After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 121 Cook Pan Feng
So, early the next morning, Du Huan reluctantly left for Tianlai Academy, watched by Madam Du and Furong.

Meanwhile, at the clinic, the carpenter's apprentice delivered the custom-made plaque, examination table, and examination bed to Bai Wanqing early in the morning, as requested.

Looking at the already well-established clinic, the carpentry apprentice couldn't help but admire Bai Wanqing and her team's efficiency.

"Madam is truly decisive! The clinic looks like everything is ready!" the carpenter's apprentice complimented.

Bai Wanqing was quite satisfied with the current state of the clinic. "Your carpentry shop is also very capable. You were able to deliver these things to me in such a short time. I should thank you."

The carpenter's apprentice suddenly felt a little embarrassed by Bai Wanqing's politeness.

They already had these tables and beds in stock; yesterday they only carved one plaque.

But Bai Wanqing pretended not to see it and had Ruixin give the remaining balance to the carpenter apprentice.

The carpenter's apprentice gladly accepted it. "Then, Madam, would you like me to help you put up this plaque?"

Bai Wanqing looked up and thought it was a bit too tall. The doctors here were also quite old. Not to mention Master Luo, even Doctor Zheng was over forty years old.

"Then I'll have to trouble you!" Bai Wanqing said.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. If you need anything in the future, Madam, just let us know at the carpentry shop." The carpentry apprentice quickly brought a ladder from the backyard and put the signboard up in no time.

He accepted another reward from Bai Wanqing before happily leaving.

Bai Wanqing led Ruixin and Doctor Zheng to put all the tables into the examination room, and the examination bed was also sent to a side room in the backyard.

"Dr. Zheng, you've worked hard today. The business opens tomorrow, so you'll probably be busy all the time. You should go home and rest early today!"

Dr. Zheng looked at the abandoned clinic, which had been deserted for three years, and felt a mix of emotions. Although the clinic was no longer his, he still had feelings for this place.

"Our clinic is about to open?" Dr. Zheng said in a daze.

Bai Wanqing knew what he was thinking and nodded affirmatively, "We're open for business! Doctor Zheng, don't be late tomorrow!"

Dr. Zheng immediately agreed, "No! No!"

After seeing Dr. Zheng off, Bai Wanqing and Ruixin tidied up the clinic one last time, checked the signboard at the entrance, and left only after confirming that everything was in order.

After leaving the clinic, Bai Wanqing went to the dental shop first, the same dental shop where she had bought the shop.

When the brokerage shop owner saw that it was Bai Wanqing, he personally came out to greet her, "Madam, what brings you here today? Has something happened at the shop?"

The broker was a little uneasy. He had finally managed to sell the shop, and he was afraid that something else might go wrong now. Otherwise, he would not only offend the Fang family but also the prefect's wife.

Bai Wanqing smiled easily, "No! It's not about the shop."

"We'd like to find a cook and a personal attendant. Do you have any recommendations, shopkeeper?" Bai Wanqing asked.

The broker secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! We have some suitable ones here. Why don't you come inside and sit down, Madam? I'll tell you about them in detail."

“Okay!” Bai Wanqing then followed the broker to the backyard.

This was Bai Wanqing's first time buying people at a brokerage firm. She never imagined that there would be so many people for sale in the brokerage firm.

"Shopkeeper, are all these people going to be sold?"

The shopkeeper nodded, "Yes! These are all from our collection."

"How can there be so many?" Bai Wanqing asked.

The brokerage shopkeeper smiled and said, "Madam, you don't know, our Huaizhou City is considered to be doing well, but it's only been a little better in recent years."

"During the war, many people lost their livelihoods. What else could they do but sell themselves to survive?"

"So there are a lot of people."

Bai Wanqing was slightly taken aback. "But more than twenty years have passed since the war. Haven't the refugees left behind after the war been properly resettled?"

"They've been settled! When Lord Liu was in office, he had already settled some refugees, so as you can see, there are far fewer people here now, Madam."

Bai Wanqing: You call this much a little?

"Of course, not all of these people were refugees after the war. Some had family misfortunes and had no other choice but to sell themselves."

As he spoke, the broker pointed to one of the women sitting in the distance.

"Madam, what do you think of that one?"

Bai Wanqing looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a woman with an ordinary appearance but bright and piercing eyes who stood out among the group of women.

“She doesn’t seem like an ordinary woman,” Bai Wanqing said.

The brokerage shopkeeper nodded slightly and said, "Madam, you're right. This lady was originally the proprietress of Chunfeng Restaurant in Huaizhou. Not only was she a good cook, but she was also very eloquent. So, Chunfeng Restaurant was very popular in Huaizhou back then! Business was booming."

"How did things come to this?"

The broker sighed and said, "It's all because she has a gambler husband. In those years, the couple made some money running Chunfeng Tower, but who knew that good times wouldn't last long? Her husband started to get cocky after he got money and also became addicted to gambling."

