Chapter 59 Heading the House

Chapter 59 Heading the House

Chapter 59 Heading the House
Kang Youfu was already very grateful to Zhu Shencui, and he also wanted to make his own way, so when Zhu Shencui mentioned this, Kang Youfu agreed without hesitation.

Seeing Kang Youfu agreed, Zhu Shenzhu was happy and immediately told him about the store in detail. Both parties agreed to officially take over the store after the Chinese New Year.

On the surface, the shop will belong to Kang Youfu, but in fact Zhu Shencui is the real owner, and Kang Youfu, as the actual shopkeeper, gets a share of the sales. This arrangement touched Kang Youfu's heart. If he trusted him so much and didn't work hard to repay Zhu Shencui's kindness, how could he be considered a human being?

Zhu Shenzhui's generous entrustment made Kang Youfu feel like dying for his friend. Looking at his face flushed with excitement, Zhu Shenzhui encouraged him with a smile and explained a lot of things to him.

After the chat, Zhu Shenzhui didn’t sit for long, he got up and left.

Kang Youfu stood up respectfully and saluted towards Zhu Shencui. Seeing Zhu Shencui leaving, he was extremely excited. He never thought that he was just an ordinary person buying tofu just now, but now he owns a formal salt shop, and Zhu Shencui also trusted him so much that he handed over all the management power to him.

On the way back, Zhu Shenzui was in a very good mood.

The fall of the Liu family not only solved the salt road problem in Lizhou, but he also took what he needed from the Liu family's assets.

In addition, recruiting Kang Youfu for his own use is also a huge gain. Kang Youfu is a talent and one that Zhu Shenzui urgently needs now.

Since they are talents, they should be used and not only given a certain degree of autonomy but also sufficient benefits.

Just relying on favors will not last long. In business, interests are eternal. This is why Zhu Shenzhu not only made Kang Youfu the head shopkeeper, but also generously gave him a share of the family business.

But people's hearts can change, and Zhu Shenzhu also understands this truth. No one can guarantee whether Kang Youfu will be loyal to him in the future, and Zhu Shenzhu is very clear about this. Therefore, necessary checks and balances must be in place. Even if he lets Kang Youfu become the head shopkeeper and gives him a share, he still has to have his own people in the store. This is not because he does not trust Kang Youfu, but this is a necessary arrangement. Even if Kang Youfu knows about it, he will not have any other thoughts, but will feel more at ease.

The human heart is unpredictable, and it is the most difficult thing to test in the world, so Zhu Shenzhui never tests the human heart, let alone uses some tricks of tempting interests to test the loyalty of his subordinates. Because he knows very well that such an approach may seem smart, but it is actually the stupidest behavior.

On the contrary, it is more appropriate to ensure the balance of rules and personnel rather than to test people's hearts. Just like he has made Kang Youfu the chief shopkeeper now, but at the same time he will also arrange for people from Wangjia Village to enter the store as the second shopkeeper or assistant in the later stage.

Besides, even if Kang Youfu betrayed him in the future, what would happen? Zhu Shenzhui could help him up today, but he could also make him lose everything. If the Liu family did this, wouldn't it be wiped out? What was a mere Kang Youfu? Zhu Shenzhui was not worried at all.

Amid the sound of firecrackers, one year has finally passed, and the new year will arrive as promised.

Zhu Shenzui's family had a good year this year, because the Liu family's affairs were a hot topic in Pingyang Prefecture, and Zhang, who seldom went out, also heard a thing or two.

For this reason, Zhu Shenzhui found a suitable excuse, saying that he had helped the general's mansion with the Liu family's lawsuit, and gave Zhang a hundred taels of silver as household expenses. Seeing that she could get so much silver back, Zhang was surprised and happy. The family had been living a tight life for these years, and now they finally had such a large income, which was really an unexpected surprise.

Although she had the money, Zhang did not dare to spend it recklessly. Apart from buying some daily necessities for the family due to the New Year, and going to the cloth shop to buy some cloth to make a new set of clothes for Zhu Shenzhu, Zhang planned to save the rest of the money for the time being.

