Chapter 274: Establishing a Labor Agency

After the wedding night, Duan Fengyun was roused by Yueya early the next morning.

Now that she had become the mistress of the house, Yueya naturally had to urge Duan Fengyun to clean the place.

But Duan Fengyun had always been the type of person who believed money could make the devil turn the millstone; why should he do the work himself when he could pay someone else to do it?

Duan Fengyun took Yueya out for breakfast directly, then went to the market to look for servants, but the market was bustling with people coming and going, and there was no one looking for work.

At this moment, Duan Fengyun thought of a business opportunity: since that was the case, why didn't he open a labor dispatch agency?

He could register all those who wanted to find work, and when wealthy families wanted to select servants, he would have them come over.

By then, he would collect fees from both sides, allowing Yueya to be a carefree boss lady.

Thinking of this, Duan Fengyun finally figured out what to do with the idle five years ahead—become a small business owner.

Duan Fengyun turned his head and said to Yueya:

"Yueya, I have an idea.

Why don't we open a shop, register everyone who wants to find work, and wait for those who want to hire people to come to us to choose.

We will collect fees from both sides, and you can be the boss lady, the kind of boss lady who counts money until her hands cramp."

Having now realized the important role money played in this world, Yueya stood up straight from the stool and said:

"Brother Qin, this idea of yours is truly great.

There is no time to lose, let's go find a shop right away!"

Yueya had the look of a doer; once she had a plan, she wanted to start acting immediately.

Duan Fengyun gave a wry smile; he hadn't expected that just after sitting down to rest for a while, he would now have to go look for a storefront.

Duan Fengyun had no special requirements for the storefront; as long as there was one room to place the registry and one room to interview people, that would suffice.

Soon, the two found a satisfactory storefront; it had originally been used to sell groceries, but because of poor management and an urgent need for money, the owner wanted to sell it.

The room was seventy or eighty square meters, which completely met the size Duan Fengyun wanted.

With money and goods exchanged simultaneously, Duan Fengyun successfully obtained the deed certificate after paying the money.

Once the storefront was in hand, Duan Fengyun immediately found people to start renovating it.

As for the things inside, Duan Fengyun found a few beggars nearby, gave each of them a tael of silver, and had them clear the entire storefront out.

Afterward, Duan Fengyun went to find a carpenter to make a few cabinets, then found a down-and-out scholar on the roadside and had him write over a hundred flyers to serve as promotional brochures for his grand opening.

Just as Yueya said, money could make the devil turn the millstone; with Duan Fengyun's massive capital investment, ten days later, a brand-new shop named Ririsheng Guild appeared in the market.

On the day Ririsheng Guild opened, the shop entrance was packed with people.

These people had all come out of curiosity after receiving the flyers Duan Fengyun had distributed.

They were all from poor families and usually had no channels to find good jobs.

Hearing that Duan Fengyun could help them find work here, and would only charge them five days' wages after they found a job, they were all tempted.

Under Duan Fengyun's orderly organization, the down-and-out scholar Wu Tong registered the names of this group of people in the ledger.

Duan Fengyun had often asked Wu Tong to write for him during these ten days; later, finding it troublesome, he simply offered a salary and had Wu Tong come over to work as his accountant.

Duan Fengyun's salary offer was too high, and Wu Tong couldn't resist the temptation, so he agreed directly, abandoning his ambition to pass the imperial examinations.

Within an hour of opening, Wu Tong had already filled two entire ledgers.

If Duan Fengyun hadn't warned him earlier that there would definitely be many people today and promised him a bonus, he would have thrown in the towel and run off long ago.

Duan Fengyun and Yueya selected eight maids and eight manservants from the registry and had them go directly to their home to work.

Just as Duan Fengyun had expected, as soon as the shop opened, many wealthy families and shops came to him to select labor; for a time, his Ririsheng Guild was as prosperous as its name suggested.

During this period, even Yujian Villa had sent people to Duan Fengyun's place to pick out a few maids; one could imagine how prosperous Duan Fengyun's business was now.

Yueya, the boss lady, had to check on everything from top to bottom, and she was busy beyond measure.

Now that he had found something for Yueya to do, Duan Fengyun was ready to pay a visit to the Men Family Sword Casting Workshop.

And for this visit, Duan Fengyun had laid a little groundwork beforehand.

He had suggested to many wealthy families who came to select guards:

"A good horse deserves a good saddle; since you have chosen such excellent guards, you must equip them with handy weapons.

There is a Men Family Sword Casting Workshop near my house, and their weapons seem quite good.

When the time comes, I will negotiate the price with them, and after you have selected your people, you can go directly to their place to choose weapons.

