Perhaps to maintain her image as factory director, Zuo Feifei was always very serious in ordinary times. Even in front of Jin Feng, she mostly just smiled politely.
It was probably only in front of her mother that she could completely let herself go.
Jin Feng was seeing her pull a funny face for the first time, so he could not help taking a couple of extra glances.
Zuo Zhangshi had already been trying to play matchmaker between them. Seeing Jin Feng react like this only strengthened her resolve.
“Sir, this is rice wine I brewed myself. Please try some.”
Zuo Zhangshi brought over a small wine jar.
She had heard from Wan-niang that Jin Feng disapproved of brewing liquor, so she quickly explained, “The canteen sometimes has leftover rice. I just asked Feifei to buy a little and brewed some. Please don’t think poorly of it, sir.”
With so many people now at Iron Can Mountain, leftover rice was unavoidable. Normally it was mixed into the next meal.
But in summer the rice sometimes went off, and once several people got diarrhoea from eating it. Jin Feng, worried about mass food poisoning, had several pigs bought and sent over.
Since then, any rice that had turned was mixed with pigweed the children cut and fed to the pigs.
Zuo Zhangshi taking a little leftover rice to brew wine, and even paying for it herself, was something Jin Feng could hardly object to.
He smiled, accepted a ceramic bowl, and Zuo Feifei very tactfully filled it for him.
It had to be said, Zuo Zhangshi’s rice wine was excellent: mellow, rich, and sweet. Jin Feng drained the bowl in one go.
“Sir, thank you for saving us mother and daughter. Here, auntie toasts you.”
Zuo Zhangshi lifted her bowl as she spoke.
“I toast you, auntie.”
Jin Feng hurriedly raised his own bowl and finished it in a single gulp.
“Feifei, your mother has read a few books in her time. Looking through all of history, no woman has ever managed such a large factory. The gentleman trusts you so much; you should toast him too.”
Zuo Zhangshi poured Jin Feng another bowl of rice wine.
“Feifei toasts the gentleman. Thank you, sir, for your trust.”
Zuo Feifei had no choice but to lift her bowl as well.
Jin Feng, equally helpless, raised his bowl and drank another with Zuo Feifei.
After that, Zuo Zhangshi found all sorts of reasons to keep toasting Jin Feng. He drank nine bowls in succession, and when he truly could not manage any more, he finally turned his bowl upside down. Only then did Zuo Zhangshi let him off.
“If the gentleman doesn’t wish to drink more, then we won’t drink. Come, eat some food.”
Zuo Zhangshi placed a rabbit leg in Jin Feng’s bowl and asked, “Sir, I heard from Feifei that our soap has reached the capital, and even Her Majesty the Empress is using it. Is that true?”
“Yes, the batch packed in fine wooden boxes is specially supplied to the imperial household.”
Jin Feng answered.
“That’s wonderful,” Zuo Zhangshi sighed. “Feifei’s father had no such luck. If only he had met you earlier, sir, he wouldn’t have been beaten to death by the county magistrate.”
“Auntie, I still don’t know how you two ended up at the human broker’s. Would it be convenient to tell me?”
Jin Feng put down his chopsticks.
Every girl at Iron Can Mountain was a tragic figure with her own sad story.
Jin Feng had never had time to learn them one by one.
Zuo Zhangshi gave a sigh and recounted what had happened to the Zuo family.
When Jin Feng heard it all, he did not know how to feel.
A perfectly good family had been destroyed, reduced to ruin and death, just because of one punch thrown at the county magistrate’s son.
One could well imagine how rotten the administration of the Great Kang had become.
“Auntie, I’ll have someone gather evidence of that county magistrate’s crimes and send it to the capital to lodge a formal complaint. I’ll get revenge for you!”
There were far too many corrupt officials in the Great Kang for Jin Feng to deal with alone, but since he had come across this one, helping out was no trouble to him.
Besides, avenging the Zuo family would make Zuo Feifei even more loyal.
It counted as winning hearts and minds.
“Sir, my mother was only sighing. Please don’t take it to heart!”
Zuo Feifei turned pale with fright when she heard Jin Feng say this.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants: blacksmiths were artisans, and the trading company was commerce.
