Chapter 176: The Second Step
Li Xiaonan’s attitude greatly exceeded the expectations of Li Shikuan and his son.
After leaving Cai Lian Lane, Li Wenliang looked back and subconsciously lowered his voice, saying to Li Shikuan, “Father, what A Nan said, was she just being petulant?”
“You child!” Li Shikuan stopped and glared at Li Wenliang.
“I just feel…” Li Wenliang quickly put on a smile and reached out to support Li Shikuan.
“A Nan is not simple, no wonder such a noble Young Lord is acquainted with her, alas!” Li Shikuan sighed deeply, “Nobles are indeed nobles! Their family education and insight alone are extraordinary. Look, the Young Lord saw A Nan’s uncommon nature at a glance, and we are still here, look at you! Still talking about being petulant!”
“I didn’t mean that, I just really didn’t expect it. What I mean is, this is a big business that has never happened before, but if this big business is to be done for a long, long time and be profitable, we need to know what the court’s intentions are. This is also what Father said, this business can only rely on A Nan, but A Nan actually said she doesn’t want it. I really didn’t expect it.” Li Wenliang quickly explained with a smile.
“I didn’t expect it either. Thinking about it now.” Li Shikuan pondered for a moment, then sighed softly, “Indeed, it is only when more people enter this business that the cost of the loom can be spread out, and the quantity of looms can be rolled out quickly. Only with enough looms can there be enough fine cloth, and only then can a big business be started.”
“Mm, then the shares we were going to give A Nan earlier? Since A Nan said to let us do it ourselves, then?” Li Wenliang asked tentatively.
“Alas, you, since you were a child, you’ve had this stingy habit! Remember, from now on, you must always remind yourself, you can be stingy with yourself, but you must never be stingy with others!” Li Shikuan glared at his son.
“Yes.” Li Wenliang blushed.
“This share, it’s not that A Nan wants it or not, but that we must find a way to give it to her and make her want it! Just as we agreed before, give her thirty percent.” Li Shikuan said softly.
“Okay!” Li Wenliang quickly nodded.
“We have to hurry back now. You tell your wife, if Jin Zhu goes to see the house, let her make the decision, it’s not a big deal. Alas, how much silver each branch of the clan contributes, how many shares each family takes, which family has capable people, this matter is the most troublesome, it will take several days to discuss.” Li Shikuan knitted his brows.
Li Wenliang followed with a wry smile and knitted brows.
Discussing such matters always involved shouting and even fighting, and it would take at least three to five days of arguing to reach a conclusion.
After seeing off Li Shikuan and Li Wenliang, Li Xiaonan happily spun around a few times, told her eldest sister her plans, then went to the tea house to pick up A Wu and Wang Yuting, and drove straight to Hejia Village outside Guo Lane.
Li Yuzhu tidied up, tied a headscarf, and was about to head to the workshop when Li Jinzhu stopped her.
“There’s something we need to discuss.”
Li Yuzhu quickly put down her basket and beckoned Mei Jie over.
“Eldest Sister-in-law said that there is a house east of the Prefectural School that someone is selling. They say the owner is a foreigner doing business in Linhai Town. He is old now and wants to go back to his hometown to see, and doesn’t know if he can return again, so he is selling all his property and leaving with his silver. Eldest Sister-in-law said the house is very good and the price is very suitable.”
“Buying a house now?” Li Yuzhu asked in surprise.
Mei Jie’s eyes widened too.
“Tang Weng Weng said that our family is not what it used to be, and it’s not suitable to live here anymore.” Li Jinzhu’s eyelids drooped slightly, her voice very low.
Li Yuzhu was stunned. She worked from morning till night every day, her mind solely on the Preserved Egg Shop, and she hadn’t paid attention or thought about these things.
Mei Jie pouted and nodded continuously.
“I’ve been thinking about it for two or three nights.”
Li Jinzhu sighed softly.
