HUS Chapter 74: A Man Devoted to His Career
HUS Chapter 74: A Man Devoted to His Career
January 9
Rena'baier was watching Yang Can and Qingmei's household conversation with great interest.
She was quite interested in the daily life of these Eastern nobles.
As a result, when Yang Can's words came out, her expression immediately changed.
Bah! This "Azat" wasn't a noble, refined "Azat" with aristocratic bearing at all!
But what should I do?
Do I have the ability to resist him? Or should I... resist unto death?
Rena'baier looked helplessly at Qingmei.
Qingmei's pretty face also changed color but... she didn't seem to have an appropriate status to restrain Yang Can...
Qingmei bit her lip, thinking about how to tactfully speak up, when Yang Can had already continued.
"Oh yes, Qingmei, you come too when the time comes."
As soon as these words came out, Qingmei's small face turned pale.
This... this is too... too outrageous, Master!
Yang Can thought to himself that Rena'baier might be skilled at commerce, but she wasn't trustworthy enough.
If he wasn't careful, she might flee at the first opportunity and she'd run off with his money too.
Even if she didn't flee or lacked the ability to flee, such an important matter couldn't be entirely left in her hands.
From the current perspective, he still needed Qingmei to help him maintain control before he could feel at ease. However, because of this, it seemed that this sour plum tree should also be plucked by him.
Making her his, that was the highest form of binding interests between men and women!
As Yang Can calculated this, he got up to go bathe.
In the hall, Qingmei and Rena'baier wore expressions of shock and panic.
Of course, Qingmei had long been prepared to devote herself to Yang Can.
In her heart, Yang Can was her young mistress's man, which rounded up to being her man too but...
Serving her man together with another woman?
Even if it were with her own young mistress, she would feel shy, let alone for her first time.
Qingmei felt somewhat unwilling. Her one and only first time should be enjoyed by her alone, right?
Even her young mistress wouldn't compete with her for this once. Why should this foreign woman...
At this moment, Rena'baier's voice, carrying a slight Western Region accent, came over full of anger.
"Miss Qingmei, this isn't what you told me before!"
Rena glared with her blue eyes wide open in anger, "You said you would protect me and wouldn't let him touch me."
"I..."
"You praised him as so noble, but now it seems he's just a vulgar, crude country landlord, isn't he?"
Qingmei immediately became unhappy!
What status do you have?
Get it clear, you foreign woman!
Look at that red hair of yours, like will-o'-the-wisps from a stove!
Who are you calling crude? Who are you calling vulgar? How dare you say such things?
You speak of my man so poorly, then what does that make me?
Qingmei immediately put on a stern face, "Our Master taking a liking to you is honoring you! Your ancestors must have burned high incense for this. You should feel it's the fortune of three lifetimes, bringing glory to your humble home!"
Rena could actually roughly understand what these phrases meant and immediately felt indignant.
What do you mean I should feel it's the fortune of three lifetimes? What do you mean bringing glory to my humble home?
My home is quite splendid, no worse than your fortress, alright?
The two women began quarreling loudly.
...
Yang Can had finished bathing. With half-dry hair, wearing loose, plain-colored everyday clothes.
He wore wooden clogs and walked toward the small flower hall with a clacking sound.
He left behind a faint scent of gleditsia along the way in a carefree manner.
The sense of crisis brought by the Canglang Gorge trip made his tense nerves realize he wasn't strong enough yet.
At this moment, his mind was full of grand plans for establishing Western Region trade routes.
Persian glass, Arab spices, Khotan jade, Central Plains handicrafts...
Tianshui was a necessary stop on the Silk Road, and the Suo family was the most powerful merchant family in Longshang...
This way, I have both geographical advantage and harmony with people.
For me to join in and open my own trade route shouldn't be difficult then I'll have my own source of wealth.
Once I have money, I can do many things. My connections, my status...
In the Yu family, I'll no longer be an insignificant minor character.
By then, I'll be able to influence the development of many matters.
Right, I should pull in those stewards from the eldest branch to do business together.
What use is Zhang Yunyi occasionally sending them benefits?
Change to another estate head, as long as it's not someone like me who holds an executive position, wouldn't they still go "pay respects"?
In their eyes, Zhang Yunyi has no irreplaceable uniqueness but if I pull them into my commercial empire, once I'm gone, their financial routes will be cut off too.
In such circumstances, they'll spare no effort to work for me.
Yang Can's thoughts opened up, and he became more excited the more he thought about it.
In the small flower hall, because of Rena'baier's evaluation of Yang Can, Qingmei was furious.
Deeply poisoned by feudal thinking and not feeling there was anything wrong with Yang Can having three wives and four concubines, she simply didn't want to share the most important first time of her life with someone else.
