At noon, the street by the Qinhuai River was particularly noisy. This was a block near the dock. There were many shops, and goods were moving up and down. There was a large warehouse behind the small shop with the Su Family's cloth shop. The door opened from the side for easy access. At this time, a whole ship of goods was being transported from the dock. Goods, porters, and waiters kept coming in and out, making the whole place a little crowded.
Now, the flood in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River was serious, and the victims were still gathering here. Once the gate of Jiangning was closed, the situation might last for a month or two. Once the gate was closed, the business of the cloth shop in the city would definitely be affected, but the goods still had to be prepared. There had been such situations in the past, but now they could only do it step by step.
The outer layer of the warehouse looked like a big medicine shop. There were some cloth boxes on the huge shelves, as well as a variety of dyes. At this time, some carefully stored samples were still being moved in and placed on the counter for the shopkeeper and the staff in charge of this area to look at. But at this time, besides Manager Liao who was in charge of the store and the warehouse, Su Tan'er, as the owner, was also looking at the things here from the counter.
The early autumn air had just gotten rid of the summer heat, but the weather was still not necessarily cool. Su Tan'er was dressed simply as a married woman today. She wore a white dress with sky blue lapels and cuffs. It was not necessarily complicated, but it was simple and refreshing without losing its elegance. While others were busy inside and outside the store, she was also walking around the counter like a medicine shop. From time to time, she would open a new box and sniff it, or pull out a small drawer inside the cabinet to look at the original things inside, and give one or two instructions from time to time.
"Cinnabar, madder, alum, malan, this is holly … There is something wrong with these sage leaves. Look, Manager Liao, come and take a look … Also, the gallnut over there is also moldy. Although it is only used as raw materials, the moldy ones still need to be replaced. Is it because of water leakage? Find someone to do it this afternoon … Ah, Xing'er, come over here …"
"It will probably take another hour to finish unloading. The ship will not wait for people, tell them to continue unloading. Longqing Restaurant should prepare better food, including meat. There will be another ship arriving in the afternoon. Today will be very tiring. Let's see if they can finish unloading before midnight. There must be enough tea. Also, buy some starch jelly from the street corner. If you like it, you can drink it to quench your thirst. "
This time, there were many kinds of things stored in the warehouse. There were many raw materials that could be made into dyes, dyes that had already been made, silk, cloth that had already been made into finished products, and even looms. There were a lot of things, and they were all stuffed into this storeroom. Some of them had to be distributed to other storerooms. As the porters and workers were busy, Su Tan'er and Xing'er mingled among them without any disharmony. This was mainly because Su Tan'er was familiar with these things.
If she didn't come over, Manager Liao would probably be able to figure out the situation on his own. However, if she came over, the welfare of the workers would probably be better. If the time was tight and the task was heavy, sometimes they could get some rewards from her if they completed the task in advance. When it was really necessary for others to help, she was never stingy in this aspect.
After instructing Xing'er to handle the food and drinks, she went all the way to the dock after giving instructions to the people at the counter. Manager Liao and a worker hurriedly followed her. This street was also mixed with crooks and honest people. Although it was not as messy as the old dock in Hai Qing Square, it was also a gathering place of all kinds of people. Behind the busy business, there were also various interests involved, and gangs fought for power. Every few days, there would be a big or small fight. However, Su Tan'er had already become familiar with the atmosphere here. Along the way, she helped the two workers carrying the boxes. When the two workers hurriedly thanked her, she just smiled and said, "It's OK. Let's go."
The crowd on the street was bustling with all kinds of shops and merchants. When they passed by a young man in a hurry, Su Tan'er suddenly stopped. The man also looked back. One of his hands was holding the pink-white sachet that was originally hanging on Su Tan'er's waist. At this time, the seemingly weak woman grabbed the other end of the sachet with one hand and refused to let go. The next moment, the man suddenly grabbed the sachet and wanted to run, but was pushed to the ground by the worker who came with Manager Liao.
The crowd was in chaos for a moment. Su Tan'er's right hand was probably tied by the string of the sachet. At this time, at this time, she clenched her fist and looked at the scene with a slight frown. The young man got up and was about to continue running. After running two steps, he was suddenly punched to the ground by a big man who came towards him.
Blood splashed out. Su Tan'er tilted her head and slightly narrowed her eyes. Then, she picked up the sachet and helped the worker up. She lowered her head and hung the sachet back on her waist. She sighed and quickly walked forward. The beating behind her continued, "Damn it! You're blind! "
There was a small tea stall with a pergola not far from here by the river. At this time, there was a group of people sitting and resting in the pergola. The leader was a middle-aged man with a skinny figure but a spirited gaze. When he saw her coming, he smiled and stood up, cupped his fists, and said, "Miss Su."
"Uncle Jing Wu." Su Tan'er smiled and greeted him. Then, she looked back and said, "Thank you, Uncle Jing Wu. I haven't encountered such a thing in a long time."
"Haha, I don't know where this new guy came from. How can he come out if he doesn't have a bright eye? Since Miss Su has compassion, let's forget about this. Otherwise, we will have to cripple one of his hands."
