Chapter 358: One Million Cotton Plants
The sound of camel bells rang out outside the house. Sui Yu looked at the cub, who waved his hand and said, "Mom, go out and entertain the caravan. I'll stay here to look after my sister."
Sui Yu picked up the wooden basin containing the dirty diapers and went out.
"Aunt Li, the basin is here." Sui Yu called out.
The caravan was getting closer and closer. When it got close to the cotton field, the camels slowed down and the merchants looked at the cotton seedlings planted in the field.
Sui Yu walked under the jujube tree, and two big black dogs ran towards her happily. She reached out and rubbed the dogs' heads.
The plaque hanging on the south-facing wall of the house shone with golden light in the spring sunshine. The merchant covered his forehead with his hands and could barely see the face of the woman under the tree.
Sui Yu noticed that the merchants looked unfamiliar, so she took the initiative to speak: "Everyone, welcome to Dunhuang County."
"Is this the Changgui Guest House? Is Manager Yu here?" asked the leader Yu.
"That's me." Sui Yu smiled slightly. "Is this your first time in Dunhuang?"
"Yes, we came here because we heard that Dunhuang County produces cotton." The camel caravan stopped and the merchants jumped off the camels' backs. They stuffed the copper bells with camel hair. In the blink of an eye, only the tail tone of the loud camel bells remained in the wind.
Li Mutou came over, and Sui Yu pointed to him and said, "After unloading the cargo, you can hand over the camels to him. There are no other caravans staying in the guesthouse right now, so the camels can roam freely in the pasture and don't need to be locked up in the livestock pen."
She led the merchant to the inn and said, "You will stay in the first inn. There are guest rooms and warehouses, one for each guest room. The price per night is one hundred coins. By the way, your accent doesn't sound like someone from Chang'an or Longxi. It sounds a bit like someone from the south. Are you from Bashu?"
"Shopkeeper Yu is knowledgeable and is indeed a native of Bashu. We travel between the two counties of Bashu and Chang'an all year round. We sell tea." As soon as these words were spoken, Boss Yu saw that Shopkeeper Yu's eyes lit up. He smiled with satisfaction and waved his hand to signal his clansmen to unload and move the goods.
Another group of people came from the south. Sui Yu looked over and saw that it was Ma Nongjian leading a group of official slaves carrying loads on their shoulders.
As Ma Nongjian approached, the caravan had unloaded all the goods. Li Mutou and the caravan members drove the camels to the river to drink water.
"Madam, let's transplant the cotton seedlings." Ma Nongjian greeted.
Sui Yu nodded and asked, "How many people did Supervisor Hu assign to you to farm the land?"
"More than 630 people, each taking care of three mu of land. The wasteland that farmers are unable to cultivate has almost been divided up." Ma Nongjian explained everything in detail.
Zhao Xiping took 400 cotton farmers with him. The ones left in Dunhuang had experience from the previous year, so most rented five mu of land for cultivation, while a few in poor health rented only three or four. Sui Yu calculated that these two groups were indeed utilizing all of Dunhuang's wasteland.
Hua Niu and A Qiang woke up after hearing the noise, and the two maids ran out in a hurry.
"I was just about to call you. Go with Ma Nongjian and count the cotton seedlings you've removed. I need to do the accounting tonight." Sui Yu instructed. Turning around, she asked, "Ma Nongjian, are we going to pay for this batch of cotton seedlings with cotton seeds in the fall, or in cash?"
"If it's not settled, you have to pay for it." Ma Nongjian said, "Just keep a record of it first. I'll come back to settle the bill after the cotton seedlings are planted."
Sui Yuying is good.
Ma Nongjian led more than 600 slaves through the open space in front of the guesthouse. Hua Niu and A Qiang carried chairs and took the sheepskin rolls and followed them.
"Can we go over and take a look?" asked Mr. Yu.
"Of course." Sui Yu didn't stop him. She pointed to the kitchen opposite and said, "You haven't had lunch yet, right? Go to the kitchen and tell them what you want to eat."
After saying that, Sui Yu went back to the house to get the copper lock and key. The Yu family caravan had six rooms for half a month. She took ninety coins and left.
The little boy fell asleep with his little sister in his arms. Sui Yu walked in quietly, pulled the quilt over the brother and sister, and then tiptoed out.
"I'm going to the warehouse to count the goods. Please pay attention. If Xiaohua wakes up, come over and call her." Sui Yu instructed the female helper who was washing sheets by the river.
