Chapter 3 — Truc Ma planned to make me his concubine, I became someone he had to kneel and worship

The mother slammed her head again heavily, the soft skin on her forehead was covered with sand and dust, slightly red.

“As long as my daughter is safe, even if they want to take my life, I am willing.”

The grandmother's chest heaved slightly, her eyes gradually turned red. We changed our name from Hai Quan Lan to Trieu Quan Lan, staying at Vanh. My maternal grandmother assigned me to places such as farming manors, livestock farms, dyeing wards, clothing shops, ports... I worked diligently and obediently, from a pampered young lady, gradually becoming familiar with every step and secret in raising silkworms, spinning silk, weaving dyed fabrics, measuring bodies to make clothes, transporting goods to the sea for consumption... By the end of the year, when I audited the books, I found out a few problems, and was immediately joined by the treasurers. pressure, even intending to strike in protest. I did not dare to decide on this matter on my own, so I had to send someone to ask for instructions from my maternal grandmother. My maternal grandmother directly stood up to support me:

"Quan Lan, you are the only heir of the Trieu family. In the future, small matters like firing the treasurer, you don't need to discuss it with me, you can decide for yourself."

I used tactics as tough as thunder to deal with all the shopkeepers who had problems, and also reported the most outrageous ones straight to the public office. Then at the end of the year, we give generous bonuses and New Year's gifts to treasurers who work diligently. Under those methods that were both hard and soft, they finally seemed to accept me as their young master. The first year I lived in Vanh citadel, there was no cold wind blowing snow all over the sky like the capital, mountain flowers still bloomed everywhere, trees were still lush and green, it was a warm winter that we had never seen in the capital before. It's just that on New Year's Eve, it's just me and my maternal grandmother sitting across from each other to welcome the new year, making it difficult to avoid loneliness. What I didn't expect was that, at the moment the fireworks rang out, my father, mother, and senior brother who had just returned from the border were like three yearly beasts, tired and exhausted, rushing straight into the door. The maternal grandmother appeared unhappy on the surface, but in the end she did not chase him away.

"It's just the first day of the year and the first month of the month, leave it, leave it."

They stared at me for a long time. The leader sadly said:

"Lan Nhi is gone."

Heartbroken parents said:

"Lan Nhi has become thinner."

Mother looked at me sadly:

“Lan Nhi is emaciated…”

The words got stuck in my throat. Although I was darker and thinner, my eyes became more determined than before, brighter, and had much more charisma and vitality than before. The maternal grandmother was always secretly looking at her mother, and at the elder brother's eyes, he looked like his mother. Hearing that, he pretended to be angry:

“Are you blaming me for not raising Lan Nhi well?”

The leader immediately stood up and ran behind her to squeeze her shoulder:

"My grandmother raised Lan Nhi into a strong and agile black mountain goat, which also resembles a big and strong black fish in the water, like..."

My long, dissatisfied final voice immediately rang out. The chief laughed:

"Brother is praising you! How healthy and beautiful you are, brother only wishes for you to be like that, healthy and safe!"

Everything else is no longer important. Borrowing the light of fireworks exploding in the sky, my eyes were reflected by the fire shining red, hot, hot, hot. During the past half a year, no matter how much self-pity and hardship I had, I was able to raise my head and look at the sky and grit my teeth to endure. But at this moment, tears are like broken pearls. Once a drop falls, it can't be stopped anymore. Amidst the sky of brilliant fireworks, it quietly fell to the tile floor. It is love that has nurtured us to grow up as strong as we are today. After the new year, my maternal grandmother began to personally teach me the way of business and commerce. It was also at this time that we learned that, in addition to trading fabrics and making robes, the Trieu family also had industries such as soap, lip balm, hand cream, fertilizer, spices, soft paper, teahouses... Almost covering all aspects from robes, food, pillars, onions, to daily necessities, farming and animal husbandry. In May, my maternal grandmother let me set out on a merchant ship to meet a big guest.