Chapter 28
The next morning, because there were too many medicinal herbs to handle by herself, Yu Ying wanted to take Fu An to Yu County.
But Fu An went with her. Luo Shi was blind, Fu Ning was still young, and Fu Wei could not get out of bed, so Yu Ying had to prepare porridge for lunch in advance.
In addition to medicinal herbs, there is also jelly.
This jelly was made by her under the guidance of Fu Wei yesterday afternoon.
Yu Ying and Fu An didn't eat either, they just carried their things and went out.
Because there were so many medicinal herbs, Yu Ying asked Fu An to guard the things at the entrance of the village. She made several trips back and forth before moving the herbs here.
Seeing the bundles of herbs being carried out from the Fu family, some people in the fields made sarcastic remarks.
"What's the point of picking so many herbs? I might not even make a penny."
"Yes, the doctor was so picky and kept complaining about the useless weeds I sent him. In the end, I only got a penny for such a large basket of herbs." He glanced at the bundles of herbs, which were no longer recognizable, and muttered sourly, "I don't believe she can sell them for a good price. Five cents at most."
When Yu Ying heard the voice, she realized it was Aunt Cuilan from that day.
She turned her head and glanced at me, then smiled. "I earn money but don't give it to Aunt Cuilan to spend. Why does Aunt Cuilan care so much about how much money I earn?"
Aunt Cuilan, remembering the threats she had made a few days ago, shrank back a little, but then, with a timid yet face-saving tone, she said, "I wouldn't even consider your few cents. Do you think everyone is like your family, eating only husks and vegetables, unable to even afford a proper meal?"
Yu Ying smiled and nodded, "Indeed, our family can't even afford to eat a single meal. We can't compare to Aunt Cuilan's family who can afford to eat proper meals, with delicious food every day. They're so happy."
Although Yu Ying admitted that her family was in difficulty, for some reason, Aunt Cuilan felt upset when she heard her words.
No family in Lingshui Village can afford to eat delicious food every day. Isn't Yu laughing at her?
But it would be embarrassing to respond right away, and by the time I could think of the words to retort, the person had already walked away.
At this time, the woman who was busy beside him said, "But then again, I used to see the two children of the Fu family looking for wild vegetables every day, but I haven't seen them much in recent days..."
At this point, he couldn't help but ponder: "Could it be that Yu Shi really made a lot of money?"
Aunt Cuilan couldn't help but frowned after hearing her words: "That's impossible. Even if Yu Shi made money, she would just hide away and eat it all by herself. How could she possibly share it with the Fu family?"
Another woman said, "But why does Fuanfengyan seem different to me?"
Aunt Cuilan sneered, "You must have a bad eye."
Hearing this, the woman rolled her eyes at her.
Speaking of the Fu family, the woman couldn't help but sigh, "The Fu family is truly unlucky. It would have been fine if they had the wrong child, but that child wasn't even a year old when he was snatched away by Luo's sister-in-law to continue the family line. As a result, the child has no feelings for the Luo family at all, and now they've developed a grudge against them."
The Fu family has two branches, and all the adult men were executed. The eldest branch is the Luo family.
Mrs. Luo had two sons, while Aunt Fu from the second house gave birth to two daughters but no sons.
Second Aunt Fu always hated the eldest wife for causing her to lose her husband, but because she had no male offspring to continue the family line, after arriving in Lingnan, she snatched the child that was mistakenly taken away from the Fu family and raised him by her side.
Every time Mrs. Luo tried to take the child back, she would be beaten out with a broom.
Later, Aunt Fu often said that the child would starve to death sooner or later if he followed Mrs. Luo, and that only if he followed her would he have something to eat. When this turned out to be true, Mrs. Luo slowly compromised.
Aunt Cuilan recalled the fierce temper of Second Aunt Fu and shuddered. She said, "Their family has gone to Wuling County to live with their adopted son. I guess they're living a luxurious life and won't be coming back."
The woman shook her head. "Who knows? Their family didn't treat Fu Erlang very well before. He might be driven back."
