Qingshui County, Zhou Family Manor.
At this moment, the grain merchants who had been ripped off by Ye Ming and Cui Xian gathered in the Zhou family compound.
"Boss Zhou, we gave you our money."
"You've got to teach that new county magistrate a lesson."
Zhou Quan, seated at the head of the table, sipped his tea with a relaxed expression and said, "Don't worry, everyone."
"In all of Qingshui County, my Zhou family doesn't even take him seriously."
"Just a small county magistrate."
"Hehe, just that little county magistrate, and he's cost me tens of thousands of taels of silver!"
"Boss Zhao, your loss is relatively small. I lost two hundred thousand taels of grain."
Then, the eight grain merchants began complaining and cursing Cui Xian again.
"Boss, don't worry, I've used your money to support a gang of bandits."
"In a few days, they'll attack the Qingshui County government office and cripple that little bastard."
Zhou Quan's anger flared up at the mention of bandits.
He had previously supported a gang of bandits in Cuizhu Mountain, but they were eventually wiped out by a general named Murong Jianye.
You have to know that he spent a lot of money on this bandit gang.
This bandit den was the foundation of his Zhou family's dominance in Qingshui County. With its destruction,
the Zhou family's power was greatly weakened.
Fortunately, Qingshui County has received so many refugees this time, and the eight major grain merchants have given him money to rebuild the Cuizhu Mountain bandit den.
"Then we will wait for good news from Boss Zhou!"
"I will do my best. Rest assured, your money will not be wasted."
The Zhou family is known for its salt mines and iron mines, and they often engage in illegal salt and iron trading.
While the Zhou family is publicly the leading cloth merchant in Qingshui County, secretly, the salt and iron industry is the main source of the family's income.
Therefore, it is easy for him to arm bandits, and all swords are forged illegally.
Even when Sun Haoyu was around, he dared not easily provoke the Zhou family and turned a blind eye to their illegal activities.
"Xiaotang, show them out!"
"Yes, sir."
The young girl who had been in the corner emerged. She was very thin and looked a bit like Su Xiaorong.
It was Su Xiaorong's sister, Su Xiaotang.
Several grain merchants, upon seeing Su Xiaotang, all wore somewhat lewd smiles.
"I didn't expect Boss Zhou's mansion to have such a top-notch maid. It's a pity she's a little young and frail, otherwise she'd be perfect."
Zhou Quan smirked at the praise.
"Hahaha, of course, it's just that she's frail now, making her easy to play with."
"Wait until I've nursed her back to health, then come back and I'll have her serve you."
To these wealthy and powerful men, these beautiful servants were mere playthings to be borrowed and used, devoid of any human rights.
"Hahaha, then I'll have to spend more time with Boss Zhou in the future."
Su Xiaotang's face paled at the sight of their conversation, but she dared neither cry nor say anything.
She remembered being beaten and scolded by Zhou Quan's concubine when she first arrived at the Zhou mansion.
She cried so hard, and Zhou Quan saw her and beat her again.
She nearly died that time.
Now it seemed she would have been better off dead, sparing herself from the insults of these filthy people.
After sending these people away, Zhou Quan's smile faded.
"Xiaotang, you should dine with me today."
These words frightened Su Xiaotang, making her pale.
Although Zhou Quan himself wouldn't touch her when dining with him,
after dinner, she would be beaten by people sent by Zhou Quan's concubines and wife.
They also threatened not to tell anyone, or else they would have her mother and younger brother killed.
The pain was so severe that she wanted to commit suicide, but she was afraid of death.
"Master."
"I'm just a servant. This is against the rules."
Zhou Quan's face turned cold, and a hint of anger appeared on his face.
"In the entire Zhou family, my rules are the rules."
And so Zhou Quan dragged Su Xiaotang to finish dinner.
As expected, she suffered another beating.
After the people left, Su Xiaotang could only curl up on the ground, crying, her wounded body.
"Sister, mother, younger brother."
"Xiaotang's life is so hard. Xiaotang misses you."
She missed the days in Sujia Village, when they couldn't even afford a proper meal.
But the family lived happily.
"Someone can come and save me."
...
"Master, I heard that a new ceramics store will open in Qingshui County tomorrow."
Zhou Quan hugged the concubine beside him, his hand still clasped on the white cup lid.
"Just open it, our Zhou family doesn't sell ceramics."
"How much money can you make from those things? Zhou Da, don't tell me about such trivial matters in the future."
"I'm very busy."
Zhou Quan said, and kissed the concubine beside him.
"Ah, Master, you are annoying~"
The servant named Zhou Da was no longer surprised by this situation, and his face was calm.
"Master, but the owner of the new store is said to be very close to the new county magistrate."
"Should we go and teach him a lesson?"
Zhou Quan became interested when talking about Cui Xian.
"Oh?"
"Tell me about it?"
"That man seems to be called Ye Ming. He was originally a fool in Qingshi Village."
"I don't know why he became enlightened and made some money by hunting. Later, he planned to open a ceramic shop in the county town."
"As for why he is involved with the county magistrate, I don't know."
Zhou Quan didn't take a peasant seriously.
"Hehe, just a peasant. Tomorrow, you take Su Xiaotang to his house to give him some gifts."
"Tell him a lesson. If he is willing to submit to my Zhou family, his shop can continue to operate."
"If he is not willing, you should know what to do."
Zhou Da knew exactly what to do because it was not the first time they had done this.
Aside from the Huang family in Qingshui County, the Zhou family truly had no one to fear.
As for the Huang family, they weren't afraid either, but it wasn't cost-effective to move, as it might expose their illegal iron and salt dealings.
Speaking of the Huang family, Huang Song's daughter was quite pretty.
He'd wait for the bandits to kidnap her and have some fun with her.
"Master, I understand."
"I'll do it tomorrow."
Zhou Da turned to leave, but Zhou Quan stopped him.
"Zhou Quan, wait a minute."
"Master, do you need anything else?"
"Go ahead, call the Third and Fourth Ladies over. I want to celebrate tonight."
The next day, before dawn, Ye Ming brought Su Xiaorong and Yang Xiong, father and daughter, to the shop in Qingshui County.
As for Liu Qiang, Ye Ming had asked him to stay home to take care of his wife, who was about to give birth.
Today's opening should have been bustling, but very few people came.
The few friends Li Youde had called out for congratulations were almost absent. The
rest of the people simply watched,
as they knew the Zhou family usually sent people to stir up trouble at newly opened shops.
"Congratulations, Boss Ye. I didn't expect that the white porcelain you brought earlier was actually made by yourself."
"You're going to make a fortune now."