Chapter 340: This Girl Is Like a Magnet
The couple couldn’t believe it—this… they had misunderstood?
Nanny Shi explained further: “When the Old Mistress originally sent me to search for you, she already knew of your past situation in the Qian family. You were merely a tutor hired by the Qian family, so naturally you cannot be compared to those of us who serve as bondservants.”
Su Shilan hastily curtsied: “Nanny, please do not say that. That Nanny could keep Shilan in her thoughts is something Shilan is already endlessly grateful for.”
Still, not having to serve as bondservants was naturally so much better.
Both husband and wife felt immense joy.
Having successfully hired her target, Wen Yao naturally felt joyful as well.
As for the request brought forth by Fan Cheng, Wen Yao naturally held no objections. She needed a manager, so whether this person sold his body of indenture to her or was hired by her—so long as he possessed capability and loyalty—buying or hiring made no difference to her.
In the ensuing conversation, Fan Cheng learned that the roast duck and milk tea—whose fame had spread far and wide—actually originated from the hands of this very young lady before him. In his heart, he felt even more strongly that he hadn’t taken the wrong gamble this time. It was also fortunate that Nanny Shi still remembered Su Shilan; otherwise, such a wonderful opportunity would never have fallen upon his shoulders.
Wen Yao gave a brief overview of her household’s situation, including the winery, the salted duck egg workshop, and various other businesses under the Wen family’s name. Listening on, Fan Cheng grew increasingly excited, so much so that within this brief conversation, he had already begun considering the future development direction of these industries.
Just as his son had said, the opportunity sat right before them, and how to choose rested entirely upon themselves.
Upon learning that they intended to sell both their house and storefront, Wen Yao and Nanny Shi were quite surprised as well—were they planning to work for their Wen family for a lifetime?
Since Su Shilan and Fan Cheng placed their trust in them, Wen Yao naturally wouldn’t disappoint them either, recommending Manager Wu to them and telling them to seek out Manager Wu if they wished to sell, as he was an old acquaintance of theirs.
Wen Yao wouldn’t stop them from selling their house or storefront either, because she believed in herself: since these two had chosen to follow her, she would absolutely never mistreat them. Besides, the location of that storefront was truly poor, and from their words, she could roughly gather that the relationship between Fan Cheng and his legitimate elder brother wasn’t great either—otherwise he wouldn’t have been treated like this.
Furthermore, they settled on the compensation terms. Su Shilan’s terms remained the same as when she served in the Qian family—five taels of silver per month. This was something Nanny Shi had mentioned to Wen Yao previously; Nanny Shi had even noted that circumstances were different now, and if Wen Yao felt this monthly wage was too high, it could be reduced appropriately.
Wen Yao, however, felt there was no need; whatever it was before, it would remain now. Thinking about how expensive various tutoring classes were in her past life—where one could only attend one lesson a week—here, lessons could be attended every day, so five taels of silver was still a steal.
As for Fan Cheng, the monthly wage Wen Yao offered him was also five taels of silver. This was equivalent to hiring a general manager for herself, so naturally the salary had to be set higher for him to work for her with complete dedication.
She laid out the harsh conditions upfront as well: the first three months would serve as a probation period, which was the three-month window for Wen Yao to evaluate Fan Cheng’s capabilities. If Fan Cheng proved qualified as a manager after three months, he would enjoy this treatment permanently, with extra subsidies and reward money during festivals and holidays. If he proved unqualified, however, he would no longer enjoy this treatment and could only draw the wage of an ordinary junior manager.
Fan Cheng naturally raised no objections, possessing full confidence in his own capabilities.
In addition, Wen Yao promised them that upon reaching Yunwu Town, she would arrange an academy for their eldest son properly.
The couple offered another round of deep gratitude, signed the employment contract, and kowtowed, officially settling the matter.
Since they still had to pack up and handle the house and storefront, Wen Yao let the two return first. Once they finished arranging things, they could move over directly.
