Chapter 87 Linli Building
Time quietly passed by in the process of her practice. In a blink of an eye, one month had passed by. There were lanterns and streamers in the whole Qinghe Province. The Spring Festival was coming.
In the courtyard of the school, Su Li sat by the window and saw it was snowing outside.
The Eldest Brother Su Qingtan studied in the Chinese Academy this year, so he wouldn’t have time to go back. Su Li also did not have to go back. She used the Qinghe School as an excuse to dodge the Su Family.
When Su Huanli heard that it was about the Qinghe School, he quickly agreed. He also asked her to find a cheap shop with a good location in the Qinghe Town.
At this time, Mammy Li came from behind and said.
“Miss, master Fang sent a letter to us which says that the winery has been built.”
Su Li nodded her head and said, “Let’s go. There is no one in the school. It is not suitable for me to stay here.”
Mammy Li took her luggage and followed Su Li. They came to the gate of the school. When a guard saw Su Li, he immediately said with a smile, “Lecturer Su, are you back for the New Year?”
“Yes.” Su Li said with a smile, “It’s really toilsome for you to guard the school.”
“Ha-ha ha, not toilsome, not toilsome…”
“Hearing what Lecturer Su said, I am warm!”
“Lecturer Su, wish you a happy voyage!”
“…”
The guard said goodbye warmly. There weren’t other reasons. That’s only because Su Li would bring some delicious food for them every time she went out. Nobody did so in the school. They were also human beings. They were touched by such meticulous favor and regarded Su Li as a close friend.
No matter who asked Su Li’s whereabouts, they all helped cover it up to protect Su Li, which eliminated lots of troubles for Su Li.
Walking in the street, Su Li put on a cloak and wore a hat. Mammy Li also wore a bamboo hat. In a snowy day, pedestrians walked in a hurry, and no one would look at them carefully.
On the second-class street of the Qinghe Town, a three-story building stood in a group of low-rise shops. It was eye-catching.
The paint of the high-rise building was extremely bright, and the whole body was dark red. The building was made of new wood of this year. Taking a look at its surface, people would like to go in and sit. It was acceptable for them only to rest for a moment and drink a cup of tea.
“Why is the ‘Linli Building’ still not open? I would like to go in and see what on earth it is.”
“I am tired of the food in the town. I really hope that this is a restaurant!”
“Is it a bathhouse? Hee hee…”
“The building is elegant and chic. It is definitely not what you have in mind!”
“In the past two days, I saw that a lot of manservants were busy decorating it. When they finish, it will open.”
“I want to enjoy myself in it when I still have the lucky money in the New Year!”
“…”
Many people were looking forward to enjoying themselves in the building. Someone who was observant valued the building at more than 200,000 taels. It didn’t include the cost of land. Compared with other buildings, its cost was too high.
At this moment, Fang Ling stood outside the postern rubbing her little hands. She was looking around and suddenly her eyes became bright. She quickly shouted, “They are coming.”
When Su Li reached the door, she heard Fang Ling shouting. Then Heidan and other guys immediately seized the luggage in Mammy Li’s hand and surrounded them when they went into the building.
Looking at the hearty dishes on a round table of the hall, Su Li felt strange and her feeling was complicated.
“Sister Li, these are all made by me!” Fang Ling flushed and said, “Although they are not as delicious as what you cook, these are the New Year’s Eve dinner that I cooked for you!”
Su Li touched Fang Ling’s little head and her voice became softer than ever, “You are great. I will teach you to cook more delicious food.”
Fang Ling had never been praised by Su Li to such an extent. She cried and said “OK”. Then she rushed into Su Li’s chest.
Fang Yuan looked at them and smiled slightly. No matter what the reason was for Su Li to build the building, they currently had a place to live and they felt happy. That was enough.
Of course, if the building had not been called “Linli Building”, it would have been better.
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan felt a little jealous. The feeling… He didn’t understand it and just felt a little uncomfortable.
However, he had never told his feelings to anyone even Qu Qingning. He was afraid that after he told the feelings to others, the happiness he had felt would be ruined.
After the dinner, Qu Qingning stretched himself comfortably and thumbed up to Fang Ling. “The dinner cooked by Sister Ling was more and more fragrant and delicious. It is unknown who will marry you in the future. Fang Yuan, do you think so?”
Fang Yuan rolled his eyes and ignored Qu Qingning.
Fang Ling angrily cleaned up the dishes and said, “Brother Qingning, have your dinner! I want to be an awesome person like Sister Su Li. Nobody can marry me!”
Heidan and others laughed out.
After a burst of loud guffaws, Fang Ling and Heidan returned to their rooms respectively to sleep. Only Su Li and other two persons were left.
Qu Qingning organized his thoughts and talked about the business, “Su Li, all the wine in the yard has been brought here. All those craftsmen forget what they have built during this period of time. When do we start our business?”
“Start business?” Su Li pointed to the three floors and shook her head with a smile. Then she said, “There are only fifteen persons here. Can you take charge of the business of three floors?”
Qu Qingning was immediately stunned.
Yes! With the business of the underground, it was too busy for them.
Fang Yuan slightly knocked the table and asked, “Shall we buy from the broker house?”
“Yes!” Qu Qingning clapped his hands and agreed, “Su Li, what you build is not an ordinary winery. The common recruitment doesn’t work. We can only buy servants from the broker house to solve the problem. The fate of the servants bought will be controlled by us and they are easier to be controlled.”
