Chapter 6 — An Luong Doesn't Choose a Female

We turn to the last page. Father's personal seal was pressed under the loan contract.

“First, seal the book room.”

"Twelve warehouses were counted at the same time. Salaries, boats, loans, every single thing had to be compared."

Ton Ba was a bit hesitant.

"The Tiet family holds six docks. Now if you tear your face, I'm afraid the food ship won't be able to move."

“If we don't tear our faces, they won't let our boat go either.”

I press the first command button.

"Than Tay Kho counter manager is suspended. The six deputy managers of the Tiet family must hand over their books."

“If you don't deliver it for three days, report it to the authorities to collect it.”

The seal was lifted, a bright red lipstick mark was printed on the paper. The maternal grandmother looked for a long time.

“Enough.”

“Just bad words.”

Just as I was about to respond, my father's voice was heard outside the yard door.

“Tan Minh Chau!”

He rushed into the bookkeeping room, and behind him was Tiet Van Son. The palace guards stopped the two outside the door. Angry father pointed at me.

"I'm his father, can't I come in?"

I close the book.

“The bookkeeping room is an important place, people who are not religious people are not allowed to enter.”

“The morality belongs to your ancestors, and also to your mother!”

"Just now, when kneeling in front of Mother Bach, why didn't father say that the seal belonged to mother?"

His face was red and purple. Tiet Van Son, on the other hand, still smiled.

“The second lady just received the seal and wants to check the book to establish prestige, Tiet understands.”

"But Luong Dao and the Tiet family have cooperated for many years. Suddenly withdrawing six stewards will cause chaos at the dock."

“Let's just sit down and negotiate slowly.”

He brought in a new contract. Tiet Gia vows to forgive half of the old debt. The condition is that in the next five years, all the affairs of the Liang Dao will be handed over to the Tiet family. We turn to the end. If the salary path changes boats midway, each bag of salary must compensate the Tiet family ten times the boat cost.

“Half of the old debts that were written off were already fake.”

I push the contract back.

“Using my salary to pay my debt, Old Master Tiet's abacus is really loud.”

“If you speak, there must be evidence.”

“So I'm investigating.”

“Wait until the investigation is clear, I will pay the real debt, I will take the fake debt to Kinh Trieu Palace.”

The smile on Tiet Van Son's face disappeared little by little. Parents are in a hurry.

"The Tiet family's concession was out of respect for Thanh Nguyet!"

"You really forced people to the limit, three hundred food ships had to stop."

“Then change to a walking boat.”

“Without the Tiet family, who would dare to accept my work?”

Outside the yard, Chuc Tam Nuong's voice rang out.

“I dare.”

She led more than twenty boatmen to stand in front of the door. In their hands, each person holds a boat contract that has been paid for in Lam Chau.

“The second lady said she could do it, the last penny was not missing.”

"In the future, if the moral director has something to do, just give us a call."

Tiet Van Son turned his head to look. He didn't bother to look at those dark faces that had been exposed to the wind and the river until they were dark. Now they have become his opponents. I ordered Uncle Ton to open the side door.

“Register your boat and check clearly how many sacks of food each boat can carry.”

“From today on, the wise man will not ask which family the boat belongs to.”

“As long as you bring your salary to a safe place, you can receive a contract.”

Happy Tam Nuong smiled.

“Do you hear me? Line up!”

The women behind immediately rushed into the yard. Tiet Van Son was pushed back one step. The sleeve rubbed against the door frame, leaving a stain black ash. He looked at that streak of ash, his face even more unsightly than moldy Western braised rice. That night, the elder sister went to the principal's office alone. She brought a list with her. In the sutra, there were forty-seven noble ladies who vowed to follow her in distributing porridge to do good deeds.

"My sister understands salary, I can't compare."

"But morality cannot rely only on the captain and the counterman. Whether the officials are willing to donate money or not, whether the people believe it or not, still depends on reputation."

She pushed the list in front of me.

“From now on, you will take care of the food warehouse and books, and I will take care of dealing with the government on your behalf.”

“When providing relief, let me appear to reassure the people.”

“Our sisters, one person takes care of internal matters, one person takes care of external matters, and our maternal grandmother will also rest assured.”

She did not ask for a general seal. But he wants all the prestige that the general seal brings. I turned two pages. After each name, there is a donation amount of silver.

“They agreed to donate?”

“As long as I open my mouth, of course they will agree.”

“What if you don't want to?”

“So in their hearts there is no tyranny.”

Let's close the list.

“Ethics do not evaluate the kindness of others.”

“If you really want to donate, write down your number yourself; if you don't want to donate, no one will scold you.”

