Chapter 363: Negotiation

The room went silent as all of the women subconsciously looked at Su Jin, startled.

The tone of the room had instantly become more solemn. When it came to contract, the women took it very seriously.

Su Jin frowned, eyes flashing. She smiled and asked: “I don’t know what Miss Lian means?”

“Actually, its nothing major.” Lian Fang Zhou assured her, smiling. “The conditions will not change, I only wanted to adjust two points. First, if the sisters decide to stay, they can’t withdraw halfway. At least, you can’t withdraw this year. Otherwise, I won’t pay your wages and you will have to pay me ten times the amount as compensation.”

Su Jin glanced at the other woman and thought about this. Finally, she said: “Miss Lian’s words are not unreasonable. Our sisters want to make money, so naturally they would not withdraw for no reason. However, if there is a reason to withdraw… for example, if this place is unsuitable…”

She didn’t finish her words but it was clear that she meant if Lian Fang Zhou deliberately mistreated them to force them to quit.

The look Lian Fang Zhou gave her had two more points of admiration. Smiling, she said: “I will not do anything to persecute people. If you sisters don’t believe it, you can put forward corresponding restrictions. You sisters can discuss this afterwards! The second adjustment is that I want to sign the contract for three years.”

As soon as she said this, the women exploded into a boom of rushed whispers.

Su Jin motioned to them to keep calm. Her smile was a little bitter when she asked: “Can we know the reason?”

“Of course!” Lian Fang Zhou said bluntly, “Once the test is successful, you will be the first batch of weavers who have mastered cotton weaving technology. By that time, the price will probably rise and other people will offer big money to lure you away from me and dig my wall! I don’t want the people I’ve worked so hard to find to be poached away by others in vain! This way, I will definitely suffer!”

“…” The women were instantly petrified.

Su Jin was also stunned. “Miss Lian is really a intelligent person! However, though there is some truth to what you’ve said, three years is still a little long…”

Lian Fang Zhou laughed: “We can readjust the benefits when the time comes. In short, I will not let my sisters suffer! However, if you sisters really are unwilling to sign for three years, that is alright. You just can’t work with cotton for another employer for three years. Also, the weaver must leave Yuhe county and return to Nanxun. If someone breaches the contract, I don’t want any compensation, but I will publicize the matter greatly. Whether this affects someone’s reputation or not, I won’t be able to control.”

Shocked, the women started at Lian Fang Zhou, completely speechless.

Just a little girl, only fifteen or sixteen years old, but already possessing such a meticulous mind and sophisticated actions, they really couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

Seeing that they were all silent, Lian Fang Zhou smiled shyly: “I am a timid person and I like to take precautions before anything happens. If my words are excessive, please forgive me! This matter is important to you sisters as well, don’t rush to answer me! You can go back and discuss this carefully and we will decide after three days. What do you think?”

She also sincerely emphasized: “I truly want to have you sisters help! I ask sisters to think about it!”

At her words, the women’s moods returned to normal and their expressions relaxed. Smiling, they saluted her, saying that they would have an answer in three days.

Su Jin glanced at Su Zi Ji and said to Lian Fang Zhou: “Steward Su told me that Miss Lian is very capable and today, I have seen that this is true!”

The other women laughed and agreed.

Regardless of whether these words were really complimentary or had other meanings, Lian Fang Zhou smiled warmly: “Since I have invited you sisters here, I sincerely want to cooperate with you! Although my words do not sound very nice, it is important to make things clear to avoid trouble in the future. This will benefit all of us! At least, there will be no harm, right?”

“That is true!” Said one woman.

“Miss Lian has a sincere temperament,” said another, “it makes us feel more at ease in our hearts!”

The women laughed, all smiling.

Su Jin laughed too but she was still a little puzzled. Raising her eyebrow, she couldn’t help but ask: “Miss Lian should be prepared for rain… it’s just, Miss Lian is a little too careful, right? Since we sisters have been invited to come, how could we be poached by others?”

Poaching workers too a lot of effort, there was no need for anyone to do this. Was this cotton really so great?

Lian Fang Zhou could hear the doubts in her words but at this time, it was inconvenient to explain. Once they saw the benefits of the cotton, it was hard to say!

She only smiled and said: “I have such a personality, it’s only like this that I can be at ease in my heart!”

Everyone laughed and Su Jin smiled, unable to say anything to this.

Now that the matter had been settled, Lian Fang Zhou stood up and smiled: “Sisters, please consider carefully! Tonight, I will let the kitchen cook a few more dishes to entertain you sisters. If you have any eating taboos, please talk to Auntie Li. Don’t be shy! I won’t be here tonight!”

Su Jin thanked her with a smile and saw her out.

When they left the door, Lian Fang Zhou smiled and told her to go back and rest, saying that she needed to speak with the other workers brought back by Su Zi Ji. Su Jin waited to watch her leave and then went back inside.

The women went upstairs and dragged Su Jin into their room to sit down. Their purpose was to discuss countermeasures.

“This Miss is even younger than us, I didn’t expect her to be so powerful!” Said Cui Ni*

Liu Xia agreed, saying: “That’s right! Her eyes seemed to be able to see through a person’s heart at a glance, I didn’t dare to confront her!”

“Her temperament seems good but I don’t know if its true.”

“Actually, it’s good for us to make the contract clear.”

“Right, right!” Said Hong Hua, “So Miss Lian’s request is reasonable as long as we agree. However, we also need to have our own adjustments!”

Everyone agreed on this but their knowledge was limited. They all looked towards Su Jin together.

Su Jin sighed: “Isn’t there three days to think about it? We don’t need to rush for a while. Let’s think about it slowly and the day after tomorrow, we can discuss it together and see what everyone has thought of.”

Actually, all of the women were very tired so they all agreed. After sharing some gossip, Su Jin and Hong Hua went back to their room.

~

All of the male slaves brought back by Su Zi Ji had been carefully selected and were each talented craftsmen.

They would be his own subordinates, after all!

Naturally, Su Zi Ji did not need to treat them the same way she had treated Su Jin and the weavers. She just smiled firmly and outlined the rules they needed to abide by, neither hard nor soft. Then she left.

Firstly, she believed in Su Zi Ji’s vision and secondly, those who had come first would naturally remember Zhao San’s example. If they were smart people, they would know how to handle it.

After this, Lian Fang Zhou went back to the village.