Picking Up a General to Plow the Fields

Chapter 526: Nanchang

The coachman brightened.
Straightening his back subconsciously, he smiled: “On ordinary days, I can earn two or three taels.
On good days, I can make seven or eight taels.
Of course, these days don’t happen very often!”

This was the province capital and you could see from his expression that he was very proud to work here.
It was clear that he was a leader in the industry and he was not lying about his skill in making money.

“From your accent, are you a native of Nanchang city?” Lian Fang Zhou asked.
“How many years have you been in this business?”

The driver didn’t expect her to suddenly ask something irrelevant and was taken aback.
Giving her a strange look, he nodded and smiled.
“This old man’s family has been a native of Nanchang for three generations and has worked as a coachman since I was sixteen.
It’s been thirty-five years now!”

He worked the alleys and his ancestors were natives, he must be very familiar with Nanchang City.

Lian Fang Zhou was secretly overjoyed.
Satisfied, she smiled generously: “I will pay you ten taels of silver a day if you will drive your carriage over and stand by from tomorrow.
What do you think?”

“Ah?” The coachman was stunned.
Dumbfounded, his eyes were wide, he had obviously not expected to encounter such a wonderful thing!

She chuckled.
“Don’t be so surprised, we have no malicious intentions.
We are businessmen and are looking for someone who is familiar with the local area to chat with and ask questions.
Isn’t this fate? Besides, we need a carriage to get around.
Ten taels is a good deal for me.”

Hearing this, the coachman laughed with relief: “I will have to thank miss! This old man’s surname is Deng, you can call me Old Deng.
Tomorrow morning, I will come and wait for you!”

Lian Fang Zhou nodded.
“Alright, come tomorrow.
You don’t have to come too early, I will pay you a deposit of thirty taels tomorrow and we can settle our account every three days.”

Old Deng nodded, smiling widely.
“Miss is an upright person at first glance, don’t worry about the deposit! I will leave this matter to you!”

After he left, Ah Jian smiled.
“You really have vision, this Old Deng is a very nice person.”

He understood her intention.

She smiled brightly.
“We met such a person right away, our luck should be pretty good!”

“That’s right, your luck has never been bad!” They laughed together.
In fact, it was not just a matter of luck, but also vision.

Without her ability to read people, she would not have noticed Old Deng’s value, let alone seized the opportunity.

They booked two adjacent medium sized rooms and stayed at the Fujin Inn for nearly a month, only finishing everything up around the third month.

On their second day, Old Deng took them around the streets and alleys, introducing them to many local businessmen.

The matter of the shop was settled quickly and Lian Fang Zhou was satisfied with both the location and the design.
As for the money, it was not a consideration right now.

They also bought a small two-entry house on Huangli Road, which was convenient for future use.

Their long term plan was to use Nanchang city as a center and radiate out to smaller towns.
Who knew how many shops they would open in the future.
There was also the cotton factory, which may have a branch factory soon.
Without a fixed foothold, it was impossible to do business.

However, they had some trouble with the candidate for the manager shopkeeper.
Ah Jian and Lian Fang Zhou met many business men and talked with several professionals, but not of them were satisfactory.

Seeing the days pass by and meeting many countless people without success, they couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

Old Deng only cared about driving and told them many stories and local gossip from around Nanchang.
He answered all their questions but he didn’t know how to help them find a manager.
When they went to speak with the middlemen, he would wait outside the door and rest in his carriage.

Until one day, he overheard them talking.
Seeing Lian Fang Zhou’s sad expression, he couldn’t help but feel moved.
Asking a few questions, he introduced his eldest son, Deng Yuan De to them.

Lian Fang Zhou didn’t have any hope at first but see that Old Deng was very flexible and good natured, it was likely that his son couldn’t be that bad.
So she went to see him for Old Deng’s sake.

It was just a casual introduction but as soon as the two parties met, both side’s eyes lit up.
After talking, the matter was decided immediately.

It was really to find but in the end, it took no effort at all!

This time, Lian Fang Zhou wanted to hire two shopkeepers.
One would be located in Nanchang and in the future, in addition to managing the shops in Nanchang, he would also be responsible for the general dispatch and general management of all the shops in Jiangxi.
The second shopkeeper would be in charge of the production plant in Yuhe county.

As for the accountant, Lian Fang Zhou did not intend to hire ready-trained ones from outside.
Steward Qin had already bought a dozen intelligent young men to train specifically as accountants.
For not, the shopkeepers would also serve as accountants until things could be handed over.

This would be the most effective way to prevent outsiders from impacting their management.

Deng Yuan De was thirty three years old.
He had worked as a clerk in a silk and satin shop since he was a child and had become the big boss.
However, he had not managed to be promoted so he quit his job.

Originally, he planned to wait half a year and find another employer but who would have guessed that Lian Fang Zhou and Ah Jian would come randomly to recruit people.

The two hit it off immediately.

Deng Yuan De was very familiar with this line of work and he quickly hired another shopkeeper to manage the factory, a man named Bai Shi Ling.

If it was anywhere else, Bai Shi Ling would not have been willing.
After all, Nanchang city was the capital of the providence, why would an experienced shopkeeper like him need to go to a small county to find a job?

But because of the cotton, Yuhe county was now well known and the Lian family had the largest cotton planting operation last year.
It was thanks to them that cotton cloth had appeared on the market!

Anyone who was at least a little shrewd could realize the business opportunities involved, not to mention Bai Shi Ling, who was very intelligent.

Moreover, the employment offer by Lian Fang Zhou was very attractive.

So the discussion between the two parties was naturally very pleasant.

Lian Fang Zhou was very open minded.
She didn’t decide the matter on the spot, telling him that he could go home and think about it.
If he thought it was good, he could make the decision.
If he didn’t feel that it fit, no need to force it.

And regardless of whether their cooperation was successful or not, Lian Fang Zhou covered the cost of his time.

When Deng Yuan De and Bai Shi Ling heard this, they liked her even more.
At the same time, they were both very surprised.
How old was this girl to already be so good at handling things, and so generous too! Her management was more sophisticated and smooth than a boss with more than half his life of experience!

If they cooperated with her, they would definitely not lose money.