Hongxi Town—Xie Yushu knew the place. The original owner had seen the map of Tang’an County, and Hongxi Town and Songwan Town were almost at opposite ends of the county, one in the south and one in the north.
These two brothers had actually run all the way from such a distant place—they must have endured a great deal of hardship.
Xie Yushu sighed: “Don’t worry, I’m not going to chase you away.” Did she really look like a bad person?
She told them to wait for her there, that she’d be right back.
Seeing the stranger walk away, Xiu Wei hugged his brother nervously: “Brother…”
Xiu He comforted his younger brother: “Don’t be afraid, Xiu Wei. This young lady probably isn’t a bad person.”
They waited there for a while. Before long, they saw the young lady walking back this way with a young man.
“So it really wasn’t a ghost—just two living people.” He Chao followed Xie Yushu into the bluestone compound. After setting down the things he was carrying and seeing the two brothers before him, he exclaimed in surprise.
Just now, Xie Yushu had come to find him at home, saying she’d bought the compound, but there were two homeless men hiding inside, and asked him to bring some food and clothing and come with her.
He Chao took out the clothes from his bundle and gave them to them. The larger ones were his, the smaller ones were He Xi’s. Though they were just coarse hemp cloth, they were still much better than what the brothers had been wearing.
Seeing this, Xie Yushu stepped away to give them space to change.
After they’d changed into clean clothes, they thanked Xie Yushu and He Chao. He Chao gave them the flatbreads he’d brought and some fish paste made from cheap small fish, telling them to make do with it.
They had no reason to complain—this was much better than what they’d been eating lately.
Xie Yushu didn’t chase them away either—she let them stay there for the time being—and pulled He Chao aside to talk.
Having secured such a large compound with such a vast open space for sixty guan today, Xie Yushu knew very well she’d gotten a bargain.
She’d originally thought she’d have to throw in all her savings to buy it. Who knew things would turn out this way? She had those two brothers and their “ghostly” noises to thank—otherwise, Steward Xu wouldn’t have let it go so easily.
Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Xie Yushu said to He Chao: “Now that we’ve bought this place, we need to prepare as quickly as possible. Once everything’s ready, we can have Aunt Hong San and your father come over. From then on, they’ll do the drying here.”
He Chao’s face lit up with excitement: “Good.” After seeing Xie Yushu’s money-making abilities, he was filled with nothing but admiration. Now they finally had their own kelp drying base.
The word “base” was something Xie Yushu had taught him—he’d been awestruck by her ambitious vision at the time.
It turned out Xie Yushu wasn’t content with just earning a little money—she wanted to build a bigger business.
Right now, Xie Yushu’s mind was full of the preparations ahead.
On the staffing front, she only had the He family and Aunt Hong San. It sounded a bit thin, but this was still the early stage—one step at a time, don’t overreach. These few people were enough for now, and besides, they wouldn’t have too many orders at the start anyway.
There was one task after another in the compound.
They lacked everything. Steward Xu had left cleanly—anything of value had been stripped out. The tile-roofed houses and the main building had only bare bed frames and nothing else. Pots, pans, bowls, chopsticks, tables, chairs, stools—everything needed to be bought new.
For the open space, she needed to have a batch of drying racks made—good quality, sturdy and durable. She’d also need bamboo trays and bamboo screens for spreading out the kelp to dry. These were the tools they’d rely on for their livelihood going forward.
Next to the open space was a large square pond—probably where they’d washed fish before. But now it was filled with dirt and weeds growing up to knee height. It all needed to be thoroughly cleaned out—it would serve an important purpose later and couldn’t be neglected.
Then there were the building repairs. Aside from fixing the roof tiles on the tile-roofed houses, the mess inside and out all needed sweeping and cleaning.
All of these required her to make decisions and coordinate. The costs would likely be considerable. But investment before starting a business was necessary. She had only twenty guan left in hand—if she spent carefully, it might just be enough.
This was no easy task.
Fortunately, she wasn’t alone this time.
Xie Yushu assigned the tasks at the compound to He Chao and told him to call a few people over to do the sweeping and cleaning—she’d pay them wages.
“Why waste money on that, young lady? Father and I can handle the cleaning.” He Chao shook his head at her, clearly disapproving of this way of spending money. He looked around the place, got a sense of the scope, and continued, “This place looks big and messy, but Father and I are enough. We can get it done in two days.”
“Alright then.” After thinking it over, Xie Yushu agreed.
She didn’t bother with polite formalities. Now that the He family was working for her, they were formal employees. She’d make sure they were properly paid when the time came.
Without further delay, the two went off to prepare their respective things.
Xie Yushu returned to town and went to see Zhou the Carpenter.
Ever since she’d moved to town, she’d been a regular customer at Zhou’s workshop. After she explained her requirements, Zhou did the calculations with a flurry of clicks and knocked a bit off the price again.
This young lady was her lucky charm. Zhou always put great care into crafting what Xie Yushu needed, and Xie Yushu trusted her in return—whenever she needed something made, she came straight to her.
Xie Yushu left Zhou’s workshop and headed to the family shop. She hadn’t seen Su Chi all morning.
At the shop, Su Chi was wrapping up the last few buns for a customer. He took the money, looked up again, and saw Xie Yushu.
Su Chi was startled for a moment when he saw her, then beamed with joy: “You’re back.” Unable to help himself, he walked toward her, and the two ended up standing very close.
“Was it busy this morning?” Xie Yushu took Su Chi’s hand and gently kneaded it in her palm.
Su Chi answered honestly: “I managed fine. What about you? Did you get your business done?”
“Almost, but I’ll still need to go check on things frequently over the next few days.”
