Cherry Miller quickly finished checking the supplies she needed and signed her name on the list.
"All these supplies, are they all for the Shrine Ceremony?" the person asked casually.
Cherry paused with the pen in her hand, then smiled and said, "Yes, the Shrine Ceremony is a big deal. It's always better to have too much than too little."
"That's true," the person nodded. "Hopefully everything goes smoothly this year."
With that, the person took the list and left.
Cherry had the workers deliver five hundred pounds of rice, six hundred pounds of cornmeal, and three hundred pounds of wheat flour to her small storeroom. Then she went to the kitchen staff to ask for all kinds of vegetables and seasonings.
Of course, not all these supplies were for the Shrine Ceremony.
Cherry knew that something was bound to go wrong on the day of the ceremony—there might even be an unexpected incident.
So, stocking up a little extra was always a good idea.
Even if it was just a drop in the bucket, having a little more was still better than having nothing at all.
Henry Zhang gathered all the Zhang family members and said, "This year we're holding the Shrine Ceremony at the temple. You all know what you can and can't do. The reason our Zhang family has survived in Six Saints Town for so many years is our unity."
"Yes, Father."
"Yes, Grandfather."
The others echoed in agreement.
Henry Zhang lifted his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone’s faces before finally settling on his eldest grandson.
"The third son made such a big mistake this time; he really isn't fit to keep handling these matters." Henry Zhang's words brought a look of delight to Eric Zhang's face.
Zachary Zhang seemed to have expected this outcome and sat there calmly, unfazed.
Eric Zhang was smug—whatever he wanted, he was determined to get.
The other Zhang family members wore varied expressions—some sided with Eric Zhang, others with Zachary Zhang.
"There can’t be any more trouble at the gold mine," Henry Zhang declared. "The last accident cost us a lot of money and wasted a lot of time. The Shrine Ceremony is coming up, so the gold mine will have to pause for now and resume after things settle down. Also, the passage from Six Saints Town to the outside must be guarded well—this is the foundation of our family’s survival. I’ve already told you all the Zhang family’s biggest secret. Our interests are shared: if one prospers, all prosper; if one suffers, all suffer. If any of you leaks information, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I’ll kick you out of the family!"
Everyone quickly spoke up: "Don't worry, sir. We know what to do—we won't breathe a word!"
Only then did Henry Zhang nod with satisfaction and say, "The summer grain harvest is in. Sell it all. We can't abandon our old business. By the way, Second Son, how much have we collected this year?"
The second son of the Zhang family immediately replied, "Dad, the yield wasn't great this year—too much rain. A lot of crops rotted in the fields before we could harvest. So far, we've collected about a hundred thousand pounds."
"That's not enough," Henry Zhang said, displeased. "These poor fools just hoard their grain at home and won't sell."
At that moment, someone in the crowd spoke up: "Sir, Wang Village had a disaster—more than half the houses were destroyed by a landslide. They couldn't save most of their belongings, so Wang Village has been buying up grain everywhere. Maybe that's where a lot of the harvest went. Plus, people are saying with all this rain, more disasters like Wang Village's could happen, so many households are storing their summer grain in their cellars instead of selling it."
"Yeah, my wife was just asking if we should buy more grain to stock up. Who would've thought the rain in the mountains would be so heavy, causing landslides? Lots of fields got buried too—that's a whole year's food gone."
"People are scared lately—no one wants to sell their grain. I'm thinking of saving up more myself! In the past, when the weather was good, it didn't seem like a big deal, but when disaster strikes, not having enough to eat is serious."
Henry Zhang scoffed, "Six Saints Town is huge—do you really think every village will end up like Wang Village? You're all so shortsighted! Second Son, raise the price by ten percent. Keep buying!"
"Alright," the second son replied.
Seeing that Henry Zhang didn't plan to hoard grain, the whole family relaxed.
Maybe nothing really would happen after all.
"Everything about the Shrine Ceremony must be arranged properly. Especially those who go in to clean—make sure you pick someone reliable and honest," Henry Zhang told his eldest grandson.
"I know, Grandpa," Eric Zhang said eagerly, almost ready to swear an oath. "I'll only use people from my own courtyard for this."
Henry Zhang finally nodded with satisfaction. "Alright, that's enough. Everyone can go now!"
Eric Zhang returned to his courtyard and spotted the Gu Family Cook in the distance, wearing an apron and rolling up her sleeves as she cooked.
Her crisp blue cotton skirt and creamy white arms made his heart itch with longing.
Last time, he tried to get her to carry water inside, but she managed to get out of it.
If he hadn't been so busy battling his third uncle lately, he wouldn't have let her off so easily.
