Chapter 374: I Was Just Looking For You

When Gu Fei went inside, she saw several carts already parked, with laborers unloading cargo.

Gu Fei hurried to the main hall and saw her father sitting inside, going over the account books.

Gu Fei called her father into a private room and shut the door. She took out silver notes worth forty thousand taels and handed them to him. "Dad, take this silver. It’s for buying goods."

Gu Zhang’s hand trembled as he looked at the amounts on the silver notes. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped.

’His daughter had just given him twenty thousand taels, and now here was another forty thousand. And this house... he had no idea where she got it all.’

’But since his daughter didn’t mention it, he knew better than to ask.’

Gu Zhang turned away and tucked the silver notes securely inside his clothing. Only then did Gu Fei say, "Dad, I found someone. I’m planning to have him go to sea with you this time."

"Who is it?" Gu Zhang asked, confused.

"A veteran clerk from the silver building." Gu Fei had just mentioned her need to Manager Zhang at the silver building, and he had recommended an experienced employee.

"He’s worked in the silver building for about twenty years. Now, he’s less of a clerk and more of a capable steward under Manager Zhang. He knows the quality and prices of all sorts of gemstones like the back of his hand. I spoke with him and offered three hundred taels of silver to have him make one trip out to sea."

The man hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

He only earned seventy to eighty taels of silver a year. Taking a bit of a risk for three hundred taels was worth it.

Gu Zhang’s eyes lit up. "I was just worrying about that! When we get to the barbarian countries, if we want to buy gemstones, pearls, or ivory, I’m no expert. I’ve been learning a little from Young Master Zhou’s Chao Feng these past two days, but there are too many tricks to the trade. It’s not something you can learn in a short time."

"It would be a huge help to have an expert to appraise things."

Gu Fei smiled. "Exactly. From now on, you and he can decide what gems to buy and how to go about it."

"Besides, now that we have our own silver building, we won’t have to worry about selling any of the gemstones."

Gu Zhang was greatly relieved. "With him around, I won’t feel so anxious."

"Buying goods here is easy since Young Master Zhu’s family is helping us. I was mainly worried about what to do once we reached the barbarian countries."

Gu Fei thought for a moment. "After you set sail, you should try to buy one or two people at every major port and bring them back. We can teach them our language, and we can learn their native tongues from them. That way, we’ll be much more prepared the next time we go abroad for business. This seafaring trade isn’t a one-time venture; we need to plan for the long term."

Gu Zhang nodded. "You’ve thought of everything. Alright, Dad will remember that."

"Oh, and if there are good gem artisans in the barbarian countries, see if you can buy a few of them, too. Their techniques are quite different from those in the Central Plains. They would be useful at the silver building." As she spoke, Gu Fei felt a familiar itch of wanderlust, wishing she could go to sea herself.

Gu Zhang nodded. The two of them discussed many other details before Gu Fei finally headed back to the inn.

By now, it was lunchtime, and business at the inn was booming.

Gu Fei sat down at the counter, joyfully busying herself with calculating bills and taking money.

Yan’er and Fang Fang, needing no prompting, went to attend to the guests.

At first, neither Yan’er nor Fang Fang was comfortable with the work. They were used to the seclusion of a grand estate and disliked showing their faces in public.

But after a few days, they found the inn was always bustling with activity. During lulls in business, everyone would chat and laugh together. It was far more interesting than their past lives, and the two of them gradually started to loosen up.

Once the lunch rush died down, the inn’s staff began to eat their own meal. Gu Fei was eating a bowl of rice behind the counter when she saw Su Chen walk in.

Gu Fei’s eyes lit up. She quickly slurped down a piece of vegetable. "Young Master Su, I was just about to look for you."