The locals, who can read, are smart, have good characters, and have some self - defense abilities. Overall, their capabilities are quite suitable. Besides, among the people Su Yanke knows, they are the most appropriate.
The main reason is that Su Yanke doesn't want to wait any longer. She misses Yuan Hexiao.
Xiaobao watched Su Yanke lost in thought. For some reason, he felt a sudden sense of uneasiness. Looking at her, he had a strange feeling that she was about to disappear, and he couldn't hold on to her. This feeling was really bad.
Xiaobao unconsciously tightened his small hand on Su Yanke's arm, as if trying to remind himself that his sister was right in front of him and wouldn't disappear!
"What's wrong, Xiaobao?"
The sudden tightening on her arm brought Su Yanke back to her senses. Seeing Xiaobao's pale face, she quickly asked.
But how could Xiaobao tell his real thoughts? So he just casually said, "It's okay."
Su Yanke clearly felt that Xiaobao was not in a good state. She was about to ask more when the sudden knock on the door interrupted her.
Su Yanke was a bit surprised. Who could it be at this time?
Seeing that Su Yanke stopped asking, Xiaobao secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Uncle Lao Ji had gone back to his room to catch some sleep after seeing that everyone had left. Hearing the knock on the door, he immediately got up from the bed.
Before Su Yanke could move, Xiaobao on the side quickly ran to open the door.
As soon as the door opened, Xiaobao was stunned. There were quite a few people, about five or six.
Moreover, they looked unfamiliar. They were not from their village. From their clothes, it could be seen that these people were either rich or noble.
Qiu Xu was only slightly surprised to see a child opening the door, but only for a moment. Soon, he put on his business - like smile.
"Little friend, we're here to do business with Miss Su. Is she at home?"
Hearing this, Xiaobao immediately knew who he was - Qiu Xu!
"She is. Please wait a moment."
After closing the door, Su Yanke just came into the courtyard.
"What's going on? Who's outside?"
Su Yanke was a bit confused. Why did Xiaobao close the door so quickly after opening it?
"The man who wants to buy the stoves, Qiu Xu." Xiaobao looked at Su Yanke and said calmly.
But his heart was not as calm as his appearance. Seeing the young and promising Qiu Xu, he felt a strong sense of crisis and inferiority.
"Qiu Xu?"
Su Yanke was a bit surprised. It wasn't the final delivery time yet. Why did he come?
Su Yanke went up and reopened the door. Qiu Xu was wearing a long white robe and still holding the fan that Su Yanke had seen last time, fanning it.
Actually, from a distance, Qiu Xu really looked like a handsome young gentleman in white, if he didn't speak.
Although Qiu Xu's voice was very nice, deep and magnetic, every time Su Yanke heard him speak, she always felt as if a cunning fox was talking, which made her subconsciously start to resist.
But these thoughts only flashed through her mind for a moment, and Su Yanke didn't let these thoughts show on her face.
"Miss Su, long time no see! Have you enjoyed your meals these days?"
Qiu Xu had a deep impression of Su Yanke's eating. In all his years of business, whenever he invited people to dinner, they were always nervously discussing business. Only she focused on eating until she was satisfied before getting to the point.
Su Yanke answered Qiu Xu's teasing without any psychological burden, "It's been great! I've even gained some weight on my face these days!"
Su Yanke really felt that the flesh on her face had come back. Before, because she didn't eat well, she felt that her chin had become much sharper. Now when she touched it, it didn't feel the same.
Before, Su Yanke couldn't get used to the local food, so she was never full. With a large daily consumption, it was no wonder she lost weight!
Her face had become so thin that it gave people a weak and delicate beauty. Now that the flesh had come back, she had become a cute girl again!
Qiu Xu had accidentally seen Su Yanke's real face for just a few seconds. After he got home, he couldn't forget it. Every night, her face would appear in his dreams. He had been having trouble sleeping these days.
But Qiu Xu always had strong willpower. He didn't allow himself to be controlled by beauty, so he had been holding back from coming to see Su Yanke. Finally, today he had a legitimate reason to come.
"Cough. Well, Miss Su, the goods you provided last time were very well - received in the market. Now our warehouse is out of stock, and we're in urgent need. So I'd like to invite your technician to instruct my employees to improve efficiency. After all, the stoves are seasonal, and time is pressing!"
Su Yanke was naturally happy about this situation. She immediately winked at Xiaobao, and Xiaobao left quietly after receiving the signal.
Then Su Yanke led Qiu Xu and his people in.
"Who are these people?"
"Oh! I forgot to introduce. These are all the persons - in - charge of selling the stoves under me. They will hand over your share of the profit every month. I brought them here today just to get you acquainted."
Su Yanke glanced at these people. Their faces were not very distinctive. Su Yanke had a better understanding of Qiu Xu's vision.
