"All right."
Liu Cui thought of several lovable children and said, "Sister Zhang, take good care of yourself. If you have anything, just send us a message. If that Zhou guy bullies you again, I'll have Old Zhang break his legs."
Zhang Xianglian laughed in spite of herself.
Beside them, Zhang Qiquan stroked his nose, as if it was his legs being broken.
Finally everything was packed up properly.
Zhang Qiquan was about to hobble out on one crutch to rent a carriage.
Fang Heng arrived driving the family's carriage and stopped at the door.
Zhang Qiquan's face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Is the young master going to let us use the carriage?"
"What are you thinking, Uncle Zhang?" Zheng Ruqian giggled. "Not only you all are going to Anshui County this time."
He was also going to meet with Gaoyuan Residence in the prefectural city to discuss cooperation, deliver vegetables, and bring back five hundred catties of cured meat.
Originally Zheng Ruqian planned to go by himself, but now with the addition of Zhang husband and wife, it became three people.
Not too many or too few.
Who knew Fang Heng was unhappy about it. "Second brother, I'm going too."
In the minds of the siblings, the prefectural city was a forbidden area for Fang Heng.
But in the heart of the third young master Fang, the safety of his siblings came first.
This time, not only would the workshop encounter difficulties in the prefectural city, even going to Gaoyuan Residence to negotiate carried danger. Fang Heng didn't want to see Zheng Ruqian returning with a bruised face or missing teeth.
"I'll go to protect you," Fang Heng clenched his fists. "Don't worry, I've grown up now. No one will recognize me."
Zheng Ruqian wanted to say something more.
Fang Heng asked him, "Second brother, didn't we say before that we would never separate?"
Zheng Ruqian was struck speechless.
That's not how this "never separate" is used!
Besides, going to Anshui County doesn't mean separating.
But since the third young master Fang rarely insisted on something, Zheng Ruqian really couldn't reject him outright. He could only look pleadingly at his older and younger brothers.
Unexpectedly, Xu Mo thought for a moment, then nodded, "Since this is the case, why don't we go together."
Zheng Ruqian's eyeballs nearly popped out.
Fang Heng was also puzzled. "Eldest Brother, aren't you going to the academy?"
Xu Mo smiled slightly.
Having won the top two places in the county exam two years in a row, he had already been promoted to a private school graduate. The knowledge in textbooks was no longer a priority for him.
Even his academy teacher told him that for a person to grow, breadth of mind and vision were the key, and encouraged him to see more and travel more.
Most importantly, Xu Mo was also worried about Zheng Ruqian going alone.
"So you're all coming along?" Zheng Ruqian could barely keep his mouth closed. He did a quick mental count and found someone missing. "Little Four isn't here yet."
Just as he finished speaking, Wen Zhiyun came rushing in breathlessly, carrying a small medicine box.
Following behind him was Jiang Sheng, who had slipped out at some unknown time.
"Little Jiang Sheng said you all were going to Anshui County." Wen Zhiyun's cheeks were flushed red. "So I asked for time off from Doctor Wu, and he allowed me to go on this trip."
After saying this, he let out a long breath, with a feeling of "thank goodness I made it in time".
Zheng Ruqian held his forehead with one hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, yet helpless to do anything about it.
He was just going to the prefectural city to discuss cooperation, yet his whole family was so worried about him.
Yet their actions also warmed his heart, making him feel the bond between siblings was indeed "never separate".
"Since this is the case, let's go then," he said.
Fang Heng rode a horse while the others took the carriage, even bringing along Auntie Zhang.
Off they went to Anshui County.
The red-maned horse cheerfully led the way in front, while the carriage bounced along behind.
Not until their figures disappeared from view did the new magistrate of Xieyang County receive the news.
"What?" The magistrate in his early twenties was shocked. "Why are they going to Anshui County? Don't they plan on coming back? Are they thinking of settling down in Anshui County?"
Then he felt it was impossible.
