It was the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month. Shen Mingjun really came back as scheduled. Zhou went to the Wang family to pick up people in person, and finally brought the person back. The joy on his face could be seen from afar.

"What are you looking at? I haven't seen you for only a month, but you don't even recognize your father? Please pay your respects." Zhou seemed to have forgotten the curse he had on weekdays. When he saw Chen Xi standing at the door, he greeted him from a distance.

Shen Mingjun is basically the same as before, but his face is full of red and a smile is on the corner of his mouth. It seems that he hasn't seen his wife and children come back for a long time.

Chen Xi obediently stepped forward and shouted: "Dad."

Shen Mingjun touched Chen Xi's little face with his hand, nodded happily, and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days. Xiao Lang has grown taller again. Go inside. I'll buy you and Dai'er back."

When they entered the yard, Lin Dai and Lu Xier were both there.

Lin Dai was already very familiar with Shen Mingjun, but Lu Xier suddenly saw a man coming in and didn't have much impression of him. Since the Shen family moved here, she had only seen Shen Mingjun three or four times. The child had a bad memory. She was a little scared when she saw a stranger. She hid behind Chen Xi, poked her head out and looked at her constantly.

"This is my father, you should call him uncle." Chen Xi explained to Lu Xier with a smile.

Lu Xier blinked her big eyes and just hid behind Shen Xi, looked up at Shen Mingjun but said nothing.

Zhou smiled and said, "If Xier doesn't recognize her, forget it. I'll send Xier back and tell your Aunt Sun that I won't go over to help you today."

Chen Xi took Lu Xier back to the pharmacy and went to the shop to tell Hui Niang about the situation at home. Hui Niang was also happy for Zhou: "It would be good if your father came back, otherwise you would hear your mother scolding her and thinking in her heart all day long, and her ears would almost hear calluses coming."

Chen Xi smiled and said, "Why, my aunt feels the same way. Actually, my mother talks more at home, and scolds my father in front of me all day long."

Or if I heard the same words too much, Hui Niang couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Turning around and about to leave, Chen Xi suddenly remembered something and stopped walking: "Auntie, I heard that the county magistrate Han in our county will soon go to Nanzhili to work, and the new magistrate will take office after the New Year."

"oh."

Hui Niang was a little confused, so she thought about it and said casually, "Then it has nothing to do with us, right?"

"How can I say it's okay? If you say that County Magistrate Han was rewarded by your contribution to preventing and controlling the plague, if he was in the yamen, he would naturally take care of his aunt's business. If he left, some people might think of the drug shop. If other drug shops start to put pressure on the new county magistrate, the business of Aunt will be difficult to do."

Hui Niang frowned slightly after hearing Chen Xi's words.

Chen Xi's words are not without reason. County Magistrate Han has a interest relationship with Hui Niang's medicine shop. Supporting Hui Niang's medicine shop is equivalent to maintaining his political achievements, so he naturally spares no effort.

But the successor is not the same. The county magistrate is a hundred miles away. The first thing to do when he takes up his new position is to establish a good relationship with local gentry and eliminate any unstable factors. Now, Huiniang Pharmaceutical Store in Ninghua County is the dominant family, and those competitors will definitely work hard on the new county magistrate.

"What should I do?"

Hui Niang thought for a while and felt that she was a female and had no way to fight those people, so she had to look at Chen Xi for help.

Chen Xi suggested: "Auntie, you might as well make your business bigger. The scale of these shops is too small. You must expand the store to give people a high-end, elegant and upscale feeling. Then discuss with the owners of other pharmacies in the city to establish a chamber of commerce. Before the new county magistrate takes office, the aunt will block their bad roads. Only in this way can the aunt be invincible."

Although Hui Niang has some talent in doing business, she still doesn't understand Chen Xi's words very well.

The concept of the Chamber of Commerce is basically not available in the Ming Dynasty. The colleagues are enemies and there is a competitive relationship between them. How can they join forces to do business and take care of each other?

After Chen Xi explained the specific meaning clearly, Hui Niang shook her head and said, "How could they listen to me?"

"Not necessarily!"