As the persons - in - charge who often dealt with money, it was better for their faces to be as unremarkable as possible, so that the risk would be reduced accordingly.
Su Yanke gave Qiu Xu a mental thumbs - up for this move.
Since Su Yanke had seen their faces, she also needed some form of identification. But she didn't want to use her face as proof because she wouldn't have much time to collect the profit in the future.
Just then, Uncle Lao Ji came. Su Yanke's eyes lit up. She called Uncle Lao Ji to her side and said, "From now on, Uncle Lao Ji will handle the matter of collecting the profit."
After introducing Uncle Lao Ji to those people, Su Yanke told Uncle Lao Ji some things to pay attention to and asked Qiu Xu if there was any other item as proof besides recognizing faces.
A look of regret flashed across Qiu Xu's eyes. He gestured to a person beside him, and that person took out a small olive - green挂牌 from his bosom.
Qiu Xu handed the small挂牌 to Su Yanke and said, "This is the token. You or the person with this token can come to collect the profit."
The small挂牌 seemed to be made of jade. It felt warm and smooth, with a delicate texture, good luster, and a bit of weight.
A strange look flashed across Su Yanke's eyes as she held the small挂牌.
Qiu Xu had an ulterior motive!
If the token was enough, why did he ask her to show her face to get acquainted before?
Su Yanke looked at Qiu Xu and smiled but didn't say a word.
Qiu Xu also smiled. He took out a paper bag from his bosom and handed it to Su Yanke, saying, "This is our token of goodwill. The balance will be paid at the end of this month."
After Su Yanke took the heavy "goodwill", Qiu Xu left satisfied. By the time Aunt Li came over with the brewed tea, Qiu Xu was long gone.
Su Yanke handed the money to Uncle Lao Ji and then said to Aunt Li, "It seems we need to always have some boiled water at home. Otherwise, guests who come suddenly like this won't be able to have tea!"
Aunt Li looked at the steaming tea and nodded, indicating that it made sense.
Seeing Uncle Lao Ji's hands trembling slightly because of the amount of money in his hand, Su Yanke pressed his hand and said, "Now there's enough money for Xiaobao's school fees. Xiaobao is old enough to go to school. Otherwise, it will be too late. I plan to take Xiaobao to the school in the city to have a look tomorrow."
Uncle Lao Ji was already dazed by so much money, so he was a bit slow to react to what Su Yanke said.
It was Aunt Li who, seeing Uncle Lao Ji not reacting for a long time, impatiently punched him hard in the chest. Aunt Li whole - heartedly agreed with what Su Yanke said.
Su Yanke paused for a moment and then asked, "How's the hot - pot coming along, Uncle Lao Ji?"
Uncle Lao Ji was awakened by Aunt Li's "lovely punch". This time he reacted quickly. Almost as soon as Su Yanke asked, he replied, "It's almost done. It will be finished tonight!"
Hearing this, Su Yanke also smiled. It seemed that her hot - pot project could officially start!
After asking all the questions, Su Yanke turned around and saw Xiaobao, Uncle Dali, and Uncle Daishu standing at the door. Su Yanke stared blankly at these "door - guardians" at the door and asked,
"Xiaobao, when did you come? Why didn't you say anything?"
Uncle Dali clearly wanted to say something, but Xiaobao spoke first.
"Sister, we just arrived. We saw you talking with Uncle and the others, so we didn't want to interrupt."
Uncle Dali looked at Uncle Daishu beside him: "??"
"Didn't we come here a long time ago?" Uncle Dali asked with his eyes.
Uncle Daishu also replied with a wink, "How should I know? You're asking me!"
Su Yanke didn't doubt Xiaobao's explanation. Looking at Uncle Dali and Uncle Daishu who had arrived, she said, "Uncle Lao Ji will assign you a new task tomorrow morning. This task must be kept absolutely secret. So to ensure its secrecy, only Uncle Lao Ji can teach you personally. You won't be able to see the design drawings this time. Can you understand?"
Uncle Dali and Uncle Daishu both said in unison that they understood and were willing to follow the arrangement.
Seeing that everything had been arranged, Su Yanke let them go back first.
Actually, the reason why Su Yanke didn't let Uncle Dali and the others see the design drawings was not only for safety but also for a more important reason - the internal structure of the hot - pot was different from the ordinary ones.
Su Yanke planned to use the fire - controlling talisman in the hot - pot. The fire - controlling talisman was like a modern gas tank. It could adjust the size of the fire, and Uncle Lao Ji and the others didn't need to change the fuel. The good thing about it compared to the modern gas tank was that one talisman could be used for thirty years. Su Yanke had already given the other replacement talismans to Aunt Li.
Uncle Lao Ji didn't pay attention to these small details, and Aunt Li was smart enough never to say anything. So Su Yanke had no psychological burden when using them in front of them.