Early the next morning, Fang Liuqi arrived at Su Manor with his elderly mother and sister.
Shen Jing kept his word and arranged accommodation for them about a li from Su Manor.
In the back courtyard, Shen Jing and Su Yourong sat together, with Fang Liuqi standing before them.
“This is your monthly salary for this month.”
Shen Jing directly took out thirty taels of silver and handed them to Fang Liuqi.
“Ah… this…”
Fang Liuqi was astonished and waved his hands repeatedly, “Young Master Shen, I haven’t even done anything yet, how can I accept a monthly salary?”
How did he encounter all these good things?
Did he have so much silver that he didn’t know where to spend it?
“Take it!”
Shen Jing pushed the silver towards Fang Liuqi, “Whether I give it to you now or later, I have to give it. Although I’ve arranged a place for you to live, your home is empty and lacking everything. Take this to buy some things for your home!”
“This…”
Fang Liuqi looked at the silver, a little hesitant.
With the gleaming silver in front of him, of course he wanted to take it.
But to take the silver without having done anything yet, he felt a bit embarrassed.
“If he gives it to you, just take it.”
Su Yourong smiled, “Once you’ve taken the silver, just do your job well.”
Fang Liuqi hesitated for a moment, then slowly picked up the silver, bowing to the two of them in thanks, “Thank you, Young Master Shen, thank you, Miss Su.”
“It’s what you deserve.”
Shen Jing slightly raised his eyelids, asking with a half-smile, “Do you know why I arranged accommodation for your mother and sister?”
Fang Liuqi chuckled, “Young Master Shen is benevolent, unwilling to…”
“Nonsense!”
Shen Jing interrupted Fang Liuqi, “I’m not as good as you think! You can consider this me taking them as hostages!”
“Hos… hostages?”
Fang Liuqi’s eyelids twitched, and he suddenly felt the silver in his hand was scalding hot.
“Yes, hostages!”
Shen Jing stared at Fang Liuqi, “The things I ask you to do require you to keep them strictly confidential! At the same time, you need to guard your own heart! As long as you can do these two things, you won’t lack silver, and you don’t have to worry about what I’ll do to your family.”
He had never been a good person.
But some things are best made clear in advance.
Fang Liuqi felt a little apprehensive, and tentatively asked, “Young Master Shen, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Of course, to do business!”
Shen Jing smiled and began to tell Fang Liuqi about his white sugar business.
At first, Fang Liuqi was still a little worried.
But as Shen Jing spoke, Fang Liuqi’s worries gradually disappeared.
In their place was an uncontrollable excitement.
This was a big business!
If he did this business well, a monthly salary of three hundred taels truly was hopeful!
Moreover, the Su Family was truly influential and noble!
Not everyone had the opportunity to work for them!
Amidst his excitement, Fang Liuqi solemnly promised, “I will do my best, with no second thoughts!”
“That’s good!”
Shen Jing nodded with a slight smile, then turned to look at Su Yourong, “Didn’t you want to test my arithmetic last night? Bring the questions you had for me and test him instead!”
Although he thought highly of Fang Liuqi, he also needed to see Fang Liuqi’s abilities.
For business, arithmetic was fundamental.
Su Yourong was slightly surprised, “You wouldn’t have thought of doing this last night, would you?”
“Don’t you suddenly think I’m far-sighted?” Shen Jing winked at her, revealing a profound smile.
“Stop flattering yourself!”
Su Yourong playfully chided him, secretly cursing the rascal for being shameless, then looked at Fang Liuqi, “It’s true that I need to test you. Listen carefully to the questions I’m about to give!”
With that, Su Yourong began to pose a question to Fang Liuqi.
A rooster costs five coins, a hen costs three coins, and three chicks cost one coin. If you buy one hundred chickens with one hundred coins, how many roosters, hens, and chicks are there?
Listening to the question Su Yourong posed, Fang Liuqi couldn’t help but frown in thought.
