"Mom, there's nothing difficult about it. After these past few years at the brothel, I'm not the same person I used to be. I'm doing very well here, I'm happy every day, and there's hope for the future. It's so much better than being at home."
Cen Ang didn't want these girls to be stubborn, but she herself had gone through the same thing. Seeing the conflicted expression on the elder's face, Liu Xu continued...
"Mom, you've raised me very well all these years, and you've raised all the other girls in the building very well too. Trust me."
Mrs. Cen nodded and said
"good"
"Shall we go tomorrow?" Hua Luan didn't want to delay any longer, so she said.
"Yes, I'll go tomorrow."
The rice, flour, and coarse grains that the border troops are currently eating are all purchased at a profit of 20% above cost price. This time, the imperial merchant Xu family, together with several major rice and grain producers, wants to increase their profits.
At least four-tenths of the price is mentioned; they have last year's grain, but they don't want to sell it at the originally agreed price. Given the natural disasters and man-made calamities, a price increase is reasonable.
"General Xiao is unaware of this matter yet. My husband wants to stop this in Pingyang County."
He Yi and Cen Ang nodded.
"That's certainly the case, but what if we can't reach an agreement?"
"It doesn't matter if we can't reach an agreement," Liu Xu said.
"The Liu family made their fortune in rice and grain, and their warehouses must contain more than two years' worth of grain. If we can't reach an agreement, we'll take all of the Liu family's stored grain."
As if she had returned to that cage, Liu Xu had a nightmare. In her dream, she was still the eldest daughter of the Liu family, whose mother had died.
Less than six months later, her father brought his stepmother into the family. The stepmother couldn't tolerate her and refused to accept her no matter what.
Although the little girl had everything she needed to eat, wear, and use, Liu Xu remembered that on that bed, she curled up into a ball and listened to the joy of her stepmother giving birth to a son outside.
"Mother, I miss you..."
The figure in the dream overlapped with the girl in the present, uttering the same words.
"Mother, I miss you..."
Miao Cuifang originally wanted to come and ask her apprentice if she needed him to come along tomorrow. The man saw that the men and women of wealthy families in Pingyang County all brought guards when they went out to talk business, so he could also go along and pretend to be one.
I knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response from inside, until I heard Liu Xu's soft moan.
The man burst through the door and saw the girl curled up on the bed, covered in sweat, tears streaming down her face.
This is a nightmare.
What kind of obsession could keep your quiet and gentle disciple from waking up?
Miao Cuifang took out some calming incense and held it under her nose for a few breaths.
Willow catkins
The girl slowly opened her eyes and said...
"Master? You?"
You're having a nightmare.
Miao Cuifang took the bronze mirror from the dressing table and placed it in front of Liu Xu. The girl looked at herself in the mirror and her face was deathly pale, without a trace of blood. Cold sweat had soaked her hair and clung to her cheeks.
"Is it because you're going to see an old friend tomorrow?"
Before the girl could react, Miao Cuifang continued...
"If you don't want to go, you don't have to. The boss isn't unreasonable; she won't force you."
Liu Xu put down the mirror and shook her head.
"Not just for Mother Cen, but also for myself."
The girl looked at the young man standing in front of her with a determined gaze. It was early spring, and the weather was much warmer than before. He was still wearing the cotton-padded coat that she had bought for him a few months ago.
"Master, after we meet that person tomorrow, I'll take you to buy some clothes."
"Huh? You're buying more? Didn't you just buy some?"
"This is for winter, isn't it hot these days?"
"A little, but it's okay, we'll buy it in the summer."
"Let's go tomorrow."
The young woman wouldn't allow the man to refute her, so Miao Cuifang could only nod, and then returned to the matter at hand.
"If you feel anxious before going to sleep, smell this. If you have severe nightmares, it can cause brain problems in the long run."
The man handed the calming incense to the girl, and Liu Xu nodded.
"Thank you, Master."
"Then you should go to sleep. What time are we going tomorrow?"
"It's around 9 AM (巳时)."
"OK"
At midday in early spring, the bright yellow sunlight cast a golden veil over the earth, a gentle breeze caressed the face, and the few large trees at the entrance of Flower Willow Lane began to sprout green buds.
The young girl walked down the street with Miao Cuifang. Looking at the bustling pedestrians, she smiled with bright eyes and white teeth. She still loved the border town; even the wind there was free.
"Uncle Huan, it's been a long time!"
Inside a private room at the restaurant, a middle-aged man in his forties stared in astonishment at the young woman standing at the door.
"Young...Young Miss?"
"It really is you!"
Liu Huan recalled the figure that was faintly visible in the carriage. It was her, it really was the young lady! That year, Liu Huan was just an ordinary steward, and Liu Xu was not yet Liu Xu. At that time, she was called Liu Ruoxi.
The man was not properly supervised, and his subordinates were taking kickbacks in the shop. This was discovered by Liu Xu's mother, who checked the accounts every month. However, her mother let the man off the hook and did not pursue his responsibility.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be the head steward of the Liu family now. Fortunately, he learned a lesson from this experience, and Liu Huan became more meticulous and diligent in his work, all in order to climb higher and become Madam Liu's right-hand man in the future.
Unfortunately, things have changed.
Madam Liu is dead, and Liu Ruoxi is lost.
It's me.
"Young Miss... why haven't you come home all these years?"
Looking at what Liu Xu was wearing, Liu Huan felt sorry for her. This should have been the young lady of the Liu family, living a life of comfort and ease. What was she wearing now? How could she put such cotton cloth on herself!
Liu Xu shook her head, not answering his question.
"Uncle Huan, I need your help today."
Liu Huan's eyes stung, and this big man kept wiping away tears with his hands.
"What are you saying, Miss? I, Liu Huan, am a member of the Liu family for life. I will obey your every command."
No matter what Liu Xu asks for now, the man will agree. He just wants to finish his business quickly so he can ask Liu Xu where she has been all these years and how she is doing.
"What does my father mean by calling you here?"
Liu Huan hadn't expected her young mistress to ask about this, but she answered truthfully.
"The master told me to act according to the situation. Raising the price of military rations is, after all, going against the government, so we can't blindly follow suit."
The girl nodded and said
"I hope this price increase won't be successful."
Looking into the girl's resolute eyes, that confident and calculating demeanor, Liu Huan swallowed hard. She wondered what had happened to the young lady all these years to give her such an aura.
He didn't know, but Miao Cuifang, who was following behind, did. This was just a show of force before practicing martial arts; her little apprentice was quite good at intimidating people.
The man didn't ask why. In all his years in the Liu family, the only person he wanted to be loyal to was Madam Liu. Now that Madam Liu was gone and Liu Ruoxi was lost, the reason he continued to stay in the Liu family was to protect this family business for the young lady.
He didn't ask for much; he just wanted what the Liu family was entitled to give.
Just follow the list of young ladies from Jiangnan who are getting married.
Now that the young lady is back, he will listen to her.
"good"
If the lady doesn't want them to raise prices, then she won't. Anyway, there's no peace among this group.
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