Chapter 160 Jiang Yuan Makes a Meritorious Deed

Chapter 160 Jiang Yuan Makes a Meritorious Deed

Compared to other shops that directly mix old grain into new grain in an attempt to reduce costs and increase profit margins, Xie Wanniang's approach is quite conscientious.

In addition, her food, clothing, and shoes are all sold on a low-profit, high-volume basis, so both of her shops are doing quite well.

That alone was enough to make people envious, but she also took out so many things and donated them to the soldiers stationed at Zijing Pass free of charge, as if those things were free.

Her actions were often secretly criticized by other wealthy households, who said she was "brainless." But unlike other landlords and merchants who simply pursued wealth, she sought freedom and security.

In order to have the ability to control her own destiny, she had to do everything she could to get in touch with the border troops and establish an unbreakable, multifaceted bond with them.

After seeing off the group of people responsible for escorting the supplies, Xie Wanniang began preparing local specialties to bring to her adoptive parents, Wang Xiaozhi, Chen Lizheng, Dr. Chen, and others.

Although Yi County is not particularly far from Mingfu Village, for people like Wang Xiaozhi and Chen Lizheng, whose farthest place in their lives is the county seat of their own county, Yi County is definitely a foreign land.

Many things here are quite rare to them.

She picked out some local specialties like persimmons, jujube cakes, dried wild lake fish, and distinctive colored pottery. She also picked out some more common local items from outside the Great Wall, such as dried mutton, milk curds, mare's milk wine, blankets, and felt. After filling the cart to the brim, Xie Wanniang finally stopped.

It is worth mentioning that Chen did not plan to return to her hometown with Xie Wanniang and the others because her daughter was still young.

However, she did prepare quite a few things for her family. In addition to the items that Xie Wanniang had purchased, she also gave her family several bolts of cloth that she had woven herself.

She also prepared gifts for Wang Xiaozhi, Chen Lizheng, and Chen Lizheng's second son, since their house was still in the village and they needed these families to take good care of it.

Besides Chen, Xiaomei and Xiaoyang also did not plan to return to their hometown with Xie Wanniang and the others.

Xiao Yang didn't want to go back to face her parents, so she just used her pocket money to buy some things and asked Xie Wan Niang to take them back as a token of her feelings. Xiao Mei, on the other hand, considered that she always held back when she went out, so she simply decided to stay at home and study medicine diligently.

Since they wouldn't be of much help even if they came along, Xie Wanniang didn't suggest that they go back with them.

She entrusted both girls to Madam Chen in advance so that the three of them could look after each other. She also planned to leave two of her guards to help her and Hao Yu watch over the shop and martial arts school, so that no one would cause trouble while they were away.

Of course, Xie Wanniang wasn't expecting them to help solve the problem.

She kept them because they were all from the Chang family, and they were well-known figures with some influence in Chang Yao's circle and the county government. If anyone caused trouble, they could at least seek help from the Chang family and the people in the county government immediately.

Putting aside business matters, they still had the ability to protect the Chen family and others while they were away.

In this way, Xie Wanniang kept busy to suppress her worries and tried her best to stay calm.

Fortunately, no bad news came from Zijing Pass. In fact, the two guards she sent to escort the supplies brought her the good news that Jiang Yuan had made great contributions and would be promoted to commander after the war ended.

Xie Wanniang was overjoyed and silently murmured to herself, "May God bless us."

She asked the two men, "Is A-Yuan injured?"

Both of them nodded.

Xie Wanniang's heart skipped a beat.

One of them quickly said, "It's just a scratch from a stray arrow; a little medicine will heal it quickly."

What he didn't say was that if Xie Wanniang hadn't delivered the medicine in time, and if the military doctors hadn't given Jiang Yuan extra care because of the medicinal herbs she had, Jiang Yuan wouldn't have even had the chance to have his minor injury treated.

After all, once a war breaks out, the army will inevitably face a shortage of medical supplies, and the military doctors want to use every dose of medicine as effectively as possible.

Xie Wanniang knew what the situation was like in the army; otherwise, she wouldn't have risked sending someone to deliver supplies.

Hearing them say that Jiang Yuan only had a minor scrape, she couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief.

She thanked the two guards for their hard work, then had Haitang give them the reward money and distributed it to them before sending them off to rest.

Not long after the two left, the shopkeeper of her clothing store hurried into the house and said to Xie Wanniang with a worried look, "Boss, recently many neighbors have been talking badly about you behind your back."

Xie Wanniang smiled. "Is it because of the things I sent to Zijing Pass?"

The shopkeeper nodded.

Previously, their boss followed a low-profit, high-volume strategy, stealing business from other restaurants and clothing stores. At most, the other businesses would grumble in secret. Now that she has done this, the other merchants, who were made to appear less righteous by comparison, have suddenly become unscrupulous and started to show their faces because of their large numbers.

Xie Wanniang shook her head. "If they don't mention it to us, let them say whatever they want. But if they do mention it to us, you should say, 'Our boss said that if anyone is dissatisfied with her decision, she will contribute another sum of money and ask the county magistrate to call on all the wealthy households in Yi County to donate.'"

Shopkeeper: ...Their boss should really change his name to Xie Yong.

Seeing his wide-eyed expression, Xie Wanniang couldn't help but smile and explain, "My purpose is different from theirs. I don't have any money-burning hobbies, nor do I have a bunch of wives, concubines, children, or even grandchildren to support. My only wish is that the soldiers guarding the border can live a better life and die less."

The shopkeeper's eyes immediately reddened. He also had relatives who died on the battlefield, and he could empathize with Xie Wanniang more than those wealthy people.

He bowed deeply to Xie Wanniang, saying, "This bow is on behalf of the soldiers, their wives, children, and elderly parents, to thank you, Master."

Xie Wanniang waved her hand, "It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement. Without them, where would our current peace and stability come from?"

It's her money, and how she spends it is her own business. It's a pipe dream for others to interfere.

They can cricket at her in their own homes or shops, and if she doesn't hear it, she can pretend it never happened. But if anyone dares to push their luck and come in front of her, then she shouldn't blame her for eyeing their money too.

She wanted to see if they would give up this good opportunity to pretend they didn't know just to satisfy their own urges, and force her to report the matter to the county government.

As it turns out, those wealthy people really didn't dare...

It's not that they're short of money; they're just reluctant to spend it in places like this.