The Fourteenth Day After Picking Up My Wife

The laborers at the dock were no longer standing around idly; one after another, they hurried toward Water Manor.

That left Shen Wanxin puzzled. “Are there really that many goods for them to carry?”

There had been at least a hundred laborers just now.

A hundred people would be enough to build a bridge; ordinary freight probably wouldn’t have enough work to keep that many hands busy.

Lu Ling didn’t take it seriously. She only smiled without answering, and Shen Wanxin didn’t think she was just teasing those laborers.

Though they had only known each other for a few days, she had already formed a fairly clear impression of Miss Lu’s temperament.

As long as it didn’t cross her bottom line, she really did deserve the excellent reputation those women at Yunshui Mountain Villa praised her with; the little goddess of Haicheng.

So Shen Wanxin had actually gone and quietly asked around about Lu Ling.

If Lu Ling knew, she would probably be flattered beyond belief.

This time, though, she didn’t keep it mysterious. Instead, she explained, “Half-employed workers doesn’t sound very nice. In plain terms, it just means odd jobs. There may be work today, and none tomorrow.”

“But at least it gives people something to look forward to.”

The moment she said that, Shen Wanxin understood.

Lu Ling had simply been diverting the laborers’ attention and giving them something to hope for.

But even if it was only odd jobs, for many people it was enough to get them through tomorrow.

Miss Lu hadn’t just given them something to look forward to; she had given them hope.

“In a few days, the goods piled up at the dock will be cleared. Then there’ll be plenty for them to carry.” Lu Ling turned around. “It’ll probably keep them busy for several months.”

What did several months mean?

The Lu family’s dock paid thirty percent more than the other docks.

Over several months, that could easily amount to half a year’s food for a laborer’s family.

With that much to eat, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about starving.

“Miss Lu, you’re really kind.” Shen Wanxin’s lips curved slightly. This was the first genuine smile she had shown in days.

It was only a faint one, but Lu Ling was dazzled by it.

“Can you smile like that again?” The words were out before she could stop herself.

Shen Wanxin quickly let the smile fade and stood quietly beside her.

The answer was obvious.

No way!

“What a pity.” Lu Ling pressed a hand to her chest, looking a little heartbroken.

Shen Wanxin glanced at her in silence. “Miss Lu, where are we going later?”

“To the village below.” Lu Ling shifted gears quickly.

Shen Wanxin went to fetch a stool and waited for her to get into the carriage.

After Lu Ling stepped up, Shen Wanxin sat beside her.

Once the carriage started moving, the journey turned out to be surprisingly smooth.

Even Shen Wanxin could feel that it seemed more even than the roads inside the city.

Maybe Wang Xianglan was just that good, or maybe the carriage itself was well made.

Shen Wanxin drew back the curtain, and what met her eyes was a strange road that looked as if it had been made from white cloud-mud.

It was flat and wide, and riding over it felt like gliding across silk.

Even she was stunned. “This road...”

Lu Ling grinned and nodded proudly. “It’s called a cement road.”

As for why the countryside had roads even better than the city, that came down to a matter of private land.

The cost of expropriating land to build roads in the city was at least three times higher than in the countryside, so Lu Ling had given up on the idea of paving roads in the city when she was sixteen.

Let the rich people keep walking those broken stone roads; they were expensive and unpleasant anyway.

The countryside was different. She only needed to wave her hand and settle it with the headmen and village chiefs, and then they could agree to build a road on public land.

They could also supervise it every year, and even charge tolls from passersby if they wished.

But the price had to be set by Lu Ling: three wen each time. Poor families were exempt. Ordinary families could pay if they wanted to, but if they didn’t, they had to be let through.

So how was that line drawn?

By getting money out of the rich, of course.

The rich didn’t care about three wen.

If anyone felt sorry for three wen, they could just pass themselves off as poor.

In short, this cement road gave many farming households in the surrounding villages some dignity.

Never underestimate what dignity can do for a person. For the lower class, oppressed for so long in this era, it was a rare chance to straighten their backs.

“So whether in the modern era or in ancient times, the principle of getting rich by building roads never changes.” She muttered to herself.

“Modern era? Ancient times?” Shen Wanxin asked in confusion.

Lu Ling hurried to gloss it over. “I mean now and the past.”

