Chapter 272: How Do I Look for the Job?
Old Madam Luo shot him a helpless glare, then turned to Ma Qiang and said, “It definitely earns money. When Yao Yao and I went to buy groceries today, we strolled through the nearby market on the way. Duck eggs at the market are basically one wen each—they really are cheap.
“Here’s how we plan to do it: we’ll still collect the duck eggs at the local market price. That is to say, the middleman will gather them at this price, and our family’s workshop will buy them from the middleman at eleven wen for every ten eggs. That way, the middleman makes a profit margin of one wen for every ten duck eggs.”
Wen Yao chimed in, “Brother Ma, don’t look down on a profit margin of just one wen for ten duck eggs. This job isn’t tiring at all—it just requires staying at home and inspecting the duck eggs brought in by the villagers. We’ll send someone to haul them away every five days.
“On top of that, we’ll find time to do a round through the lower villages to inform the villagers about our egg collection. In the future, whenever they bring duck eggs into the city, they can just deliver them to a fixed location. So, see if there’s any suitable person who can handle this and introduce them to us.”
Listening to this, Ma Qiang did the math in his head. You didn’t even have to leave the house, just sitting at home every day collecting eggs—where else could you find such a great job?
“Well… Lord Wen, Old Mistress, are there any requirements for this person? Male or female? Older or younger?” Ma Qiang asked.
Mother and son exchanged a glance, and Old Madam Luo said, “Male or female doesn’t matter, and age doesn’t matter either. The key is that they must be reliable. After all, this business isn’t for just a day or two; it’s a long-term job. Besides, when we come to collect the duck eggs, we can’t possibly inspect every single egg one by one. If it’s someone untrustworthy who pads the count with spoiled eggs, what then? Don’t you agree?”
Hearing this, Ma Qiang realized there were no other special requirements besides being trustworthy—wasn’t such a person right in front of their eyes?
Ma Qiang patted his own chest and volunteered himself: “Lord Wen, Old Mistress, how do I look for the job? Lord Wen knows my character, Little Ma. Old Mistress, you can put a hundred percent of your heart at ease.”
Old Madam Luo looked puzzled. “But aren’t you serving at the yamen?”
Ma Qiang scratched his head bashfully. “I serve at the yamen, but my wife is at home! As a woman, she doesn’t have much work to do; normally, she just stays home taking care of the child and doing embroidery. We don’t live with my parents either. If you can trust me, then give this job to us! Since I still serve at the yamen, the villagers below will trust me even more.”
“This…” Old Madam Luo looked at her son, then at her granddaughter. Would this work?
Wen Xiuyi froze for a moment too, but on second thought, rather than looking for someone else, hiring Little Ma really was the better choice.
Still, he had some concerns.
“You have official duties at the yamen. If the yamen finds out about this, will it…” Wen Xiuyi worried he might face difficulties.
Ma Qiang gave a cheerful grin. “It’s no trouble, no trouble at all! Serving at the yamen might look impressive, but our monthly pay isn’t actually much. Pretty much every family has some side business going on, as long as it doesn’t delay proper official duties. The Prefectural Magistrate permits this too—do your own job well during your shift, and once you’re off duty, you can do whatever you like.”
Hearing this, Wen Xiuyi nodded toward his mother and daughter.
If that was truly the case, then there really was no one more suitable than Little Ma. After all, having spent so much time together day and night, he had a good grasp of his character. Little Ma was a very decent person—down-to-earth and dependable.
Seeing Wen Xiuyi nod, Old Madam Luo looked over at Wen Yao, who also felt Brother Ma was quite good.
Old Madam Luo then turned to look at Xun Feng, only to see the lad burying his head in his food without even looking up, completely oblivious to what they were discussing. Old Madam Luo silently retracted her gaze.
“Alright then. Go back and discuss it with your wife. If she’s willing, bring her here to find us tomorrow, and we’ll carefully go over the details together,” Old Madam Luo said.
