Mo Sang – CH 233

Chapter 233. Said She’s Not a Good Person

A day earlier than the agreed eight days, Gong Xiaoyi carefully carried something covered with an indigo cloth, followed by a short, stout, dark-skinned middle-aged man carrying an even larger, unidentifiable object. They entered the courtyard one after the other.

Li Sangrou had just returned from watching the commotion and was sitting on the porch, watching Da Chang, Mazha, and Datou carrying newly bought earthenware pots onto the makeshift stove.

Da Chang had recently become obsessed with simmering soup in earthenware pots—it was fuel-efficient and made the soup taste better. But if they used old pots, the Boss would object, saying they’d been used before. As for new pots, he did not know how to use them; they cracked as soon as he heated them—this was the fifth one already.

In Da Chang’s opinion, the cracking pots were related to the stove; it must be the kitchen stove that was faulty. He noticed that in restaurants, the stoves were placed outside the kitchen, but in their house, the corridor was too narrow to fit them, so they’d put them in the courtyard.

Gong Xiaoyi and the short, stout middle-aged man placed the sample they were carrying on the table. After removing the indigo cloth, the man pieced the sample together, which had been divided into three parts.

Gong Xiaoyi pulled a booklet about the size of two palms from his pocket, held it in both hands, and placed it in front of the sample. This was his detailed budget.

Li Sangrou stood up, carefully examining the Tengwang Pavilion, which was now many times smaller.

“The Boss said it cannot be a bright red and green earth temple. Master Jia was worried the Boss would not be able to see clearly, so whatever paint he uses, he’s using on this sample now.”

“In this sample, the color and style are the same as the completed Tengwang Pavilion, just a bit smaller,” Gong Xiaoyi explained carefully.

“Is he the person you hired through the system?” Li Sangrou turned to look at the short, stout middle-aged man.

“Yes, his surname is Jia, Jia Wendao. Many families in Yuzhang City have their gardens and residences arranged by him. I’ve done the calculations for him a few times,” Gong Xiaoyi hurriedly introduced.

“Boss,” Jia Wendao bowed deeply.

This female Boss had given Xiaoyi one hundred taels of silver without even asking for a receipt. Her generosity alone was enough to warrant his deep bow.

“Sit down,” Li Sangrou said with a smile, gesturing for Gong Xiaoyi and Jia Wendao. She took the booklet and began to examine it closely.

The booklet contained the current prices of various materials at the beginning, detailed quantities of each material, detailed work points for each craftsman, and finally, a schedule.

It was clear and concise, specifying the materials down to the jin and cun, and the work points down to half a day and a day.

Gong Xiaoyi planned to use the money in five installments, totaling over seventy-four thousand taels of silver.

“How many days will it take to gather all the craftsmen? And the materials? How many days will they arrive?” Li Sangrou closed the booklet and looked at Gong Xiaoyi, asking.

“There’s not much work in any of the trades. There are plenty of craftsmen, and the timber and lacquer shops have enough materials. If you have the money, you can start work in three days at most,” Gong Xiaoyi said breathlessly.

Even now, he still could not quite believe he had actually landed such a rare and large job as repairing the Tengwang Pavilion.

“The first installment…” Li Sangrou flipped open the booklet and glanced at it. “…twenty-six thousand taels of silver. Do you want coins or banknotes?”

“Huh?” Gong Xiaoyi did not even have time to react.

“She’s asking you: coins or banknotes! Banknotes, I cannot carry coins,” Jia Wendao nudged Gong Xiaoyi urgently.

“Silver, silver, you really want to repair the Tengwang Pavilion?” Gong Xiaoyi could not utter the words ‘silver notes’; he stared at Li Sangrou, asking incredulously.

Li Sangrou glanced at him sideways, ignoring his question, and turned to instruct Hei Ma, who was bent over examining the sample with great interest, “Bring twenty-six thousand taels of silver notes.”

