The employment agency in Tang’an County was far more formal and impressive than in the town—covering a wide range of rental and purchase services.
Xie Yushu picked the largest one and walked in, asking straight away if there were any vacant, idle properties available for rent in the east of the city.
As soon as she spoke, an agent immediately came forward with a beaming smile, enthusiastically leading them out.
The agent took Xie Yushu and Ye Youchun to the east side, near the official road.
East of the main road, a short walk down a side lane revealed an open area with a few scattered, empty courtyards—quiet and secluded, with barely a trace of human activity.
The west side, however, had a wide road—wide enough for three or four carriages to pass side by side—with dust flying and a constant stream of vehicles and pedestrians.
Just as Tang Zhiyi had said: convenient access, but the houses themselves were quiet and tucked away—exactly what she wanted.
There were few people here. The lively bustle of the main city came to an abrupt stop at this point.
Xie Yushu’s group stopped in front of the first house. One look and she set her eyes on the one with the rickety gate. After a quick tour inside, she found the buildings simple and plain, but the space was ample—enough to build several drying kilns without issue. She decided on the spot: this was the one.
The agent hadn’t expected her to decide so quickly. Most people compared several options before choosing—this woman was refreshingly decisive.
Back at the agency, the agent went into the inner room to draft the contract, while a clerk served tea to Xie Yushu and Ye Youchun, telling them to wait a moment.
The agency was large, with several smooth-talking attendants coming and going, serving customers who came in to rent, buy, or trade—anything available here could be transacted.
The tea was bland and watery; Xie Yushu put it down after two sips. As she glanced casually around the first floor, her eye caught on one person.
In the corner stood a figure, noticeably taller than even Ye Youchun, head bowed, back slightly hunched, holding a broom and sweeping silently from left to right. They didn’t speak to anyone, didn’t look at anyone—as if they were just another piece of furniture.
“Is that person part of your shop too?” Xie Yushu tilted her chin in that direction.
The clerk glanced where she indicated and smiled dismissively: “Oh, you mean A Jiu. She’s sort of with us—sweeps the floor, sometimes keeps an eye on things. She also works as a helper at a tavern nearby. Strong as an ox—can do the work of two men hauling stuff. But she eats a lot, so the tavern doesn’t pay her—just gives her two meals a day.”
“Our boss is kind-hearted and took her in. She does odd jobs here, and our boss gives her a place to sleep.”
“Where does she sleep?”
“Right in the back warehouse.” The clerk pointed to the back door.
Seeing Xie Yushu had no more questions, the clerk withdrew.
Ye Youchun couldn’t tell good tea from bad and had downed two cups. She turned to ask, “Boss, what about that person?”
Xie Yushu smiled faintly: “Nothing. Just thought she looked decent.”
Ye Youchun followed her gaze—she didn’t see anything special.
But her boss had good judgment; everyone she’d chosen had turned out capable. If she said decent, then decent it was.
Xie Yushu’s assessing gaze lingered on the person, as if weighing something.
Soon, the agent came out with several sheets of paper and a key, explaining the terms line by line.
Xie Yushu read through everything twice, confirmed there were no traps, and signed with a flourish.
This place wasn’t like Songwan Town—full of scheming people. She had to be extra cautious.
After paying, she handed the deed and key to Ye Youchun, then quietly asked the agent about that person.
Having just closed another deal—the woman had bought the long-vacant property outright—the agent was warm and accommodating, answering everything Xie Yushu asked.
None of it was any secret of the agency anyway—she could say whatever.
The agent led them to the back of the room, where a charcoal brazier made it warmer than elsewhere.
The fire crackled as the agent told them about A Jiu.
A Jiu had fled from another prefecture. She’d lost her whole family. In her haste to escape, she’d brought no household registration papers and had fled all the way to the prosperous Jiangzhou region.
The problem was that without those papers, she was officially a person of unknown identity. No reputable household in Jiangzhou dared hire her, and the employment agency couldn’t take her either.
The agency could buy and sell servants as long as they had official registration. At the very least, refugees and fugitives could be re-registered by the authorities, sign contracts, and be traded.
But A Jiu didn’t qualify as a refugee—she fell into a gray area. The local government didn’t recognize her, and the agency was stuck.
So she could only do odd jobs—no long-term contracts or indentured servitude.
A Jiu had originally wanted to sell herself for some money, but when she heard even the agency couldn’t help, she begged them to take her in—she didn’t want money, just two meals a day.
The owner’s heart softened and let her stay, at least keeping her off the streets.
After the agent finished, Xie Yushu said she had no more questions. The agent happily took her payment and left.
