Chapter 566: Chapter 568: A Consultation

This saved Jin Qianqian the trouble of repeating herself. "I have ways to deal with the other things, but for the escort agency he controls, I’ll need to borrow some outside help."

Ancient Wen Heng put down his brush, picked up a damp cloth from the side, and helped Jin Qianqian wipe the ink from her hands.

"Don’t worry about manpower. If you’re willing to wait, we might be able to recruit a new batch of people next spring."

Jin Qianqian looked at him, confused. The orphans they had trained before were now all assigned to various posts. ’Where would they find more people?’

Ancient Wen Heng smiled and said, "Next spring, a number of soldiers will be discharged. I imagine we’ll be able to select some capable people from among them."

"But they’ll probably prefer to return to their hometowns," Jin Qianqian replied. "After all, they’ve been away for years, and their families are waiting."

"There you go being muddled again," Ancient Wen Heng said. "What will happen when they go back? They’ll just be farmers, toiling away and relying on meager crops to get by.

If they work for us, as long as they’re diligent and conscientious, do you think we’d ever treat them unfairly?"

Only then did Jin Qianqian recall this. In this dynasty, after completing their military service, soldiers were simply discharged and sent back to their hometowns.

Aside from their small monthly stipend as soldiers and some disability compensation, there was nothing else for them.

After deducting travel expenses, they probably wouldn’t have more than a few copper coins left by the time they reached home.

"In that case, we could certainly pick some to hire. But they all come from farming stock, and during their service, they only trained in basic combat. Would they be qualified for the jobs we have?"

"Of course, there will be requirements," Ancient Wen Heng said. "We can’t hire just anyone. Besides, there are too many of them; we couldn’t take them all even if we wanted to.

Don’t worry, I’ll speak with Brother Zhou when the time comes. He’ll have his subordinates do an initial screening, and we can make the final decisions from the remaining candidates."

Jin Qianqian was now tempted. "Why don’t we form our own escort team?"

"Would you be willing to wait that long?"

Jin Qianqian immediately dismissed the thought. She was a firm believer in immediate retaliation; if this dragged on until next year, other complications might arise.

"Forget it. We can talk about it later when an opportunity arises. I have so much on my plate right now, I really can’t spare the effort."

Ancient Wen Heng didn’t want her to overwork herself either. "Pulling Bai Jinglie into this is a good idea. As the Heir of Marquis Wu’an and an Imperial Minister, he’s quite useful at the moment. Even if Prefect Nan and Minister Huang wanted to step in for Tian Zhuang, they’d have to think twice.

As it happens, the last time that boy visited, he was dropping hints left and right, practically begging for opportunities. This is the perfect pretext. I wracked my brain to come up with these money-making schemes for him; the least he can do is lend us a hand."

The couple conferred for a while longer before the clamor of their two children drew them from the room. The family then enjoyed a moment of leisure together.

＆

「Le City」

Lady Nan had just returned to their residence from a tea party and immediately sent someone to fetch Prefect Nan.

"Several new shops have opened in Le City recently. Have you not heard, my lord?"

Prefect Nan said dismissively, "Le City is vast. How can I be expected to know about everything?

So many merchants come and go every day. As long as they pay their taxes on time, that’s good enough."

Lady Nan gritted her teeth. "But today, at Madam Li’s estate, I heard something else.

Do you know who is behind these shops?"

Prefect Nan was growing impatient. He was swamped with work at the government office all day; he had no time to stand around and gossip with his wife. He stood up to leave. "If you’re bored, have our daughter keep you company. I still have matters to attend to."

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"Those shops were opened by Mrs. Gu. Aren’t you the least bit curious, my lord?"

Prefect Nan didn’t immediately register. "Which Mrs. Gu?"

"The wife of the Ancient Scholar. The one Tian Zhuang targeted last time."

Prefect Nan stopped in his tracks and sat back down across from Lady Nan. "Explain. What’s going on?"

"Today at the banquet, a few of the other wives were discussing it.

Mrs. Gu was here for quite some time during her last visit, so they got to know her a bit.

They know she’s an Imperial Merchant personally designated by the Emperor, so this time, as soon as her people arrived in Le City, some of them took notice."

"Since she’s a merchant, it’s only normal for her to open shops all over," Prefect Nan commented.

"My lord, have you forgotten that we offended her not long ago?"

"So what? Does she think she can take me down with just a few shops?

Rest assured, even if he bears a grudge, it should be directed at Tian Zhuang.

I only let Tian Zhuang off the hook out of deference to Minister Huang. Since Mr. Gu is also a court official, he knows this was the most rational choice. Even if he harbors some resentment, it won’t escalate to a true grudge against me.

I have already calculated the potential gains and losses here. You just need to sit back and watch the show."

Lady Nan pressed, "But what if Tian Zhuang comes to our door for help?"

"You have that much confidence in this Mrs. Gu? Perhaps she’ll be the one at a disadvantage. After all, don’t forget the old saying: even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake."

Lady Nan shook her head. "I have a feeling that a woman who could become an Imperial Merchant with just a single recipe is no ordinary person.

If Tian Zhuang comes to you for help this time, I hope you will think long and hard before you act."

Prefect Nan just smiled, not taking her words to heart.

’In his view, Mrs. Gu’s success must be due to Mr. Gu planning everything behind the scenes. Otherwise, how could a mere woman—and a former village woman at that—achieve so much?’

"Rest assured, I know how to handle it. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving."

Lady Nan waved her hand listlessly. ’As his wife, how could I not see that he paid my words no mind?’

’Since we can’t befriend Jin Qianqian,’ she thought, ’we at least mustn’t make an enemy of her.’

’The Ancient Scholar is already a Prefect at such a young age. Who knows when we might need a favor from them? Why make an enemy of such a person over a mere merchant family like Tian Zhuang?’

Meanwhile, the shops Lady Nan had mentioned were now in the midst of busily stocking their inventory.

In a small courtyard not far from the Le City Prefect’s Office, Li Xia and Jiang Milie were discussing an opening date.

The Madam had given the two of them full responsibility for the Le City operations, though she had also sent several capable assistants to help.

"All the merchandise is here. We should pick an auspicious date to open," Li Xia said, her eyes sparkling. ’It’s almost time for us to shine!’

Jiang Milie directly produced a piece of paper. "I already had someone look into it. Let’s discuss the upcoming dates on this list. If one looks good, we can settle on it."

Li Xia pointed to the earliest date. "The one in three days looks pretty good. The sooner we open, the sooner we start making money. All this spending with nothing coming in is making me a little antsy."

But Jiang Milie pointed to the second date, seven days away. "I think this one is better. Three days is too rushed."

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