Chapter 45: I'm so confused I can't reach you
A few days ago, Manager Han held a banquet at his home, and Hu Changpu went to the banquet. Today, Hu Changpu got married, and Manager Han also came in person to congratulate him.
Shopkeeper Han chatted and laughed with the people he knew, still feeling like he was being treated like a star. But in fact, he felt very uncomfortable when he saw Gu Youan being asked to leave by the Hu family.
Back when his father was still around, the Han family would have been the most respected of all the business owners. But things were different now. Even after his brother's ordeal, the Hu family hadn't shown him any displeasure, which seemed to be a testament to their generosity.
It was already late after the wedding banquet, and it was definitely too late to go down the mountain, so the Hu family naturally wanted to keep the guests.
The familiar shopkeepers gathered together to chat and laugh. After drinking two pots of tea, the water in Shopkeeper Han's stomach was shaking. When he was about to get up and couldn't sit still, Gu Youan came back.
Shopkeeper Han seemed to have just adjusted his sitting posture, and sat down again after raising his buttocks. Gu Youan came over and he poured tea for him himself.
Gu Youan smiled and said, "Manager Han is too polite."
"It's just a matter of convenience."
After talking with Hu Changpu for a while, Gu Youan felt a little thirsty. He picked up the tea and drank half a cup of warm medicinal tea, and immediately felt better.
Shopkeeper Han said with a smile, "Don't underestimate the Hu family because they only collect herbs. They actually have quite a few recipes for medicinal teas."
Gu Youan nodded and said, "This tea is indeed good."
After drinking another half cup of tea, Manager Han suddenly said, "Manager Gu, have you taken a look at the prescription list released by Prince Qi's Mansion this year?"
"Look, there are quite a few types of medicinal herbs that Prince Qi's Mansion is not allowed to sell this year."
Many medicinal herbs produced in Songjiang City were collected by Prince Qi's Mansion and supplied to the Northeast Army. The list of medicinal herbs has not changed for many years, but this year dozens of common medicinal herbs were suddenly added and were prohibited from being sold inside the country. The shopkeeper who made a living by buying and selling medicinal herbs was having a headache.
Shopkeeper Han sighed and said, "It's not uncommon for Prince Qi's Mansion to have a large number of medicinal herbs. This year, the local medicine shops and drug stores in Songjiang City have also increased their stockpiles, so the amount of medicinal herbs that fall into our hands is even less."
In the first year after the family split, Manager Han went out to do business on his own. He originally planned to put down most of his fortune to make a big deal, preferably to become famous overnight, so that his peers in Songjiang City and the pharmacies in Luoyang would take notice. Although his father was gone and the eldest son of the Han family was not doing well, he, the second son of the Han family, was still there to support the family, and the Han family did not decline.
Who knew there would be a drought? And the list of medicinal herbs in Prince Qi's mansion had changed!
Nowadays, let alone becoming famous overnight, he is even afraid that the gun will misfire.
To be honest, if the news of holding a spring banquet had not been released long ago, he really didn't want to hold that banquet a few days ago.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind. At this moment, Shopkeeper Han smiled faintly and said, "We take risks every time we go to the border. If the money we earn from a trip is not enough to feed our family and horses, then we might as well not do this business."
Shopkeeper Han glanced at the shopkeepers present and said, "Thanks to the Hu family, all the prominent shopkeepers in Songjiang City are here today. How about we discuss this year's business trip?"
Manager He and Boss Cao nearby all agreed, saying that they had nothing to do and might as well chat.
Seeing everyone nod, Shopkeeper Han then told them his plan: "We all make a living from medicinal herbs, so unity is the most important thing. There are only so many herbs this year. We can discuss among ourselves who to give them to and who not to give them to. This will save us a lot of trouble, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked at each other in confusion. What did this mean?
Gu Youan raised his eyebrows. "Why, you're going to divide the market share right away? Do you, the Han family, have the guts to say that?"