“Yes,” Hei Ma replied crisply, entering the side room. A moment later, he returned with a stack of silver notes, handing them to Gong Xiaoyi. “They are all one thousand taels each; please count them.”

“The Tengwang Pavilion belongs to the government…” Gong Xiaoyi stared blankly at the thick stack of silver notes, not daring to reach out.

“I asked, and they said as long as we do not ask them for money, we do not need anything. We can build whatever we want, hmm,” Li Sangrou drawled.

“Starting construction always requires choosing an auspicious day or something. Your line of work is particular about that. You pick a good day, come and tell me, and I will ask Governor Luo to come over. We need to kill a rooster or something, right?

You can arrange this; I do not understand.”

“Boss, Xiaoyi’s and my wages are not in there.” Jia Wendao swallowed hard, looking at the stack of silver notes that Hei Ma had slapped on the table.

“Your wages, you talk to him. I will pay his wages.” Li Sangrou looked at Jia Wendao and smiled.

“Then I will…” Gong Xiaoyi’s hands trembled as he took the stack of silver notes.

“Let’s get to work quickly.” Li Sangrou smiled at Gong Xiaoyi. “Listen carefully and remember these words:

“Those who work for me get paid more than others. This is enough. Do not have any other ideas. Tell your foreman this to the purchasing manager.

If anyone embezzles, uses inferior goods, or makes false claims, my rules are that they will not only have to cough up the silver but also have their hands and feet cut off or be tied to a stone and thrown off the Tengwang Pavilion.”

Gong Xiaoyi nodded repeatedly, while Jia Wendao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

This woman, the way she talks, it was like she was a bandit! A woman!

……………………

In the evening, Ying Shouyu came to see Li Sangrou. They were almost finished with preparations; starting the day after tomorrow, they would begin setting up a front to collect rice and grain.

Li Sangrou instructed Meng Yanqing to have two or three of the old Yunmeng Guards, carrying a letter stamped with Gu Xi’s official seal, accompany the grain merchants collecting rice and grain from various prefectures and counties to prevent any unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage. She also instructed her guards to accompany them to ensure fair trade.

……………………

Gong Xiaoyi called back his uncle, and they solemnly divined an auspicious day and time for the start of construction. The auspicious date was given to Da Chang in the morning, and in the afternoon, the steward beside Governor Luo approached Gong Xiaoyi to discuss the arrangements for the opening ceremony.

Gong Xiaoyi was somewhat prepared. His uncle, facing the man claiming to be the steward in charge of Governor Luo’s affairs, simply could not believe it. He still felt his nephew had definitely been scammed. Although he could not quite put his finger on what the female swindler was after, how could this be? It was simply impossible!

On the day construction began, Li Sangrou did not go. Da Chang arrived early, but he just stood around; he had nothing to do at the opening ceremony.

Seeing that a real official, referred to as Governor Luo, had arrived and that the rituals to the gods and spirits had been performed solemnly to begin construction, Gong Xiaoyi’s uncle, Foreman Sun, still could not believe it. However, he dared not utter the words “it’s definitely a scam” or “it’s definitely fake” anymore. On the day of the opening ceremony, it really was an official; he could tell, and he was afraid of officials.

……………………

After clearing his backlog of cases, Luo Shuai had nothing more to see. The next day, Li Sangrou, along with Nanny Zhang and a few others, set off by boat to inspect the various prefectures and counties of Hongzhou. They checked out the people recommended by Nanny Zhang who could manage delivery shops and the locations for relay stations.

According to Li Sangrou’s plan, letters and goods traveling south from Jiangbei would be collected in Ezhou and Huangmei County and then transported to Baling and the other prefectures and counties of Hongzhou entirely by water.

Nanny Zhang was the general manager of Madam Meng’s business in Hongzhou, and she was extremely familiar with all the prefectures and counties of Hongzhou.

