Chapter 247 Making Money
On April 19th, they entered Chang'an. Outside the city, flowers were in full bloom and bees and butterflies were dancing. Inside the city, there were crowds of people, but there was no noise or celebration. Sui Yu felt strange. She settled the caravan in Lingyi and asked the locals about it. She found out that the Grand Marshal was seriously ill recently. All the officials in the city had heavy expressions and even the people did not dare to indulge themselves.
"The Grand Marshal is the younger brother of the Marquis of Guanjun. The Marquis of Guanjun drove away the Huns, and his younger brother is the Grand Marshal and the General. Both of them are very powerful." Song Xian sighed.
Sui Yu nodded. She was busy arranging the blanket. The affairs in the court were too far away from her. Although she felt sentimental, she was not as concerned as the business matters.
"Let's take a break for two days. During these two days, we will go to the West Market and ask about the prices of spices and blankets." Sui Yu said.
Song Xian had no objection. She took out a box of agates and wiped each one, saying, "Sell the agates and jade to jewelers? It would be much better if we could sell them directly to the wives of officials. The price would definitely be higher than selling them to shops."
Sui Yu didn't respond. She squatted on the ground, worrying and wondering how to smooth out the creases on the blanket.
Zhang Shun and Li Wu carried back a log from somewhere. They went to the river to clean the log, then carried it back and placed it on the rice jar to dry in the sun.
In the evening, the logs were dried. Xiao Chunhong and Liuya washed their feet, put on clean socks, stepped on the carpet, and pushed the logs to roll on the blue and white interwoven carpet. After repeated rolling, the creases became much lighter, which showed that it was effective.
The next day, Sui Yu and Song Xian took Li Wu and Zhang Shun into the city, leaving Gan Da, Gan Er, Qingshan and Xiao Chunhong to sort out the carpets and blankets.
After entering from Xuanping Gate, Sui Yu and Song Xian headed straight for the West Market. Coincidentally, they met a group of Hu merchants leaving. Sui Yu and Song Xian walked to the foot of the wall to make way for the camel caravan.
"Do you know him?" Song Xian asked in a low voice.
Sui Yu nodded, but the other party's eyes did not fluctuate when they saw her. She understood that this group of Hu merchants did not want to deal with her any more, so she did not go forward to talk to her.
After the caravan of Hu merchants left, Sui Yu and Song Xian covered their mouths and noses and continued walking. They took their servants to the silk shop to inquire about the price of silk. The silk shop was doing a booming business and the clerks were very busy. When they heard that Song Xian had an accent from another place and saw her clothes, they realized that she was not the wife of an official. So they hurriedly gave a price and went to work.
"It's a hundred coins more expensive than the silk I bought last year." Song Xian muttered, "Will the price of silk be cheaper in a while? It's spring now, and the ladies in the official families are busy making new clothes."
Sui Yu didn't think that was the reason. She turned back to look inside the shop a few more times. The maids and women carrying silks were mostly plain. Just now, in the shop, the silks selected by the women making new clothes were also green and gray. She thought, these people are probably preparing to attend the funeral of the Grand Marshal. It seems that the Grand Marshal is really not going to be able to die.
"Should we go to Taiyuan County again this year?" Song Xian asked. "Why don't we sell the spices and blankets and then go to Taiyuan County to buy linen and silk cloth. On our way back to the city, we can stop by Chang'an and buy some silk and satin?"
"Okay." Sui Yu took Song Xian's hand and said, "Let's go and ask the price of the blanket."
There were three shops selling blankets in the West Market, two of which were run by Hu merchants. In one of the shops, Sui Yu saw a blue and white carpet that was the same color as the one she was holding, and the weaving technique was also very similar.
"How much is this?" she asked.
"Two thousand eight hundred coins."
"What's the purchase price?" Sui Yu asked again.
The Hu-looking waiter looked her up and down, then looked at Zhang Shun and Li Wu and asked, "Are you from the caravan?"
Sui Yu nodded.
