Jiang Yuwei replied with a smile:
"I'm planning to open a paper mill."
Upon hearing this, Manager Wang's eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed:
"Then, wouldn't that mean doing the same business as the Ge family?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded.
Seeing this, Manager Wang quickly looked around and whispered to Jiang Yuwei:
"Are you out of your mind? That Master Ge is a man of absolute authority in our Ping'an Town. How can you do the same business as him? This is just asking to go bankrupt. Don't blame me for being harsh, but I advise you to find another business. The Ge family is really not something we ordinary people can afford to offend."
Jiang Yuwei looked at Manager Wang and nodded seriously:
"I know, thank you for the reminder, Manager Wang. However, I absolutely must open this paper shop. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll have to leave now. Please have Manager Wang make those furniture pieces for me as soon as possible."
Manager Wang watched Jiang Yuwei's departing figure, shook his head helplessly, and sighed:
"Oh, oh, how foolish, how foolish."
Jiang Yuwei was thinking of first going to see Master Sun, using up her second chance to help, and asking him to find some literati he knew to try out her Yuwei paper, and also to ask for a few pieces of calligraphy. Then she would also go to the Xu residence to talk to the second young master about this matter.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuwei had Ning Huaizhi drive the oxcart to the gate of Master Sun's mansion. Seeing a gatekeeper, Jiang Yuwei got off the oxcart and smiled at him:
"Young man, could you please announce my arrival? I'm here to see Master Sun."
The servant glanced at Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi behind him, then spoke with a look of disgust:
“Our Master Sun is not at home.”
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei patiently asked again:
"May I ask where Master Sun has gone?"
The servant waved his hand impatiently and said:
"I don't know! Does Master Sun expect to greet us servants before leaving the house? Oh dear, come on, don't block the doorway!"
Jiang Yuwei looked at the impatient servant and turned to Ning Huaizhi, saying:
"That night, when you came to ask Master Sun for help, did the servant at the gate treat you the same way?"
Ning Huaizhi swallowed hard and whispered:
"Yes, but in the heat of the moment, I knocked the servant unconscious and rushed in."
Jiang Yuwei glanced at Ning Huaizhi, then at the arrogant servant standing at the door, and asked:
Was it this same servant boy that night?
Ning Huai looked him up and down and said:
"It shouldn't be him. That person is a bit hunchbacked, but this one isn't."
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to speak, she heard the servant shout in a shrill voice:
"Are you two ever going to stop? What are you whispering and scheming about in front of someone else's mansion? Let me tell you, there are more than a dozen poor relatives like you who are practically unrelated to us every day. If you had to see Master Sun every day, it would be terrible. Master Sun wouldn't need to do anything else; he could just stay here and serve you poor relatives!"
As he spoke, the servant spat on the ground again and cursed:
"Pah! You have hands and feet, yet you don't think about working hard to earn a living. You always think about crooked ways. Today you rely on this relative, tomorrow you rely on that relative. You probably don't know how much people hate you behind your backs. You even have the nerve to linger at other people's doorsteps."
Jiang Yuwei sensed from the servant's words that he probably mistook her and Ning Huaizhi for poor relatives who wanted to rely on Master Sun. A nameless anger welled up within her.
"Open your dog eyes and see who your poor relatives from Master Sun's family are. If we really came all this way to seek refuge with Master Sun, why wouldn't we bring a single bundle? You're supposed to be a watchdog of the Master Sun's family, how can you not even have this much sense?"
The servant was so angry upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words that he jumped up and down in anger:
"Who are you calling a watchdog? You're someone who can't even afford to eat, yet you come to someone else's doorstep begging for a living without even bringing a package. A few days ago, a young lady from our hometown at least brought some local specialties for our Master Sun to try. But you two are so lazy, coming here to freeload and not even bothering to put on a show!"
Jiang Yuwei was so angry at his words that she laughed:
"I've already said it, I'm not a poor relative of your Sun family, I have absolutely no relation to your Sun family!"
"Oh ho, are people so shameless these days? They have no family ties whatsoever, yet they dare to come to our Master Sun's door so brazenly. Do you think Master Sun is some kind of gullible fool who's easy to deceive?"
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to speak, she heard a deep voice coming from inside the door:
"Who are you calling a great traitor?"
The once arrogant servant was startled by these words and quickly turned around, bowing his head respectfully as he replied:
“Master Sun, why did you come out? I just said that I am a great victim of injustice.”
Master Sun looked coldly at the servant and asked:
What were you shouting about outside just now?
Upon hearing this, the servant straightened his back and smiled at Master Sun as if to claim credit:
"It's alright, sir, you don't need to worry about it. There are two penniless scoundrels who have appeared out of nowhere, wanting to come and seek refuge with our Sun family. I will send them away myself."
As he spoke, the servant didn't forget to tilt his head back and glance sideways at Jiang Yuwei.
Upon seeing this, Master Sun followed the servant's gaze and met Jiang Yuwei's eyes, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling. His expression immediately tightened.
Jiang Yuwei stepped forward, looked at Master Sun, and slowly said:
"Master Sun is indeed a wealthy and powerful man. Even his servants are so good at abusing their power. It seems that the agreement I made with Master Sun at Huichuntang is probably going to be void. After all, for poor people like us, even getting to see Master Sun is as difficult as climbing to heaven!"
Upon hearing this, Master Sun's face immediately turned cold, and he angrily glared at the servant standing beside him, saying:
"How dare you! Who gave you the right to keep my distinguished guest out!"
Upon hearing this, the servant turned pale and immediately knelt before Master Sun to explain:
"Master, it's all my fault. I... I was blind and offended our distinguished guest. But... but I was thinking of the Sun family. I was... I was thinking of you..."
Upon hearing the servant's words, Master Sun's anger flared even more, and he kicked the servant, cursing:
"Bah! You think you're qualified to think about me? I think you don't even know what it means to be a servant! How about I give you my position as Master Sun? What do you say?"
Upon hearing this, the servant's face paled even further, and he immediately began slapping himself repeatedly across the face.
"It was my fault for saying the wrong thing, it was all my fault, sir. Please calm down, you can scold or beat me however you want, I was wrong, I will never do it again!"
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