With Nanny Zhang’s help, in just over ten days, Li Sangrou had identified suitable delivery shop managers and shops in various prefectures and counties, as well as relay stations at various docks. The newly appointed managers and supervisors oversaw the organization and preparation of the unusually tall Shunfeng flagpoles.

Li Sangrou entrusted the flagpoles for the Fengyun Pavilion to the army carpenters in Bai-Cheng. Once completed, they were transported by boat to various prefectures and counties.

When Li Sangrou returned to Yuzhang City, the Tengwang Pavilion was already a bustling construction site.

The next morning, Li Sangrou, along with Da Chang, Hei Ma, Xiao Lu, and others, went to the construction site.

“How’s that Gong Xiaoyi doing these past few days?” Li Sangrou asked Da Chang casually as they strolled along.

Da Chang did not go out with her. These past few days, he’d gone to the construction site every day, spending half a day or just a short while observing, without saying a word.

“He’s very dedicated, but he cannot control people. From his uncle to the craftsmen, nobody pays him any attention,” Da Chang sighed.

His Boss had told him to just observe and not speak, which had made him feel stifled.

Li Sangrou gave a vague “hmm.”

She had thought of that.

Even from a distance, the bustling activity at the Tengwang Pavilion construction site was evident. Outside the towering pavilion, scaffolding made of large bamboo poles was already erected, with craftsmen sitting and standing on it, working and talking loudly.

Around the outermost edge of the site, a circle of vendors sold mixed rice noodles, melons, fruits, pears, dates, and soups.

Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow, looking at the considerable number of vendors.

Da Chang took a few steps forward, looking from one end to the other. “Two more stalls have appeared today.”

“These craftsmen are willing to eat this? Even if they do, can they eat it every day?” Li Sangrou asked in surprise.

If they could eat it every day, was her wage not too high?

“It’s not for the craftsmen. There are more and more people coming to watch the spectacle—so much free time!” Da Chang scoffed, pointing around. “Mostly people in long robes, lots of them.”

“The day before yesterday, a man in a long robe ran to that rock and howled at the Tengwang Pavilion for ages, but I could not understand what he was yelling about.”

Li Sangrou hesitated for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and asked, “So, when he’s wailing, do you think he’s wailing that the Tengwang Pavilion should not have been built or that it should have been? Or something else? Like, that the Southern Liang Dynasty fell and the Tengwang Pavilion was built by the Northern Qi people?”

“I did not get it,” Da Chang replied honestly after a moment of silence.

Li Sangrou chuckled.

Sigh, in their family, even the most learned Da Chang only knew a few characters and did not make many mistakes!

“Gong Xiaoyi is over there.” Da Chang, being tall and having a good view, pointed to a large pile of timber.

“Go take a look, spread out a bit, and do not make too much noise.” Li Sangrou gestured to Hei Ma and the others.

Hei Ma and Xiao Lu scattered a bit, each looking on with anticipation, heading towards the timber pile.

Gong Xiaoyi was circling the middle-aged man, speaking urgently.

The middle-aged man, in his forties, was clearly a carpenter, a head taller than Gong Xiaoyi, robust and confident. He stood with his hands on his hips, loudly instructing the men on the timber pile, ignoring Gong Xiaoyi.

Gong Xiaoyi’s face turned pale with anxiety. “…You are definitely wasting material like that! Look, come and see! I’ve calculated it, this will definitely work! Come and see! Listen to this! Listen first!”

Li Sangrou watched from about ten steps away, her gaze shifting from the pale-faced Gong Xiaoyi to Gong Xiaoyi’s uncle, Foreman Sun, squatting not far away and frowning as he watched, and the surrounding craftsmen, who seemed oblivious to the scene before them. She could not help but sigh.

The foreman she’d found, Gong Xiaoyi, was truly someone no one paid any attention to!

“What did you say to him? He would not listen?” Li Sangrou stepped forward, standing behind Gong Xiaoyi and the middle-aged carpenter, and asked.

