Chapter 39 A Surprise Attack
Inside the Ji family's study, Fan Xiaoxiao was staring intently at a map. Although she couldn't understand what was written on it, judging from the scale of the Zhou Dynasty map, it didn't seem to be too different from reality.
The study had been cleared of all other irrelevant people. Only Ji Yushu, his mother and son, Fan Xiaoxiao, and Uncle Wang remained. Behind him, Ji Yushu coughed twice and tentatively asked, "Ahem, Madam, you just said in the flower hall that you could use this small bowl of Snow Pearl Vegetarian Shark Fin to break the shackles of Guqu Town. Are you serious?"
Fan Xiaoxiao was brought back to her senses. She stopped looking at the map, turned around and sat back down at the low table, nodding affirmatively, "I'm serious, and I've already figured out the best approach to this matter."
Madam Ji was somewhat agitated. Ever since her husband, Old Ji, died, they had been living under the control of that old man, Huang Yuan! It was incredibly distressing!
"Young lady of the Fan family, stop playing coy. Just tell me!"
"Alright, let's start with this vegetarian shark fin soup. Although Guqu Town is called a town, every household has several acres of farmland nearby, mainly used for growing mung beans. Moreover, Guqu Town is by the water, and almost every family near the dock fishes to supplement their income. The Huang family controls most of the imported goods in the town, such as cotton, spices, silk, and tea. So, if you want to do related business, you definitely can't get past the Huang family."
But we'll do the opposite: we'll buy whatever Guqu Town has. And we'll make sure to buy and sell in large quantities while the merchant ships are docked. If our goods sell well, what do you think the Huang family will do in this situation?”
Ji Yushu unconsciously rubbed his chin, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Given the Huang family's nature, they'll definitely be envious of our business. They'll either raise taxes or try to win us over..."
Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and looked at Fan Xiaoxiao in disbelief, saying, "Wife, you want us to cooperate with him!?"
"Oh my, he actually guessed it." Fan Xiaoxiao sighed. This person truly lived up to his reputation as the Jade-Faced Strategist of the rebels mentioned in the book; his mind was indeed quick.
“That’s right. My idea is to first pretend to be on good terms with them to break the shackles on Guqu Town. Then, we’ll establish a chamber of commerce to bring together the small-scale vendors who previously sold their goods locally in Guqu Town and put them under your control, Ji Langjun. The raw material for vermicelli is mung beans, and the raw material for fish balls is fish from the river. In the past, you were able to be controlled by the Huang family simply because the profits were scattered. But what if we tie the interests of the small-scale vendors together?”
Ji Yushu clapped his hands and laughed: "Then it's up to whoever can make money to decide."
"That's right!"
"But doesn't the Huang family have connections in Yizhou?"
Uncle Wang remembered what Old Zhao had said that day and frowned. Madam Ji rolled her eyes dismissively and snorted, "You mean his son? He's just a minor official of the seventh rank, but he flaunts it every day, acting like everyone has an official relative."
If it weren't for the old man's dying wish that we protect ourselves and avoid trouble, would Huang Yuan really think he'd be the town mayor? Ha! He's just relying on his many relatives; he really thinks he's something special, a fat onion that's drunk too much fat!
Fan Xiaoxiao and Uncle Wang exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected Madam Ji to seem so unafraid of the Huang family. Moreover, Madam Ji had mentioned relatives. Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes narrowed slightly, a thought suddenly forming in her mind. Uncle Wang, seeing Madam Ji speak of Huang Yuan as less than an onion, asked curiously, "Uh, what does Huang Yuan actually look like?"
"Heh, what else can he be? One mouth, one nose, two ears, fat head and big ears, he looks somewhat like Zhu Er. Let's not talk about this guy, just mentioning him makes me nauseous. Oh, by the way, Miss Fan, you said you've thought of a starting point. What do you mean by that starting point, and what do you plan to do?"
Upon hearing Madam Ji call her name, Fan Xiaoxiao raised her head. After sorting out her thoughts, she cleared her throat and began to explain her plan in detail.
"Well, that's a long story."
Half an hour later, a clear, loud shout rang out from the Ji family study. The torrential rain could not conceal the excitement in the person's voice: "Good! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
Ji Yushu's face flushed with excitement as he paced back and forth in the room, repeatedly muttering, "Brilliant! How come I didn't think of that before! Absolutely brilliant!"
After saying that, he took two steps forward and looked at Fan Xiaoxiao with some excitement, saying, "If my wife were a man, she would surely have achieved great things!"
Ji Yushu was clearly overjoyed and stood rather close. Uncle Wang subtly stepped in front of Fan Xiaoxiao, his brow furrowed slightly as he coughed softly. He then realized his lapse in composure, scratched his head, and smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "I admit I lost my composure."
After saying that, he suddenly realized that after all this talk, he hadn't yet discussed the payment. He quickly coughed and asked seriously, "Speaking of which, we've talked so much, but haven't we asked Miss Fan what her thoughts are on the payment?"
When money was mentioned, Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes flickered, and she smiled, "As for this, it all depends on your sincerity, Mr. Ji."
Seeing the other person's sly smile, Ji Yushu subconsciously exchanged a glance with her mother, then tentatively asked, "One hundred taels of silver, including the recipe for fish balls, the recipe for vermicelli, and that magical secret recipe. What do you think?"
One hundred taels of silver was the greatest sincerity the Ji family could offer. Their restaurant's income had been interrupted for a while; if it weren't for Madam Ji's dowry shop and the few acres of rented-out farmland, they would probably be living off their savings by now. Moreover, Ji Yushu believed that one hundred taels of silver would be enough to satisfy Fan Xiaoxiao's demands, so he wasn't too worried.
To everyone's surprise, after hearing their proposed conditions, Fan Xiaoxiao raised her index finger and shook it with a smile. Ji Yushu's heart skipped a beat, and his expression turned somewhat ugly.
"Miss Fan, do you think the compensation we offered is too low?"
Fan Xiaoxiao shook her finger, clicked her tongue twice, and held up five. Ji Yushu was immediately taken aback. He stood up abruptly, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and asked, "You mean, five hundred taels?!"
Fan Xiaoxiao looked at his expression and shook her head with a smile. Madam Ji clutched her chest and gasped for breath, thinking, "My goodness, am I being asked for an exorbitant price?" With a trembling voice, she asked, "Does it mean...five thousand taels???"
Ji Yushu clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and barely managed to compose himself before saying, "Madam Fan, although your secret recipe is precious, we have come with the utmost sincerity. You can't treat us like this! One hundred taels..."
"Ahem, I want fifty taels."
Ji Yushu's words caught in his throat, his eyes wide and bulging as he stared at Fan Xiaoxiao. Uncle Wang breathed a sigh of relief; he knew this girl knew what she was doing.
"Fifty taels!!!!?"
(End of this chapter)
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