Recruiting soldiers and buying horses (3)
Yan Qing looked them over one by one and selected seven women who seemed decent to take care of the kittens full-time. Yan Qing also kept the ones who weren't chosen, to do things like serving tea and water, so they would have a place to stay.
She also inspected the craftsmen that Old Zhang had brought, and since they were all quite skilled, she kept them all.
They were all housed in the house.
The craftsmen followed Old Man Zhang to familiarize themselves with the work they were to do. Yan Qing took Miss He and several other newly arrived women to the Cat Tea House. Seven of the women were taken to see the kittens, while the rest were taken by Fang Bi to entertain the guests.
Yan Qing's original intention in bringing Miss He back was to have her take care of Little Leopard. After spending a few days with her, he discovered that she was very good at business despite her young age, and felt that she was wasting her talents.
So she was asked to try managing the business in the shop, and to her surprise, the number of customers at Cat Tea House actually increased instead of decreasing.
Fortunately, the guests at Cat Tea House don't need to be served all the time, otherwise even the four of them, with three heads and six arms, wouldn't be able to handle it all.
After that, Cat Tea House had plenty of staff, so Yan Qing completely handed over the things like entertaining guests to Fang Bi and the others, and figured out how to open Cat Supplies Shop.
Old Zhang and several bamboo craftsmen were weaving all sorts of things. The little things that were previously snatched up by the kittens were now so numerous that they needed a separate room to store them.
Yan Qing obtained some different styles of cat trees and cat wheels from the cat system, and she gave them to other carpenters to try to make these things.
To my surprise, they actually managed to make it for them in just a few days.
What surprised Yan Qing even more was that a craftsman was also skilled in wood carving. In his spare time, he picked out a wooden sculpture for Xiao Bao, who often came to visit them, and it was almost identical to the sculpture.
Yan Qing immediately gave him a very important task: to carve a family portrait of cats!
Unfortunately, the princess wasn't very cooperative. She would sit still for less than two minutes before either lying down and falling asleep or simply running away. Only dried fish could get her to cooperate for a while.
Ultimately, the princess's statue appeared in a reclining position among a group of neatly seated wooden cat sculptures, and was placed in Yan Qing's room.
After that, Yan Qing found some woodcarvers to carve statues of each kitten in batches and put them for sale in the Cat Tea Garden. As soon as they were put on display, they were sold out in no time. Some people even came directly to Yan Qing to place orders. The woodcarvers' chisels were practically burning.
Yan Qing's business was booming, and he was counting money until his hands were sore, so he didn't notice that Deng Chan and Cheng Changfeng hadn't come for a long time. Just as he was thinking about this, Deng Chan entered the Cat Tea House through the back door, went straight to the chaise lounge in the courtyard, and lay down on it sullenly without saying a word.
This time, she didn't even bring anyone to serve her, so she must have sneaked out.
Yan Qing sat down beside her and asked, "What's wrong? Who made you unhappy?"
Deng Chan didn't speak, but her eyes were bright and sparkling, filled with tears.
This really made Yan Qing a little flustered. She had never seen this little darling shed tears before. Something big must have happened. She thought about it for a long time but still couldn't figure out what it was, so she could only jokingly guess, "Did Cheng Changfeng make you angry again?"
"I've taken the general away," Deng Chan said bluntly.
Yan Qing's face immediately tightened, and her tone became serious: "What's going on?"
Her statement that Deng Chan could take the general away and raise him herself was just a joke that everyone could understand. But the fact that Deng Chan actually did it shows that Cheng Changfeng really did something that Deng Chan could not tolerate, and it was related to the general.
Yan Qing didn't really believe that Cheng Changfeng would do anything to the kitten, but people's hearts are truly unpredictable.
She waited anxiously for Deng Chan's reply. Just then, the back door was pushed open again, and Cheng Changfeng appeared.
He held a yellow and white brocade ball in his hand, about the size of a football, with four bells hanging from it. The bells jingled as he walked. This was the general's favorite toy.
Upon seeing him, Deng Chan immediately stood up, lifted her skirt, and hurried into the house, not wanting to communicate with him.
But when she heard him call her name, she pulled back her foot that was about to cross the threshold, stopped in place without turning around, and remained angry with him.
Yan Qing was a little confused. This commotion didn't seem like a minor disturbance. She looked at this person and that person, and decided to ask the general what was going on first.
"Where is the general?"
She looked at Cheng Changfeng and asked.
"She's with Deng Chan," Cheng Changfeng answered truthfully, then continued, "I'm going to the northern battlefield with my uncle, and we'll set off in a couple of days. I've come today to say goodbye."
This was something Yan Qing hadn't expected.
This refers to the situation in the North; the battle is going very badly.
It was not unexpected that Cheng Changfeng was going to the battlefield, but if he were to join the ranks of generals, there must be members of the Cheng family among them.
The court had previously sent reinforcements multiple times, and this time the Jiang and Cheng families were going to fight at the same time.
The Jiang family, the Empress's maternal family, also learned of their impending expedition from Rong Xuan; it was a bonus when the Crown Prince announced the need to transport grain.
Yan Qing is currently focused on making money, but the ever-decreasing happiness level is truly alarming; even counting the gold in his hands doesn't bring him the same joy. If he can't win this battle, Yan Qing's career will be declared a failure before it even officially begins.
