Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 62 The Living Perfume Bottle (Thanks to JJM Alliance Leader)

With the departure of Master Zhang and his entourage, the once vast Feng'an Fortress became deserted.

In the main hall, there were only a handful of people, including Yang Can, Leopard Head, Xiao Qingmei, and Accountant Li.

Leopard Head said, "The manor lord needs someone to manage the inner quarters, and the outer quarters also need servants to guard them. Does the manor lord plan to hire some people from the manor?"

Qingmei immediately objected, saying, "Hiring people from the estate is not appropriate."

"If that's the case, if anything happens in our family, the whole village will know immediately!"

Qingmei thought for a moment and said, "How about we ask the young mistress to send a group of people over?"

Yang Can shook his head. "We may be familiar, but do you really want to plant the Suo family's spies all around me?"
Yang Can said, "The young mistress also needs manpower."

I'm only transferring you here, and I don't know if the young mistress will be willing to part with you.

Should we transfer more people from the young mistress's quarters? Let's forget about it.

Qingmei didn't mean anything by it; she simply considered Suo Chanzhi and Yang Can as her own people, without any distinction between them.

At this point, Yang Can objected, and Qingmei immediately realized that this was inappropriate.

Li Damu's eyes darted around, and he said, "Master, why don't we send someone to Tianshui City to find a slave trader and buy some servants from him?"
Such servants all have indentures, meaning they are solely dependent on their master, and are therefore extremely loyal.

Upon hearing this, Yang Can suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Great idea!"

Accountant Li has now been retained by Yang Can for use in Feng'an Fort.

Of course, he was originally the accountant of the eldest son's family, so his status couldn't be lowered.

Therefore, although he was officially registered as the head of the household, he was actually in charge of the finances of Feng'an Village.

A chief accountant is needed here, and Li Damu, who has connections, is the most suitable candidate in Yang Can's mind.

Yang Can smiled and said, "Mr. Li's method is excellent. Are you satisfied with staying in Feng'an Village?"

From this moment forward, Xiao Tan officially belongs to Li Damu.

Because he used Yang Can's name to mention it to Zhang Yunyi, Zhang Yunyi naturally agreed without hesitation.

Of course, Yang Can also asked Zhang Zhuang for a person.

He wanted Zhu Weipeng, whose culinary skills had won him over.

Li Damu, who was feeling quite satisfied, immediately beamed and said, "Satisfied, satisfied. I am very satisfied to be able to serve the master of the manor."

Yang Can said, "That's good. As for finding a slave trader to buy servants, I'll leave it to you, Mr. Li."

You can choose a time to go to Tianshui City as soon as possible and find a slave trader to come over.”

Accountant Li was overjoyed; even with utmost caution, there was still plenty of money to be made.

Being in charge of purchasing has always been a desirable job, from ancient times to the present.

Qingmei instructed, "Tell the servant seller to bring more servants. Our master will always pick and choose. We won't take any ugly or deformed ones."

Accountant Li said with a forced smile, "Of course, this person needs to be seen by you, Miss Qingmei, before we can bring him back."

Upon hearing this, Qingmei was finally relieved.

It's fine if they're oddly shaped or cracked, but we can't buy a demon.

What if the butler's health is ruined by overwork?
……

After a series of upheavals, Feng'an Village gradually calmed down.

Spring plowing and sowing will begin soon; life goes on.

This is a major event that affects people's livelihoods for a year. Who can keep focusing their energy on personnel changes in Feng'anzhuang?

In short, the fact that such a major reshuffle of the upper echelons of Feng'an Village did not have a significant impact on the lives of the people was enough to satisfy them.

Yang Can retained all the managers who had bullied men and women in their daily lives, but had not committed any heinous crimes, even if they were guilty of some offense.

It's not that he's intolerant of minor flaws, but rather that he's considering the bigger picture.

He can start establishing order now and make these people abide by his newly established rules.

But he can't replace all of them.

Should we select another group directly from the general public?
That person might not actually be able to do it.

Yang Can didn't have the patience to build something from scratch step by step, and the situation didn't allow him to do so.

Wangcai arrived from Phoenix Villa carrying a small bundle.

His master is going to stay in Feng'an Fort permanently, so what is he doing guarding the mountain?
He brought Yang Can a jar of sealed "nectar".

This was, of course, made by Madam Pan, Xiao Wan.

The two places are not far apart, and Yang Can would go back to Phoenix Manor every few days.

Only by frequently seeking instructions and reporting can he dispel the doubts of the warlord Yu Xinglong.

It seems that he also needs to return the courtesy from time to time during this process.

However, it is naturally impossible for him to "return kindness with kindness" as a reward.

Because he also took on the role of the head of Feng'an Manor, Yang Can was temporarily unable to inspect the remaining five farms and three ranches.

But if he doesn't go, the sword hanging over Gota Sanmaki's head will never fall.

Until the knife fell, these ranchers and estate owners remained uneasy and worked even harder.

Of course, Yu Huanhu's influence was also a factor in this.

Yu Huanhu did not secretly instruct them to "put a bad word on" the clan leader, Yu Xinglong.

Yu Huanhu suddenly discovered that Yang Can was not only the second steward of the young mistress Suo's household, but also a pawn sent by his elder brother Yu Xinglong to the young mistress's side to annoy Suo.

If such a person is used properly, he may produce unexpected results in the future.

His elder brother, Yu Xinglong, had clearly already found a scapegoat, just waiting to push him out to appease public anger if there was a poor harvest in the fall.