"In less than six months, her husband not only lost the Chunfeng Tower, but also incurred a large debt to the casino."

"This Fengniang was sold to a brokerage firm by her husband back then."

"Such a capable person, there must be many families vying for him, right?" Bai Wanqing continued to ask. The broker was bitter; he had thought the same thing when he took her in.

In reality, once people found out her identity, none of them wanted her, so she became an old hand at the brokerage.

“It’s not that they were scrambling to take her; it’s mainly because Fengniang was too shrewd before. Many families just wanted an obedient servant, not a clever one like her. So, she stayed at the brokerage.” The brokerage manager looked intently at Bai Wanqing.

Bai Wanqing smiled inwardly, "Shopkeeper, you're not being honest. If Feng Niang were really as shrewd as you say, how could she have fallen to such a state?"

She'll definitely find a million ways to deal with her husband.

"Isn't Madam E supposed to be a wife who follows her husband's lead? According to ethical norms, no matter how strong a woman is, she still has to listen to her husband. Fengniang should be the same!"

Bai Wanqing paused, the Bai family's promise and Lin Yunche's tolerance seemed to make her forget how women live in this world, and also forget how lucky she was now.

"What the shopkeeper says is true; I was just assuming things."

"Madam, what are you saying? It's just that you see Feng Niang..."

Bai Wanqing has already taken over a shop that no one dares to take, so taking over a person that no one dares to take over isn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Shopkeeper, you're treating me like a sucker!"

The brokerage manager immediately explained, "Madam, what are you saying? The ones I introduce to you are all the best! It's just that those people can't control the situation, but I think you can."

Bai Wanqing didn't waste any time and immediately asked Fengniang to cook a few dishes.

She and Ruixin both tried it out and thought it was quite good. They figured that Master Luo and Lin Yunche would like it too, so they placed an order for Fengniang on the spot.

Upon learning that she had been bought, Fengniang suddenly changed her mind and knelt down in front of Bai Wanqing, pleading, "Madam, please have mercy! Don't buy me back! I want to stay in the brokerage! I want to stay in the brokerage!"

Bai Wanqing and the brokerage shopkeeper were stunned.

Especially the brokerage manager, who had clearly warned her last time, yet she still refused to go to the employer's house.

Bai Wanqing gently raised her eyebrows and looked at the brokerage manager, whose forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Fengniang, what are you doing? Don't you even know who bought you today?"

"Manager of the brokerage firm, let Feng Niang speak. If she is unwilling, I cannot take her away." Bai Wanqing did not let the brokerage firm manager continue speaking, but turned to look at Feng Niang kneeling on the ground.

The broker could only shut his mouth, cold sweat dripping down his face as he looked at Feng Niang on the ground.

Fengniang wasn't stupid. Although the broker hadn't finished speaking, she could tell that the lady in front of her was probably someone of extraordinary status.

She met Bai Wanqing's eyes and saw the calmness in them, and knew that her chance had come.

“Madam, I am willing to go back with you.” After saying this, Fengniang knelt on the ground.

"Fengniang, why were you unwilling just now, but are you willing now?" Bai Wanqing asked calmly.

Feng Niang pursed her lips, raised her head and looked firmly at Bai Wanqing, "Madam, I originally stayed at the brokerage to find my son."

The broker wiped the sweat from his brow, inwardly cursing Feng Niang for ruining him.

"Is your son also working at a brokerage firm?" Bai Wanqing asked.

Fengniang shook her head, "My son is not here, but only not right now."

Fengniang glanced at the brokerage shop manager, then whispered, "Madam, the manager should have told you that Fengniang was sold to this brokerage shop by my husband."

“But my husband sold not only me, but also my twelve-year-old son.”

"I wanted to stay in the brokerage business because the manager was willing to help me inquire about my son from brokerages all over Huaizhou."

"Even though so many years have passed, there has been no news of him."

"But I don't want to give up."

Bai Wanqing finally understood; she really was a sucker in the eyes of the brokerage shop owner.

The brokerage manager looked at Bai Wanqing, a forced smile playing on his lips, and said, "Madam, please don't misunderstand me. I just couldn't stand by and watch, that's why..."

"So you think I can help her find her son?"

The brokerage manager lowered his eyes. "Madam, are you sure you can?"

Bai Wanqing wanted to say no, but when she thought of her younger brother, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Especially when she saw Fengniang's burning gaze, it reminded her of her mother, who sometimes had the same look in her eyes when she heard some news after her younger brother's death.

"I can only say I'll try, but I'm not sure I'll be able to find it."

"So, are you still willing to follow me?"

“I’m willing!” Feng Niang agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Afterwards, Bai Wanqing looked at several other potential servants, but they were all too dull. There were few clever people like Fengniang, so Bai Wanqing couldn't find a suitable one and ended up just taking Fengniang home.

(End of this chapter)