Su Yourong was not in a hurry, and smiled, “You can write down the question first and calculate it slowly later! Just give me the answer before dark!”
“Yes!”
Fang Liuqi agreed.
Afterward, Shen Jing began to give Fang Liuqi some instructions.
As they were speaking, Jin’er hurried over, “Miss, Young Master-in-law, Du Yidao and his son have arrived.”
“They’ve come at just the right time!”
Shen Jing stood up and beckoned to Fang Liuqi, “Let’s go, you should meet them too! You’ll be dealing with them often in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Liuqi couldn’t help but be secretly shocked.
Du Yidao and his son were also working for Shen Jing?
Amidst his shock, Fang Liuqi quickly agreed.
On the way to the front courtyard with Fang Liuqi, Shen Jing lowered his voice and asked Su Yourong, “Where did you get that question?”
“This was a question my father gave me when he was alive.”
Su Yourong smiled.
What the heck?
Shen Jing was surprised.
His father-in-law, whom he had never even met, was a mathematician?
“Then how long did it take you to figure out the answer?”
Shen Jing asked curiously again.
“One day.”
Su Yourong replied.
“…”
Shen Jing was speechless, and reached out to pat Su Yourong’s head, “Good girl, listen to me, don’t give people questions so casually in the future.”
Su Yourong slapped away Shen Jing’s hand and asked, “Do you think this question is too difficult? Are you afraid Fang Liuqi won’t be able to solve it?”
As she spoke, Su Yourong glanced back at Fang Liuqi, who was following behind them.
This question, to say it was difficult, actually wasn’t.
It just had a trap.
“It’s too simple!”
Shen Jing gave her a sidelong glance.
“Ah?”
Su Yourong was astonished, “You said this question… is too simple?”
She had been taught arithmetic by her father since she was young and it took her a whole day to solve it.
And he thought it was too simple?
Was he bragging?
“Of course it’s simple!”
Shen Jing chuckled, “The biggest trap in this question isn’t that it has multiple answers?”
Isn’t this similar to the problem of a hundred horses eating a hundred bundles of grass?
Hmm?
Su Yourong was surprised, he actually knew?
Could it be that he had seen similar questions?
With curiosity in her heart, Su Yourong immediately said, “Don’t brag, you calculate it and show me later!”
“No calculating!”
Shen Jing refused without thinking, “There’s no reward, so I’m too lazy to calculate!”
“…”
Su Yourong was speechless.
This scoundrel!
Was he still thinking about the kiss he mentioned last night?
Soon, they arrived at the front hall.
Madam Su was entertaining Du Yidao and his son in the front hall.
Seeing them arrive, Madam Su stood up and said to Du Yidao, “Let the young people chat! Let’s go to the courtyard and reminisce!”
“Good, good!”
Du Yidao repeatedly agreed.
After a simple greeting with Shen Jing and Su Yourong, Du Yidao followed Madam Su to the courtyard.
Shen Jing and Su Yourong walked over and sat down, then introduced Du Heng and Fang Liuqi to each other.
After they had gotten acquainted, Shen Jing asked Du Heng, “How much brown sugar have you bought?”
“About five or six thousand jin.”
Du Heng replied, then frowned, “We’ve already bought so much, the brown sugar in Luochuan Prefecture is almost all bought up by us. Should we slow down for a bit? In the past few days, the price of brown sugar in Luochuan Prefecture has increased by nearly thirty percent!”
Shen Jing was dismissive, “Only thirty percent, why slow down?”
“Ah?”
Du Heng was astonished.
Did he hear wrong, or did Shen Jing say it wrong?
Only… thirty percent?
Was this Sunzi at odds with silver?
What, he squandered the Shen Family’s wealth and now wants to squander the Su Family’s too?
Was he not afraid Madam Su would chop him up?
“What ‘ah’!”
Shen Jing smiled at Du Heng and said resolutely, “Keep buying! Buy as much as there is!”