Unless one held a noble title, no matter how rich Jin Feng became, his status remained very low.
When a commoner accused an official, right or wrong, the first thing that happened was twenty heavy strokes of the paddle.
“Feifei is right. I spoke nonsense. Sir, you mustn’t do anything rash.”
Zuo Zhangshi also grew nervous and waved her hands repeatedly. “From ancient times it has been said that the people do not fight officials. We cannot afford to provoke the county magistrate, my lord.”
She and Zuo Feifei had only just escaped the nightmare of the human brokers and begun a new life at Iron Can Mountain.
If anything happened to Jin Feng, their good days would be over.
They had been lucky this time and met Jin Feng. Would they be so lucky next time?
Zuo Zhangshi did not dare gamble on that.
“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t act recklessly.”
Jin Feng pointed upwards with a smile. “I have people above me. Otherwise, how could I get soap into the palace?”
Zuo Zhangshi’s face instantly lit up with wild joy.
Zuo Feifei also fell into thought.
She had always assumed the soap reached the palace simply because it was rare and special. Only now, after what Jin Feng said, did she realise the truth.
The world was full of rare things. Being able to deliver goods into the palace was in itself a mark of real ability.
“Sir, do you truly have a way?”
Zuo Feifei was so excited she forgot all reserve and grabbed Jin Feng’s hand.
The vengeance for a murdered husband and father: it would be false to say the mother and daughter did not want it.
But until now they had been powerless and could only bury their hatred deep in their hearts.
“Do you know who stands behind the magistrate of Qingshan County?”
To know both oneself and the enemy ensures victory in every battle. Before making a move, Jin Feng needed to understand his opponent.
If the backer was truly formidable, he would not charge in blindly.
“I know that. Feifei’s father once told me.”
Zuo Zhangshi said, “The magistrate of Rongzhou is utterly lecherous. The Qingshan magistrate has a rather pretty younger sister who was married off as a concubine to the Rongzhou prefect.”
Jin Feng gave a slight nod. He already had a plan.
Those who please with beauty lose favour when beauty fades; such relationships are the least reliable.
If the Rongzhou prefect truly was that lustful, he might already have moved on to someone new and lost interest in that concubine.
Even if he still favoured her, it would not be a big problem.
Qing Munlan’s siege at Five Wolf Mountain had taken place in Qingshan County. Jin Feng would not even need to lift a finger himself; he only had to mention it to Qing Munlan, and she would take care of the Qingshan magistrate.
No matter how powerful the Rongzhou prefect might be, could he really stand against the provincial governor Qing Xinyao?
Still, Jin Feng did not commit himself fully. He merely nodded and said, “I’ll send people immediately to collect evidence of the Qingshan magistrate’s misdeeds. Once we have solid proof, we’ll get it delivered upwards as quickly as possible!”
“Thank you, sir!”
Zuo Zhangshi pushed back her stool, stood up, and gave Jin Feng a deep curtsey. “Sir, if you can obtain justice for this widow and her orphan daughter, I am willing to betroth Feifei to you in gratitude for your great kindness!”
“That really won’t do!” Jin Feng was somewhat speechless. “The way auntie puts it, it sounds as if I’m only doing this because I covet Feifei.”
“I know many people call Feifei ill-omened. If you mind that, sir, you need not take her as a concubine. Just accept her as a maidservant to attend you. As long as she can repay your kindness, that will be enough.”
Zuo Zhangshi had lived several decades and was good at reading people. She knew Jin Feng valued loyalty and affection, so she cleverly retreated in order to advance.
“Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. The red mark on Feifei’s face is merely a skin condition, not some ill omen.”
Jin Feng said, “It might even disappear on its own one day.”
“So you don’t mind Feifei, sir?” Zuo Zhangshi asked.
“Of course I don’t mind!”
“Then you agree to marry Feifei?”
“Hold… wait a moment. When did I ever say I was going to marry Feifei?”
Jin Feng laughed in spite of himself.
Although the rice wine was low in strength and tasted sweetly pleasant, drinking too much could still make one tipsy.
His head was already a little dizzy, and he had nearly been talked into a corner.