"It's not a big deal. If he loses a hand, it will be difficult for him to do other things in the future …"
This middle-aged man called Jing Wu was one of the gang leaders in this dock area. He had a life-and-death friendship with Protector Geng. Therefore, Protector Geng had already informed him about Su Tan'er's matter. Jing Wu waved his hand, and the other side stopped the beating. After Su Tan'er thanked him, she went to a cargo ship by the dock. At this time, Juan'er took out a small book and counted some things on the ship. Among the three maidservants, Juan'er was the calmest and most meticulous. Therefore, she was usually the one to handle these detailed matters.
In the afternoon, the white clouds were leisurely floating in the sky. After the goods on the ship had been unloaded, Xing'er had already ordered food. The porters and the workers of the cloth shop gathered in the pergola by the river to eat. Xing'er took a pot of tea and walked around. As the chief maidservant, her position in the Su mansion was no worse than that of Manager Liao. This was also a symbolic round. Juan'er and Su Tan'er sat at a table not far away. They were holding a small book and organizing it. The food they prepared to eat was similar to the rest of the people. It was not much. This year, lunch was not the norm. However, for the rest of the people who did manual labor, it was naturally better to eat an extra meal.
The news of someone stealing Su Tan'er's perfume bag and being beaten had already spread among the crowd. Juan'er also asked, "Miss, did someone steal from you earlier?"
"Yes, he was beaten by Jing Wu's men." Su Tan'er gave a simple reply. Juan'er also nodded her head.
On the other side, the topic was obviously much more complicated.
Some porters were not very clear about Su Tan'er's identity. There were also new workers in the cloth shop. At this time, there were whispers among the crowd. Obviously, they could not understand why such a delicate woman would come here to manage these things. This kind of woman should obviously be a layman for business. But then again, the food and drinks prepared were really sumptuous.
These doubts appeared in bits and pieces. Then, of course, there would be people who would explain.
"Our Miss is not simple. What do you know …"
"In the future, she will manage the whole Su family."
"Can't tell? Of course you can't tell … "
"Don't be fooled by Miss's delicate appearance. She is not shrewd, but when she manages things, she is very colorful …"
"She hides her power in her heart. If she really gets angry, those young masters of the Su family will not even dare to breathe in front of her …"
"How is it? You didn't expect it, did you? After a long time, you will know that Miss is a lady from a rich family. But she thinks more than you do … "
Not long after, the second big ship docked. Everyone started to move again. Xing'er was responsible for helping to control the overall situation. She was good at this. Juan'er ran to the ship again. First, she counted some of the valuables on the ship. There were no problems. Su Tan'er sat at the table in the arbor and turned to look at the big ship and the situation at the dock. On the other side, where Jing Wu Yi and his men gathered, there were some people who were chatting casually. Some were familiar, and some were not.
"What can this woman do here …"
"This woman is not an ordinary person …"
"Damn, she is so beautiful. Say, such a beautiful woman is doing business in public, it is such a pity …"
"Don't talk nonsense. She does business better than you."
"I can't tell."
"If she can marry me and be my wife, * * * * * * … Tsk … Sigh, do you think she will really not get married? Women are meant to get married, to take care of their husband and children …"
"You are silly too. Can't you see that she is dressed like a married man? In the past, when she came here, she always dressed as a man. But even if she dressed up, she still looks good … "
"Married?"
"That's right. I heard that she got a son-in-law. He is a scholar."
"What a spineless man."
"The Su family is rich. Didn't you just say that she is going to be your wife? How can you marry such a woman without marrying into the family? "
"But that is a scholar. If he marries into the family, he will be suppressed. I am different …"
"Tsk, this woman is really powerful. She is powerful in her heart. Even if she doesn't lose her temper or say anything harsh to you, you still have to listen to her. You are just a little stronger, but you still want to suppress others …"
The inside and outside of the pier were unusually busy. The shopkeepers and stewards of the various shops would either watch from nearby or simply go over to help. Among all these people, Su Tan'er, who was only nineteen years old, was probably the most unusual and eye-catching one. She was young, beautiful, and kind to people. She made people like her, but also made people confused. It seemed that behind her ordinary figure, there was also an indescribable sense of propriety and distance. Her appearance, family background, and talent could often make many people feel ashamed of their inferiority.
After all, it was not good for her to show her face in public for too long. After looking at the pergola by the river for a while, she got up and walked over to the Su family's shop. Then, as if she found something, she frowned and smiled, then trotted all the way across the street. Although she was ordinary before, she always seemed calm. But now, she had the appearance of a young girl. When she arrived at the other side of the street, she met with a pedestrian who came over. The man showed a slightly surprised face, then smiled. Everyone saw Su Tan'er smile and salute, then they talked on the side of the road.
From the attitude and expression of that salute, it should be a woman to her husband or lover, because that feeling was intimate and casual.
*****
Book: If I am not arrogant, how can I transcend reincarnation? If I am not crazy, how can I dare to break the void?
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