The moment the two departed, Qiu Rongrong brought Qiaoyan over. Seeing Wen Yao collapsed in her chair as if thoroughly relaxed, she burst into laughter.
“I see having Tutor Su go to the Wen family to teach you is truly a good idea. Look at you—from top to bottom, where do you look even half like a proper young lady?” Qiu Rongrong sat down slowly in the chair beside Wen Yao, her upright posture forming a stark contrast with Wen Yao’s lazy languor.
Wen Yao let out a grunt, sat up straight in an instant, her posture dignified and elegant—where was there even half a trace of her previous laziness?
“How’s this?” Wen Yao raised an eyebrow.
Holding her handkerchief to her lips, Qiu Rongrong covered her mouth and laughed, holding back no punches. Still, it had to be said that if Wen Yao truly acted serious, even her poise would not fall behind those young ladies of prominent families.
“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Knowing you dislike these rules, there’s no need to hold yourself upright like this at home. I came over to ask you: can we set off to head back over these next few days? Arranging things over there earlier allows people to be brought over sooner; opening the shop earlier lets us earn silver earlier!” Qiu Rongrong said.
Under Heaven, earning silver was paramount.
“Mm, once Tutor Su and Manager Fan finish packing, we can leave.” Wen Yao let out a sigh of relief in high spirits—she could slack off once more.
Qiu Rongrong smiled and nodded as well: “Now you have capable people by your side as well.”
Although the first impression of Fan Cheng was quite decent, his actual capabilities remained to be seen.
Two days later, Su Shilan and Fan Cheng packed their luggage and brought their son and daughter to the Wen residence. The house and storefront over there were entrusted to Manager Wu; whenever they were sold, he need only send word to them.
Hearing that Wen Yao had directed them over, Manager Wu registered the properties for them on the spot, assuring them that he would definitely help them sell at a higher price without letting them suffer a loss.
High or not, Fan Cheng didn’t care much now anyway, so long as the selling price was reasonable.
This was Wen Yao’s first time meeting Fan Cheng’s two children. Fan Ziyi was gentle and courteous, bowing to her neither humbly nor arrogantly upon meeting her, because his father had told him that they hadn’t sold themselves into servitude, so it wouldn’t affect his studies. Toward Wen Yao, he should show respect, but need not act subservient.
Fan Ziling’s eyes were full of curiosity, though the six-year-old girl was thin and small, her face appearing somewhat paler than ordinary children’s as she followed Su Shilan like a curious little rabbit.
Wen Yao loved such soft, adorable little girls the most, coaxing her with candy.
Nanny Shi arranged rooms for the family of four to settle down temporarily, preparing to set off back to Yunwu Town together early tomorrow morning.
Apart from them, Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong were bringing the head chef and assistants from the teahouse along this time. After all, rather than having Chef Chen come over to teach them, it was better to take this opportunity to bring them to Zui Xian Tower to learn under Chef Chen, as Zui Xian Tower couldn’t part with Chef Chen for the time being.
Manager Fang accompanied them as well, so the teahouse was closed temporarily with a notice posted on the door.
Only when they returned would this teahouse undergo a complete transformation.
Because they were traveling with Fan Ziling, a delicate young girl, the group traveled very slowly along the road, reaching Gutong Village only on the morning of the third day.
Upon entering the borders of Yunwu Town, Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong agreed to go to the docks the next day to find Carpenter Zhang and Jiao Jian regarding the renovation, and then parted ways. Wen Yao led Su Shilan’s family back to Gutong Village, while Qiu Rongrong took the teahouse staff to Zui Xian Tower.
As the horse carriage came to a halt before the Wen family gate, Old Madam Luo received word and hurried over, only to catch sight of the family of four stepping off the carriage.
Old Madam Luo’s footsteps paused. At this point, Old Madam Luo had no idea that this was none other than the person she had entrusted Nanny Shi to search for, and she couldn’t help muttering under her breath: “This girl is like a magnet—wherever she goes, she sticks a few people back with her. Fortunately, our family built plenty of rooms at home.”
Nanny Du almost failed to hold back a burst of laughter.
