Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 72 Rush to Buy
He learned to read and write from her father from a young age. Her father said she was intelligent early. After marrying into the Yang family, the second matriarch also praised her for being shrewd. She was always good at accounting and knew how to be flexible. She needed to take care of the clan and the second branch of the family, so she racked her brains to extract more benefits from the clan's business.

She couldn't target the elders and direct descendants of the clan, but she could torment the collateral branches as she pleased, just like she had treated the third branch of the family. She didn't pay them wages, criticized their work, and made them do the dirtiest and most tiring jobs.

Even if they were involved in the buying and selling, they would delay paying interest as long as possible, sometimes by as much as six months. The clever members of the clan would then send her money.

Even the distribution of grain is divided into several grades... If it weren't for this, who would respect her as the head of the household?
With more money earned this way, she could be more presentable when giving gifts to her parents, and she could also appease the elders in the clan with small favors, so everyone who saw her would give her a smile.

Over the years, everyone's appetite has grown bigger and bigger. The second old lady always felt that she was hiding a lot of money. The old master would find some excuse to ask her to help out. If she took too little, they would resent her. That's why the second old lady wanted to replace her in charge of the household affairs.

Mrs. He felt that no one could do it better than her; she had done everything to the extreme. Some people still wanted to make more money from it, which was extremely difficult.

Without the power to manage the household, she naturally no longer needed to give the second master and mistress more money. So she confidently handed over the power to her fourth brother's wife, waiting for her to cause trouble so that the second master and mistress could see clearly who was truly useful.

Who knew that a woman surnamed Xie would arrive?

In a moment of impulsiveness, she actually used Xie Shi to deal with the Second Master.

She had thought that whatever tricks the Xie family pulled, she could handle them, but who knew...

Xie Yuyan's every move was beyond his expectations.

Xie Yuyan did not touch the clan's existing businesses, but opened a new shop, and... only four days later, Xie distributed profits to those who followed her in opening the shop.

Collateral relatives, though called relatives, are practically just hired laborers. Why bother bribing and elevating them like this? Aren't you afraid of raising wicked servants?

Whether Xie Yuyan truly didn't understand or had long-term plans, Madam He really couldn't see through him.

After all this commotion, others in the clan might not be so worried, but she's almost driven to the brink of despair.

"Second Mistress".

When Ms. He came to her senses, she realized that she had almost fallen to the ground, but fortunately the housekeeper helped her up in time.

"Quickly, fetch a doctor for the lady!" the head maid shouted, but He Shi immediately grabbed her hand.

“No need,” Mrs. He coughed, “I just need to rest for a bit.”

If she were to seek out a doctor at this time, outsiders would think she had gone mad with anger over the booming business of her water shop. Besides, she had other matters to attend to.

He asked, "What do you mean by lotus root charcoal?"

The head housekeeper patted Mrs. He on the back: "It's the charcoal used in the water shop."

Of course, Madam He knew this. She had already had someone find out that the charcoal braziers in the three houses were also made of lotus root charcoal, which Xie Yuyan made himself.

"And then?" Mrs. He asked eagerly.

The stewardess said, "Those people in Yong'an Ward seemed to know in advance that lotus root charcoal would be delivered today. They gathered there early in the morning to wait, and as soon as the cart arrived, they all took out their money to buy it."

“I noticed that everyone bought quite a lot.”

That was fine, but the head housekeeper pursed her lips and said, "I also saw people from the eldest branch of the family."

Mrs. He raised her eyes: "Who are you talking about? Mrs. Ye?"

The head maid shook her head: "It looks like the master, but... the master hasn't come out for a long time, and his appearance has changed a lot. I may have misjudged him."

Impossible, how could the manager admit to a mistake? It's precisely because I felt Yang Mingde couldn't possibly be here that I wasn't sure.

"Quickly...go and tell the master," Madam He said, then hurriedly got up. "Bring me some clothes, I need to go out and take a look."

……

Xie Yuyan slept very well that night. There were two charcoal braziers in the room, and a cat was lying at his feet, making it feel exceptionally warm.

He woke up feeling refreshed. After washing up and eating, Xie Yuyan took Yang Qin to see how lotus root charcoal was being sold.

