Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

"Shopkeeper, you're too kind. We're cooperating for mutual benefit, and each of us gets what we need."

"Yes, yes, yes, win-win cooperation, win-win cooperation. I hope we can cooperate more often, and that Mr. Zhang can produce more good storybooks."

"I tried my best. As you know, writing a storybook is not an easy task. It took me almost a year to conceive this storybook before it became the complete work it is today."

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"good!"

Manager Shen escorted them to the shop entrance. Just as the two were about to leave, he called out, "Young Master Zhang, please wait!"

Liu Siyue's heart skipped a beat. Did they really have to snatch the silver notes back? She and Qingwu exchanged a glance. Realizing the situation was bad, they immediately ran away.

The two turned around at the same time. "The shopkeeper has other matters to attend to."

"Xiao Liu, bring out what I prepared!"

"Young Master Zhang, this set of writing materials is for you. It's not the best, but it'll be more than enough for writing storybooks."

"Thank you very much, Manager Shen. I would be impolite to refuse such a gift." I'll take it home for my family to practice calligraphy.

She patted her chest, relieved that it was a false alarm, and quickly left.

The two left the bookstore and wandered aimlessly through the streets. "Qingwu, check if anyone's following us."

"Master, no, I've been keeping an eye on it."

"That's good. It seems that Yuewenzhai does business fairly honestly."

"Let's go to the dock."

"Master, wait here for me. I'll send someone to inquire where the dock is. We don't know either!"

"Okay, go ahead!"

Qingwu saw a dirty little beggar kneeling on the ground with a broken bowl in front of him and a small bamboo stick next to him. This was the standard equipment of a flower beggar.

She walked up to him and tossed two copper coins into the broken bowl. Hearing the sound of the coins hitting the bowl, the little beggar immediately looked up and exclaimed, "Thank you, kind sir! Thank you, kind sir!"

"Child, I ask you, do you know where that dilapidated dock in this square formation is?"

"I know, I know, I'll show you the way."

"Okay, take me there, and I'll give you another 10 coins."

"Come with me now, there's someone waiting over there."

"Master, he will lead us there."

"Okay, let's go then!"

On the way, Liu Siyue asked a little beggar, "Kid, how old are you? Why are you begging all alone? Where are your parents?"

"I am 8 years old. My parents died of illness. My uncle's family said they would take care of me and occupied my house and land, saying they would return them to me when I grow up."

My aunt made me do chores every day, and she didn't give me any food. If I dared to steal food from the house, they would beat me. I was so hungry that I had no choice but to run away and beg for food.

"Don't you have any other relatives?"

"No, I went to see the clan chief, and the group leader said that because I'm young, I should listen to my uncle, and things will be better when I grow up."

I was afraid I wouldn't grow up and would starve to death, so I ran away and started begging.

Qingwu was afraid that her master would take in the child out of kindness, so she quickly reminded her, "Master, we can't take in this child. His family relationships are complicated. If his relatives come to our door and say that we have abducted a child, it will be difficult for us to handle."

I've already told him; he brought us here, and I'll give him 10 coins.

"Okay, I understand."

They walked for almost half an hour, and in the distance they saw a large wasteland overgrown with weeds. The little beggar pointed and said, "This whole area belongs to the dock, but there are no boats here now."

Qingwu gave the little beggar 10 coins, saying, "Take this money and go home quickly!"

The little beggar took the money, thanked it profusely, and happily ran off with it, determined to hide it well so that no one else could steal it.

Looking around, Liu Siyue saw a huge expanse of land, with broken walls and ruins on the wasteland. The entire dock was blocked by silt. No wonder the government didn't come to repair the waterway here; it would be a huge project.

"Sifang Town is definitely no worse than the county seat."

"Everyone knows the benefits of building the dock. If the government doesn't take any action, it's probably because they don't have the money."

When I have enough money in the future, I'll buy this entire dock and run it myself.

"Master, how much silver would that cost? And will the government agree to it?"

We have no power or influence; we're afraid of ending up doing all the work for someone else's benefit.

"So I need to work hard to make more money so that I can become powerful and influential in the future, and no one will dare to bully me."

"Let's go back." The two walked there and back, had lunch in town, and then drove the carriage out of the shop. "Qingwu, let's go to the furniture workshop."

When Liu Siyue went inside, she saw that there were many more people working than before. "Madam Liu, you've come. It's almost the end of the year, and so many people have ordered new furniture. Everyone wants to have their new furniture before the New Year, so I've hired some more people to help."

"Furniture is just a passing fad, a way to make a quick buck. Once the furniture is sold, others can easily imitate it."

Yes, someone is already making our wardrobes, and they're selling them for less than we are.

"This is an inevitable law of the market. No single company can dominate the business. What we need to do is seize the market and make money before others have a chance to react."

"What Lady Liu said is absolutely right. Every time we release a new product, we have to stock up on a lot of stock. Tea sets take up too much space and are difficult to manage."

"I suddenly had an idea, what do you think of this?"

"Lady Liu, speak!"

"The finished furniture is bulky and difficult to transport, so we prepare all the materials for the furniture, collect the materials for each piece, and then organize an installation team to come and install it, charging a small installation fee."

This saves a lot on transportation costs, and once the product is in the customer's home, there's less chance for others to imitate it.

"Yes, that's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Madam Liu is truly a shrewd businesswoman; I really admire her!"

"By the way, how are my two cousins, Mantun and I, doing with their studies here?"

"They are hardworking, reliable, and have good qualifications. I had the other foremen guide them, and now they can work independently."

Do you want to go see them?

"Okay, I'll go see them now that I'm here!"

"Master Xie, do you know where Master Chang lives? I'm planning to hire him to build my house."

"Go to the east street of the town and ask around; everyone there knows Master Chang."

"So, Master Chang is quite a celebrity in town?"

"Of course, he's the best craftsman in our Sifang Town when it comes to building houses, and he's also a very honest person."

Come on, I'll take you to meet them!

Master Xie led her to the place where the three were working, and there she saw the Feng brothers sitting on the logs, holding something in their hands, and pushing it with all their might.

Liu Mantun was also riding on a log, holding a chisel in one hand and a hammer in the other, chiseling a hole.

"Master Xie, what are they doing?"

"Your cousin is holding a flat planer, flattening and smoothing the wood, while Liu Mantun is chiseling holes."

Liu Siyue saw that the three of them were working quite well and exchanging ideas from time to time. Good, as long as they were down-to-earth and willing to learn, that was fine.

"Erlang, Sanlang, Liu Mantun, someone has come to see you!"

Upon seeing Liu Siyue, the three gently put down their tools, wiped their hands on their clothes, and wiped the sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves. Liu Siyue then walked up to them.

"Cousins, Mantun, how's your learning going here? Have you encountered any difficulties?"