The Lucky Heiress - Chapter 387:
Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Confirming the Current Situation of Second Brother_1
For subsequent personnel management matters on Fengting Mountain, Wei Ruo entrusted Zhao Hai, who had already taken actions. However, for other tasks, such as acquisitions, renovations, and the more business-oriented matters, they still needed the nursemaid and Uncle Xu to handle.
As for the shop, needless to say, no one else could be more reassuring than the nursemaid and Uncle Xu.
Right after finishing the explanation, the nursemaid asked Wei Ruo, “How many years can this perennial rice be grown?”
The nursemaid grew curious as the perennial rice was planted for the first time.
“Roughly four to six years, may vary slightly due to the climate and environmental conditions,” Wei Ruo replied.
“Wouldn’t that save a significant amount of labor costs?” said the nursemaid with a delighted face.
“Yes, it saves time and effort, easy to manage, and the yield is not low, either. The most important thing about it is, the first year when it goes from seed to seedling is the most vulnerable to environmental conditions. Once the root system is well established, the subsequent disease resistance and weather resistance will be greatly enhanced. As long as the first year goes well, the following years will be easier to manage and, comparatively, it guarantees a steady yield.”
“That’s truly a wonderful variety, especially for areas with many steep mountains!” the nursemaid’s tone was full of anticipation for the perennial rice.
“Anyway, we will first conduct experiments in the mountains of Fengting in the provincial capital. Once they are successful, we will promote them on a larger scale next year, so that even the steep hills can be planted with rice,” said Wei Ruo.
“Yes, we’ll do as you say, young lady,” said the nursemaid in reply.
Xu Zhushan listened attentively and nodded in agreement along with the nursemaid’s responses.
The phrase ‘as the wife says, so says the husband’ was the perfect description for him.
Wei Ruo spent a little over an hour in the Four Treasure House before she headed to Zuixian Residence to discuss business expansion plans in the provincial capital with Fan Chengxu.
Fan Chengxu’s requirement was simple, same benefits Wei Ruo offered him exclusively in Taizhou prefecture should also be granted in Lin’an Prefecture.
Wei Ruo promptly agreed, with prices set the same as the ones in Taizhou’s Zuixian Residence.
Their understanding of each other was growing by the day, already having surpassed the initial stages of tentative exploration.
Wei Ruo was pleased by their relationship, and Fan Chengxu was even more delighted.
“Heyou, can we consider each other as friends by now?”
Once their business matters were wrapped up, Fan Chengxu couldn’t stop himself from asking Wei Ruo.
“Was there ever a time when we were enemies, Master Fan?” Wei Ruo asked in reply.
“I have always thought that in your eyes, I am just your business partner.” Fan Chengxu pondered as he looked into Wei Ruo’s eyes while fanning himself.
Although Heyou wasn’t particularly handsome, his eyes shone brightly, and Fan Chengxu liked them a lot.
Wei Ruo said, “Master Fan, business people should not mix emotions with business. Once feelings get involved, business negotiations become blurry.”
“However, life without emotions while only focusing on business is quite dull. I consider meeting Heyou as finding a rare friend, even if it costs me some business opportunities, it is not necessarily a bad thing,” Fan Chengxu replied.
He admitted that this idea might not be the most rational and did not align with his usual business practices.
But he still felt it was worth it when it came to Xu Heyou.
“Master Fan, I had never anticipated you held such an impression of me,” Wei Ruo responded, smiling.
“Heyou, don’t be so skeptical. Even though I often lie, whatever I told you today is all true. I genuinely like doing business with you; I even consider you as my best friend. If you were a woman, I even wanted to take you as my wife.” Fan Chengxu said earnestly.
“Master Fan, stop joking around. Our business collaboration is going so well and then you switch between us being ‘best friends’ to ‘a married couple’, aren’t you afraid to scare me off?” Wei Ruo chuckled.
Disappointment flickered in Fan Chengxu’s eyes but was quickly overtaken by his cunning smile. He responded, waving his fan, “Fine, fine, let’s quit the jokes and get back to business.”
Xu Heyou’s nature reminded him of his earlier self, not interested in personal relationships, only focusing on business, trade, and money.
At that time, he despised those who tried to engage him emotionally. Now, he wanted to engage with Xu Heyou emotionally, but Xu Heyou turned out to be unyielding. He had no idea what to do about it.
Wei Ruo and Fan Chengxu talked for a good portion of an hour. Declining Fan Chengxu’s invitation to dine together, Wei Ruo made her way to the eastern side of the city.
It was like the boss of Fengyue Teahouse already knew Wei Ruo would come in advance, so he had people waiting for her.
As soon as Wei Ruo entered the teahouse, she was invited upstairs by a waiter.
Then the boss handed a letter to Wei Ruo, and whispered, “Miss, don’t worry. Everything is going well with your master.”
Wei Ruo opened the letter. However, it only contained three simple sentences.
“Well, I am. Don’t miss. See you in the Capital City. Take care.”
Holding the letter in her hand, Wei Ruo pondered over for a while, then asked the boss, “Is the task my second brother undertaking dangerous?”
Prior to this, Wei Ruo had not been asking about Wei Jinyi’s activities directly. Although she had a hunch that it was certainly not easy, she never explicitly asked about it.
But now it had come to this – he even staged a fake death. This told her that the situation was more complex and dangerous than she’d imagined.
“Miss, Master does not want to you to worry,” said the boss, answering the question indirectly.
“Do you think I could keep from worrying after seeing things come to this stage?” Wei Ruo questioned.
“Well…” The boss knew his explanation was feeble. The expression on his face was awkward, but he didn’t want to reveal the reality to Wei Ruo, so he tried explaining, “Miss, don’t worry. It’s almost finished. It won’t be dangerous in the future.”
His explanation didn’t fully convince Wei Ruo. “If all the danger had indeed passed, he wouldn’t have had to use the ‘escaping by feigning death’ tactic. His purpose in doing this was to avoid implicating other members of the Wei Family. Am I right?”
At this, the boss was momentarily speechless. He wanted to deny it, but Wei Ruo was too accurate.
Wei Ruo didn’t press the boss further. “I won’t make it difficult for you. It seems he has already instructed you not to reveal any information to me. I just have one request. If there is anything new about him, no matter good or bad, let me know.”
“Miss, rest assured, as soon as I have any news from Master, I will inform you immediately,” the boss promptly agreed.
Having completed her questioning, Wei Ruo stood up, ready to leave.
But the boss quickly stopped her. “Miss, I have prepared a batch of medicinal materials for you, per Master’s orders.”
Wei Ruo paused and muttered for a moment before replying, “Send them to the same address as last time.”
“Okay,” agreed the boss, continuing, “And Miss, if there’s anything else you need, just send a message to me.”
“Understood,” Wei Ruo replied without saying much else since she didn’t currently require anything.
With her agreement, Wei Ruo, accompanied by Xiumei, left the tea house.
