Chapter 139: Not a Heartless Capitalist

Chapter 139: Chapter 139: Not a Heartless Capitalist

Now that she had a goal for earning more money, Feng Si went to check her balance.

The settlement from Nantong City wouldn’t arrive for another two days. The current balance on her Coin Card came entirely from the last three days of revenue from her Pantian City shop. After transferring the funds from the shop’s Coin Card to her personal account and deducting the ten percent tax, she had accumulated less than five million coins.

She wanted to increase the amount of pickled cabbage she sold, but she didn’t have any extra trustworthy staff at the moment.

Feng Si wanted to make some big moves, like buying machinery, but she was struggling with a lack of funds. Therefore, she was even more reluctant to spend two million coins just to hire bodyguards.

’But I still have to go out into the wild and gather things myself to upgrade my space...’

’Besides hiring a powerful male beast for protection, there’s another, very safe option: going with a large group. A big gathering party should be safe.’

After a moment of thought, Feng Si summoned her two quiet, obedient employees and asked them about gathering expeditions out of Pantian City.

"Master, back when we were under Female Li," Song Jie replied, "we would usually head out before dawn with the district’s gathering team to collect fresh wild vegetables for the day. We’d come back to clean after sunrise, and then go to work in the shop."

Song Xiang cautiously added, "We haven’t been slacking off since coming to serve you. We still go out with the gathering team every morning. It’s just that now that you live on Boman Gate Island, we can’t deliver the wild vegetables we gather to you."

Feng Si’s eyes widened in surprise.

’As someone who’d never had servants before, I haven’t paid much attention to my two employees’ private lives.’

It was only now that she asked that she realized her two employees were actually working three jobs. And from the sounds of it, this was the norm for all sub-female slaves.

The crucial part was that they did all that work without receiving any wages.

’The sub-female slaves here have it even harder than ancient household servants. They work harder than oxen.’

She wasn’t a heartless capitalist, after all. Feng Si fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "From now on, you don’t have to go out gathering every morning. Just focus on looking after the shop. I’ll give you an extra 2,000 coins each month for your food and living expenses."

’A can of food costs two coins. Two thousand coins is more than enough for an adult sub-female’s monthly food expenses.’

Song Jie, who had been habitually staring at the ground, looked up in disbelief. "Master, you don’t need to give us coins, I..."

"That’s enough. Call me ’Shopkeeper’ from now on. My mind is made up," Feng Si said, raising a hand to stop her. She glanced down at Yun Duo in her arms to see if they had woken him.

Yun Chi had gotten used to falling asleep to his mother’s voice back when he was still in his egg.

He was sleeping in the small swaddle on Feng Si’s chest, his tiny body coiled up like an incense spiral. His head rested on his own little body, his breathing steady.

Feng Si continued, "Get ready over the next couple of days. I have a workshop in Pantian City that’s already renovated. You can move into the employee dormitories there."

She wanted to avoid having her sub-females act as employees by day, only to return to being slaves at night.

Instead of being relieved, Song Xiang was startled by her master’s words, and her face turned deathly pale.

They had been bought by Master Li as children. They had to do all the work at home and in the shop, all while being beaten and cursed at. So when Feng Si suddenly told them not to work so much and to move out, they grew frightened and uneasy.

’She must think we’re useless. She’s going to kick us out and then sell us.’

Song Xiang didn’t dare make a sound, merely covering her mouth as she cried silently. Song Jie stood rigidly beside her.

Feng Si adjusted the blanket over her cub, and when she looked up, she saw her two employees crying in fright.

’This is a psychological defense mechanism from long-term oppression, triggered by sudden good treatment. I can’t change their way of thinking with just a few words.’

’They’ll understand on their own, in time.’

Feng Si didn’t waste her breath explaining. Instead, she got back to business. "That gathering team you follow—what do you have to do to join?"

"Shopkeeper," Song Jie answered, prioritizing her master’s question despite her fear, "you don’t have to do anything. We’re the slave team from the various great families. Anyone who wants to go just needs to be at the central square of the district before 5 a.m., and then we all take a flying car together. But, as members of the slave team, we have to hand over half of everything we gather."

Feng Si asked, "Are there gathering teams at other times?"

"Yes... there’s one trip in the morning and one in the afternoon," Song Jie replied.

Hearing this, Feng Si steeled her resolve. ’Handing over half is better than nothing,’ she thought.

Song Xiang gradually stopped crying as they talked. Seeing her master sitting on the sofa with a pensive expression, she was overcome with a desire to prove her worth. "Are you asking about this because you need something done? You can leave it to us."

Feng Si waved her hand. "You can’t help with this. I have to gather the food myself."

Song Xiang froze. "..."

’I must have misheard.’

"Send me the address of the meeting point. I can make the 9 a.m. trip," Feng Si decided, glancing at the time.

Song Jie and Song Xiang were inwardly shocked but didn’t dare say a word against their master’s stunning decision. They were far too accustomed to simply following orders—a trait Feng Si appreciated, as it was unlike Hu Fei, who would have tried to talk her out of it.

However, when the two employees heard she was going out in disguise, they insisted on accompanying her. Feng Si figured bringing two sub-female employees wouldn’t be a problem—plus, they could help her find wild grains—so she agreed.

Business at Si Shi was good. The shop usually opened at eight o’clock and was completely sold out by 8:05, which meant her trip wouldn’t interfere with business at all.

Song Jie and Song Xiang stood anxiously in the hallway, waiting. Feng Si soon re-emerged, disguised as a black-spotted sub-female wearing a cloak. As always, she carried Yun Duo in the swaddle on her chest. She then led them quietly around to the outside of the manor.

Feng Si slipped into the woods by herself for a moment. Once she was sure no one was around, she nonchalantly took out the flying car she had purchased in Nantong City. She flew it out, landed it by the side of the road, and picked up her two employees.

The flying car flew away from the Island Peak.

Feng Si had instructed Hu Fei not to disturb her, so he assumed she was spending the day in her room with the cub, just like yesterday. He noticed the hovercar was still parked in the backyard and figured the two sub-female slaves had come to report on business and had already left.

Ying Kong noticed an extremely slow, outdated-looking flying car streaking across the sky, but he looked away, uninterested.

Boman Gate Island offered females protection, not surveillance. Since Feng Si deliberately concealed her movements, she slipped away from Boman Gate Island with remarkable ease.

She headed straight for the slave gathering team’s location. After paying the slave team leader one hundred coins, she was given permission to follow them in her own vehicle, thus avoiding a crowded ride on the public flying bus.

They were heading to Pantian City’s Collection Area No. 21, not their usual No.1 Collection Area. Fortunately, she had brought Song Jie and Song Xiang. With the two of them leading the way, she easily found a field of gleaming golden wild grain.