Chapter 3 Zhu Family Mission
Rice shop.
The shop door was wide open, but no customers came in.
Even if the neighbors supported the shop, the government had already labeled the person who ate the salt sold by the shop as a bad person. Word quickly spread, and the shop became unable to sell its grain.
The orphan and widow waited for a long time but the shop still couldn't open.
Zhu Niang is checking the accounts.
You won’t know unless you check.
It turned out that many of the amounts did not match the small accounts that Zhu Niang had kept privately, and there was a lot of silver missing from the books, which immediately greatly reduced Zhu Niang's guilt towards Zhu Hao for slandering Manager Sun.
At noon, four people came in through the door.
The one in the lead was Xia Po, who was sent by Zhu Niang to invite people. Behind her was a white-haired old man. Zhu Hao thought carefully and recalled that this person was Zhong Shu. He was only 42 years old this year, but he was no different from a 60-year-old man in later generations. It shows how great the pressure of life is.
Two young men followed behind him. One was called Yu San, who was thin and had a shrewd look on his face. The other was a short and honest man. Zhu Hao felt very unfamiliar with him.
"Boss, you're looking for us?"
Uncle Zhong came over to pay his respects.
"Um."
Zhu Niang put away the account book, asked Aunt Li to close the door and put up a sign saying that the business was closed, and then she said, "Let's talk in the backyard. Today we want you to come to work. You will be paid for each day you work."
…
…
The group passed through the corridor connecting the shops and courtyards and came to the spacious backyard.
Grandma Xia followed in.
In this era, widows were often surrounded by gossip, especially since Zhu Niang was still a chaste woman. If she invited a man to the inner courtyard to chat for no reason, it would surely cause gossip, so the old Mrs. Xia had to be there to act as a witness.
As a messenger, Xia Po acted as both a messenger and a witness. She was also a neighbor and had a good relationship with Zhu Niang.
"Here is the blueprint. We want to renovate the backyard according to it."
Zhu Hao took out a simple drawing he had made with charcoal.
It's just a rough idea, including the terrain, direction, and specific process, which needs his supervision to complete.
Uncle Zhong didn't look at it carefully. He glanced at the blueprint and looked at Zhu Niang with a puzzled look: "Master Zhu, I have heard about what happened before. I am deeply sorry about it. It is the Zhu family... who is sorry for you. But you can't destroy such a good courtyard. I am afraid... it will be bad for your reputation, right ?"
Zhu Niang was stunned.
Being a person of noble character, she did not understand why Uncle Zhong said that.
Zhu Hao said: "Uncle Zhong misunderstood. We are not going to destroy the yard, but to transform it and use it to dry salt."
"Drying salt?"
Uncle Zhong looked confused.
Zhu Niang said in distress: "In order to buy salt, the shop invested more than 200 taels of silver at one time and owed a large amount of foreign debt. Now the salt has been poured into the pond, and we can only think of a way to refine it. Xiao Hao said that salt can be obtained by exposing it to the scorching sun."
Uncle Zhong was relieved, but then he asked in confusion: "This shop has such a good business, it should make a lot of money normally, but to purchase goods... why do we need to borrow money?"
Zhu Niang didn't want to say anything, but Granny Xia beside her was full of anger: "Didn't it get taken away by the family? In fact, the Zhu family's daughter-in-law lives a very hard life..."
Uncle Zhong nodded to show his understanding, then pointed behind him, "This is my new disciple. His father died early, and he has lived with his mother since he was a child. His name is He Qiang..."
The honest and short young man stepped forward and saluted: "I greet the madam. My name is Gou Zi, and the name He Qiang was given by my master."
He looked silly, with innocence in his eyes. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, a year or two younger than Yu San.
Zhu Niang said, "The old rules are that you get 20 wen a day for a day's work, and Uncle Zhong gets 10 wen a day for coordinating the project. Lunch is provided, and you can take your lunch home at night... Any problem?"
Uncle Zhong and Yu San were old hands, so there was no problem. He Qiang smiled innocently, "Can we take the food home? I don't even need to be paid."
Zhu Hao reminded: "Mom, ask Uncle Zhong to hire two more people. We need to hurry up, otherwise... it will be too late."
Zhongshu originally planned to finish all the work with three people, so that he could work for a few more days and get more wages . But Zhu Niang said that they had to meet the deadline, so he had to go back to the dock and call three more porters to come over, so that six people could work together.