Whenever Yan Qing sees the happiness level drop, she wonders if a nationwide cat food distribution tour could bring it back up.
After all, eating cat food is happier than chewing tree bark, right?
I wonder if this cat food savior will be arrested and studied.
"Nonsense! How many times have I told you to ask me before you do anything?" Jiang Yi's face was full of anger, and her already serious expression became even more oppressive. The servants in the hall held their breath and left the hall, afraid of being blamed.
But the man standing in front of her showed no fear whatsoever. He curled his lip and said indifferently, "Transporting military rations is such a good job. Anyone can do it, so why can't I?"
"Do you think I don't know what you're up to!" Jiang Yi was furious. She raised her hand to press her temple, but softened her tone. "Zhang'er, this is different from the past. Your father wouldn't hold those things against you in the past, but this concerns war. It's not something to be taken lightly."
“I’m not joking. You haven’t seen how successful Rong Xiao has been lately. Just because he’s managed the Jiangnan tax office well, he’s become increasingly disrespectful to me, the Crown Prince!”
Mentioning Rong Xiao, Rong Zhang's temper flared up immediately. "I must handle the military rations transportation. Father has already given his permission, and I will definitely do a better job than him!"
A sigh echoed in the empty hall; Jiang Yi was at a loss as to what to do with him.
“I’ve said it before: the position of Crown Prince can only be yours, not some Tom, Dick, or Harry can take it away. Why do you always compare yourself to that Rong Xiao? With the Empress Dowager here, no one can touch your position as Crown Prince.”
Jiang Yi had offered comforting words countless times, but seeing his indignant expression, she still softened and said, "Since you're determined to handle the military rations transport, then go ahead and do it, but don't do anything foolish again. Ask your uncle for help along the way, and if you encounter any trouble, go to him for assistance. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing, understand?"
Rong Zhang nodded, sat down beside her, and said, "What did the Li family say? When can Ruyi and I get married?"
Upon hearing his question, Jiang Yi frowned, her tone impatient, expressing her dissatisfaction with the Li family: "They are shallow-minded people. Let them refuse again and again. I never favored the Li family in the first place. If it weren't for the late emperor's arrangement and your reluctance to break off this marriage, I would have found you a better match long ago."
"No! I want to marry her, Mother. Please ask her again, or I'll ask Father for a decree." Rong Zhang refused, determined to marry Li Yueshu.
Jiang Yi couldn't stand his attitude and changed the subject, "Let's put that aside for now. How's the matter I asked you to handle?"
“It was all taken care of a long time ago.” Rong Zhang picked up a plum from the glass dish without a care in the world and answered in a muffled voice, “That person was caught as soon as he escaped from the city and is already dead. Now, I guess only his bones are left in the mass grave, reuniting with his good sister in the afterlife.”
He finished speaking with a disdainful laugh.
"Have you seen the body with your own eyes? Are you sure it's her?" Just to be on the safe side, Jiang Yi asked again.
Rong Zhang, however, grew impatient with the questioning: "I saw it, I saw it with my own eyes, there's a mole on his right ear, there's no mistake."
She was relieved and let Rong Zhang leave.
After receiving Cheng Changfeng's reply, Yan Qing led the two back to the inner room, leaving them alone.
She figured she had said enough, so she picked up the kitten sculpture she had prepared earlier and went back to the yard.
After several adjustments by Yan Qing, the sculpture was finally finalized. It is surrounded by a wooden box on three sides, with each kitten sculpture having a square base engraved with its name, which can be inserted into the wooden box for display.
Each wooden box sold at the Cat Tea House can hold seven statues, which is just enough to accommodate all the cat staff at the Cat Tea House.
The room prepared for the two of them could accommodate eight people, plus a seat for the general.
In the courtyard, Deng Chan sat on the couch, and Cheng Changfeng stood beside her. The two chatted casually, but Yan Qing couldn't hear them because they were standing far away.
Seeing that the two of them were in a calm mood, she walked over and handed the kitten sculpture to Cheng Changfeng, saying, "This is a small product that I recently developed. Neither of you came, so you didn't have a chance to take a look."
He took it, examined it carefully, and said with a smile, "This is really nice. Is the remaining space for the general?"
"Of course, we haven't been able to wait for your arrival these past few days, so we'll have the craftsmen carve the general's portrait tomorrow," Yan Qing said with a smile.
Deng Chan also swept away the gloom in her heart. Her eyes were drawn to this little gadget. She stood up and picked it up, touching it here and there. With a nasal voice, she asked Yan Qing, "Where's mine? Where's mine? Sister Yan Qing, I want one too."
"Yes! I saved it for you a long time ago, but you haven't come for so long." Yan Qing said reproachfully, "I'll take it with me when you leave later."
Having been at Cat Cat Tea House for quite some time, Cheng Changfeng knew it was time to leave. Before getting up to go, he said to Yan Qing, "I haven't seen you since New Year's Day. My mother has been thinking of you. Will you come to the farewell family banquet tomorrow night?"
Yan Qing pondered for a moment and felt it was time, so he agreed.
"See you tomorrow night." Yan Qing waved goodbye to him.
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