Volume 1 Chapter 87

  At dinner time, Old Master Yao arrived as scheduled. Yao Cunhui led the servants, including Rong Ma and Hong Lian, to welcome their father at the door.

  Mr. Yao was pleased with her politeness, but smiled and said: "We are father and daughter, Hui'er doesn't need to be like this, it's actually a bit awkward!"

  "Etiquette must not be abandoned. As a daughter, I should show respect to Father." Yao Cunhui smiled lightly and followed her father into the house.

  The father and daughter sat facing each other, with eight dishes and one soup on the table, all of which were light and refreshing summer dishes, coarsely made but with a unique flavor.

  Mr. Yao actually had someone bring up a jug of pear blossom white wine, but he didn't let Yao Cunhui drink it, and instead drank alone. The scene of the father and daughter facing each other was somewhat strange, as if the father's heart was depressed, letting his daughter accompany him in drinking bitter wine.

  Yao Cunhui ordered everyone to retreat and instructed Rong Ma to guard the entrance, allowing no one to approach.

  In the past, in order to dispel Ma's suspicious mind, Yao Cunhui and her sister, second aunt, etc. would always let Hongzhi serve on the side when they spoke, but recently she keenly felt that what her father wanted to say was definitely not simple, so she unhesitatingly excluded Hongzhi as well.

  The father and daughter chatted for a while, and Old Master Yao casually asked Yaocun Hui many questions. Yaocun Hui also answered casually. Then Old Master Yao asked if she had looked at that account book? What were her thoughts and feelings after reading it?

  This is the key point, Yao Cunhui secretly raised it in her heart, answering neatly and clearly. It's necessary to know that before crossing over, she was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, not a female strong person in the business world. What she relied on was that she had never eaten pork or seen pigs run, but that account book was really studied with great care, using advanced knowledge and information to comprehend and understand. At this time, when talking to Old Man Yao, it turned out to be reasonable and logical, making Old Man Yao nod frequently, with a more and more satisfied expression in his eyes.

  Mr. Yao's mood was even more pleasant, and the smile on his face deepened by two degrees. He finally couldn't help but ask about what had happened in the study that afternoon, "When Hui'er helped her father pick up those papers, what order did she use to arrange them?"

  Yao Cun Hui was stunned, looking at Old Man Yao in surprise. What basis? This really made her speechless! Because she had done it on instinct, without thinking that she needed a reason for it.

  "Hui'er, Hui'er just thought it should be that way!" Yao Cun Hui smiled and said in a confused manner: "Is it? Did Hui'er make a mistake? Hui'er didn't do it on purpose, Father, sorry..."

  Mr. Yao was even more stunned, and he suspiciously glanced at Yao Cunhui, seeing that her expression didn't look like she was lying at all. He couldn't say anything and simply raised his hand to rub his forehead: It turned out that they were just feeling it after all!

  "No, no, you're not mistaken, haha!" Old Master Yao smiled wryly, momentarily lost in thought, and secretly felt a sense of wonder. It was just intuition, just intuition! Could it be that he, Yao, really had a daughter born to be an excellent businesswoman? Since heaven gave him such good fortune, why did she have to be his daughter instead of his son?

  Mr. Yao sighed softly and his eyes suddenly dimmed.

  "Dad, is there something on your mind? Did you encounter some difficulties on this trip? Is our family business in trouble? I know I shouldn't ask these questions, but seeing your expression over the past couple of days has made me feel uneasy! If you have something on your mind, Dad, it's better to say it out loud. Even if I can't help you solve the problem, saying it out loud will make you feel a bit better!"

  Mr. Yao looked at his daughter with a deep gaze, and the bright spots in his eyes flickered. Yes, about those annoying things, he couldn't show a worried and anxious expression in front of his second brother and the other shop assistants, nor could he lose the wise and strong image he had always established; nor could he talk to his wife, Xia'er, and other children, because they simply didn't understand, and talking to them would be pointless. Only this daughter in front of him could he have a few words with!

  She won't look down on him because of this, he knows she can also understand.

  Mr. Yao let out a soft sigh, and the depression and annoyance that had been building up over the past few days were finally released. Once he started talking, the topics just kept flowing and couldn't be stopped. Looking back on it later, he hadn't expected to say so much to her at this moment either.

  Yao Cunhui was shocked as he listened. It turned out that the thirteen large landowners from Shandong, Henan and Hebei who had been cooperating with the Yao family for a long time suddenly announced that they would not sell their grain to the Yao family this year. They were very polite in their conversation and treated Old Man Yao and his entourage warmly, but when it came to supplying grain, no matter what methods Old Man Yao used, they wouldn't budge even half an inch, nor would they reveal who the new buyer was.

  These thirteen households supply nearly two-thirds of the grain for Yao's entire business every year, which means that if they refuse to supply grain, Yao's rice shop may face the danger of closing down!