"What are the dimensions of the carpet? I measure by the foot here. A carpet one foot long and one foot wide costs three hundred coins."
Sui Yu estimated that according to his offer, the smallest carpet she had was worth about two thousand coins, which was a 50-50 profit, not bad.
"We won't accept anything with lint hanging out or too many creases," the clerk added.
"Okay, in five or six days, I will bring the caravan to transport the blankets here," said Sui Yu.
After coming out of the shop, the master and his servants went to the jewelry store. There was a wide variety of jewelry here, including agate bracelets, gold and jade head ornaments, jade rings, glass pendants, and exquisite earrings. Sui Yu and Song Xian spent most of the day there and did not leave the city until dusk.
The next day, Sui Yu and Song Xian went into the city again with four servants. This time they went into the city to sell two wooden zithers. They went to the musical instrument store in the East Market, where older musicians gathered. They set up stalls to play the pipa and erhu to earn some tips. There were also troupes performing variety shows. Sui Yu and Song Xian took a few looks and saw someone holding a tray to ask for tips.
"Come on, let's go sell the wooden zithers first." Sui Yu pulled Song Xian away and said, "I exchanged two wooden zithers for a piece of cloth. Let's see how much they can sell for."
"The base of the wooden zither is not made of any precious wood, but the leather strings are quite good and the tone is crisp. If you are willing to sell it, I can give you 1,800 coins." said the shopkeeper.
"One thousand eight hundred coins for a wooden zither?" Song Xian asked deliberately.
The male shopkeeper glanced at her and was too lazy to speak.
"To make it a round sum, two thousand coins." Sui Yu said, "I bought this from Kucha. As you know, the people of Kucha are good at singing and dancing, and the musical instruments they make are pretty good."
The shopkeeper hooked the leather string again, and when he reached out and touched it, the pleasant sound of the zither flowed out.
"Okay, I'll earn less." He relented.
Two thousand coins filled a wooden box, which was carried by a servant. Sui Yu and Song Xian walked out of the shop empty-handed and saw a caravan turning and going to the opposite side. They looked at each other and followed them tacitly.
This caravan came from the east, carrying mainly silk. After entering the colored silk shop, the camel caravan went straight into the backyard of a shop.
Sui Yu and Song Xian went in and strolled around for half an hour. When they came out, they each had three or four sets of clothes. In addition to their own, they also bought some for their family members and asked the caravan to take them back. It was midsummer when they got them, so they were just the right size to wear.
Then, the two of them took their servants to the pen shop and the iron shop. There was actually a donkey rental shop there, with donkeys tied up in a row of fences.
"It seems the livestock rental business has been around for a long time. I thought it didn't exist." Sui Yu picked up a scattered grass stem from the ground and handed it to the donkey to eat. He said, "The border cities are still relatively backward and closed. I thought your camel rental business was unique."
Song Xian nodded. "If you hadn't suggested that, I wouldn't have known we could rent camels to caravans."
Just as he finished speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came running in. A middle-aged man wearing a wooden crown and looking tense said to the old man feeding the donkey in the fence, "Dad, I just heard the news that Da Sima has passed away."
With a clang, the old man knocked over the bucket. He stood up and said, "Who told you that?"
"The servants at the Grand Marshal's Mansion are buying white linen and other things."
When the other people in the donkey rental business heard this, they all started talking about it, and many of them went out to inquire about the news.
Sui Yu and Song Xian looked at each other in bewilderment. What was happening in Chang'an was too far away from them, and they had no idea what was happening in the court. Unlike the common people living under the imperial city, they knew a little about everything and could talk about it when they got together. The two of them pricked up their ears and listened carefully.
After this incident, Sui Yu and Song Xian heard people talking about Da Sima wherever they went, and some people were crying in the streets. The two immediately decided to leave the city as it was too emotional.
Later, when he entered the city again, Sui Yu heard that the emperor had conferred the title of Marquis Xuancheng on Sima, and that the emperor and the empress had personally gone to the mourning hall to pay their respects. The vendors setting up stalls on the street were all slapping their thighs and praising Sima and the emperor.
