Chapter 216: Combine
The ten people from Ruifu Workshop lined up and followed behind the group from Xiangyun Workshop into the real estate agency’s courtyard.
Qiao Zhi’s family of three walked in the middle of the group.
Qiao Zhi’s mother was at the very front, straining her neck with all her might, trying to suppress the urge to look back.
Qiao Zhi’s grandmother followed behind her daughter, her lips tightly pursed, also trying with all her might to appear as if she was walking with ease without the support of a crutch.
Wang Quexi followed behind Qiao Zhi’s grandmother, his head slightly bowed, staring intently at Qiao Zhi’s grandmother’s slightly trembling legs.
Qiao Zhi’s mother had instructed him that if his grandmother couldn’t hold on, he had to quickly support her.
Qiao Zhi stood with her hands at her sides behind Li Xiaonan, her gaze quickly sweeping over the weavers entering one by one. Her eyes landed on her mother, and before she realized it, her legs had already lifted.
Dong Mei, standing close beside her, grabbed her.
Qiao Zhi’s feet returned to the ground, and she looked gratefully at Dong Mei.
“Are they here?” Li Xiaonan turned and asked Qiao Zhi.
“They’re here, they’re here! My mother is the fourth one, and behind her are my grandmother and my father.” Qiao Zhi was trembling, both in voice and body.
“Pick those three first,” Li Xiaonan patted Wang Yuting.
Wang Yuting turned his head, winked at Qiao Zhi, and walked over a few steps. He spoke a few low words to Li Wenru, who then pointed at Qiao Zhi’s family of three.
The real estate agent removed the identification tags from the shoulders of the three and gestured for them to step aside.
Qiao Zhi’s mother’s lips were tightly pursed, her steps stiff. Qiao Zhi’s grandmother followed behind her mother, her legs trembling, but she couldn’t lift her feet.
Wang Yuting stepped forward, took Qiao Zhi’s grandmother’s arm, and pulled her out of the line.
“Go get your grandmother a chair,” Li Xiaonan said without turning her head, patting Qiao Zhi with the back of her hand.
Qiao Zhi moved extremely quickly, fetched a small bamboo chair, spun around on the spot, and then leaned forward to ask Li Xiaonan, “Where should I put it?”
Li Xiaonan pointed to the spot next to her.
“Grandma, help me see, which one is a capable worker?” Li Xiaonan asked, smiling as she watched Qiao Zhi’s grandmother sit down.
“The last one!” Qiao Zhi’s grandmother immediately pointed to the last person in the Ruifu Workshop’s small team.
It was impossible to tell the person’s gender. One hand was twisted and curled in front of their chest, and half of their face was red and contorted.
“Hmm?” Li Xiaonan looked at Qiao Zhi’s grandmother.
“She was the best at sizing and desizing. Before she was thirty, she became a steward in charge of sizing at the weaving workshop. She had bad luck; while watching the sizing process, the sizing vat somehow overturned and fell on her, scalding her like this. Her mother knelt and begged Master Six to get her a doctor, but Master Six had her mother beaten.
“Alas, she survived, but her mother didn’t,” Qiao Zhi’s grandmother sighed softly.
Li Xiaonan gestured to Wang Yuting.
Eleven people were selected this time: Qiao Zhi brought four, Dong Mei brought three, Ming Zhi brought one, and Wan Jing chose three from the examination.
Although these eleven people all looked like misfits, Li Xiaonan was very satisfied.
That afternoon, Li Xiaonan borrowed an attendant from Wan Jing. Three large carts took the fourteen people she had newly recruited to Pingjiang City, to be handed over to Eldest Sister, who would send them to Guo Lane to learn how to manage a weaving school with Sister-in-law Lu.
The attendant took the three large carts straight to Pingjiang City, while Li Xiaonan and her group immediately set off for Jiaxing County, and from Jiaxing County, they would travel overnight to Hangzhou.
………………………………
Gu Yan, holding scrolls that weighed at least twice as much as usual, picked up a cutting knife, opened them, read them carefully, and entered the main house with the letters, smiling.
The Crown Prince looked at the few sheets of letter paper in Gu Yan’s hand, seeing the smile on Gu Yan’s face.
“Look at that little girl’s petty mind,” Gu Yan handed the letter to the Crown Prince.
