Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 66: Relying on
Ye Dalin only spent one meal to negotiate all the balance terms. One of the merchants was willing to settle only 80% of the balance. Ye Dalin agreed to let them come tomorrow morning and settle the balance in one go. Just by negotiating with these merchants, Ye Dalin earned tens of thousands of taels of income.
This conversation delayed dinner, but Ye Dalin was in a good mood and had a good appetite. Ma opened her kitchen to cook him another meal. While eating with her husband, she said, "Why do you suddenly have to settle accounts with others? It's a bit cheaper to settle accounts with these merchants first, but it's a loophole. What should we do if all the other merchants come to collect the debts later?"
Ye Dalin said, "That would be the best! Then let them all get married."
Ma said, "I just heard from Ye Zhong two days ago that many accounts of foreign merchants have not been sorted out yet."
"Then we should work on the accounts overnight and sort them out." Ye Dalin said, "If we are not able to do it in time, we can use the accounts at home that we have figured out first to make up for it."
"Why is this happening? Why are you in such a hurry to pay the bill?" Ma asked irritably.
"Don't ask so many questions!" Ye Dalin yelled at him, then suddenly paused and said, "Be nicer to Youyu recently. Send her some good fabrics so that she can make more good clothes, and pick out some good jewelry for her. If it's nothing serious, don't make things difficult for her recently. If she needs anything, try your best to satisfy her."
Ma said angrily: "What are you doing? What are you doing?"
"You gossip, what do you know!" Ye Dalin couldn't help but scold her: "Youyu's words this afternoon were just right. Not to mention the money we made this afternoon, this is still a small amount. If we talk about the bigger picture, maybe it was this sentence that saved our entire Ye family!"
He was somewhat afraid of Ma, but not to the extent of being henpecked. Ma was somewhat stunned by her husband's scolding, and although she was very reluctant to be good to Ye Youyu, she still did not dare to openly contradict Ye Dalin when it came to business affairs.
"I don't have time to talk to you right now, so don't cause me any trouble these days!"
After saying this, Ye Dalin ignored her and went back to his busy work.
Although Ma was angry, after thinking it over, she did not dare to disobey , so she sent some fine materials, along with seven or eight pieces of gold and silver jewelry, to Xu's room. Xu was scared by Ma, and although she was flattered, she dared not accept anything. However, Ye Youyu accepted all the things generously.
Cuiping, who came to deliver the gifts, asked, "Second Miss, the Madam asked if there is anything else you need to buy?"
Xu said, "No, no, thank you very much, ma'am."
Ye Youyu said, "Thank you Madam for giving us so many things, but our small house is too cramped. There is no room for all these things. Sister Cuiping, can you ask Madam to move us to a more spacious house?"
Xu and Cuiping were both stunned. Ye Youyu bowed to Cuiping and said, "Thank you, sister."
Cuiping went back to report angrily. Ma was fine, but Miss Ye Er, who was standing next to her, jumped up in anger when she heard this: "This little slut, she opened a dyeing house just by giving her some color! She wants to change houses just by giving her a few pieces of clothes? She usually pretends to be a bodhisattva who doesn't want anything, but now she's finally exposed. She's a greedy bitch! I'll tell my father right now and let him see the true face of this little slut!"
Before Ma could call her, Miss Ye Er had already rushed out. Ye Dalin was in the study, supervising the accountants who had just been called. The sound of abacus continued, indicating that they had to settle the accounts overnight.
Miss Ye Er came up to Ye Dalin and started to insult Ye Youyu with exaggerated words.
But Ye Dalin had lost his usual patience at this moment. Without waiting for Second Miss Ye to finish, he waved his hand impatiently and said, "Isn't Yingyang Garden still vacant? Let the mother and daughter move there."
Second Miss Ye exclaimed, hardly able to believe it. Yingyang Garden was the smallest courtyard on the eastern side of the entire Ye residence. Although the place was not large, the first ray of sunlight in the morning was cast on this courtyard. Perhaps for this reason, when winter passed and spring came, the kapok flowers there were always the earliest to bloom, so it was given a nice name, Yingyang Garden. Ma had always been reluctant to allocate it to others, and would rather leave it empty, so that people could enjoy the flowers in spring.
Miss Ye Er wanted to say something, but Ye Dalin ordered her to drive her away. She went back crying and complained to Ma. Ma, who was rejected twice, calmed down and said, "Let them move over."
Miss Ye shouted, "Mom!"
"Shut up!" Ma said, "Now is an extraordinary period. As long as the Wu family is still standing, the dark clouds over the entire Xiguan will not be truly dispersed. Although I still don't quite understand it, that little hoof's words have obviously solved a big problem for your father. Right now she is in favor. If you step on her at this time, it would be the same as stepping on your father, which is not worth it. Fortunately, you can bear it."
Miss Ye Er muttered, "Endure, endure, how long can I endure it?" It would be fine for others, but she didn't want to endure Ye Youyu for a moment.
Ma sneered, "Don't you know what kind of person your father is? He is very fickle. When the crisis in Xiguan is completely over, the weight of that little bitch in his heart will become less and less. When he gradually loses interest in this little bitch, that will be the right time to squeeze her."
So Cuiping went over again.
Having heard that the Madam had given many fine fabrics to Ye Youyu and her daughter, the Eighth Aunt next door came to visit with her daughter. While touching the fabrics and saying some envious words, she also inquired about the news and wanted to know why the Madam had suddenly shown kindness to them.
Unexpectedly, Cuiping came over suddenly and said that the master had already indicated Yingyang Garden as the residence of the Sixth Aunt and the Second Miss. He also told Xu and Ye Youyu that someone would clean Yingyang Garden tomorrow, and asked them to tidy up and move in after the cleaning was done.
