The human trafficker, however, was unhappy.
"There's a proper order to things, and I saw this person first."
"Whoever sees it first has to pay! Unless you pay nine taels!"
When Little Stone's stepmother saw someone blocking her way to make money, she immediately stopped them and shouted at the slave trader with her hands on her hips.
The slave trader certainly wanted to get revenge, but she was a businesswoman. In the brokerage business, this boy was not as valuable as a girl. She bought him for six taels of silver, and after training him for a while, she could only sell him for eight or nine taels, which would be a good price. If she bought him for nine taels, she would lose all her money!
So even if they're furious about having their business stolen, they can only leave grumbling.
Sun Chongren didn't hesitate and gave Xiao Shitou eight taels of silver, then had him sign a contract of servitude.
After signing, Little Stone kowtowed to his father.
"Father, after I kowtow this time, we will have nothing to do with each other anymore. Take care of yourself from now on."
His father felt a pang of sadness, but looking at his new wife and the baby in her belly, that sadness dissipated, and he only said a token word.
"It's good to follow your brother Sun. Be obedient and work hard outside."
Seeing that Xiao Shitou looked sad, Sun Chongren simply grabbed Xiao Shitou and left.
Little Stone couldn't help but ask a question.
"Brother Sun, where should I go with you?"
"Let's go to Erwazi's house first and ask him if he'd like to go out and make a name for himself with me. I'm currently working for the village magistrate; I'm the woman who sat to the left and right of Lord Han in the government office that day."
She's not a mistress who mistreats her servants. As long as you're loyal and do your job well, you don't need to worry about being beaten or scolded!
When Xiao Shitou heard that he would be working under Xie Yushu, he immediately stopped resisting. That noble lady was beautiful and kind-hearted, and the servants around her were all proud of themselves. He would definitely work hard!
It would be even better if Erwazi could go too. He often plays with Erwazi and would have a companion!
When the two arrived at Erwazi's house, they explained their purpose. Upon hearing that they would have to sign a contract of servitude, Erwazi's parents were reluctant. After all, no matter how poor they were, he was still their own flesh and blood. They had been poor and rich, and it was always good for the family to stay together.
But Erwazi was optimistic and told his parents...
"Our family is so poor we can barely afford to eat. If we stay together, we'll just be starving. We're dirt poor!"
We can't even afford to get wives, and even if we did, we wouldn't be able to support them. We'll be destitute sooner or later. It's better to sell me. Not only can I help my brother get a wife, but you can also have enough to eat and add more cotton to your clothes so you can get through the winter.
If I were working outside and did well, I could save up some money each month and help you out a bit. Then there would be one less mouth to feed at home. What's wrong with that?
After Erwazi finished speaking, his parents fell silent.
Finally, his mother asked a question.
"Erwazi is gone. Will he ever be able to come back and visit again?"
Sun Chongren said
"Yes, he can sign a contract of servitude to reassure his employer and ensure he can visit his family!"
Finally, the old couple nodded, and Sun Chongren gave them eight taels of silver. Erwazi also signed a contract to sell himself into servitude.
With his right-hand men in hand, Sun Chongren led them to buy two sets of clothes and shoes in town before returning to the mountain villa.
After meeting Xie Yushu, the three of them began practicing martial arts with the guards of the manor.
Ordinary people value good fortune during the Lunar New Year, and they avoid taking medicine or mentioning illness.
Since the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year, the number of people coming to the mountain resort for medical treatment has decreased, to almost none.
Xie Yushu also took this time to draw up the blueprints for Zhuang Jianshe. At the same time, she had the steward Wang Wu lead the workers to collect quartz, lime, soda ash, and other materials, planning to start making glass once the blacksmith and porcelain craftsman that Han Zhongyu had found arrived.
Quartz and similar materials are found in the local mountains and river valleys. Wang Wu led his workers, in groups of three to five, and drove out in five donkey carts. They could bring back more than a dozen cartloads a day, which were then piled up on the open ground outside the valley where they planned to build a factory.
As the year drew to a close, a huge pile of quartz stones had accumulated outside, and Xie Yushu had finished drawing her blueprints.
There are only ten blueprints in the villa.
A global map shows the layout of eight two-story detached villas arranged according to the Bagua (Earth) trigram. The villas are arranged in the eight directions, with the north being Kan (Water) and the south being Li (Fire), the east being Zhen (Thunder) and the west being Dui (Lake), the northeast being Gen (Mountain), the southeast being Xun (Wind), the southwest being Kun (Earth), and the northwest being Qian (Heaven). The central Yin-Yang symbol is occupied by three-story parallel villas, one of which is used as a conference room and the other as Xie Yushu's bedroom and laboratory.
A small river flows through the middle, originating from the valley, and an arched bridge connects the two opposing villas.
The other nine drawings are eight structural drawings of the eight surrounding villas and a complete set of heating pipe drawings, as well as one drawing of the hidden room inside Xie Yushu's residence.
Han Zhongyu has already approved the land deeds for the ten acres of land outside the villa. He will use this land as an investment, and the Tai'an Prefecture government will take 20% of the net profit. If the returns are promising, the taxes levied on farmers in Tai'an Prefecture will be gradually reduced, which can be considered a disguised policy to benefit the people.
Of the ten acres of land, Xie Yushu set aside three acres closest to the main gate of the villa to build a hospital, with four courtyards, each two stories high.
The first building is the outpatient building. Upstairs are meeting and office spaces and rest areas for medical staff. Downstairs are the consultation areas, with general outpatient services on the left and emergency services on the right. Currently, her three apprentices are already able to see patients, and more than twenty assistants, or nurses, have been trained. They are just waiting for the hospital to be completed before it can officially open for business.
The second and third courtyards were used as wards. The second courtyard had regular wards, the third courtyard had VIP rooms, and the fourth courtyard had row-style staff dormitories.
The blueprints were drawn according to the layout of a modern hospital, which is simple and clear, and it is not difficult to build.
Two acres of land were allocated next to the hospital to build a large canteen for the staff, patients, their families, and visiting businessmen. The canteen is divided into an east section, a west section, and a north section. The east section is a specialty restaurant that focuses on expensive and delicious food, catering to people who don't mind spending money.
The West Zone is designated as an affordable area, focusing on delicious and affordable food so that everyone can have a full meal.
The North Zone was designated as the staff canteen, where employees from the factory and the compound could eat directly.
At the corner between the North and West sections, build a row of six dormitories, one floor above the other. Each room can sleep two or three people, and six rooms will be enough.
The glass factory will be built on three acres of land next to the hospital. The glass factory is simple: build a large factory building on the acre of land behind it, with three or four rooms, and let the workers arrange it.
The first two acres will be used for two purposes: one acre for raw materials, eight fen for warehouses, and the remaining two fen for five rows of dormitories, ten rooms per row, four people per room. Since all the factory buildings will be equipped with heating, we can just make bunk beds and accommodate a hundred or so people.
There are two acres of land south of the main road at the entrance of the resort. Xie Yushu plans to use one acre for a winery and half an acre for a toiletries factory, making soaps, shampoos, skincare products, and some snacks, specifically for people who come here to buy. Or she plans to make fewer sets and take a high-end approach to avoid trying to do too much and ending up with nothing.
The last half acre will be used to build a department store to sell daily necessities.
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