Chapter 444 Soybeans
When Shen Yueyao thought of planting soybeans, she wanted to quickly enter the space to plant soybeans.
But at this moment, she still had to make breakfast for Dabao and Erbao, so Shen Yueyao had no time to go to the space to plant soybeans.
After Dabao and Erbao woke up and washed up, they smelled a rich fragrance as soon as they walked to the restaurant.
They were all hungry.
"Mom must have made something delicious."
"It still tastes like soy milk. I can drink soy milk now."
“I like soy milk with sugar, it’s sweet.”
"Mom said I can't eat too much sweets, because it will damage my teeth and make them hurt."
"But I like to drink."
"We had bubble tea yesterday."
Dabao and Erbao went into the house together while talking.
The two treasures were very polite and called people first.
Old Madam Su pulled them to sit down at the dining table.
The two treasures were stunned by the sumptuous breakfast on the table.
They had never eaten so much for breakfast.
Shen Yueyao smiled and said, “Eat whatever you want. Don’t make too much of each thing, so nothing will go to waste.”
Shen Yueyao made a more delicate breakfast.
The Su family's breakfast is rarely so rich and exquisite.
Lunch or dinner is usually more substantial.
Everyone thought it was delicious just by looking at it.
Dabao and Erbao sat on the chairs and watched with sparkling eyes.
After everyone sat down, Madam Su said, "Let's eat first. After dinner, we'll send Dabao and Erbao to the Imperial College."
Su Erya said with a smile: "Brother Dabao and Erbao, I can have a delicious breakfast with you today. It's so rich and everything looks delicious."
Su Xueyi said to Dabao and Erbao, "This is what your grandmother and your mother made for you this morning, just to make sure you have a good meal."
Dabao and Erbao said obediently: "Thank you grandma, thank you mom, thank you big sister Da Ya and Er Ya."
The two treasures were taught to be very polite by Su Xueyi and Shen Yueyao.
I am very respectful to my elders at home.
Madam Su said, "Hurry up and eat first."
Although it is still early, Mrs. Su thinks that Dabao and Erbao should not be made nervous.
Shen Yueyao had been looking at Dabao and Erbao, and didn't see any nervousness in them, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
I am worried that my two children will be nervous before the exam.
The two babies ate happily and took a little bit of everything.
Perhaps because the two treasures had experienced hunger when they were in Liuhe Village, they are not picky about food and think everything is delicious.
They ate a little of everything.
After they had eaten their fill, Shen Yueyao gave them their schoolbags, and then she and Su Xueyi sent them to the Imperial College.
It’s still early anyway, and it’ll only take a quarter of an hour to walk there.
So Shen Yueyao and Su Xueyi held Dabao and Erbao's hands and walked towards the Imperial College.
You can also enjoy the breeze and the scenery on the way.
When you get close to the road in front of the Imperial College, you’ll see a lot of people setting up stalls on the roadside.
There are stalls selling food, vegetables and daily necessities.
There were many people gathered in front of some stalls.
Shen Yueyao observed and said, "As expected, there is still a lot of traffic near the academy. Everyone knows to come here to do business."
"Don't you care about setting up a stall here?"
Su Xueyi shook her head and said, "I won't care unless someone is blocking the door of the store and hindering the business. Normally, I won't care. It's just some nearby villagers or small vendors who come here to sell things."
As if she understood the confusion in Shen Yueyao's mind, Su Xueyi continued to explain, "The Imperial College is different from other academies. Most of the students here are from aristocratic families and some noble families. There are also some people with excellent knowledge. Therefore, most people come to school in the morning and go home in the afternoon. There are so many students that sometimes the stewards from various prefectures come to pick them up and buy some things to take back. So the business here is quite good."
Shen Yueyao nodded. She understood in her heart. This meant that the Imperial College would not be closed and students could enter and exit freely. Although other people could not enter and exit, students could come out and buy things.
What's more, most of the students in the Imperial College came from well-off families. Even students from poor families were only eligible to study in the Imperial College after passing the imperial examination. They always had money in their hands, so it was easy for them to buy things.
