The next day, Ruan Yimian approached Lin Qiu to discuss hiring a servant to help with Rouge.
"Brother Huo said that we can open a small workshop in the village and hire some people in the village to help us work. If the money in Qiuyi Pavilion is not enough, I will advance the payment. The Escort Bureau has saved a lot of money in buying a house this time. Just in time to come and help us build Qiuyi Pavilion's workshop."
"After these people were bought back, they were divided into three groups. One group stayed to work in the shop, and the other group went to help us look after the workshop. The most trustworthy group helped us do the most important work."
"Sure." Lin Qiu thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "Brother Huo is right, it's time to share the work among others."
Lin Qiu's acceptance of buying people to do the work was much higher than Ruan Yimian's.
After all, Qiu Yi Pavilion's business is getting more and more prosperous now. It is impossible to rely on the two of them to make rouge. Sooner or later, they will have to open their own workshop and share the work.
It turns out that the Lin family's rouge shop had many buyers. In order to protect the rouge recipe, some of the master rouge makers were nominally the Lin family's servants.
Lin Qiu had also considered before whether to transfer the Lin family's model.
It would definitely be easier for him and Ruan Yimian to open a workshop to make rouge, but buying people, opening a workshop, and providing food, clothing, and housing for their servants all require money.
They take most of the rouge-making work into their own hands. Although the shop has been unable to stock goods, the risk is also small. For a shop like theirs that has not been open long enough, it is safer.
However, Qiu Yi Pavilion's jade cream is now very popular in Wuyang County, but they can't supply it in their own shop. Lin Qiu was really worried that other rouge shops would imitate the jade cream, and their shipment volume was larger than theirs, so they would snatch away the customers first.
Thinking about it, it's time to put the rouge workshop on the agenda.
In the afternoon of that day, Huo Aowu took Ruan Yimian and Lin Qiu to the dental shop.
They were considered old patrons of this tooth shop. When the shopkeeper saw them, he warmly greeted them.
After Huo Aowu explained their needs, the shopkeeper asked the Yaman who was familiar with them to bring someone over to choose for them.
The Ya people brought over twenty people, including men, women, and brothers. They were all miserable people who could no longer live their lives.
Among them are a young man who sold himself to raise money for medicine for his seriously ill family, a middle-aged woman who was implicated by her gambling husband and sold into a dental shop for money to pay off debts, and maids and servants who were sold off from wealthy families. ...
Yaren introduced their life background and finally said: "These people are all quick-witted and not very smart, but they are honest in nature. It will be no problem for you to do some chores for you. They have all become the same as before." My master and family are completely cut off."
"Mr. Huo, you are also a regular customer of our dental shop. Don't worry, the little ones are all chosen for you. Do you think we will keep them?"
Huo Aowu looked at Ruan Yimian.
Ruan Yimian has a kind face, clear eyes, and is dressed like a young master from a wealthy family. At first glance, he is easy to serve. Those people were all discerning, and when the Yaman introduced them, some of them turned their praying eyes to Ruan Yimian.
Being stared at by those people, Ruan Yimian was a little undecided.
He hesitated for a moment, looked at the woman who was sold into a dental shop by her husband, a gambler, to pay off her debts, and asked softly: "Sister, can you reconcile with your husband?"
The woman was not advantageous in age or appearance, and she did not show favor to Ruan Yimian like others. Naturally, she did not expect Ruan Yimian to choose her.
She was stunned for a moment, and Fu Shen said: "The young master has destroyed the slave family. The slave family's name is Rao Qiaoyun, and the young master will be called the slave family Qiaoyun."
Guessing that Ruan Yimian was worried that if he bought her, she would be entangled by her gambler husband, Rao Qiaoyun explained calmly: "The slave family and that bitch originally went to the county government to ask the official for a 'righteous judgment', and they will never happen again." The reason for this is that the slave family voluntarily sold themselves to pay off their debts, in order to prevent that bitch man and the people from the gambling shop from entangling the slave family's parents again."
"Now that my parents have passed away, I have no worries about the slave family anymore. If the young master doesn't mind buying the slave family, the slave family will serve you wholeheartedly. They can do laundry, cooking, cooking, and cutting firewood."
When Rao Qiaoyun mentioned her gambling husband and "Yi Jue", her face remained calm, but when she talked about her parents, even though she pretended to be calm, she still showed a hint of pain.
Ruan Yimian went to Xu Qingshan to find out about his cousin's reconciliation. He found out that "Yi Jue" was not so easy to judge. If you go to the government to ask for "righteousness", you will get at least ten slaps.
In order to get out of the quagmire, Rao Qiaoyun made a decisive decision and went to the government to ask for justice; in order not to hurt her parents, she sold herself into a gang. Ruan Yimian felt a little impressed and couldn't bear to ask further questions.
He chose Rao Qiaoyun, and Huo Aowu helped him choose two younger brothers and two men who could do hard work. Lin Qiu chose a little girl and a boy, both young people.
These seven people spent a total of seventy-eight taels of silver.
After returning from shopping, Ruan Yimian and Lin Qiu went back to the house in Qiushui Lane to make rouge, while Huo Aowu took the people to the house in Fengyang Lane to settle down first.
Although it is said that the buyer comes back to do the work, the details of who is responsible for what work still have to be considered after a few days of contact.