…
Yu Ying moved the herbs to the village entrance for the last time, and Uncle Chen’s ox cart was almost there.
Yu Ying said to Fu Ning, "Aunt is very busy today, and brother is going to help, so he can't take you to the county. You have to stay at home and help grandma and uncle, okay?"
Although the little girl was very disappointed, when she heard her aunt's tone as if she was entrusting an important task to her, she raised her head and nodded seriously.
Seeing how well-behaved and sensible she was, Yu Ying thought that if she could really earn some money today, she would bring her a string of candied haws.
He patted the little girl's head and said softly, "Go back with grandma."
After watching them go back, Yu Ying and Fu An moved all the herbs into the car.
When I went to the mountains yesterday, I met Uncle Chen at the entrance of the village. He gave her a pound of lychees and asked her to continue making lychee ice cream.
The lychee jelly apparently sold quite well due to her "hunger marketing".
It was just in time that Mr. Chen came yesterday. Yu Ying discussed with him that the ox cart might take up most of the space today, so she asked him not to carry any more people, and she would compensate him for the money.
Uncle Chen was still counting on her to sell the ice cream at Wu Ji Restaurant, so when Yu Ying gave Uncle Chen six cents, he refused to take anything.
Yu Ying pushed it away several times, but he still didn't want it, so she gave up. However, she still had to repay the favor from other places.
Along the way, Fuan, who had never ridden in a bullock cart and had never left Lingshui Village, was curious about everything.
Even though there were mountains and rivers along the way, or even if he passed through one or two villages that were not much different from Lingshui Village, he still felt curious and kept leaning on the railing of the cart to look around.
It was not until he entered Yu County that Fu An, who had never seen the world, looked at what he thought was "prosperity" with wide eyes.
People were coming and going, rubbing shoulders with each other. The streets were lined with small vendors, some with carts, some with straw mats, and some on the spot. The bustling scene was too much for him to take in.
Yu Ying planned to go to Wu’s Restaurant first, and then ask Uncle Chen to transport the herbs to the inn.
After a while, they arrived at Wu's Restaurant. Yu Ying picked up the wooden barrel and went in, but found Fu An standing at the door, hesitating to move forward.
He looked at the restaurant, his hands nervously pinching the corners of his clothes.
Fu An thought of his patched and worn clothes, and was afraid of being rejected or driven away, so he did not dare to enter the clean shop.
In Lingshui Village, Fu An was fearless and protected his family like a little adult. Now she saw anxiety and inferiority in his eyes.
Yu Ying saw his embarrassment and timidity. Although asking him to come in with her would only make him more uneasy, she still called out, "The bucket is a bit heavy. Come and give me a hand."
Upon hearing this, Fu An immediately forgot about everything else and hurried over, reaching out to hold the other side of the handle.
After entering the restaurant, the waiter came forward and took a curious look at the boy beside her. Yu Ying said, "He's my nephew."
The waiter nodded and said with a smile, "Give me the ice cream. I'll take it to the kitchen."
Yu Ying then gave him the ice cream.
Shopkeeper Chen called her over.
As soon as Yu Ying left, Fu An hurriedly followed her.
In a strange place, Fu An felt uneasy. Only by following Yu Ying could he feel at ease.
Shopkeeper Chen didn't care too much about Fu An. He smiled and talked to Yu Ying about litchi ice cream.
"Your method is quite effective. I was thinking that buying it for four cents was too expensive and would discourage others from buying it, but I didn't expect there were so many rich people around."
"Many people love lychees, so they were all interested in anything with a lychee flavor, but the price put them off. At noon, only two people ordered, and I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to sell. But who would have thought that someone would come in the afternoon to sell. Those nobles sent their servants over and ordered four bowls straight away without even negotiating. Someone came for dinner that evening and also ordered the remaining three bowls."
Yu Ying was stunned and asked in confusion, "I remember the maximum amount was seven bowls, how come it came out to be nine bowls?"
Shopkeeper Chen glanced around and lowered his voice to Yu Ying, "I'm just imitating those big restaurants. They serve small portions, but the presentation is beautiful."