Full of gratitude, Ma Qiang quickly stood up and bowed deeply to Old Madam Luo. “Thank you, Old Mistress!”
Old Madam Luo’s expression softened. “You child, sit down and eat. Eat first, and we can discuss other things after the meal.”
Only then did Ma Qiang pick up his chopsticks again.
While they had been talking for so long, Xun Feng had simply been silently devouring his meal. Fortunately, his table manners were quite good—he only picked from the side closest to himself and didn’t mess around in the serving dishes, so the food on the table didn’t end up looking messy at all.
After the meal, Ma Qiang couldn’t wait a single moment longer and hastily took his leave to return home and discuss it with his wife.
Once he left, Old Madam Luo asked Wen Xiuyi, “Can this lad really handle it?”
Wen Xiuyi nodded. “He can. This lad is just too honest, so when I first arrived, those people in the yamen who looked down on me as a mere country bumpkin bullied him and dumped all the chores of attending to me onto him. Yet he followed me around running errands for over half a month without a single word of complaint, doing it quite happily.”
Recalling the ugly faces of those people in the yamen, Wen Xiuyi let out a deep sigh. No matter the era, there were always people who judged others by appearances.
The first time he came, they assumed he was a country bumpkin and held their chins high in the air. When he returned, he was at least a seventh-rank official—and not even under their magistrate’s jurisdiction! To put it plainly, though Wen Xiuyi was merely a small seventh-rank sesame official, even the Prefectural Magistrate couldn’t boss him around; if he needed something done, the Prefectural Magistrate had to fully cooperate with him.
So, the rank of an official title didn’t actually matter all that much—what mattered was the work at hand and the power one held.
Seeing that Wen Xiuyi held Ma Qiang in such high regard, Old Madam Luo didn’t dwell on it any further.
Early the next morning, Ma Qiang drove a carriage over to pick up Wen Xiuyi. Sitting on the carriage was a young woman around his age, with a small face that looked a bit chubby with baby fat. Between them sat a young child with little hair knots, tiger-headed and adorable, leaning obediently against the young woman.
Once the carriage came to a steady stop, Ma Qiang helped the two down.
“Lord Wen, Old Mistress Luo, Miss Yao Yao, this is my wife, Ruyun, and my son, Hutou. Yun’er, Hutou, greet our hosts!” Ma Qiang grinned happily as he introduced both sides.
Ruyun quickly held Hutou’s hand to pay her respects to Wen Xiuyi and Old Madam Luo.
“Alright, alright, let’s head inside and sit down first,” Old Madam Luo welcomed the three inside.
Wen Xiuyi said, “Mom, Ma Qiang brought the people to you, so you can discuss things among yourselves. I plan to head out and check on a few villages I visited before. I’ll be taking Ma Qiang with me now—you all take your time chatting. Little Ma, let’s go.”
“Ah, Lord, please hold on a moment,” Ma Qiang responded, carefully instructing Ruyun with a few words before hopping onto the carriage and driving it off with Wen Xiuyi.
Hutou clung to Ruyun, hiding behind her as he looked curiously at Wen Yao and Old Madam Luo.
“Ruyun, is it? Let’s go inside first. We can talk after getting settled. Yao Yao, go pour a cup of water for your Sister Ruyun and get some snacks for little Hutou,” Old Madam Luo instructed.
Hearing this, Ruyun quickly offered her thanks: “Thank you, Old Mistress, but there’s no need to trouble the young mistress.”
Old Madam Luo waved her hand repeatedly to indicate it was no trouble.
Pulling her down to sit, Old Madam Luo spoke directly: “Ma Qiang told you about the duck egg matter, right?”
Ruyun nodded. “He did. Thank you, Old Mistress, for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely work hard.” Before leaving home, Ma Qiang had told her that regardless of whether she could handle the job or not, she must show an attitude of working hard first—this was something he had learned at the yamen.
