Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 116: Discussing Matters

Lu Chengxiao quickly walked a few steps to Liu Yu’s side. His overly intense gaze made Liu Yu inexplicably flustered, so she had to softly remind him, “I’m hiring embroiderers.”

Only then did Lu Chengxiao notice that the originally empty room behind Liu Yu had been converted into an embroidery room. Five or six embroiderers were inside working on embroidery. Hearing his voice, a few of them glanced over.

Lu Chengxiao, thinking about how he had just been staring at Liu Yu, felt his face heat up.

Seeing his embarrassment, Liu Yu almost wanted to laugh and said, “Let’s go sit in the flower hall. My second and third brothers are at your family’s cloth shop. Did you see them?”

How could Lu Chengxiao have seen them? He hadn’t even entered Lufeng yet; he came here first.

As they walked side by side, Liu Yu could guess from his expression and couldn’t help but chuckle softly, asking, “Did you just come from Changfeng Town?”

Lu Chengxiao nodded, his eyes full of joy. As they walked towards the flower hall, he couldn’t help but occasionally glance at Liu Yu. Each look made his heart sweeter. He asked Liu Yu, “Where’s Auntie?”

“She went out to buy buns for Uncle Tan and the others for their afternoon snack.”

When craftsmen are hired to work at home, it is customary to provide an afternoon snack in addition to regular meals.

Upon hearing that Wei Shi was not home either, Lu Chengxiao, once they entered the flower hall, took advantage of the empty surroundings and the door blocking them to quietly hold Liu Yu’s hand.

It felt like an addiction. Ever since their first touch, he always wanted to get closer whenever they met.

Liu Yu’s fingertips trembled but she didn’t struggle, letting him hold her hand.

Such an attitude made Lu Chengxiao even happier. “I missed you a lot. I was supposed to come the day after the engagement, but I was delayed.”

His palm was so warm that the heat traveled from Liu Yu’s hand to her cheeks.

She had already heard from Lu Xun that Lu Chengxiao was originally supposed to come to the county with him but was delayed because his uncle’s family wanted to discuss fabric sales. She softly said, “Business is more important.”

Perhaps it was because her hand was held in his palm, or perhaps she didn’t want others to overhear their conversation, her voice was light and had a softness that made one feel weak.

Lu Chengxiao’s throat moved slightly, and he inexplicably had the thought that it would be wonderful if the wedding could be at the end of July.

Outside, a series of hurried footsteps approached. Liu Yu quickly pulled her hand back as if it were burning, turned around to lift the teapot, and pour water. Liu Yanan’s voice had already come in, “Chengxiao, is that you?”

Lu Chengxiao clenched his now empty hand and suddenly smiled.

When Liu Yu looked over, she saw his smiling face. Hearing her third brother about to enter the flower hall, she glared at Lu Chengxiao, signaling him to compose himself. Lu Chengxiao’s shoulders shook as he tried to suppress his smile and looked towards the door of the flower hall.

Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan entered together. As soon as Liu Yanan stepped in, his eyes lit up. “I thought it was you from the back.”

It turned out that the two Liu brothers were at the opposite Lufeng cloth shop learning how to distinguish the quality and grade of fabrics with Lu Chengzong. They were also understanding market conditions, including prices, colors, and what styles were popular in which seasons. When Liu Yanan saw a figure that looked like Lu Chengxiao’s while stretching his neck, the brothers said goodbye to Lu Chengzong and came back. Indeed, it was him.

Lu Chengxiao, looking calm, smiled and said, “I just arrived. I saw the sign was already up, so I couldn’t resist coming in to take a look.”

Speaking of this, Liu Yanan was also excited. “Almost everything was managed by Yu’er. Isn’t it great?”

When it came to Liu Yu, everything was good in Lu Chengxiao’s eyes. Moreover, in just three days, the shop was already looking very presentable, which was indeed impressive. He turned to look at Liu Yu, his face full of smiles. “Yu’er has a natural talent for this.”

Liu Yanping smiled and invited Lu Chengxiao to sit down, steering the conversation to business. “Have you been discussing matters at your maternal grandfather’s house these past few days?”