Aunt Li let out an "Ah" and hung the washed diapers on the rope. This girl was really enjoying herself. The cotton cloth that the caravan couldn't buy at a high price was now cut into diapers.
After the caravan left for the winter, the doors and windows of the warehouse were locked. When they were suddenly opened, the wind blew in, and the linen hanging on the wall rolled like waves on the river.
In order to cover the dust, a beige linen ceiling was made above the roof, and the four walls were also wrapped with beige linen. When the large wooden windows on the wall were opened, the bright spring light poured in, and the room was very bright.
There was a yellow and white carpet on the floor. Sui Yu took off his shoes and stepped on it, first putting the hanging blanket back on the wooden rack.
There were many ladder-like wooden racks in the warehouse, each compartment was covered with blankets and cloths. Behind the racks were wooden boxes, and bundles of blankets and cloths were stored in the boxes.
There was a knock on the door. Sui Yu looked over and asked, "Is Xiaohua awake?"
"No, it's a group of children who came to buy mulberry leaves. They asked Sui Liang if he would still buy silk cocoons this year." Aunt Li stood at the door and looked into the warehouse. She was dazzled by the rows of cloth and blankets of different colors. If she had money in her pocket, she really wanted to go in and pick some.
"Tell them we're still buying them and will send them over once the silkworms have cocooned." Sui Yu said, "A Shui should still be in the house. Go find her and ask her to come and collect the money."
Last year, Sui Liang collected tens of thousands of silk cocoons and sold them to Jinxiu Weaving Workshop, making a profit of 315 coins, which is comparable to the harvest of an acre of wheat.
After Aunt Li left, Sui Yu continued to check the goods. After browsing the woolen cloth area, she walked into the small room made of bamboo mats, where the medicinal herbs were stored. The straw mats were thin but light-blocking, and the straw had a natural herbal scent that lingered for a long time, blocking the spread of the herbal smell.
Sui Yu bent down to check the wooden box. After making sure no mice had come in to eat the herbs inside, she lifted the curtain and went out.
There were five faces crowded outside the wooden window on the east side. Sui Yu was startled when he saw them suddenly.
"Did you get scared? Sorry," the person outside the window apologized. The merchant with the beauty mark on his forehead explained apologetically, "We were passing by and saw the doors and windows were open, but no one was around, so we just watched from outside for a while."
"You can come in and take a look. This is my warehouse. The goods inside are purchased from caravans from inside and outside the Great Wall. You can also sell your goods to me and buy goods from me." Sui Yu explained, "There are clean straw sandals at the door. Find a suitable size and wear them."
As soon as the shoes were taken off, a strong smell of foot odor filled the air.
"We, we'll come back later. I'll go call our boss." The merchants felt embarrassed. They quickly put on the boots they had just taken off and disappeared in a few big strides.
"Mom, Xiaohua is crying because she is hungry." The little cub ran out barefoot and shouted.
"Coming." Sui Yu responded and walked out quickly, "Little guy, come here, come and sit in the warehouse."
"I'll go put on my shoes first."
Before she even entered the door, Sui Yu heard loud crying. She ran in quickly, saying, "I'm coming, mother is here, don't cry anymore."
The kid put on his shoes and ran away. Sui Yu closed the door, and the next moment, the crying sound in the house disappeared.
After Sui Yu fed the child, washed her butt, changed her into a clean diaper, and took her out, the people from the Yu caravan were all in the warehouse checking the goods.
"There is also a baby? Are these two babies yours?" The merchant who was looking at sheepskins spoke.
"Yes, I only have these two children, a boy and a girl." Sui Yu smiled, "How are you? Do you like what I have?"
"Manager Yu is too modest. These furs are no worse than those in Chang'an West Market." We are all businessmen, and we all know the quality of furs. We cannot do something like calling a good horse a bad one. If we want to do business well, we cannot act like a rogue.
"Are these sheepskins from the Wusun Kingdom?"
"Yes, the sheep of Wusun are large and have long wool, and the sheepskin and wool they produce are better than those in our country. I bought these from the Hu merchants," Sui Yu said. "For sheepskins with more than fifty, one is 120 coins. For sheepskins with less than fifty, one is 140 coins."
The merchants widened their eyes in shock. The minimum price they paid for sheepskin in Chang'an was 230 coins per piece, but in Dunhuang they could buy one for only 120 coins?
"We want to buy 200 tickets. Do we have enough?" asked Mr. Yu.
