Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 21 The Burden in the Snow
The food was laid out on the square table in front of the bamboo couch.

Guo Yi placed the account books he had brought back on the table and sat down opposite Shen Qingzhou: "You heard what I said, right? The Zhang family is said to be one of the wealthiest families in Shawan. These are their accounts from recent years. From the source of their rice purchases and the destination of their rice sales, we can see to some extent the changes in the cultivated land in Tanzhou over the years."

Shen Qingzhou set the dossier aside and opened and flipped through the account books one by one. "It's dazzling. It's as if Hunan, Jiangxi, and Hubei are all very wealthy. I still can't see where poverty exists in Tanzhou."

Guo Yi picked up his bowl and chopsticks and ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice: "I'm still meeting with other merchants. Let's see what happens after we've compiled the list. If all else fails, we can go on an incognito visit."

The job was arduous, and he got hungry quickly. As he spoke, he finished a bowl of rice.

But before Shen Qingzhou could even start eating, he pointed to the dining table and said, "Eat up, it smells delicious."

Today's dishes served at the county government office are stir-fried diced pork with chili peppers, boiled silver carp, and stir-fried lotus root tips.

Every autumn, the people of Tanzhou harvest the year's chili peppers and dry them in the heat of late summer. By winter and spring, before the new year's chili peppers are ripe, they can be used for seasoning.

The chili peppers masked the fishy smell of the pork and fish, and in this chilly mid-spring season, a table of spicy dishes would undoubtedly be very tempting.

Shen Qingzhou stood up: "You eat."

He Qu followed him into the house: "Young master, I'll go and prepare some non-spicy food."

"No need. Even the broth they use for hot pot is spicy."

He Qu: ...

The next moment, I heard, "What have you found out these past two days?"

He Qu immediately came to his senses: "I have searched all over Shawan County these past two days, but I have not found any family with the surname Lu and the name Lu Jia."

Shen Qingzhou stood by the window, her thick eyelashes half-closed: "Didn't you ask any more questions?"

He Qu scratched his head: "How about you provide more clues, young master? Finding just a name is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Besides, you've repeatedly told us not to make a big fuss about it, which makes it even harder to find."

Shen Qingzhou gently stroked a crabapple blossom that had drifted onto the windowsill: "All I know is that she has an adoptive mother in Shawan County, and her adoptive mother has a son. The two of them are having a very difficult time."

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, a bundle picked up from the crimson snow contained two hundred taels of silver notes and a letter.

The letter was written by a Taoist priest named Li Chang. It said that his adoptive mother and younger brother had died and their remains were still kept in the Taoist temple.

So that night she risked her life to escape from the Yan family and desperately wanted to leave the city, she must have been going back to Tanzhou to collect her adoptive mother's remains, right?

"But there are so many people in the whole county who are struggling to make ends meet. What is this girl's adoptive mother's surname and name? It would be good to know."

He Qu spread his hands.

Shen Qingzhou turned around and caught a glimpse of the paper and pen on the desk next to him. He walked over, picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and drew a small portrait.

Even with just a few strokes, one can see the ethereal beauty and exquisite features of the woman in the painting.

It turns out that this Miss Lu, who appeared out of nowhere, is actually so beautiful.

Such an outstanding face is indeed quite remarkable in such a small county town.

"Go find a Taoist priest in the city surnamed Li, and then take this portrait to inquire about him."

"Qingzhou!"

Guo Yi brushed past He Qu, who had come out to receive the order, and walked in: "Magistrate Fang has summoned two more merchants. Would you like to go out and listen?"

……

The head of the household, Liu, served Lu'an Melon Seed tea.

That's very kind of you.

Lu Jia took a few sips carefully.

Liu Xiyu raised her head, her gaze lingering on her.

"What's the rent for Miss Xie's shop?"

Lu Jia raised his cup and said, "I only plan to rent it out for six months. Considering that most people at our dock are doing big business, they probably won't be willing to rent it out for a short period of time. So ten taels of silver per month will be enough."

Liu Xiyu put down the cup: "I happen to need a place to temporarily store my rice and grains. Miss Xie, you can rent your shop to me. I'll pay you the market price, and I'll give you fifteen taels of silver per month."

As she said this, she smiled slightly and tilted her head slightly in Li Chang's direction.

Lu Jiaxin understood perfectly and smiled calmly: "The boss is a straightforward person. However, rather than you renting my shop, I would prefer you to do me a favor."

"What's the deal?"

"I'm thinking of becoming an apprentice at the Hongtai ship owned by the boss."

Liu Xiyu paused: "Apprentice?"

“Exactly.” Lu Jia nodded. “I would like to learn some skills to make a living from the boss. I hope you won’t find it offensive.”

This was Lu Jia's true purpose in appearing before the He family.

After having that confrontation with Mrs. He and publicly exposing the rumors she spread, renting out the shop will no longer be a problem.

The He family already hated the Xie family to the core, but they were too busy with business to pay attention to them lately.

Having lost the He family's big business deal and been caught red-handed by so many people, she was seething with anger and had no way to vent it. When she suddenly saw Lu Jia, how could she not grab her and vent her anger?
He's thoughts are easy to understand.

After Li Chang delivered the message to the Hongtai, Liu Xiyu naturally wanted to find out who had delivered it.