While observing, Shen Yueyao and Su Xueyi slowly sent Dabao and Erbao to the gate of the Imperial College.
Although it was still early, perhaps because it was the entrance examination for the children's class, everyone was paying more attention to it, and carriages arrived one after another.
Some of them saw that it was the butler who brought their young master here.
"Master, we have arrived at the Imperial College."
"Master, the master told you to perform well."
A young boy who looked about eight or nine years old got out of the car and waved his hand impatiently, saying, "I understand. You can go back."
"I will wait for you at the door, Master. If you need anything, just come out and call me."
The butler didn't say to drive the carriage back.
There are also cases where the elder brother came to study at the Imperial College and sent his younger brother over.
"Do well in the exam, get into the Imperial College, and then we can go to the Imperial College together for classes on weekdays."
"Ah, brother, I...I don't want to take the exam."
"You have enjoyed the wealth and glory your family has bestowed upon you. You must study hard and find ways to bring honor to your family."
The little boy was about to cry.
Some fathers would send their children off personally and give them some serious instructions.
However, everyone was shocked when they saw Su Xueyi and his wife coming over from a distance.
The main reason is that the eldest and second child are twins and look very similar. Plus, they are only four years old, which makes people surprised to see them.
I didn’t expect that such a young child would take the exam.
You should know that it is impossible to get into the children's class of the Imperial College without a certain level of knowledge.
Although there are many places, they are only places for the opportunity to take the exam.
Whether you can actually get in depends on your personal ability.
A chubby boy looked over and said in surprise, "Dad, what a little brother! He looks so cute, exactly the same."
The gentleman recognized Su Xueyi at once and got off the carriage excitedly.
He hurried to Su Xueyi and said, "Master Su, Miss Shen!"
This person is a favorite of the emperor.
This person is the son of Ping Niebo of Ping Niebo Mansion, Master Nie Jianju.
According to Su Xueyi's understanding, this person is good at studying, but he has failed the exams many times and only has the title of scholar.
However, the current Pingnie Earl Mansion will take back the earl title in this generation.
Nie Jianju thought he was not good enough for the imperial examinations and could only place his hopes on his son.
So he found a teacher to teach his son early on.
The Imperial College's children's school class reopened, so he hurriedly thought about sending his son to take the exam.
The level of the teachers in the Imperial College is naturally not comparable to that of ordinary people.
Although Nie Jianju was not good at the imperial examinations, he liked to study.
Especially when I learned the method of learning to read through pinyin, I was fascinated.
He felt more and more shocked the more he learned, but there were still some things he didn't understand, so he thought about asking for advice.
But Lord Su is a very busy man and a favorite of the emperor. So many ministers want to ask Lord Su for advice.
However, the emperor has issued an order prohibiting officials from privately chasing, intercepting and intimidating other officials.
In fact, it was clear that the emperor was saying this for others to hear so that no one would disturb Lord Su.
He could only suppress his excitement and wait for the pinyin dictionary to be printed out.
I never thought I would meet Lord Su here.
Su Xueyi and Shen Yueyao greeted Nie Jianju.
"Is Lord Su also here to take his child to take the exam?"
To be honest, Nie Jianju couldn't believe it. Such a young child. I heard that Lord Su's child was only four years old.
He actually went to take the exam for the Imperial College's children's studies class.
Su Xueyi nodded and said, "Yes, send the two children over to take the entrance exam."
Nie Jianju waved to his son, "Nie Fan, come here quickly. These are Lord Su's two younger brothers. Please take good care of them when we go in later."
Nie Fan was seven years old. He looked at his two younger brothers with curiosity and excitement.
"Dad, this is the younger brother of Lord Su who figured out pinyin. He's so cute."
Shen Yueyao looked at the chubby little boy in front of her named Nie Fan and thought he was very cute.
Nie Jianju nodded excitedly, "Yes, yes, that's right, so you can take it in later."
