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Chapter 145.1 – Zheng Jun Qi
The middle-aged man talked until his mouth was dry, but Fu Yi’s expression did not change once. The middle-aged man couldn’t tell if Fu Yi was interested or not. Just as he was wondering whether or not he should continue on, Fu Yi opened his mouth and said, “Boss Chen, you just said that Elder Zhuo did some business with the Zheng family?”
Hearing Fu Yi’s question, the middled-age man was on high alert. It seemed like the head steward of Prince Fu’s Mansion had some interest in the Zheng family, but the middle-aged man didn’t know if Fu Yi had a good impression or bad impression of the Zheng family, so he didn’t dare to speak malicious words about the Zheng family casually. He just symbolically suggested a sentence.
“They had a business exchange about two months ago. Although Elder Zhuo made the purchase, it wasn’t a high number. I think it was for about forty or fifty spinning wheels.”
Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
For a big family like the Zhuo family who also had an expansive business, forty or fifty spinning wheels was indeed not a big number. Moreover, this did not include any weaving machines. But to the Zheng family it was like someone sending charcoal in snowy weather*.
[*T/N: “To send charcoal in snowy weather” is a Chinese idiom meaning “to provide help in somebody’s hour of need.”]
The Zheng family has been in the business of selling textile machines for generations, but since the untimely death of the head of the Zheng family, Zheng Jun Qi took over as head of the household. However, she faced discrimination time and time again because she was a woman.
“Why would Elder Zhuo help the Zheng family for no reason at all?” Fu Yi asked.
He didn’t know much about the Zheng family’s circumstances, because at first he just wanted to see if the Zheng family was someone they could cooperate with.
The middle-aged man suddenly looked around cautiously, and seeing that everyone’s attention was on Zheng Jun Qi and Elder Zhuo, he whispered back: “Mr. Fu you asked the right person. Not many people know about this, but this one has heard that Elder Zhuo owed Zheng Jun Qi a favor.”
“How could someone with Elder Zhuo’s status owe a woman a favor?” Fu Yi was even more curious about this matter.
The middle-aged man shook his head, “This one has only heard rumors. However, this one has also heard that Elder Zhuo doesn’t seem to want to repay this favor. Otherwise, such a righteous and passionate man like Elder Zhuo would not only make such a ‘small’ purchase from the Zheng family.”
Saying that Elder Zhuo did not want to repay this favor made people even more curious about what this favor might be.
Fu Yi paused for a moment and then asked, “Boss Chen, how would you describe this Zheng Jun Qi person?”
The middle-aged man thought that it was a just a passing curiosity of Fu Yi’s, but Fu Yi ended up asking more and more questions about the Zheng family. The middle-aged man started to have some doubts, but he didn’t show it on his face. He deliberated for a moment.
“She has a lot of guts, but she is also cautious. She doesn’t act like an ordinary woman, but rather like a man. Speaking of which, this one actually admires her a little bit. When she first took over as the head of the Zheng household, many business partners saw that she was woman and thought that she didn’t know anything. They tried to extort her under false pretences. What ended up happening was that Zheng Jun Qi did not expose them. She even helped them find a way out of their embarrassing situation.”
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“Unfortunately, those merchants not only did not appreciate it, but took the initiative to shed all pretense of cordiality. They joined together to bully a woman. But Zheng Jun Qi is also a very capable and strange woman. She tried many ways to soothe over relations, prop up the Zheng family, and even got a business order from Elder Zhuo.”
Fu Yi glanced over at the two people who were talking not far away. Zheng Jun Qi looked sincere, but Elder Zhuo’s expression was a little impatient.
This result was not difficult to guess.
Elder Zhuo was a stubborn old fossil. Many people knew about his temper. He didn’t like women coming out to show their faces in public, especially unmarried maidens. For Zheng Jun Qi, a woman, to talk business with a man was a taboo in Elder Zhuo’s eyes.
The favor that Boss Chen spoke of most likely existed. Moreover, it was very likely a favor owed by the previous generation.
So when Zheng Jun Qi came knocking on his door, even though Elder Zhuo did not like her, he had to help her out because of this favor.
Zheng Jun Qi was not a stupid person. She knew that she has offended Elder Zhuo, so it was very likely that her main purpose for coming to attend this Chamber of Commerce gathering was to make amends with Elder Zhuo. However, just by looking at Elder Zhuo’s expression, it was clear that he has not dropped the issue.
The people who came to participate in the Chamber of Commerce gather were all elites. How could they not see the thoughts that Elder Zhuo was deliberately expressing? At first, they thought that Elder Zhuo gave Zheng Jun Qi that business order to help out the Zheng family, but now it seemed like that it was not what they had thought.
Translations by Vanilla Muse. Read on vmnovels [dot] com
If the Zheng family’s circumstances did not get a favorable turn by the end of this gathering, then they would be suppressed even more in the future. Zheng Jun Qi was smart, but she underestimated Elder Zhuo’s stubbornness.
“If the head of the Zheng family does not have anything [worthwhile] to say, then this old man still has to engage in talks with other people. Please help yourself.” Elder Zhuo started to say words of dismissal, intending to turn Zheng Jun Qi away. Before, when he greeted Fu Yi he had a face full of smiles, but now he was like a cold and hard stone slab in the winter. Just touching him would give you frostbite.
“Then this Jun Qi won’t disturb Elder Zhuo anymore.” Zheng Jun Qi’s face was slightly stiff, but her attitude was still very polite. She did not reveal the tiniest bit of displeasure over the Elder Zhuo’s ill disposition. She clearly knew about Elder Zhuo’s status in the Chamber of Commerce. If she really annoyed him, then the Zheng family would probably be suppressed even more.
