"Xiao Mei, go down to Manager He and fetch a twelve hundred taels bank note," Chang Haowen said, his eyebrows slightly raised, speaking in a detached tone.
"Yes, young master."
The maid standing to the side left the room directly and returned after a short while.
Money and goods were exchanged.
Xu Mingwei also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, once again witnessing a bit more of his younger brother's capabilities.
Just moving his lips, he could sell for two hundred taels more.
This wasn't a small amount of money for the Xu family either.
"Young Master Chang," Xu Mingyuan cupped his fists and said, "In a few days, my family will open a fruit and vegetable shop on Changle Street in the West Market. If you have the time, you can come to observe the ceremony."
"At that time, green jade pears will be sold. Young Master Chang can buy some to try something fresh."
Xu Mingyuan nodded, "My elder brother and I still have many things to attend to, so we'll take our leave first."
After the two left.
The maid called Xiao Mei glanced at the tiger skin and suddenly spoke up, "Young master, our household doesn't lack such things. Why give them such face?"
"As for green jade pears, we even have an orchard."
"In their Qingjiang County town, it may be precious, but in our commandery capital, green jade pears aren't considered any kind of rare item."
Chang Haowen chuckled, "Different places, different levels, naturally they cannot be generalized."
"The Xu family has been able to develop from ordinary commoners to their current scale in just over ten years. Their methods are not ordinary."
"Aren't they just nouveau riche?"
Xiao Mei was somewhat dismissive and continued to gently wave her jade fan.
"Whether they're nouveau riche or not, you must observe their descendants. If three generations of successors are all shrewd, one generation can establish the foundation of a prominent family."
Chang Haowen suddenly turned his head to look over, with a shallow smile hanging at the corner of his mouth, and asked, "What do you think of those two today?"
Xiao Mei tilted her head to think, then smiled and said, "They're both quite handsome, but not as good-looking as you, young master."
Chang Haowen smiled knowingly and scolded with a laugh, "You shallow little girl, what am I to do with you?"
"Hehe."
Xiao Mei stuck out her tongue and laughed twice, "If I really had to say, that Xu Mingyuan has a very nimble tongue and has a clever air about him. His elder brother is more dull, sitting here like a block of wood the whole time, very boring."
"Xu Mingyuan is the second son. His elder brother is the legitimate eldest son of the family, so the requirements are naturally different. Look at my elder brother, doesn't he also have a somber personality? When he sees me, he only exchanges simple pleasantries, rarely opening his heart to chat freely about everything."
"That's true," Xiao Mei nodded with surprise after thinking, "Every time Xiao Mei sees the eldest young master, I'm afraid from the bottom of my heart."
"With such a legitimate eldest son, the Xu family can pass down their heritage. At least during their generation as brothers, they will continue to flourish."
"And moreover..."
"And moreover what, young master?"
"I actually envy them a bit. Though they don't have gold and jade filling their halls, they instead receive sincere treatment. Unlike some legitimate heirs of large families who are born wrapped in brocade swaddling clothes, but little do they know that calculating threads have long been sewn into that silk and satin."
"If you don't want to guard against it, you still must."
"Is there? How come I didn't see it?"
"Silly girl, if you could see it, then you would be a young miss and not a maid."
"I just like being young master's maid, serving you for a lifetime," Xiao Mei chuckled twice, one hand sliding from the back of her neck down to her chest.
Chang Haowen grasped her soft hand in one motion and pulled gently.
Xiao Mei cried out delicately, caught off guard, half pushing and half yielding, and fell sitting between his thighs.
…
"This Young Master Chang is quite extraordinary. He shouldn't be from Qingjiang. To have such bearing, he may be from the commandery capital."
Walking on the street, Xu Mingwei said in a low voice.
"I was thinking the same as you, elder brother, which is why I've kept in contact, hoping this connection can be of some benefit to our Xu family in the future," Xu Mingyuan responded.
"In this aspect, I'm not as good as you, elder brother."
"Haha, elder brother, you're the one Father kept by his side to teach all along, how could you be worse than me? Just look at how properly Father handles his relationships with those around him and you'll know."
"I also can't compare to even twenty to thirty percent of Father's shrewdness."
"It's just that your energy is mainly focused on the martial path."