Zhu Hao had already surveyed the terrain and immediately instructed several people to start digging from the lowest point in the backyard.
…
…
After everything was arranged, Zhu Hao could finally breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to leave the shop and go to the provincial capital to have a closer look.
The place he wanted to go most was naturally Prince Xing's Palace.
"If I can establish a relationship with the young Zhu Houcong, I will be a close minister to the emperor in the future, and I can save many years of hard work. It is not impossible to be granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister! But serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, and it is easy to get into trouble if you are not careful... Oh, and Lu Bing, the people around Zhu Houcong have basically risen to high positions... But it is not easy for me to get to know Zhu Houcong..."
Outside the shop is the main street that runs through the city from north to south. On both sides of the road, which is wide enough for four carriages to run side by side, are rows of shops with numerous signs and banners.
"Fengshenghang, Dadetang, Liubiju, Fumaoxing, Qingyutang, Taihezhuang, Yueshengzhai, Zhibaolin..." Along the way, all Zhu Hao saw were shops with names that had beautiful meanings and high-flying signs on their doorsteps.
These shops are tall buildings, all made of blue bricks and tiles. The eaves are decorated with bird and animal designs, and the window frames are also finely carved with exquisite materials. The wooden door panels have been removed, making the doorheads appear particularly spacious. All kinds of goods are displayed inside, and the shopkeepers and clerks are busy at work, and business seems to be pretty good.
"Comparing my own business with other people's business, ah..."
Zhu Hao felt less and less in the mood to shop, so he simply turned back. When he got back to the shop, he found that Zhu Niang and Aunt Li were sitting at the counter with unhappy faces, as if they were in trouble again.
"Mom , is something wrong?"
Zhu Niang nodded and said, "While you were away, a creditor came to our house and asked us to pay back the money. In fact, the debt is not due yet, but they heard that we destroyed the salt and were afraid that we would default on the debt, so they came to collect it in advance."
Aunt Li said with a bitter face: "They also said that if you don't return it tomorrow, they will bring people to cause trouble. Then there may be more trouble."
Zhu Hao smiled faintly.
The debt collection must be the work of the Zhu family.
"Mother, listen to me. Go and have a good talk with the creditors. Tell them that they can't pay back the money for now. If they want to make trouble, they can do so. They will suffer for bullying a woman bestowed by the imperial court."
Zhu Hao then told his plan.
The more Zhu Niang listened, the wider her eyes widened. Finally, she said, "Xiao Hao, we...really owe someone money. It's only natural to pay back a debt."
"It is only natural to pay back the money when it is due, but it is unacceptable to pay it back in advance... Tell them, don't think we don't know that the debts were actually lent by the Zhu family. Now the Zhu family needs them, and we can encourage them to come to our door to collect the debts. Once the shop is returned to the Zhu family, they will definitely destroy the bridge after crossing the river.
"The Zhu family is so cruel to their own family members, will they let go of those who come to cause trouble at the door of the Zhu family's chaste woman? By then, hmph... I'm afraid that the benefits they get will not be enough to compensate for the loss of the Zhu family's reputation..."
Zhu Niang and Aunt Li looked at each other, it was obvious that what Zhu Hao said was very likely to happen.
But they didn't understand how Zhu Hao came up with this harmful idea.
"Mom, we need to break up the relationship between the creditor and the Zhu family. You should go now, or the Zhu family will block our way to reconcile. If that doesn't work, we can think of another way."
…
…
Zhu Niang immediately went out to negotiate with the creditor as instructed.
The creditors were all honest businessmen in the city, and they had a good relationship with Zhu Niang. After listening to Zhu Niang's analysis, they were all shocked and broke out in cold sweats. They expressed their understanding and agreed to repay the debts only when they were due.
The rice shop escaped disaster again.
When Zhu Wanjian heard the news, he was furious and went to Zhu Jia to complain, but was stopped by housekeeper Liu.
"Step aside!"
Zhu Wanjian said angrily.
Butler Liu was firm: "The old lady is meeting with the Jinyiwei envoy from the capital, and no one else is allowed to enter."
"you!"
Zhu Wanjian glared at him.
This housekeeper Liu was brought by Zhu Jia from her mother's family. He was a legitimate descendant of the legitimate family. All the household accounts were managed by him. Zhu Wanjian hated him to the core.
"A good dog doesn't block the road!"
Zhu Wanjian pushed Butler Liu aside and rushed straight in.