Shopkeeper Chen smiled and continued, "I chose a few exquisite, but small, porcelain bowls to hold the icing cream. Then I added a few bright peony petals to the lychee icing cream. It looks like an expensive and prestigious delicacy. Who would care if it's more or less?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying couldn't help but admire Manager Chen's business acumen. It was no wonder that such a small restaurant would hire a manager.
Who would dare to hire someone who doesn't have any skills?
Yu Ying glanced at the half-worn tables and chairs in the restaurant, then looked away and said, "It's still temporary. After all, people in restaurants eat for appearances."
Shopkeeper Chen nodded in agreement. "The restaurant is a little small after all, but it's only going to last about ten days, so it won't have much of an impact."
Yu Ying smiled and said, "Manager Chen, there's no need to be so modest. Good wine needs no bush. The chef's cooking is excellent. Once you come into the restaurant, you'll likely become a repeat customer."
Shopkeeper Chen smiled when he heard the compliments. "Good wine needs no bush," he said. "Thank you for your kind words, Madam Yu. I'm looking forward to your business."
After the two continued to exchange pleasantries, Manager Chen handed the bill to Yu Ying.
After all, the restaurant has to be used, and the labor cost on Yu Ying's side is not included, so the cost of lychee jelly is only deducted from the cost of syrup and lychees, and then the profit is recalculated.
Seventeen cents plus the amount of jelly from the previous two days makes a total of fifty-five cents.
After paying the bill, Yu Ying said, "After all, it's inconvenient to store lychees. Besides, it's inconvenient for me to always carry so many things to the county, so I want to discuss something with Shopkeeper Chen."
Shopkeeper Chen asked, "What's the matter?"
Yu Ying said, "I'll bring the ingredients to the county and borrow Manager Chen's kitchen every afternoon. I'll only be there for a quarter of an hour to make ice cream. Is that convenient?"
Shopkeeper Chen was surprised and said, "Borrowing the kitchen is not a problem, but is just a moment really enough?"
Yu Ying nodded: "Because the materials are all prepared at home, only the last step is needed, so it is almost enough."
After all, it would be convenient for the shop to sell, so Manager Chen agreed.
After agreeing, Yu Ying asked Uncle Chen to take them to Penglai Inn.
*
When they arrived at the inn, it was full of good and bad people, so Yu Ying took Fu An in.
Fu An glanced at the hand holding his and quietly tightened it.
When Yu Ying felt the small hand with thick calluses holding her, she turned to look at Fu'an, but he immediately turned his head and looked elsewhere.
The ears are black with red, which is obviously a bit awkward.
Yu Ying didn't say anything, and then took him to the counter of the inn and repeated to the innkeeper what the drug dealer had said before.
Perhaps the shopkeeper recognized her, so he quickly asked the waiter to call for help.
After a while, someone came. It was the same middle-aged man from last time.
Seeing that she seemed to have a lot of medicinal herbs, she asked the worker to help move them in.
The middle-aged man did not say much, but just checked the medicinal materials according to the procedures.
The quality of the medicinal materials was better than those bought in the clinic. Although the middle-aged man didn't say anything, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
After weighing several grades of medicinal materials in turn, ordinary herbs were 22.7 jin (approximately 10.4 jin) , the common ones were 10.8 jin (approximately 2.5 jin) , and the rarer ones were 2.8 jin (approximately 2.5 jin) , for a total of 749 wen.
The man rounded it up and gave her seven hundred and fifty coins.
Seeing that the herbs were ready, Yu Ying asked, "What's this gentleman's name?"
The middle-aged man said calmly, "I don't dare to call you sir, just call me Shopkeeper Luo."
Yu Ying called out "Shopkeeper Luo," and then whispered, "I have some goodies here that I'd like to show you. Could you please have a moment with me?"
Shopkeeper Luo frowned slightly and thought for a moment.
The herbs this woman sent were not only of better quality than those in the clinic, but also of more varieties. It was obvious that she had real skills, so I became somewhat interested in the "good stuff" she mentioned and nodded.