“This alley is so narrow that even a cart can’t get in. Our cart and that mule are always kept at the tea house opposite. This house only has one front door, and going in and out is under the neighbors’ noses. This courtyard is also narrow, and you have to speak softly even when talking in the courtyard. A Nan.”
Li Jinzhu paused, then continued after a moment: “Tang Weng Weng said that A Nan goes in and out under the eyes of the neighbors. If someone with ill intentions were to notice… alas, after all, A Nan comes and goes with the Prince’s Estate Villa. If something were to happen from our side, we couldn’t bear the responsibility.”
“And your marriage, you must avoid that Matchmaker Miao, you are not young anymore.”
“I haven’t thought about getting married.” Li Yuzhu frowned slightly.
“I’ve been thinking about it. If we really can’t find a suitable family, then so be it, but we must try our best to look. If there is a suitable family, it’s better to get married, to have a husband and children, to have a home and a family.”
Li Yuzhu lowered her eyes and hummed softly.
“Eldest Sister is right! There are still many good families in this world. Look at our Third Sister, how good she is!” Mei Jie poked her head out and smiled, then said to Li Jinzhu:
“I’m telling you, when I go to buy groceries, I always run into people asking questions, asking about all sorts of things. And many people say how good their daughters are, and ask if they can let our A Nan lead them to the villa to get a task like A Nan. It’s really annoying!” Mei Jie interjected.
“You never mentioned it.” Li Jinzhu said in surprise.
“What’s there to talk about! Their daughters are like celestial beings, and our A Nan can’t take them to the villa either! Anyway, no matter what they ask or say, I just listen with wide eyes and don’t say a word, I just play dumb!” Mei Jie patted her apron indignantly.
“The Hong Family’s house is also in that area. Is that house secluded? How much silver would it cost?” Li Yuzhu asked.
“Let’s go take a look, Mei Jie, you come too.” Li Jinzhu said.
“Me too? Okay, okay, okay! I’ll go change my clothes!” Mei Jie beamed with joy.
“No need to change, just like this. The three of us shouldn’t go out together. Yuzhu, you go first and wait at the east end of the street.” Li Jinzhu said with a smile.
“Then I’ll take my vegetable basket, it’s on the way to buy some vegetables back.” Mei Jie rushed into the kitchen, grabbed her vegetable basket, looking like she was going to buy groceries as usual, and finally went out, locked the courtyard gate, and headed towards the east end of the street.
………………………………
A Wu rode a horse, and Wang Yuting drove the cart, and they soon arrived at Hejia Village.
A group of children at the village entrance stared at the group of people with various expressions. Some gestured and cursed at the mule cart, spitting.
Li Xiaonan looked at the group of children and waved with a smile.
Sister-in-law Lu came out of the courtyard gate and said with a smile, “What a coincidence, I was leaving tonight. I have to go to town. There are two families that need new looms, and one machine is stuck. That girl’s hands are too heavy, this is the third time it’s stuck in less than half a month.”
As Sister-in-law Lu spoke, she ushered the three into the courtyard.
“Since you’re going to town, let’s go now. We can talk in the car.” Li Xiaonan didn’t get off the carriage and beckoned Sister-in-law Lu.
“Okay!” Sister-in-law Lu smiled, went into the house, grabbed her basket, locked the door, and got into Li Xiaonan’s cart.
As they reached the village entrance, Li Xiaonan looked at the children who were spitting at them again and asked with a smile, “How is the new house in town? When can we move?”
The families whose looms were forcibly taken were all powerful families from Hejia Village. Each family had several sons. Because their looms were taken, they banded together. Unable to find Li Xiaonan, they took their anger out on Sister-in-law Lu.
Sister-in-law Lu simply spent some silver to exchange her ten-odd mu of land for a plot near Guo Lane and built a new house in Guo Lane.
“The side rooms are finished and are being tidied up. We’ll move at the end of the month, and we’ll live in the side rooms first.” Sister-in-law Lu also saw the children spitting and cursing, and her expression dimmed slightly.
“Have those families bullied you again?” A Wu asked with wide eyes.
