Chapter 148: Chapter 148
Chapter 148
"You want me to help figure out how to build a reputation here?"
"Yes," Yueqian nodded earnestly. This caused the middle-aged man to furrow his brows.
"What good would it do for you to consult me about such a simple matter? In the past, my wife or my grandmother built reputations by setting up soup kitchens. Is this really such a difficult thing to discuss?" It seemed that Yueqian’s question seemed to disappoint the middle-aged man.
Of course, how could Yueqian not know about setting up soup kitchens? In the past, the Qin family used to do the same, distributing food to the needy. Even the heroine of the story often did this, earning respect and a reputation for being charitable.
However, such a reputation wasn’t enough for her and her husband. Her husband didn’t aim to build a reputation as a famous monk. What he needed was a reputation befitting a mayor.
"Being charitable, isn’t that good for a mayor? So, setting up a soup kitchen should be enough," the middle-aged man continued to argue.
Yueqian sighed softly. It seemed she no longer wanted to pursue this line of questioning with him.
"Let me change my question then. What do you think this place still lacks? What else could make this place better?" Hearing this, the middle-aged man thought for a moment, but still couldn’t come up with an answer.
"What could make this place better? It’s a haven for the dregs and worthless trash. There’s no wealth, no knowledge," the former general shook his head in exasperation.
He had been here a long time. If not for being the strongest, he wouldn’t know how to survive. No! The way he lived now wasn’t much different from the trash around him, except he was a higher-class trash who didn’t have to do the dirty work himself. He didn’t have to steal, abduct women, or sell anyone into slavery. He simply waited for this trash to bring him food every day.
Since they called him their boss, they had to take good care of him. Nevertheless, his current behavior was no different from supporting their wrongdoing.
Yueqian shook her head lightly. However, within a few seconds, her beautiful eyes widened, and she turned to look at her lover, who was frowning behind her.
"Dear! I think I have an idea." There was a trace of undisguised joy on her face.
Mu Heng exhaled and stood still, waiting to hear what she had to say. Even the former general fell silent to listen.
"As General said, there’s nothing here but people, right?"
"Yes, that’s right." Even though Mu Heng didn’t answer, everyone knew this since the middle-aged man had just said it. However, responding to his wife had become a habit for him, and this made the middle-aged man could not help but think of his own wives and children.
In the past, every time he returned home, he was warmly welcomed by his wives, who competed to please him, and his children ran around showing off their skills.
Whenever there was an issue at home, he would speak, and his wives would listen. They would respond to him this way, sometimes even helping him come up with better solutions. It was a peaceful life, and it was hard to believe it had disappeared so quickly.
"So, let’s use the people here."
"How do you plan to use them?" The former general couldn’t help but ask, driven by curiosity as he listened to their conversation.
In truth, he didn’t care much about what these two were planning to do. He lived only for revenge. However, seeing these two young people so eager to survive, he couldn’t help but genuinely wish them well.
He lived for revenge, but that didn’t mean he was devoid of life!
Yueqian didn’t respond immediately. She smiled with satisfaction, letting the curious one get a bit annoyed before revealing the details.
In fact, she didn’t have an elaborate plan. She simply suggested that Mu Heng propose the idea of establishing an association. This association would hire laborers who had no land or income. Then, let those without income come to work on hired tasks. This idea came from watching many anime in her past life. Creating a "guild" to accept miscellaneous work was a new idea that she had just thought of, but it was also very suitable.
Mu Heng would establish an association as an intermediary for labor exchange. Employers would bring money to the association first, and the association would put up signs announcing the jobs. Once the association members completed the work and the employer signed off, they would bring the announcement back to the association to get paid. The association would take a small fee as an operating cost.
"Your plan sounds good, but who would hire them when they already have servants?" The former general interjected. He didn’t see the need for people to pay the association. If there was something they wanted to do, wouldn’t they just tell the servants?
"That’s true, people have a lot of servants, but what about those who aren’t nobility? They don’t have servants and can’t afford to support another person for life. So, they still need to hire laborers to help them, especially during harvest time when they need extra hands to quickly gather crops. At that time, they can hire through the association."
"Hmph! But once they figure out how to contact each other, no one will hire through your association anymore. They’ll just contact each other directly."
"Yes, if that happens, it would be good, wouldn’t it? We can simply state that we aim to help employers who don’t know where to hire people to contact the association, and those who haven’t found work can look for jobs there. After all, our goal isn’t to make a profit. Once we’ve built a reputation by helping people, what will happen to the association... my husband and I don’t really need to concern ourselves with it, do we?"
