Zhu Haodong was waiting in the outer room. The two of them walked out of the room one after the other and went straight to the study of Zhu's second uncle.
The study has always been a place for discussing serious matters, and some families even strictly forbid women from entering or leaving. Hua Zhi felt relieved to be treated like this by her second uncle.
She is not a feminist, but the contempt for women in this era is sometimes unbearable. Fortunately, the Hua family is not like that, and the Zhu family is also okay. At least for now, they give her enough respect.
After the waiter served tea, Zhu Haodong dismissed all the servants.
"Have all the Yang family's issues been resolved?"
Hua Zhi smiled, "Second uncle doesn't seem surprised."
"I know Yang Qi a little bit. If he hadn't been beaten and forced to write a divorce letter, he wouldn't have yelled like that just for his own face."
“But no one believed him.”
Yes, no one believed it. Even he thought before today that Zhi'er might have used some tricks to get the divorce papers. Yang Qi was throwing dirty water on Zhi'er because he suffered a loss. For this reason, the boys from the Zhu family had fought with the Yang family several times, and the older ones had also had many open fights.
Unexpectedly, what Yang Qi said was all true. There was really nothing his niece dared not do. She was so bold that he even wanted to send the Zhu family's daughter to be raised by the Hua family and let Zhier take care of her. He wondered if she could learn three of her skills.
Zhu Haodong then talked about the progress of the soap workshop. "My Zhu family paid for most of the labor, and the Zhou family paid for a small part. The same goes for the capital. The rest of the things are arranged as you said. If you have time, why not come with me to take a look."
"I won't go. I won't interfere in this business. It all depends on your ability, uncle."
Zhu Haodong was not surprised. Even the old man gave a thumbs up to his niece's courage in this regard. Thinking of the situation at home, Zhu Haodong's heart sank slightly. His father wanted to treat them equally, but how could it be possible? One was a politician and the other was a businessman, and the businessman was naturally inferior. If it were in the past, he would definitely not agree to let this business he had built up be owned by the public. But when he learned from Zhier that all the businesses in her hands were owned by the public, he gave up those thoughts.
He couldn't compare with Zhi'er, but as an elder he didn't want to be too far behind. As long as his elder brother didn't have any other thoughts, then let it be public. After all, the recipe was in his hands.
After putting aside all these messy thoughts, Zhu Haodong adjusted his mindset and asked his niece for advice. He realized that some of his niece's ideas were really good, but there were too many problems in implementation. He was not afraid of being embarrassed and asked for advice one by one.
Hua Zhi was of course forthright and explained as much as possible. If something was not feasible, she would use other methods in this world as a substitute. The two of them forgot about time while they were discussing. It was not until someone knocked on the study door that they realized that smoke was coming out of their mouths and not a drop of water was left in the teacup.
Zhu Haodong slapped his forehead and ordered without caring who was outside: "Bring some tea quickly."
The door was pushed open. Hua Zhi tilted her head to take a look and immediately stood up, "Grandfather."
Zhu Bowen ignored the two of them and walked to the chair, sat down, picked up the paper on the coffee table and started reading. When he finished reading, a smile appeared on his face. "I heard from the waiter that you have been talking for half a day. Are you not finished yet?"
"There's always room to discuss business." Hua Zhi only then realized that her throat was really uncomfortable. Her second uncle was a good businessman and could draw inferences from many things. She hadn't met such a person for a long time, so she was a little excited for a moment.
The servant brought in a pot of tea that was just right for drinking. Hua Zhi drank three cups in a row before she quenched her thirst.
Zhu Bowen didn't say much to the two of them. He was very happy to see Zhier was willing to get close to people from her outside family.
"I heard from your grandmother that you went to the Wu family?"
"Yes, I have to go."
Zhu Bowen nodded slightly. If the Hua family wanted to establish themselves, Zhi'er couldn't avoid or retreat. People usually bully the weak and fear the strong. "Wu Zhen has been making frequent moves this year just to make further progress. He was about to succeed, but he was rejected by the leader of the Seven Stars Division at the court meeting today. I saw that his face was not right after he left the court. I'm afraid he's going to have a hard time."
So that's how it is. Hua Zhi felt a little warm in her heart when she thought of Doctor Chu who was hurriedly invited in when she was leaving. Since Yan Xi had sentenced Wu Zhen at the court meeting, he must have had his reasons. But she didn't believe that he had no selfish motives. She was protected by that man.
"This is really retribution." Zhu Haodong looked up at his father, "Did Qi Su Si give a reason?"
"Yesterday, someone filed a complaint against Wu Zhen at Mingtian Prefecture Office. It happened to be seen by the head of Qisusi. Qi Qing did not accept the case, but the complaint fell into the hands of Qisusi. Qi Qing was also implicated. The case has been filed with Qisusi, so Wu Zhen can't escape. Which family among us can withstand a detailed investigation? Wu Zhen has no chance of promotion. Only by settling this lawsuit can we save our capital."
Zhu Bowen stopped talking, "Zhi'er, is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"Yes, I plan to go to the south in a while."
The father and son looked at each other. Zhu Haodong wanted to say something but shut up. Zhu Bowen frowned and said, "Where are we going to the south? We can't let the servants go. If you can trust them, there are still some people in the Zhu family who can be used."
"To the coastal area of Jingzhou." Since she was planning to tell her grandfather, Hua Zhi explained in detail, "The food I'm going to do next comes from there, and I need to go and see it in person. I've only seen some of the things there in some miscellaneous books, so I have to go."
"No, Jingzhou is too far away. It's close to Yan State, which has never been peaceful. If you, a girl, go there..."
"Don't say anything." Zhu Bowen interrupted his son's objection, "Have you decided? Do you have to go?"
"yes."
“How many people will you bring?”
"The guards at home have been learning martial arts from Mr. Wu, and now they are able to use them. I will bring a few more and ask Mr. Wu to come along."
"Mr. Wu, are you sure you can trust me?"
"Yes, I can trust it."
Zhu Bowen did not ask any more questions. He saw through things better than the second brother. Zhier did not tell them everything. If she did not have the confidence, she would not have made this decision. She dared to run to the north last year, so it was not surprising for her to go to the south again now.
"Don't worry about going out. I will take care of the Hua family."
"You just need to pay attention. I have been standing in front of them for a long time. The Hua family is now stable, and we cannot let the other members of the Hua family become useless. The men of the Hua family need to be able to take on responsibilities, and the girls need to stay calm when encountering problems. They are too dependent on me now, which is not a good thing. The Hua family is not mine alone, and the stability of a family should not depend on one person. My leaving home at this time is also a test for them. If there is a big problem, I will ask for your help, and let them solve the small problems by themselves. Even if it gets as bad as before, it doesn't matter. I can pull it back, so I will just take it as a lesson for them."
After spending nearly a year to finally build the Hua family into what it is today, he is willing to sacrifice all this to promote the growth of the younger generation of the Hua family. What is the saying "a newborn cow is not afraid of a tiger"? What is courage? This is it!
PS: If nothing unexpected happens, I will keep updating. Girls must remember this!