If Zhu Shenzhui hadn't forced Zhang to buy more cloth, saying that it was not right for the three of them to wear new clothes during the New Year, Zhang should also make new clothes for herself and Qiao'er. They couldn't wear old clothes all the time during the New Year, otherwise he would rather not have them. She couldn't beat Zhu Shenzhui, so Zhang had no choice but to obey him and sew new clothes for Zhu Shenzhui, Qiao'er and herself. Apart from these, Zhang and Zhu Shenzhui discussed that the family now had some money, but they still had to live their lives. After a while, Zhang wanted to use the money to buy some land outside the city, and rent it out to people to grow crops and collect some rent, so that the family could have a stable income.

Regarding Zhang's plan, Zhu Shenzhui smiled and said that of course there was no problem and he would listen to his sister-in-law in everything.

Zhang was very happy. She said that she would go and find out who had suitable land to sell and ask the price. She would tell Zhu Shenzhui after confirming the price.

After this, Zhang brought up Zhu Shenzhui's lifelong event. Seeing that the New Year was approaching and Zhu Shenzhui was one year older, it was unreasonable for a man of his age not to get married. Zhang told Zhu Shenzhui that he had to think about this matter anyway and asked him what his plan was.

"Sister-in-law, why do you bring this up?"

"You are my eldest sister-in-law and my mother. Your father and brother are gone, and this family has been supported by you over the years. If it were not for family reasons, you should have been married long ago according to your age. Now you are the only man left in our Zhu family. We can't go on like this, can we? Why can't we mention this?" Zhang said seriously.

Reaching out to scratch his head, Zhu Shenzhui smiled awkwardly: "Sister-in-law, let's wait and see about this. Things have just gotten better at home, and Qiao'er is still young. How about waiting a few years?"

"A few years later? What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhang rolled her eyes at Zhu Shenzhui and couldn't help but scold him, "How old are you? When your brother was your age, we were already married for quite some time. The old people said that men should get married when they are old enough and women should get married when they are old enough. You are the only man in our Zhu family right now. If you don't get married, are you going to live like this in the future?"

"Qiao'er is a girl. After all, a daughter will be a person of a different surname. Our Zhu family still has to rely on you to carry on the family line!"

"I've been dreaming about your brother these days. In the dream, he asked me how my family was doing. How were you? Have you gotten married? Does the Zhu family have a successor now..." As she spoke, Zhang's eyes became moist. She raised her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes and said seriously, "Uncle, just listen to me on this matter. When spring comes, I'll go find a matchmaker and ask which family has a suitable daughter... Oh, right! Which kind do you like? You might as well talk to me in private so that I can help you choose carefully..."

Zhu Shenzhu was touched by Zhang's words. Although they were of similar age, Zhang was younger than him. But as Zhang said, the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. His father and brother had passed away. It was not easy for the three of them to depend on each other for these years.

When Zhang talked about her sad moments, her eyes were filled with tears, which was really heartbreaking. Zhu Shenzhu felt sad, but also had sympathy for her. He really wanted to tell Zhang that he didn't need to find anyone else, just a woman like Zhang would be enough, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips.

After so many years, he knew Zhang's character very well. Zhang was a woman who was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside. She was also his sister-in-law. He must never say such words, otherwise he would be misunderstood by Zhang.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Zhu Shenzhui had no intention of getting married at this moment. Moreover, he had a lot of things to do when spring came. In addition to the arrangements for the salt shop, he also had arrangements for the salt business, including Li Hu of Yangtou Mountain and so on.

In addition, Zhu Shenzhui also planned to go to the north after March, which was planned long ago.

The purpose of going to the north this time was not only for his original considerations, but also for the new ideas after taking over the salt shop. In this case, he couldn't just leave his job aside and marry a woman he had never met or even known, right?
Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui comforted Zhang and told her that he had a plan for the matter, but it was impossible to wait until spring, as he had many things to do in spring and had to prepare to go on a long journey away from home. However, he promised Zhang that he would keep the matter in mind and would find time to solve it after he returned from his trip, so that Zhang did not need to worry.

Hearing what Zhu Shenzhui said, Zhang was somewhat helpless, but she did not ask Zhu Shenzhui why he was going on a long journey, or where he was going this time. Zhang never asked these questions, because she knew that as a man, Zhu Shenzhui had his own things to do. Although she did not know why Zhu Shenzhui often left Pingyang Mansion in recent years, she knew in her heart that no matter what Zhu Shenzhui did, it was for their family.

(End of this chapter)