Yang Qinhuai, holding the cat, followed Xie Yuyan with a smile. The master was busy writing the tabloid today and didn't have time to pay attention to them, so he could go with his sister-in-law to check on the family business.

For the past four days, he had been extremely envious, wishing he could run all over Daming Prefecture to carefully count how many people used the hot water from his family's water shop. As the two walked out of the Yang family's gate, they saw a lively crowd gathered not far away.

The lotus root charcoal was unloaded from the mule cart, weighed by the villagers, and after paying, they carried the charcoal back.

Grandma Li stood at the front and instructed, "Slow down, don't let the children take it. You guys go play over there."

"A few more people, please unload the truck."

"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, there's enough space, enough space."

He looked like he was running his own business.

With more people, the work gets done. In no time, the two carts of lotus root charcoal have been almost unloaded.

but……

It looks like it's about to sell out.

“Those stoves aren’t for you,” Grandma Li reminded her. “Use lotus root charcoal first; there’s no rush for the clay stoves.”

The clay stoves were prepared for their village association, as arranged by Madam Xie in advance. Looking at those clay stoves, a smile appeared on Granny Li's face.

How can we not be happy when we think about what they are going to do?

A local resident said, "Isn't this the kind of clay stove used outside water shops? But this one is several times bigger. It can hold two layers of lotus root charcoal. I asked around to find out where to buy this clay stove, and it turns out that Grandma has already bought it."

Grandma Li immediately went over to protect them: "Let's try it first. If it works well, we'll tell you where to buy it."

"Grandma, this is what you said. If we can't buy it, we'll go to your house and get it."

Everyone was joking around, half-jokingly, but Yang Mingde, standing in the corner, listened with tears welling up in his eyes.

Those clay kilns came from his kiln and took two whole days to fire. Although they were very different from the porcelain he used to make, at least some people wanted to buy them.

Before the kiln was sealed, the things he made were completely ignored in the Yang family's shop. The shop assistants would just throw them around carelessly, leaving them in a terrible state. He was so angry that he simply smashed them all with a stick. As a result, his kiln was sealed off by his clan and could never be opened again.

He thought that was the end of the porcelain kiln, that it had been completely ruined by him, but unexpectedly, the Xie family came knocking on his door.

It took Yang Mingde a long time to calm himself down. He turned to leave, but he couldn't bear to, wanting to see his clay stove taken home by someone else.

"Big brother."

Hearing a familiar voice, Yang Mingde immediately frowned and glanced over, and sure enough, he saw He Shi.

As if afraid that Yang Mingde would leave, Madam He quickly took a few steps forward, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start, and could only say, "Why did you come out on such a cold day?"

Yang Mingde's gaunt face was filled with anger. He always felt that the closure of the porcelain kiln was due to someone's sabotage back then. Even if he couldn't be sure who it was, the He family was no good either.

Yang Mingde gave He Shi a cold look: "Do I need you to tell me when I go out?"

“No,” Madam He hurriedly said, “I was just concerned about my elder brother. Since he’s out of the house, why don’t you come and sit in our courtyard? I’ve prepared some good wine and food, so you brothers can have a chat.”

First, she needed to keep Yang Mingde in check so that she could get information from the eldest branch of the family. If the eldest branch was also won over by Xie, it would be even more difficult for her to deal with Xie. Thinking this, He looked into the distance and saw a group of people scrambling to buy lotus root charcoal made by Xie.

He's eyes immediately blazed with fury.

What kind of spell has been cast on these people that they dare to buy and use these dubious items?
She couldn't stop the villagers, but she had to stop the Yang family. Madam He was about to continue persuading Yang Mingde.

“No need, my uncle still has some things to discuss with me,” Xie Yuyan’s voice came from behind He Shi. “Second aunt will invite you another day.”

Madam He turned around cautiously and indeed saw Xie Yuyan. After not seeing him for a few days, Xie Yuyan seemed different from before. His gaze was sharp, making it impossible for anyone to look him in the eye or dare to argue.

“Uncle,” Xie Yuyan said, “let’s go and take a look at the kiln.”

(End of this chapter)