Anjia Village.
"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you making a move? Don't you want those twenty taels of gold anymore?"
“She hasn’t been sleeping at home for the past few days. She spends half the morning in the factory and then goes to the county town in the afternoon. She doesn’t come home to sleep at all. How am I supposed to take action?”
"Then you should find a way to get her back. If you don't take action now, you'll miss your chance to earn those twenty taels of gold once her husband returns."
That's twenty taels of gold, which is two hundred taels of silver. For someone like Yang Juan who couldn't even find two taels of silver, it was incredibly tempting.
She gritted her teeth, nodded, and said, "Tomorrow, I'll definitely find a way to get her back to sleep. I'll definitely take action then..."
————
The business was booming, especially the cakes and sachima, which were in short supply and the current production capacity simply couldn't keep up.
Yang Cui immediately bought five people from the population market. Two of them followed Hu Linshi to make cakes, two followed Wang Ximei to make sachima, and one followed Zhou Xiaoyun to make spicy strips. Spicy strips were relatively cheap and many middle-class people could afford them. They sold the most every day.
Yang Cui believes that rice crackers and steamed bread slices will be invented soon, but spicy cakes, spicy strips, and sachima will not be invented so quickly. With the business booming, it is hard to guarantee that no one will be envious. Yang Cui has to emphasize the need for secrecy to Hu Linshi, Wang Ximei, and Zhou Xiaoyun again.
The shop's Wen Shui Shui, An Xiao Hua, and An Xiao Chong all have good learning and adaptability. At first, they were a little reserved, but under Yang Cui's influence, they made rapid progress.
In the past few days, Yang Cui has also noticed that Li Mama seems to do a better job as a waitress in the shop than doing housework at home. She is very thoughtful and has no problem dealing with people. Yang Cui is thinking about whether to put Li Mama in the shop.
Anyone can do the chores around the house.
If there were a capable assistant in the shop, things would be easier for her. After being busy these past few days, Yang Cui felt she had lost about ten pounds, but thankfully her big breasts hadn't shrunk.
When Granny Li heard that Yang Cui wanted to put her in the shop as the manager for a three-month trial period, and that if she did well, she would be promoted and her monthly salary would increase by two hundred coins, she was overjoyed.
Although she was still a slave, her reputation would be different if she became the shopkeeper.
"Thank you for your appreciation, Madam. I will definitely do my best." Granny Li kowtowed deeply to Yang Cui.
"Get up and work hard. I never mistreat my own people."
"This servant knows. Madam is the most kind and benevolent master I have ever met. I am extremely fortunate to have a master like you."
These were indeed Li Mama's heartfelt words. Other masters would beat and scold their servants at the drop of a hat, but Yang Cui would not. As long as it was not a matter of principle, Yang Cui usually did not care.
The shop now has a daily turnover of several dozen taels of silver, and Yang Cui is worried about being robbed. You see, her shop is full of children and women, making it a prime target for thieves.
Yang Cui was wondering whether she should hire a few bodyguards.
"Yutang, do you think these guys look like the bodyguards who escorted Lin Shikang to Ganning?" Suddenly, Yang Cui noticed that the street performers looked exactly like the Ma brothers.
Yang Cui often comes up with new words, so Su Yutang is used to it and knows what Yang Cui means by bodyguard. Upon closer inspection, she realizes that the street performers are none other than the Ma brothers.
Yang Cui already knew from Meng Jiu that the Ma brothers had been driven away by the Fan family, and that they had not only failed to make any money on this trip but had also lost time.
Since Lin Shih-kang doesn't want them, wouldn't it be wonderful to bring them to our side?
After the Ma brothers finished their performance, they received only a meager reward of a dozen or so coins.
At this moment, Su Yutang charged forward with her sword.
The Ma brothers swiftly dodged, saying, "Young lady, let's talk this out?"
"Enough talk! Take this!"
Su Yutang and Ma Ming fought fiercely, and after a few moves, the Ma brothers realized that Su Yutang seemed to be testing their skills, but had no ill intentions.
Although the Ma brothers didn't know why Su Yutang was testing them, they still used eight-tenths of their strength. After several dozen moves, Su Yutang finally stopped.
"Madam, his kung fu is quite good," Su Yutang concluded.
Yang Cui then slowly stepped forward: "I see that you gentlemen are quite skilled. I happen to need a bodyguard... ten taels of silver a month, including room and board. The salary is not fixed, there are two salary adjustments every year, and there are also benefits during the New Year and holidays. If you are injured, the medical expenses will be calculated separately."
After saying that, Yang Cui added, "Oh, by the way, I am Yang Cui."
"Are you Yang Cui?" The Ma brothers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yang Cui's offer was indeed quite good. The Ma brothers were short of money at the time. They went on a trip with Lin Shikang and worked hard to earn those four horses. However, the brothers were martial artists who ate a lot and had families to support. They hadn't had any work for a long time and were struggling to make ends meet.
Just as Ma Quan was about to agree, Ma Ming stepped forward and said, "Madam, my brother and I would very much like to agree, but there is something we must confess to you first: we served under Lord Lin for a period of time before."
Yang Cui was surprised that he would bring this up, and couldn't help but think more highly of Ma Ming. She was even more satisfied with the Ma brothers and said with a smile, "I know you followed Lin Shikang, but weren't you driven away by the Fan family halfway?"
The Ma brothers were taken aback. They hadn't expected Yang Cui to know about this. It seemed that Yang Cui was more capable than they had imagined.
"You can discuss it and decide what to do. Go find Manager Li at the chance encounter."
After Yang Cui and Su Yutang left, Ma Quan immediately said to Ma Ming, "Brother, I think it's a good idea. That old woman Fan is a scoundrel. Let's go work for Yang Cui and give her a piece of our minds."
Back then, they escorted Lin Shikang to Gansu and Ningxia without earning a penny. Instead, they wasted several months of their time and the travel expenses back to Wan'an County.
Ma Quan felt an urge to grind his teeth whenever he thought about Fan Shi.
"Yang Cui has a good reputation and pays high wages, so let's agree to it."
"Brother, if we don't have any work to do, we'll starve."
They still have families to support; if things continue like this, the whole family will starve.
"Alright, then we'll follow Yang Cui."
As soon as Ma Ming spoke, Ma Quan immediately caught up with Yang Cui and said that they had agreed.
"Go back and prepare, and come to Anjia Village to find me tomorrow."
~~
Having finally gotten rid of Mo Zijun and allowed her son to smoothly take over the Mo family, Madam Mo was naturally unwilling for the Mo family to just end like this.
These past few days she's been wandering around Yang Cui's shop. With just a few products selling so well, I'm sure no one wouldn't be envious.
Yang Cui's production capacity is currently lagging behind. If production catches up and she expands her operations to various counties and towns, she will truly be able to make a fortune.
She had to get her hands on the recipes for the rice noodles and these snacks. If the Star Gazing Tower found out she was the one who made the mistakes, she could just hand over the recipes herself. Maybe she could even get on the Star Gazing Tower's good side with it. Anyway, Yang Cui would be dead by then, and she didn't believe the Star Gazing Tower would turn down money for a dead person...
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