Sui Yu nodded, "We can buy another two hundred. Also, take a look at the wolf skins, which are also from the Wusun Kingdom. They're one hundred and eighty coins each. Go to the back, there's some wine against the wall. There are only about thirty jars left. If you can wait, a shipment of wine will arrive from outside the Great Wall by July at the latest. We also have medicinal herbs here, produced in Dayuan. We originally had over two hundred boxes, but the caravans that entered the Great Wall bought up most of them, leaving only about twenty boxes left. These red pottery products are from the Loulan Kingdom, also known as the Shanshan Kingdom. The price is on the wooden sign next to it. Take a look."
"Let's take a look ourselves first." said Yu Dadangjia.
"Okay." Sui Yu walked away with the child in her arms, and she watched from a distance.
The kid ran off to pick mulberry leaves with the kids from the city. With him watching, A Shui came over.
"Is Xiaohua asleep?"
Sui Yu nodded, "Do you want to hug?"
Ah Shui nodded repeatedly, "I'll hold him for a while. The little cub is like a tyrant. Wherever he is, others can only touch his sister's fingers."
Sui Yu smiled.
Slaves carrying cotton seedlings passed by in the west, and dust was splashed on the road. Sui Yu walked over, stepped on a wooden stool, and untied the silk curtain hanging above the window. He tucked the corner of the curtain into the gap of the linen wrapped on the wall. Now he didn't have to worry about the dust blowing in.
As the sun set, the light in the house dimmed. The merchants looked at all the goods in the warehouse. They walked out of the warehouse with satisfaction and invited Sui Yu to come and see the goods they brought when he was free tomorrow.
That night, Sui Yu took care of the baby alone. Without Zhao Xiping to share the burden, she felt a little tired.
The next morning, Sui Yu asked Erhei to go to the government office so that construction of the mansion on the west side of the river could continue.
There were too few rooms in the main courtyard. She had no way to arrange for a maid to sleep next door to take care of her, so she could only choose a maid who didn't snore and have her sleep on the floor beside the bed with her bedding roll.
The Yu caravan came from the two counties of Bashu, and the goods they brought included brightly colored Shu brocade; yellow and smooth fine cloth, which was unique to Bashu and made of good linen, soft and thin. A piece of fine cloth one foot long and one foot wide was folded together like a handkerchief; bronzes with local characteristics, the shapes and patterns of which carried the simplicity of the ancient Bashu country, different from the exquisite bronzes of Chang'an and the rough bronzes of Dunhuang; felt hat stands and brush stands made of deer antlers; and lacquer screens made of ox horns.
Finally, the head of the Yu family brought out five boxes of tea and said, "Shopkeeper Yu, how many quilts can we get in exchange for these five boxes of tea?"
"I don't have any quilts here, and my weaving workshop is gone. In winter, Dunhuang gathers more than 60 caravans, and no matter how many quilts I have, I can't sell them all." Sui Yu was helpless. "If you can stay here until July, I can sell you the first batch of quilts and cotton-padded jackets I make."
"That's too late. We can't leave the Qinling Mountains before winter. Please help us think of a solution. Don't you have any extra quilts? Give me thirty quilts, and I'll give you everything I have, minus the Shu brocade."
"The caravans staying here are all on good terms with me. If there were any, they would have taken them long ago." Sui Yu didn't have any extra quilts. She thought for a moment and said, "I'll go ask. If I can find one, I'll exchange it with you. If not, there's nothing I can do."
Yu Dadang thanked Sui Yu. He handed her a pen holder made of deer antlers and a small pink felt hat, saying, "These are for your two children."
Sui Yu accepted it, and later she arranged for Erhei to ask the farmers to see if any of them still had cotton wool left.
Afterwards, she went to see Master Du, who gave her twelve new quilts and sixty-eight kilograms of cotton wool from his clansmen.
Ten days later, Erhei visited 37 farmers and, after much persuasion, he finally bought five quilts and 36 kilograms of cotton wool.
"These five quilts are dowries for five girls. Their wedding dates are all after the autumn harvest. They didn't want to sell them at first, but I promised them that I would return five thick quilts, and then they agreed." Erhei said.
The five quilts weigh about six or seven pounds each. They are suitable for use in spring and autumn, but will become cold in winter.
Sui Yu said: "After the cotton harvest, we will make quilts weighing 12 kilograms and return them."
Erhei nodded to indicate that he had taken note of it.
Sui Yu brought out thirty pounds of cotton wool from the house, adding the ones from the Du family and Erhei that they had bought from the farmers, for a total of one hundred and thirty-four pounds. She told him to take it away and have the maid spin four pounds of cotton thread to make thirteen quilts, each weighing ten pounds.
