Hart wasn’t so polite either. He surveyed the clerks kneeling in a circle around him, then looked at the timid little maid before him, picked up a cup of freshly brewed oolong tea, and took a sip to calm his emotions.

He recalled several years ago when he followed the British consular team to China. The ship had stopped in Bombay, where local rajas led crowds to welcome them, taking turns kissing the feet of the consular team members.

He was only nineteen then, an inexperienced trainee interpreter who had never seen the world. Seeing a little black child crawling over, he was so frightened he jumped up, causing the child to eat a mouthful of dirt.

Due to this breach of etiquette, the child was hung up and beaten, his screams still ringing in Hart’s ears.

He had resolved to “follow local customs” from then on. Let the locals do whatever they wanted.

Seeing Hart seemed to calmly accept this, Lin Yuchan couldn’t help but silently curse: “Imperialist remnant.”

She reluctantly bent her waist.

But her gaze looked toward a certain row of shelf gaps by Hart’s feet, as if suddenly discovering something. Her eyes widened, and she drew a light breath.

Nearby, Kou Laicai’s face changed.

That was where he hid his silver! All the money stolen from tip jars was there! If this little girl’s gaze dropped another foot, she’d see it!

Kou Laicai’s head heated up. Without thinking, he thrust his buttocks out. With a loud crash, the shelf behind him shook violently, and tea cans immediately collapsed like an avalanche, pouring down toward Hart’s back!

“Aiyaya—”

Everyone cried out in alarm. Hart quickly jumped out of the grand master’s chair. His several attendants were quick-eyed and nimble, loyally protecting their master by rushing up to hold the shelf. Tea cans smashed onto the attendants and fell to the ground in heaps. Along with several account books from the counter, a plate of loose silver, and that little bird piggy bank, everything tumbled to the floor.

Lin Yuchan naturally didn’t need to kowtow either. She quickly dodged to one side and very perceptively grabbed a broom to sweep up the broken tea leaves on the floor.

“Do you have needles growing on your buttocks?” Hart’s attendant roared angrily. “If you’d hit our master, we’d want your head!”

Wang Quan’s face was ashen as he crawled on the ground collecting tea cans, his lips trembling as he apologized: “This fat fool has always been stupid and prone to causing trouble. This humble one will beat him severely!”

Kou Laicai knelt on the ground, kowtowing continuously, mumbling, “Spare my life.”

Hart was startled and very displeased. Curling his lips, he kicked aside several tea cans on the ground and ordered his attendants: “Prepare the carriage, return to the office.”

Wang Quan scrabbled the account books from the mess and asked tremblingly: “Your Excellency, those… those accounts… this humble one can explain again… we really didn’t falsify anything…”

“No need.” Hart’s tone was quite gentle. “Your… this maid has already explained everything clearly to me. I won’t prosecute you. If local officials forcibly retain tax payments in the future, directly appeal to customs – this official isn’t afraid of offending people.”

What followed would be wrangling between customs and local forces. There was no need to make scapegoats of these innocent shops.

Customs had foreign powers backing them – they weren’t afraid of local officials.

Hart spoke in Chinese, but Wang Quan was as confused as if he’d heard foreign language, asking incredulously: “You… are you serious?”

Hart’s mind was no longer here. He simply said “Mm,” and as he was about to board the carriage, suddenly turned back and asked unexpectedly: “Oh, there’s something this official forgot to ask. Someone told me that smuggling coolies has been rampant in the city recently. You have wide connections – do you have any leads?”

Wang Quan was startled, shook his head, and smiled: “Your Excellency must have misheard. The pork we eat comes from nearby farmers selling into the city – no smuggling needed.”

Hart stared at Wang Quan until his smile became increasingly awkward, then nodded and pointed at Lin Yuchan with a smile: “Shopkeeper, this maid of yours is quite clever. This official is in need of a quick-thinking interpreter. If she’s interested, she can come find me at the customs office anytime.”

Defeng Trading House lowered its door boards. Wang Quan sat slumped in the grand master’s chair, still shaken, watching several clerks clean up the shelves.

