Chapter 57: Father and Son Discuss Peril

Zhou Laodie returned from work, shouting loudly through the door curtain, "His mother, how did a newcomer end up at Mou Laoyao's place next door?"

After entering the door, he discovered Zhou You was also home, "You'er is back."

His mother stepped forward to take the items from his hands, casually brushing the dust off his body.

Zhou Laodie was in the midst of a gossiping mood, talking about what he had seen with great animation.

"Hey, I passed by Mou Laoyao's door and saw a pretty little lady sitting there; her looks were beyond compare."

"Even the young ladies of wealthy families are nothing compared to her!"

"She must have fled here from Su Cheng; she's either rich or noble, as ordinary families couldn't raise someone with such a complexion."

As they listened, Zhou You and his mother exchanged glances—it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

Could it be the woman Zhou You had driven away, who had turned around and entered Mou Laoyao's house?

"The neighbors are all watching, saying they haven't seen such an outstanding beauty in all their lives."

As Zhou Laodie spoke, he noticed the silence; his son and wife looked a bit strange.

"What's wrong?"

"His father, it's like this..."

Zhou You Niang explained the sequence of events in detail.

Zhou Laodie lit a pipe, his brow furrowing as he listened, "You'er did the right thing; you can't take in a woman of unknown origin."

He recounted an old story from years ago.

Forty years ago, before Zhou Laodie had moved into the city, he had worked odd jobs outside the city with Zhou You's grandfather.

At that time, he had heard of a bloody case that shocked the surrounding area: a gang of bandits tricked a wealthy man into opening his courtyard gate, looted all his wealth, and slaughtered every member of the family, young and old, leaving not a single survivor.

The origin of the incident was the wealthy man's son, who had been blinded by beauty and taken in a woman from out of town.

That woman from out of town was the bandit leader's "mountain wife," known in the jargon of raiding and looting as "fragrant bait."

It was this woman who opened the door in the middle of the night, letting the bandits storm the courtyard and massacre the wealthy man's entire family.

"It's not just highwaymen; even con artists have similar methods. They send beautiful women to infiltrate a target's home, figure out the situation inside and out, and then wipe them out on a dark, windy night."

Zhou Laodie worked at a trading firm and had no shortage of news from all over, so his insight was extraordinary.

Now that he thought about it, the woman at Mou Laoyao's place was impossibly beautiful.

A stunning woman, logically speaking, would only be enjoyed by the wealthy and powerful; how could she possibly end up among the common folk for someone to stumble upon?

"That's too terrifying!"

Zhou You Niang felt frightened, her fingers turning white as she gripped them, but then she thought of something else.

"We are all just Commoners, not that wealthy; who would covet a family like ours?"

"Women, you just lack perspective."

Zhou Laodie corrected her, "That bunch of Su refugees are so poor they'd even snatch a scrap of cloth; what wouldn't they do for a few full meals?"

He told Zhou You, "The trading firm's caravans have been robbed nine times this month, all by those refugees."

Zhou You asked, "Old man, you just got promoted; has it affected you?"

"No, not to that extent. I'm a foreman now, managing over a dozen people."

When Zhou Laodie mentioned this, he puffed up with pride, pulling an embroidered money bag from his chest and slapping it onto the table.

The embroidery on the money bag was exquisite, the work of Zhou You Niang.

Since Zhou You could remember, this money bag had always been flat, never once bulging.

Yet this time was vastly different.

The money bag hit the solid wood table with the crisp clinking of silver, and several large pieces of silver rolled out from the opening.

Under the lamplight, the silver shone brilliantly.

"You'er, Dad has money now; spend it however you like."

At this moment, Zhou Laodie was exceptionally triumphant, his eyebrows seemingly sprouting wings and taking flight.

"His father, where did you get all this money?"

Zhou You Niang was a bit worried; he had finally been promoted, so she didn't want him to lose his job over a few coins.

The trading firm had strict penalties for embezzlement, often beating people like dead dogs and throwing them out the door.

"It's all clean income, what are you afraid of?"

Zhou Laodie began to explain slowly and methodically.

As it turned out, within the trading firm, anyone who reached the level of a minor leader had many hidden benefits.

For example, household items and furniture were purchased at internal cost, which was no different from getting them for free.

But these benefits were limited to middle and upper management; if he were still just a lowly clerk, he shouldn't even dream of them.

As for cash income, while his wages had increased, the raise wasn't significant.

The key was that a foreman was qualified to carry some "things" among the goods transported by the firm's caravans.

"In every caravan, a few carts are usually reserved for firm employees to send family letters, local specialties, and the like."

"Don't be surprised, this is also an internal benefit."

This benefit was also limited to middle and upper management.

In this day and age, with mountain bandits and river pirates everywhere outside the city, the cost of freight was extremely expensive.

The trade routes that the firm spent vast sums to secure flowed with tangible wealth, and every bit of transport capacity could be exchanged for real gold and silver.

No one would simply entrust a caravan to deliver a family letter; it was too much of a waste of resources.

Therefore, the leadership within the firm joined forces to divide the transport capacity of those few carts, using a shareholding method.

"I am a foreman, so my quota is one hundred and fifty catties of goods."

Buying one hundred and fifty catties of high-demand goods locally and transporting them to another city to sell could yield a profit of thirty to forty percent, and if the market surged, returns of several times or even ten times were possible.

The speed of earning money is too astonishing; no wonder the higher-ups of the merchant caravan look down on that little bit of wages.

Zhou Laodie's income this month is more than the sum of his wages for the entire past year.

Zhou Laodie spoke with a flushed face, proudly pointing at Zhou You, "I owe everything I have today to You'er."

"If he hadn't become acquainted with the Young Master of the firm, I, old Zhou, would still be a worthless little shop hand."

He grabbed the money bag and shoved it to Zhou You, "You'er, practicing martial arts is a bottomless pit; take it and spend it, don't skimp, Dad will go earn more for you."

"Dad, don't you need to spend money when you're out socializing?"

Zhou You knew that in the merchant firm, human relations and dealings all required money to grease the wheels; empty words would only offend people.

"Almost forgot."

Zhou Laodie sheepishly opened the money bag, set aside the large pieces of silver for Zhou You, and kept the remaining copper coins and silver scraps for himself.

Father and son splitting the money, at a ratio of about nine to one.

Zhou You accepted the silver, which looked to be about 70 or 80 taels.

He had originally wanted to leave some money for the family, but it turned out his father's income was not low, and he ended up taking his father's money instead.

"Right, Dad, Mom, I bought two Amulets; you must keep them on your person at all times."

Evil-Warding Pills, contained in a hollowed-out copper sphere, made into a pendant with a silver chain.

Zhou Laodie and his wife each took one, complaining as they received them, "Wasting money again, wasting money; with this spare cash, you should buy yourself more good food."

Zhou You watched them put on the Evil-Warding Pills and solemnly urged, "When I requested the charms, the master said that once you put them on, you cannot take them off."

Zhou Laodie waved his hand, "Got it, I won't even take it off when I bathe."

"You say that as if you bathe more than a few times a year," his mother chided.

"I'm saving water and charcoal for the house."

Zhou Laodie insisted on being stubborn, and the house was filled with a harmonious and happy atmosphere.