Only then can you bring out the true utility of the guards and let them truly perform their role of protecting your home."

Under Duan Fengyun's silver-tongued persuasion, this group of rich and gullible people was completely brainwashed by Duan Fengyun, and they all agreed to his suggestion.

That day, Duan Fengyun carried two jars of wine and strode into the Men Family Sword Casting Workshop.

Seeing Duan Fengyun, who was dressed in extraordinary attire and carrying two jars of fine wine, Men Laotou asked suspiciously:

"Who are you?"

Because Men Laotou and Men Jianqiu had both been busy casting swords during this time and hadn't gone out, they didn't know this Boss Qin Shuang of the Ririsheng Guild who was currently in the limelight.

Meanwhile, Dazhu, who was slacking off to the side, saw Qin Shuang and dropped the hammer in his hand with a thud.

Dazhu wiped his hands, stepped forward fawningly to shake Duan Fengyun's hand, and said:

"Boss Qin, what wind blew you to our little workshop? What brings you here today?"

Men Laotou pulled Dazhu over and asked:

"Who is this?

He looks like he has a lot of money!"

Dazhu said in shock:

"Master, you don't even recognize him?

He is the boss of the currently flourishing Ririsheng Guild, the big Boss Qin Shuang.

He has registered all the labor in our city and specializes in providing servants for high-ranking officials, wealthy families, and shops; his business is incredibly prosperous right now."

After hearing this, Men Laotou looked Duan Fengyun up and down; he had no need for anyone to look for work here, so why had this Qin Shuang come to his place?

Men Laotou watched Duan Fengyun smiling at his daughter, Men Jianqiu, and suddenly realized that this young man must have taken a fancy to his daughter and come to pay a visit, though he had the nerve to come with only two bottles of wine in hand.

However, hearing from Dazhu that this young man's business was so good now, he must have plenty of money; if Jianqiu married him, she certainly wouldn't suffer, and he, the old man, could enjoy wealth and splendor along with her.

At this moment, Men Laotou suddenly conjured up a scene: one maid massaging his shoulders, another maid feeding him fruit.

This scene made Men Laotou yearn for it endlessly; this was the life he had strived for his entire life.

"Dad!

Dad!"

Seeing that a guest had arrived but Men Laotou was standing there in a daze, muttering to himself, Men Jianqiu hurriedly shouted out loud.

"Hey, hey, hey!

That Boss Qin, please come in and sit.

This old man just finished casting a sword, my hands are quite dirty; wait for me to wash my hands and then I will come to chat with Boss Qin."

Under Men Jianqiu's two shouts, Men Laotou finally snapped back to reality and began to greet Duan Fengyun.

Duan Fengyun sat in the main hall of the Men Family Sword Casting Workshop, looking at the countless weapons around him, and thought to himself:

"No wonder business is bad; Men Laotou's craftsmanship is not very good."

Having grown accustomed to all kinds of divine weapons and sharp blades, Duan Fengyun saw these works of Men Laotou like a university student looking at an elementary schooler.

At this time, Men Laotou and Men Jianqiu changed into different clothes and walked out with Dazhu.

Men Laotou sat in the seat of honor, looking like the person in charge, and said:

"Boss Qin, I wonder what business brings Boss Qin to my Sword Casting Workshop?"

While Men Laotou had been in the room just now, he had already thought through how he would answer Duan Fengyun later.

In short, he wanted to appear as if he did not quite approve of this marriage, to make Duan Fengyun show enough sincerity.

When he, Men Laotou, married off his daughter, he could not wrong her; he must have this big Boss Qin Shuang bring a heavy betrothal gift to marry her.

While Men Laotou was still daydreaming, Duan Fengyun spoke up and interrupted his fantasy.

"Master Men, I came here today mainly to talk to you about a collaboration.

I chatted with the guests of my guild, and they all think that the guards should be equipped with suitable weapons.

Your Sword Casting Workshop just happens to be right next to my place; a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor, so I thought I would come to take care of your business.

Let's see if everyone can take a step back and achieve a win-win cooperation!"

Men Laotou was speechless after hearing this; he stammered:

"You... you came here today just to talk to me about this?"

Duan Fengyun nodded and replied:

"Exactly, I hope Master Men will consider it and give me a reasonable price.

From now on, the guests and guards of our Ririsheng Guild will all purchase weapons from you."

Upon hearing this, Dazhu immediately stood up and said to Men Laotou:

"Master, hurry and agree.

Boss Qin's Ririsheng Guild business is so good now; if we cooperate with Boss Qin, we will definitely make a lot of money. Isn't this what you wanted, Master?"

Provided for you by the great god Duan Fengyun, "Crossing the Heavens Starting from Wind and Cloud"