Shen Wanxin nodded thoughtfully. As for whether she believed it or not, that was another matter.

When the carriage stopped, there really was a wooden pavilion and a barrier across the road ahead. The villagers standing guard on both sides saw a carriage coming and hurriedly went to collect the toll.

But once they saw whose carriage it was, they were instantly dumbstruck. “It’s the young lady’s carriage!”

“What? You dare stop the young lady’s carriage?” another villager exclaimed in alarm.

At once, the villagers working in the fields nearby looked up one after another. Seeing Lu Ling getting out of the carriage, they immediately dropped their hoes and no longer cared about their work.

They rushed toward Lu Ling.

The noise was as lively as fans meeting a celebrity.

“The young lady has come to the countryside again.”

“Is she here to inspect the area?”

“Who knows, but the young lady wouldn’t come for no reason.”

“All the roads in our ten-li and eight-village area were built by her. If not for this road, my daughter would have to walk for days to come back and visit. Now she can leave in the morning and be back home in the evening to sleep at her maiden home.”

“I heard the young lady was bullied by the officials again. Could it have something to do with that?”

“Is the young lady here to ask us to stand up for her?”

The moment that was said, the crowd couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

They were laughing at that person’s naivety.

What could a bunch of dirt-legged peasants possibly do to stand up for the young lady? Even her father, County Magistrate Gao, couldn’t do anything about the prefect deliberately making trouble.

It was obvious even to some of the country folk that the prefect and Miss Lu were not on good terms.

He had bullied Miss Lu repeatedly.

A cold gleam flashed in Shen Wanxin’s eyes.

This official was unworthy of office.

Then there was no need to say much about the government’s image in the local area, or the court’s either.

Lu Ling found a few villagers who could speak for the group and told them to send this year’s stored farm goods to the dock ten days early.

The villagers didn’t have much stock saved up yet, but since Lu Ling had spoken, they basically didn’t question it. Many of them immediately turned around to notify their families.

They should take out whatever they could. After all, the young lady would pay them at the end of the month.

Even small money was money.

Very soon, villagers and their families came carrying large bundles and sacks.

Wang Xianglan seemed to be used to this for a long time.

She barked, “What are you all standing around for? If you’ve got ox carts, use ox carts; if you’ve got donkey carts, use donkey carts. Load them up and send them back together.”

“Do I really have to remind you?”

The villagers with carts hurried home to fetch them. In any case, they had to give the young lady face on this trip.

Maybe the young lady’s business really wasn’t doing well, and she needed their little bit of farm produce to tide her over.

At once, many people pitched in where they could; those without strength helped carry things onto the carts.

Very quickly, ten carts’ worth of farm goods from the surrounding villages were loaded up.

Lu Ling was very satisfied. “Take them to the dock and ask Steward Tao for the silver.”

“Thank you, young lady.” One old woman was deeply grateful, then couldn’t help worrying. “But young lady, these are just small odds and ends. Can they really help you earn anything back?”

Lu Ling said, “That’s my concern. Don’t worry. I’ll come back to collect again next month.”

“From now on, I’ll change it to once every ten days. But as long as you have goods, you can get the wages in advance at the dock. Just ask Steward Tao for them.”

“Thank you, young lady.”

The villagers didn’t ask for much; most of them took only a dozen wen or so. That was enough to buy four or five jin of coarse rice, enough for a family to eat for ten days.

Especially for farm eggs: in the past, because the roads were bad and the market small, they had dropped to one wen per jin. Now, because of Water Manor’s canteen supply and subsidies, eggs were now two for one wen.

Ten eggs could be exchanged for two jin of coarse rice.

And there was no need to worry about selling them. No need to fear the eggs at home would spoil.

The Lu family also helped raise chicks and distributed them to each household.

There was also a complete channel for buying poultry. So the entire Haicheng market could absorb the supply.

That let the common people in the city enjoy the benefits of this industrial chain.

Because once there was a complete industrial chain, costs came down; and with lower prices, ordinary people could eat meat for all three meals a day.

With consumption came demand; with demand came supply.

It was a textbook virtuous economic cycle.

After Lu Ling finished her instructions, she got back into the carriage.

There were fifty people escorting those ten carts. If they made good time, they might even get to have a meal at Water Manor.