Kou Laicai trembled as he crawled on the ground picking up tea cans.

Wang Quan suddenly barked: “You, come here.”

Before Kou Laicai could stand steady, he received a hard slap.

“Worthless! Better to raise char siu than you! Usually, I tolerate your stupidity, but today you nearly crushed the official! I could tell from your face that you’d bring financial ruin when I first saw you. If not for your father’s begging through connections, I wouldn’t have let you work here. Look what you’ve done today! Defeng Trading House will be ruined by your hands sooner or later!”

After this tirade, Wang Quan still wasn’t satisfied. He ordered clerks to slap Kou Laicai several more times and announced: “Get lost! Don’t come tomorrow!”

Kou Laicai was wretched and introverted, never popular. The clerk gloated – none spoke up for him.

Kou Laicai regretted it so much he kept hitting his own head, crying repeatedly: “Shopkeeper, I didn’t mean to offend the official, it was… it was…”

He suddenly pointed at Lin Yuchan, his eyes flashing with venomous light, gritting his teeth: “It was this little bitch who pushed me! She touched me, that’s why I couldn’t kneel steadily!”

His resentment was real. It was all her fault – why did she have to look around, why did she have to look toward that corner? Why couldn’t she just close her eyes and kneel like everyone else?

He rushed forward, wanting to hit Lin Yuchan. Normally, others would watch with amusement as he chased and beat her.

But this time, Wang Quan kicked him and scolded: “Hurry up and pack your things!”

Then he pointed at Lin Yuchan: “You come here, I want to ask you something.”

Wang Quan had always treated this Lin Eight-Sister as free labor, rarely speaking more than three sentences to her. Even when she could draw inferences and organize shelves more neatly than before, he just thought she was more meticulous. Girls should be meticulous.

Even when she occasionally said surprising things, helping with accounts and calculations faster than the bookkeeper, he firmly believed she was just showing off cleverly, scheming to attract his attention.

But what happened today? What kind of bewitching performance did she put on to fool the foreign official away?

He wasn’t present at the time and couldn’t imagine any possible scenario.

Some clerks speculated that the foreign official seemed to know her from before, and today’s leniency was purely giving her face as a favor – Wang Quan scoffed at this. Never mind that this servant girl was a skinny, charmless big-footed girl, even if foreigners really fancied her, in businessmen’s eyes money was dearer than fathers – how could they possibly forgo pursuing huge tax payments just to win a beauty’s smile?

Other clerks were more pessimistic, thinking foreigners seeing a woman actually working in the shop were so disgusted they didn’t want to stay long, which was why they left hastily, but would definitely return to cause trouble for Defeng Trading House later.

Wang Quan brought Lin Yuchan to the small tea room, sat down himself while making her stand, put on a fierce expression, and said bluntly: “How did you know our reports submitted to customs were altered? Who told you?”

Lin Yuchan answered unhurriedly: “I accidentally overheard you discussing it with Mr. Zhan.”

She had a good memory and paid attention to details. Recalling conversations she’d heard in the trading house – how Wang Quan complained about heavy tax burdens, how Mr. Zhan would “work overtime” at regular intervals, and the various “donations” mentioned when Old Master Qi received the prefect…

Also, when copying numbers at the guild hall, she occasionally heard “friendly competitors” chat about how hard-earned silver was all exploited away by officials…

Each time she heard fragments, she could piece together conclusions that were pretty much on target.

Wang Quan questioned her for a long time without finding any flaws, then said: “How could you be certain customs wouldn’t prosecute us for forging reports?”

Lin Yuchan: “Customs is run by foreigners, but foreigners don’t answer to the Emperor. They can dialogue directly with the Zongli Yamen to recover our taxes intercepted by local officials – why would they need to destroy us? Forging reports may be a crime in the Great Qing, but customs… is no longer Great Qing territory.”

The last sentence was inevitably melancholy, but hearing it, Wang Quan’s expression brightened and he couldn’t help smiling.

“Exactly! Customs doesn’t count as Great Qing territory! – Hey, how do you know these things?”