Walking into the West Market, the decadent music in the West Market Music Hall is gone, the silk shop is deserted, and there are few people in the jewelry store. The shop assistants are so bored that they sit under the wall catching lice.
"Waiter, I'm here to deliver the carpet." Sui Yu walked in and saw the shopkeeper talking to a man in blue clothes and white linen. She stopped and didn't go over to disturb him.
A clerk came close to the shopkeeper and whispered a few words. Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper looked at Sui Yu for a few more seconds, and his expression suddenly relaxed. He whispered a few more words, walked out quickly, waved to Sui Yu with his hand, and motioned her to go out.
"How many rugs do you have? The blue and white ones, in dark tones," he asked.
"Ten, six that are seven feet long and six feet wide, and four that are ten feet long and seven feet wide." Sui Yu replied.
"I want them all. Do me a favor. The price is negotiable. Use your camel team to help me deliver the carpets to the Sima Mansion."
Sui Yu nodded quickly, "That's no problem."
The shopkeeper went in and said a few words to the manager, then came out again after a while and asked Sui Yu to give him ten camels. At the same time, the shop assistants were carrying goods out in batches.
"Please arrange for someone to go with me," said the shopkeeper.
"Can I?" Sui Yu asked. She nodded at Zhang Shun and said, "Or should I let him go with you?"
The shopkeeper nodded to Zhang Shun, then hurried away with the camel caravan and the manager.
At this time, a clerk came out of the shop and said, "Madam, please follow me in. Our boss has told us that if you want to sell the remaining blankets, we are willing to buy them all at the same price."
Sui Yu and Song Xian didn't say anything and sold all the blankets and carpets of different sizes that they had bought in Loulan.
In order to store the copper coins, Qingshan and Ganda took camels to the East Market and bought fourteen wooden boxes. When they left, the wooden boxes were full of copper coins.
In the next two days, Sui Yu and Song Xian also sold spices and agate jade. With the help of acquaintances from other merchants, the silver and bronze wares they brought back from outside the Great Wall were bought by the buyers of the Sima Mansion.
"Where are you going next?" the merchant asked. "Back to Dunhuang?"
"We're going to Taiyuan County, and maybe Handan County as well," Sui Yu replied. "What about you guys?"
"What a coincidence! We're also going to Taiyuan County." The merchant laughed. "Are we going together?"
Sui Yu readily agreed. This group of merchants was the one who came here together. They arrived in Chang'an three days earlier than her. Most of the goods they brought were sent to the Grand Marshal's Mansion and sold very quickly, so they had free time to go to Taiyuan County.
The funeral was truly grand and benefited many merchants. Sui Yu heard that the white linen in stock at several cloth shops in the West Market was sold out, vegetables and meat in the East Market were in short supply, and the carpenters were also hired away.
However, this had little to do with the foreign merchants. After selling the goods and resting, the caravan left Chang'an City with a lot of news.
On the first night after leaving Chang'an, Sui Yu told his servants, "The goods we brought to Chang'an this time sold for nearly 80,000 coins. Add to that the over 5,000 coins we earned from selling medicinal herbs last winter, and let's calculate it as 85,000 coins. After deducting the 18,000 coins we spent on purchasing the goods, we've made a profit of 67,000 coins. I'll give you 20% of the profit, so each of you will get 610 coins. I'll share this profit with you when we reach Taiyuan County."
The servants were excited and delighted. After they were happy, Xiao Chunhong said, "Master, why don't you give us this money first? You can use it all to buy goods. Buy more cloth and silk, and we can make more money."
"Yes, yes, yes." Gan Da agreed, "It's useless for me to have the money."
Zhang Shun thought for a moment and said, "It takes two years to go back and forth. You should buy more goods and make more money before sharing it with us."
Sui Yu looked at the others and asked, "What do you think?"
Other people have no objections either. The money earned is visible, so how could they have any objections?
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