In addition, the process of collecting these rock ear fungus is also very dangerous.
Mountain runners would tie a rope around their waist, the other end secured to the cliff face with an iron nail. This allowed them to search high in the air, finding the stone fungus among the damp rocky peaks. Thus, stone fungus was also considered a tribute. The ladies of wealthy families loved to eat it, believing it could slow aging and preserve youth! Even the gentlemen and gentlemen enjoyed its delicious flavor, believing it could nourish the kidneys and replenish essence—a taste only men truly understood.
Regardless, this stone ear fungus is truly a wonderful thing, an incredibly wonderful thing! With this, his shop's profits this month are bound to be good.
Shopkeeper Liu, short and stout, dressed in a royal blue long robe, peeked out from behind the curtain. Only after being gestured to by the young shop assistant did he step forward, bowing respectfully. He truly hadn't expected the person selling the stone fungus to be a young woman. He wondered if her husband, father, or grandfather had harvested it; in any case, it was better to see the goods first.
"Madam, I heard you have some goods. May I take a look?" Manager Liu asked with a smile, but his eyes remained serious. Qin San Niang knew that this stone ear fungus was not only marketable but also likely fetched a good price, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly offered a piece of stone ear fungus.
Stone ear fungus is precious, so she didn't take it all out of the supermarket, and she wasn't worried that anyone would have bad intentions.
The rock tripe looks like a piece of black paper, seemingly fragile enough to be broken with a touch.
Shopkeeper Liu examined it carefully under the light and confirmed that it was indeed stone ear fungus, and it was even of superior quality! He was so excited that his hands were trembling.
He glanced at the woman in front of him; she was wearing a gray linen shirt with patches sewn onto her trousers and cuffs, clearly a refugee.
After considering it for a moment, Manager Liu made up his mind. "This is indeed stone ear fungus, and I think it's of good quality. How many do you have, Madam? I can offer this price!"
Looking at the five fingers in front of her, Qin San Niang thought, "Can't you just tell me the number? What does this mean?"
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Manager Liu couldn't help but feel a little anxious. His price was already quite good. "Madam, I see that you have a hard time traveling, so fifty taels per catty is really fair!" He could afford more, but the stone ear fungus still needed cleaning and processing later, which would result in some loss. The price of fifty taels was very reasonable.
"The shopkeeper is a very straightforward person. Fifty taels it is then."
Fifty taels was quite a sum, and Qin San Niang was very satisfied. She even considered selling all the rock tripe in the supermarket. However, remembering that a large tree attracts the wind, and as Ms. Qi had once said, one cannot become fat in one bite.
After some deliberation, I added another pound, so I'll only sell three pounds. We'll talk about the rest later.
When Manager Liu saw the three catties of stone fungus placed in front of him, he felt that he had gotten a good deal, since the other party had cleaned it very well.
"Madam, your stone ear fungus is very clean, truly excellent. Do you have any other good things for sale? Please bring them out so I can broaden my horizons."
The person who could handle the stone ear fungus so well must not be an ordinary mountain runner. Now that the shop is out of stock, there is nothing he can do.
Normally, this wouldn't happen. But now, due to war and famine, there are more and more refugees. Many who can't survive have gone up the mountain to become bandits. Bandits are rampant on the trade routes from the south, and several major merchant houses have already had their goods intercepted.
"We do have some mountain produce, but it's just common mushrooms." Considering that they might be traveling south for an unknown period of time, it was always good to have extra silver on them, so he added, "I also have some bird's nest here. I wonder if the shopkeeper would buy it?"
According to Qin San Niang's understanding, bird's nest was only known before the Ming Dynasty; it was a precious ingredient, but not widely consumed. And from what she'd heard these past few days, the dynasty she'd traveled to seemed to be fictional, called the Great Sheng Dynasty, so many things there would likely differ from what she knew.
Unexpectedly, Manager Liu's face lit up with even greater joy upon hearing this. The son of the richest man in Luzhou City needed bird's nest for medicine and had spared no expense to obtain it. His boss had even personally gone to the south to search for it, not for the money, but for the connection. If they could establish a relationship with the richest man, their business would gain a firm foothold in Luzhou City and even the entire Dasheng Kingdom.
Seeing Manager Liu's upturned mustache and wrinkled face, Qin Sanniang felt there was a chance. Sure enough, the next moment she heard him say, "Madam, I was truly blind to your greatness. Of course, I would also like to buy this bird's nest, but could I please have a look at it first? Oh, the price is negotiable."
Qin San Niang took a bird's nest from her basket and handed it to him. Manager Liu pulled out a piece of silk from somewhere, placed the bird's nest on it, and examined it closely in the sunlight, nodding frequently as he looked at it.
This bird's nest must weigh about six or seven grams. The bird's nest strands are fine and dense, the cup shape is large and thick, and the texture is very dry. It is even comparable to the top-quality bird's nest that the owner found from the south. The more I look at it, the more satisfied I become.
"Madam, this bird's nest is of the highest quality. I wonder how much you have?" He had already made up his mind that he would take this deal no matter the price, as the owner would surely be satisfied.
Qin San Niang naturally knew that this bird's nest was of good quality, a 5A grade!
"I don't have much here, only about forty cups." Qin San Niang didn't dare to sell too much, as most bird's nests came from the Indonesian region, and bird's nests were relatively rare in ancient times.
You wouldn't believe it until you hear it! Forty-odd lamps and you call that a lot?! That's a lot! Does this woman even know what she's saying? Thinking about how much effort the owner had put in to find sixteen lamps... Manager Liu's smile widened.
The final price satisfied Qin San Niang immensely: three catties of stone ear fungus for a total of one hundred and fifty taels of silver, and forty-five cups of bird's nest, which was about half a catty, were sold for three hundred taels. In the end, the money and goods were settled, and everyone was happy!
Fatty sat on the mule cart, her small eyes cautiously scanning her surroundings, afraid someone might steal it. It's understandable that she was so nervous; she had encountered livestock thieves in town when she drove for a landlord in the village. Because cattle were officially registered, they were rarely stolen; it was the mules and donkeys that were more likely to attract their attention.
Qin San Niang declined Manager Liu's offer to exchange her for silver notes. Although the south was relatively safe and free from war, and the silver notes from the southern banks were trustworthy, Qin San Niang was still uneasy. Besides, now that she had a carriage, she really didn't care about the weight. She only asked the manager to exchange fifty taels for small amounts of loose silver for easy spending.
The shop certainly didn't lack these loose silver coins, and Manager Liu readily agreed.
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