While Zhao Tingduo dealt with the troublesome Di people outside, Song Liyun went to comfort the frightened children.
In truth, these assistants of hers are still complete novices and need to be trained by her personally.
The group of children were pitiful, the oldest being only eight or nine years old. At this moment, they were all terrified and their expressions were abnormal.
However, Song Liyun noticed that several children were quite calm.
Especially the older children, despite being very scared themselves, still held the hands of the other children.
Song Liyun nodded to herself: It seems that these children have formed friendships on the way here, which is a very good sign.
While individual strength is important in many situations, unity is the true invincible force.
She kept those bold children in mind, and only began to lead them away after everyone had calmed down.
Back at the city lord's mansion, Song Liyun asked Shayi to prepare dormitories for the children.
He then carefully learned about the children's situation.
There are twenty children, from oldest to youngest, including seven boys and thirteen girls.
Apart from a brother and sister, the others were all found by Wan Yanming from various places in Southeast Road.
Some people switched to charcoal fires because their families were cold, others were sold into servitude by their parents for money, and still others were orphans disliked by their clansmen.
In short, they all had no attachment to their hometowns and their backgrounds were clear.
An unexpected event changed their fate, taking them from the warm and humid Jiangnan region to the bitterly cold North.
Song Liyun named the oldest, most composed boy Yiming.
The second boy's name was Erfan.
The boys, in order of age, are: Sanhe, Siyuan, Wuhong, Liuming, and Qibao!
There were more girls, arranged in order of age, and Song Liyun chose a poem as the title.
Biqi, Yurui, Zhuangcui, Chengjiao, Yiwan, Shuchan, Gaosha...
When Song Liyun saw the youngest girl, a five-year-old, she looked pitiful with teary eyes. She resembled Xiao An, whom she had seen when she first came into this world, except that Xiao An was much thinner and more timid, while this little girl was much more lively.
Song Liyun specially named her Xiao Ye'er and kept her by her side.
Xiao Ye'er and Yi Ming are siblings.
When I was in Southeast China, I was bought by someone, which meant I was temporarily out of danger. Now that I have truly settled down, this is my final destination.
Yiming's biggest worry—that his younger sister would be disliked because of her young age—did not happen.
Seeing that the little sister was kept by the mistress's side and personally taught, she would no longer have to suffer.
With tears in his eyes, Yiming kowtowed repeatedly to Song Liyun, saying, "On behalf of my sister, I thank Madam for her great kindness!"
Song Liyun accepted it readily; she was an ordinary person who needed these things!
After sending the children to their rooms to rest, Zhao Tingduo, Song Dekui, and Steward Lin Qingyuan arrived shortly afterward.
Manager Wan was sleeping in his caravan's residence. At his age, he was exhausted from the long journey and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he lay down. He had no idea that there was trouble on the street.
When he woke up, a servant came to report that the children he had sent had caused trouble, so he came over to see who was so audacious.
Zhao Tingduo said to everyone, "Those people came from the north. They only heard that there was a market here where they could shop, so they risked coming. They didn't mean any harm."
Since it's a misunderstanding, there's no need to pursue it!
The Di people are a nomadic people. Although they generally have fixed pastures, some tribes migrate and gather, truly living without a fixed abode.
This southern tribe is like that, wandering aimlessly across the vast grasslands. They were in the north before, and now they are wandering westward, where they have learned of Mida City.
"Their tribe has more than a hundred people, mainly raising cattle and sheep. They say they have a lot of wool to sell, but the journey is too long to transport it! I want to go to Hecheng after seeing how backward the south is."
Zhao Tingduo has been somewhat sensitive to wool ever since she learned about woolen fabric.
He felt that since he hadn't subdued this new tribe yet, and they had wool, it was necessary to go and see for himself.
Moreover, we need to discuss the silk and wool with our elder brother. Now that the weather is just warm, as long as the supply battalion works quickly, we can provide the first batch of people with new clothes before winter.
And then there are those rumors... If Xuyang Grassland sends someone to the capital with an official letter, will there be any commotion?
When Zhao Tingduo mentioned silk and wool, Manager Wan couldn't contain his excitement, which made Lin Qingyuan jealous and teasing, "Old Master Wan, your long journey was worthwhile. You've gained another wool and silk business. Remember to take good care of the younger generation in the future."
Manager Wan never expected that just a few hours after he left Song Liyun, there would be further developments.
He didn't care about Lin Qingyuan's teasing at this moment, and just chuckled and said: "Brother Lin, why make fun of me? You made a fortune last year by sending the raw stones you collected to the capital. Even the dowry for the Minister of Justice's daughter was bought at a high price."
Alas! It's a pity I'm getting old; I'll just have to work one year at a time.
You're still young, you have a long life ahead of you. Just focus on following the young mistress diligently; your time to earn money will come.
Since the Qi family of Hecheng, who originally monopolized the jade materials of the grasslands, ran away, this business was taken over by Lin Qingyuan and the garrison.
A new emperor brings a new court.
With the change of ownership, the jade merchants in the capital suddenly lost their supply, and the prices of jewelry and jade naturally rose. Lin Qingyuan's jade shop immediately made a fortune.
Now even the Imperial Household Department has to order its goods from the Lin family's jade shop.
When Lin Qingyuan heard Manager Wan mention his jade material, he chuckled twice, a mysterious smile appearing on his lips.
Most people only see the jade material and don't know that the cow horn button pieces sent from the grasslands also secretly made a lot of money.
While the two merchants were playing mind games, Song Dekui listened attentively, leisurely playing with his fingers.
He didn't run a business; he only helped Song Liyun with errands and odd jobs, so his income was definitely not as high as those of the merchants.
However, Xiaoyun said that she would entrust Daping and Xiaoan to his care from now on, and he would also receive a share of the profits from several businesses in Suijin Town.
He frequently visited and inspected the cardboard box factories and feed mills, and reported back to Xiaoyun on time.
In this way, Song Liyun's status on the grassland remains unchanged, and the more money the Lin family earns, the more silver Song Dekui receives.
Hearing Wan Lin and the other man's teasing and ridicule, Song Dekui felt his money jingling, and his heart was filled with joy.
The next day, Zhao Tingduo led the soldiers of the Lei Battalion, along with Nanka and a few others who had spent all their money on salt and tea, to his tribe.
Inside the city lord's mansion, Song Liyun also convened the largest merchant conference to date.
It was called a conference, but it was really just about twenty business owners and some managers and assistants, as well as the leaders of various caravans.
Dozens of people filled the council hall in the front courtyard of the city lord's mansion. Everyone looked surprised, wondering why the madam had suddenly summoned them here!
Actually, Mida City is that big, and everyone sees each other every day.
We just saw each other at the canteen at noon, and then we saw each other again at the bathhouse in the evening. We're already very familiar with each other.
This was the first time everyone had suddenly sat together in the city lord's mansion.
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