Qu Qingning suddenly squinted and whispered, “If Fang Yuan and I had not escaped desperately, we would have become the commodity for people to buy and sell in the broker house. Of course, it is more likely for us to die directly without a whole body. It’s really annoying to think about it…”
Fang Yuan frowned slightly and indicated that Qu Qingning should stop speaking in fear that he would expose themselves too much.
Su Li suddenly smiled and said, “I am not very clear about your experiences in the past, but I do know your revenge. If you want to revenge, you should do it gradually…”
Fang Yuan looked slightly stiff and looked at Su Li for an answer.
Did she really know? Or did she just deliberately mystify things?
But it seemed that Su Li didn’t see the expression of Fang Yuan. She decidedly set a schedule, “Disguise ourselves and go to a broker house tomorrow!”
On the second day, the sky was clear and bright, but it was cold.
The broker house of the Qinghe Town was in the most marginal area of the Northern Town. After all, the slave trade was not a glorious one. The owner of the broker house consciously opened it in the farthest place away from the Satrap’s Mansion.
Su Li and the other two came to the broker house on foot. They all wore white garments and looked great.
After having the Appearance and Bone Disguise Pills made by Su Li, Fang Yuan and Qu Qingning became a little higher. With their charming faces hidden, they became ordinary and looked like two expressionless guards.
Su Li was also a little higher. She wore a white garment like snow and a bamboo hat with fine gauze. She covered her face with a veil and looked very mysterious.
As soon as they appeared at the door of the broker house, they were immediately greeted by the administrator and went into the broker house. There was just one honored guest to judge from their garments.
“May I ask your name?” The boss of the broker house slightly bent over and smiled.
Qu Qingning immediately snorted and said, “You can call my master ‘Mr. Li’.”
Qu Qingning was angry when he spoke. Was Su Li taking advantage of him intentionally? Why did she set up the identity? He had been puzzled since he finished making up.
At this time, Fang Yuan tightly closed his mouth and his face was twitching slightly. In the end, he made it to hold back his laughter.
The boss of the broker house was also surprised. He asked, “Mr. Li?”
The person in the middle was clearly a girl… But he didn’t want to care too much about it and immediately said with the polite formula,
“‘Mr. Li’, come in. What kind of servants do you want to buy? We have slave maids, prisoners of war, families of the prisoners who were officials before and so on. They are all educated and absolutely obedient.”
“Let’s choose some servants who can be waiters of the winery.”
Su Li softly spoke with a strange tone. It seemed that someone had covered her tone with a veil. It was uncertain that Su Li was male or female.
After the boss heard the voice, he was so scared that his face became pale, and immediately he didn’t dare to ask more questions. He led them to the inside instantly.
He finally knew that “Mr. Li” was definitely a person in the Jianghu. People in the Jianghu were all desperadoes. He didn’t want to provoke the master to be unhappy; otherwise, he would be killed! He even intended to give them servants for free.
Su Li naturally didn’t know the idea of the boss. At this moment, when they entered the house to choose servants, they immediately smelled the hidden stench. The boss of the broker house was about to apologize. But there was not any change in the expression of Qu Qingning and Fang Yuan. Even “Mr. Li” seemed to be used to it, and she didn’t have any reaction.
“Da, choose some servants who can be trained.”
Su Li pointed to a bunch of people in the cages and said softly.
Fang Yuan became serious and walked over. He touched them one by one. Su Li said before that they should select those who could practice the martial arts. They wanted to not only train waiters but also create a prototype of a force.
The boss of the broker house stood there and felt cold. The young man named Da went over and didn’t care about the dirt and stench unexpectedly. He touched the servants one by one. Although the place was cleaned regularly, there were still some excrement.
For other customers, the boss often asked them to choose by letting those people out. But the “Mr. Li” was so straightforward.
Soon, Fang Yuan shook his head and walked to Su Li. He said something secretly near the ear of Su Li.
“Although two servants are OK, they are in low spirits. The servility is too deep, so there is no need to train them.”
When the boss of the broker house saw Fang Yuan shaking his head, he was instantly alarmed and quickly said, “Mr. Li, if you are not satisfied with these servants, it doesn’t matter. We have nine other houses. If you are still not satisfied, you can choose servants in the prisoner camp. I have a good relationship with people there.”
“It is really good.” Su Li said indifferently. There wasn’t excitement at all. “If we can’t choose 20 servants in other houses, you should lead us to the prisoner camp.”
The boss of the broker house sweated and nodded, “OK. It is my pleasure.”
As he spoke, the boss of the broker house was scared. When he met the nobility before, he had never been so terrified. It was really weird that he was scared of Mr. Li who covered his face and head.
In the next nine houses, Fang Yuan only chose six servants which were barely satisfactory. A group of skinny teenagers followed Su Li and the other two. They were scared and had the imagination about the future. But there were not numbness and frustration.
The boss of the broker house had done the slave trade business for many years. Seeing the spiritual outlook of the six teenagers, he quickly understood the kind of servants that Su Li wanted to buy. The servants should have the humanity. But the broker house was short of the kind of servants and they should go to the prisoner camp.
When the boss of the broker house thought of his relationship with the prisoner camp, he was so sad, and it seemed that there were drops of blood falling from his heart. The chance to go to the prisoner camp was bought by him. It was scarce. But there were three powerful people standing next to him and he dared not say even half a word.
Bringing six teenage servants, Su Li sat on the carriage of the broker house. Soon, they went out of the Qinghe Town and reached the military camp which was stationed outside the town.
Su Li glanced at it and understood that it was not only a prisoner camp but also a training site for the formal army.
The boss of the broker house finally got the permission to go in because of his blandishment. But he was stopped by a young man’s shout when he had not traveled for less than 200 meters driving a carriage.