Chapter 40: Willing to Serve the Master Until Death

A beating with a stick teaches one pain, and pain instills fear; fear makes one obedient. A taste of a carrot makes one crave more. This principle, Chen Xie had mastered and applied with great skill.

"Wang Qian, since you have military experience, you can serve as my attendant and settle down in Zhangjia Village. In a couple of years, when your wife gives birth to a chubby son, you can live a peaceful and happy life," Chen Xie said. Wang Qian had no doubt about the truth of these words and nodded vigorously, "This humble servant's life already belongs to the master."

"What do I need your life for? I won't explain further; you'll understand in time." Chen Xie had no intention of elaborating, as many things were beyond explanation. He took things one step at a time. He himself hadn't figured out how to navigate his path in the Ming Dynasty, but one thing was certain: when he encountered "our Great Qing," he would fight to the death.

"Master, the world is in chaos now. The Liaodong border troops are ineffective against the Tartars but are more ruthless to their own people than bandits. You mustn't be careless. You need a few dozen guards to protect the household. If you entrust them to me, I'll definitely train them well. I can't promise much, but they will be no less capable than the imperial troops." Wang Qian's confidence seemed to return a bit, and Chen Xie had yet to fully assess his abilities. However, the fact that he could escape from the imperial troops with his wife suggested that he was quite capable.

After a leisurely stroll, they returned to the beach by the cargo yard. The carts were all loaded with goods, and with many hands, the work was done efficiently. There was still a small portion of the goods left on the ground, but there were no more carts. Mr. Liu directed everyone to use whatever tools they had—wheelbarrows, hand carts, shoulder poles, and even baskets—to transport the remaining goods in one go.

At this moment, a group of people approached from a distance. Chen Xie couldn't see clearly, but he had a telescope. He took it out of his bag and examined the group closely. At the front was the maid Yu Huan, sitting sideways on a donkey, holding a food box in her hands.

Hmm, this girl is thoughtful, knowing to bring special food for the young master. In the days since arriving in the Ming Dynasty, the person who had spent the most time with Chen Xie was probably the long-term attendant Changsheng, who was currently being used like a beast of burden, loading goods onto a cart. Next were the two maids, Yu Huan, who managed the inner affairs, and Yuzhu, who managed the outer affairs.

These two maids were fiercely competing for the privilege of serving Chen Xie, neither wanting the other to be the first to be favored by the young master. How to handle these two maids was a headache for Chen Xie. It wasn't because they were unattractive, but because he wasn't used to using maids to satisfy his physical needs.

Zhang Yao had hinted to Chen Xie multiple times that, since he hadn't yet married, he shouldn't neglect his health. If he wasn't satisfied with these two maids, he could always buy some well-trained ones from a human trafficker for a few silver coins.

Wang Qian was very curious and looked eagerly at the telescope in Chen Xie's hand. Sensing his intention, Chen Xie glanced at the approaching group of women and felt a bit embarrassed. A group of women, each carrying a load, walked briskly, and there was even a wheelbarrow with two large iron pots. It seemed there were about fifty to sixty people.

Chen Xie casually handed the telescope to Wang Qian, not bothering to look at his ecstatic expression, and walked over to meet the group of women. They had come to bring food, and he needed to appear in front of everyone to show his benevolence as the master. But the real reason was that Chen Xie was hungry. It had been five hours since he left in the morning, and it was unrealistic not to be hungry. Wang Qian, like a ghost, followed behind, never getting a chance to steal the chocolate from the backpack.

Wang Qian raised the telescope, and although it was a cheap imitation bought online, he could still see the group clearly, as if they were right in front of him. Suddenly, he let out a loud cry, "Wow!"

"What are you yelling about? If you break it, I'll break your legs!" Chen Xie shouted, turning around. Wang Qian immediately quieted down and carefully handed the telescope back to Chen Xie, "Master, this is a powerful tool of war."

Chen Xie glanced at him. Had this guy been an officer in Liaodong? His speech was quite refined. Chen Xie then said indifferently, "If you like it, you can have it. Just don't make a fuss. It's just a telescope, not a great treasure." He walked forward slowly, and as expected, Wang Qian was stunned. After a moment, he knelt on one knee and shouted from a distance, "I am willing to serve the master until death!"

For a hundred yuan, Chen Xie had won over Wang Qian, a capable and loyal man. He felt quite pleased. Wang Qian clearly had secrets, but did it matter? Everyone has their privacy; why delve into it so deeply?