“Boss, you’ve arrived. It is about the brackets over there. I thought of a new method that could save two large pieces of timber, but Foreman Huang said it would not work. He did not even listen; he just said it would not do.” When Gong Xiaoyi saw Li Sangrou, he looked as aggrieved as a child seeing its mother.

Foreman Huang glanced back at Li Sangrou, spat, took a step to the side, and then directed the craftsmen on the timber pile to move wood.

Li Sangrou sighed and gestured to Da Chang, “Tell them to stop and come here.”

“You, you, and you, call all your men over!” Da Chang roared.

The clinking and banging around stopped, and everyone looked at their respective foremen.

“This is the Boss,” Foreman Sun said, standing up, waving, and calling out.

“This is the Boss. There are no adults here.”

“What a young lady. Where’s her husband?”

The foreman and the craftsmen slid down, gathering in small groups, pointing and gossiping about Li Sangrou.

“Boss, what if this delays the work…” Foreman Huang crossed his arms, looking down at Li Sangrou.

“What do you think we should do? Did you tell him?” Li Sangrou ignored Foreman Huang and asked Gong Xiaoyi.

“He will not listen to me. He says I am not a carpenter, that I cannot even move a plane, that I do not know anything.” Gong Xiaoyi stood beside Li Sangrou, shrinking back under the watchful eyes of the surrounding craftsmen.

“Tell him now.” Li Sangrou gestured to Foreman Huang.

“He does not know! Listening to him will only delay things! I’ve known him since he was a toddler; I know him too well!” Foreman Huang frowned in annoyance, clearly indicating he did not want to hear it.

“Do you know what he’s doing?” Li Sangrou looked at Gong Xiaoyi and asked.

“I know, that’s how it is done, but I think it is too wasteful of materials and labor. If it were like this…”

“Wasteful, my ass! You think you can change what our ancestors left us? Who do you think you are?” Foreman Huang spat in Gong Xiaoyi’s face without any politeness.

“Slap him gently; do not knock out his teeth,” Li Sangrou ordered.

Da Chang stepped forward and slapped Foreman Huang twice, not very hard, just leaving a few finger marks on each cheek.

The surrounding noise and commotion instantly disappeared. The circle of craftsmen stared at the finger marks on Foreman Huang’s face, instinctively shrinking their shoulders.

“You do not need to tell me; I would not understand anyway,” Li Sangrou said gently to the glaring Gong Xiaoyi, then turned to Foreman Huang. “Why not listen to him? Do you think his idea is impossible to make or that it will not save on materials or labor?”

“It’s something left by our ancestors…”

“Answer what I ask you, or I will slap you,” Li Sangrou said, interrupting Foreman Huang’s ancestor’s words.

“Definitely not.” Foreman Huang glanced at Da Chang, not daring to argue.

“Ask over there if anyone can write, if they have paper and pen, and ask one to come over and help,” Li Sangrou gestured to Hei Ma.

“Alright!” Hei Ma responded crisply, darting over to the large circle of onlookers in long and short robes, shouting as he went.

Before he finished shouting, a young scholar raised his hand and followed Hei Ma over.

“I’d like you to write two agreements; you should call them ‘military orders,’ right?” Li Sangrou looked at the young scholar who had followed her and smiled. “Him, Gong Xiaoyi, what’s his name? Huang Zhuang, write this agreement. If you cannot do what Gong Xiaoyi says, gouge out one of Gong Xiaoyi’s eyes; if you can, gouge out one of Huang Zhuang’s eyes.

Which eye are you using to hang the thread? Leave that eye open for him.”

Gong Xiaoyi was dumbfounded, and Huang Zhuang’s eyes widened even more.

“Datou, get some money and send someone to fetch a physician,” Li Sangrou calmly instructed.

“The brackets have not been dismantled yet; it will take at least ten days…” Huang Zhuang, the foreman, sounded alarmed.

“No need to dismantle; just do it here, make it right now, make a small one. How many days will it take?” Li Sangrou asked, looking at Gong Xiaoyi.