The market for medicinal herbs is complicated this year. Shopkeeper He, fearing losses for his family, took a step back and said, "Everyone, my family is small and not as wealthy as you shopkeepers. If the supply of medicinal herbs is low and the price is high this year, I will not compete with you colleagues. I can rest for a year."
Gu Youan laughed and said, "Manager He is wrong. The medicinal materials belong to the owner, and we are just the buyers. Who they want to sell to and at what price are the decisions of the seller. It is not our place to comment."
Shopkeeper Han's expression stiffened slightly, and he forced a smile, "Shopkeeper Gu, are you unwilling to discuss this with us?"
The Han family is no longer what it used to be. Among all the shopkeepers present in Songjiang City, only Gu Youan has good relations with all the companies selling medicinal herbs. She is obviously in an advantageous position. Why should she negotiate with them to share her profits?
Gu Youan ignored Han's words and said calmly, "We are all businessmen. Let me be honest. After leaving Songjiang City and entering the customs, we are all from the same place. It is natural for us to help each other. But in Songjiang City, we do business based on our own abilities. Do you think what I say is reasonable?"
Gu Youan's words were very clear. Everyone present was smart and understood what she said. Manager He glanced at Manager Han, but Manager Han didn't say anything.
"reasonable!"
Shopkeeper He took over and echoed, "I think Shopkeeper Gu is right."
Shopkeeper He called out his old acquaintance again and said, "Master Cao, you are the most righteous. Do you think what Shopkeeper Gu said is true?"
Cao Datou naturally stood on Gu Youan's side. He was a strong man with a loud voice. He slammed the table and stood up, saying loudly: "I am a rough man and I don't know how to speak. I think what Manager Gu said is right about this matter today."
Now that someone has spoken up, more people will agree with Gu Youan.
After all, we are all doing business. If the medicinal materials are monopolized by a few leaders and controlled by them, what will the small families like them eat?
Some people have long been dissatisfied with the Han family's tyranny. Now that Old Man Han is gone, they are even more rude to the Han brothers.
Someone pointed a finger at Shopkeeper Han, saying, "It's your ability to get the herbalists to sell to you, but the sellers haven't even asked yet, and it's inappropriate for us to make the decision for them and tell them how to sell the herbs."
"That's exactly what you said. Has Manager Han asked the Hu family?"
Shopkeeper Han: “…”
"I'm going to buy herbs tomorrow. If my family can't put together a caravan, Manager Gu, could you ask my family to join forces with yours?"
Gu Youan naturally agreed: "If you don't mind, I welcome you all."
Gu Youan was generous and easy to talk to, and the other shopkeepers thanked him one after another. Several small caravans even asked Gu Youan on the spot about the specific date of departure.
Originally, they were all small caravans, and they could not compare with the big caravans in terms of connections and money. In addition, there were more bandits and robbers on the road due to the bad years. They could not defeat them, and they did not intend to risk their lives to earn that little money.
The Gu family has no shortage of guards and has a large number of people. Since Manager Gu has expressed his willingness to help, they will be happy to follow Manager Gu and make a little money if he is willing to protect them.
More importantly, it would be even better if we could go to Luoyang to sell medicinal herbs and then buy some food to bring back.
Amidst laughter and joy, Shopkeeper Han's plan to bring all the shopkeepers together to discuss the share of medicinal materials with Gu Youan failed.
The conversation of the guests in front naturally reached the ears of the host. Knowing that Manager Han wanted to bypass them, the medicine sellers, and form an alliance with other caravan pharmacies to divide the medicinal materials among them, Hu Changpu sneered and became more and more unfriendly to Manager Han.
Shopkeeper Han was also unlucky. He tested Gu Youan simply because his eldest brother had offended the Hu family. He was afraid that the Hu family would not be willing to do business with him, so he wanted to ask Gu Youan to help mediate and give him some medicinal materials. However, he ended up making things worse.
Shopkeeper Han also sighed, blaming himself for losing his composure! Seeing Gu Youan being invited over by the Hu family, he lost his mind in a moment of anxiety.