Water Manor’s food was famous far and wide: a wide variety, with meat, eggs, and soy milk, and it was cheap. Even the plain white rice there could be eaten as much as you wanted.

And it was said there were always leftovers. Anything that didn’t go bad would be used to help the poor in the city.

There were also secondhand food stalls that wanted to sell Water Manor’s cuisine, or poor people who just wanted a little treat. For two wen, they could eat something with meat in it. It might not be the freshest, but it would definitely not be leftovers from the previous day.

Basically, it sold out every day.

This time, Lu Ling turned back without going any farther.

Now, as long as she shouted at the crossroads, the villagers would be mobilized right away.

At the very least, her name still carried weight locally.

Shen Wanxin watched as several hundred villagers still lingered in place and didn’t leave. A trace of envy flashed in her eyes; this was not reverence for power, but genuine support from the heart.

Who would have thought a merchant could win the people’s hearts like this?

No wonder Miss Lu wanted to keep a low profile.

Because when a merchant is loved by the people, one careless move and she could be accused of buying their loyalty; then even the government, or the imperial court, might punish her.

Great Chong was truly full of contradictions and abuses.

Shen Wanxin let out a sigh, her heart growing somewhat angry, even resentful, toward the imperial court.

Lu Ling noticed the expression on her face and only said, “Merchants have always held a low status. We may live well, but we can’t become officials.”

“But luckily, Great Chong only suppresses commerce; it doesn’t ban it. Otherwise the economy would become even more stagnant.”

She didn’t know why she was telling Shen Wanxin all this.

It was just that today, for some reason, she especially wanted to speak her mind.

“Actually, merchants are a double-edged sword. If handled well, they can benefit the country and the people.”

“If handled badly, then like civil officials and military generals, they become unbalanced and trigger all sorts of crises.”

“Just look at how even Yu the Great knew that blocking a flood is worse than channeling it.”

“The Great Chong court isn’t lacking talent. It’s not that they couldn’t have discovered the value merchants hold. They just look down on it.”

That was the real problem: they allowed it to exist, but not to develop.

As a result, the entire economic system drifted toward stagnation, even isolation.

Without foreign enemies, the dynasty might still manage to trudge on for three hundred years by grinding the people down. With enemies, they might as well be surrendering their homeland.

But right now, Great Chong seemed to have only internal contradictions, while foreign threats were still too weak. So like cooking a frog in warm water, the efficiency of the whole state machine was grinding along very slowly.

Shen Wanxin closed her eyes. “The court’s incompetence didn’t happen in a day or two.”

“Since merchants can build roads and benefit our people, why can’t they be given proper recognition?”

Her words unexpectedly made Lu Ling look at her in surprise.

Shen Wanxin continued, “Besides, the industrial chain you described just now seems to keep roaming, unstable merchants in one place, reducing management costs.”

“Wouldn’t it be mutually beneficial if the court took supervision rights over this chain, collected part of the taxes, and created some jobs?”

Her question left Lu Ling staring at her in complete shock.

She hadn’t expected that with just one opening, Shen Wanxin would go straight to the heart of development.

This was no simple matter.

She had only taken her around once, and yet she had analyzed things to this extent.

She truly was a talent with political sensitivity. Exactly the sort of seedling for a statesman that Lu Ling thought the court needed.

What a pity her origins were unknown, her background unclear, and this dynasty didn’t allow women to enter office. In the end, she would likely be buried in obscurity.

“Ah, you’re right.” Lu Ling suddenly felt down.

She was sad for the beauty’s buried talent.

“Why are you sighing all of a sudden?” Shen Wanxin could sense her mood.

Lu Ling couldn’t very well say that she thought Shen Wanxin was the sort of talent fit to be a statesman, but there was no room for her to show her abilities now. So it was a pity.

“It’s nothing. I just dislike the court more and more, even the person sitting above the nine layers of heaven.”

“Hush; mind your words!” Shen Wanxin raised a finger and pressed it against her lips.

For some reason, she felt a little uncomfortable.

Lu Ling seemed to really dislike the current female emperor.

After that, the two of them did not linger outside any longer and returned to Yunshui Mountain Villa.

This time, Shen Wanxin obediently finished her medicine.