In the main hall, the old lady of the Zhu family, Zhu Jia, was meeting a captain of the Jinyiwei who was wearing a flying fish uniform and wearing an embroidered spring sword on his waist.
This man's surname is Lin, he is about thirty years old, tall and strong, with an imposing manner.
"…Madam, I risked my life to deliver this letter on behalf of Deputy Captain Zhu. You should recognize the handwriting on it. You must burn it immediately after reading it. No traces can be left behind. Otherwise, it will not benefit me or the Zhu family."
Captain Lin was very cautious.
After reading the letter, Zhu Jia burned it with the candlelight on the altar.
"My son...is he doing well in the capital?"
"not too good."
Captain Lin shook his head. "Deputy Captain Zhu was assigned by Eunuch Zhang Yong to guard the imperial mausoleum last year. He suffered a lot. At the beginning of the year, he presented a generous gift and was transferred back to the Northern Pacification Office. However, he still has the hard job of guarding the imperial prison. Fortunately, although he cannot return to his private residence every day, he still has a roof over his head. It is said that the news sent back to the capital by the Zhu family in the past two years is not of sufficient weight, so it is difficult to report. So... Alas!"
Zhu Jia looked sad: "My Zhu family followed the order of the late emperor and stayed in Huguang for twenty years. However, Prince Xing has been following the rules since he arrived in Anlu and has never interacted with court officials. How much news can my Zhu family send back to the capital?"
Captain Lin understood the Zhu family's situation and smiled bitterly. "Back then, the eunuch Liang Fang and others from the Imperial Horse Administration conspired with Concubine Wan to depose the late emperor and establish King Xing. The late emperor was still brooding over it before his death. Now that Your Majesty has been on the throne for a long time, but has no heirs left, the Empress Dowager is quite concerned about the affairs of Huguang and has issued imperial decrees to inquire about it many times over the years."
"The Queen Mother?"
"Yes, His Majesty rarely asks about Prince Xing's affairs, but the Queen Mother knows everything about the past and often asks about it. The Emperor has said that if we want to make Deputy Captain Zhu's defense in Beijing clear, we must start with Prince Xing's Mansion."
Captain Lin clasped his fists and said, "That's all I have to say."
Zhu Jia stood up and said, "Okay, I'll send Captain Lin back to the capital right away... The silver has been packed, you can send someone to take it away."
Just as he was about to leave, a stern shout suddenly came from the door: "...You two little flags dare to act wildly in my Zhu family? My father is a captain of the Jinyiwei! If you don't get out of the way, I'll make you suffer!"
However, it was the Jinyiwei brought by Captain Lin who blocked the door, and Zhu Wanjian became furious as he was unable to break in by force.
The main hall door opened.
Zhu Jiashi came out with Captain Lin.
Captain Lin bowed to Zhu Jia again, and without even saying goodbye, he had someone carry the box out.
"Put down the box!"
Zhu Wanjian shouted again.
Zhu Jia was furious: "Unfilial son, what do you want here? If you don't get out of the way, I will punish you according to the family rules!"
Zhu Wanjian was used to being spoiled by the old lady. He thought that since his father was bedridden and his brother was in Beijing, he was the head of the family.
However, he did not expect that his mother would scold him harshly in front of outsiders without giving him any face.
After Captain Lin led his men away, Zhu Wanjian and Zhu Jia entered the main hall and immediately asked, "Mother, who is that person? Why does he come two or three times a year, and why do we have to give him so much silver every time? Our Zhu family is not a charity."
"This matter has nothing to do with you."
Zhu Jia looked indifferent.
"Could it be that my eldest brother is living a life of debauchery in the capital like his prodigal son? Our Zhu family only makes a few thousand taels a year. After spending so much effort to buy back the shop of the third brother, can it be worth only a thousand taels after it is sold? I didn't expect that I would just sell it to my eldest brother... Mother, you can't be so biased, can you?"
Zhu Wanjian was very emotional, feeling that he had worked hard to run the family business but was treated poorly.
Zhu Jia was furious: "How much suffering has your elder brother endured while staying in the capital? How could you, as his younger brother, have no sympathy or pity for him?"
"Bullshit, he is the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei, and he is very powerful in the capital. I can't even be the one I want. Suffering? Humph, spending one or two thousand taels of silver a year will make you suffer? You can be partial to me, mother, don't make excuses... I'm leaving."
The mother and son parted unhappily.
Zhu Jia stood at the door, watching her son's back disappear behind the porch, with a sullen face and no words.