After reading it, the Crown Prince also smiled. “She’s not old, but she’s very good at manipulating people’s hearts.”
“She has plenty of petty thoughts,” Gu Yan said with a smile, looking helpless.
The Crown Prince glanced sideways at Gu Yan. “After this round of exchanges, your little girl didn’t lose out at least. Have you decided on the matter of the autumn silkworm cocoons?”
“I want to ask A Nan’s opinion. If she can take it on, it would be better for her to handle it than for me to,” Gu Yan said with a smile.
“Mm. Jiang Jianrong of the Liangzhe Circuit Transport Office wrote me a secret letter saying that all the weaving workshops of the Jiangnan Silk General Store have stopped production. He investigated and found that the Jiangnan Silk General Store dared to stop production because they received instructions from the Capital City,” the Crown Prince said, his brow slightly furrowed.
“Jiang Jianrong is affiliated with Prime Minister Pang. Is he indirectly referring to Prime Minister Wang?” Gu Yan also frowned.
“The hidden accounts you found, flowing to the academies and literary gatherings under Prime Minister Wang, are substantial. Prime Minister Wang, in his youth, sought out famous teachers and traveled extensively, all with the sponsorship of the silk industry.
“But if he truly wanted to help the Jiangnan Silk General Store overcome this difficulty you’ve presented, he shouldn’t have ordered the weaving workshops to stop production. Stopping production is like adding fuel to the fire. Prime Minister Wang is a smart man; he wouldn’t fail to realize this. If it really is him, what is he trying to do?”
“No matter what he’s trying to do, regarding the Jiangnan Silk Guild and the Maritime Tax Bureau, I will only follow the regulations we agreed upon, find ways to remove all obstacles, and eliminate corruption,” Gu Yan said with a serious expression.
“Mm, I received a letter from my father yesterday.” The Crown Prince paused, then continued after a moment, “My father’s energy is not what it used to be; he finds it difficult to endure the long morning court sessions. He’s urging me to return.”
Gu Yan’s face turned slightly pale.
“After reaching Fujian Circuit, you will return to Liangzhe Circuit by land. I will board a ship and head north, returning to Jianle City as soon as possible,” the Crown Prince sighed softly.
“Alright.”
Both fell silent. After a long while, the Crown Prince smiled, “Are you returning to the Capital City for New Year this year?”
“Not necessarily. It depends on how the Maritime Tax Bureau case progresses.”
“If you don’t go back for New Year, your mother will definitely cry to my mother several times,” the Crown Prince said with a smile.
“She’ll cry several times even if I do go back, all because of my marriage,” Gu Yan spread his hands.
“Your marriage situation~” the Crown Prince drew out the last syllable, then after a moment, pursed his lips and clicked his tongue.
Gu Yan turned to look out the window, pretending not to hear.
………………………………
As Gu Yan accompanied the Crown Prince on an inspection tour of Fujian Circuit, Zhou Shennian, following Gu Yan’s instructions, returned from Ming Prefecture to Pingjiang City to speak in detail with the owner of the Yueyang Old Brand, Fourth Mistress Li, about the various intricacies of collecting autumn cocoons and pre-ordering spring cocoons in Jiangnan and Jiangbei, as well as the current situation that needed to be explained.
Zhou Shennian arrived in Pingjiang City, dusty from his journey, and went straight to the Prince’s Estate villa outside the city. He met Uncle Hong, bathed, washed, and changed his clothes. Hearing that Fourth Mistress Li had already returned, he declined the carriage and servants arranged by Uncle Hong and walked leisurely towards the Prefectural School area.
He wanted to quietly observe Fourth Mistress Li first.
Zhou Shennian inquired along the way. He went east of the Prefectural School, around the lake, counting three houses before he saw the house that exactly matched the description given by the servant.
From the hydrangea pot by the side gate, to the red lanterns hanging above the main gate, he walked around the courtyard to the corner gate. He peeked through the crack in the door, listened for a while to the incredibly lively clucking of chickens, and then moved forward.
Behind the house was the vast expanse of the lake, extending from the Prefectural School. A little girl, with two fishing rods set up in front of her, sat on a small stool, resting her chin on her hand and watching two floats bobbing on the lake’s surface.
Zhou Shennian took a few steps closer, stretched his neck to look at the lake, then lowered his head, bent forward, and observed the little girl.
