With Xiaoyu giving advance warning, almost all the villagers had already thought about what choice they would make.
In truth, they did not have much room for choice anyway.
Sichuan suffered disaster in autumn. If they refused to work for Jin Feng, they would starve to death.
Besides, from what the villagers knew of Jin Feng, they understood that even becoming his house servants would not involve cruel treatment. So nearly every male worker threw his tooth token into the middle basket without the slightest hesitation.
This was within Guan Xiaorou’s expectations. What surprised her, however, was the choice made by the female workers.
She had assumed most unmarried women would choose to become maids. Yet almost every unmarried woman threw her token into the basket for becoming a concubine.
When she saw a young girl about to drop her token into the basket, Guan Xiaorou quietly called out to stop her.
This girl was a neighbour from her mother’s family and now worked in the iron smelting workshop under Man Cang’s female disciples.
The girl was only fifteen. Worried that she might not fully understand, Guan Xiaorou reminded her:
“Little Ling’er, you need to think carefully. If you put your token in this basket, you will become the master’s concubine. After that, it will be very hard for you to marry anyone else.”
“Becoming the master’s concubine means marrying the master, doesn’t it?” the girl asked in a small voice, her face red.
“This is only to deal with the county magistrate’s people. It does not count as real,” Guan Xiaorou explained. “The master himself still doesn’t know about this matter, so… so he will not live with you as husband and wife. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I understand,” the girl nodded and said. “But my mother is in poor health and cannot work. I have to earn money to support my mother and my younger brother… In the end, both becoming a maid and becoming a concubine mean I can never marry anyone else. Being a concubine sounds better than being a maid, and besides, it is an honour to marry such a great hero as the master.”
Seeing her speak this way, Guan Xiaorou could only nod and say: “All right then. If you ever want to marry someone else later, come find me again. I will help you arrange a divorce.”
“There are no unmarried men left in either of our two villages anyway. If I remarried someone else, I would still be a concubine. It is better to marry the master.”
The girl shook her head: “If the master does not live with me, I will simply stay and look after my mother and brother. I can still work and earn money to support them.”
Similar scenes were taking place in the textile workshop.
Whether out of genuine willingness or because they had no real alternative, every female worker eventually made her choice.
And just like at the threshing ground, the great majority of the young women chose to become concubines.
They shared the same reasoning as the young girl: since it would affect their reputation either way, being a concubine was always better than being a maid.
Some of the girls even secretly felt delighted in their hearts.
Jin Feng was almost the perfect husband in the minds of every girl in West River Bay, yet Jin Feng did not even know who most of them were, much less marry them.
Now, by a strange twist of fate, they were actually going to become his wives.
Even if nothing else came of it, at least from now on they could tease Jin Feng openly and with full confidence.
Who could object if they touched their own man?
And if they really managed to win Jin Feng over completely, that would be ascending to heaven in a single step.
Of course, quite a few girls still chose to settle their wages and leave.
After all, West River Bay now had many factories, and Jin Feng paid high wages.
In many families more than one person worked, so if these girls stopped for a while, their families could still support them.
Guan Xiaorou did not stop them. She calmly and quickly settled accounts for those who wished to leave.
Before noon, Xiaoyu came to Guan Xiaorou with the statistics.
“Sister-in-law, the numbers are in. Among the male workers, five chose to settle and leave. All the rest agreed to become house servants.”
Xiaoyu continued: “Among the female workers, three hundred and twenty settled and left. Of those remaining, three-tenths are already married and all chose to become house servants. Of the unmarried seven-tenths, almost every girl chose to become the master’s concubine.”
“Have all the tooth tokens been collected?” Guan Xiaorou asked.
“They have been collected. They are already loaded onto the warhorses and can set out at any time.”
Xiaoyu nodded and said: “I have also sent someone to inform the county office. They have prepared the marriage documents. As long as you give the word, sister-in-law, we can send the tokens over.”
As Jin Feng’s principal wife, Guan Xiaorou could handle the matter of taking concubines without Jin Feng’s personal involvement.
By now, the entire Jinchuan county office had been almost completely infiltrated by Xiaoyu’s people. Guan Xiaorou did not even need to appear in person.
“What if the county magistrate finds out and tries to stop it?” Guan Xiaorou asked again.
“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. The magistrate never bothers with such small matters as issuing marriage documents. Besides, we are not handling it through the county office. I am using the escort team officials and matchmakers. Unless Cai Liuyang learns of our plan, he will not notice.”
Xiaoyu said confidently: “Even if he does find out, it does not matter. I have people watching him. The moment he makes any unusual move, my people will know at once.”
In order to encourage childbirth, the Great Kang dynasty was extremely lenient about taking concubines.
All the heads of escort teams and matchmakers were authorised to issue marriage documents.
Hearing Xiaoyu speak so assuredly, Guan Xiaorou finally felt at ease.
After a moment’s thought, she asked: “How long until the people sent by the county magistrate reach the village?”
“Sister-in-law, rest easy. They cannot arrive within three days,” Xiaoyu said with a smile.
Her tone carried complete confidence.
“Have Iron Jar Mountain, the salt factory, and the other places been notified?”
“They have. If nothing unexpected happens, they should already be sending their tooth tokens to the county office by now.”
Xiaoyu replied: “I told the county office that if any group arrives first, they should handle theirs first.”
“Xiaoyu really thinks of everything,” Guan Xiaorou praised. “No wonder the master likes you so much.”
After Xiaoyu took over Zhong Ming’s group, the change in her had indeed been very great.
She had put aside her former carelessness and become far steadier.
At this point, Guan Xiaorou suddenly remembered something. She took Xiaoyu’s hand and asked: “By the way, Xiaoyu, what did you choose?”
“I… I… I have something to do first!”
The Xiaoyu who had answered every question smoothly just moments earlier suddenly blushed deeply and turned to run away.
“Why are you running? I haven’t finished asking yet,” Guan Xiaorou called after her. “What did Dongdong choose?”
But Xiaoyu did not slow down at all. She simply ran off.
A short while later, several warhorses galloped out of West River Bay, carrying several thousand tooth tokens and heading straight for Jinchuan county office.
At the same moment, Cai Liuyang’s trusted aide and his group of officials had only covered a small part of the journey.
“Walking all morning has worn me out. There is an inn ahead. Let’s go eat something before continuing.”
The aide panted, leading the officials into the inn: “Waiter! Bring the best wine and meat!”
After eating and drinking their fill, the group set off again.
But they had not gone five li before the aide’s stomach suddenly started rumbling violently.
His face changed. He hurriedly clutched his belly and dashed into the woods beside the road.
After he finished, he had just pulled up his trousers and stepped out when his stomach began churning again.
The aide rushed back into the woods once more.
This happened five or six times in succession. Only after everything inside him had been emptied did his stomach finally settle.
By then, however, the aide was so weak he could hardly stand.
In such a condition he obviously could not continue the journey. The officials had no choice but to take him back to the inn.