Their ancestral home was here. Xu Mo would still need a certificate of residency from here for the provincial exam in the future. It was impossible for them to leave Xieyang County.
But Anshui County was the prefectural city, with better academies and standards of living. No matter how you looked at it, it was more suitable for long-term residence than Xieyang County.
"This won't do. I have to go take a look."
The new magistrate of Xieyang County had been in office for less than a day before running off again.
He left behind the yamen runners of the entire county seat, looking at each other and wishing they could sit down and cry out loud, "Your Honor, you may leave if you wish, but please leave a master for us!"
From Xieyang County to Anshui County was a five day journey.
As soon as they arrived, Zhang Qiquan discussed with Zheng Ruqian whether to build the workshop inside or outside the city.
Building inside the city meant less space and higher labor costs, but they could avoid taxes when entering the city. Building outside the city meant more space and cheaper labor, but they would have to pay considerable entrance taxes when going into the city.
Zheng Ruqian thought about it for a while. "Goods are taxed when entering the city, but people aren't."
So they could hire commoners from the outskirts of the prefectural city.
Zhang Qiquan understood his intent - this meant building the workshop inside the prefectural city.
Although the pros and cons of both plans looked similar for now, taxes would end up being a bigger number than labor and land costs combined once they expanded in the future.
The young master had considerable ideas and ambition, and Zhang Qiquan was quite satisfied.
After settling on a plan, he started looking for a place to rent the workshop, preferably one with a courtyard that could serve as both the workshop and living quarters.
Liu Cui and Zhang Xianglian were responsible for helping spread the word to recruit workers.
Zheng Ruqian once again stood under the signboard of Gaoyuan Residence in the prefectural city.
Last time, he was resentful towards this place.
Now, he actually had to take the initiative to propose cooperation.
Zheng Ruqian felt that life was unpredictable, and was also shocked to realize how much he had changed recently.
"Don't be afraid, second brother." Fang Heng patted him on the shoulder. "We're all here."
Zheng Ruqian looked back to see one older brother, three younger brothers, and a younger sister, all standing at the entrance smiling at him.
Alright, he had to admit that the trepidation in his heart earlier had now completely dissipated.
What was more emboldening than the support and company of family?
Zheng Ruqian put his hands behind his back and strode swaggeringly into Gaoyuan Residence.
Fang Heng put on his cone hat and followed closely behind.
Led by her fourth and fifth brothers, Jiang Sheng hung back near Xu Mo and asked curiously, "Eldest Brother, aren't we going in?"
Xu Mo shook his head.
Too many people going in would cause unnecessary trouble. Fang Heng alone was sufficient.
"We'll go sit in the teahouse across the way."
The four siblings sat drinking tea, waiting at ease.
With Fang Heng behind him, Zheng Ruqian stood before the shopowner who had fawned over Miss Jiang the last time.
As expected, he wasn't the least bit interested in any cooperation or delivering vegetables, and didn't even care about the cured meat. He just waved his hand dismissively. "Go away, go away. Don't come make trouble, kids."
Zheng Ruqian took a deep breath and told himself to be patient. Then he presented the letter personally written by Shopkeeper Bai.
"If the shopkeeper doesn't wish to cooperate with me, so be it." He spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly. "These five catties of cured meat are a gift from Shopkeeper Bai for you, shopkeeper. He asked me to deliver it to you, so I hope you will accept this with a smile."
After saying this, he had Fang Heng place several pieces of the richly colored cured meat on the counter, then turned around and walked away.
His pace didn't have the slightest hesitation.
Even the shop's waiter was dumbfounded. Wasn't this kid here to discuss cooperation? Why did he leave so quickly, as if his earlier request was just a polite formality?
The prefectural city shopkeeper was also somewhat unhappy. He picked up a piece of cured meat with one hand, about to throw it away, when his nose was suddenly filled with an enticing aroma. He hesitated briefly before tossing it to the waiter beside him. "Go figure out how to eat this."
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