Chapter 9

Chang Shi sat in the main seat, smiling as she looked at her son. Zhang Han glanced around the room and noticed several outsiders, including several women of different ages. Not wanting to look too closely, he stepped forward and said to Chang Shi with a smile, "I came back a bit late today, but I didn't know we had guests."

Chang Shi smiled and said, "Was the store busy today? Did anything happen?"

Zhang Han replied calmly, "It was the same as usual."

Chang Shi, satisfied, said, "That's good to hear."

Ever since Zhang Han started going to the store every day, Chang Shi only stayed at home to look over the accounts. Although the overall situation hadn't changed much, at least she didn't have to go out and check on the store herself, which saved her a lot of trouble. Zhang Han's performance was also quite good; he went to the store early every day and stayed until late, making decisions and increasing the monthly wages for everyone. Although Chang Shi was a bit reluctant, she also felt that her son's decisions were not wrong. After a few days, Zhang Han knew how to show favor to the people below him, which made Chang Shi very happy and pleased.

After a few more words, Chang Shi pointed to an old woman sitting below on the west side and said with a smile, "This is Ma Da Niang, a regular matchmaker in our family. You only read books before and didn't deal with such matters, so you haven't met her."

Zhang Han then realized these were not guests. In those days, women from wealthy families rarely went out, only visiting relatives or attending temple fairs during holidays. For everyday needs, they were mostly served by "three nuns and six aunts," who provided various services at home.

The "three nuns" were nuns, Taoist nuns, and fortune-telling nuns, who provided religious services at home. The "six aunts" included toothbrush sellers, matchmakers, midwives, doctors, and other specialized services, all catering to the needs of wealthy families.

The main business of a toothbrush seller was selling cosmetics, but they also dealt in human trafficking, from maids and servants to concubines, singers, and dancers, all clearly categorized. In this sense, toothbrush sellers and matchmakers were different.

Zhang Han bowed and said, "Nice to meet you, Ma Da Niang."

Ma Da Niang quickly stood up and returned the bow, saying, "What a handsome young man! I rarely see such a fine young gentleman."

Zhang Han knew his appearance was just so-so, so he just smiled and didn't take it seriously.

Ma Da Niang, being very quick-witted, then turned to the young woman beside her and said, "Jin Lian, see? I didn't lie to you. Such a wealthy and good family, such a handsome young man, where else could you find one? From his looks, he must have a good temper. Grandma Chang is also a kind person with a very good temper. You can stay here with peace of mind, and once you have children, you'll be waiting for a happy life."

People say matchmakers can talk like flowers, and this toothbrush seller was no less skilled. Zhang Han, however, was a bit confused and stared blankly at "Jin Lian."

Jin Lian was indeed quite beautiful, with bright eyes, fair skin, and well-proportioned eyebrows. However, her face was very large, making her look like a silver plate. She also had a large chest and a large figure, making her a seriously overweight "beauty." Under her skirt, however, were a pair of three-inch bound feet, swaying gracefully.

Zhang Han took a deep breath. Foot binding was indeed a terrible custom among the Han people, starting in the Southern Tang Dynasty and continuing through the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. The Ming Dynasty also had foot binding, but it was not as widespread. Only in the "Great Qing" did the practice become widespread due to the strict Confucian morals.

In the Zhang family, no one had bound feet, as they were just a middle-class family. Neither the grandfather nor Zhang Han's father had concubines, so there were no bound-foot women in the family.

"Mother, what do you mean?" Zhang Han felt something was wrong and quickly turned to look at Chang Shi.

Chang Shi, however, was smiling and looking at "Jin Lian" with great satisfaction.

Hearing Zhang Han's question, Chang Shi reluctantly turned her gaze back and said seriously, "You were still a child before, but now you've grown up. Li Jin Lian is a concubine I asked Ma Da Niang to find for you."

"Ah?" Zhang Han felt his head spinning. Wasn't it said that one couldn't take a concubine before marriage? Weren't there many rules in wealthy families? Wasn't the Zhang family a large family that combined business and scholarship? Even if they didn't follow these rules, there was no reason to give him such a "beauty" as a concubine. In the future, Zhang Han had seen and experienced various beauties, and this "beauty" was truly beyond his ability to enjoy.

When Zhang Han exclaimed, he clearly saw Li Jin Lian's lips curl slightly, showing a proud look, clearly not impressed by Zhang Han's inexperience.

"Mother, I haven't even married yet. How can I take a concubine?" Zhang Han, not wanting to openly express his aesthetic views in front of so many people, adopted a roundabout approach.

"Originally, it wouldn't be right to do this," Chang Shi sighed. "But your grandfather came to Xinping Fort alone, and you are the only son of your father, who is also the only son. Our family is too small. Since you've grown up, it's better to take a concubine early to serve you and have more children. I want to hold my grandson soon."

Mentioning her grandson, Chang Shi was already beaming with joy, her eyes involuntarily looking at Li Jin Lian again.

