Chapter 59: The Axe Gang

Tian Mi placed the grains, cloth, furs, and other common goods she had collected from various places into a special storage room in her space.

She planned to use these items for various purposes, whether for the restaurant or as materials for different products in the future. She would need a lot of these.

As Tian Mi looked at the grain bundles she had taken from the bandit lair, she noticed that one of them was entirely filled with glutinous rice. This was a rare and valuable commodity. She reached in and tugged at it, inspecting it carefully—it was indeed all glutinous rice. She dug deeper, wondering if the entire bundle was made of it.

However, she soon encountered something hard. Wait, had she been tricked? What was hidden inside?

She carefully moved the grain aside, revealing neatly arranged boxes. When she opened one, a flash of gold struck her eyes.

“Oh my!”

Tian Mi was surprised. It turned out that the people from the Duke of Yu’s faction had brought gold when they sought to collaborate with the bandits.

Opening the other boxes, Tian Mi’s heart tightened. She needed to retire now.

She stored the boxes in her space and tested the rest of the bundles. Two others were filled with silver coins, which she also stored in her space.

Tian Mi made up her mind—she would decisively strike at the bandits and become a righteous little fairy.

After all, fighting bandits was quite profitable!

Qiu Yi, who was over forty, was steady and experienced, having once been a shopkeeper. He handled things efficiently and soon returned with five donkeys.

“Miss, the donkeys are bought. Here are the documents, and the stone mills will be delivered in two days. This is the receipt for the deposit.”

Tian Mi took the documents for the donkeys. In this era, cattle, horses, and donkeys were bought and sold with written contracts.

“From now on, you will be responsible for daily affairs,” she told him.

Chun Yi was in charge of arranging the women’s daily tasks.

Qiu Yi responded, “Yes, Miss. The person to renovate the stove house that Autumn Two found will come tomorrow.”

Tian Mi nodded and handed him a thousand taels of silver, asking him to arrange the tasks. She also gave him the blueprints for the three new stoves to be built in the valley. Autumn Two was tasked with managing the accounts, as he came from a bookkeeping background.

Qiu Yi nodded, and Tian Mi assigned Autumn Three to ensure the security of the house. In his spare time, he could also teach the young men some martial arts to improve their skills.

Tian Mi didn’t want to handle these trivial matters herself, so she left them in Qiu Yi’s hands for the time being to assess his capabilities.

The next day, Tian Mi returned to the valley to bring Tian Dabiao and the others into the city.

When Aunt Feng heard that the men were finally coming, she was overjoyed. It had been so frustrating that everyone else had been allowed into the city, but not them. Finally, they were going!

She told the village chief to send fresh sheep milk, ripe fruits, and vegetables to her house in Qinghe County every day. Zhou Er would deliver them.

The land was paid per acre for farming, and Tian Mi gave the village chief an extra salary. He managed many of the chores around the village. The sheep she brought back would be raised by his family, and he would send the milk to her in exchange for a little extra pay.

The village chief nodded in agreement.

The peaches, oranges, and grapes were almost ripe.

The two little treasures couldn’t ride on the horses, so Aunt Feng made them each a sling to carry them in front, ensuring they were stable and secure. People in this era were truly skilled with their hands.

Tian Mi tied up Xiao Tian Mi, and Tian Dabiao tied up Xiao Tian Lin. Tian Mi, with Aunt Feng, and Tian Dabiao, with Minghui, set off to the city, accompanied by a few sheep—these were the treasures’ food and pets. They traveled slowly, but the journey was stable.

Xiao Tian Mi babbled along the way, “Ah~ ah~”

Tian Mi was delighted by her and felt like her heart was melting in a warm spring.

“Ah! Mommy is taking you to the city to have fun~” Tian Mi said, her eyes sparkling as she flashed a toothless smile. “Ah~~”

Tian Mi told Tian Dabiao and Minghui that she had hired help for the household. In the future, they should let the staff handle the work so they wouldn’t be too overburdened. A wealthy woman would never treat her family unfairly. The two little treasures had not been with Tian Mi much since their departure, and most of their care had been provided by Minghui and Xu Feiyan, as well as their grandmother and two maternal aunts.

