High-class maid

Chapter 290 Shen Kun Returns Home

“This is a rare find! There are very few shops for sale in the east of the city. If you miss this opportunity, you’ll have to wait a whole year!” Pang Bo said.

What he said was true. Although rents were high and things were expensive in the east of the city, the residents were generally well-educated and wealthy, so their purchasing power was also high. Shops in the east of the city were rarely sold.

Who knows if land prices will rise in the future? Owning a piece of land near the capital is never a bad thing!

"To be honest, I've also taken a liking to this place, but my Xing'er is right. It's too far from home, and it'll be too tiring to travel back and forth. It's fine on sunny days, but what if it's rainy or snowy?" Wang said.

“There are advantages and disadvantages. If you like this location, then you have to accept that it’s far from home. Sister-in-law, don’t worry too much. What if you make a lot of money in the future and buy a big courtyard house at the foot of the palace?” Pang Bo said with a smile.

Shen Xing'er gave him a thumbs up in her heart. He truly deserves to be called a top salesman; his words are always pleasing to the ear.

Seeing this, Shen Xing'er stopped being mysterious and asked Pang Bo.

"Could you make it cheaper? It's a bit beyond our budget."

After some haggling, the price of the shop was finally set at 480 taels, but since it included all the fees, it was a way of saving several dozen taels of silver.

Holding the fresh land deed, Mrs. Wang looked at the small shop in front of her. Her family had acquired another shop! This would be where her dreams began!

Another month passed, and as Wang looked towards the dock time and time again, Shen Kun finally returned.

"My wife, I'm back! You've had a long journey. Where's Xing'er? Let me see if she's lost weight?" Shen Kun got off the boat and, sure enough, saw his wife waiting for him!

He glanced smugly at the housekeeper, his eyes seeming to say, "See? I told you so! My wife still loves me!"

The procurement manager looked up at the sky, truly unable to bear the sight!

“I counted the days until you were supposed to come back, so I took some time these past few days to come to the dock and sure enough, I found you. Xing’er is at the shop; she’s very busy these days, running between the east and west sides of the city,” Wang said.

She smiled at the housekeeper, which was her way of greeting him.

"My daughter has grown up. I'll make sure to nourish you and your daughter properly these next few days." Wang had already told Shen Kun about the shop purchase in her letter, so Shen Kun didn't ask about it.

"You've worked hard too, did it go smoothly?" Wang asked.

"Let's talk about it when we get home. I still need to go to the Marquis's residence with Uncle Cai. How about we talk about it when we get home tonight?" Shen Kun coaxed him like a child.

"Alright, you go ahead, I'll wait for you," Wang said with heartache.

When Shen Kun returned from his trip, he was thinner and darker. Seeing that he didn't even have time to eat, Wang felt even more sorry for him. But as much as she felt sorry for him, she knew that if you wanted to gain something, you had to give something in return!

Hou House.

Early in the morning, Master Hou ordered his servants to clean the entire mansion, inside and out. He dressed in his new clothes and looked at himself in the mirror again and again, constantly glancing at the mansion gate. Just as he was about to impatiently go out to see the street, a servant's voice came to report.

"Here he comes! Here he comes! Young Master is back!"

Now, everyone in the Hou family, from servants to residents of the capital, knows that the Hou family's grandson has been found. Everyone laments that the Hou family was blinded in the first half of their lives, and they only hope that they did not mistake the wrong person in the second half.

Master Hou was startled and, leaning on his cane, walked step by step toward the gate of the mansion.

"Oh dear, sir, please slow down! We're back now." The steward looked at Master Hou's radiant appearance and inwardly wiped away a bead of sweat for him, truly afraid that the old man might slip and fall.

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm happy, Kun'er has lost weight!" Master Hou replied to Steward Cai, but his eyes were on Shen Kun as he smiled.

Shen Kun touched his nose somewhat awkwardly, feeling like a lamb to the slaughter.

Seeing his shyness, Master Hou laughed heartily and said...

"Alright, alright, let's go back inside first. Tell me how it went this time."

"In addition to capturing two of Bai Mo's men, we also captured two accountants and two shopkeepers," Shen Kun said.

"What? They've gone so far as to be so presumptuous? Which two managers?" Master Hou said angrily.

Those who could be trusted to manage the shops were all trusted confidants from the Marquis's mansion. The Marquis couldn't bear to let them continue to be slaves, and seeing that they had some ability, he granted them the favor of managing his shops. He never expected that someone would betray him.

"Reporting to Master, it is Zhou Da and Zhou Er," the steward said cautiously.

Sure enough, Master Hou was no longer angry; instead, he was more heartbroken and disappointed.

"The two of them? How could that be?"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart; you can draw the skin of a tiger but not its bones. These two Zhou brothers went from being servants to being sycophants, so it's no surprise that they can't keep their original intentions," Shen Kun awkwardly comforted him.

He understands this feeling: it's better to be deceived by a stranger than by the person closest to you.

“I started working in a clinic when I was twelve. Later, after being humiliated, I was determined to become a superior person! I don’t know how to treat patients, but I am familiar with all kinds of medicinal herbs. I knew that there were no medicinal herb warehouses in the capital, so I used all my savings to open a small warehouse.”

"Because the prices were fair and I never shortchanged anyone on the weight of the medicinal herbs, I gradually gained more and more repeat customers. Later, my business grew bigger and bigger, which aroused the envy of others. They joined forces to prevent those herbalists from selling to me, but I refused to give up. I drove my own horse-drawn carriage and led people to the mountains to collect herbs myself!"

When Master Hou spoke of his youthful vigor, it was as if he could see his own stubborn self again. His unwillingness to admit defeat, and the very fact that he neglected to discipline Zi'er during that time, led to the mistakes he made later.

"So, the Zhou brothers were the ones who were with you back then?" Shen Kun asked.

He was somewhat puzzled when he first met the Zhou brothers. They were clearly so old, yet instead of enjoying their retirement at home, they were still running a clinic.

"That's right. All the managers we sent out were the brothers who went up the mountain with me to gather herbs back then. I never treated them as servants. When I was besieged by other managers, they were the ones who risked their lives to help me gather herbs. How could I be the kind of person who would abandon someone after they've served their purpose?"

"Later, our clinic was closed for a year. During that year, we collected and dried our own herbs, became familiar with the process of preserving them, and had our own herb-collecting team. This reduced our costs considerably, so it was a blessing in disguise."

"I bestowed favors upon them, returned their indentures, and made them managers, but only Lao Cai remained loyal to me," said Master Hou.

“This is not your fault. You have done more than enough. Zhou Da is already halfway to his grave, yet he still kept eighteen concubines! It shows how much money he embezzled,” Shen Kun said.

When he first received the investigation results, he was also somewhat incredulous. Was this really not his son's concubine?

"We can't conclude that he embezzled money just because he had many concubines. Is there some other reason?" Master Hou asked.

He knew Shen Kun's character and would certainly not judge Zhou Da as a bad person simply because he had many concubines.