A normal person could walk about five kilometers in an hour. From here to Zhangjia Village was about eleven or twelve kilometers, so these women had been walking for over two hours. Yet, through the telescope, they all looked spirited, wearing tattered cotton coats but smiling as they walked briskly.

The New Year was approaching. Chen Xie suddenly noticed the fabric being loaded onto the cart, denim fabric originally intended for the soldiers' training uniforms. Now, he had a new idea.

"Liu Zong!" Chen Xie walked up to Mr. Liu and spoke softly. "Young Master Si Hua, what do you need?" This guy seemed determined not to change his address, and Chen Xie could see the respect in his eyes. Wang Qian had also looked at him with a similar expression.

"Take a look at what these people are wearing. The New Year is coming, and I have plenty of fabric. Count the number of people in each household, regardless of age or gender. Every man will get a blue cotton coat and pants, and every woman will get a gray floral dress for the New Year. I'll leave this to you. Gather all the women in the village who can sew, as many as possible, and have them work on the clothes at night. Also, make sure to buy enough cotton. It's better to have too much than too little."

Chen Xie didn't know exactly how much wealth he had. Mr. Liu wasn't clear on the exact figures either, but according to the sales figures provided by Chen Xie, the joint business had earned 500,000 taels of silver, with a cost of less than 200,000 taels. This meant a profit of more than 300,000 taels, and Chen Xie could easily get 150,000 taels. This was the minimum, and with this amount, even if he gave a set of clothes to everyone in the village, it wouldn't cost more than 2,000 taels.

So, Mr. Liu didn't think it was a big deal and nodded readily, "Alright, I'll mention it during the meal to boost everyone's spirits." Chen Xie, however, smiled and shook his head, "No, let Yu Huan tell the women."

Mr. Liu hesitated for a moment and then said, "Good idea. This girl is smart and is already half in charge. If she gathers the women to speak, it will enhance her authority. In the future, with the influence of pillow talk, she will be half the mistress of the village."

Clearly, Mr. Liu had misunderstood Chen Xie's intentions. Chen Xie planned to use the girl for labor, but this workload wasn't much for Yu Huan. If he had to handle all the miscellaneous tasks himself, his head would explode. So, he was being lazy and conscripting help.

Mr. Liu was busy with business, the hospital was being managed by Yuzhu and Hongguo, and the internal affairs of Zhangjia Village were handled by Yu Huan. Old Master Zhang had fully recovered and was willing to stay and retire in the back courtyard, so he wouldn't interfere. Thus, Yu Huan and Yuzhu were effectively managing the household for Chen Xie.

As they spoke, Yu Huan was a few dozen steps away, shouting, "Young Master, it's time to eat," and raising the food box in her hand.

Chen Xie walked over and smiled, "Thank you! Everyone, you've all worked hard."

A polite greeting earned a chorus of happy laughter from the women. Out of respect for the master, no one dared to be too bold. Chen Xie was well aware that he couldn't mingle with everyone here; this was the Ming Dynasty!

"Everyone, stop working. Lunch is here." Chen Xie called out, but no one stopped. Only four or five men stopped to take the iron pots off the wheelbarrow. There were four large pots and four large wooden buckets, with cabbage and radishes on top. Chen Xie hesitated and looked at Yu Huan, wondering what was going on.

Yu Huan smiled, "Young Master, just watch. You don't understand this."

She then called out to the men, "Hurry up, set up the stoves. There are a few women carrying water; send someone to help them."

Chen Xie, though slightly belittled, didn't get angry. He smiled and watched Yu Huan, hands on her hips, directing the men. They took shovels from the cart, dug a pit, placed a few stones, and set up the pots. After that, they fetched the water, eight buckets in total, and poured them into the two boilers. The firewood was already prepared, and they started the fire.

The fire was strong, and after a while, the water in the two large pots began to boil. By then, the work in the cargo yard was done, and the wheelbarrows and hand carts were all loaded. The remaining goods were tied up, and the shoulder poles were ready.

"It's bone soup!" someone exclaimed. Under the radishes and cabbage were bones, and they were brought here to cook soup for everyone. In the cold weather, the bamboo baskets containing steamed buns were lined with thick straw, and the buns were placed in woven bags inside the baskets, covered with more straw. They would remain warm when delivered.

The ingenuity of the people is truly boundless!

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(End of the chapter)