  Old Master Yao never dreamed that he had been cooperating with these thirteen households for the longest ten years, and the shortest five years. This time they actually simultaneously attacked the Yao family without warning.

  If this weren't a fact he had personally experienced, Old Master Yao would definitely not have believed it, because these thirteen households were not shallowly acquainted with him, and four of them were even sworn brothers; they had no reason to make such a decision at the same time.

  But in fact, it was just like that! He originally thought that he would go through the motions as usual, but everything had changed.

  Yao Cun's eyes widened in shock, and he couldn't help but glance at his father with a hint of admiration: it was impressive that he could endure this, if it were someone slightly weaker, they probably would have been driven to distraction, let alone remain calm.

  "It's really the Yangtze River's rear waves pushing forward, talented people emerging one after another! I don't know which family has such a strong financial backing to make such a big move. Hehe, not only did I not get any wind of it beforehand, but even after sending someone to investigate, they couldn't find any clues! This mysterious buyer is truly an unknown saint." Mr. Yao self-mockingly said with a bitter smile.

  "Dad, this is obviously aimed at our Yao family. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but has our Yao family's rice shop offended some important person?" asked Yao Cunhui.

  "I've thought of that too, the answer is no." Old Master Yao shook his head, and suddenly his eyes sank, coldly laughing: "I don't care who this person behind the scenes is or how much power they have. Hmph, he thinks he can swallow up and destroy the family business I've accumulated over nearly twenty years? He underestimates me, Yao! The world of Zhou is vast, where can't you buy grain?"

  Yao Cunhui's heart ached even more upon hearing this. By now, it was already June, and the grain of the wealthy landlords had long been pre-ordered by various grain merchants. The majority of the grain from ordinary people's homes was barely enough for their own families to get by, and there wasn't much surplus to sell. Moreover, the varieties and quality of grain produced by each household and region varied greatly. Even if they were to collect such grain, it would only be a matter of making up numbers; not only could they not fetch a good price, but it might also affect the reputation of Yao's Rice Shop due to quality issues.

  This is still good, but a worse consequence would be that such grain will probably also be difficult to purchase!

  That mysterious grain buyer actually has such a big hand, doing things so flawlessly and quietly, even turning against Yao Lao Ye's closest friends. It can be imagined that this person is probably not just a simple businessman!

  Yao Cunhui thought it would be better to remind her father.

  She calmed down her emotions, thought for a moment, and said softly: "Dad, an ordinary businessman can't produce such neat and beautiful handwriting. What I'm worried about is... collusion between officials and merchants! Who knows, this official might not be just any small official, maybe he's a high-ranking official in the imperial court!"

  Mr. Yao was shocked, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he froze there. He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before sighing: "If it's really like that, Dad can't think of anything else to do. But the Yao family rice shop is Dad's lifeblood, even if we can't beat them, I won't let my lifeblood be given away to others!"

  But what he couldn't figure out after much thought was who this person was and why they wanted to make things difficult for the Yao family.

  Yao Cunhui's nose turned sour, and she almost shed tears. She had never felt such a deep sense of reverence for her father as she did at this moment.

  "Dad, if it's the worst-case scenario, what plans do you have?" Yao Cunhui knew she shouldn't ask, but couldn't help asking anyway.

  "Haha!" Old Master Yao chuckled, his long eyebrows slightly raised as he said calmly: "No need to worry. Your father is an imperial merchant registered with the Imperial Household Department, and there's still a war going on in the Western Regions. If the military rations can't be supplied, the court will take care of it for your father, no need for him to worry about it himself!"

  "Dad!" Yao Cunhui was heartbroken, and tears finally flowed down. If the military rations issue delayed the battle at the front line, it would be a consequence that the entire Yao family could not afford!

  "What's there to cry about? You're just a silly child!" Old Master Yao sighed softly and smiled faintly.

  Looking at her tearfully sorrowful daughter, she felt a moment of daze and confusion.

  It seems like yesterday that his daughter was born, but now she's grown up and sitting across from him, slender and elegant as a flower. He tries to think of something related to her over the years, but finds his memory is a complete blank, unable to recall anything!

  Not only her, but also Hui'er and Zan'er, whom he cherished the most. He had no specific memories of them at all! Only Mei'er, he could still recall two or three things about her.

  "I've wronged you sisters all these years!" Old Master Yao sighed again, and for a rare moment, his eyes shone with warmth as he looked at his daughter.

  Yao Cunhui gently shook her head and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

  "If that day really comes, you promise me to take care of your younger brother and Fourth Aunt's mother and son, okay?" Mr. Yao's face turned solemn, and he regained his usual composure, but in the eyes of Yao Cunhui, he felt a sense of desolation like a hero at the end of his journey.

  "Dad, there will be a way! Heaven won't cut off all roads for people, there must be a way!" Yao Cun's eyes flashed with determination. She was also a member of the Yao family, through thick and thin, sharing weal and woe, she wouldn't give up.