Yu Ying asked Fu An to wait for her there, and she and Manager Luo walked to the other end of the yard.
Yu Ying lifted the white cloth inside the backpack, revealing the Polygonum multiflorum underneath. She said, "This size and weight must be at least ten years old."
Shopkeeper Luo had seen good things before, so he was not too surprised. However, this Polygonum multiflorum was rare, so he still showed some surprise.
Yu Ying said, "Shopkeeper Luo, why not check to see if it's genuine?"
Shopkeeper Luo pondered for a moment, reached into the backpack, picked up the vine of Polygonum multiflorum and examined it carefully, then took out the small rhizome and identified it carefully, then lowered his head to smell the odor.
After a while, Shopkeeper Luo nodded and said, "It is indeed Polygonum multiflorum."
Yu Ying asked, "I wonder what price Shopkeeper Luo would offer?"
Shopkeeper Luo thought carefully for a while before naming his price: "Eight taels."
Yu Ying was silent for a moment, then said, "I know that Polygonum multiflorum outside is valuable. I also know that I don't have any connections in Yu County, and I can't sell it at a high price. I also know that selling it elsewhere is not very safe, so I don't expect Shopkeeper Luo to offer me a good price. I just hope that Shopkeeper Luo can give me a sincere price."
Shopkeeper Luo said calmly, "It's exactly as you said. Herbs are inherently highly profitable. If they weren't, no one would risk traveling thousands of miles to Lingnan to purchase them. The journey to Lingnan is filled with unpredictable dangers, so I don't need to elaborate."
After a pause, he continued, "Besides, if someone who doesn't know the business had brought this thing today, I would only charge six taels, but my lady, you know the business, so I will charge an extra two taels."
Even so, Yu Ying knew there was room for negotiation, so she replied, "I'm not greedy, and I won't argue with Shopkeeper Luo any longer, so I hope you can raise the price a bit and set a fixed price."
After hearing her words, Shopkeeper Luo pondered for a moment.
After a while, he said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll go ask the boss, Zhao Dongjia."
Having said that, he turned and left the yard.
After watching him leave, Yu Ying looked at Fu An on the other side and shouted to him, "Wait a little longer."
Fu An nodded to indicate that he understood.
After a while, Shopkeeper Luo came back and said, "Boss Zhao said he would give my wife another 800 coins for a good omen."
Yu Ying was a little disappointed when she heard the price.
She originally thought that she could make it an even number and get ten taels, but it was obvious that she was overthinking it.
At this time, Shopkeeper Luo continued, "But Mr. Zhao said that you are honest and have collected herbs very carefully, so we will increase the price of all three grades of herbs by one penny. And every time we come to Yu County to buy herbs from you, we will buy them at this price."
Yu Ying's heart moved when she heard this, but she didn't show it on her face: "Will Mr. Zhao continue to buy my medicinal herbs in the future?"
Shopkeeper Luo nodded and said, "Every year around this time, before winter begins, in early October, we'll come to collect herbs, also at the Penglai Inn. We'll mainly be collecting herbs that can treat colds and other winter ailments. Madam, please send us whatever herbs you have."
Yu Ying hesitated and said, "If Mr. Zhao can accept my herbs in the future, I won't mention the price of this Polygonum multiflorum. But what if I have spent the past few months preparing hundreds of kilograms of herbs, but the shopkeeper doesn't want to buy them, or doesn't come at all? Where can I go to seek justice?"
Shopkeeper Luo said, "We are not the only ones who come to Lingnan to buy medicinal herbs. Even if we don't buy them, others will buy them given the quality of your herbs."
Of course Yu Ying knew that this was possible, but she had to have a way to do it.
After pondering for a moment, Yu Ying said, "But Mr. Zhao and Manager Luo are not scammers. I naturally want to continue doing business with you two. Besides, it's unreliable to just talk without proof. It's better to have a written agreement as proof."
Listening to her words, Shopkeeper Luo smiled rarely, thinking of what Mr. Zhao said.
He said that the herbs this woman sent were better than those purchased by many of his clinics. If possible, he would ask her to buy herbs next time he came to Yu County.