As usual, Lu Ling asked if she felt uncomfortable anywhere.

Shen Wanxin answered obediently.

Only when asked whether she was temporarily unable to use martial arts did Lu Ling dodge the topic in a subtle way. “I’m not some big shot. Who’s going to send assassins after me?”

“Don’t worry. It won’t come to you having to fight.”

But that very night.

Lu Ling was removing her makeup, feeling pleased by the change in Shen Wanxin’s attitude toward her today.

At the very least, Shen Wanxin was slowly improving her opinion of her.

Maybe by the time she really had to work, she’d already been cured.

Then she could just return the contract of servitude to her.

Better yet, if Shen Wanxin recovered her memory, she could even send her home.

Honestly, she was rather curious what kind of family Shen Wanxin came from.

Pulling out the last hairpin, she lay down on the bed and was drifting off to sleep when the door suddenly clicked; it sounded as if someone outside was forcing the latch open.

If Aunt Wu were checking rooms, she wouldn’t do it like that.

Lu Ling couldn’t help opening her eyes. Just as she was about to ask who it was, a dagger stabbed toward her face.

She was so frightened that she rolled over at once and tumbled to the inner side of the bed.

“Help!” She had barely cried out before the other party struck her acupoint.

She couldn’t even make a sound anymore.

Her upper body had gone numb as well.

Could this be the legendary Blossom Finger technique?

Just as she stared in terror at the masked figure hovering over the bed...

Snap—there was a sound from something passing through the paper window.

A hidden weapon shot straight into the masked person’s forehead.

The masked figure was instantly knocked backward against the bed.

The next moment, the door was kicked open.

Shen Wanxin grabbed the teapot and hurled it at the masked attacker; then she picked up a hairpin from the dressing table and shot it into the other person’s eye.

The masked person was startled, then clutched at the eye and fled out through the side window.

In an instant, they vanished before Shen Wanxin’s eyes.

Shen Wanxin hurried to check on the person in the bed and found that Lu Ling could only stare at her with wide eyes, unable to speak.

She quickly pressed twice on Lu Ling’s chest.

Only then did Lu Ling feel her throat open up. She hurriedly said, “There’s an assassin!”

“I know, but he’s already escaped.” Shen Wanxin had no intention of pursuing him further. She wasn’t sure whether there were accomplices waiting to kill Lu Ling.

Yet for some reason, she didn’t ask whether Lu Ling had any enemies. After seeing everything that had happened during the day, she had already come to a conclusion on her own.

That was, this woman was too talented, too good at making money, and even benefited the people; as the saying went, the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind.

She had aroused envy and hatred.

“No wonder you said you wanted to keep a low profile, but no matter what, if you’re gold, you’ll shine. You’re destined to be coveted.” Shen Wanxin reminded her, “And some people, if they can’t have something, will destroy it.”

“That’s the best way to protect their interests.”

Lu Ling couldn’t help feeling helpless.

She had probably guessed who sent the assassin.

She just hadn’t expected that the other side would no longer even spare the prefect’s wife the courtesy of face.

The prefect’s wife was the second-largest shareholder, after all!

Back then, she had specifically targeted the prefect’s wife, hoping the prefect would rein himself in a little and stop casually going after the Lu family.

And the Lu family gave the prefect tens of thousands of taels in tribute every year.

It hadn’t calmed the prefect’s suspicions at all; instead, it had fed his ambition.

In terms of seeing through human nature, Shen Wanxin seemed to have an extraordinary gift. She hit the mark in one sentence:

“Without enough power to make people wary, no matter how great your talent is, you’re only someone else’s stepping stone.”

That one line laid bare Lu Ling’s predicament of having no power.

And in Great Chong, this predicament could not be turned around!

Because from the moment Lu Ling was born, she had been bound by the whole world; she was a woman and a merchant.

For the first time, a feeling of indignation, of injustice, was born in Shen Wanxin’s heart.

Why would someone so talented not be employed by the court?

The court not only had countless abuses and clung stubbornly to old rules; it even suppressed the very talent that should have been serving the nation.

There was a problem!

There was a problem with the court!

There was a problem with state policy!

In an instant, a sharp, icy light flashed beneath Shen Wanxin’s brow. “Miss Lu, do you have a suspect?”