The next day, the escort agency held a new opening ceremony, and there was an endless stream of regular customers who came to support it. Wu Junhao was mostly relieved.
A few days later, Huo Aowu, Ruan Yimian, and Lin Qiu took Rao Qiaoyun, Tao Da, and Tao Er back to Shanliu Village.
Tao Da and Tao Er are two brothers. Like the other two brothers chosen by Huo Aowu, Lichun and Lidong, they are all servants sold from the house of a down-and-out landlord.
Nan Geer and Li Jieer selected by Lin Qiu are the children of farmers.
These seven people were all responsible and diligent in their work, so they didn't worry Ruan Yimian much.
Ruan Yimian was soft-tempered and spoke softly to servants like them. But Huo Aowu was always cold and solemn, and he was the head of the Zhenwu Escort Agency. He was not someone who was easy to fool, so no one dared to fool his young husband.
On the first day after he bought Tao Da and the others back, Huo Aowu made a rule with them - they don't have to call themselves slaves or juniors, and they don't have to change their names or salute, but they have to work honestly and put Ruan Yimian's words first.
Tao Da and others have also seen clearly the situation of the Huo family in the past few days. The young man named Ruan is kind-hearted and easy to get along with. Mr. Huo is a doting husband. He doesn't like others to neglect his husband. In other aspects, he is not difficult to take care of.
All they have to do as servants is listen to Ruan Yimian's orders.
They have been observing Huo Aowu and his wife these days, and Huo Aowu and Ruan Yimian are also considering them.
Now Sister Li is already helping entertain guests at Qiuyi Pavilion, and Brother Nan, together with Lichun and Lidong, is helping Qiuyi Pavilion make simple rouge. The three of them have all moved into Qiuyi Pavilion's house in Qiu Shui Lane.
Rao Qiaoyun was older and acted more thoughtfully than the younger ones, so Ruan Yimian wanted to hand over the management of Qiuyi Pavilion's workshop to her.
Tao Da and Tao Er are responsible for assisting her, and also help guard the rouge and raw materials in the workshop.
Lin Qiu came here to impart experience, how to design the workshop, and how to divide the labor among the workers hired to make rouge. These aspects can all be based on the previous model of the Lin family.
After the Rouge Workshop was completed, Lin Qiu returned to Qiuyi Pavilion.
To be on the safe side, Ruan Yimian will stay in the village to take care of the workshop during the first period of its operation.
In addition to the matters at the rouge workshop, they went back this time because the day for sowing early rice had arrived.
Lu Caimei and Ruan Dexian now have a lot of work on their hands, and they will definitely be overwhelmed. Ruan Yimian wants to take people home to help.
Qiuyi Pavilion has been busy recently, and Ruan Yimian has not been home for a long time. Seeing the familiar donkey cart, Lu Caimei and Ruan Dexian smiled happily, put down their work, and hurriedly greeted them.
"Why are you back now? A few days ago, Aowu came back alone, and you didn't come back, but you are here now!" Lu Caimei helped Lin Qiu.
Ruan Yimian has his elder brother Huo, so he doesn't need Lu Caimei's support.
"Why did it take two cars to come back?" Ruan Dexian wondered.
Rao Qiaoyun also got out of the car at this time. Earlier, Tao Da Tao Er was driving the carriage. Ruan Dexian thought it was a guy from the escort agency and didn't take it seriously. Now when he saw an unfamiliar woman getting off the donkey cart, he felt a little bit. Strange.
"Who is this?"
Ruan Yimian pushed his father and mother toward the main room: "Dad, mother, come in and talk."
After entering the house, Ruan Yimian introduced Rao Qiaoyun and the others to his parents, and told them about setting up a rouge workshop.
Lu Caimei and Ruan Dexian were both a little surprised.
"Didn't we just help find workers a few days ago? Why do we need to set up a workshop?" Lu Caimei said nonchalantly, "We even bought people back. How much money will it cost..."
Ruan Dexian looked at Tao Da and the others and said to Lu Caimei: "The children know what they are doing. They must be too busy to do this."
"But it's going to be the day for rice seedlings to be sown soon. I'm afraid it's not going to be good for those who build workshops. And if you want to build a workshop, you have to go to the village chief to buy land, right?"
Ruan Yimian had already made plans and said unhurriedly: "Brother Huo and I went to the village chief to buy land in the afternoon. We will be busy planting rice for the next few days. After we are done, we will hire someone to build a workshop."
"Okay, as long as you have an idea."
After saying a few words, Lu Caimei went to prepare lunch: "Your father and I are fine. You are used to eating three times, so you can't go hungry."
She hurriedly walked to the kitchen, and Rao Qiaoyun said hurriedly: "Old madam, let me do it. Just tell me what you want to do."
Seeing that neither Ruan Yimian nor Huo Aowu had any objection, Lu Caimei took Rao Qiaoyun to the kitchen.
While they were cooking, Huo Aowu and Ruan Yimian took Tao Da Tao Er back to Huo's house.
The Huo family has been empty for more than a month. Aunt Zhang occasionally comes over to help clean the yard, but they still have to clean up the house themselves.
The principal room, Huo Aowu and Ruan Yimian, took care of the two guest rooms, one for the Tao brothers and the other for Rao Qiaoyun, who took care of it themselves.