Yu Yi slowly shook her head, saying painfully, “Hanyao, why are you so stubborn?” Her words were meant to wake Hanyao up and make him understand that he was also part of the Xu family and should not always think of his personal interests. She didn’t expect him to misunderstand that she would let one son inherit the family business.
Though physically weak, her mind remained clear. In a short moment, Yu Yi had a plan. She said firmly, “Here’s what we’ll do. All three of you will search for raw silk. Whoever can find three hundred jin of top-quality raw silk or an equivalent weight of silk cocoons in a short time will inherit the entire Xu family.”
The Xu brothers looked at each other, surprised. Their mother had always talked about keeping the family united, so why was she suddenly saying she would give the family to one person? But beyond surprise, they all felt a hint of joy.
Yu Yi continued: “But I have requirements. First, each jin of silk must be found by you personally. You cannot send others to search or ask about the silk’s source and then purchase it yourself. Second, Hanzhong and Hanyao must first arrange the shop, pacifying all customers who want to return or exchange goods.”
If you two affect the Xu family’s reputation while searching for silk, you lose!”
Xu Hanyao looked at Xu Hanzhong, saw him nod in agreement, and then agreed as well. After all, Hanren had fewer people under his command and fewer connections in the silk business, so finding silk would be extremely difficult for him. His mother’s two requirements were not excessive.
However, besides the Xu family, there was only one other large weaving workshop in Yongqing City. Because of the Xu family’s recent mishap, they hoped to suppress the Xu family and naturally would not sell silk to them. The small weaving workshops around Yongqing City were also unfamiliar to Xu Hanren, so he could only use a clumsy method of searching village by village.