After hearing this, Su Chi felt a little disappointed, but still lifted the corners of his mouth: “I understand. Go ahead and take care of your business—I’ve got the house and the shop covered.”
“Mm.” Xie Yushu lowered her head and affectionately rubbed the tip of her nose against his—cool and pleasant.
Su Chi obediently enjoyed the moment, but suddenly remembered they were in the shop. What if someone saw them…
Embarrassed, he gave Xie Yushu a gentle push: “Are you hungry? I’ll go make lunch now.”
“Alright, I’ll cook with you.”
It was now noon, and there were only a few scattered customers in the shop. Su Chi had some free time to make them lunch.
They decided not to go back home—they could cook right in the shop. He’d brought some ingredients from home early that morning, making it convenient to cook now.
Su Chi lit the fire and started cooking, while Xie Yushu washed vegetables and prepped ingredients beside him. The two worked quietly on their respective tasks, in perfect sync, occasionally glancing at each other. Before long, they’d made saucy meat braised with eggs, stir-fried bok choy with bean paste, and steamed fish.
In the saucy meat braised with eggs, the egg custard portion was very small—most of it was saucy meat. The meat and eggs were tightly bound together, delivering a tender and flavorful bite.
For the steamed fish, Su Chi kept it simple and light this time. He’d asked little Fang Kui to help him buy the fish that morning—the shop had been too busy for him to step away. He’d spotted her hawking her wares along the street, waved her over, gave her some money, and asked her to buy a fresh fish from the fish stall for him.
Fang Kui took the money and agreed without hesitation. She really liked this husband—he and Young Lady Xie were both such good people, kindly supporting her father’s business. She was more than happy to help him.
When she came back with the fish, still twitching in its grass rope, she handed it to Su Chi. He took the fish, put it in a basin of water, and invited her in to have a bowl of wontons before leaving.
Fang Kui quickly shook her head and said she couldn’t—she didn’t want to take advantage of Husband Su. Her father said that wasn’t right.
Su Chi smiled and took her hand, leading her inside: “It’s alright. Eat before you go—this is my way of paying you for your trouble.”
Only when Su Chi brought over a steaming bowl of fragrant wontons, each one plump and round, did Fang Kui fall silent. After a moment, she lowered her head and began eating.
Su Chi scraped off the fish scales, cleaned out the innards and black membrane, then steamed it in a large pot. Once it was done, he simply drizzled on some soy sauce and topped it with scallion shreds. This preparation gave the fish no off-flavors—just pure sweetness and the ultimate tenderness of the flesh.
Xie Yushu carried the finished dishes out to the shop, where they ate right there. Su Chi went to scoop the rice, pressing Xie Yushu’s portion down especially firmly.
She must be starving by now.
Xie Yushu was indeed ravenous. After picking some food for Su Chi, she dug in without another word.
After finishing the meal, she stayed a while longer with Su Chi. He was wrapping wontons beside her, and she watched him quietly.
After a quarter of an hour, Xie Yushu said to him: “I have to go. I might be back a little late tonight. If you get hungry, eat first—don’t wait for me.”
Su Chi didn’t say anything. He just wiped his hands clean and straightened her robes.
“I understand.”
·
When Xie Yushu pushed open the gate of her newly purchased compound, there were already people inside.
The three members of the He family and Aunt Hong San had already started sweeping and cleaning.
He Chao was a man of action—after eating, he’d brought his father and He Xi over, tools in hand. Before long, Aunt Hong San had also arrived with her own cleaning supplies from home.
Xiu He was helping too. The young lady had kindly taken him and his brother in—he couldn’t be ungrateful. Besides, sweeping and cleaning was such a small thing; he’d done it all his life at home.
He Chao thought the man was hardworking and generously handed him some cleaning tools. So with four adults plus He Xi, they all threw themselves into the work with great enthusiasm.
He Chao’s father was in charge of cleaning the several rooms. He Chao swept everywhere and scraped the moss off the courtyard walls. He Xi, though still young, was a girl and had considerable strength—she drew water from the well over and over, filling the large water vat so her father and brother could use it for cleaning.
Aunt Hong San had the most strength of anyone. She handled the heavy work—moving out the discarded stones and worthless debris. There were many stones, and she put in a good effort.
Xiu Wei was also helping his brother.
Xiu He was in charge of clearing the weeds and dirt from the pond and the gaps in the open space. Xiu Wei, being small with little strength, carried a dirt basket and followed his brother around. Whenever his brother cleared a spot, he’d scoop up the dirt with his two small hands and toss it into the basket. When the basket was full, he’d drag it outside the gate, going back and forth many times. The little one was drenched in sweat from the effort.
Before long, a pile of cleared debris and a mound of dirt had stacked up outside the gate.
The afternoon sun rose higher, shining down on the empty space and on the people working with their heads down.
Xie Yushu had brought roof tiles from town. Everyone was so busy—she certainly couldn’t just stand idle. As the boss, she had to set a good example.
Even though her employees were already self-motivated, having mobilized themselves before she even arrived.
She immediately joined them. What they’d said would take two days to clean actually took only one afternoon.
After cleaning was done, she and Aunt Hong San each took a section of the roof and started installing the tiles she’d brought, one by one.
Xie Yushu had bought more tiles than needed. She set the extras aside for future use.
By the time everything was done, the sky outside had long since darkened. The courtyard was clean and the roof was fixed. Xie Yushu prepared to leave.
As she was leaving, He Chao tried to return the compound key to her—it was the one she’d given him that morning, and he wanted to give it back.
Xie Yushu didn’t take it back. She told him to keep it—it would be more convenient for him to hold onto it than for her to carry it around all the time. She also gave him a few more instructions.
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