Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 012

Chapter 12: Estrangement

“What good news are you so happy about that you’ve forgotten the rules?” Binglu reminded Cuisi.

Cuisi gasped for breath, bowed to An Zhi, and then excitedly said, “It really is a happy event. I was just going to the kitchen to get breakfast when I passed by the master’s yard and heard Miss An Rong crying. I asked Defu, who was sitting with the master, about it. Guess what happened?”

An Zhi stopped drawing her eyebrows and looked at Cuisi.

Binglu urged, “What are you guessing? Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

“Yesterday, the aunt sent people to Mistress Xu’s yard. Not only did they beat her with twenty sticks, but they also smashed her private parts. The aunt warned Mistress Xu that if she caused trouble again, she would be sold to a brothel.” Cuisi finished speaking in one breath. Upon hearing the news, she immediately rushed back. “Oh, I forgot to take my basket with me. It’s all over. Miss, I’m leaving now.”

An Zhi saw Cuisi running away and said with a smile: “This little girl is very impetuous and lively.”

“That’s because the young lady loves her.” Binglu was also happy to hear that Mistress Xu was beaten. However, she was six years older than Cuisi and had a broader perspective. “Young lady, if the young lady does this, she will sell you out in the next moment. What should we do if the master gets angry with you?”

An Zhi continued to draw her eyebrows. “What can I do? If he wants to come, he can come. An Rong will cry, and I will cry too. Although my aunt was too direct in this matter, which is obviously not good for me, my aunt beat Mistress Xu, and that’s something I can’t do right now. Mistress Xu got those twenty sticks. If she doesn’t die, she will be skinned. It will take a month or two to recover. My father will suffocate to death if he doesn’t sleep with my aunt for two days. Doesn’t this give us an opportunity?”

Binglu understood, but she wasn’t shy at all when she heard her young lady making up stories about the master’s sex life. She couldn’t help but glance at her young lady twice and said, “Then we have to find a new wife for the master quickly.”

“We don’t need to worry about that.” An Zhi smiled. “My aunt is a shrewd person. She understands.”

After finishing, An Zhi went out to have breakfast.

She first asked for the account books for the past three years and looked at them while waiting for someone.

When the six shopkeepers arrived, An Zhi also looked at two account books.

“Greetings, Miss.” After the six shopkeepers bowed to An Zhi, the oldest shopkeeper stepped forward and asked, “I wonder why the Miss suddenly summoned us here?”

An Zhi put down the account book and looked at the shopkeeper who was speaking. She knew this man, Wang Fu, who had come with her mother as a dowry servant and had the most seniority among the shopkeepers. “I recently checked the accounts for the past three years. Since my mother passed away, our family’s business has been getting worse every year. To be honest, I’m almost outgrowing my income, so I wanted to ask you why business is so bad.”

When the master says that the family had no money, it basically meant that they really had no money, otherwise a person with dignity would not do such a thing.

Moreover, Wang Fu and the others knew that the eldest daughter just had her engagement broken off. They guessed that life was difficult because she had lost the support of the Pei family.

Wang Fu sighed, “In the past two years, many new silk and satin shops have opened in the capital, taking away a lot of business. Pawnshops have been unlucky and have lost money on all the dead pawns they encountered. Silver shops are making money, but the profits are slim.”

“So that means I’m losing money on all the shops combined?” An Zhi asked.

Wang Fu’s heart was pounding. He always felt that An Zhi had something else to say today, but he could only nod and say yes.

“In that case, I’ll close a few shops and rent them out. Any profit is better than a loss.” An Zhi’s gaze moved calmly across the six faces. Seeing two of them frown, she knew that it was just as she had guessed. “But you’re all long-time shopkeepers of the An family. It wouldn’t be good for me to close any of the shops. How about this? There are still a dozen days until the fifth of next month. Starting today, you go back and keep the accounts. Then, we’ll close the two shops with the least profits. As for the shopkeepers of the closed shops, if you’re willing to stay, you can continue to work doing odd jobs in other shops. If you want to leave, I’ll give you a hard work fee.”

These people had long been united. If An Zhi had replaced them all, they would have certainly rioted, but she divided them into individuals based on the amount of profit. After all, the benefits of being a shopkeeper were always there, but the hard work pay was so little, and no one wanted to be abandoned.

“Miss, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?” Wang Fu was still trying to struggle. He was the one who contacted the other five people in the first place, and he was the one who benefited the most. If the two shops were to be closed, not only would his benefits be reduced, but the two shopkeepers would also have a handle on him in the future. “We are all old people in the An Mansion. If business is bad, we can find a way, but if the shops are closed, we will have no food to eat.”

Hearing this, An Zhi’s face darkened. “I just looked at the account book. Our business was not doing well three years ago. Why didn’t you try to make a profit back then? Why did you have to wait until I told you to do so? Do you not respect me as your master, or have you been ganging up on me to get the dividends these past three years?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell into silence.

Wang Fu was the first to react and took the lead in kneeling down. “Miss, you misunderstood. We were all brought here by your mother from the Bai family. We would never deceive you.”

When An Zhi heard Wang Fu using his mother to pressure her, she cursed him in her heart, calling him an old fox, but sighed on the surface, “What are you doing? I was just angry. I have no choice but to make this decision. If I don’t close the shop, I won’t be able to pay your wages this year.”

“Binglu, bring this year’s new tea from our home and give it to the shopkeepers. Each of you can take a box back.” An Zhi stood up after she finished speaking. Seeing that Wang Fu was still kneeling, she didn’t ask him to get up again. “Shopkeepers, please go back. This is the deal for today. Don’t worry, I will give you enough for your hard work. I can also recommend you to shops where you can work for in the future.”

After saying that, An Zhi walked out of the hall and left.

The six shopkeepers who stayed behind looked at each other, each thinking about what to do. Finally, they all looked at Wang Fu. After all, it was Wang Fu who said that the eldest lady was young and easy to deceive.

Wang Fu was cursing An Zhi madly in his heart. He had dragged the five people in front of him into this. He would have complaints if anyone was left behind, but he was even more unwilling to withdraw.

After leaving the An Mansion, Wang Fu and the other five people said, “The eldest lady is determined. I can’t help you with this matter. Let’s compete fairly and settle the accounts as usual. In the next few days, let’s see whose shop makes the most money.”

“That won’t work. Our pawnshop’s profits are generated over a long period of time, not in just a dozen days.”

“Yes, the silk shop I manage is half the size of yours, Manager Wang. How could our profits possibly surpass yours?”

…

The six people soon started arguing with each other.

Binglu, who was hiding nearby, heard the six people quarreling. When she returned to An Zhi, she praised her young lady for her cleverness and asked, “Miss, how did you know they were cooking the books?”

An Zhi looked at the account book in her hand and said, “Because they are too greedy. It’s okay if they stole 10% of the profits, but they stole 30% or even 50%. The money is so much less, but I found that the shop is still crowded with people. There must be something wrong here.”

An Zhi had finished reading the account book. She asked someone to clean it up, stretched herself, and was about to go for a walk in the garden when An Chengye rushed in with an angry look on his face.