Early the next morning, the family sat together for breakfast.
Wei Yuan stood behind Yuchi, wearing the clothing of a Wei family woman. Her dainty figure appeared somewhat shy on her face.
It was clear that Wei Yuan was previously Qi Yuan'Er, and she had chosen this name for herself.
Normally, she would be with the Qi Family, but today she was with the Wei Family.
Life is truly like a dream!
Earlier, Yuchi had already introduced her to the other members of the Wei Family, and they all accepted her.
Finally, everything was alright!
She could finally stay behind her beloved.
The feeling was immensely comforting.
For a woman like Wei Yuan, not only did she not find anything feudal about this, she found it delightful.
At least she had kept her promise, and all her years of hard work and study had proven their worth.
This was recognition from her beloved.
It felt as though her value was confirmed, bringing joy and happiness.
With a smile on her oval face, she tilted her head slightly, and the warmth of standing behind her beloved was overwhelming!
As for Yuchi?
He did not force his values onto Wei Yuan, nor did he persuade her to join the table for breakfast.
For Wei Yuan, she preferred to adhere to societal constraints, which was a common mentality among women of that time.
It spared her from mental burdens.
Yuchi would not judge with worldly eyes, nor criticize her for any perceived feudalism.
"But you..."
"You're certainly not shy." Yuchi teased, watching Xun Xian devour her food voraciously.
He glanced at his elder brother, "Brother, make sure to record everything Xun Xian eats, so we can bill the government later."
"She sure can eat."
Xun Xian, with a steamed bun in her left hand and a fried dough stick in her right, was stuffing her mouth ravenously.
Her cheeks bulged as if she were a mixer.
Ferocious.
"Such a penny-pincher, acting like it's costing you your life," Xun Xian retorted indifferently.
The Wei Family was affluent; she was just having over thirty buns. Is that a lot?
Not really, right?
She even snatched the bun right in front of Yuchi.
"That's mine!" Yuchi glared.
"Woof!"
Xun Xian bared her teeth fiercely.
Yuchi's body trembled, and he retracted his hand, finding that the bun before him had been entirely consumed.
Damn!
Is this what the energy consumption at the Foundation Establishment Stage is like?
This could drive an entire three-member household out of house and home.
"Haha," Wei Xubing laughed, "Third brother, are you heading to the Commerce Mansion later?"
"Yes, there are two matters to attend to at the Commerce Mansion."
"Don't overwork yourself. Let us know if something's up; even if we don't understand, we can at least cheer for you."
"Haha, alright," Yuchi said as he peeled an egg.
Then he stuffed the whole egg into little Ximo's mouth.
"Uncle, I can't fit it all!" little Ximo's face was now round.
"Sure you can," Yuchi smiled, "Young girls need to eat more nutritious food as they grow."
"I'm not hungry anymore."
"You're hungry."
Little Ximo looked at Yuchi pitifully.
There is such a hunger.
It's called "your uncle thinks you're hungry."
...
During the hour of Chen, at the Commerce Mansion across from the government office, people from the six major families had already arrived.
"What do you think Yuchi has called us to discuss?"
"No idea, but it surely has something to do with the Commerce Mansion's development."
"Are you still getting involved with the smaller families?"
"Not anymore."
"Forget it, let's prioritize the Commerce Mansion, we need to make choices."
"Haha, were you scared by what happened with the Qi Family yesterday?"
"Hehe, weren't you scared by Yuchi?"
"How could I not be…"
"The guy makes decisions swiftly, and I wonder if he's really just a young man."
"Could he be like the Celestial Mountain Granny?"
"Haha, why don't you ask him?"
"Don't dare."
The families had already arrived at the Commerce Mansion.
They were now touring inside.
One must say, the government office's arrangements were quite reliable.
All the furniture in the Commerce Mansion had been prepared, and it was fully operational now.
"Master Wei!" Changsun Mei greeted with a fan in her hand, bowing.
"Hmm, where's your grandfather?" Yuchi inquired, looking past her.
"Grandfather sent me to learn, hoping Master Wei could provide some guidance," Changsun Mei said, dressed in men's attire.
Her clothing was neat and tasteful.
Yuchi nodded slowly, recognizing Changsun Mei's intelligence; this would work as long as she was the spokesperson.
"You're too kind, I just know a little," Yuchi said, stepping aside, "Let's go inside."
"Master Wei is indeed modest!" Changsun Mei beamed.
She was more convinced that her assessment of Yuchi was correct. He was intelligent, no doubt.
But not a villainous type.
Very amiable.
And easy to converse with.
Not at all like her grandfather described, who spoke of him as some ferocious being, clearly due to her grandfather's age-induced fear.
...
The morning passed in discussions, centering on the security of the Commerce Mansion.
Previously, each family needed to hire a sect for protection.
It cost ten thousand silver a year, but now that wasn't necessary, as they began employing officials.
Not patrols.
But people from the Celestial Capital Department.
The Celestial Capital Department was responsible for the safety of government and civil personnel and not family security.
Yet, the unique standing of the Commerce Mansion made it possible.
When the County Magistrate learned of the Commerce Mansion's interest, he almost immediately agreed.
The Commerce Mansion paid.
Only at a cost of ten thousand silver a year, members of the Celestial Capital Department would be stationed in Xufu Town!
Ten thousand silver a year to protect six great families.
This was an extremely cost-effective choice and having people from the Celestial Capital Department was quite excellent.
The government office was naturally pleased.
The Commerce Mansion was clearly making nice; one couldn't ignore goodwill, especially since they were paying for protection.
This was practically a perfect model of government-business harmony.
Great!
The contract was signed at this time.
By afternoon.
The afternoon involved another two hours of discussions, focusing on clothing standards.
Yuchi wanted to propose a standard.
A standard grading for clothing.
Once applied, this would mean earning money effortlessly.
The discussions with the seamstresses took quite a while, ultimately categorizing quality into four classes: A, B, C, and D.
A being the best, D being the worst, yet still qualifying.
Clothing quality assessment was done by six seasoned seamstresses.
The detailed requirements spanned ten pages.
For the Commerce Mansion, all quality-tiered clothing would have a base price and a maximum price.
Linking clothing quality with money, and further with the Commerce Mansion.
In the future, people could determine the garment's quality class by a small tag inside.
With the Commerce Mansion as guarantor, the credibility of A, B, C, and D classifications would be easy for people to trust.
The sun set.
Yuchi stretched lazily, exhausted from the day.
But everything was in order now.
The security issue was resolved, with the Celestial Capital Department sending people soon.
The clothing classification was here, next comes gradual promotion.
As long as the initial push succeeded, the Commerce Mansion could set various standards later.
This is the Commerce Mansion's most powerful weapon!
...
On the bustling streets of Xufu Town.
Changsun Mei, unable to contain her excitement, practically flew back to the Zhangsun Family home.
Upon seeing her grandfather, Changsun Hao,
with a flushed face, she blurted out, "Grandfather! Where are the family's women's clothes? I want to marry Yuchi!"