Chen Xi smiled faintly and pointed to Jiangshan: "The current trend is in the hands of my aunt. The news that County Magistrate Han is leaving is only circulating in a very small range. If they want to survive, they must listen to my aunt. At this time, it is not difficult to integrate the pharmacy. After the integration is completed, even if the Xin County Magistrate comes, they cannot say anything. The business will be done. Aunt will still have a weight in his future. If anyone doesn't know what to do, and the aunt has a status and connections, the county Magistrate can only give her face to maintain local stability, and will instead take action to punish those who do bad things."

After careful consideration, Hui Niang still couldn't let go.

Although what Chen Xi said was complicated, it is not difficult to understand.

Although Hui Niang now has the title of "Goddess Doctor", she is just a woman. In this era when men are superior to women, as long as the new county magistrate takes office, Hui Niang's business may be ruined.

But if Hui Niang takes the initiative to integrate the shops in the city that do medicinal materials business and become the leader of the "chamber of Commerce", then she will be the helmsman of all the pharmacies in the city. Whoever goes to the Xin County Magistrate to file a complaint is against the interests of the large collective of the Chamber of Commerce. The Xin County Magistrate will know who to help with as long as he makes a little measure.

Now the business of other pharmacies in the city is not good, and all pharmacies have to rely on Hui Niang's face. It is a great time to integrate pharmacies to establish a chamber of commerce.

With the integration of the drugstore, it is not appropriate for Hui Niang to do business with her current small storefront, and the store must be expanded.

Hui Niang thought for a long time and said, "Shortly after the plague ended, there were many empty shops in the city. It was not difficult to rent them, but we had no one to do it. How could you deal with it by relying on your mother and I? If you hire people, it would be not suitable for us orphans and widows. Who would tell me that my life was miserable?"

Hui Niang was sad. The current problem was to expand the business, so more people needed to help. Originally, it was not difficult to hire a few people in the pharmacy shop, but Hui Niang was a widow, so it would definitely not work to hire a man. If you ask a woman, which woman would like to show up like Zhou?

As a shareholder of the pharmacy, Zhou doesn't care about these things. Other women don't have the courage to come out, otherwise they will definitely be stabbed in the back of their backs behind their backs.

Chen Xi had no good idea about this. He and Lin Dai were still children and could not help. It was okay for him to come up with ideas, but he was a little tired of dealing with some of the trivial branches.

When he returned home, Zhou's meal was ready. The four of him sat around the Eight Immortals table and had a happy reunion dinner.

After lunch, Zhou drove out the two little ones. It was not until the sun was about to set that Shen Mingjun returned to the Wang family excitedly, and Zhou also went to the pharmacy to help with it with a blush on his face.

Hui Niang finally told Zhou about Chen Xi’s proposal.

After hearing this, Zhou nodded repeatedly: "What the Hanwa'er said makes sense. Who knows who the new county magistrate is? If we are greedy for money, our business will not be able to continue! In fact, there are a few people who are easy to handle. At worst, we can buy a few maids and come back. In the future, not only will there be someone to take care of the shop, but also some people to take care of the young ones, right?"

When Hui Niang heard this, her eyes lit up. Now that she can’t hire someone, she might as well not hire her, but instead use the most direct way to buy someone.

But after thinking carefully, Hui Niang felt a little embarrassed: "Where should I buy this person?"

Zhou looked at the door and thought: "It shouldn't be difficult! Let's ask first, see where there are dental women in the city. I heard that the plague in the south is serious, and many families are desperate and sell their children. If we buy people back, it can be regarded as giving them a way out. When they grow up, they will marry them. Wouldn't that be good?"

Chen Xi felt a little strange when he heard this.

The dentist is a woman who made profits from the ancient times by introducing population trading. She is a traditional female profession such as the three aunts and six girls. Usually, anyone who wants to sell their children will find a way to find a way.

During this plague, almost the entire village died in some places in Lingnan. Those orphans and orphans who had no fathers or mothers usually ended up miserably after they defected to their relatives, and most of them were sold to their dentist.

Unfortunately, neither Zhou nor Hui Niang had the experience of buying and selling people, so she could only find ways on her own.

As a result, in less than a day, Zhou and Hui Niang contacted two dentists who went to Ninghua County to look for buyers. They both came from the south. They heard that Tingzhou Prefecture had escaped the plague, so some people needed to buy maids, so they came over to try their luck.

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