Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 454: Chapter 456: The Lin Family Also Comes For Alliance

Upon hearing Bai Ruozhu’s words, Shen Lu’s eyes lit up. Even though he tried to keep his expression unchanged, his gloom from earlier had disappeared.

”I wonder if Mrs. Bai has any other good ideas?” Shen Lu asked, his tone noticeably different from before. He had been polite before, but now his tone subtly implied respect for Bai Ruozhu.

Bai Ruozhu nodded slightly, finding Shen Lu to be indeed a seasoned businessman.

”I haven’t thought everything through yet, but I definitely won’t forget about you, Mr. Shen. After all, I owe you greatly for your help,” Bai Ruozhu said with a beaming smile.

A smile appeared on Shen Lu’s face. ”Mrs. Bai, you’re too kind. It’s almost the New Year, and moving houses must be costly. I will settle the payment for this batch of goods and pay in advance for the next one, helping you with cash flow.”

The emotions stirring inside Zhang Liliang were a mix of excitement and complexity. He was exhilarated that he hadn’t misjudged Bai Ruozhu, and he admired her business acumen. On the other hand, the complexity arose from knowing he didn’t possess the same shrewdness as Bai Ruozhu, and that if he were in her position, he wouldn’t have achieved the same results.

This made him feel quite ashamed. It seemed like he had a lot to learn.

Bai Ruozhu understood Shen Lu’s gesture as an expression of his sincerity in the partnership. Without indulging in pleasantries, she smiled and said, ”Thank you, Mr. Shen.”

”You’re too kind,” replied Shen Lu, his smile warm and kindly. If it wasn’t for his cunning demeanor revealed earlier, one might think that he was no more than an elder taking good care of the younger generation.

After Bai Ruozhu collected the silver banknote and left, Bai Zehao seemed to be in a daze until they got onto the horse carriage. There, he commented with a sense of awe, ”Wow, we’ve made a lot of money so suddenly!”

Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but recall the time she and her brother had made thirty taels of silver from Shen Lu. The way they were anxiously on guard back then was quite amusing to her now. They had been worried that Shen Lu would send people to reclaim the thirty taels.

Now, Shen Lu handed over more than three hundred taels without blinking an eye - more than ten times what they had made back then. Compared to now, they had been so ignorant back then.

Well, who doesn’t have some embarrassing past?

Seeing her brother thinking about that incident too, they both burst into laughter. Sensing Zhang Liliang’s curious gaze, Bai Zehao openly shared the story, causing all three of them to roar with laughter.

”Even when I made over twenty taels on a business trip back in the day, I was just like you. I was terrified, wishing I could disguise myself as a beggar, fearing that someone would set their sights on me,” Zhang Liliang shared his own embarrassing past, making them all laugh harder.

Upon arriving at the small gate of the West Courtyard, all three stepped down from the carriage with merry laughter, not just for making money, but also for the shared embarrassment of their pasts, which brought them closer.

It was Fang Guizhi who opened the door for them. Seeing their faces filled with joy, she knew their business had gone well. Delighted, she welcomed them in. ”You got back at just the right time, Lin Laifu’s family just arrived.”

Bai Ruozhu quickly went inside, where indeed, Lin Laifu’s whole family was present, including Niuniu and Fu Sa. Rongrong and Xiaosi took Niuniu to play in the yard, as the room was too crowded with adults for the children to play around.

Fu Sa stood abruptly from her seat as soon as Bai Ruozhu entered, her demeanor a little anxious. She glanced at Lin Laifu, then at her mother-in-law as if wanting to say something.

Bai Ruozhu greeted the Lin family with a smile, and took Little Dengdeng from her mother’s arms. Little Dengdeng seemed eager to play with his siblings, but he was too small and Xiaosi and the others couldn’t carry him. So he would have to wait until he was a bit older to join them.

”Ruozhu, we didn’t come here just to bid you farewell,” Fu Sa said nervously.

As Bai Ruozhu was playing with Dengdeng, she looked at Fu Sa in surprise. Something seemed off with Fu Sa.

Fu Sa wrung her hands nervously, glanced at Rongrong who was playing outside, and said, ”I heard that the Zhang family pledged to serve you and to help you in your business as a companion family, is that true?”

Bai Ruozhu had an idea of what she might be getting at, and replied with a smile, ”That’s right. Uncle Zhang helps me with my business. But he’s not exactly a companion family. I even give him a share of the profits, so we’re all making money together.”

”Then we... we would also like to serve as your companion family, but we don’t have any special skills or abilities. Is that... is that okay?” With each word, her voice became softer, almost as if she was afraid Bai Ruozhu would refuse.

So the Lin family wanted to follow her, which made Bai Ruozhu quite happy. To be honest, she had been thinking along those lines too. But the Lin family was living quite well in Anyuan Town. They might not want to be runners, taking orders, and possibly damaging their relationship if she raised the idea. As it turned out, the Lin Family had the same idea, which was great news. The Lin family were good people, and having them as helpers made Bai Ruozhu more than happy.

”Ever since we met you, our lives have become better and better. Niuniu’s mother said you are capable and that following you would definitely be the right choice. We were just worried about causing trouble for you,” said Niuniu’s grandmother, looking a little embarrassed.

Bai Ruozhu passed little Dengdeng to her mother and rushed over to Fu Sa and Niuniu’s grandmother. She took their arms and said with a smile, ”Why would you cause trouble? If you’re truly willing to follow me, I am more than pleased. It’s just that asking you to leave your home makes me feel a bit guilty.”

Fu Sa lit up with joy, and replied promptly, ”No problem at all! We don’t own any fields, so where we live doesn’t matter. We’ll do whatever you need us to in the future!”

Bai Ruozhu started laughing and said, ”Then we’ll continue with the crochet business in Beiyu City. Fu Sa, you’ll be in charge. Eventually, we’ll want to open our own crochet shop. Would you be the manager?”

Fu Sa couldn’t help but laugh with a blushing face, and said, ”Me... am I capable of being a manager?”

”Why not? If I say you are capable, then you definitely are,” replied Bai Ruozhu with a smile.

Lin Laifu’s wife also chimed in laughing, ”That’s right, you’ll definitely do great!”

Everyone in the room started laughing, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Fu Sa suddenly remembered something, pulled out a contract from her bosom, and said, ”I bought an indenture contract. Let’s sign it now.”

Bai Ruozhu found this stubbornness amusing and rebuked, ”What a waste of money, Fu Sa. Ask Uncle Zhang, did I make them sign an indenture contract?”

Zhang Liliang hadn’t entered the house, but he heard the conversation. He quickly confirmed from outside, ”No, you didn’t. Ruozhu said I was working for her and that was enough. She trusted me without needing an indenture contract.”

”Did you hear that? I trust you all too, so there’s no need for an indenture contract. It could harm our relationship. Plus, if the crochet business does well in the future, I’ll give your family a 20% bonus,” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

Fu Sa was startled and said, ”Twenty percent is too much! If we could save some dowry for Niuniu, that would be enough. We can’t ask for a bonus.”

Bai Ruozhu put on a pretend glare and said, ”In the beginning, we shared everything equally. Now, given you only 20%, I feel embarrassed. If you don’t agree, I might feel too uncomfortable to ask you to come along with me.”