Chapter 2923 - 2924: Deep Respect

Chapter 2923: Chapter 2924: Deep Respect

"No wonder the people all recognize the Bai Family’s toothpaste. Just this alone is enough to earn respect," praised Prime Minister Si Yuanhang sincerely. "Are there other similar stories? Hurry and tell everyone about it."

Bai Ruozhu felt a bit embarrassed, "Isn’t this me boasting about myself? These are all minor matters, no need to elaborate. During the process of doing these things, there were times when we were misunderstood. For instance, one village didn’t trust us, thinking we wanted to poison them. Some even reported to the government, causing quite a big misunderstanding."

"How did you handle it?" Mrs. Wu asked eagerly, her previous hostility completely absorbed by this matter.

"The village chief of that particular village was very oppositional. Being highly respected in the village, he led the villagers to drive away my subordinates. The manager at that time was quite angry, but seeing their yellowed or missing teeth when they were shouting, he managed to hold back."

Bai Ruozhu spoke with emotion, "I must thank my master for sending some capable managers who handled these matters well. By mid-year, the villagers understood our good intentions. They collectively went to thank our people and even sent a banner to the shop. I didn’t go to the site, but hearing the manager’s report made me feel gratified."

Everyone was somewhat touched; good intentions being misunderstood, yet continuing to endure with resilience is something not everyone can achieve.

Moreover, merchants often prioritize profit, doing loss-making actions while being misunderstood is truly difficult.

"You can report this matter to the Imperial Court and have them send supplies to care for those villages," suggested Prime Minister Si Yuanhang.

Bai Ruozhu smiled, "The water there isn’t lethal nor does it severely affect people’s health, except for harming teeth, otherwise the Imperial Court would have intervened long ago."

Prime Minister Si Yuanhang laughed heartily, "You are quite articulate. Tell us more, I just love listening to these."

"Early last year, a manager reported that a portion of villages in the west rarely bought our fresh soup powder. The sales situation of our fresh soup powder there was poor, making the shop unprofitable," Bai Ruozhu continued.

Everyone became anxious, wondering what could be done.

She continued, "I sent people to understand the reason, realizing that there were salt lakes there, with many locals drying well salt themselves. Coupled with limited living conditions, crop yields were quite low, so people were reluctant to spend money on fresh soup powder."

"Feeling compelled to profit from these people made me uncomfortable. However, we found out their salt drying method was quite rudimentary, resulting in salt with a bitter taste and many impurities, which wasn’t healthy for long-term consumption. But people can’t live without salt, so the locals generally weren’t very healthy."

"I gathered the managers, sought their opinions. Some suggested not opening the shop and instead placing the fresh soup powder in other shops to emphasize its advantages over coarse salt. Others proposed abandoning that area and selling elsewhere. Eventually, we decided to manage this issue; if we were unaware, we wouldn’t bother, but knowing and not contributing felt wrong."

Si Yuanhang became interested, "I once visited the Western Region and saw that kind of coarse salt; it was almost brownish-yellow and tasted awful. How did you resolve it?"

"I specifically invited some salt-making experts to help. They surveyed and found the lake salt quality wasn’t poor; the issue lay in the locals’ salt-making methods. We set up salt workshops there, arranged people to teach refined salt-making techniques, and recruited locals to work in the workshops, increasing their income. Now their living conditions have improved a lot, with wages exceeding farming income, and they no longer consume coarse salt."

Bai Ruozhu smiled proudly, feeling the decision was wise at the time.

"The refined salt there provided raw materials for our fresh soup powder and helped reduce production costs. Certainly, we processed the salt workshop’s paperwork at the local government office and pay considerable taxes to the Imperial Court annually, also supporting local economic development."

She paused for a moment, as this was somewhat profound, and ancient people might not fully understand.

Prime Minister Si Yuanhang clapped his hands, praising, "What a transformation! Originally a poor area with no sales, yet you’ve developed material production workshops, benefiting both business and the local people. Fantastic! Fantastic!"

He said "fantastic" twice, showing his excitement.

Even Mrs. Wu, who previously sought faults, felt a bit ashamed and said, "Just hearing these things makes me feel moved. I was unaware before, always thinking merchants focus on profit, but turns out it can be like this."

Seeing her sincerity, Bai Ruozhu smiled and responded, "Gaining requires giving. Merely pursuing profit without understanding the need to give leads to unsustainable business."

"Good! Well said!" Si Yuanhang’s eyes reddened slightly with emotion, "I’ve come to a realization. Once I retire and return home, I won’t only engage in business but also benefit the countryside, which is meaningful, even more so than being a Prime Minister."

He laughed heartily, "I’ll resign tomorrow."

Everyone was startled, Bai Ruozhu was also shocked, thinking the Prime Minister would at least consider this next year. How could he decide to resign tomorrow after hearing her words? Tang Yin would surely be infuriated.

"Prime Minister, you haven’t arranged anything, how can you just leave? You should have an end and beginning, at least let His Majesty prepare," Jiang Yichun interjected.

He agreed with his wife; he didn’t want his wife to be scolded by the Emperor over this.

"Haha, I’m just too happy, haven’t acted so impulsively for a long time, I’ll follow your advice, will settle everything first, not in such a hurry," Prime Minister Si Yuanhang said.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, continuing to eat and drink, their gazes toward Bai Ruozhu now different.

Previously, many envied her good fortune; a second brother who ranked high in exams, a husband as the Emperor’s brother, and herself having business acumen. But many aristocrats still looked down on Bai Family, rising from the countryside, even doubting their reasons for wealth.

After all, Bai Family is thriving now, bringing continuous intrigue, even among in-laws like the Si Family, not every member appreciates Bai Family.

Coincidentally asked about business secrets today, they discovered Bai Family conducts business this way, earning many people’s admiration, realizing they might never think nor achieve that.

The meal was quite enjoyable, and after, Prime Minister Si Yuanhang invited the men to admire his newly acquired Tai Lake stones and uniquely shaped root carvings, while the women headed to the backyard for tea and chat.

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This part Mouka wrote is quite touching. Nowadays, some enterprises silently benefit the people, only we’re unaware. Whenever hearing such stories, true or false aside, it’s moving. So, I hope our female lead is like this, not a saint, but doing more within her abilities. This isn’t just about donations but requires genuine care.

Thank you, everyone!