At this moment, she saw Lu Jia, who was in conflict with He Shi, and also discovered Li Chang. What will she do?
Liu Xiyu was a strong woman who single-handedly raised her two children, preserved her husband's family business, and even expanded it.

Without a degree of shrewdness, she could never have done what she did. Even knowing that Lu Jia and the Zhang family were at odds, and that the two families were related, why would Liu Xiyu willingly get involved in this mess?

She would appreciate Lu Jia's kindness, but she would also want to repay the favor as soon as possible, and would never want to maintain a long-term entanglement with Lu Jia.

Offering to rent a shop is a way of repaying a favor.

After the rental is completed, the matter is settled.

However, Lu Jia wanted to rent out the shop because she planned to open her own shop in six months. Since she was going to accept the favor she owed, Lu Jia naturally wanted something of greater value than renting the shop.

Being able to stay on the Hongtai for half a year is much better than her trying to figure out how to make money on her own.
After listening to her words, Liu Xiyu remained silent for a moment, then casually put down the Lu'an Melon Seed tea: "But our Hongtai shop has never taken on any female apprentices."

Lu Jia smiled and said, "In our Shawan County, the chief is no less capable than any man. Why don't we make an exception this time?"

Liu Xiyu looked at her: "In our shop, we have a manager, an accountant, and porters. The manager needs to know how to negotiate and attract business, the accountant needs to be able to write and calculate, and the porters need to do the heavy work. Which job can you do?"

"As far as I know, besides these few trades, there are usually clerks in grain stores who are responsible for collecting grain. I'm literate, I can write and do arithmetic. I may not be able to be an accountant, but helping the boss collect grain and run errands shouldn't be a problem."

Lu Jia smiled again as she said this: "As you have seen today, my mother is struggling to make ends meet with my siblings and me. Please take care of her, Boss."

We are both insightful people; some things don't need to be said explicitly, but there's no need to beat around the bush either.

Liu Xiyu had also been a widow for many years; how could she not know the hardships she had endured?

After a moment of contemplation, she said, "If this is all you ask for, I have no reason not to comply."

"But I have to make this clear from the start: since you're an apprentice, you have to follow the rules for apprentices."

"First, you must not do anything that would harm the interests of my Hongtai Company; second, you must not act coyly in any way. If you take advantage of being a woman to shirk responsibility, I will not tolerate it."

"Don't worry, Master." Lu Jia replied, "As an apprentice of Hongtai, I, Xie Jia, will certainly follow all the rules of Hongtai."

Liu Xiyu nodded: "Come to the counter to find me first thing tomorrow morning."

……

Guo Yi met with merchants for several days, and Shen Qingzhou naturally accompanied him from behind the wall.

Judging from Guo Yi's actual duties, he handled the task very smoothly. The most noteworthy aspect of the Tanzhou waterway was the relocation of the docks, and this matter proceeded without any incident from beginning to end.

What they really wanted to investigate was Yan Song's misdeeds in Tanzhou's water transport.

The wharves within the jurisdiction of Tanzhou were already famous throughout the land. The rice market at the wharves was thriving, and the account books brought by the merchants were quite impressive. Logically speaking, this was a prosperous land where people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and there should be no situation of people going hungry.

However, the letters from Li Daoshi in the bundle left behind by Lu Jia actually show that quite a few people starved to death in Shawan during those years. Behind the prosperous docks in this area, every year people died of disease or starvation due to food shortages.

Lu Jia's adoptive mother and younger brother eventually died, one from illness and the other from starvation.

Going back from the time mentioned by Taoist Li, famine should have started around this time.

Conversely, it can be said that, to this day, neither the account books submitted by merchants nor the files from the county government have mentioned this point.

Tanzhou Prefecture did indeed have a bumper harvest of grain; otherwise, there would never have been so much grain to be sold.

But why did famine occur amidst the abundant harvest?

"Right now, we're just speculating; we haven't actually seen any people starving to death. We could be wrong."

Guo Yi took a sip of tea to moisten his hoarse throat.

They had never given up investigating the Yan family over the years, but he never expected that Shen Qingzhou would target Tanzhou this time.

The Yan family has held sway in the imperial court for decades, and there are countless places where this can be verified.

Prior to this, Tanzhou water transport—especially the Shawan rice market—had never come into their view.

Shen Qingzhou did not express his opinion, but stared blankly at a file in his hand.

Guo Yi leaned closer: "What are you looking at?"

"It says here that Zhang Qi, whom you met that day, has an older sister who used to live in the capital."

Guo Yi: "So what?"

Shen Qingzhou was silent for a moment, then closed the file: "Never mind, it's none of your business."

Guo Yi: ...

"Son."

He Qu knocked lightly on the door from outside, looking somewhat hurried.

Guo Yi wisely withdrew.

He Qu strode in: "Young master! We have a clue! There is a Xichun Street near the downstream dock, and a Taoist priest surnamed Li lives on the street."

"Coincidentally, the man named Zhang Qi and his sister's family, who had returned from the capital, all lived on that street."

"I've heard that Zhang Qi's sister really does have a daughter."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingzhou raised her head, paused for a moment, and then stood up:

"lead the way."

(Seeking votes for September)

(End of this chapter)