Since he couldn't shake his elder brother's position, he wasn't going to play those tricks anymore.

He set his sights on Yang Can.

Therefore, Yu Huanhu directly dispatched his eldest son, Yu Rui.

With him in charge of Dailai City, Yu Rui can leave.

The father and son will not leave their homeland at the same time.

Currently, Kang Zhengyang still serves as the commander of the troops in Feng'anzhuang.

Among the stewards, Yang Can promoted several newcomers who were barely competent. Leopard Head Cheng Dakuan became his chief steward of Feng'an Fort, a role somewhat similar to Wan Tai, who served under Master Zhang.

Little Green Plum didn't get jealous of Leopard Head's behavior or argue with him about who was in charge.

Because her current target is not the head steward of Feng'an Fort, but one of the mistresses of Feng'an Fort...

The only one, of course, was something she dared not even think about.

Even if their daughter is unable to formally marry Yang Can due to her status, that is not a reason for her to take her place.

Yang Can is now focused on making Feng'anzhuang a model village.

The other farms were all watching him closely. Seeing what he did would give them ample time to think, make choices, and respond.

Such a response will inevitably result in compromise prevailing.

This is the kind of compromise that Yang Can wants.

Of course, if there are any fools who still want to challenge him, he wouldn't mind making them the second Zhang Yunyi, or even worse off than Zhang Yunyi.

However, even with these new initiatives he implemented in Feng'anzhuang, Zhang Yunyi was still at the forefront.

He instructed Zhang Yunyi to organize a team to calibrate all the measuring instruments and scales used in the village.

He also instructed Zhang Yunyi to establish rules for regular inspections and random checks.

Yang Can also instructed Zhang Yunyi to organize a team to reorganize the agricultural product processing facilities in the village, such as mills and oil mills, and to formulate stricter management measures.

Don't underestimate these measures or think they are trivial and useless little things.

Food is the most important thing for people, so these seemingly trivial matters are of paramount importance to them.

With Zhang Yunyi at the forefront, the work can be carried out with maximum efficiency.

Currently, Zhang Yunyi still holds some influence in Feng'anzhuang.

Of course, everyone knew that the hand behind Zhang Yunyi's back belonged to Deacon Yang.

Yang Can is gradually becoming the new king in the hearts of the people of Feng'an.

At this time, Li Damu returned to Feng'an Village with a "slave trader" he had found in Tianshui.

"Slave traffickers" refers to human slave traders.

The difference is that human traffickers are mostly officially registered and engage in officially licensed slave trading.

These slave traders had a more reliable source of slaves.

However, the slaves in the hands of these human traffickers were relatively lacking in diversity.

Moreover, these human traffickers mostly do business with regular customers in a fixed area.

It would be very difficult for him to bring a large number of slaves from Tianshui City to Feng'an Village for Yang Can to select and buy.

The “slave trade” was different.

These people who operate in the gray market are willing to go anywhere as long as there is money to be made.

The slaves they had came from all sorts of sources, but almost none of them sold themselves voluntarily.

The "slave trafficker" that Li Damu came into contact with was named Qian Yuan.

Manager Qian was a large slave owner, and he originally looked down on the business of a mere farm.

However, he heard from Li Damu that the Feng'an Manor owner wanted to buy enough slaves to fill the entire fortified village.

He also heard that this Feng'an estate owner was simultaneously in charge of five other estates and three ranches.

That would be different. Not only would this business be worth doing, but this person would also be worth befriending.

So, Manager Qian arrived with his slaves.

This slave trader's caravan was very large, numbering over two hundred people.

Riding on horseback were Qian Yuan's guards, numbering about forty.

They all wore headscarves, long linen gowns, and swords at their sides, giving them a fierce appearance.

As for the mule carts, they were used to transport slaves.

Most slaves walked alongside the cart, but some were also crammed onto the cart.

The slaves crammed onto the train weren't necessarily old people; the older ones couldn't be sold for much money.

Slave traders disliked slaves for wasting food and were too lazy to collect them unless they had special skills.

The vehicle was mainly carrying women and children.

One of the vehicles was quite different from the slaves' vehicles.

This carriage is ornately decorated, with silk curtains hanging all around; it is Qian Yuan's personal vehicle.

"Master, we have arrived at Feng'an Fort."

A guard walked to the car and relayed a message inside.

Manager Qian was sitting in the carriage, holding a crystal glass in his hand.

There was still a little less than half a glass of bright red wine left, gently swirling in it.

Upon hearing this, Manager Qian downed the wine in one gulp and handed the crystal glass to the handsome young man beside him.

The boy was thirteen or fourteen years old, with delicate features. After dressing up, he became almost bewitching.

There were two such handsome young men on the bus.

These two handsome young men were handpicked by Manager Qian from among the slaves.

They served Qian Yuan, always keeping him by their side in all their daily lives.

Manager Qian jokingly called them "living perfume bottles".

For they will wear scented clothes and pouches of perfume, and be fragrant all over.

Qian Yuan slowly stood up. The carriage was wide and tall, and even with his tall stature, he could stand upright without bending over.

Another handsome young man stepped forward and lifted the sedan curtain for him.

Qian Yuan gave him a loving pinch on his rosy cheek before getting out of the car.

A slave was already kneeling in front of the carriage, his hands supporting him on the ground, serving as a footstool.

Manager Qian stepped out of the carriage, then stepped on the slave's back and stood firmly on the ground.

(End of this chapter)