After settling things with Madam Zhou, Li Yue Shu planned to find an opportunity to bring up the matter with Old Man Liu and his wife again.
Since the two families lived close by, she didn't bring Shen Wei this time.
Shen Wei didn't make a fuss. Seeing her figure completely disappear from his sight, he went to the back mountain while no one was paying attention.
Xing He was already waiting there.
"Master, your subordinate has investigated and found out everything."
Knowing that he didn't have much time, Xing He got straight to the point. "Your subordinate discovered that the person behind Shen Cheng Cai's idea was from the Li mansion. They dared not approach Li Yue Shu openly, so they set their sights on Shen Cheng Cai."
Shen Wei narrowed his eyes, his aura turning slightly cold.
The Li mansion again?
"Do not alert them for now," Shen Wei said. After a pause, he changed the subject and asked, "How is the situation in Chongzhou now?"
He believed that Li Yue Shu could handle Shen Cheng Cai, an eight-year-old child, or even the entire Shen family if they caused trouble.
It was only the Li mansion behind the scenes that she might fall victim to if she wasn't careful.
Shen Wei thought about finding an opportunity to remind her and didn't dwell on the matter.
Xing He's expression turned serious, and he reported the news from Chongzhou one by one. "Those people are still searching everywhere for your trace. Chai Yang has made arrangements, and they are being fed false information."
"However, while investigating your whereabouts, those people have also extended their reach to the Huyuan Army."
As his voice fell, Xing He clearly felt the surrounding atmosphere turn colder.
The Huyuan Army was personally appointed by the Emperor to fight alongside the master when he was ten years old. It had grown from a camp of two to three hundred men into the current army of 860,000.
Everyone in the land knew that anyone who dared to tamper with the Huyuan Army would now be sent to hell!
Shen Wei's gaze was as dark as ink.
It was normal for spies to infiltrate the 860,000-strong Huyuan Army, but if it were only that, Xing He would not have reported it to him specifically.
After a moment of silence, Shen Wei suddenly spoke, "Keep an eye on the people who have infiltrated. If necessary, you can allow them to act covertly for a while."
Xing He froze, looking up at Shen Wei in shock.
The master had always regarded the Huyuan Army as his untouchable boundary, so why would he allow those people to act?
Xing He was filled with confusion, but seeing his master's icy expression, he swallowed the words that were about to come out.
...
Meanwhile.
When Li Yue Shu arrived at Old Man Liu's house, she found their front door wide open, with a noisy scene inside.
"Sister Liu, please put in a good word for us! Processing one jin of medicinal herbs is ten wen, so ten jin is a hundred wen. Even in the city, there's no such good deal!"
"That's right. We're all from the same village. You've earned so much, you should help us out!"
"Doesn't the third wife of the Shen family always respect you? You can use your elder's position to persuade them, and we'll all remember your kindness."
...
Li Yue Shu stood at the entrance and saw several village women surrounding Aunt Liu, each one trying to persuade her.
Aunt Liu's expression was a bit troubled. "This is Yue Shu's own business, how can I interfere! Besides, she already asked through Li Zheng in the village, and it was you yourselves who were unwilling to participate."
"We were deceived by that old woman from the Shen family!" one of the women quickly interjected. "You just need to say a few good words. Whether we participate or not is still decided by the third wife of the Shen family. Why are you unwilling to help with such a small favor!"
Another woman immediately chimed in, "You're not afraid that we'll take your job, so you're deliberately not helping us, are you? We've been neighbors for so many years, you're being too selfish."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone towards Aunt Liu instantly changed.
Even Aunt Liu, with her good temper, couldn't help but change her expression at this moment.
Her cheeks instantly turned red with anger, and she glared at the person who had just spoken, about to retort.
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the doorway: "You did say one thing right."
Everyone instinctively turned their heads and saw Li Yue Shu walking in with a smile, but her eyes were so cold that they made one's heart tremble.
The few women instinctively retreated to the side, not daring to look Li Yue Shu in the eye.
Looking at the current fate of the Shen family, they knew Li Yue Shu's methods.
"Yue Shu."
Aunt Liu quickly walked over, subconsciously breathing a sigh of relief.
She really didn't know how to handle them by herself.
Li Yue Shu stepped in, her smile unchanged from beginning to end, but only when she looked at Aunt Liu did her gaze soften slightly.
Li Yue Shu looked directly at the woman who had spoken earlier. "Whether you participate or not is indeed up to me. But since you know this, why didn't you come to me directly?"
The woman she was staring at felt a chill run down her spine and didn't dare to look up.
Li Yue Shu's eyes swept over each of the women. As soon as she looked at them, they all lowered their heads, completely losing the imposing manner they had when pressuring Aunt Liu.
Seeing this, although Aunt Liu felt a sense of relief, she still broke the silence and asked, "Yue Shu, what are your plans for this matter?"
After all, they were from the same village, and falling out would not benefit anyone.
Moreover, if this matter was clarified soon, they wouldn't bother her anymore.
Li Yue Shu understood her meaning but did not answer directly. Instead, she looked at the nervous and awkward women.
After a long pause, she finally spoke, "We are all from the same village. It would be much more convenient to use you than to find people elsewhere, but..."
She paused, deliberately piquing everyone's interest.
"But since you broke your promise once, the rules must naturally change."
"How should they change? You tell us!" one woman spoke up first. "As long as we can participate in drug processing, we'll agree to any changes!"
Li Yue Shu maintained a calm and composed demeanor throughout. "I plan to set up a pharmaceutical factory in the village. Those who want to work in the factory must register with the village head and commit to at least one year. If they wish to leave, they must apply a month in advance. Otherwise, their wages for that month will not be paid."
"Those who work in the pharmaceutical factory will receive a basic monthly wage of seventy wen, but they must process ten jin of medicinal herbs. For every jin short, ten wen per jin will be deducted from their basic wage."
"If they process more than ten jin of medicinal herbs per month, they will be paid eight wen per jin. How much they ultimately earn will depend on their own skills."
Li Yue Shu's words were concise, but the price was significantly lower than before.
Previously, she had calculated based on temporary worker rates. But now that she planned to open a pharmaceutical factory, she naturally needed long-term employees.
There were no machines in this world; all steps were manual and required significant physical exertion. It was impossible for one person to process hundreds of jin per month.
Therefore, although the price per jin seemed to be reduced by two or three wen compared to before, the monthly difference was not significant.
As employees of the pharmaceutical factory, she would give bonuses during festivals and a year-end bonus. Their total income would definitely be higher than the previous calculation method.
However, she did not mention these benefits.
The villagers had let her down once, and she was not so magnanimous as to give everyone an opportunity immediately.
Therefore, upon hearing her conditions, the expressions of several women changed.