Nie Jianju wanted to talk about your two younger brothers, but that would make Lord Su think he was trying to curry favor with you.
I can only bear it.
But there’s nothing wrong with children calling each other freely.
He is just obsessed with studying.
Nie Jianju liked to study, but he did not know how to adapt and did not understand political affairs, so the articles he wrote were very mediocre, so he was just a scholar.
He failed the provincial examination several times and never took it again.
He placed his hopes on his son. If his son had a promising future and made contributions to the Great Yan Dynasty, he would have the opportunity to retain the title of Earl.
Although Nie Jianju was not good at imperial examinations, he felt that Lord Su and his wife were very capable, and it would be a good idea to learn more from them.
Maybe his son is also a child prodigy.
When Lord Su was only three years old, he was already famous throughout the capital.
After a few pleasantries, it was getting late, so Shen Yueyao wanted to let Dabao and Erbao go in to take the exam.
"Have you remembered everything Mother told you?"
It was the first time for Dabao and Erbao to take the exam. Not only were they not nervous, they looked very excited.
Dabao and Erbao nodded seriously.
"Mom, we all remember it."
"Don't worry, Mom. We will take care of ourselves."
"You'll be taking the exam all day, and you'll have lunch in the exam room. Remember what I taught you, and the medicine I gave you. Do you know how to use it?"
Although she knew that Dabao and Erbao were smarter than their peers, Shen Yueyao couldn't help but give them a few words of advice.
Her voice was gentle and patient.
When the young boys who came over saw this scene, they all looked at Dabao and Erbao with envy.
They also want their parents to come and see them off.
But their parents are busy and they are particular about rules, so they won’t come to see them off.
It is said that people should not feel that they are better than women.
Men from large families were not allowed to study with their mothers since childhood, and were taught personally by their fathers or arranged teachers.
The mother is not allowed to interfere with their studies.
But these young boys are young and they actually want to be close to their mothers.
Of course, there are also illegitimate children. That is, the legitimate children are not well educated, so the quota can only be given to illegitimate children. These are decided by the heads of the major families.
Dabao and Erbao both nodded seriously.
"Mom, I know everything."
"Don't worry, mom. We will do well in the exam."
They just heard many people urging the brothers who had entered to take the exam seriously.
They realize that it is important to do well in the exam.
Just like my father, only if he does well in the exam can he become an official and his family can come to the capital.
Su Xueyi said gently, "Come in. Your mother and I will come and take you home after the exam."
Dabao and Erbao nodded, waved their little hands and went in.
Nie Fan was two years older than them and understood a little more, but he also said with envy, "Your mother is so kind and gentle."
Erbao nodded and said, "Yes, mother is the best."
"Mom can do everything. She can cook delicious food, make school bags for us, and tell us stories..."
When talking about their mother, Dabao and Erbao have endless things to say and their eyes are shining.
Nie Fan felt that his mother only knew how to scold and yell at him.
Whenever he did something wrong, he would criticize her.
He knew that his mother was under great pressure in the rear quarters of his uncle's mansion and was afraid that his half-brother would surpass him.
He and his half-brother acted like strangers to each other.
But the relationship between the two younger brothers seems to be very good and harmonious.
Although Nie Fan was only six years old, he had many brothers and sisters in his family, all from different families. As a result, he understood a lot at a young age and his mind was particularly delicate and sensitive.
After Dabao and Erbao went in, Shen Yueyao and Su Xueyi prepared to go back.
However, because Nie Jianju sincerely wanted to ask about pinyin, Su Xueyi also gave him some guidance.
Nie Jianju was so excited that he thanked him repeatedly.
I thought about telling my son later that he must get along well with Lord Su's son in the academy and take good care of him.
…
After Su Xueyi sent Dabao and Erbao away, she went to the Hanlin Academy to work.
Shen Yueyao was not in a hurry to go home. She was strolling around the stalls on both sides of the street near the Imperial College.
I actually found someone selling soybeans.
Shen Yueyao just needed soybeans to plant.