According to the standards of the time, Li Jin Lian was a typical symbol of fertility, with a large chest and a large bottom, not only capable of bearing children but also having a face that suggested she would bear sons.

This time, Ma Da Niang had not lied and had earned her fifty taels of silver as a mediator.

As for Li Jin Lian, the concubine, she cost three hundred taels of silver.

Ordinary women didn't cost this much. In recent years, the harvests had been poor, and although there was no mass migration in Shanxi, the girls in the hands of human traffickers could be sold for just a few dozen taels. Li Jin Lian was expensive because she was a well-trained maid from a wealthy family, knew etiquette, and had been verified to still be a virgin. Otherwise, Chang Shi would never have allowed her into the family.

With the "three generations of single descendants" as a trump card, Zhang Han had no argument. Ma Da Niang took the silver and left with a beaming smile.

After Li Jin Lian was led out, Zhang Han protested to Chang Shi, "Mother, this woman is too fat and has bound feet. I really don't like her. I absolutely won't have her."

"Rubbish!" Chang Shi, showing a stern side, scolded, "Can you make such decisions? I'll choose a good day, and you'll take her into your room!"

"..."

Zhang Han was speechless. He felt extremely frustrated that he had no say in this matter.

He didn't mention the events at the store today to Chang Shi, and Zhang Chun had already been warned not to tell anyone.

The few trivial matters of the store managers didn't bother Zhang Han. What he was thinking about was how to put the business on the right track. As for other things, they were insignificant. In a while, he would have ways to deal with those people.

...

The next morning, Zhang Han got up very early, spent half an hour exercising, practiced some boxing, and pulled the bow, breaking out in a thorough sweat. He changed his clothes and walked to North Street.

The crowd on the way was much denser, as the small market would open next month, and many merchants were gradually coming to trade. The inns and warehouses in the fort were full, and the scene was very prosperous.

At that time, in the Ming Dynasty, apart from Jiangnan and northern Shanxi, there were few places with such a strong commercial atmosphere.

When he arrived at the Heyu Sheng store, the apprentices were just "hanging the sign."

This was being supervised by Liang Hong. The apprentices were a bit busy, and Liang Hong was shouting, "Be careful! If it's hung crooked or falls, it's not auspicious, and your monthly wages will be deducted."

Zhang Han smiled at the sight. Liang Hong was always like this, managing these trivial matters. When he first came, Liang Hong's spirit was low, and the store was quite disorganized. Now, just from this, it was clear that he hadn't been scared off yesterday, and things were different today.

Liang Hong also saw Zhang Han, hesitated for a moment, and then smiled, bowing and saying, "Young Master has arrived."

"Liang Manager, you must be very hardworking, arriving at the store before dawn every day."

"I'm used to it," Liang Hong said with a proud look. Among the three managers, he was certainly the most diligent, which was true.

Liang Hong continued, "The small market is coming soon, and our store relies on it for profit. We can't be careless."

As he spoke, Zhou Fengji also arrived and stood at the store entrance, watching the apprentices hang the sign.

All the stores on North Street did the same thing every morning, hanging the sign being the most important task.

At this moment, Li Yuchun came over, and Zhang Han nodded to him first, then said to Zhou Fengji, "Uncle Zhou, I talked to the second manager yesterday and asked him to go collect grain. Tiancheng Wei, Zhenlu Wei, and Yanghe Wei have a lot of land, and there are hundreds of grain stores in the three forts and the surrounding areas. We can't just rely on others for our grain; it's better to set up our own collection points."

For grain stores, it was certainly more cost-effective to collect grain themselves. Relying solely on large grain merchants was like begging for food, and the market was controlled by others. In Xinping Fort, grain was sold the most every year. The profit from a stone of grain wasn't much, sometimes even less than two taels of silver, but selling tens of thousands of stones a year could bring in thousands of taels of profit. Don't underestimate these thousands of taels; Zhang Yun, the old man, had only made 40,000 taels in his entire life, and this money wasn't easy to earn.

Li Yuchun's face first showed surprise, then a look of understanding.

Liang Hong's face also changed.

After yesterday's failure, he and Li Yuchun had discussed and decided to follow the young master's lead for now and wait until Heyu Sheng couldn't hold on any longer before taking action. They didn't expect the young master to act so decisively and send Li Yuchun out of town this morning.

Collecting grain was certainly a good thing, but it was also very difficult. The local area was a mix of good and bad, and the grain stores competed fiercely. If it were easy, they wouldn't have been unable to collect grain until now.

Liang Hong wanted to speak, but Zhang Han turned to Zhou Fengji and said, "Uncle Zhou, send some fish, meat, and fine flour to Manager Li's house and have the store pay for it. He's out on business, so we shouldn't let him worry about his family."

Li Yuchun's eyes reddened, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

He was a proud and arrogant person. When the old man was alive, he was just a young apprentice and didn't respect Zhang Cheng much, let alone Zhang Han. His plan had failed, and now the young master hadn't made a fuss or torn off his mask. Saying he was sending him out was just a light punishment, and taking care of his family was a very generous treatment, leaving him speechless.

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