Hearing the young woman’s words, the middle-aged man’s face froze.
He got so excited about her idea that he forgot the initial purpose. Seeing the cunning smile on the face of the woman before him, he realized she wasn’t genuinely trying to solve the people’s problems. It was all to create a buzz at the beginning of this venture, building a good reputation by helping middle-class people get workers without needing to buy servants and aiding the poor who have nothing to eat to find jobs.
At this stage, even women and children could take on work. Employers wouldn’t need to know who they were, as long as the job was completed satisfactorily, and they signed off on it.
If he were still a great general with merits... he would request the emperor to summon this woman to serve in the court, becoming an official tasked with finding solutions for the people. With her ideas, he believed she could definitely achieve many things for the kingdom.
Thinking about her objective, the former general couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret.
"Do you really plan to go to the Bai Kingdom?" His voice had a hint of uncertainty. Despite knowing she had to flee from something, his sense of duty to his homeland made him worry about losing someone like her.
"I know what you’re thinking..." Yueqian stared into the middle-aged man’s eyes so intensely that he felt as if she was peering into the depths of his soul.
"You love the Du Kingdom. Your sense of patriotism is very strong. Previously, you were likely happy here. Your parents were happy here. Your grandparents and even your great-grandparents lived here."
"But now... their graves are being trampled on here too!"
"I don’t want the graves of myself, my children, or my husband to be here," Yueqian sneered. Although she wasn’t outrightly disrespectful, the listener felt as if his face was being trampled on.
The middle-aged man’s eyes turned bloodshot. He didn’t fully understand what this patriotism was, but he had dedicated his entire life to this kingdom. He had sacrificed countless drops of blood to protect the kingdom’s interests and not allow any invasion. However, the rulers of this kingdom and their cronies, simply out of paranoia, wiped out his entire family!
Back then, if they had asked him to step down as the great general and take back his soldiers to manage himself, he wouldn’t have objected if it had been someone capable.
Unexpectedly, after dedicating his life to them and risking his life on the battlefield, they cut down his entire family with their own swords!!
"Ah... I was truly foolish," a raspy voice rose, his face full of disappointment before it reignited with the anger he harbored.
Talking with Yueqian and Mu Heng had given him a break from the rage that was killing his nerves. When he inhaled, he could hear his wife and children crying for help. When he exhaled, he heard his parents weeping. These haunting images had appeared since he learned who was responsible for their deaths.
At first, it pained him so much that he didn’t want to live. But lately, it had become the driving force that kept him alive, all for the chance to avenge them!
"This matter still requires your assistance. After my husband and I complete our preparations, I will buy a small tavern to establish it as the association. You know many people here, so I may ask you to spread the word and encourage them to sign up for honest work. Of course, they can choose the jobs themselves, and if they don’t want to reveal themselves, they don’t have to do that. We will offer a service where association representatives can request employers to sign off on completed work, with a small fee deducted for operational costs."
"As for employers, I will announce the service and see if anyone is short on workers. This should be spread by word of mouth. Of course, if you can help, it would be much appreciated."
Yueqian requested his help at the end. Although she could also ask for help from the Art Institute, the screening would be more thorough and might make others suspicious that someone was secretly helping her. Therefore, letting the Old Master of this marginalized area manage things would be simpler.
After their final goodbyes, Yueqian led her husband to the authorities to purchase an abandoned tavern. Even if it was far from the bustling areas, it didn’t matter. They didn’t need a crowded place; being slightly out of the city center was beneficial as it made it easier for villagers to access, and those from the slums would feel more comfortable.
The price of the tavern wasn’t an issue. Naturally, although it was more expensive than those in remote areas, the tavern wasn’t in the heart of the city, the price was considerably lower.
She instructed Qu Yi to contact renovators to turn the tavern into an open space. The lower level would have seating for food or tea, while the upper level would serve as the contact area for employers and member who would become prospective workers. It would be divided into three rooms: one for employers to post jobs, the second room for workers to collect their wages, and the third, a large central hall on the second floor with a job board where people could choose the jobs they wanted. After that, they would inform the staff of their intent, who would then remove the listing and record the worker’s name and the expected completion date for employers to check the status of their jobs.All of this would take several days before the association, inspired by anime and manga from another world, would appear in this world for the first time!
