Although Xu Mo was not born and raised in Fengjing, he also knew that the prominent families cared most about reputation.
Zhu Sihuan and Zhu Zhi were both from the Zhu family. If something happened to Zhu Zhi that implicated the Zhu family, it would not bode well for Zhu Sihuan either.
But the disgust in this person's eyes was so real and obvious that Xu Mo couldn't grasp his thoughts for a moment.
When he returned to the small courtyard, Xu Mo told his younger siblings what had happened today and asked for their opinions.
Zheng Ruqian nodded thoughtfully, then shook his head, nodded again, and finally shook his head.
Wen Zhiyun pursed his lips with eyebrows knitted so tightly they could pinch a fly to death, and remained silent.
Jiang Sheng did open her mouth, but after thinking for a bit, swallowed the words back into her belly.
On the surface, the eldest brother was soliciting opinions from the whole family, but in reality, the second brother was confused, the fourth brother was at a loss, and Jiang Sheng was also dizzy and couldn't provide any insights.
In a flash, Jiang Sheng suddenly understood the meaning of “At least tell me” at the long banquet. It turned out it wasn't the fifth brother deliberately causing trouble, but telling them was useless.
It was really heartbreaking to understand this.
But Jiang Sheng's gaze still rested on Zheng Ruqian and Wen Zhiyun, staring at the innocent and pure little fifth brother along with them.
"Xiao Wu, what do you think?" Xu Mo finally spoke.
Chang Yan leaned on one hand cheekily. His handsome face took on a thoughtful look. "There are only two possibilities for this matter. One is that Zhu Sihuan has no hatred for Zhu Zhi, he is simply framing you and wants to deal with you.
"The other possibility is that Zhu Sihuan really hates Zhu Zhi, but has no way to deal with Zhu Zhi, so he can only think of ways to provoke others' hatred towards Zhu Zhi."
If it was the former, it would be fine. But if it was the latter, it meant Zhu Sihuan could see through Xu Mo's concern for Zhu Zhi, and took the opportunity to sow discord, maybe even when Xu Mo took the initiative to get close, he was deliberately currying favor. This person's mind was frightening.
Xu Mo's face paled slightly.
Whether in Xieyang County or Fengjing, with the Zhu and Fang families as backers, Zhu Zhi would not calculate the six siblings like this, because their status was too unequal. Zhu Zhi had no need to go through such effort.
Then it could only be that Zhu Sihuan had a deep and complex mind that was frightening, also leaving Xu Mo five flavors miscellaneous, unsure whether to continue interacting with this kind of person.
Fortunately, Chang Yan leaned on his hand and said, "Since it's the latter, it means Zhu Sihuan's words are very true, he really doesn't hope for Zhu Zhi's well-being."
This also meant that Zhu Zhi was like a cracked egg, with flies ready to swarm at any time.
Xu Mo's spirit was invigorated by this.
He almost immediately called in Jiang San and Jiang Si and told them to observe Zhu Zhi's movements and follow him to find out where his outer courtyard was located.
Jiang San and Jiang Si accepted the order and left.
Jiang Sheng watched their backs and for the first time understood the profound meaning behind third brother buying servants.
Perhaps without Jiang San and Jiang Si, they could still find out where Zhu Zhi's outer courtyard was clumsily, but it would be much more troublesome and they would have to put aside the things at hand.
In Anshui Prefecture, servants were dispensable, even doing chores like temporary workers.
But in Fengjing, loyal and devoted servants without ulterior motives would become the sharpest weapons for the master's family.
Jiang Sheng clenched her palms, mimicking third brother's posture of chopping with a long stick.
Zheng Ruqian saw this and hurried over like a monkey, "Little Jiang Sheng, what are you doing? Do you want pork hocks again?"
Jiang Sheng raised her head. She didn't want pork hocks, she wanted third brother. If third brother could come home, she would never eat pork hocks again.
"Second brother," the little girl suddenly raised her head, "you said you could send things to third brother, really?"
The topic she had brushed off to placate her sister was suddenly brought up again, leaving Zheng Ruqian confused for a moment.
But seeing the expectation in Jiang Sheng's eyes, he still nodded reluctantly, "Ah, really, what do you want to send to third brother?"
"Send food, drink, clothes, money." Jiang Sheng counted off on her fingers. "We've settled down in Fengjing. Although summer glutinous rice production is low, we can still earn some money to send third brother things."
It was obvious this had been on her mind for a long time, but she didn't bring it up because of the family's lack of money.
Zheng Ruqian sighed. His scalp felt even more taut, but he still said, "Okay, leave it to me to arrange."
But how to arrange it?
Labor was so expensive in Fengjing. The aunties in the workshop were paid forty wen a day. Hiring a delivery worker would cost who knows how much, and no one would go to the Northern Frontier even for money.
Jiang San and Jiang Si could do it, but there were only two of them, not even enough to share.
Zheng Ruqian stroked his chin and also understood Fang Heng's thoughtful intention in buying servants.
After all, the young master who had lived in Fengjing not only learned martial arts from his father, but also deeply understood the importance of manpower.
Even a low-ranking servant had several long-term workers to help.
Let alone a prominent family, they usually had loyal servants to handle affairs, and even had indentured servants to order around, all to achieve goals silently.
Zheng Ruqian didn't have such extravagant hopes. He just wanted a few more long-term workers to reliably transport things.
Looking back, whether it was Da Dashan or Wang Xiaosong, it was a fluke running into them and taking advantage of it, as if he was being pushed along by fate.
In Fengjing, Zheng Ruqian gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, determined to take the initiative to hire long-term workers.
Then, he appeared at the labor market in Fengjing's west city.
Accompanying him was little Jiang Sheng.
It's said that good people have good karma. Unable to find a place to hire long-term workers, the siblings happened to wander into the vegetable market and saw a fishmonger.
The fishmonger remembered the expensive gift of intestines and enthusiastically offered to kill two fish for them to bring home and eat.
Jiang Sheng declined in a poised manner, and casually asked, "Uncle, do you know where there is a place that can hire long-term workers?"
The fishmonger then recommended this labor market.
Fengjing was divided into east city and west city.
The east city was prestigious, inhabited by prominent officials, prominent families, and basically had no need to hire long-term or temporary workers. To get laborers they bought people directly, with a suitable age maidservant or manservant selling for upwards of thirty or fifty taels.
The west city was ordinary, inhabited by commoners who were unwilling to sell themselves into slavery or couldn't be sold into it. So they squatted in the dusty labor market, using a day's time to exchange for a few dozen wen.
It was quite a bit higher than Anshui Prefecture, but compared to the money for selling oneself into slavery, it was still very low.
When Zheng Ruqian brought Jiang Sheng to appear at the entrance of this market, the listless people swarmed over. Seeing it was just two ordinarily dressed children, they lazily went back to their original spots.
Even for temporary work, they wanted to find seemingly wealthier families to work for, hoping that casually throwing some broken silver would be enough to sustain them for a long time.
"Second brother, can we really hire long-term workers here?" Jiang Sheng whispered.
Zheng Ruqian gripped his sister's hand tightly, also feeling trepidation in his heart.
