bookcurios Chapter 163 Who's Following Me
Chapter 163 Who's Following Me
Lin Fang waved for everyone to continue working, feeling satisfied, and followed Yu Wanran to sit down in the outer room.
Yu Wanran saw Yan Qing standing there with a disheveled man with a stubble beard and messy hair. The man was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar, which puzzled her. The man respectfully bowed and clasped his hands in greeting.
"master!"
She suddenly realized!
The other person was actually Wangyou!
She couldn't help but wonder. She'd given this kid plenty of money, hadn't she? How had he fallen to such a state? If Yanqing hadn't brought anyone with him, and they'd met on the road, she might have mistaken him for a refugee!
Zhong Yeliu behind him also looked strange.
Is this Yanbai? No, it's Wangyou! Isn't he quite particular at home? He asks Meixue to boil water for him to take a bath every few days, and Meixue even comes to complain to him about the charcoal bill!
Why have you suddenly become so unkempt?
Yanqing stayed here with him, and she was still so fresh and lovely.
"Master, these two young men you sent are truly exceptional, incredibly diligent!"
Lin Fang had a very good impression of Wang You. Seeing the two of them looking Wang You up and down without saying a word, he couldn't help but praise her from the side.
"They live and eat in the workshop, taking turns patrolling and keeping watch every night. A few days ago, Wangyou even caught a few petty thieves who were trying to cause trouble in our workshop!"
Yu Wanran's attention was diverted, and she frowned: "Trying to cause trouble?"
Her newly opened workshop has already attracted attention so quickly?
Speaking of this, Lin Fang got angry and said angrily, "It was a wealthy merchant in the city who was jealous that our inkstone workshop had acquired hundreds of acres of good land. He deliberately sent people to sabotage us and even tried to steal our inkstone-making formula!"
"That's right!"
Lin Anzhi chimed in, "But the inkstone-making formula is in my and Grandpa's heads. Do you think they can just take it away so easily? Haha!"
Controlling the firing temperature is crucial, while the coloring process is a detail, and only he and his grandfather know the specifics. The other craftsmen who helped knew a little about it but not in detail, and they had signed confidentiality agreements.
Therefore, Chengya Inkstone Shop is not so easily harmed!
"After Lord Xue gave them a good beating, they all confessed! Now the merchant has been imprisoned, and the land he bought along the river has been taken back by the government."
If he doesn't hand over most of his wealth, he probably won't get out of prison!
Lin Anzhi felt relieved, but did not think that the county magistrate's methods were decisive and ruthless towards these criminals.
Yu Wanran knew that Xue Heyu was secretly supporting her, and thought to herself that she would have to find a way to repay this favor in the future.
Although she saved the other party, Xue Heyu, acting in the name of the government, granted her a hundred acres of land for inkstone making, which must have involved a certain risk. They owed her nothing long ago, and she couldn't continue to enjoy this protection without a clear conscience.
After sitting down to discuss the workshop's future work, Lin Fang took out the land deed and handed it to Yu Wanran.
Yu Wanran examined the land deed closely and was startled again.
The hundred acres of land they'd been talking about actually turned out to be one hundred and fifty acres, half of the prime location! This... If she doesn't have the power to match, and Xue and Yu are promoted or transferred in the future, with no one in Decheng to back her up, can she protect herself?
On second thought, officials are generally evaluated every three years, and unless they have made exceptional achievements, they need at least nine years of service to be promoted. There are plenty of people who have been in office for more than ten years and are still in the same position.
Once she earns money in the future, she can secretly fund Xue Heyu's activities in officialdom. Therefore, there is no need to worry in the short term.
Next, let's look at the land price stated in the land deed. It should be sold as wasteland, but due to the special nature of making inkstones and refining clay, the price is set at two and a half taels per mu.
Yu Wanran asked the Lin family grandfather and grandson, and Lin Fang said that her 150 mu of land was in a prime location, hence the slightly higher price. Other locations were between 800 and 2 liang.