An old woman was setting up a stall there. She took a stool and sat in the corner. In front of her were two large frames filled with soybeans.
There is also a backpack with soybeans in it.
The woman was wearing patched coarse cloth, but she looked very clean.
But the straw sandals on her feet looked torn.
Although it is warm this season, it is still a bit cold in the morning and evening. Everyone wears cloth shoes and no one wears straw sandals.
She stayed in the corner and didn't talk much to people, nor did she shout much. Her skin was dark, and it was obvious that she had been working hard for many years and was tanned.
Shen Yueyao walked over and looked at the soybeans in the basket and on the backpack. She felt that the quality of the soybeans was really good. "Auntie, how much are these soybeans?"
When someone asked, the old lady was a little excited and a little nervous, and said, "Miss, the price of soybeans is eight cents per pound."
The woman didn't dare ask for a price and sold the soybeans at the price the merchants had previously bought from them.
Shen Yueyao's expression changed. Is the price of soybeans so cheap?
When she first arrived in the capital, she visited various stores in the inner city, including the grain stores, where the prices were generally higher than those in the local areas.
Even soybeans cost fifteen cents per pound, even the cheapest one.
There are quite a few people selling tofu in the capital, mainly because the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital also like to eat tofu.
One pound of soybeans can make about three pounds of tofu, and tofu usually sells for twenty or thirty cents per pound.
That is to say, if the price is fifteen cents per pound, then the cost of a pound of tofu is five cents, and if it is sold at twenty or thirty cents per pound, you can still make a lot of money every day.
I didn't expect it would be just eight cents here.
Seeing the frown on the girl's face, the woman was a little nervous. "If it's too expensive, you can give me seven cents."
"But the soybeans I picked were all big and good. I was going to keep them for planting in the spring, but my youngest son is getting married and the wife wants two taels of silver as a dowry. So I thought of selling some beans, peanuts, and corn at home to save some money."
The woman was not of strong build and looked rather thin. Shen Yueyao couldn't imagine how she managed to come here carrying a basket on her back and two large baskets of soybeans on a shoulder pole.
"Auntie, it's okay. I just want to ask which village you live in. I haven't seen soybeans grown on the land in the capital."
The woman said, "We live in Lvyang Village."
Seeing that the girl seemed to be unaware, she began to explain, "It's about twenty miles from here. It's just over two mountains from the green poplar forest outside the city."
After hearing this, Shen Yueyao knew.
However, such a long distance will take at least two hours, or four hours, to walk.
"Auntie, you didn't come here in the middle of the night, did you?"
"Yes, that's right. I haven't sold any soybeans these past few days. I started selling them in the outer city, but then I heard there was an exam going on at the Imperial College. I didn't understand what was going on, but an older woman told me I could set up a stall here, and maybe someone would buy."
Shen Yueyao couldn't believe that this man would actually walk such a long distance for several days in a row just to sell these soybeans.
If she had not been to Liuhe Village, she might not understand.
But if you have been to Liuhe Village, perhaps you will understand.
For them, enduring a little hardship and walking a longer distance may really not be a big deal.
They only think about selling things so that they can have copper coins in their hands. Maybe a little copper coins are very important to them.
Maybe some places in the inner and outer cities of the capital look prosperous, but there are also some invisible places and some villages, perhaps just like the woman.
Shen Yueyao asked some more questions and learned that the roads over there were all small roads, and that it was some middlemen who went there to collect the crops they grew.
They lower the price very sharply and then sell it in stores, making a lot of profit.
"They go to harvest the soybeans you plant, and they charge eight cents each?"
"The very good soybeans are eight cents a pound, and the ordinary ones are five cents a pound."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yueyao felt a sharp pang in her heart.
"Soybeans aren't that cheap at those food stores. Have you ever thought about selling them there?"
"If you don't have acquaintances, they won't buy it, and if they do, the price will be about the same, and they'll even lower it a bit."
Shen Yueyao understood after listening to it. The reason why those vendors dared to do so was actually because they had established some connections. The merchants who collected grain and the vendors might be in the same group.