Xu Mingyuan's eyes lit up with a gleam, becoming bright and spirited, "For the Xu family to advance further, we ultimately need a martial artist with formidable strength to sit in charge. Look at the Xu family, after producing one first-rate martial artist, they've been able to run rampant in Dongxi Village for over twenty years."
"With our father's wisdom and talent, he could only bow his head and act small."
"However, such days have also come to an end."
Hearing this, Xu Mingwei smiled knowingly and responded with a sound, "Yes."
Xu Mingyuan suggested taking him to wander around some more, but Xu Mingwei shook his head in refusal, saying there was no rush.
Afterward, they left through the city gate, mounted their horses, and returned to Dongxi Village.
Xu Mingyuan and the others recruited quite a few individual vendors operating fruit and vegetable businesses in the West Market, but they only agreed to sell them fruits and vegetables. As for paying rent and renting stall spaces, no one agreed.
He also knew this matter needed to be done step by step, so he didn't force it.
The purchased shop occupied quite a bit of space, but more than half was intended for stall arrangements.
Currently, with no one agreeing, they could only temporarily seal it off.
The remaining space was sufficient to display the Xu family's various fruits and vegetables.
Soon, the date for the Xu family shop's opening was set.
Xu Mingyuan sent invitations to all the connections he knew.
Everything else was fine, except for the green jade pears.
Xu Mingyuan feared that if the Xu family learned that his family would no longer sell them green jade pears in the future, they would make things difficult for his family, even use force, or directly come to cause trouble on the day of the opening.
For this matter, he even made a special trip home to discuss it with Xu Chuan but Xu Chuan said he needn't worry about this matter and told him to just return to the county town to prepare for the opening.
Xu Mingyuan naturally trusted him and obediently returned to the county town.
He purchased a two-courtyard residence in the North City district near the West Market as the Xu family's living quarters in the county town.
In the blink of an eye, it was time to harvest the green jade pears.
There was also only one day remaining until the Xu family shop's opening.
The Xu family naturally didn't know about the Xu family's ventures in the county town. As expected, Xu Mao brought seven or eight servants to the Xu family home.
Xu Mao was the eldest son of Third Master Xu.
Third Master Xu was getting on in years, and the purchasing of green jade pears had been handed over to him several years ago.
Arriving at the Xu family's door.
Xu Mao looked around for a while, revealing a disdainful look in his eyes.
A middle-aged steward beside him leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Young master, the Xu family is quite different now from what it once was. In Dongxi Village, their reputation is no less than our Xu family's."
"Don't forget Third Master's instructions before leaving."
"I know, I'll be polite to that Xu Chuan."
Xu Mao responded impatiently, though in his heart he added another sentence: if he knows what's good for him.
The middle-aged steward glanced a few times and sighed slightly in his heart.
They were both approaching the age of forty, but the difference between him and Xu Chuan was like earth and heaven.
He spoke and acted just like a young punk in his teens, completely disregarding consequences.
"Is Master Xu home?" the middle-aged steward changed to a smiling face and called out loudly.
As soon as he finished speaking.
A boy and a girl, two children, walked out. The girl was even holding a white cat in her arms, its crimson-gold eyes gazing at these people in the courtyard.
The two were none other than Xu Mingxian and his sister Xu Mingshu.
"Who are you people?" Xu Mingxian inquired with a cautious expression.
Bai Jing, hearing the voices, quickly walked out from the inner room. Seeing who had come, she smiled and said, "So it's Young Master Xu and the Xu family steward."
"My husband and the others went to pick green jade pears. They probably won't be back for a while."
"I see, then we'll wait in the courtyard."
"Alright."
Bai Jing nodded, then brought out two chairs for Xu Mao and the middle-aged steward.
Xu Mao stared at the docile white cat in Xu Mingshu's arms. Seeing its crimson-gold eyes, he was surprised in his heart, "Where did this unusual white cat come from? If I brought it to the county town and presented it to County Registrar Yang, he would surely be delighted."
"Girl, let me see the white cat in your arms."
Xu Mingshu turned her head away and ignored him, continuing to play with the pet in her arms.
"Hey, so ill-mannered. No wonder, born from wild stock."
When Bai Jing heard this, an angry expression immediately appeared on her face. She said sternly, "Young Master Xu, please watch your words!"