In early May, the Yu caravan left Dunhuang with thirty quilts, two hundred sheepskins and one hundred wolfskins, as well as thirty camels bought from Song Congzu.
The caravan had just left in the morning when merchants from the city arrived in the afternoon. They brought money boxes on camels and took away the things brought by the Yu caravan from the warehouse.
Tea was not worth much in Dunhuang, so Sui Yu kept it all, intending to sell it to passing caravans when winter came.
The spring planting season was over and the cotton was planted in the fields. Ma Nongjian finally had some free time to find Sui Yu.
He was exposed to the sun for most of the year last year and for another three months this year. He was so dark that he looked like he had crawled out of a stove hole.
Sui Yu thought of Zhao Xiping and couldn't help but smile.
She made a bowl of tea for Ma Nongjian and said, "You've all worked hard to get busy with the spring planting."
"To have His Majesty's trust is worth all the hard work." Ma Nongjian took a sip of tea and said, "This tea is quite fragrant."
"It was brought here by a caravan from Bashu County. If you like it, I'll pack a bag for you later." Sui Yu was still thinking about the child in the house. She asked directly, "What brings you here?"
Ma Nongjian smiled bitterly. He showed his own calculations and said, "I miscalculated before. I thought buying these cotton seedlings would cost at most 100,000 or 200,000 coins. I didn't expect that the cotton seedlings, which looked like a small number, would eventually accumulate to tens of millions. Even if they were sold at a penny each, that would cost 420,000 coins."
Sui Yu raised her eyebrows and said in surprise, "One cent per plant? That's not right. I always said twenty cents per plant."
Ma Nongjian shook his head and said, "The court can't afford so much money."
"You're wrong. Cotton can bring millions of yuan to the court. This year, the three counties of Hexi alone planted 7,000 to 8,000 mu of cotton. The cotton tax is at least 640,000 catties. If we sell cotton seeds at half the price, and only sell cotton lint at 20 coins per catty, that's still 6.4 million coins." Sui Yu calculated with him, "This is just the cotton tax for the three counties of Hexi. There are at least 5,000 mu of cotton planted inside the Great Wall, right? The cotton seeds are distributed by the government, and the tax per mu is at least 120 catties, which is another 600,000 catties. How can the court be short of money? This is still the cheapest calculation. There is no way the court can sell pure cotton lint to make quilts. Even if it's 1,000 coins per quilt, just calculate how much it would cost."
Ma Nongjian was speechless.
"Is this just your idea?" Sui Yu asked. Seeing that he remained silent, she dismissed him, "You should write a letter to His Majesty. His Majesty is the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. A million dollars is nothing to him. If you don't want to pay me, you can give me credit. I can use the cotton seeds to pay off the debt during the autumn harvest, and I will sell them to the caravans. You don't have the connections, but I do."
These words were so bold that Ma Nongjian was shocked.
The child in the room was crying. Sui Yu hurriedly said goodbye and went back to the room to feed the child.
When she came out again, Ma Nongjian was no longer under the tree.
The roof of the house on the west side of the river has been completed. The laborers are hammering the ground inside. The muffled sound of each hammer strike attracted Xiaohua's gaze.
"We're moving soon, into a big house. What does Xiaohua like? A bright room, a big bed, a big screen, and a soft carpet. Mommy will get them all for you." Sui Yu kissed the little girl's chubby cheek. Seeing her grin, she turned around, held the little girl's hand, and pointed eastward, saying, "Your father will be back soon, and your uncle will be back soon too. It's a pity that you're still breastfeeding, so we can't go to the city gate with your brother to wait."
Hearing the word "brother", Xiaohua turned her head to look in the direction of the school.
"Your brother is not in school. He misses his father and uncle and is waiting for them to come back at the city gate." Sui Yu straightened her head. The next moment, golden wheat ears appeared by the river. She whistled, and a golden horse came running towards them.
"Whose horse is this? Is it Xiaozai's? Who is Xiaozai?" Sui Yu held the little girl's hand and touched the horse's head. She observed Xiaohua's expression. The little girl widened her eyes and was obviously a little scared, but her mouth was tightly pursed, neither crying nor shouting.
After touching the horse's head, Sui Yu let go of the little girl's hand, and the little hand immediately retracted. After a few moments, she reached out again to pinch the horse's ears.
"What a brave girl you are." Sui Yu smiled, "When you grow up, mother will give you a divine horse."
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