Font Size:
The Fourth Prince’s distant relatives?
Shen Yu’an asked, “Is it the Cheng family?”
Fei Xi replied, “Yes, it’s the Cheng family. Young master mentioned this to you, didn’t he?”
Shen Yu’an didn’t explain. Fei Yanchen had never told her about these matters. She had learned all of this from her memories before coming here.
However, Shen Yu’an still had some doubts about Fei Xi’s statement that Fei Yanchen had no money.
Fei Yanchen was certainly not the kind of person who had money but couldn’t even afford to feed his subordinates.
So, there could only be one possibility, and that was that he really didn’t have enough money.
However, in the original story, it was mentioned that after escaping the pursuit of the court, Fei Yanchen had secretly taken over many profitable businesses after recovering from his injuries.
Although the circumstances in this lifetime were different, it seemed that this person’s way of thinking hadn’t changed much.
So, besides the bookstore she knew about, there must be other sources of income for Fei Yanchen.
What could be the explanation for this?
Before Shen Yu’an could ask, Fei Xi explained on his own, “Actually, it’s not that we don’t have enough money. Miss Shen, you might not be aware of this, but in this area of stability, there’s a shortage of food on the market, and the prices have skyrocketed. Even if you have the money, you can’t buy it.”
“Miss Shen, you also know that we have a lot of people, so in order to ensure that our brothers all have enough to eat, we have to prioritize buying grain. As for vegetables and meat, we have to cut back as much as possible. As long as we can eat our fill, it’s enough.”
Shen Yu’an nodded and asked, “What are the current prices of various grains on the market?”
Fei Xi provided all the information he knew in detail, and Shen Yu’an silently memorized what Fei Xi had said.
After a while, the three of them arrived in town, and Shen Yu’an first took them to the grain store to assess the situation.
The situation was just as Fei Xi had described; the price of grain was on the rise.
Shen Yu’an didn’t buy any grain and, after asking about the prices, she walked out of the grain store.
The employee behind them muttered, “Hmph, dressed so nicely and yet she asked about the prices and didn’t even buy a pound of grain.”
Fei Xi followed Shen Yu’an and asked, “Miss Shen, where are we going next?”
Shen Yu’an walked in the direction she remembered and said, “I’m going to find some people to hire and bring them back with us.”
Fei Xi inquired, “Miss Shen, do you want to hire people to work? You can easily instruct the people from the mountain.”
Shen Yu’an glanced at him and replied, “I want to hire a few people to help with cooking and laundry, and maybe a few to look after the house. We don’t need the people from the mountain for that.”
Her mother and her two aunts were busy in the workshop all day, and they still had to do laundry and cooking when they returned home. It was indeed too tiring.
So, it was more convenient to hire a few people to come back with them.
Seeing Shen Yu’an’s explanation, Fei Xi didn’t say anything more.
On the other hand, Sanlang, who had been silently following them, felt a bit puzzled when he heard Shen Yu’an mention “the people from the mountain.” However, he didn’t ask further. Shen Yu’an had cautioned him before they set out that they should be careful with their words and not reveal anything unnecessary while outside.
However, he still asked about the matter of buying people, “Sister, if we buy people, where will they stay? Although we have many rooms in our house, there aren’t many empty ones left.”
Since Mr. Ji had arrived, the last vacant room had been taken as well.
Shen Yu’an pondered for a moment. The idea of buying people had come to her suddenly, and she hadn’t prepared a place for them.
She replied, “It’s currently the hottest time of the year. After buying the people, we’ll first set up a few thatched huts for them, and then we can build another courtyard next to our house for them to live in.”
This time, Shen Yu’an planned to buy two women for cooking and perhaps a few who seemed capable of managing and guarding the property.
As they passed by a place selling vegetables, Shen Yu’an had Sanlang buy some vegetables and meat.
While they chatted, they arrived at the slave market.
Shen Yu’an led the two inside, where they were greeted by a middle-aged man who appeared shrewd.
The broker quickly approached and greeted them warmly, “Esteemed guests, are you here to buy slaves?”
Fei Xi continued, “Yes, please bring out the slaves you have here for our young lady to see.”
“Alright, dear guests, please come inside,” the broker happily led them in and then brought out a group of people, all of whom had signed contracts to sell themselves.
Each of them had a worn-out and defeated look on their faces, as if they had lost all hope for the future.
“These gentlemen and ladies, please take a look and see if there’s anyone you fancy. Many of them have worked in wealthy households before, so when you take them home, they can start working right away without the need for further training,” the broker explained.
Shen Yu’an looked at the people standing in the courtyard and asked, “Is there anyone here who thinks they are good at cooking?”
The people in the courtyard glanced at each other. Thinking they were good at cooking? Well, that could be claimed by anyone! Being bought and taken away was definitely better than staying in this slave market.
Several individuals immediately stepped forward, three women and one man in total.
A few women’s eyes rolled around, but Shen Yu’an remained silent.
She turned to the broker and asked, “Do you have a kitchen available for them?”
The broker said, “Yes, we do! Miss, do you want them to showcase their skills right here?”
Shen Yu’an looked at the women with wandering eyes and replied, “Words alone are not enough. It’s better for them to demonstrate their skills so that I can see for myself. It also saves me the trouble of buying them and then reselling them.”
As soon as Shen Yu’an said this, one of the women looked somewhat disheartened.
In this world, there were hardly any women who couldn’t cook, but what they cooked might barely keep someone from starving; it couldn’t be considered particularly delicious.
Shen Yu’an signaled to Sanlang, instructing him to bring out the prepared vegetables and meat. The broker then led everyone to the kitchen.
In addition to the vegetables and meat, Shen Yu’an had also bought plenty of seasonings on the way, and they were neatly arranged on the table.
Shen Yu’an addressed the four individuals who had stepped forward, saying, “All the ingredients are there. Cook what you are good at, and there are enough seasonings, so don’t be frugal.”
There were three pots in the kitchen, and another one was set up in the courtyard, just enough for these four people to use.
The man and one of the women washed their hands before handling the ingredients and rolled up their sleeves.
The other two women simply grabbed the ingredients from the table and started working.
Shen Yu’an, observing the two who knew to wash their hands before cooking, mentally gave them extra points. However, one woman had dirty hands, and the other, although her hands were relatively clean, had sleeves covered in dust that brushed against the meat when she picked it up, and her fingernails weren’t very clean either.
Sanlang noticed this and was about to suggest they wash their hands, but Shen Yu’an stopped him.Top of Form
Top of Form