The flax had been harvested, but the finished cloth wasn’t ready yet. If they wanted to bring more goods, the latest they could leave was around the fifth of August. After that, they would go to Yuanzhou for dyeing, sell goods in the two Zhejiang provinces, and make purchases. They would probably return in early September.

Lu Chengxiao nodded. “I have something to discuss with you. I estimate I can bring a lot of goods on this trip.”

“How come?”

“It’s not just my uncle’s family. The neighboring clan is also interested in selling goods. Moreover, my two aunts’ villages, Qiantian and Jiangjia, also have goods they’re willing to sell on credit.” Lu Chengxiao said with a big smile, “Yanping, you found a good financial route. I’m benefiting from it now.”

Hearing that three villages were willing to sell cloth on credit, Liu Yanping was also delighted. But he sensed that Lu Chengxiao implied he would be carrying a large quantity of goods, so he asked, “Are you saying you’re also planning to purchase additional goods from the weaving workshop with your own money to bring along?”

Lu Chengxiao nodded. “The first trip was to explore the route. Originally, I only had four hundred taels of capital for the second trip, but now that we can get credit, I’m thinking of making a big run. We’ll bring more goods this time, and at most, it means staying there a few extra days.”

The Liu brothers exchanged a glance, their eyes showing some excitement.

“Alright, I think it’s a good idea. We’ve already paved the way, so missing out on such an opportunity would be a shame. We owe it to ourselves for taking the risk to make this trip.”

Liu Yu had just calmed her racing heart, brought over three cups of tea, and upon hearing Liu Yanping’s words, her eyes flickered as she asked, “Second Brother, what risk?”

Lu Chengxiao’s expression changed slightly, and Liu Yanping’s heart sank; he had let something slip.

However, Liu Yanan quickly turned his eyes and decided to mix a bit of truth with lies to clarify the situation. “Water bandits, of course. That’s the biggest fear when traveling for business. But we haven’t encountered any yet. Even if we did, it wouldn’t be a big deal. We have plenty of people, and everyone is trained in martial arts, so we’re not afraid.”

He spoke so lightly, as if it was a matter unrelated to them. Both Liu Yanping and Lu Chengxiao simultaneously felt relieved. Liu Yanan was clever, very clever.

They then supported Liu Yanan’s story.

Liu Yu had heard about water bandits when traveling by boat. This was why she had insisted that Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping take more people with them when they went out on business. Although the three of them seemed relaxed, in her past life, Liu Yu had learned to read people’s expressions and could tell that things were not as simple as they made it out to be. After some thought, she suspected that their previous business trip had not been smooth. However, she knew it was not the right time to ask and kept it to herself. As she was about to sit down and listen to their conversation, Tan’s third son entered the backyard, calling out from a distance, “Miss Liu, someone is looking for you!”

Liu Yu hurried out of the flower hall and saw him leading a woman in her thirties.

The woman, upon seeing her, said, “I’m here to apply for the position of seamstress.”

Liu Yu was delighted and said, “Great, please wait a moment.”

She turned to inform Lu Chengxiao and her brothers before welcoming the woman and leading her to the sewing workshop.

With Liu Yu gone, Lu Chengxiao and the brothers felt they had successfully diverted her attention and relaxed. They then spoke more cautiously, avoiding any mention of their journey’s dangers. Instead, they discussed how much they could bring on this trip.

Lu Chengxiao had heard from his mother about the Liu family’s plans to prepare a dowry for Liu Yu. Although he hadn’t known the Liu brothers for long, their personalities matched well, and because of their good treatment of Liu Yu, he felt a deep sense of gratitude towards them. He regarded the Liu family as his own.

Liu Yanping, who had recently returned to Yangshan Village and discussed matters with the villagers, said, “If we can leave by the fifth of August, I should be able to gather about one thousand to twelve hundred bolts of cloth.”

This was the maximum he could manage. Yangshan Village didn’t have many people, and the time was tight. As for other villages, they wouldn’t trust him without cash.

Lu Chengxiao had anticipated this and asked, “Do you want to bring more? If so, I can help you collect some more, making it up to two thousand bolts.”

Using his name, they should be able to collect the cloth smoothly.

Liu Yanping was taken aback. “Wouldn’t that reduce the amount of goods you can bring yourself?”

