"Besides the regulars, how many more can you make? I'll take them all," Gu Qingcheng said lavishly.
"Well, if we rush and get some extra help, we can probably make 200," the shop assistant said, unwilling to let such a big order go.
"Alright, make as many as you can. I'll pick them up this afternoon at the Hour of Shen. Here's the deposit."
Gu Qingcheng gave the shop assistant one tael of silver.
Having come down the mountain, she wouldn't have bothered if she wasn't buying a lot of things.
She had been to Zhanchun Town before, but at that time it was in ruins and she was in no mood to sightsee. Now, she was much more relaxed.
The two then went to the intermediary office.
There were only two intermediary offices in Zhanchun Town, and their shops were small and located next to each other.
Gu Qingcheng casually strolled into one, and a middle-aged man greeted her enthusiastically.
Yes, this was him.
In business, sweet talk and an enthusiastic attitude always worked.
The man introduced himself as Mr. Jiang and clearly was a seasoned businessman.
Gu Qingcheng stated directly that she needed to recruit a large number of plasterers, bricklayers, and other skilled workers.
After inquiring about the wages, Mr. Jiang said,
"Your Phoenix Village is rather remote, but as for workers, as long as the wages are high and the commute isn't too far, they should be able to be recruited from within the region."
Gu Qingcheng was surprised that Mr. Jiang had heard of Phoenix Village and said,
"Mr. Jiang, you know of our Phoenix Village?"
"Yes, I've heard that the village is populated by refugees. The locals were initially worried, but in the past few months, there haven't been any reports of their bad behavior, so there's nothing more to say. If I help recruit someone, it's ten wen. If you need me to escort them up the mountain, it's an additional one wen per person."
"No problem," Gu Qingcheng said. "Here's a tael of silver as a deposit."
"May I ask for your honored name, patron?" After chatting for a while, Mr. Jiang suddenly remembered he hadn't asked for Gu Qingcheng's name.
"My name is Gu Qingcheng. You can find me in Phoenix Village."
"Ah? You are Young Master Gu of Phoenix Village?"
Upon hearing the name Gu Qingcheng, Mr. Jiang showed a hint of reverence.
Seeing his expression, Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but laugh,
"Am I that famous?"
"Of course! I heard that the refugees settled in Phoenix Village are well-fed and well-clothed, enjoying meat and delicacies. They are living quite comfortably, all thanks to the financial support of a young master from a noble family, Young Master Gu.
By the way, do you happen to be taking in locals? I'm thinking of going up the mountain myself."
Mr. Jiang said jokingly.
Of course, he was only saying it. Even if Phoenix Village did want him, he wouldn't go up the mountain.
After all, the town was so prosperous, and his children needed to attend school. How could he possibly go up the mountain?
"Haha, if any villagers wish to join, they are most welcome, especially those with specific skills."
Gu Qingcheng responded politely, more to placate him.
Gu Qingcheng actually preferred not to recruit locals. Locals had a sense of superiority, and she feared her villagers would be bullied, leading to internal conflict within the village.
With the recruitment matters settled, Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo went for a stroll on the street.
They visited the blacksmith's shop to see if there were any weapons Yan Xin wanted.
As it turned out, the blacksmith only had three daggers; everything else was farming tools.
Gu Qingcheng, in one go, bought all the farming tools and also purchased the forged iron pots and other items.
Then, she placed an order with the blacksmith for 50 daggers and 20 long swords.
In truth, Gu Qingcheng wanted to have more weapons forged, but she was afraid that making too many would attract the attention of the authorities, so she had to order them in batches.
Gu Qingcheng gave the blacksmith a deposit of 50 taels of silver.
After they bought the farming tools and other items, Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo took them out of the blacksmith's shop and stored them in the storage cabinet.
After strolling for a while, as it was nearing noon, the two went to a restaurant for lunch.
Gu Qingcheng never wanted to betray her title as a foodie, so this time, they went to the most famous restaurant in Zhanchun Town, the Cloud Mist Restaurant.
The most famous dish at the Cloud Mist Restaurant was roast suckling pig.
Gu Qingcheng and Mi Guo discussed it and ordered a roast suckling pig, along with two refreshing side dishes. They sipped tea and ate the small pastries served by the waiter while waiting for the roast suckling pig to be served.
The roast suckling pig was freshly roasted, so it took quite some time. However, the restaurant was quite thoughtful and served two types of pastries first: Juhong Gao and Tianguo.
Juhong Gao resembled transparent jelly, made from glutinous rice flour. It was Q-bouncy, not sticky, and refreshingly cool in the mouth.
Tianguo was also made from glutinous rice, steamed with brown sugar. Once cooled and solidified, it was sliced, coated in egg batter, and fried in oil.
Since both were desserts, Gu Qingcheng asked the waiter to serve a smashed cucumber salad.
The smashed cucumber was crisp and refreshing. Dressed with oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, it balanced the sweetness and prevented them from feeling overly sated by sugary dishes.
"Sister, I wish we hadn't ordered the roast suckling pig. It's taking too long," Mi Guo said, feeling hungry.
Gu Qingcheng replied, "How about we order a few more of their specialty dishes?"
"No, we won't be able to finish the roast suckling pig later. But we can order more specialties to take away."
Gu Qingcheng nodded and agreed.
Although Mi Guo was an excellent cook herself, she didn't dislike eating others' signature dishes.
So Gu Qingcheng called the waiter and ordered over a dozen more dishes, choosing from the restaurant's specialties.
The waiter was surprised and said,
"Patrons, ordering so many dishes might lead to waste if you can't finish them."
Gu Qingcheng replied, "It's fine, we're packing them to take back for our family."
"Oh, I see. I'll pack them in food boxes for you. The food boxes are on the house."
Gu Qingcheng had ordered quite a few dishes, including fried noodles, braised tofu, stir-fried pork tripe, abalone stewed with pork ribs, fish maw soup, sea cucumber stewed with pork, and so on, totaling over 20 dishes.
As big customers, the restaurant wouldn't lose out by gifting two food boxes.
Gu Qingcheng casually urged the waiter to hurry with the roast suckling pig.
The waiter assured them that their roast suckling pig was smoked and then freshly prepared to ensure it was tender and flavorful, promising they wouldn't regret the wait.
The waiter was very persuasive, so they decided to wait.
At this moment, the conversations of the other diners in the restaurant became their source of information.
"Did you hear? Locust plagues have started in the south. Locusts are flying in like snowflakes, as terrible as the snow disaster in the north. Wherever the locusts go, nothing is left, not even cacti can survive."
"Are they that terrible? I heard some places roast locusts and eat them. If the locusts eat all the crops, can we encourage the people to catch and roast locusts to eat?
I heard they taste quite good when roasted, with a meaty aroma."
"Haha, you're mistaken. Not all locusts are edible. The ones you mentioned are summer or autumn locusts. But the locusts that are damaging the crops this time are clearly not edible species. I heard someone roasted and ate them, got diarrhea, and almost died.
So don't spread rumors and mislead people about locusts being edible."
"I see. Has the government come up with any countermeasures yet?"
"I heard the government is using ducks to control the locusts and is also asking villagers to dig up locust eggs. Ten pounds of locust eggs can be exchanged for ten wen."
"Oh, that's not bad, it's a way to make a living."
"Yes, those locusts are truly terrifying, covering the sky. I don't know if they can be cleared completely."