After the wedding banquet, guests who lived far from home stayed at the Hu family for one night and left the next morning. Gu Youan's parents also left in the morning.
Gu Youan stayed at the Hu family for a day and negotiated the sale of medicinal herbs. As usual, Hu Changpu led people to deliver the herbs to Songjiang City.
Gu Youan now has his own house in Songjiang City, so there is no need to send the herbs to Ping'an Escort Agency. He can just send the herbs directly to Minren Lane.
After the medicinal materials were delivered, Gao Jin led people to count them, sort them and store them in the warehouse.
Sitting down to catch his breath, Hu Changpu surveyed the courtyard and said with a smile, "You've become wealthy now, and you've actually bought such a large house."
"Don't give me that. The houses in Songjiang City are not expensive. If your family wants to buy one, you can buy eight or ten houses."
Hu Changpu smiled and changed the subject, "You don't have to be so anxious. It's worth coming to my house a few days before you leave to buy herbs. Now we have a deal. When my family receives more herbs, you will definitely come to my house again."
Gu Youan smiled and said, "I'm not greedy. I can earn enough from ginseng. Besides, I can't do all the business by myself. Please don't make me hate you."
Hu Changpu wanted to say something, but Gu Youan waved his hand and said, "It's getting late. You just got married. Go home quickly. If my Second Uncle Du comes in a few days, I'll ask him to look for you."
"You ask him to come over. I'll leave some of the herbs for the Du family."
"Thank you very much."
After Hu Changpu left, Gu Youan didn't stay long. He gave Gao Jin a few words and hurried back to the neighboring village. On the way home, Gu Youan thought that after her family built a big house this year, they should buy a horse for transportation.
Returning to the neighboring mountain village, the sun was setting and the sky was filled with sunset glow.
It was getting late, but the fields were full of people.
Gu Youan saw that there were people in her family’s field. It was Zhang Gui who brought people to dig a ditch in the field, and her mother was watching from the side.
"An An is back."
When Mrs. Du saw her daughter coming down the mountain, she quickly called her over.
Gu Youan walked over and looked left and right: "What is this for?"
"We're expecting a lack of rain this year. Zhang Gui and several veteran farmers took a look and said, 'Our land is too large to easily divert water from the canal.' We should simply dig a few more ditches in the field, which would be cheaper to flood the land."
Mrs. Du said, "It's not just our family, other families are also digging ditches in the fields."
Zhang Gui came over to pay his respects. He said, "Fortunately, we are upstream of the Ping'an River and can be the first to use the water. Otherwise, this method would not work."
Gu Youan then remembered to ask, "How many people are there in the lower reaches of the Ping'an River?"
"I haven't heard of any human habitation. The Ping'an River and the Song River converge and flow eastward into the sea. Aside from the civilian settlements in Songjiang City, there's no sign of any human habitation anywhere else along the way. I guess even if there are people, they're just small tribes scattered along the coast."
If there was a large and powerful tribe, it would have emerged long ago and would not have remained undiscovered by the guards patrolling Prince Qi's Palace until now.
Gu Youan hummed and said to Zhang Gui, "You are experienced. All the fields at home are handed over to you. Work hard."
"yes."
When the mother and daughter returned home, Mrs. Du asked, "Have you dealt with the medicinal herbs?"
"Okay, I'll just give you the instructions, and Gao Jin and the others will take care of it."
"Hey, I don't know if your Uncle Du and the others will come to Songjiang City this year."
"We'll know in a few days."
Gu Youan guessed that if Uncle Du and the others didn't come within half a month, there should be a letter from them.
"It's a bad year, and many people are going astray because they can't eat. Be careful when you go out. Don't get hurt. Your father and I will be worried."
"Mom, I'm an adult now, I know."
Mrs. Du sighed again.
Gu Youan was helpless: "Why are you sighing again? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Mrs. Du looked at her beautiful eldest daughter, feeling both happy and worried: "An'an, you are eighteen."
"Eighteen years old."