Even Shen Yueyao wouldn't know unless you asked.
After asking, Shen Yueyao's face turned pale.
At this moment, she wanted to open her own grocery store.
She had heard from Su Xueyi before that the Great Yan Dynasty controlled food prices and did not allow prices to be too high.
So are some grain stores suppressing prices from the source?
When I was in the north, it wasn't like this before, and I had never heard of these things.
Of course, prices will be suppressed, but not that much.
Chen Yueyao said, "I bought all these soybeans at fifteen cents per pound."
The old woman was stunned.
She even suspected that she had heard it wrong.
"Miss, I just said eight cents a pound, not fifteen cents. If you want to buy all of it, you can get a cheaper price."
At least if she sold them all, she wouldn't have to come here with a shoulder pole in the middle of the night tomorrow.
But the woman knew that the girl in front of her was a good person, so she wanted to buy her soybeans.
Shen Yueyao said: "I go to the store to buy it, and it's also fifteen cents a pound. I buy it according to the market price, and your soybeans are indeed big and good, worth the price."
"Thank you, young lady. Thank you, young lady."
The old woman's eyes were red, she wiped away her tears, and expressed her gratitude repeatedly with excitement.
She knew she had met a good person.
The old woman didn't bring a scale, so she borrowed one from the stall next door.
The soybeans were packed in sacks, weighing a total of 196 kilograms.
The total amount is two thousand nine hundred and forty coins.
Shen Yueyao gave her two taels of silver and nine hundred and forty coins so that it would be convenient for her to use when she returned.
The old woman wanted to wipe away the leader, but Shen Yueyao didn't let her.
The old woman almost knelt down to Shen Yueyao.
Shen Yueyao stopped her and said, "If you still have soybeans in the future, you can go to Lulin Manor, which is located at the foot of the Lulin Academy, and find the manager of the Zhuangyuan Milk Tea Dessert Shop there. I will tell them and someone will come to buy them."
Since we decided to add soy milk to our milk tea shop, we naturally need to grow and harvest some soybeans.”
In the future, you can actually open some bean food workshops and make all kinds of bean products.
Including stinky tofu and fermented tofu can be made.
After Shen Yueyao bought the soybeans, she could actually put them in the space and take them back, but that would be too eye-catching.
"Auntie, please wait here for a while. I'll go back and call a carriage to bring the soybeans back."
The old woman said, "Girl, I have the strength, I can help you carry it back."
Shen Yueyao insisted in vain, so she went back and called a carriage.
The old woman looked at the silver and copper coins in her hand and carefully put them in her arms.
She returned the scale to an old woman next to her and said, "Sister Du, thank you."
"Sister Ma, you're too polite. It's not easy for us to start a small business here. I live near the outer city and it's easier for me than for you."
"I've been doing business at the stall for so many years, and I've never seen anyone like that girl just now. You've met a good person."
The old woman nodded and said, "Yes, I know. I feel like it's not real."
The old lady Du said, "I know that Zhuangyuan Milk Tea Shop she just mentioned is the hottest shop right now. It looks like she might be the owner of that shop."
"Is it true?"
"Otherwise, she said that if you send soybeans to her later, she would ask someone to collect them, which means she has the final say. I wonder if she is the rumored Miss Shen."
"Who is Mrs. Shen?"
"A distant relative of mine works for a noble family. I heard that Lady Shen was given the title of Lady because she found high-yield grain seeds. I also heard that she employed many people in the manor and treated the people below her very well, so she is considered a good person..."
The old lady Du said this with emotion.
Old lady Ma wiped the tears from her eyes. She had the silver in her hands, which was enough to help her youngest son get married. She also had about one or two taels of silver left, so her family could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Life will be better after the autumn harvest.
She must remember Mrs. Shen and repay her if she has the chance in the future.
Although she knew she was just an ordinary person, she would remember this kindness.
Shen Yueyao naturally didn't know about this. She went home and drove a carriage over to load soybeans.
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