Xie Yushu found herself in a strangely melancholic mood.
For a moment, she was struck by the reality—this wasn’t the modern world; here, buying and selling people was legal.
The higher you climbed, the clearer you saw: aside from those born into wealthy households, almost all servants were bought and sold.
The agency had not just men, but women, children, and the elderly—anyone whose family was truly desperate would send themselves here, hoping to fetch a few coins to give their families a way forward.
She remembered the twenty-five strings of cash Ye Youchun had handed her last month—from Luo Qi, repaying her debt.
She hadn’t heard that name in a long time. She’d long stopped thinking about that money.
But that sum, combined with what she’d seen today, suddenly struck her.
Where had Luo Qi gotten that money?
Had she sold herself?
Xie Yushu let out a long, deep sigh.
·
That afternoon, Xie Yushu returned to the agency alone.
She’d sent Ye Youchun to fetch a doctor from the Sun family to treat Qin Fulang’s wife.
Both Qin Fulang and his wife were people Xie Yushu wanted to hire. Since one of them was ill, as their future employer, she felt obliged to arrange care.
She’d also told Ye Youchun to have Qin Fulang roast more seaweed snacks—what she’d brought back last time had already been devoured by Tang Zhiyi.
Scanning the room and not finding who she was looking for, Xie Yushu leaned on the counter and asked.
“Where’s A Jiu?”
Recognizing the woman from that morning, the clerk smiled: “She’s still working at the tavern right now—won’t be back until evening. If you’re looking for her, miss, you could come back later.”
Xie Yushu wasted no time—she headed straight to the tavern.
She now had the skilled labor, the county site—next came finding reliable masons to build the ovens, then methodically handling everything else.
Ye Youchun would go back with her, so she still needed someone to oversee the new location.
The tavern was doing good business. When the greeter at the door saw she wasn’t there to eat, the smile vanished and they ignored her.
Xie Yushu didn’t care. She made her way through the crowd, past the front hall, straight toward the back kitchen.
The kitchen was in the courtyard behind the tavern, with two large wells and several side rooms for storing ingredients and brewing liquor. Over a dozen people bustled about.
Before she even reached the kitchen, she heard shouting and scolding.
“Those mushrooms were for the boss’s VIP guests—how dare you touch them?”
“Didn’t steal? You’re the only new one here. Everyone knows these matsutake are expensive—who else could it be?”
Xie Yushu stepped forward and saw the kitchen manager dragging A Jiu into a corner to berate her.
A Jiu clearly endured this often; everyone else looked accustomed to it.
Xie Yushu asked, “What happened?”
Seeing a stranger, the manager’s sharp eyes noted her fine clothes and assumed she was a dining guest who’d wandered in.
With a courteous tone, she said: “Miss, you must have gotten lost. Let me show you back to the front.”
Xie Yushu raised a hand to stop her: “No need. You’re saying she stole something?”
The manager poured out her grievances: “Exactly. This one’s newly hired, hasn’t been here long. Strong enough, but clumsy—breaks this one day, damages that the next. Our boss is kind and never made a fuss, but she takes advantage. Now she’s even stealing premium matsutake.”
“Now the VIP guests are about to arrive, the mushrooms are gone, and we can’t make one of the dishes. We’ll definitely catch hell.” The manager grew more incensed. “Don’t you agree, miss—isn’t she bold?”
A Jiu’s face flushed red with desperation: “I didn’t steal anything!”
She didn’t even know what those mushrooms were!
A Jiu looked clean—Xie Yushu could tell at a glance she wasn’t the thief. She countered: “What if someone else stole them? Did you find any matsutake on her?”
The manager admitted: “I searched and searched and couldn’t find them—that’s why I’m upset. All the rest of us are honest; we wouldn’t do something like this.”
“I’m not so sure.” Xie Yushu’s voice wasn’t loud, but it commanded attention. “I saw one of your waitstaff with a bulging pouch in the front hall—thinner than the others, with a faint scar on her face.”
Xie Yushu stopped there.
She’d only noticed it by chance and hadn’t thought about theft until now. But in retrospect, that person seemed very suspicious.
At that mention, the manager’s face stiffened, and she muttered: “Could it be—”
Before she could finish, she sprinted off to find that person.
Seeing that the manager seemed to have found the real thief, A Jiu let out a breath of relief. Her knees buckled—she nearly knelt before Xie Yushu: “Thank you, miss. Thank you so much, miss.”
A Jiu wore a thin blue cotton shirt, patched in over a dozen places. That kind of fabric wouldn’t keep out the cold at this time of year—nor even in warmer weather.
