Inside the makeshift parlour that the Song family had packed out, Song Shen poured a glass of plain water for Zheng Wen.
The family went over to the workshop early in the morning and ate their lunch there, only to return in the evening, when there was no hot water in the house.
Zheng Wen took it and casually surveyed the house. If he remembered correctly, this should be his third cousin’s house, but now there was not even a kang in the house, only two chairs and a table.
“Which kind of business does cousin uncle want to do?”
Song Shen poured himself a cup and held it in his hand for a few sips before asking.
Zheng Wen retracted his thoughts and collected his mind, “I want to do all of them.”
All of them?
Song Shen smiled and shook his head, “The pill business can’t be done together with herbal tea and hot pot base. You can only choose one of the two.”
Zheng Wen was surprised.
Zheng’s family was not really a business family, his father was a merchant and had saved his family’s fortune step by step with his shrewdness, which was the basis of their later business. He wanted to get the agent for these three businesses, buy more goods and sell them elsewhere.
“Cousin uncle may not know the meaning of agency, let me explain it to you.” Song Shen put the cup on the table and said, “Agency means that the goods from the place you represent must be sold in that place, no transgressions are allowed, otherwise we will take back the agency.”
Zheng Wen’s heart went half cold.
What he was best at doing was selling goods from the south to the north to earn the difference in price, if he wasn’t allowed to sell that way, how could he make money?
“No, can’t we take it elsewhere and sell it?”
Song Shen nodded, “Yes, but you can take several provinces at once as agents.”
Zheng Wen didn’t say anything.
Inside the north room, Song Qin pulled Grandma Song’s said happily, “That child is really a blessing, not even three months after she entered our family, Wen’s daughter-in-law got pregnant.”
“Is that so?”
Then she thought of something and instructed, “You should remind them that even if they have their own child, they should not take that child with them.”
“That’s natural.”
The child is not an outsider, it’s her niece’s child, not to mention that the child is so delightful that she misses it even if she doesn’t see it for a day.
“Is Miss Song at home?”
A question came from the courtyard door.
Elder Song was just about to get up and go out when Song Shen had already walked to the door, and when he saw him, the eyes of the subordinate standing at the door lit up, “Second Prince Song.”
Song Shen recognised him as Master Sun’s attendant and took a few quick steps to welcome him to the door, then he saw several carriages parked outside the door, Master Sun was the first to get down from the front carriage, seeing Song Shen arrive at the door, he also took a few quick steps and greeted him with a smile, “Second Prince Song.”
“Master Sun.”
Master Sun smilingly answered, waiting for the people behind him to get off the carriage and introduce them, “These are my friends in business, they heard about the recruitment of agents and begged me to bring them here.
The six people had already heard him say that the Song family’s business was being managed by Song Shen, so they politely greeted each other, and Song Shen returned the greetings one by one, leading them into the house.
The room was small, so it was crowded when they entered.
Zheng Wen got up to make room for them, but there were only two chairs in the house, so Song Shen apologised and said, “The workshop is still being built, so we can only make do with this side for now.”
Master Sun glanced at Zheng Wen without a trace and spoke with a smile, “It’s no problem.”
The other six people looked at each other, not only was the room small, but there was even no ice on a hot day, the room was like a steamer, and they were hot and sweaty as soon as they entered the room.
“Why don’t we go outside and talk?”
One of them spoke up.
They were all businessmen, their families were rich, they were used to being pampered, and they couldn’t stand the dry heat.
Naturally, Master Sun knew what the person who spoke meant, and was afraid that Song Shen would lose face, so he quickly answered, “Yes, go outside, it’s spacious.”
Everyone exited and stood in the shade of the courtyard.
Song Shen brought the family’s small stools over for everyone to sit on, set up a small table, and took bowls and poured boiled water for everyone.
He didn’t panic at all when he did this, nor did he feel uneasy about entertaining several people in the courtyard, and calmly handed them the water one by one, “Sorry, we’ve just returned from the workshop, and all we need at home is plain water.”
When they saw how easily he handled the situation, they appreciated him a little bit more, not to mention a child from a farming family.
Master Sun also nodded secretly, compared to last year, Song Shen seemed to be a different person.
First, he picked up the bowl and drank a few sips of plain water, and smiled, “I, on the other hand, want to represent the herbal tea and hot pot base business of the five mansions.”
With him opening his mouth, the rest of the crowd said they represented several provinces.
If Song Shen agreed, there would be nothing left for him to do, but he did not dare to make a decision right away, as he did not know if he could do well in such a business that was confined to one place.
In his haste, he went out of the house and said in a slightly raised voice, “Shen’er, it is still early in the day, why don’t you lead everyone to see the workshop to be built.”
At his words, Song Shen looked at him in surprise.
Although she didn’t know what “acting for a few houses” was, she could see that Wen’s eagerness to talk to Song Shen hadn’t yet been resolved. She didn’t know what “acting for several provinces” was, but seeing how eager Wen’er was, it seemed that she hadn’t finished talking to Song Shen.
She looked at Elder Song, “Big brother.”
Master Song was ten years older than her and had practically watched his sister grow up, so he immediately understood what she was thinking. But Yue’er had said that he couldn’t interfere in the family’s business.
“This ……”
Their voices were so low that the people outside couldn’t hear them.
Song Shen also understood Zheng Wen’s intentions in an instant, after all, he was a relative and gave him face, smiling to the crowd, “My cousin uncle is right, it’s really time to lead you over there and meet my little sister by the way, she happens to be over there today.”
Apart from Master Sun, the rest were curious about Song Wan Yue, wanting to know what kind of a young girl had the guts and gumption to go to the capital to sue the imperial court and donate the one million taels paid out without hesitation.
Immediately, someone responded, “Yes, let’s go and take a look.”
Zheng Wen also quickly followed, looking at the situation just now, these people would decide on the place to represent today, he could not give up this great opportunity, he had to follow and consult with Song Wan Yue, asking her what business she was suitable to represent.