Mr. Jing and His Little Husband

Chapter 63

Agreed

Five thousand taels to buy out and the first year’s profit at a 10% share. It was no small sum, and considering Jing Yi’s current status, he couldn’t agree easily.

“Xiao Yi, don’t worry, we both know the value of this soap business. Master knows you have great talent. We only hope for pleasant cooperation in the future. If there’s any good trade or bright idea, think of the Huang family first, think of your big brother Huang!” Elder brother Huang said, patting Jing Yi’s shoulder affectionately.

“Of course, Big Brother Huang. We have an unbreakable bond, and Huang Second Brother has shown me great kindness. Without his guidance in town back then, I would certainly have not been here,” Jing Yi replied.

Hearing this, shopkeeper Huang sighed with regret. Ah, what a shame! What a shame. How did we just meet now? If we’d met earlier, I’d have married my daughter to Brother Jing here. He’s talented and, I heard, very considerate to his wife.

He pondered for a moment. After all, having multiple wives and concubines wasn’t unusual. He didn’t ask for much—just a regular wife would do.

“Xiao Yi, Big Brother has a young daughter, in her prime...” As soon as Jing Yi heard this, he sensed that the conversation had taken an odd turn. It was a dangerous topic, so he quickly intervened.

“Big Brother Huang! I’ve already promised my husband a lifelong commitment. You can’t make me break my word! Your daughter is youthful and beautiful. She naturally deserves a much more outstanding young talent than I am.”

“A lifelong commitment... Sigh! Alright, my little girl isn’t destined for it,” Elder brother Huang felt increasingly that Jing Yi was a high-quality son-in-law, but since Jing Yi had spoken, he wouldn’t insist.

“Look at you, with a father like you, your daughter’s good fortune is yet to come,” Jing Yi said, wiping his brow, grateful that Chuxia wouldn’t learn of this discussion.

After that, they signed the contract. They discussed the soap and fragrant soap production on Jing Yi’s side, with the Huang family’s banner leading in the local Anchang County market, and Huang Second Brother overseeing and acting as the “leader.”

The main battleground for the Huang family was in the capital and the vicinity of Qingzhou, where significant profits could be made. The next step would be to expand toward prosperous regions like Jiangnan or Liangzhe, where they could command higher prices. So, for the next three to five years, the two businesses would not interfere with each other.

Jing Yi provided the prepared soap-making method to shopkeeper Huang, exchanging money on the spot.

In fact, the method wasn’t complicated, but Jing Yi was thorough and responsible. In addition to the soap recipe, he wrote various recipes for fragrant soaps and instructions on the soap-making process, covering six pages.

After taking the papers, shopkeeper Huang, out of habit, read them carefully and could feel the effort Jing Yi had put in. Especially when Jing Yi discussed various modern marketing methods like celebrity endorsements, event marketing, pamphlets, and even lottery campaigns, Elder Brother Huang was astonished.

Despite being an experienced businessman, he was amazed by the modern examples adapted by Jing Yi and almost wanted to take Jing Yi with him to build a business empire.

However, Second Brother Huang poured a bucket of cold water on the idea. “Hey, don’t you get it? Brother Jing and I are the same; we both love a carefree life. You don’t understand, huh?”

Huang’s Second Brother propped his legs up, shaking his head playfully.

“Put your legs down and sit properly!” Elder Brother Huang thought he could never change his ways.

“Alright, Big Brother,” Huang’s Second Brother obediently put his legs down.

Jing Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. He never expected that the usually reliable Huang Second Brother was quite straightforward.

With the major deal settled, Jing Yi breathed a sigh of relief. His capital had grown, and establishing a connection with the Huang family in Qingzhou gave him peace of mind.

“Kill the pig! Kill the pig!” the children in the village spread the word.

In previous years, the well-off families in the village would typically buy a pig’s trotter or, at best, purchase a couple of pounds of pork from the large market. This was already considered quite good. Those who raised pigs in their households would sell the whole pig to the butcher to get a better price.

Therefore, the children in the village rarely witnessed pig slaughters, and this time, they weren’t afraid. Even the boys and girls, not to mention the little kids, joined together to head to the Jing family’s grand house. They all knew that the Jing family was kind and treated the children well. Watching the excitement, they certainly wouldn’t be scolded or told to leave.

The pig slaughter took place in an open space to the east of the Jing family’s residence. It was crowded with people. They had only just arrived, but others around them were already chatting excitedly.

“Brother Jing Rong, your family got two New Year pigs! So generous!”

“These pigs are so fat! You really know how to pick them. Just looking at these live pigs makes my mouth water.”

“Haha, you glutton!”

“Aunt Caiyun, you can’t possibly finish these two pigs by yourselves! How about selling one? I was planning to go to the big market, but now I might not need to.”

“That’s right, that’s right! Sell one! I was too lazy to go to the big market.”

“Slaughter the pig! Slaughter the pig! Uncle Jing, can we start now?”

“Haha, these kids are more eager than us!”

The discussions varied, and Jing’s father and mother didn’t know whose words to respond to first.

Eventually, Jing’s father noticed the group of children and chuckled, saying, “Let’s be clear about this: slaughtering a pig isn’t something fun. In a little while, the knives will go in white, and they’ll come out red. It’ll be a gory sight, so gers and girls, don’t linger here to watch the excitement. Boys under seven years old should go home too. It’s not suitable for you.”

It was the big New Year, and scaring the children wasn’t a good idea.

“It’s not scary! It’s not scary! I’ve never seen a pig being slaughtered before!”

“Uncle Rong, if we’re scared. We’ll close our eyes.”

“Grandpa Rong, I’ll just watch a little.”

The children appealed to Jing Father with a mix of coyness and stubbornness. Seeing Jing Father’s difficult expression, he was about to give in, but Jing Yi quickly took over.

“No, this pig slaughtering isn’t something fun. Here’s what we’ll do. Those kids who were just mentioned, come to my house and stay there. You’ll still be able to hear the sounds of the pig being slaughtered, so just listen to the noises.”

As always, children read faces well. Once they saw Jing Yi’s stern expression and heard his instructions, they reluctantly made their way to the Jing household. Even Xiao Shu wasn’t an exception. Under the watchful gaze of her big brother, she slowly returned home.

“Ah Yi, I won’t watch either. I’ll go back and get some candies and snacks for these little ones. Their mouths are pouting to the heavens.” Chuxia smiled, shook his head, and after a brief chat with Jing Yi, went back inside.

Although he hadn’t seen a pig being slaughtered, he had witnessed the slaughter of chickens, and he really didn’t want to witness this gory scene.

“Brother Chen, it’s about time. Let’s get started. Thanks for your hard work!” Jing Yi, seeing Chuxia return to the courtyard, signaled to the butcher that they could begin.