Chapter 55: Commencement

Under the witness of Ning Yongqiang, Xu Mo and Ning Yaxin signed the contract for the exclusive distributorship of the Peony brand. Ning Yongqiang, looking at the contract, was delighted and said, “Mr. Xu, from now on, we are partners!”

Xu Mo carefully put away his copy of the contract, smiled, and made a polite gesture. “Miss Ning, Young Master Ning, I must return home, so I won’t stay longer. Farewell!”

With that, Xu Mo headed out.

Ning Yaxin accompanied Xu Mo out of the room and said, “Young Master Xu, if you need any help when building the workshop, just let us know.”

“Thank you, Miss Ning,” Xu Mo replied, then walked towards the stairs.

Ning Yongqiang immediately followed, making small talk as he escorted Xu Mo downstairs.

Ning Yaxin turned and returned to the room, gathering up the contracts on the table. She gave instructions, “Ling’er, grind the ink.”

Ling’er was puzzled. “Miss, didn’t you just sign the contract? What else do you need to write?”

Ning Yaxin replied, “The contract with the Li family in Fuchun County needs to be rewritten. This time, I’ll add punctuation marks.”

...

Meanwhile, Xu Mo and Qin Moutu had already left the Zhenxiu Restaurant.

Qin Moutu was still absorbed in the story they had listened to earlier, his mind occupied with what would happen next.

Xu Mo, uninterested in his companion’s musings, took Qin Moutu and headed home to Jiming Alley.

Having been away for several days, Xu Mo still felt uneasy about leaving the house unattended—not because he feared theft, but because he worried those people might take advantage of his absence to play some nasty trick on him again.

Only when he opened the courtyard door and stepped inside did Xu Mo finally relax.

Everything was as it should be. The house had not been defiled, nor had anything been damaged.

He told Qin Moutu to wait in the courtyard, then went inside.

In the kitchen, under the water vat, Xu Mo dug out a cloth bundle containing a small wooden box. Upon opening it, he saw it was filled with banknotes.

This was all Xu Mo possessed. Since he needed money to build the workshop, he had to take everything with him.

After collecting the money, Xu Mo and Qin Moutu made straight for Sweetwater Alley to find Xu Ping’an.

But instead of returning immediately to Gushan Village, the three of them headed for the marketplace.

There, Xu Mo bought four large barrels of lard.

He would have bought more, but the mule cart could only carry so much; any more and the mules wouldn’t be able to pull the load.

He also bought several large bundles of dried flower petals—jasmine, peony, osmanthus, and honeysuckle.

Finally, Xu Mo purchased some spices as well.

Lard, of course, was an essential ingredient for making soap.

As for the dried petals and spices, Xu Mo intended to use them for scented soap.

It was worth noting that the dried flowers were the most expensive items he bought—even costlier than the four barrels of lard combined.

Once their shopping was done, the three rode the mule cart back to Gushan Village.

That evening, Xu Mo and Xu Tieshu met with the village chief.

Xu Mo showed him the land deed, and they discussed starting construction on the workshop.

At dawn the next day, a group of village women arrived, some carrying rice, others shouldering meat. Soon, a crowd had gathered outside Xu Tieshu’s house.

In no time, the women had set up several earth stoves on the open ground outside the courtyard and placed large clay pots over them.

Then, the women divided up the tasks—some cooked rice, others stewed meat...

The scene was bustling and lively.

Chen Miaoyi, seeing everyone busy, wanted to help as well, but Xu Mo pulled her back.

Xu Mo shook his head seriously. “What are you doing? I’m the one paying for all this; you just rest!”

He had already arranged with the village chief the previous night: he would pay the villagers for their labor.

First, he would hire capable women to handle the cooking and logistics; then, he would pay villagers to chop wood.

Xu Mo made it clear that anyone willing to help was welcome—not only would meals be provided, but they’d get paid, too!

Xu Tieshu had been astonished, thinking Xu Mo was being far too extravagant.

But Xu Mo was determined—his reasoning was that if the benefits were good enough, everyone would work hard.

As long as the workshop could be built quickly and soap produced soon, this small expense was nothing.

“Husband, everyone is busy while I do nothing... Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” Chen Miaoyi still felt uneasy not doing her share.

Xu Mo replied sternly, “What’s inappropriate about it? Once our workshop is up, you’ll be the proprietress. So from now on, you need to carry yourself like one, understand?”

Unable to argue further, Chen Miaoyi nodded in agreement.

As the aroma of stewed meat wafted from the pots, more villagers arrived—whole families, bringing axes, machetes, and various tools.

Catching the scent, spirits lifted, and even from afar, people began to swallow eagerly.

Gushan Village was poor; villagers usually ate only two meals a day, mostly vegetarian, with meat being a rare luxury.

To think of eating meat was almost unimaginable—people only bought some for the New Year, and even then, they didn’t dare eat their fill.

“Hey! Look, the pot's full of meat! That must have cost a fortune!” a villager exclaimed excitedly.

At once, people crowded around, craning their necks to peer into the pots, making the scene rather chaotic.

“Out of the way, all of you, move aside!”

It was then that a bold, spirited woman’s voice rang out.

She was the village chief’s relative, known to everyone as Fifth Aunt.

With her hands on her hips, she declared loudly, “Let me tell you, this whole pot of meat cost a lot of money. If anyone tips it over today, I’d like to see how you plan to pay for it!”

At her words, the villagers quickly stepped back, worried they might accidentally knock the pot over.

Once order was restored, Fifth Aunt announced, “Listen up, everyone: go next door to line up for rice, then come to me for meat. Anyone here to work today will get their share!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the villagers rushed over to the rice pot, jostling to get in line.

Seeing the disorder, Fifth Aunt truly lost her temper. “Why are you pushing? I’ll say this just once—if anyone can’t follow the rules, they can go straight home!”

Her commanding tone instantly brought the crowd to order, and people queued up obediently.

One by one, the villagers received their rice, then ladlefuls of savory stewed meat from Fifth Aunt.

Steaming meat and broth over hot rice—everyone ate heartily and with immense satisfaction.

As they ate, one villager remarked emotionally, “It’s been so long since I’ve tasted meat. It’s just delicious.”

Others voiced their admiration, “The Xu family is truly generous—just showing up gets you meat! Imagine how much that costs?”

Someone quickly agreed, “Yes, and it’s all white rice, too. This one meal could last me a year!”

As they ate, the villagers whispered among themselves, but all their words were full of praise and gratitude for the Xu family.

Xu Mo and Chen Miaoyi watched from the courtyard. Seeing how quickly Fifth Aunt had restored order with just a few words, they were both impressed.

At that moment, Xu Hui came out of the house, and Xu Mo called her over and asked quietly, “Huihui, who is that aunt?”

Xu Hui glanced in the direction he indicated and replied, “Oh, that’s Fifth Aunt, the village chief’s relative. She’s fiercely spirited—no one in the village, man or woman, dares cross her.”

Xu Mo was struck by an idea and asked, “Miaoyi, what do you think about having Fifth Aunt handle meals and logistics during this period? Wouldn’t it make things easier for us?”

Chen Miaoyi immediately nodded. “Husband, I think it’s a great idea! Fifth Aunt has real presence—if she’s in charge, there’ll be no chaos.”

Xu Mo then said to Xu Hui, “Huihui, when Fifth Aunt is done, could you ask her to come see me?”

Xu Hui nodded enthusiastically, “Of course!”