The Zongli Yamen specialized in foreign affairs. After long preparation, it was only established last year. Many Guangzhou merchants still didn’t understand it well. How did she know?

Lin Yuchan said naturally, “I heard it from discussions among visiting merchants.”

Actually, it was of course the result of memorizing textbooks. Having studied so much boring history and politics finally paid off – when encountering related question types, she could react a bit faster than natives who’d just received the test paper.

Wang Quan was amazed and blurted out: “You… are you a girl?”

Looking at this thin, small child with braids thicker than wrists and thin, long eyebrows, he suddenly had a strange thought: Could this child be a boy who, due to feng shui and fate, had always been raised as a girl by the family?

Otherwise, how could a girl have such high comprehension? How dare she speak eloquently before foreigners? How would she know about the “Zongli Yamen”?

Lin Yuchan didn’t understand why he said this. She looked down at her flat chest and thought confusedly: Didn’t they examine me when they bought me?

Wang Quan waved his hand: “Alright, you can go down – oh, the leftover food in the kitchen, I didn’t let them touch it. You can take it all.”

When Old Master Qi entertained the prefect earlier, he’d ordered a table of Western dishes – a dazzling array. Except for the prefect eating a little, others had no appetite. More than half the dishes were untouched, sitting in the kitchen, emitting tantalizing aromas that made one’s mouth water.

This was already an unprecedentedly good attitude.

After Wang Quan finished speaking, he friendly patted Lin Yuchan’s shoulder.

Narrow and soft – Wang Quan was a bit disappointed. She was a girl. Otherwise, he’d very much like to take on a disciple.

But Lin Yuchan didn’t leave. She blocked the doorway and smiled: “Shopkeeper, I made such a great contribution today, and you’re just rewarding me with some food?”

Wang Quan was stunned, his face immediately falling.

She was pushing her luck! Not satisfied with a table of Western food – did she want shark fin and abalone too? She wouldn’t choke to death!

Lin Yuchan reminded him, “Brother Laicai was driven away by you. I can fill his vacancy. As for wages, just calculate by his standard – five qian of silver per month, no need to increase.”

Without saving money, she’d forever be a free slave in the tea house.

After being exploited for free by Wang Quan for so long, Lin Yuchan knew that even asking him for a needle required fighting for it herself.

Wang Quan looked at her like a monster, pushed open the door with a bang, and scolded: “Nonsense! Wishful thinking! Who do you think you are – a bought-out servant girl, and you think you deserve wages?”

To be fair, he wasn’t stupid either – he could see this servant girl had talent. If she were male, he’d keep her regardless of convention. With careful cultivation, she’d become a pillar of the trading house.

But… a girl, and letting her become an apprentice with wages – wouldn’t that ruin feng shui!

Later, when she married, his “cultivation” would be wasted, all his efforts down the drain. He wasn’t that foolish.

Lin Yuchan reminded him: “That foreign official, Master Hart, just said he needed an interpreter, and I could be competent. Shopkeeper, what do you think I could earn if I went to customs to find him?”

Wang Quan was startled, remembering this had indeed happened.

“You… ridiculous! You just heard a few foreign words at the docks and charmed the foreigner, so he casually teased you, and you took it seriously?”

Lin Yuchan: “Though he’s a foreigner, he’s also a Great Qing official. Do you think Great Qing officials can just speak carelessly?”

Now Wang Quan panicked and quickly covered her mouth: “Watch your words!”

The door opened, amplifying their argument. The clerks outside were still cleaning shelves and were shocked hearing their heated exchange.

How could anyone dare confront the shopkeeper?

Liu Ershun tried to smooth things over, laughing: “Eight-Sister, you’re a girl – just be gentle and soft. Being too domineering makes people dislike you.”

Before he finished speaking, Lin Yuchan slammed the door shut with a bang, hitting him in the face with the wind.

Lin Yuchan knew that if Hart wanted to recruit interpreters, once he posted job notices, applicants would number in the hundreds if not thousands for him to choose from leisurely. He did not need to specifically name an “maid” of unclear identity.

Hart was young and ambitious, saying this was mostly to embarrass those stupid Defeng Trading House clerks.