After weighing the options, Shopkeeper Luo said, "Madam, please wait for a moment. I will discuss this with the boss."
About half a while later, Shopkeeper Luo walked to the backyard with a man in his early thirties, who was the drug dealer that Yu Ying met at Wu's Restaurant.
Zhao Dongjia said, "I heard from Shopkeeper Luo that you want a written document as proof. That's not impossible, but can you ensure that the medicinal herbs you use later are of the same quality as they are now?"
Yu Ying said calmly, "Nothing is perfect. I can only guarantee that 95% of them will be in good condition."
Zhao Dongjia heard this and smiled, saying, "If you agreed that everything would be the same, I would be a little skeptical. But now that you say this, I feel relieved."
He looked at Shopkeeper Luo and said, "Write a written receipt. Five hundred kilograms of herbs is the maximum, but there's no limit below that. Also write down the date of delivery. If you don't accept the herbs by then, you'll have to pay five taels of silver as compensation. Also, tell her which herbs you'd like to focus on."
After saying that, he looked at the woman in front of him and said, "Do you think this is feasible?"
Yu Ying nodded: "That would be the best."
Seeing that she agreed, Manager Luo went to find pen and ink and wrote two receipts.
Zhao Dongjia wrote down his name, pressed his entire palm on the ink, and then pressed his palm print on two pieces of paper.
Yu Ying also did the same thing and recalled Yu Liuniang's handwriting, but because her memory was vague, she could only write based on her feeling.
Under the guidance of her grandfather since childhood, Yu Ying has mastered calligraphy, so she doesn't have to worry about her handwriting being crooked.
After the palm print was left, the worker also brought water to wash it for her.
After putting away the deed, Manager Luo asked her to go with him to get the silver.
Yu Ying was worried that Fu An was not under her supervision, so she took him with her.
After entering the house and seeing the silver that Manager Luo took out, Fu An widened his eyes with shock in his eyes, and his heart could not calm down for a long time.
Shopkeeper Luo placed five strings of cash on the table and said, "Here are five thousand coins. I'll weigh out some small change for you, and if that's not enough, I'll give you copper coins."
Yu Ying also had some understanding of the circulation of silver in ancient times.
In ancient times, ordinary people mostly used copper coins for circulation, and few used small silver coins, not to mention silver ingots. Some people may have never seen what a silver ingot looks like in their entire lives, so it is normal that Shopkeeper Luo gave mostly copper coins.
Shopkeeper Luo began to weigh the small change, and after weighing it, he added another twenty copper coins.
Yu Ying put the silver coins and copper coins into the purse she made herself, and then asked Manager Luo to give her a piece of dark cloth to wrap the copper coins that looked to weigh dozens of pounds.
After putting a bag of silver into the backpack, the heavy feeling made Yu Ying feel both at ease and uneasy.
The former does not have to worry about redeeming the money from Fu'an and Funing's parents, while the latter is always worried because he has a "huge sum of money" outside.
After leaving the inn, Yu Ying whispered to Fu An: "You can't tell anyone what you heard and saw in the inn just now, not even your grandma, for fear that the news will leak out and someone will snatch it away, do you understand?"
Fu An, who had been stunned for a long time, finally came back to his senses. He took a few deep breaths to calm down his current mood. After a moment, he responded: "I know, even stutterers are snatched away by others, not to mention..." He paused and did not say anything else. Instead, he said in a low but serious voice: "I won't tell anyone!"
Yu Ying was very satisfied with his reaction and breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she has money now, Yu Ying dares not buy things indiscriminately.
She only bought three pounds of rice and ten eggs, and also wanted to buy some candied haws for Fu Ning.
She bought two strings.
A string of volt-amperes and a string of volt-nings.
Although there were many things missing at home, she only dared to sell this much. After all, wealth should not be exposed. If she bought too much, it would inevitably attract the attention of others and make them think of robbing her.
Nowadays, you can only wait until you put all your money at home before going out to buy the things you need, so that you can buy with confidence.
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