"No need. After all, these are three lives. If we alert the enemy and attract the soldiers, we will suffer more losses than gains."

"So you're just letting them go so easily? What if..."

"They don't look like locals. Maybe they're just tourists and found our shop interesting, so they came in to take a look. Oh well, let's not overthink it, lest we ruin something important."

"yes."

Yunling didn't speculate too much about the matter. After walking two streets, she entered a large grain shop. The shopkeeper seemed honest and kind. When Yunling said she wanted to send a letter to Pingcheng, he didn't say anything else and just asked for twenty-five coins for the postage.

But when Yunling picked up the pen, her mind was completely blank. To be honest, she wasn't very good at expressing her love, and when she missed someone, she would only say "I miss you." But the paper was so wide and long, and if she only wrote such a small amount, Zhang would definitely nag her.

Why don't we just let everyone know we're safe and sound, and tell them about the scenery of this city? That way, we can give them something to look forward to.

After thinking it over, Yunling began to write.

Mother:

By the time you receive this letter, I will have already left Shucheng.

Shucheng is beautiful, with its fairy mountains and lakes. The lake water is crystal clear, sometimes appearing as green, sometimes as blue. I have never seen such a beautiful fairyland before.

By the way, the cured pork here is smoked with cypress wood, which makes the kitchen black, but it's really delicious. I just wonder what Grandma's reaction would be if she knew.

And lotus root candy, does Mother know about lotus root candy?

This candy is thinner than a hair, and it's sweet but not cloying when you eat it. It's so delicious! My father-in-law said that the method for making this candy was told to me by someone else. I immediately thought of my mother. If my mother followed the method, she would definitely be able to make it too.

Mother is the best cook in the world.

I'm fine, and Uncle Cheng is very friendly. It's comfortable to be around him, so Mother, don't worry. Let's leave it at that for now.

Yunling

Yunling read the letter carefully again, feeling that she had said everything she needed to say. She waited for the ink to dry, then folded it up, put it in an envelope, and gave it to the shopkeeper to deliver to the Fu family's trading company in Pingcheng, where Hua Ge'er would collect it.

After leaving the grain shop, Yunling suddenly realized that Wen Siqing should have received the news by now, but she wondered if her aunt had gone to the delivery shop in time.

**

Yun Ruoxia sneezed loudly. She hadn't expected to meet Wen Siqing again in such a disheveled state. Wen Siqing asked with concern:

"Have you caught a cold? The weather has been cool lately, so you should wear more clothes, Second Aunt."

Yun Ruoxia waved her hand in response:

"No, I think it's that girl Ling'er who's been talking about me, wondering if I've come looking for you to reply to the letter."

Wen Siqing said "Oh" and invited Yun Ruoxia inside to sit down. He then poured her a cup of hot tea to ward off the chill and prevent her from catching a cold, which would mean he wouldn't see her for a long time.

Yun Ruoxia wanted to finish quickly and go home, so she didn't dwell on whether it was cold or not, and asked directly:

"Young master, tell me, what exactly is your response to the matter that Sister Ling entrusted to you?"

Wen Siqing sat down next to Yun Ruoxia, his hand resting on the abacus, and said:

"The two hundred pieces of beef tendon that you requested are not available at the moment. It's because someone ordered one thousand pieces before the New Year, and the goods haven't arrived yet. If you can wait, then wait two months."

"Two months? Do you have any stock on hand right now?"

"No, even if the young lady only wants a hundred or fifty yuan, you still have to wait, it's just that the wait won't be as long."

Yun Ruoxia nodded, and Wen Siqing continued:

"As for Mr. He's side, a thousand catties of cotton plus yarn is still worth seventy-five copper coins, and a hundred bolts of cotton cloth are also calculated at the original price of four hundred and eighty wen per bolt, so it is one hundred and twenty-three copper coins."

"If the young lady has no objection to the date given by Shopkeeper Yu, then we can add Shopkeeper Yu's 46 strings of copper coins, making a total of 169 strings of copper coins. The money will be officially transported from Yuecheng to the two towns two months later."

While Wen Siqing was speaking, Yun Ruoxia was also secretly calculating with her fingers. Although she couldn't keep up with Wen Siqing's speed, she could still do the math. Seeing that the price he gave matched what Yun Ling had said, she naturally nodded in satisfaction.

After finishing the two matters, Wen Siqing continued with the third matter.

"As for the dyed cloth transported from Jiangnan, Master He also managed to get a preferential price for the young lady, which is 580 coins per piece, regardless of color."

Yun Ruoxia was immediately unhappy. This price was far from her target price, and it couldn't even reach the price Yun Ling offered. What was the point of playing this game?

She was dissatisfied, so she said directly:

"Why did you show us the market price instead of saying this is a discounted price?"

Wen Siqing responded urgently:

"Heaven and earth bear witness, the market price is not this. I would stake my life on it. Your price is a little lower than the market price."

“The brother will say that the price is a little lower than the market price, just a little bit, but we always order a thousand catties of cotton each time. We can be considered a hospitable, big customer. How can you be so stingy with a big customer like us?”

If Wen Siqing were facing Yun Ling, he could still act as if nothing was wrong, just smile politely, and conduct business professionally without saying much.

But when facing Yun Ruoxia, his professional demeanor was tinged with emotion, and he lost some of his toughness in the face of her.

"Second Madam probably learned from the young lady that the dye houses in Jiangnan are not under the management of Master He, so the things involved are too complicated. Master He is already very generous to offer this price."

"Since we are not under the jurisdiction of Master He, even if we are dealing with the person in charge in Jiangnan, we are still important guests."

Yun Ruoxia pulled out the string of scrap materials from her sleeve and handed them to Wen Siqing, continuing:

"There are twenty colors in total, and we need five hundred of each color. Please have your representative from Jiangnan give us the most reasonable price."

Twenty colors, five hundred of each, that's... ten thousand?

Wen Siqing's heart skipped a beat. This was the largest order he had ever received from an individual merchant. Other fabric shops wouldn't dare to place such a heavy order. They didn't even have a shop, yet they dared to go all out. They were quite a formidable character.

"Second Aunt, how about this: you tell me your budget, and I'll use that price to negotiate with Master He. That way, we can save some trouble. What do you think?"

"That's fine. I'll just say what I want: 530 coins per bolt, that's the price. I can't go any higher."

Wen Siqing's heart was pounding, thinking that this person's bargaining skills were truly deadly!