Chapter Five: Heading Towards Tiger Mountain

  Wan Niang found that the handsome young man had been staring at her all along, and was afraid that her husband would lose face, so she quickly turned around and went back into the house.

  After Wen Niang left, Wei Hong was about to continue teasing the handsome young master, but saw that his attitude suddenly changed by 180 degrees: "Cough cough, I didn't expect Young Master Wei to have such a beautiful wife, it's really enviable."

  Envy Ma Lerge, you have something to say, what are you dragging my wife into? Wei Hong scolded in his heart, but smiled on his mouth: "A wife who is not good enough."

  The handsome young master's heart started racing as soon as he saw Wen Niang, thinking to himself that it was time for him to take a concubine. Why not seize this opportunity and snatch this woman away? Thinking of this, the handsome young master became even more polite: "Wei Gongzi, you hit my cousin, I won't let this matter slide. Since you can't come up with 100 taels of silver, I won't make things difficult for you either. As long as you're willing to have your wife work at the Yong'an tailor shop on the main street for a few days to repay the medical expenses, we'll consider the matter settled. What do you think, Wei Gongzi?"

  The unspoken rules and the number of times he's been taken advantage of are countless, yet Wei Hong still can't understand what's going on here? Is it because of his own incompetence or is it written all over his face that he's an idiot? This young master looks quite refined, but who would have thought that deep down he's so despicable: "A weak and feeble woman like you can't do any physically demanding work, sewing and mending can only earn a few bucks? Why don't I, Wei, take care of it for you?"

  "Where are you going?"

  "Yeah, doing some physical labor, Wei Mou is still capable."

  The handsome young master curled his lip: "The tailor's shop isn't a place that requires physical labor, if you're not at ease, how about this? I'll have someone send a batch of goods to your home and let your esteemed wife work on them at home. If she can't do it, then go to the tailor's shop to do it. And don't mention the 100 taels, as long as your wife returns 50 taels, that's how this matter will be settled."

  Wei Hong thought to himself, having just arrived in this world with no money and no power, whether openly or secretly, he couldn't compete with the young master in front of him. Relying solely on his wits was a bit unrealistic, after all, in the face of absolute power, all schemes and plots were pale and powerless. The only option was to yield for now and wait until he had enough power to launch a counterattack!

  "Yes, I'll follow your instructions, young master!" Wei Hong replied readily.

  Hearing this, the handsome young master Wei laughed with his mouth open: "Haha, Master Wei, don't go back on your word. If you do, don't blame me for being unkind! I'll send someone to deliver the fabric to you at noon. Hope your wife can work hard and finish it as soon as possible!" After finishing speaking, the handsome young master left.

  At noon, the handsome young master sent someone to deliver the fabric on time. There were five big packages, all of which were deep blue fabric that could only be used for men's shirts. As soon as Wei Hong saw the fabric, he thought something was wrong. The man who delivered the fabric said with a smile: "Master Wei, my master said that your wife must make 200 finished clothes within ten days. This is the sample." He handed Wei Hong a piece of paper from his pocket, on which was drawn a style of men's long shirt.

  Looking at the five large bundles of fabric, Wei Hong and Wan Niang both furrowed their brows. Wan Niang's face was full of worry: "Within ten days, to produce two hundred finished garments, even a reputable tailor with eight hundred years of history couldn't do it, let alone relying on me alone. Even if we gather all the embroiderers in the nearby area, it would still be impossible to finish within ten days. This young master is obviously trying to make things difficult for us!"

  Wei Hong in his heart, to Wan Yong Bu's descendant Sunzi Haung's ancestor, paid the highest respects! He had long known that this young man was not up to any good, and so he agreed to meet with Sunzi Haung just to see what kind of tricks he would come up with. Who would have thought that his trickery would be so blatant and unadorned?!

  "Husband, what's to be done? Otherwise... otherwise let Ruan Niang go to Yong'an tailor shop for a few days?" Ruan Niang frowned anxiously.

  Wei Hong shook his head repeatedly: "No way, this Sunzi is obviously setting up a trap for us to fall into. I can see right through the little tricks in his heart! If you go, this matter will escalate from small to big!"

  "What to do? If we find an embroiderer, we'll have to spend money. Originally, this job doesn't make any money, where would we get the money to pay the embroiderer?" Yuanniang herself was an embroiderer, and the money she earned was barely enough to support her family. If they were to hire ten embroiderers, they would have to pay out ten times their household expenses at once. Yuanniang knew clearly that her family couldn't afford this amount of money.

  Wei Hong rubbed his chin, thinking constantly. His brain was the only useful weapon and asset he had since coming to this world. After a while, Wei Hong suddenly had an epiphany - what would be the most efficient way to make clothes? Of course, it would be a sewing machine! Although ancient times didn't have sewing machines, he could make one himself. As the project manager of Southwest Technology Company, Wei Hong had a unique advantage in research and manufacturing. With materials, not only could he make a small sewing machine, but even an airplane or cannon if needed!

  In those days there was no electricity, so electric sewing machines were out of the question, but ordinary hand-powered sewing machines were still possible, all that was needed was to spend some money to have craftsmen make the parts.

  Thinking of this, Wei Hong couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and gave a mysterious smile to Wan Niang who had a worried face: "Don't worry about it anymore, I have a plan in mind. Do we have any spare money at home?"

  "There is still one hundred coins."

  One hundred coins would be a bit forced, but if you only make some parts that Wei Hong can't make himself, it's enough. Wei Hong nodded: "Wan Niang, take those one hundred coins for me, I'll go out and do something."

  The day to pay the rent is approaching, and the original 100 coins are not enough. Wanniang still has to think of a way to borrow some more to repay it. If husband spends that 100 coins, what will they do when paying the rent? Wanniang is very worried in her heart, but she still unhesitatingly hands over all the money to Weihong. In Wanniang's heart, as long as she has her husband by her side, even if they have to sleep on the streets, she won't regret it.

  He took the money and hastily left, on his way to find a craftsman, Wei Hong constantly sketched the mold of important parts of the sewing machine in his mind, then calculated the size of each component in his heart. Having a rough idea was enough, if it didn't fit when made, Wei Hong could modify it himself.

  After wandering around for half a day and asking many people, Wei Hong finally found a small ironwork shop in an inconspicuous alley. It didn't have a storefront, just a ordinary family workshop. Wei Hong knocked on the door, and soon a bare-chested man came out to open it.

  "Are you a blacksmith?" The man was not very old, at most thirty years old, but his voice was like a bell, full of energy.