Chapter Ninety-Five: Making Trouble

The moment he heard this, a knowing smile spread across Chen Kuai’s face.

He understood at once that Qin Zhen was helping him smooth things over.

He was making it clear to everyone that this opportunity was not something anyone could simply walk into; it depended on Chen Kuai’s mood. If Chen Kuai let you come, then you could come.

As for how much benefit you would reap once you were here, that naturally could not be said outright.

But Qin Zhen’s generosity was well known.

Even to those lowly slaves, he had offered outrageous prices. Surely the rewards for men doing official work would not be any less?

It had to be said, Qin Zhen’s artful borrowing of another’s gift to honor a third party left Chen Kuai thoroughly pleased.

He slapped Qin Zhen’s shoulder hard. “Relax. Leave this to me!”

At the same time.

In the little fishing village, row after row of spinning looms turned in orderly rhythm. Fine snow silkworm thread passed through the rollers and was woven into sheets of delicate mesh, then, by the skilled hands of the women weavers, it was turned into cloth, trimmed of excess, stitched at the edges, and became a fine bolt of silk.

Looking at the exquisite snow-silk fabric before her, Fang Lan could not hide the admiration and delight in her eyes.

“I wonder how Young Master Qin managed to make such ingenious looms?”

She had grown up around cloth workshops and knew how difficult weaving truly was.

That was why she was even more astonished by Qin Zhen’s remarkable ingenuity.

“Miss Fang, come take a look at this dress.”

Liu Juan excitedly produced a newly finished garment.

Unlike dull hemp cloth, the texture of snow-silk was finer and smoother; when sunlight fell upon it, it seemed to shimmer with a soft brilliance. Even Fang Song, who had long grown used to strange and flamboyant fashions, was shocked by Liu Juan’s handiwork.

This dress was not something a loom alone could produce. It also required Liu Juan’s exceptional weaving skill.

“It’s beautiful!”

Fang Lan could not help exclaiming.

“It’s far prettier than that cheongsam!”

“Really? Then I’m relieved. I was afraid the clothes I made wouldn’t turn out well.” With that reassurance, Liu Juan finally felt at ease.

Before coming here, Fang Lan had worried whether the little fishing village was truly a partner worth working with.

In her original imagination, a fishing village was, bluntly put, just a village—poor, backward, uncouth, full of people in rags who could barely afford to eat.

But the moment she laid eyes on the little fishing village, that concern vanished entirely.

Towering walls rose before her, enclosing the whole settlement. A moat lined with spikes wound along the base of the walls, outwardly baring its menace to any stranger who approached. Inside, the streets were neat and orderly, the buildings laid out with discipline and care, all of it revealing the painstaking thought of the village’s planner.

The villagers themselves were vigorous and busy, each attending to their own duties, and their spirit and energy were even brighter and more spirited than that of the city folk from Coastal City.

What surprised Fang Lan most of all was that there was even a schoolhouse in this village.

She heard that it had been built by Qin Zhen, who taught the village children to read and write free of charge.

Here, one could not find loafers or idle ruffians.

Every day, groups of villagers from neighboring areas came flocking in, lining up at the village entrance to receive work assignments. Just as many of the little fishing village’s people said, labor was honorable, and hard work led to prosperity.

One had to remember that even in Coastal City, there were countless idlers.

But not here.

The system Qin Zhen had established ensured that everyone in the little fishing village had something to do, and all of them were more than satisfied with his arrangements. For Fang Lan, who had managed the Fang family for years, this was unimaginable.

Qin Zhen was only sixteen or seventeen, still so young. How had he managed to make so many people obey him wholeheartedly?

It could be said that the longer she stayed in the little fishing village and the more she learned about it, the deeper her curiosity about Qin Zhen grew.

It was like a poison that worked only after one had tasted it, leaving Fang Lan unable to let go.

“It’s beautiful. I’ll stake my reputation on it—once the girls in the city see this batch of clothes, they’ll go wild for them!” Fang Lan said excitedly, feeling as though a brilliant future was already reaching out to her.

She was increasingly convinced that cooperating with Qin Zhen was the best decision she had ever made in her life.

Not only could she reclaim the market share stolen by the Huang family, she might even utterly defeat them and trample their pride into the dirt.

“Still, the pace needs to be faster. The shopping festival starts in a few days. Once travel time is deducted, we really don’t have much time left to finish these clothes,” Fang Lan said gravely.

Qin Zhen wanted to become famous in a single stroke through the shopping festival.

Fang Lan wanted to use that same festival to make a complete comeback.

Liu Juan was full of confidence. “Don’t worry. We won’t delay anything, I promise.”

To rush out this batch of garments, the women of the entire little fishing village had been working overtime for several days and nights; several of the looms had even been worn out and broken.

Liu Juan had already spread the word that for these few days the wages of the women weavers would be doubled. The women in the village had gone mad with enthusiasm, weaving like their lives depended on it while on the job, and even after work they went home and kept at it by hand, tirelessly and with complete abandon.

Everyone in the village knew this was the chance to make the little fishing village famous. Qin Zhen was out there working himself to the bone, so how could they, as the women of the village, lag behind? A shared fire burned in their hearts.

“Second Aunt, it’s mealtime. Your husband says to come home and cook!”

“Cook your ass! This old lady is busy with her career! Tell him to cook for himself! Didn’t Townie say women can hold up half the sky? The whole village’s clothing orders are depending on us. Who’s got time to cook for that father and son?”

This drew a burst of laughter from the women workers.

Liu Juan smiled and said, “Sisters, bear with it for a few more days. Once this rush is over, I’ll raise your pay!”

Watching the self-reliant, confident women before her, Fang Lan saw in them a radiance she had never witnessed before.

She thought of the cold mockery from her uncles and older relatives when she first took over the Fang family.

She thought of the gossip and sneers these past years from outsiders, who criticized her for being a woman yet daring to show her face in public and run affairs herself.

There had been a time when she wondered if she had been wrong.

But now, the women of the little fishing village had given her confidence. She had not been wrong.

Why should a woman not be the one in charge?

At the same time.

In Coastal City, just as Qin Zhen was busy arranging the venue, Fang Song came leading a swarm of Fang family members into the site with a dark expression.

Hands on his hips, he glared arrogantly at the crowd of workers and shouted, “Stop everything. Put it all down and get the hell out of here!”

“Are those Fang family people?” Li Han muttered in confusion. “What’s going on?”

Qin Zhen’s brows drew together slightly. He stepped forward and, standing before Fang Song, asked cautiously, “And you are?”

“I’m Fang Song! Fang Lan’s uncle!” Fang Song lifted his nose high. “You’re Qin Zhen, aren’t you? Take your people and your stuff and get out. Now.”

“Can you speak properly?” Li Han rolled up his sleeves, looking unfriendly.

Qin Zhen shot Li Han a glare, and the latter grumbled but fell silent.

He looked Fang Song and the Fang family members behind him over once before asking, “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? This place belongs to the Fang family! You’ve been making a racket here and turning the streets into a filthy mess, and now we can’t even open for business properly! Hurry up and get lost. Don’t stand around here getting in the way!” Fang Song said coldly.

“This place was rented to us by Fang Lan,” Qin Zhen said without the slightest panic. He met Fang Song’s gaze evenly and asked, “If I remember correctly, the head of the Fang family is Fang Lan, isn’t she? Since Fang Lan isn’t here now, do you even have the authority to make that decision?”