Sister-in-law Lu quickly waved her hand and said with a smile, “No, no, you come here every few days, they wouldn’t dare to bully us anymore.”
“Moving to town early is for convenience. Look, today’s work is all in town. If I also lived in town, and someone’s machine got stuck, it would only take an hour to go back and forth, instead of wasting a whole day.”
A Wu breathed a sigh of relief and urged his horse to the front.
“It will be convenient for you to move to town. I came to find you to discuss something. I want to teach people weaving like I teach at school. The first school will be in Guo Lane. Let’s buy three or four looms first. You find someone who can weave and teach, and you manage it, don’t teach yourself. If it goes well, we’ll open more schools one by one.” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“Do you charge copper coins? Teach for free?” Sister-in-law Lu’s eyes widened.
“It’s not free, and we don’t charge copper coins. Sign a contract, and they will repay with the fine cloth they weave after they learn.” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“Weaving fine cloth is not something everyone can learn.” Sister-in-law Lu frowned, “Then we need to select people first before accepting them. Also, those who are nimble and quick-witted learn very fast, it only takes a day or two. Some are slow, and it takes half a month to a month. If you really teach, you can’t teach them all the same way, can you?”
“Think about how to handle these things. Also, how much tuition should the hired teacher be paid? Is this tuition fixed, or is it calculated based on how many students are taught? You think about it too.”
Li Xiaonan discussed the details with Sister-in-law Lu, sent Sister-in-law Lu to Guo Lane, turned around, and headed for the Ma Family Loom Workshop.
Sister-in-law Gu saw Li Xiaonan off, then turned around and saw her husband, Shopkeeper Ma, with his hands behind his back and a frown, asking irritably, “What did she come for? We’ve been talking for so long, and there’s a pile of work at home!”
“She came to talk about business!” Sister-in-law Gu patted her apron in annoyance.
“A little girl, what business can she talk about!” Shopkeeper Ma’s voice rose, “What did she say?”
“She said our looms are troublesome to use and asked us to recruit skilled craftsmen to see if we can find a way to modify the dobby loom to make it easier to use, so that even a foolish person can use it.” Sister-in-law Gu sat down at the loom.
“Blame the loom for being stupid? No matter how we modify this loom, a foolish person is still a foolish person!” Shopkeeper Ma spat.
He extremely disliked that girl just now, swaggering in and out, clearly not from a good family! Under the guise of doing business, she always looked for his wife and not him. What kind of legitimate business doesn’t look for a man but a woman?
He always felt that the girl was trying to instigate his wife, and was definitely trying to cause trouble because their family was doing well!
“She asked us to see if the heddle board could be simplified, or made fixed, it doesn’t need to be too delicate, just easy to use…”
“Pah!”
Sister-in-law Gu’s words were interrupted by Shopkeeper Ma’s loud “Pah!” “When working, we strive for excellence, the more refined the better. Business values good products the most. Is she doing business? She’s here to cause trouble!”
Sister-in-law Gu stopped weaving and looked at Shopkeeper Ma with pursed lips.
“Old Yu Xing wants to order one hundred dobby looms. This is guild work. Don’t you know what’s important and what’s not?”
“We can’t even finish making these one hundred looms, and we have time to take on anything else?”
“I’ve told you long ago, don’t pay attention to that girl. We have too much business to finish, no time to bother with her! I’m telling you, if you keep whispering with that girl again, you pack your things and go back to your maiden home!” Shopkeeper Ma said, then turned and left.
Sister-in-law Gu pursed her lips tightly, and after a while, slowly took a breath and exhaled it little by little.
This is the Ma family, her surname is Gu!
When she got married, everyone called her “returning home.” But no matter how many years she had “returned home,” no matter how many children she had, he could drive her out of this “home” with a single sentence.
He told her to go back to her maiden home, and when her maiden family drove her away, it was also “go home.”
Both were “going back,” but neither was her home.
She didn’t care anymore. The home was his, not hers.