But after all, it was a foreign master’s golden words, giving her an application opportunity, a qualification to compete.

But could she climb up to the foreign master’s high branch and reach life’s pinnacle?

She wasn’t cheating – this was the Great Qing.

Never mind grand talk about integrity and position, she hadn’t forgotten her indenture contract was still in Wang Quan’s hands. As long as Wang Quan didn’t relent, she couldn’t go anywhere.

Taking it further, even if she pestered Hart until he had to have her and paid a high price to buy her from Defeng Trading House, she’d still be a slave. Just a foreigner’s slave.

Why bother?

The road ahead was long and thorny – she had to carefully choose each step.

Unless it was a life-or-death moment, she couldn’t take those crooked paths.

So she had no psychological burden using Hart’s offer to bargain with Wang Quan – the foreign master has noticed me, shouldn’t the shopkeeper give me a reasonably comparable position?

Wang Quan was even more exasperated: “You’re simply… truly like a mouse’s son knowing how to dig holes, just like your father – unreasonable! How could customs hire women? Wouldn’t that be scandalous?”

Then thinking further, weren’t foreigners scandalous anyway? The foreign consuls’ wives he’d seen in the Shamian concession were all bare-chested and seductive. Those arms and legs – tsk tsk, too unsightly.

Wang Quan collected himself and changed angles: “Hmph, you saw too – that foreign official isn’t easy to deal with. You’re young and rash. If you worked under him, you’d offend him sooner or later and face consequences. Moreover… right, moreover, your indenture is still in my hands. Since Master Hart is a Great Qing official, he must follow Great Qing law – he can’t forcibly steal other people’s slaves. Give up this dream of climbing high branches.”

He certainly didn’t want Lin Yuchan to “job-hop” to customs either. He knew better than anyone that this servant girl was dishonest, with no loyalty to him or the Qi mansion. If she later won the foreign master’s favor, she wouldn’t bring any benefit to Defeng Trading House.

If she had unfortunately offended the foreign master, foreigners would blame Defeng Trading House. Another “tax audit” would be unbearable.

So better to keep her in the tea house. If Hart came again, she could handle it.

Anyway, servant girls her age would all be married off to bear children within two years. Even if she clamored now about not wanting to marry, in two years, when she became an old maid, wouldn’t she cry and beg the master’s family to arrange her marriage?

“Just endure two more years.” Wang Quan comforted himself.

Having calculated well, Wang Quan glared at Lin Yuchan: “Becoming an apprentice is fine, but from today you must wear men’s clothes and not let people see you’re female, otherwise go back to being a servant girl!”

Lin Yuchan thought this was easy – just wear a hat to cover her hairline.

She immediately agreed loudly, smiling: “Then please, Mr. Zhan, draw up a document so we have proof.”

Mr. Zhan felt it was somewhat improper, but still smiled and ground ink. Moments later, a hot contract for “voluntary apprenticeship, full room and board, five qian silver monthly” was in hand.

Wang Quan snorted, took the copy, and locked it in the cabinet.

By logic, apprentice workers were free people while servant girls were bought-out slaves. These two statuses were originally contradictory and wouldn’t apply to the same person.

But this servant girl was improper in everything. Wang Quan had no choice but to secretly pray officials wouldn’t learn of this.

Lin Yuchan also kept her apprentice worker contract, placing it closest to her body.

Being able to fight for such a tiny progress made her quite satisfied.

While the foreign master’s influence remained, she struck while the iron was hot, pointing toward the kitchen: “Oh, don’t forget to save those Western dishes for me.”

Everyone was speechless and ignored her in unison.

Never seen such a shameless woman.

Lin Yuchan didn’t care what they thought. She happily bid everyone farewell and headed for the kitchen to claim her first benefit since being promoted to apprentice.

So fragrant!

Hmm, should she eat the veal chop first or the Portuguese chicken?

Lin Yuchan didn’t have the fortune to feast freely. She’d just gnawed a chicken leg when she heard the warehouse guard running over urgently with alarming news.

“Shopkeeper, outside our tea-roasting room… someone’s spying.”