Time flies, and it's already the end of May. The weather is getting warmer, and the leather trade is entering its off-season.
When Manager Wan came to town to transport cardboard boxes, he only needed a few scattered pieces of sheepskin.
However, the demand for cardboard boxes is increasing day by day. He is getting more and more orders, from cardboard boxes to cardboard cartons, and even uncut pieces of cardboard.
Manager Wan didn't hide anything, saying that these cardboard pieces were very useful when making leather boot molds.
Song Liyun then showed him a carrying bag with a handle, with holes punched in it and ribbons tied on it. Custom-designed pictures were then painted on its plain white surface, which could enhance the appearance of the product.
Manager Wan looked at the various paper bags and chuckled, "Hey! I've lived half my life and I never knew paper could be used to make these things. If I had known earlier, I probably could have bought two more shops."
Song Liyun said, "It's not too late now. Uncle Wan can collect some old cotton-padded jackets and quilts from other places and send them to me, so that I don't have to make an empty trip back and forth."
Manager Wan laughed loudly: "Miss Song is really thoughtful of me, she can't even bear to part with an empty carriage."
"Since it's all good stuff within the family, why don't you let Uncle Wan arrange a marriage for you, so you can become a member of the Wan family?"
Here we go again! Here we go again!
They even openly uttered the saying, "Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders."
Being looked down upon is a headache, being liked is also a headache, Song Liyun sighed!
She knew that she was already a grown woman in this era, and it was perfectly normal for her to be asked to marry, even a little late.
Some time ago, Wang Junxu had subtly mentioned to Luo Baihu that he wanted her to choose a husband from the guard.
This is probably what they mean by "keeping the good stuff within the family."
Song Liyun said directly: If you really want to make your business bigger and longer, you can't put all your eggs in one basket.
If I were to become a civilian in the future, I would have a better chance to serve the garrison.
Luo Baihu and Wang Zhong remained silent.
Military households faced many restrictions, but more importantly, children from civilian households could receive an education and become officials—this is an indisputable fact.
No matter how much they valued Song Liyun's abilities, they couldn't cut off her path to escaping a marriage with a military household.
Fortunately, Song Zhenping could never shake off his military household status.
No matter how many people Song Liyun marries, as long as she cares about her brothers from her maternal family, she will still work for the Broken Gold Guard.
Actually, Song Liyun didn't say this because she had any prejudice against military household registration; she just didn't want people to pay too much attention to her marriage, especially not for utilitarian reasons.
Marriages must be arranged eventually, and when in Rome, do as the Romans do; she didn't want to challenge the entire society on her own.
But you have to find one that you're attracted to.
Family background, appearance, ability—any one of these is enough to satisfy me.
She's not in a hurry to get married.
Song Liyun believed that as long as she could earn a lot of money for the garrison, she would be a spinster in her twenties or thirties, and Luo Baihu could knock out, tie up, and send to her whoever he fancied.
Mr. Zhang and his colleagues had considered combining the acorn business with the cardboard box business.
Unfortunately, although there are many unmarried men in the town, they are all unattractive and unsuitable. The capable ones have all run away, and it is impossible to find a suitable candidate.
Grandpa Zhang would sigh from time to time, saying that good things often come with difficulties.
He also comforted Song Liyun, telling her not to worry, that marriage is predestined, and that her destined partner would eventually come to her.
Now, Manager Wan is trying to find a wife for himself again.
Song Liyun lowered her head and said shyly, "Uncle Wan, you're joking. I have no mind to talk about marriage right now. My elder brother hasn't been married yet!"
"You're being so considerate of me because I want to earn more money."
Having visited Baolinju twice and learned about the Song family's circumstances, Steward Wan, who had become acquainted with them, jokingly mentioned that he wanted to find a marriage partner for Song Liyun. He had brushed it off at the time, but now he was bringing it up again.
Song Liyun didn't want to involve marriage in their purely business dealings, because if the marriage didn't go through, they wouldn't even be able to do business together.
Besides, she wasn't in the mood for it. She wanted to make money, but there was also the threat of Hong Jingtian, who was eyeing the Song family with hostility and who knew when he might suddenly appear.
It's better to avoid trouble than to get involved. Getting engaged now is just asking for trouble.
Although no one showed any displeasure on their faces, the atmosphere was still somewhat awkward when Manager Wan was politely refused by Song Liyun.
Song Liyun changed the subject, saying, "Uncle Wan, have you heard any news from the Qili County government office?"
Not long ago, Wan Chun Leather Shop in Qili County reopened.
The magistrate of Tongpan County summoned Manager Wan to ask for his confession, because among those arrested at Tianxianglou, some had confessed that they had followed Hong Jingtian's orders to stake out and inquire about the leather goods store.
Manager Wan pretended to know nothing and just cried foul, saying that he had closed the shop during that period because of family matters and did not know what Tianxianglou was up to.
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Jiang Feng only noted down the confession and let the man leave.
When Manager Wan asked Song Liyun about the case, his smile also faded.
Hong Jingtian and Huo Lao Er's escape had an impact on the entire case.
Moreover, both the Wan family and Song Liyun are in danger, so we dare not let our guard down.
Manager Wan said in a deep voice, "Jiang Feng is a very shrewd person. He hasn't been investigating Hong Jingtian lately; he's only been reorganizing the internal affairs of the county government."
Many of the patrolling yamen runners were replaced, causing widespread anxiety within the county government office, but the local residents and merchants were delighted.
The reason he said that Magistrate Jiang, who was also the prefectural magistrate, was a very cunning person.
The reason is simple: Jiang Feng has not yet set foot in Broken Gold Town.
Given that he was a county magistrate who had come specifically because of the cases involving Suijin Town and Tianxiang Tower, how could he possibly not have tried any cases for almost two months, instead spending all his time in the county office reviewing files and assigning personnel?
Manager Wan may not understand officialdom, but he understands business. All opportunities are fleeting, and it is harder for a person to remain calm and composed than to act rashly.
Song Liyun also said, "The town of Suijin is currently selling land, and the county government is keeping quiet about it. There's probably something fishy going on here."
As the two most powerful military and political figures in the area, Luo Baihu met with Jiang Feng once. After returning, he only told Song Liyun to be wary of Hong Jingtian and others, and not to worry about anything else.
Luo Baihu has not intervened in the land sales and money transactions in the town. Song Liyun always felt that there was something fishy going on, perhaps some kind of tacit understanding in officialdom.
Anyway, it has nothing to do with us lowly soldiers.
When Manager Wan heard that land was being sold in Suijin Town, he wanted to buy a house for five taels of silver, but Song Liyun laughed and said, "Manager Wan, don't even think about it. Only local residents can buy land in Suijin Town."
"Local residents? Miss Song, your family is a military household, so you can buy land?"
When Manager Wan heard that outsiders were not allowed to buy land, he immediately expressed doubt about how Song Liyun could buy such a large area.
Song Liyun said confidently, "Why not? Old Master Zhang and the others have already accepted the money and registered it."
Seeing her carelessness, Steward Wan put down his tea: "All land deed sales need to be registered with the government. You are just collecting payments in town, so you can't take it seriously. You should always be prepared."
Song Liyun's relaxed expression vanished: because there were many people buying land, the matters were fragmented, and the size of the property under each owner's name was constantly changing.
Old Master Zhang and his family wanted to finalize all the land ownership before inviting the government to unify the process; indeed, the deeds had not yet been processed.
She was determined to get to the bottom of this.
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