When they arrived at the house, Aunt Feng, having recognized the location of her home, wanted to visit her family first. She had not seen them in several days and missed them dearly. Tian Mi accompanied her, taking her to her home, which wasn’t far. She made a quick turn and soon dropped her off.

Once they reached Tian’s house, Tian Mi gathered everyone to acknowledge their duties before they began their tasks.

Chun Yi presented the list of people’s skills and duties to Tian Mi.

She said, “Miss, I think the staff arrangements could be clearer. The kitchen, Madam, and the young master and young miss all need people to attend to them. You should assign staff to be with you. If there are any tasks to be done, gather them together.”

Now that was professional!

Indeed, Chun Yi was much better at organizing things than Tian Mi.

Tian Mi nodded in agreement, but the problem was there were no skilled cooks. Yesterday, a few maidservants had made porridge, and Tian Mi instructed Chun Er, Chun San, and Chun Si to go assist Minghui with the babies.

Chun Yi stayed with Tian Mi to oversee the daily operations of the household.

Tian Mi then gave some silver to Autumn Three, asking him to accompany Chun Yi to buy two more skilled cooks. After all, as a wealthy woman, she couldn’t let herself suffer when it came to food.

A wealthy woman had to enjoy the finest food, clothes, and leisure!

With the arrangements in place, things were set in motion. Heh heh heh!

A few days later, the herbs from Miaoren Hall arrived. This batch was large, and Tian Mi’s second cousin arrived to ask if a few of the young men could help unload the goods at the dock.

Tian Mi, who was playing with the children with Xu Feiyan, immediately handed them over to Minghui and Chun Er, then took Autumn Three and a few of the young men to the dock. Xu Feiyan followed along to join the fun.

The eldest and second uncles, along with several cousins, arrived at the horse’s head, but it seemed there was some kind of trouble. They were arguing with a group of men.

These men were all burly and extremely arrogant.

The leader, a tall and muscular man, shouted, “This dock is ours. Whether it’s loading or unloading goods, if you want to move anything, you’ll have to go through the Axe Gang!”

The eldest and second uncles were honest, straightforward doctors, kind-hearted but now enraged by these thugs.

The eldest cousin shouted angrily, “Do you still respect the law?”

The burly man narrowed his eyes and sneered, “The law? On this dock, the Axe Gang is the law. If you want to move goods, of course, we can help, but we charge eight copper coins for every twenty pounds of cargo.”

The onlookers, though angry, dared not speak up. It was clear that these men had been in control of this dock for quite some time.

The Axe Gang? They didn’t even see any axes!

Tian Mi, however, was the true boss here. If she pulled out her big axe, these thugs would probably soil themselves in fear!

The crowd was furious, and Xu Feiyan was fuming as well. Tian Mi was equally enraged. These were bandits, and docks had always been filled with trouble. In the future, as she became more powerful, there would be plenty of chances to deal with them.

Tian Mi walked over and kicked the burly man to the ground. When dealing with these people, only fists mattered.

Xu Feiyan, seeing a fight about to break out, rushed forward, and Autumn Three immediately joined in. Autumn Four to Autumn Eight also rushed over. Their young mistress was so tough—no need to say anything, they were jumping in to fight!

The Axe Gang members, who had always been the ones to start fights, were shocked. Today, they were the ones being hit—by a woman no less! The fight quickly broke out.

The two uncles and the cousins kicked and punched wildly. Damn it! They had fought bandits and officials before—now they were going to be bullied by a bunch of local thugs?

These ruffians usually just bullied common people, but when they faced Tian Mi, they were no match. With each punch and kick, they were all knocked down, crying out in pain and unable to get back up.

It was such a relief to let loose! Xu Feiyan and Tian Mi exchanged a smile, feeling an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the ground was littered with the fallen thugs from the Axe Gang.

Tian Mi picked up a long wooden stick and said, “The Axe Gang is so tough, it must be because your leader’s head is pretty solid, right?”

As she spoke, she slowly walked toward them, holding the stick in hand.