“We have enough people, making a small sample, half a day, half a day,” Gong Xiaoyi’s lips trembled with excitement.

Li Sangrou watched the excited young scholar write a pledge and then gestured to Hei Ma, “Have them put their fingerprints on it.”

“Alright, you two, bring the wood over. Foreman Sun, choose a carpenter for your nephew. You choose your own people. Let’s begin.”

Li Sangrou stepped back and sat down in the chair that Xiao Lu had somehow brought out, crossing her legs to indicate that they could begin.

“Xiaoyi, I do not think she’s just talking. I told you long ago, I told you long ago! You!” Foreman Sun, timid as ever, grabbed his nephew Gong Xiaoyi, his lips trembling, unable to speak clearly, unsure of what to say.

“I know what I am doing!” Gong Xiaoyi turned and glared at his uncle, pounding his chest and shouting.

These past few days, he’d felt so frustrated that he’d considered jumping into the river several times!

“Hey, if you do not hurry up and choose a carpenter, your nephew’s eyes will be gone, and your own eyes, well, they are just a bonus.” Li Sangrou leaned back in her chair and called out to Foreman Sun.

“I will do it! I will do it!”

Foreman Sun’s apprentice and eldest son hurriedly squeezed forward from behind.

“Just do as I say, it will definitely work! I’ve calculated it, I’ve prepared a sample!” “Gong Xiaoyi was filled with pent-up frustration and resentment, every word sounding like a roar.

He grabbed Foreman Sun’s eldest son and several apprentices, pointing at the timber, speaking rapidly and urgently.

“There’s no point in comparing them. He’s the foreman; he says what to do! Why should I care?!” Foreman Huang shouted halfway through the conversation.

This female Boss, judging by her posture, was not a good person, and the others standing next to her did not seem like good people either.

He could not afford to offend her.

“So, you are saying we are not going to compare?” Li Sangrou glanced sideways at Foreman Huang.

“You are the Boss, he’s the foreman; whatever you say goes. If it cannot be done, it is none of my business!” Foreman Huang walked away, hands behind his back, away from Li Sangrou.

“Strip him naked, give him forty lashes, and kick him out of the construction site,” Li Sangrou ordered.

“Yes, sir!”

Hei Ma waved his hand, and Datou and Mazha pounced, grabbing Foreman Huang and tearing off his clothes. Hei Ma looked around, picked out a handy wooden stick, and swung it to strike.

Datou and Mazha counted in unison: one, two, three.

After watching Hei Ma finish, Datou and Mazha pushed Foreman Huang out of the crowd. Li Sangrou turned to the silent craftsmen.

“I will have several copies of this pledge written later. Manager Gong, pick out the foremen, regardless of rank, and give each of them three copies.

“From now on, if anyone disobeys Manager Gong’s orders and insists on doing things their own way, that’s a bet—betting your eye!

If Manager Gong is wrong, I will take his life.

Did everyone understand? Alright, get back to work.”

The craftsmen silently returned to their work.

Foreman Sun stood behind Gong Xiaoyi, his throat dry; he was truly terrified.

“Come here,” Li Sangrou beckoned to Gong Xiaoyi.

Gong Xiaoyi’s initial burst of indignation had dissipated; his face was pale. He stood beside Li Sangrou, swallowing hard.

“These arches and beams… can you draw them? If you draw them, will the foremen understand them?” Li Sangrou asked gently.

“Yes, I can draw them; they can understand them!” Gong Xiaoyi nodded quickly.

“Well, from now on, if you think something needs to be changed, just draw it up and give it to the foreman. If they do it wrong, their wages will be deducted, and they will have to pay for the materials. If they cannot pay, come find me, and I will raid their house or break their legs.” Li Sangrou’s tone was gentle.

“Alright.” Gong Xiaoyi nodded repeatedly.

That day, the steward of the Commander’s Mansion told him that the Boss was no pushover, and that if he was asked to work diligently, then he really was no pushover…