Xue Heyu did not abuse his power for personal gain and handled the matter fairly, so she was relieved.
Implicate Xue Heyu, leading to his dismissal and conviction, which is certainly not a good thing.
She initially gave Lin Fang three hundred taels, plus the one hundred taels Yan Qing brought later, for a total of four hundred taels. The land purchase alone cost three hundred and seventy-five taels, so Chengya Inkstone Manor must have almost no working capital now.
Upon inquiry, it turned out that the Lin family grandfather and grandson were indeed in arrears on the craftsmen's wages and the construction fees. Only Lin Fang's influence, and the well-known connections of Xue Heyu, this powerful figure behind the scenes, prevented the creditors from coming to collect.
Fortunately, Yu Wanran brought a thousand taels of silver notes with her to Decheng this time, which she could use to invest in Chengya Inkstone Shop.
Yu Wanran handed the land deed to Zhong Yeliu, then stood up and solemnly introduced Zhong Yeliu to everyone. She stated that in her absence, Zhong Yeliu would be in full charge of managing Chengya Inkstone Manor on her behalf.
Zhong Yeliu knew his time to truly shine had come. The Chengya Inkstone Shop in Huangshan County was merely a branch. The newly built workshop in Decheng was the real prize!
She called the Lin family grandfather and grandson, along with the craftsmen, to the other side to reconcile accounts and discuss expenses and bonuses. The craftsmen, who had initially felt their future was somewhat bleak, were overjoyed again when they saw their master casually invest a thousand taels of silver.
Song Lianghan needed to continue his studies and couldn't linger too long, so he took his leave first. Only then did Yu Wanran have a chance to sit down and have a good chat with Wangyou and Yanqing.
"Two months from now, I'll be going to the capital again to do business. I need manpower here in Decheng, in Huangshan County, and around me. Wangyou, Yanqing, you two discuss who will accompany me from now on?"
She needs guards, and she needs guards at her workshops, branches, and home. She feels that Wangyou Yanqing and the other two are not enough!
Yanqing and Wangyou spoke in unison.
"Master, I am willing to follow you!"
Before the words were even finished, the two exchanged a glance. Normally, they were brothers, but now, looking at each other, they felt a sudden surge of disdain.
Yanqing was very considerate: "Master, let Brother Yanbai... no, let Wangyou continue to stay in Decheng to look after the workshop! Given his current status, it's not appropriate for him to show his face in public?"
Wangyou had a stern face.
"Yanqing, your martial arts and vigilance are both inferior to mine. It's more suitable for me to follow the master! Besides, even the master didn't recognize me in my current state just now?"
Yanqing said with great emotion, "Brother Wangyou, but Grandpa Lin needs you! Didn't you hear him praising you to the skies?"
Thinking of Yanqing's habit of slacking off and sleeping in every day while he was here, Wangyou's lips twitched.
"You're too lazy to follow your master!"
"I'll be more diligent if I follow my master!"
Yanqing was completely innocent. Apart from keeping watch at night and catching a few petty thieves, he and Wangyou really had no use for their heroic deeds at the workshop! They were still enjoying running around with their master, seeing the scenery, and fighting against people and the heavens.
Listening to their endless argument, Yu Wanran couldn't help but facepalm. Asking for their opinions was foolish of her!
She tapped the armrest of the chair to make a decision.
"I will stay in Decheng for a while, and wait for Grandpa Lin and the others to produce enough Chengni inkstones before shipping them to the capital in two months."
"During this time, you must find a way to recruit four reliable guards for me. Two from Decheng and two from Huangshan County. Once someone replaces you, you can accompany me to the capital!"
It would be best if Wangyou and Yanbai stayed by her side. The spice trade route will also need reliable confidants to follow it later. Who knows, she might even go to sea someday!
Two bodyguards who had grown up with her since childhood were the perfect match.