Upon hearing this, Jin Feng felt the weight lift from his heart at once.
Was this not a gift falling right into his lap?
“Linglong, if that is the case, there is something I need to tell you.”
Jin Feng paused for a moment, then said, “Actually, I have already entrusted people to search for your family…”
Before he could finish, Zhu Linglong grabbed his arm and asked urgently, “How did it go? Have they been found?”
Ever since the disaster struck her family, finding her relatives had become Zhu Linglong’s greatest wish.
She had considered asking Jin Feng for help, but after more than half a year of hardships and twists, she truly dared not take the risk.
She could see that Jin Feng intended to promote her heavily. Since they were neither kin nor close relations, she feared that requesting his assistance might backfire and make him think her troublesome.
If he stopped promoting her because of this, her hope of rescuing her family would be utterly dashed.
To play it safe, Zhu Linglong chose not to ask Jin Feng. She planned to wait until she had secured her position and gained some status, then entrust others to handle it herself.
Yet she had never expected that Jin Feng had already quietly taken action.
At this moment, Zhu Linglong had no time to wonder why Jin Feng had done so. Her only thought was to know whether anyone had been found.
“There is news of the women. They were bought by a wealthy merchant named Zhang Yunting and taken to Jiangnan. I am arranging for people to go there and search.”
Jin Feng continued, “The men were sent to the front. The matter is somewhat more complicated, and no news has come back yet.”
Zhu Linglong’s mother had been very clever. She not only beat Zhu Linglong until her face was bruised and swollen, but did the same to the other women.
This allowed all the Zhu women to successfully avoid the pit of fire that was the entertainment quarter and be sent together to the slave broker.
However, at the broker, Zhu Linglong tripped once and was casually locked in a separate room by the broker, after which she became separated from her family.
Hearing that her family had been sold to Jiangnan, Zhu Linglong showed a slight trace of disappointment.
But she immediately curtseyed to Jin Feng. “Many thanks, sir! As long as you give the word, Linglong can go to the capital at any time.”
By now she had realised that Jin Feng had gone to such great lengths for a reason.
Connecting this with his earlier words, she quickly understood his intention.
“There is no rush in these few days,” Jin Feng said with a smile. “I called you here today simply to ask your thoughts. If you are unwilling, I shall find another way.”
“Linglong is willing!” Zhu Linglong nodded at once. “Before, I was only worried about my family. Since you are helping to search for them, Linglong has no further concerns and is at your complete disposal.”
She knew full well that Jin Feng’s capabilities far exceeded her own. If he searched, it would certainly be faster than if she did it herself.
“That puts my mind at ease,” Jin Feng said. “Then we shall wait a while longer. We can discuss it again after you reunite with your family. The capital is an extremely important place, and I also need to see further whether you can shoulder such a heavy responsibility.”
“Sir, rest assured. Linglong will certainly give her utmost!” Zhu Linglong promised quickly.
In the days that followed, Zhu Linglong’s enthusiasm for work was noticeably higher than before.
She was always the first to arrive and the last to leave.
When she encountered something she did not understand, she no longer pretended to know, but actively sought Jin Feng for guidance.
At the same time as their conversation, in a certain place in Jiangnan, Zhu Linglong’s mother, Madam Zhu Chen, sat outside a thatched hut. She spun thread while gazing towards the direction of Chuanshu.
Her face showed both relief and some helplessness.
She was relieved that they had encountered Zhang Yunting.
Zhang Yunting was in the textile business and owned many weaving workshops that required a large number of female workers.
Whenever he visited a place, Zhang Yunting habitually stopped by the local slave broker to look for cheap female labourers to buy.
Most of the Zhu women were old or frail. The few sisters-in-law who were still somewhat attractive had, like Zhu Linglong, been beaten by Madam Zhu Chen until their faces were bruised and swollen. No one wanted to buy them as household servants.
Such women naturally fetched no good price.
The broker’s manager was an old acquaintance of Zhang Yunting. For almost no money, he bundled the Zhu women and children together and gave them to Zhang Yunting, who took them back to Jiangnan.
Although Zhu Linglong’s sisters-in-law had some beauty, none were virgins. Zhang Yunting took no interest in them and sent them all to the weaving workshops for hard labour.
This spared the Zhu women the tragic fate of being sent to the entertainment quarter for abuse, yet plunged them into the abyss of a black workshop.
“Grandma, I’m hungry!”
“Grandma, I’m cold!”
Two children shivered as they crawled out, one on each side, hugging Madam Zhu Chen’s legs.
When Zhang Yunting bought household slaves, if they had children, he usually took them too.
Children cost nothing anyway. He brought them back casually. If they died, they died. If they survived and grew up, pretty girls could be sold to brothels, while plain ones could still spin thread for him.
Boys could help with deliveries.
In any case, he would not lose money.
Zhu Linglong’s two nephews had thus escaped calamity and come to Jiangnan with the family.
“Here, eat this.”
Madam Zhu Chen took two roots from her sleeve, giving one to each grandson. She then removed her outer garment and wrapped it around the child who complained of cold.
“When will days like this ever end?”
Madam Zhu Chen’s face was full of sorrow.
Before, though the Zhu family could not claim silks and delicacies, they had never worried about food or drink.
Here, they worked seventeen or eighteen hours a day to complete the tasks Zhang Yunting set, earning only two handfuls of millet and wild vegetables.
The whole family of over a dozen women survived on porridge made from those handfuls of millet and vegetables, barely staying alive.
The large family was given only one thatched hut. They had no quilts, relying on two bundles of dry grass for warmth.
Winter had not yet arrived, and the children were already shivering. When true winter came, it was uncertain whether they could endure.
Then there was her daughter Linglong, who had not come to Jiangnan with them. She did not know where she had ended up or whether she was still alive.
And the men of the family. Her youngest son was only thirteen when taken by the authorities. She had no idea what had become of him…
Madam Zhu Chen spun thread while letting her thoughts wander.
As she mused, she saw Zhang Yunting approaching the hut with a group of burly men in tight black clothing.
“Quick, go inside and tell your aunts to smear dirt on their faces!”
Madam Zhu Chen’s heart tightened. She kicked the children at her feet.
The two children scrambled up and ran into the hut.
Just as the children left, Zhang Yunting arrived with his men.
“Gentlemen, this is the Zhu Chen you are looking for.”
Zhang Yunting pointed at Madam Zhu Chen, introducing her with a smile.
His face carried a trace of flattery.
With the end of the Great Python Slope campaign, the reputation of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency had grown ever greater.
Zhang Yunting had considerable business dealings with Chuanshu and had naturally heard of it.
Beyond that, the new cloth produced by the Xihe Bay Textile Factory was gaining fame. Zhang Yunting had been paying close attention recently and had even sent people to Xihe Bay seeking cooperation.
Unfortunately, Tang Dongdong had been extremely busy lately and had no time for him.
Learning that the Zhenyuan Escort Agency wanted to find people here, he naturally cooperated fully.
Seeing Zhang Yunting treat these burly men with such courtesy, Madam Zhu Chen immediately knew they were no ordinary people.
What did these men want with the Zhu women?
Madam Zhu Chen felt great unease, yet also harboured a faint glimmer of hope.
