It's not scary to travel through a book, you can change your fate as a cannon fodder by yoursel

"In a famine year, a maid only costs a few taels of silver. I can afford to buy her, but my family doesn't need so many people right now."

Weng Xiaoxiao blinked her eyes and smiled knowingly, "Yes, I need it. I plan to package the lotus root powder well and sell it at a high price. This kind of thing is more suitable for careful girls to do. We can clean up a yard in the carpenter's workshop. In addition, Kang Bao has learned embroidery for several years, so it would be nice to have some apprentices specializing in embroidery."

"In that case, it would be more appropriate to divide the current large yard into two."

Feng Gu laughed out loud, "The courtyard wall over there has been torn down and rebuilt, and then torn down and rebuilt again. It's been a lot of trouble."

Weng Xiaoxiao also laughed, "Plans can't keep up with changes. It's better than buying another yard. It's not good to have men and women in the same yard after all."

Seeing that Weng Xiaoxiao had already made up her mind, Feng Gu said nothing more. It was necessary to train more people, and Xiaoxiao took care of everyone around her to the best of her ability.

"Pei Jun is familiar with the agency. Food is hard to buy these days, and there are so many young girls. If we buy them back, it would be considered saving them. They won't be treated harshly, and maybe they can even find a good home."

"Please take more care and follow me to choose."

She was selecting workers, not doing charity, so naturally she wanted to pick those who were smart and nimble.

Feng Gu reached out and touched Weng Xiaoxiao's head lovingly. "It won't take much effort. You should take a good rest at home for a few days. There is always work to do."

Weng Xiaoxiao hugged Fenggu's waist and leaned forward.

Feng Gu is like a mother to me. With her around, this place feels like a home, a warm harbor.

Even the strongest sailors need to rest in the harbor regularly to adjust their tired body and mind. Only after they have rested enough can they have the courage to continue sailing.

"What do you want to eat tonight? I'll ask Sister Gan to arrange it."

"I'll call you mom in private from now on, okay?"

(The term "mama" referred to the madam of a brothel in the Song Dynasty. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that it became a term for older women. It was not until the New Culture Movement that it was widely used to refer to mothers. So in ancient times, one could call one's mother "niang", "niangqin", or "ma". But one could never call her "mama".)

Whether or not to acknowledge her as a godparent is just a formality. In her heart, she treated Weng Xiaoxiao as her own daughter. Xiaoxiao had her own mother and was willing to call her "Mom". Feng Gu was so excited that she couldn't speak. She sniffed and restrained herself for a long time before hugging Weng Xiaoxiao tightly and gently called out, "Good daughter."

"Mom..." Weng Xiaoxiao felt relaxed and happy when she called out this long-lost name.

A child with a mother is a treasure. It happened that Weng Xiaoxiao was not feeling well for the next two days, so Aunt Feng didn't even let her go out.

......

"Master, that foreigner is here again, would you like to see him?"

"Invite him in."

"Yes." Zhong Shan agreed and walked out.

Weng Xiaoxiao packed her clothes and came to the yard. She always had to welcome distant guests.

"Weng, you are finally back. I miss you so much."

The poor pronunciation floated over, and Weng Xiaoxiao couldn't help laughing a few times, but when she saw Erwin, who looked confused and serious, she quickly restrained her expression. "Doing business inevitably involves traveling around, Erwin, please come in."

Erwin nodded in thanks.

"Can I see your yard?"

I heard that Zhang Chao rented a small yard for Alvin. It's rare to see a big yard, so Alvin must be curious.

"This is the second gate, also called the Chuihua Gate."

Weng Xiaoxiao started the introduction from the door, took Elvin around the main courtyard, and showed him the back room through the small door, but did not go in.

Alvin had been to Zhang Chao's home. Based on the house, he roughly judged that Weng Xiao was rich, but not as rich as Zhang.

"Erwin, how about Yangzhou?"

“Very beautiful, very beautiful!”

Weng Xiaoxiao spoke very slowly so that Alvin could roughly understand her. She avoided speaking English as much as possible and only uttered one or two words to help when she couldn't express herself clearly.

"Weng, can I stay in Yangzhou?"

"Erwin, this isn't just a place to live. You want to preach, right? You need to apply to the government for this. I can't help you with this."

"No marriage, no cession of territory, no compensation" is the way the Qin Dynasty treated foreigners, and it was the toughest dynasty in history. Looking at the attitude of the servant towards Erwin, we can see that he was just being polite to the guests, and maybe he even felt pity for these barbarians in his heart.

Erwin nodded. They were just acquaintances, not friends yet, so it was good enough to be allowed in.

"I went to visit officials when Zhang was still here, but I don't know how long I have to wait."

At this time, Weng Xiaoxiao would not interfere in such matters. She shrugged to indicate that she could do nothing to help.

"Elvin, there are relatively few contacts with foreigners in the inland areas. The environment in Quanzhou is far from being suitable for you."

"No, No, we missionaries don't come out to enjoy life. This is my job and responsibility."

Weng Xiaoxiao didn't respond, everyone has their own aspirations.

"Xia Yu, ask the kitchen to prepare the meal."

Since I couldn't help, I just chatted with him as a friend, and we had a good time. Erwin was a talkative person, and I learned a lot about the current situation in Quanzhou and Luzon through him.

It wasn't just a casual chat. Weng Xiaoxiao had a plan. She thought that if the imperial court could not accommodate Yang Shuo in the future, they would go out to sea. The world is so big, there will always be a place for them to stand.

It is hard to leave one's hometown, and this is only a last resort.

After lunch, Weng Xiaoxiao personally sent the person out.

......

If you want to make long-term plans, the most important thing is money.

Since she wanted to do the lotus root powder and embroidery business, Weng Xiaoxiao made a good plan and arranged it.

Fenggu selected people, and Pei Jun arranged the reconstruction of the courtyard.

It was not easy to find workers during the lean season, and the yard was rebuilt in just three days. The cost was not complicated, just rebuilding a wall to create two independent yards.

Weng Xiaoxiao first looked around the empty yard and then went to the carpenter.

The low courtyard wall that was originally used for their marriage was also demolished. The main house was used for living, the wing rooms were used as workshops, and the side rooms were used to store wood.

Xiaoliu is the soul of the carpenter's workshop. He has his own room, which is convenient for him to think and design. Pei Jun bought a little boy to take care of him personally, so his daily life is not a problem.

Working in isolation will eventually lead to a lack of inspiration. Weng Xiaoxiao became a little worried after seeing Xiaoliu's recent sketches.

"Do you want to go out for a walk? Seeing the mountains and the water will help your design."

Xiaoliu's eyes lit up after hearing this. Who doesn't want to go out and see the world? There are many things that one cannot imagine just by reading books.

Now that his boss mentioned it, he was naturally willing to do it. He just looked at his limp legs and shook his head, "It's inconvenient for me to go out, and the child can't move me alone."

"Don't worry about that. I will arrange it."