Gu Youan understood immediately. Her mother said that she didn't want her to get married early, but as she got older, her mother became a little restless.
Mrs. Du gritted her teeth and said, "I really can't let it go. Since the weather is good these few days and you are still in Songjiang City, come with me to Tianyi Temple to burn incense tomorrow."
"Call Aunt Bai and Aunt Liu?"
"Don't call them. Let's go by ourselves, mother and daughter. I have something to ask Taoist Li."
After Mrs. Du set the date, without listening to her daughter's words, she hurried home and called out to Mrs. Zhang: "Help me think about what to prepare for the Taoist temple tomorrow to burn incense and worship the gods."
Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Yang were busy in the kitchen. When they heard the lady calling them, they hurried out and said, "Let's make a basin of flour tonight. We can steam some white buns and take them with us tomorrow. We can also go to the city to buy some snacks and other things."
"That's right. There aren't many other good things in Songjiang City at this time of year." Mrs. Du asked Mrs. Zhang to make more flour so that the white steamed buns could be left for the Taoist priests after offering sacrifices to the gods.
Mrs. Du went into the house, opened the box, took out five taels of silver, then thought about it and added another three taels of silver.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Gu Youan followed in.
"Prepare the money for the incense offerings. You have a connection to Tianyi Temple. Our family is doing better this year, so we should show our devotion to them."
After returning home for a while, Mrs. Du prepared everything necessary for going out the next day. In the evening, when Gu Wen came back, Mrs. Du told him that she was going out the next day.
Gu Wen: "You can just go to Tianyi Temple once a year. Don't go too often, or it will attract attention."
Mrs. Du said angrily, "I went up the mountain with all my heart to worship the gods and burn incense. What's wrong? Am I not worthy enough to go?"
"That's not what I meant. It's mainly because the timing isn't right now."
Gu Youan looked at her father: "But what happened again?"
Gu Wen whispered, "Today I went to the government office in Songjiang City to do some work and ran into Lord Su. Lord Su said that the young ladies of the Meng and Yuan families had taken people to the mountain to pay homage to Queen Meng without permission. The gravekeeper left by Prince Qi on the mountain refused to allow them to do so. The young ladies of the two families were both very bad-tempered and had the gravekeeper beaten up. Prince Qi was furious and drove the young ladies of the Meng and Yuan families out of Songjiang City. He also ordered the Songjiang City guards not to allow the women of the two families to enter Songjiang City again."
Mrs. Du was shocked: "When did it happen?"
"The young ladies of the Meng and Yuan families came to Songjiang City just half a month ago when the ice thawed."
Gu Youan keenly sensed something was wrong: "No, what does this have to do with my mother and I going to the Taoist temple?"
Gu Youan subconsciously thought of a person in his mind, a handsome man in a jade crown and purple robe.
"You two have been to Tianyi Temple so many times, don't you know that Queen Meng is buried on the hill next to it?"
Mrs. Du glared at him: "We are just ordinary people. We go to the Taoist temple just to burn incense. Why are you asking about these things?"
Gu Youan thought of what the old Taoist said about his mother's death, his father's neglect, his brothers' plotting against him, and him being all alone. This... totally matches what happened with Prince Qi!
Also, when she went to North First Street to look at houses a few years ago, she saw the person who served beside Prince Qi near his mansion.
It makes perfect sense that the Chief Secretary of Prince Qi's Mansion and the servants around Prince Qi appeared together near Prince Qi's Mansion.
Gu Youan recalled the first time they met, when they were going down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, they encountered the convoy from Prince Qi's Mansion leaving the city. She saw from afar the face that was not very clear in the dim carriage.
It turns out that he is really Prince Qi?
Mrs. Du hesitated: "Then...should we still go to the Taoist temple?"
Gu Wen: "If you want to go, go ahead. After all, our family is not a big shot. Even if we go to Tianyi Temple, the families in Songjiang City who are keeping an eye on Prince Qi's mansion will not associate us with Prince Qi."
The difference is too great, out of my reach!
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