Upon hearing this, Sun Chongren knelt down and swore an oath without hesitation.
"Master, my mother and I have sincerely come to serve you!"
If it weren't for your help in rescuing me, getting the evidence back, and finding the witnesses, I would still be a useless person, and my mother would have been dragged to her death sooner or later!
You saved my life and my daughter's life. From now on, this life belongs to you. We are willing to serve you and will never regret it!
"That's right! Master, my son's opinion is my opinion. If it weren't for you, my old Sun wouldn't have been able to clear his name, and my son and I don't know if we would have survived this winter. Especially my son, if he hadn't met you, his life would have been ruined!"
We are truly willing to do anything for you, even be your slave!
Xie Yushu sighed and finally asked...
"But have you given up all your ideals and ambitions?"
Sun Chongren paused for a moment and then said
"Master, to be honest, ever since I started studying with my teacher, I have hoped to become an honest official who can stand up for the people, just like Lord Han!"
However, after experiencing all of this, I no longer believe that as long as I study hard, I can become a good official. I am not sure if the examination hall will be absolutely fair, nor am I sure how I can avoid going down the wrong path and protect myself when I encounter officials like Zhang Dao and Liu Hong in the officialdom!
If I think about it carefully, whether I pursued scientific research or became an official, my ultimate goal was simply to bear the suffering of the people and to use my abilities to make their lives better!
But since I met you, I've discovered that being an official isn't the only way to save people from suffering!
I have listened to your lectures and heard your plans for the future of the mountain resort. Your free clinics are for the benefit of the people. The clinics, factories, wineries, and pharmaceutical factories you plan to open will employ many workers and increase the income of many families. Once these factories are operational, they will revitalize the economy of the entire Tai'an Prefecture and even the Great Qi.
Countless families will benefit from this, and for this path to develop smoothly, you need someone who has both execution and decisiveness!
As for me, I have witnessed the wickedness of human nature. Even when I was bedridden, I went through countless mental replays of how I would protect myself and fight back if I encountered the same situation again. To be honest, I secretly thought of a hundred ways to kill Xiao Yuanhang and his gang.
Having gone through so much, I admit I'm no longer the upright gentleman I once was! But I still hold justice in my heart. I can openly compete with gentlemen, and I can also use cunning means to make villains submit. I will become your capable assistant!
Please believe me!
Sun Chongren's words deeply moved Xie Yushu. The more pristine the ivory tower is, the more complex society becomes. No one can remain as pure as before after experiencing society. Some people remain kind even after witnessing human nature, but that is a choice!
Sun Chongren, having experienced great ups and downs, still remembers his original intentions. If one path doesn't work, he can try another. He's quite quick-witted and perhaps has the makings of a businessman!
Seeing that he was truly loyal to her, Xie Yushu accepted their indenture and officially arranged for them to stay at the manor.
In the days that followed, Sun Chongren did not disappoint Xie Yushu. He became invincible in the business world, acting decisively and shrewdly.
He can be polite and courteous when discussing cooperation with business partners, and he can also be shrewd and ruthless when dealing with opponents. He is a well-known cunning fox in the business world. He is also extremely loyal to Xie Yushu and has earned a great fortune for Xie Yushu, making Yuquan Manor famous throughout the Great Qi!
Xie Yushu hadn't expected Sun Chongren to achieve such great success. However, she was currently short of manpower for business. Although the manpower in the manor was sufficient for the time being, if she wanted to develop the business, she needed someone to go out and expand the market and spread the word about the manor's products.
Xie Yushu had three general development plans in mind: whether it was glass, traditional Chinese medicine, or wine, she would focus on high-end products and have Han Zhongyu pave the way for selling to royalty, high-ranking officials, and nobles.
She plans to produce some mid-range products to sell to merchants, landlords, and gentry. For this part, she intends to discuss cooperation with the Wen family. The Wen family is the richest family in Jinyang, with shops in many places and a certain customer base. Mid-range products will definitely not have to worry about sales in their area.
Finally, there are the ordinary people. They still use oiled paper to cover their windows, so the houses are dark day and night. It's extremely inconvenient for young women and wives to do needlework. Glass is actually a necessity for ordinary people, so there is definitely a need to produce some affordable glass, as well as for medicines and daily necessities.
The market for ordinary people is vast, and we can achieve high sales volume with low profit margins. This requires someone to expand sales channels, and Xie Yushu thinks Sun Chongren is a good candidate.
We can open a comprehensive shopping mall in major cities and find distributors in the surrounding counties and towns. This will save on labor costs, and the people selling the products can earn commissions, making their work more motivating.
When Xie Yushu shared her idea with Sun Chongren, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to go out and get to work.
However, firstly, there were still more than twenty days until the New Year; secondly, he didn't have any products yet, and talking about it without any real knowledge would definitely reduce the effectiveness; and thirdly, his injuries had only just healed, and he needed to rest for a while longer. Therefore, Xie Yushu didn't let him go out. Instead, she asked him to choose two capable followers to go to the secret guard training camp to learn some skills so that he would have a means of self-protection when he went out in the future.
He thought he would choose at the mountain villa, but he wanted to go back to find Erwazi and Xiaoshitou, who were his witnesses. He said that he had watched these two children grow up. They were honest and hardworking children, and they had learned to read and write from him since they were young. It would be a pity if they were just farming in the village.
Xie Yushu agreed and gave him thirty taels of silver to go find someone himself.
Erwazi's family has six boys and four girls, including his father and his second uncle. He is the second oldest, fourteen years old. His older brother is seventeen and still hasn't gotten married, not to mention the whole bunch of kids under them. They can't even get enough to eat.
Little Stone's mother didn't survive the drought and starved to death. His father then remarried a widow, and these past few days, his new stepmother has become pregnant. She finds Little Stone an eyesore and is urging his father to sell him! When Sun Chongren went there, human traffickers came knocking on his door.
The thirteen-year-old boy was a big eater but couldn't do heavy work. At his lowest point, his stepmother didn't care for him and couldn't tolerate him. She insisted on selling him to make money for the child in her womb.
His stepmother and the slave trader negotiated for a long time, settling on six taels of silver. Just as they were about to sign the indenture, Sun Chongren intercepted the deal.
"Wait, I'll give you eight taels, and I'll take the person! Little Stone, are you willing to come with me?"
Little Stone was in despair, not knowing what to do, when he suddenly heard Sun Chongren's voice. He felt like he had seen a relative and nodded without thinking. But then he said with worry...
"But Brother Sun, you've had it tough too."
His stepmother, however, was overjoyed, fearing that Sun Chongren might change his mind.
"You said it yourself! So it's yours now, pay up!"
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