Lu Chengxiao smiled. “Money can’t be earned all at once. Besides, I’ve also ordered a thousand bolts from the weaving workshop. We can split the load, half for each family.”

His suggestion meant he would order a thousand bolts from the workshop and collect two thousand bolts from the other villages. A thousand bolts would be in his name but given to Liu Yanping, thus sharing the risk.

Ultimately, Lu Chengxiao was grateful to the Liu family and didn’t want the brothers to make two trips to Zhejiang, where all the profits from the first trip went to the shop, and the second trip’s money went into Liu Yu’s dowry, leaving them with almost nothing.

If he helped collect an extra eight hundred to a thousand bolts, the situation would be different. Four thousand bolts, even without considering the return trip, could earn over seven hundred taels of silver, with the Liu family getting at least three hundred and fifty taels.

But two thousand bolts were goods worth six hundred taels of silver, and Liu Yanping needed some courage to take on that much.

Liu Yanping was doing the math in his head and quickly understood Lu Chengxiao’s intentions. After a while, he looked at Liu Yanan and asked, “What do you think?”

Six hundred taels was quite a burden, but Liu Yanping was very tempted and wanted to hear Liu Yanan’s opinion.

Liu Yanan had also done his calculations. In the past, he would never have dared to take on six hundred taels’ worth of cloth. But after their recent experiences, he realized that with enough wit and caution, money wasn’t as hard to earn as he had thought.

When Liu Yanping asked him, Liu Yanan gritted his teeth and said, “Let’s do it. But we need to be more cautious. We don’t want to end up in a mess like Cao Jinnian.”

Liu Yanping was delighted to hear this, as he had hoped for Liu Yanan’s support. He said, “How about this: Huai Geng’s escort agency has many skilled guards. We can hire some of their best men, who are also good swimmers, to accompany us. With five or six good guards and our trained crew, we should be fine. It’s not worth a big fight over our goods.”

Lu Chengxiao agreed, excitedly saying, “That sounds like a solid plan. I’ll ask around at the escort agency about their best guards and then hire them.”

With the plan settled, Liu Yanping formally thanked Lu Chengxiao, “By helping me collect these goods, you’re not only earning less but also taking on risks for me. I can’t thank you enough.”

Lu Chengxiao laughed, “We’re family; there’s no need to be so formal.”

This statement truly captured the essence of their relationship—they were, indeed, like one family now.

Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5 review.

Please look forward to my new novel translation to replace HCB. It will be posted in Tuesday, June 18, 2024 along with the final Extra of HCB. It’s called “BITE MARKS”

Summary:

1.

Qin Lou was like a madman from a young age, feared by everyone. Only one person wasn’t afraid and helped him lock away the demons in his heart. Later, the girl became Qin Lou’s first love. And then, the girl died. Qin Lou went even more mad, becoming uncontrollable.

Until a woman who bore a striking resemblance to his first love appeared.

2.

Ever since Qin Qing became Qin Lou’s assistant, she had to endure daily mockery besides her work:

• “President Qin only sees you as a stand-in.”
• “You have no idea how much Qin Lou loved Song Shu. Compared to Song Shu, you’re nothing!”
• “Being someone’s stand-in, how pitiful you are.”

Qin Qing cooperated well, always lowering her eyes, looking as if she was about to cry.

• “It’s okay, I’m willing to endure it. Even if he only loves my face.”

Thus, rumors spread in the venture capital industry, saying that Qin Lou’s assistant was a pitiful stand-in who accompanied him for drinks, chats, and warmth in bed. This finally reached Qin Lou’s ears.

At the Vio annual meeting, in front of everyone, the utterly fed-up Qin Lou pulled Qin Qing into his arms—

• “Song Shu, after faking your death for so long, how many more years do you plan to toy with me?”

Everyone: …Who??

Tips:

1. Youth chapter: Madman & Doll, two kids with problematic families, mutual salvation.
2. Return chapter: [Venture capital workplace background] Fake death, exoneration, and revenge storyline (In short, “After faking my death and returning, I became my own stand-in, juggling my career, exoneration, and acting skills while outsmarting my mad ex-boyfriend (not really).”)

Tags: Love Story, Two-way healing, Revenge, Drama, Childhood sweetheart