Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 47: No Sound, No Talk
Shen Tu Zhuo hesitated and tried to explain, but Chi Fanyu, unable to hold back any longer, pointed out, "He drew a map of the canal diversion project in Lude County. This is a plan he is presenting to the county governor."

"Canal diversion map?" Tan Huaike was surprised. His uncle even knew this?
"He said it was a naive work, but he didn't know that he had spent five years drawing it."

"Okay, you've talked too much." Shentu Zhuo blocked his mouth.

"This is a local government matter, right? It's also a good thing that benefits the people. You've been preparing for this for so long, just to offer advice to the county governor?" Tan Huaike asked bluntly, "Why do you do this? Do you want to be an official?"

"Haha, I told you that my sister-in-law is very thoughtful. How could you possibly hide it from her?" Chi Fanyu teased.

"Now that we've come to this, what else should I hide?" Shentu Zhuo said frankly, "When the late emperor was alive, he sent the General Zhenxi to govern Hexi. He issued orders to establish counties, cultivate military farms, garrison the border, and build fortifications. He stated clearly that 'the most important benefit to the border is military farming; and the most important thing to promote military farming is water conservancy.'

"Your Majesty has also issued an edict to develop water conservancy projects. Therefore, relocating people to the border, dredging rivers and opening canals, diverting water for irrigation, and establishing land for military and civilian settlements are all top priorities. Sister-in-law, just as you seek to make money through commerce, I must also learn to be strategic if I want to achieve success. That's why I spent five years drawing this canal map, hoping to gain the county governor's appreciation."

Tan Huaike was still amazed. "Uncle, I know you have great ambitions, but I didn't expect you to have so much real talent and knowledge. You really impressed me." She picked up the silk and examined it carefully. She even found the five acres of land she owned and the Xiaolin family ditch nearby, which showed how detailed the map was. "Hey, this is where you fell into the manure pile last time..."

Shen Tu Zhuo hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about the past anymore!"

Chi Fanyu had already heard it: "What do you mean by falling into the manure pile? Hahahaha, why didn't you tell me such an interesting thing? Master Zhuo, are you in such an embarrassing situation too? Hahaha!"

"Ignore him." Shentu Zhuo rolled his eyes and then said to Tan Huaike, "The Daxuan government uses the imperial examination system to select officials. Recently, I have been preparing to take the annual examinations for the regular and special categories. This matter has not been finalized yet, so please don't tell my mother."

"Okay, I understand." Tan Huaike nodded. "You're afraid of being embarrassed if you fail the exam, right?"

"..."

"Well, seeing a dandy show off his talents is quite shocking. Congratulations, though. After hiding your incompetence for so many years, you've finally found a place to use your talents. Isn't that what they call 'keeping quiet is nothing, but making a splash when you do?'"

"I never wanted to be an official before, but I had to do it after my brother passed away. The Shentu Mansion has experienced prosperity and also the abyss. It has finally started to recover, and I don't want to let my mother and brother's hard work go to waste. So no matter how many obstacles there are, I must give it a try."

"Is that so? Why don't we have a competition?" Tan Huaike suggested, "I'll be a businessman, and you'll be an official. Let's see who will be selected as the imperial merchant first, or you, my uncle, will be promoted to an official position first?"

"It's a deal." Shen Tuzhuo high-fived her, swearing an oath. "The winner can designate one thing for the loser to do. How about that?"

"no problem!"

"You two...are you really going to take this far?" Chi Fanyu finished his tea, fanned himself, and sighed, "Alright, then I'll be the witness."
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The restaurants on Xiangling Street are being renovated, and Uncle Zhali is still recovering from his leg injury, so they are temporarily closed; although the herbal medicine shop was unable to invite Dr. Qiu to see patients, it has returned to normal; Zhiyun Cloth Workshop moved to a new shop on Yunhexiangjie, and after a period of busyness, it has now resumed operations.

That day, Tan Huaike went to the cloth shop to take inventory of newly arrived fabrics when he happened to meet Shopkeeper Du, who had sent someone to deliver Zhiyun paper. Zhiyun paper was a new promotional tool used by the cloth shop. It listed newly arrived fabrics on a piece of silk embroidered with the shop's logo and delivered it to regular customers to help them understand the new fabrics. Sometimes, recommended fabrics of the season would be sewn into the paper, creating trendy patterns or garment samples to encourage customers to buy.

Since the shop had recently moved, the Zhiyun paper included not only new product introductions but also the shop's new address and opening discounts. This made it clear that the shop valued its existing customers, while also attracting the attention of new customers and perhaps even sparking a competitive spirit. After all, who wouldn't want to receive such exquisite Zhiyun paper regularly?
Shopkeeper Du took this matter very seriously, but the difficulty was that the shop did not have enough staff to deliver Zhiyun paper to so many mansions in the county, so he could only find some temporary errand runners.

When Tan Huaike arrived, he saw her instructing a thin young man, "Send this to the Tan family and have the servant deliver it to Lady Fu. If the servant tells you to wait for a reply, you can bring Lady Fu back and tell me what she said. But no matter what she asks, you must never agree to anything."

The young man was a little confused and asked, "What will Lady Fu ask? How should I respond?"

Tan Huaike took over the conversation: "She will ask you to not only send Zhiyun paper, but also bring new fabrics next time. Just tell her that you are just an errand boy and you need to discuss these matters with the shopkeeper."

The young man looked at her, nodded and said, "Okay, Master, I understand."

As he spoke, he quickly packed up a stack of Zhiyun paper and ran out to deliver them one by one.

Seeing that Manager Du had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Tan Huaike was very satisfied and chatted with him, "This kid looks unfamiliar. How old is he? He recognized me as the boss so quickly. He's quite smart."

Shopkeeper Du said, "His name is Zhongming. He's an orphan, and he has a younger sister to support. It's not easy. But he's hardworking and clever. He can't handle heavy work, so he takes on a lot of errands. He's happy to deliver things to the spice shops, grocery stores, and restaurants nearby, and he'll take a fee for it."

"Well, he's a really good kid."

"Of course I am. Otherwise, I wouldn't have given him the Tan family's Zhiyun paper to deliver. Boss, you know, Madam Fu still considers this shop her own property. We've only just moved in a few days, and she's already sent her maid to ask for cloth twice. I've brushed her off each time, and she's accumulated quite a bit of resentment."

"Let her complain all she wants." Tan Huaike snorted coldly, "This shop is mine now. She's just a regular customer at best. I can give her a discount, but she can't expect to take it for free. If she has any complaints, let her come to Shentu Mansion to argue with me."

"That's exactly what I said." The boss was firm, and Shopkeeper Du could also straighten his back. "Besides, let's talk about that kid Zhong Ming. Last time, when Lady Fu's maid came to make trouble, I happened to hire him temporarily to sort out the cloth. The other guys were a little scared, but he was the only one who was not afraid of trouble. He relied on his unfamiliar appearance and didn't have to worry about these personal relationships. He played dumb and fooled the maid. He also threatened to report her to the police for theft if she dared to touch anything in the store."

"Haha, that's really satisfying. If we're lucky, I might as well hire him as a regular clerk."

"I've thought about it, but the kid doesn't want to." Shopkeeper Du was puzzled. "I don't know why, but the kid just likes to wander around and doesn't want to settle down. Maybe he can earn more that way?"
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　Next chapter: Those two kids hang around the Tan family all day long.

　　Ahhhh, why did I forget to set the scheduled update again!!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)