The smile on the elder sister's face faded.

“I always thought people were so pragmatic, no wonder everyone saw that I smelled like money.”

“If you really aren't practical, go to Tay Kho tomorrow.”

"Check each of the thousand bags of moldy rice. Keep what's edible, burn what's inedible."

She instinctively looked at her white dress.

"I'm here to help you coordinate people's hearts, not to do the shopkeeper's job."

“Religion does not have a position, it only cares about people's hearts and does not care about bad wages.”

We return the list.

"If you want to come in, you can start studying."

She did not accept. The list full of noble ladies' names was finally brought back intact.

9

On the fifth day after the general seal was placed on his hand, the upstream sent a report. With heavy rain for seven consecutive days, the water level in Thanh Ha district has overflowed the foot of the dike. If the water level rises one meter more, everyone in the three districts will flee towards the capital. Before the news was presented to the palace, the Tiet family's food store had already posted a new price list. Each bag of rice increased by twenty dong. In less than half a day, more than ten salary shops in the city also increased their prices. Ton Bo clicked his abacus.

“They are waiting for a disaster.”

“If we don't open the warehouse, tomorrow the price will increase even more.”

“But Thanh Ha has not broken the dike yet.”

The general store's longtime shopkeepers all disagreed with opening the warehouse at this time.

“Opening the warehouse first and then asking for instructions later is a right that can only be used in extreme danger.”

"If the water recedes, wage prices will be forced down by ourselves. Other merchants lose money and will definitely join forces to denounce the lady."

My parents also sent me an envelope. There are only eight words.

“Don't act rashly, it will implicate the Tan family.”

The elder sent someone to deliver a newly written essay. The title is "Traveling the World of Greed". It advises food traders not to raise prices due to disasters, but does not say who should open warehouse doors. I sent someone to get the latest water report from Thanh Ha district. The messenger horse station is at least a day away from arriving. If we wait for the royal court to issue an order, the fastest will be three days. I looked at the three grain warehouses on the map Reached the total seal and then stopped. Opening a warehouse is a lifesaver. Opening three warehouses at the same time is like betting the entire honor of the good religion on a flood that has not yet happened. A line of text suddenly appeared in mid-air. 【Don't wait for the water announcement! Tiet's family bribed him to urinate on the dike, the water level was actually hidden two meters lower!】 Immediately after that, more comments flooded in. 【Tonight, when Ty Thanh Ha dike broke, 120,000 people fled south. In the original story, the grain warehouse waited until the third day to open, and a bowl of thin porridge was sold outside the city for up to two taels of silver!】 【If Qin Minh Chau doesn't act now, tonight the Tiet family will buy all the remaining grain in the city!】 I hold the total seal.

“Open East warehouse, South warehouse, North warehouse.”

Several shopkeepers' expressions changed simultaneously.

“Miss!”

"The three warehouses each keep half as relief food. The remaining half will be sold at normal prices from now on."

"Each household can only buy one bag at a time. If any family really has no rice left to cook, bring the village's confirmation to the porridge tent to receive the rice, no money will be collected."

"May Tam Nuong lead eighteen boats to Thanh Ha upstream to pick up people. If there are people stuck along the way, save people first, protect food later."

Ton Ba is still not assured.

“Without a clear order from the royal court, three warehouses were opened at the same time, all the shortfalls were borne by others.”

“The General Seal gave me the right to open the warehouse first, but also charged me with the crime of opening the wrong warehouse.”

“If the water doesn't come, we'll sell the house to make up for it.”

The maternal grandmother in the back hall tapped her cane hard on the ground.

“Where does he get his house?”

Everyone was stunned. She added slowly.

“The small room behind the general store probably won't sell for twenty taels.”

In the tense bookkeeping room, someone laughed. I can't stand it either.

“So sell your child to someone who will do hard labor for the rest of your life.”

“Seal first.”

The maternal grandmother pushed the lipstick forward.

“Don't delay your salary.”

As soon as the three orders to open warehouses were issued, food merchants in the city immediately blocked the front door of the general store. Tiet Van Son is at the top.

"Miss Qin, the water disaster has not been determined yet, you have used the reserve salary to force the price."

“You rely on the general seal given by the Queen Mother, do you want to cut off the lives of all the food merchants in the city?”

The people behind simultaneously booed.

“Do we buy salaries without capital?”

“If the Queen Mother has the support of the Queen Mother, she cannot force others to lose capital!”

“How can a little girl understand the market!”

I sent someone to open the door wider. Behind the door is not a guard. It was more than ten price tags that had just been removed from Tiet Gia's store.