them set up shop in other places to plunder wealthy merchants and gentry, thus securing his promotion.
So after he had thoroughly investigated the situation of the wealthy families in Weinan County, he set his sights on the Fu family first. When the three-year promotion assessment period came to an end, he naturally began to plan how to make money off these people.
Driven by his own selfish desires, the magistrate conspired with the wicked, and with inside help, the constables were unable to catch these thieves who appeared and disappeared in an instant. After the storm had passed, they transformed themselves into so-called businessmen.
After reading it, Xi Chun felt deeply disgusted. The magistrate's path to power was truly paved with the blood of the people. No wonder he was eventually sentenced to death, and all the thieves were naturally beheaded and their heads displayed to the public, to be executed in the autumn.
"Therefore, no matter what you do, you can't take shortcuts. The real path is the one you take one step at a time. The same principle applies to doing business. Only by ensuring the quality of our products and winning a good reputation can we grow bigger and stronger. You must all remember this."
After telling Aunt Zhang and the others how the matter ended, Xi Chun sighed with emotion.
"Yes, people in this world are always greedy. If we are ordinary people, let alone becoming a county magistrate, we would feel that we are lucky to be even a clerk. Not everyone is as talented as Young Master Fu and can take the imperial examination. These people are just not satisfied."
An Wuji was also present. He had previously said that if the thieves had any news, they should inform him immediately. The way things were handled was quite gratifying.
“That’s right. We can’t be thinking about making quick money. Look at Chen Lizhong’s family. Because of his gambling, he was blinded by greed and now he’s been exiled thousands of miles away.”
"And then there's Chen Xique. I heard she lost her child and was even taken away to be a slave. If she had been more honest and hardworking back then, she could have been a commoner."
"By the way, I heard that Chen Xiyue was sold by that family. Apparently, they said she couldn't have children and was afraid of being implicated. Sigh!"
Right now, people can only sigh and no one will sympathize with them, after all, they have done too many bad things, and it's impossible to feel sorry for them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com