Shen Yimin opened his mouth, not knowing what words to use to describe his speechless state.
Shen Chengcai mistook his expression for envy and jealousy, raising his chin even higher.
...
At the same time, Shen Wang, who had finally reached the town, took a short break and began to sternly lecture the seven children behind him.
"You must remember, if it weren't for our Shen family, you'd still be beggars on the street, barely getting by. So, all of you, be smart, find a job, and work hard!"
The seven children looked very smart. Although their bodies were thin, their strides clearly showed they had experience working.
Upon hearing Shen Wang's words, they nodded obediently.
Shen Wang was pleased with their reaction, even feeling he had a talent for managing people.
He had grand plans: he would just find jobs, supervise these little beggars, and then collect money from the shopkeepers.
But if jobs were so easy to find, there wouldn't be so many beggars in the world.
Shen Wang hit a wall everywhere. The only place willing to hire so many people at once was the dock.
However, the dock paid by weight of the cargo each person moved, and the unit price was low. A group of children couldn't carry much, which Shen Wang naturally disliked.
As a result, Shen Wang took the seven children around town all day, their shoes nearly worn out, yet they found no work.
Because he thought they would earn a lot of money that day, he hadn't brought a single coin when he left. He was so hungry his back was sticking to his front, and naturally, he had no money for an ox cart, so they had to walk back.
Mother Shen and Yang Shi had been waiting at the village entrance and rushed over as soon as they saw him.
"How is it? How much money did you earn today?"
Mother Shen, full of excitement, immediately reached out to rummage through Shen Wang's sleeves.
Shen Wang, already exhausted, was made even more irritable by Mother Shen's actions.
"Enough, stop rummaging!" He flung Mother Shen's hand away. "Found nothing! No one in town is willing to take so many children as workers!"
The smiles on Mother Shen's and Yang Shi's faces froze. They clearly hadn't expected this outcome.
Yang Shi, however, recovered first and pulled Shen Wang aside to comfort him. "Husband, it's only the first day, it's normal not to find anything. If it were so easy to find good work, wouldn't people be rich already!"
Shen Wang frowned. Although still displeased, he clearly listened to her words.
Mother Shen also looked unhappy. "Then what do we do now? Seven or eight mouths to feed, how much food will that take!"
As she spoke, she glared unhappily at the children, her face pained.
Yang Shi was silent for a moment and then said, "This way, tomorrow, husband, you go to another town and ask. Choose those wealthy patrons, or shops that have just opened and are in urgent need of staff."
"Even that poisonous woman, Li Yueshu, can find people, so we definitely can!"
Hearing this, Shen Wang felt somewhat comforted, but he was still full of anger. "Hurry back and cook. I'm starving!"
Yang Shi said no more and quickly pulled him home.
The next morning, Shen Wang took the children to town again.
This time he was smarter and brought dry rations and money.
But he also went to nearby towns and still had no success.
Even if there were places willing to take them, the wages wouldn't cover the cost of feeding and clothing these children, let alone travel expenses.
After several days with no results, Shen Wang finally lost his temper and angrily pointed at Yang Shi. "You damn woman, what kind of ghost ideas did you come up with? My legs are almost broken, and I haven't seen a single bit of progress!"
Yang Shi lowered her head, not daring to speak.
Although she usually appeared fierce to Shen Wang, he was still the man of the house. Once he got angry, she didn't dare utter a sound.
Mother Shen's expression was also grim, complaining, "It's all your fault! If it weren't for your brilliant idea, my son wouldn't have to work so hard, waste travel expenses, and we'd have seven or eight extra mouths to feed and house!"
"No, we can't keep these beggars, they'll eat too much of my food!"
Yang Shi felt indignant.
She had agreed to it at the time and even taken money. Why was she being blamed now!
Although Yang Shi was unhappy, she knew that if she spoke up, she would undoubtedly face a torrent of scolding.
Just then, Yang Shi had a sudden flash of inspiration.
"Mother, Father, we can go to the Heng De Pharmacy!"
Mother Shen and Shen Wang looked at her in confusion, clearly not understanding what she meant.
Yang Shi was a little excited. "Think about it, since the Heng De Pharmacy is willing to hire Li Yueshu's people, if we offer lower wages, can't we replace them!"
Shen Wang looked displeased. "How can that work! If the wages are too low, we'll still lose money!"
Yang Shi immediately retorted, "Husband, if we would lose money so easily, would Li Yueshu have been able to do this for so long? Even have money to send those children to school, let them eat meat, and wear new clothes?"
"We're just temporarily asking for less than her. Once we drive them out, the Heng De Pharmacy will depend on us, and we can set whatever wages we want!"
Her words made the dejected Mother Shen and Shen Wang's eyes light up, as if they had found hope again.
Shen Wang slapped the table. "Good, I'll go to the Heng De Pharmacy tomorrow to check it out!"
Unbeknownst to the three of them, a small figure was peeking through the window, having overheard their entire conversation.
Afterward, the figure silently slipped away and went to the shed in the courtyard, relaying everything they had heard.
There were a few more children here, all beggars whom Mother Shen had found on the streets. They had been living in the shed since the first day they arrived.
To save costs, Mother Shen only gave them one meal a day, consisting of rice gruel and bran.
However, compared to their previous lives of begging, this was already a good life.
But now, hearing their master's intentions, if they couldn't find work, they would return to their old ways.
"No, we can't have come all this way for nothing!" One of the older boys spoke up, his expression determined.
The child who had relayed the message asked in confusion, "What can we do?"
The boy gritted his teeth, then beckoned to the others. "We can do this..."
...
Li Yueshu was unaware of everything happening in the Shen family and was busy with her own affairs every day.
Now that Shen Tan and the other six had mostly memorized the effects and uses of various medicines, and Doctor Chen was gradually getting the hang of things, she had become much more relaxed.
Taking advantage of the free time, Li Yueshu decided to do some accounting.
The Heng De Pharmacy's reputation had spread throughout the town, and quite a few people came to seek treatment and get medicine every day, resulting in substantial income.
However, the pharmacy was still in the stage of offsetting initial investment costs and had not yet generated net profit.
At the current rate, it would take approximately... to achieve net profit.
"Sister-in-law, I didn't expect to find you here, what a coincidence!"
Shen Wang's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Li Yueshu's train of thought.