This made the Eighth Aunt and her daughter so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths.
Mrs. Xu was also stunned. When she heard her daughter's loud request just now, she thought that Ye Youyu was deliberately trying to irritate Mrs. Ma. Who knew that she actually agreed? She didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Ye Youyu said generously, "Thank you, Daddy, and thank you, Madam." and actually picked up the phone.
Cuiping said, "Second Miss, do you need anything else? I will go and report to the Madam." This was the first time she called herself a maid, even though it was very awkward and uncomfortable.
Ye Youyu smiled and said, "Although Yingyang Garden is small, it is much larger than here. I'm afraid it's too big for the two of us, mother and daughter. Can you ask Madam to send a lady and two maids over to take care of the daily cleaning?"
Cuiping almost fainted from breathing, and could not help but say, "Second Miss, our Ye family is different from others. Each servant has a quota for what work to do, and no one eats for free. How can we spare any manpower when it is urgent?"
"That's right, sister." Ye Youyu said, "I heard that the price of people has dropped recently, so it's a good time to recruit people. So can you please take advantage of the low price and buy a few maids to equip Yingyang Garden?"
After hearing this, Cuiping stared at Ye Youyu, unable to speak for a long time.
Even Mrs. Xu felt very uneasy, thinking that her daughter was going too far. When she wanted to speak, her daughter secretly pressed her hand, so she held back and did not utter a word.
Seeing this situation, the Eighth Aunt was afraid that a secret struggle was about to unfold in the house. Although she didn't know why Ye Youyu dared to challenge the wife like this, she was afraid of being implicated, so she didn't want to stay any longer and got up to say goodbye.
Cuiping looked Ye Youyu up and down several times, snorted, turned and left.
Xu then pulled her aside and said, "My daughter, my dear daughter. You scared me to death! How dare you speak to my wife's people like that?"
Ye Youyu said, "Mother, my first request just now would have made Madam fly into a rage under normal circumstances, but she agreed. If one thing can lead to another, then two things can lead to a third. She has been pressuring us mother and daughter for more than ten years, and now that the situation has become like this, she has actually backed down. I want to give it a try and see how far she will back down."
Xu said, "As the old saying goes, 'Don't say all you can, and don't use all your power.' You're relying on your power for the moment, so be careful that you'll bring trouble upon yourself in the future."
"Future troubles? There are none." Ye Youyu said, "Don't worry, mother. Our good days are just beginning. The wind has already risen, and my daughter is about to turn into a bird. Her wings are just beginning to rise with the help of the wind. From now on, I will only have the sky to bear with me. The calculations of some people in this house are not worth mentioning!"
Cuiping went to the back and reported everything Ye Youyu had said to Ma. Ma sneered and said, "Okay, okay! You ask Ye Zhong to send someone to the dental clinic. No matter how much the price is, don't pick the ones of the best batch. Pick at least 40 and let Ye Youyu choose carefully."
Cuiping took the order and left.
Miss Ye Er said, "Mother, mother, why do you indulge that little bitch like this?"
"What do you know!" Ma sneered, "Since she doesn't know how to advance or retreat, why don't we let her use up all her strength? As the saying goes, the higher you fly, the harder you fall. You should keep your eyes open and watch carefully. When her momentum is exhausted, then you can see how she dies!"
As this time of year approaches, as the insurance merchants release money in batches, various consumption activities in and around Guangzhou will gradually reach a climax.
Among these, the slave trade was one of them. At this time every year, some families that had made a profit in business would update some slaves, so human traffickers had habitually imported a lot of good "goods" and waited for the rich and powerful to choose.
Unexpectedly, the forced donation incident broke out, and all the merchants in the eleven Baoshang merchants were in danger, and even the peripheral merchants were trembling with anxiety. They had been counting on the various consumptions of these wealthy Baoshang merchants. Not only did the prices all fall, but the trading volume was extremely bleak. The price of the human market also fell by 40% compared with previous years. The human traffickers were all swatting flies at their homes, for fear that this year's batch of goods would all be lost in their hands.
At this time, it was suddenly heard that the Ye family of Xingchenghang wanted to select a good maid. That was a big customer! The human traffickers in the whole Xiguan were like cats smelling fishy smells, and they all picked out the best ones. The people sent by Ye Zhong picked out forty of them and sent them to the mansion. At this time, Ye Youyu was watching the servants cleaning the house in Yingyang Garden. Seeing that Ma really sent a maid to her to choose, she was not polite. After careful consideration, she picked two clever ones, one good at cooking, and one good at embroidery, and two old and strong ones, a total of four, and asked someone to report back to the wife.
Ma did not object to any of the suggestions and asked them all to stay in Yingyang Garden. She also asked Cuiping to ask the four maids how to set the monthly allowance - such matters were directly determined by the mistress, and she had never seen anyone ask the daughters in the palace, let alone a concubine's daughter.
Xu was cowardly but not stupid. She quickly warned her daughter secretly, "This is a trap. You must not accept it. Otherwise, she will find a chance when the master is displeased with you and tell him that you have exceeded your duty and forced your maid to set a monthly grade. This is a taboo in the inner house."
Ye Youyu said, "It would be foolish not to use the power that was given to me." He ignored Xu's dissuasion and replied to Cuiping, letting the two clever maids receive the second-class monthly allowance and the two honest maids receive the third-class monthly allowance. Cuiping secretly sneered and agreed. When she turned around, Ma had indeed given the monthly allowance according to Ye Youyu's request and sent a maid to take care of the miscellaneous work in Yingyang Garden.
All this frightened Xu. That night, she pulled her daughter aside and asked in a low voice, "Youyu, my dear daughter, how dare you do this? In the past seventeen years, I have never seen you act so disrespectfully. What are you relying on?"