She seemed to shrink inside her clothes, shoulders trembling slightly—whether from fear or cold, it was hard to tell.
A Jiu reached out and brushed the dust off herself. Her palms were thick with calluses, her knuckles large—the hands of someone who did heavy labor day in and day out.
Xie Yushu took it all in and spoke: “You’re A Jiu, right?”
The woman before her was so beautiful, and she even knew her name. A Jiu grinned foolishly: “Yeah, I’m A Jiu. I’m the ninth in my family—everyone calls me A Jiu.”
A Jiu seemed to have forgotten her earlier humiliation, her eyes bright as she looked at Xie Yushu.
Xie Yushu smiled back: “Would you be willing to leave this place and come work for me?”
“Leave here?” A Jiu was startled and immediately shook her head: “No, no, I can’t. I don’t have household registration, I can’t sign a contract. I’d get you in trouble if I worked for you.”
The agency owner had told her that. She was already grateful to have a place to eat and sleep—she didn’t dare hope for more.
“Besides, the tavern’s fine. I eat a lot—I wouldn’t suit most places anyway. I’d eat my boss out of house and home.” A Jiu laughed cheerfully.
Xie Yushu had already thought through the first problem.
A Jiu’s registration issue could be resolved through the authorities—they could process her as a refugee and re-register her.
The agent had claimed there was no way, but that morning Xie Yushu had asked Tang Zhiyi about household registration laws. This was a workable solution.
They just hadn’t wanted to bother—it would cost a bit of money, and they weren’t willing.
Xie Yushu said: “If I can get your registration sorted, would you come with me?”
As for eating too much—that was no problem. She could afford it.
What Xie Yushu liked most about A Jiu was her temperament—simple and naive, not a scheming bone in her body. She preferred honest, straightforward workers like that.
At her promise, A Jiu’s eyes widened: “Miss, you’re not tricking me, are you?”
Xie Yushu laughed: “What would I gain from tricking you?”
A Jiu scratched her head and grinned—true enough, what would this woman gain from deceiving her? She had nothing to take.
“If you don’t mind me eating a lot and being clumsy, miss, I’ll go.”
Xie Yushu nodded—that settled it: “Quit your job at the tavern and come with me.”
The kitchen manager was so grateful for Xie Yushu’s help that she quickly agreed to let A Jiu go.
Xie Yushu took A Jiu to buy bedding and other essentials. On the way, she asked out of curiosity: “Aren’t you cold?”
A Jiu replied confidently: “Not at all. I’ve trained in some martial arts—my body stays warm. I’m not afraid of the cold.” Worried the woman might find her clothes shabby, she added, “These were made by my family before they passed. I don’t have much money for new ones now. They’re fine.”
What a simpleton, Xie Yushu thought to herself.
Then she caught the mention of martial arts—her brow lifted in pleasant surprise.
She hadn’t expected A Jiu to have fighting skills. How had she ended up like this, shrunk in a tavern kitchen, being pushed around?
Meeting Xie Yushu’s skeptical gaze, A Jiu didn’t understand her expression and just grinned again.
Xie Yushu shook her head helplessly—she’d just brought home a large dog.
The more she thought about it, the better she felt. She’d set A Jiu up in the newly purchased courtyard for now. Later, when they moved from town and got a new house, she could bring A Jiu over to protect Su Chi.
She accompanied A Jiu back to the agency’s back warehouse, where A Jiu gathered her few meager belongings.
Xie Yushu stayed in the county for two more days, convincing Qin Fulang and his wife to work for her.
Qin Fulang was deeply grateful that she’d had a Sun family doctor treat his wife—her illness improved quickly. The couple agreed almost immediately, packed up, closed their shop, and moved to the east courtyard.
With Tang Zhiyi’s help, Xie Yushu quickly found reliable masons and put in an order for four large drying kilns, with A Jiu overseeing the work on-site.
Before leaving Tang’an County, Xie Qi found her again, urging her to return to the prefecture, to the Xie household, to meet the family.
Xie Yushu didn’t refuse: “Auntie, let me go home for two days first. I need to let my fulang know.” She added that she’d been away from him for several days and missed him terribly—she wanted to see him first.
Seeing her niece’s unguarded, passionate affection, Xie Qi, as her aunt, felt somewhat bashful. She smiled: “Alright. I’ll send someone to pick you up in two days.”
With that settled, Xie Yushu and Ye Youchun set off.
This trip had lasted five full days—two more than last time. Su Chi must have been worried sick.
Xie Yushu hurried back and finally pushed open the Xie household’s gate in the ink-black night.
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