Forget it—once the Shrine Ceremony is over, he'll have plenty of time to teach her a lesson.
"The young master is back!" Sherry spotted Eric Zhang returning and hurried over, swaying her hips like a pretzel.
"Mm." Eric Zhang withdrew his gaze, looked at Sherry, and asked, "Has everything been peaceful in the courtyard these days?"
Sherry glanced at Cherry Miller and deliberately complained, "It's been quiet enough, except someone doesn't know how to behave."
Eric Zhang pinched Sherry's cheek, then called out to Cherry, "Gu Family Cook."
"Yes, young master? Is there something you need?" Cherry quickly wiped her hands and came over, looking a bit nervous.
Eric Zhang saw her nervousness and was momentarily dazed.
Maybe last time was just a misunderstanding?
No, he couldn't let her off so easily!
"The shrine needs cleaning. Once you're done here, go help out." He still had to give her some punishment.
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Otherwise, this woman would get way too full of herself.
Cherry was stunned for a second, then felt a surge of joy!
Talk about getting a pillow when you’re ready for a nap!
She’d been debating whether to have Sherry Yuan risk sneaking into the shrine. Now, Eric Zhang himself had told her to go clean there!
It was almost like divine intervention!
"Yes, young master," Cherry replied, deliberately looking troubled. "But the kitchen..."
"If the young master tells you to go, then go—what’s with all the fuss? The kitchen won’t fall apart without you," Sherry chimed in on Eric Zhang’s behalf. "Just leave the kitchen and get moving!"
Cherry put on another uneasy face. "Alright, alright, I’m going now."
As soon as Cherry turned away, the nervous look vanished, replaced by a confident, determined smile.
She headed straight for the shrine.
Eric Zhang had already given the word. Cherry was able to enter the shrine without any trouble.
Another maid, who’d gotten into trouble and was being punished, came in to clean with Cherry.
It was only after Cherry entered that she realized why cleaning was considered a punishment.
The shrine was just too enormous.
With just two people, they could work themselves to death and still not finish.
The other maid couldn’t be bothered to make friends with Cherry, quickly making up an excuse and sneaking off to slack.
Cherry grabbed her bucket and rag and got to work, scrubbing diligently.
As she cleaned, she searched for the mechanism that hid the satellite jammer.
A jammer big enough to block signals for the whole town couldn’t be a small gadget. It had to be hidden somewhere.
Mr. Sawyer from S Organization wouldn’t dare lie—otherwise, Daisy Doyle could beat him until he questioned his life choices.
So, the satellite jammer had to be here. She needed to find it and shut it down before time ran out.
So while others saw Cherry working hard, she was actually searching for the satellite jammer.
But the shrine was just too big.
Cherry spent the whole afternoon searching but found nothing.
When time was up, she had to leave.
Before leaving, Cherry couldn’t help but look back longingly.
By the time work was over, the other punished maid finally showed up, making an excuse: "Hey, Gu Family Cook, I didn’t mean to skip out today. I’m really not feeling well. Could you not tell the family?"
Cherry laughed to herself.
No wonder she got punished—she’s so lazy.
But that was just what Cherry wanted.
Cherry put on a simple, honest expression. "Mrs. Zhang, you’re not feeling well? That’s serious, you shouldn’t risk it. The work here isn’t hard—I’ll come alone tomorrow. You go get some rest. I won’t say anything to the family about today."
The maid hadn’t expected Cherry to be so agreeable, and left happily.
The next day, she really didn’t show up for cleaning.
With her gone, Cherry found it even easier to move around.
She’d already searched every corner of the shrine but hadn’t found anything.
Where could it be hidden?
During her lunch break, Cherry looked around for a place to rest and ended up hiding behind the statue.
There was a three-foot-wide platform there, which she’d cleaned thoroughly. She could lean there to rest and wouldn’t be caught slacking off.
Cherry planned to eat and then take a quick nap there.
Just as Cherry was about to eat, she heard the sound of soft footsteps outside the shrine.
Cherry instinctively held her breath and listened closely.
The next second, someone slipped in stealthily and shut the shrine door behind them.
“Young master, our people managed to bypass the third son and contact the others. They said as long as you take charge, the previous arrangement stands.” a man whispered.
Eric Zhang’s voice followed: “Are you sure that’s what they said?”
"Yes, and they also said they don’t care who controls Six Saints Town. As long as the gold and silver keep flowing out, whoever supplies it gets paid. Oh, and they said whatever’s hidden in this shrine must be guarded well! If it’s discovered, no one will be able to protect Six Saints Town!"