Because of Rena's disparagement of Yang Can, Qingmei immediately transformed into a virtuous wife warrior.
"Shopkeeper Qian should have found you more than one buyer, right? Beat your chest and tell me, which of those buyers compares to my Master?"
"The young ones don't have his power and wealth, the powerful ones aren't as young and handsome as him! Such a good man who'd be hard to find even with a lantern, and you're still not satisfied? Let me tell you, Miss Rena, if you anger our Master, Hmph, this young lady will take it upon myself to sell you off immediately! This young lady never does losing business, but for you, I'll make an exception just this once!"
"You haven't seen Wu Lao'er at the west village entrance, have you? Three inches tall, tree bark skin, only three yellow teeth left. Oh right, he also loves to beat women. I'll sell you to him for just one copper coin!"
Rena'baier kept a straight face and said nothing.
She had thought Qingmei was a good person. She really misjudged.
At this time, Persia was in the Sassanid Dynasty period, when Zoroastrianism was established as the state religion.
This doctrine emphasized fertility and the purity of family lineage, so marriage and childbirth were given extremely high religious and social value.
Because of this, female chastity became extremely important in Persian Empire society, and social customs were extremely conservative.
Merchants originally had high social status in ancient Persia, but Rena'baier had never found a husband.
The reason was that she had followed her father traveling foreign trade routes since childhood.
Common families, her father looked down upon but powerful upper-class families doubted her purity.
Of course, her red hair was also a reason for discrimination by nobles.
So she secretly dyed her hair black and usually kept her distance from the men in the caravan as much as possible.
The more a person wants to be recognized by others, the harder they try to move in the direction others expect.
Her father was a great merchant engaged in international trade, so the caravan's self-defense force was naturally very strong but she was still captured.
Simply because she, who loved cleanliness, went to the riverside to bathe late at night with her maid, going too far into the wilderness.
Ever since she was captured, she had desperately realized that even if she resisted unto death and maintained her chaste body, once she returned to the caravan, even the people around her father wouldn't believe in her purity.
At this moment, Rena'baier felt somewhat self-destructive.
Perhaps this Yang Can really is my best choice.
Rena'baier bit her full lips, "I... can agree to serve him together. But..."
Rena'baier thrust out her chest, and the butterfly embroidered on her hezi suddenly expanded its wings by a circle.
"In our Persia, polygamy is allowed, but I won't accept being a concubine.
I must be formally married to him, becoming his wife together with you!"
"What you're thinking is quite... it's not impossible to consider."
Qingmei's words were hastily pulled back at the last moment, nearly biting her tongue.
This is a good thing!
If she can really get Master to relent, then can't I too?
Qingmei's ambitions rapidly expanded.
Once they had common interests, the two immediately became the closest of friends again.
"I think we can do it like this. In a while... If he can't hold back, he'll definitely think of agreeing to anything first..."
"That won't do. He must hold a wedding and formally recognize me as his wife."
"Oh my, why are you so stubborn? Let's first do that, then do that..."
"No, I was captured and have lost my innocence. I don't dare rely on his vague promises!"
"My Master is different. He's the kind of person who..."
"To be frank, I trust neither him nor you."
"Hey, you foreign woman..."
The two began bickering again when Yang Can came clacking in.
"What are you talking about?" Yang Can asked with a smile.
Both girls' delicate bodies trembled simultaneously, one from shyness, the other from nervousness.
Rena instinctively grabbed her collar tightly. Her red hair was like a burning flame in the candlelight.
She decided to negotiate with Yang Can first. If this Master Yang agreed, then... she'd submit to him.
"Mas-Master, I can agree to you, but... but you must also agree to me..."
"What? You guessed what I wanted to talk to you about?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Can was greatly surprised and somewhat excited.
What Rena'baier should be best at was commerce.
So as long as she was smart enough, guessing his purpose wasn't unusual. However, since she could guess it, that proved her intelligence was quite high.
This was of course a good thing for Yang Can.
Qingmei blushed a bit and said shyly, "But doing it together isn't very appropriate, is it?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Yang Can waved his hand grandly, "Qingmei, you're the person I trust most!"
Yang Can drew a pie in the air and tossed it over. It didn't cost anything anyway, just casual PUA.
"Come, come, come. Since you've guessed it, that's even better. Let me explain in detail."
Yang Can pulled over a chair and sat down excitedly.
"Here's what I'm thinking. Our Tianshui City is a necessary route for merchants traveling between East and West. The Suo family is renowned for commerce among the eight great clans of Longshang. We have such advantageous conditions. Wouldn't it be a pity not to make good use of them?"
Yang Can's eyes sparkled brightly, his thoughts completely immersed in his money-making enterprise.
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