Looking at the ledger, Lu Lin said in a good mood, "The dried squid is selling really well!"
Chen Xiaomi nodded, "The price has increased several times, but the orders haven't decreased at all; in fact, they're increasing."
Of course, it's good to make more money. The people in the fleet are now following Lu Lin. If they earn more silver, they can provide better benefits for their subordinates and make them more loyal to the fleet!
"Maybe it's because the price went up that more people are buying," Lu Lin said with a smug smile.
Lu Lin's squid is mainly being shipped to Kyoto, which is not far from Uotsang Prefecture, and the prices there are also higher!
There are too many rich people in Kyoto. Pork is only about ten sen per catty, but dried squid is already selling for more than thirty sen per catty in Kyoto. There is simply no supply and demand.
Lu Lin pondered that he could raise the price even further. He remembered a joke from his past life: a piece of clothing was priced at thirty yuan and remained unsold for a long time. However, the next day, the shop owner added a zero to the price tag, and the clothing sold out quickly. In many people's eyes, cheap things are not good things.
There are quite a few fools in Kyoto who only buy expensive things and not the right ones!
"It's said that this fish used to be plentiful, and everyone hated it. However, because it's been overfished recently, many people find it harder to catch," Chen Xiaomi said worriedly.
Lu Lin shook his head, thinking to himself: The power of foodies is boundless! In his previous life, no matter what it was, once the Chinese set their sights on it, the price would rise rapidly, and it wasn't impossible for it to be eaten to extinction.
However, squid shouldn't become extinct so quickly; the fishing methods in my past life were so terrifying! This place pales in comparison.
His boat is considered quite large by the people here, but what did it amount to in his past life?
Lu Lin guessed that the decrease in squid was partly due to psychological factors. In the past, squid didn't sell for money, so people were annoyed when they saw it. Now that squid sells for money, people feel like they've found a treasure when they see it, so naturally, things are different.
"The fact that the squid is selling so well is thanks to Prince Cheng," Lu Lin said.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "Xiaomai said that the prince often goes there to freeload meals. Sometimes, he doesn't leave even after dinner and has to be urged to leave by someone."
Lu Lin: "..." This prince hasn't left after dinner. Is he trying to get another late-night snack, or is he trying to avoid his two wives, or is he trying to kill two birds with one stone?
"Your Highness is getting on in years, it must be tough for you!" Prince Cheng was very generous, and Chen Xiaomi liked him quite a bit.
Lu Lin also had a very good impression of Prince Cheng.
In Lu Lin's eyes, Prince Cheng is the best spokesperson for gourmet food! Anything that Prince Cheng eats will quickly become popular.
Prince Cheng is the kind of person who prefers to share his joy rather than enjoy it alone. He likes to show off any good things he gets.
There are many gourmets in Kyoto, and Prince Cheng holds a rather high position among them. In fact, some gourmets think that Prince Cheng is too vulgar, preferring only common people's food. However, out of consideration for the prince's status, these people, though they think this way, will not criticize him to his face.
Prince Cheng had previously launched hot pot and whole roasted lamb in Kyoto, which impressed several gourmets and raised his status among them.
Lu Lin actually enjoyed sending gifts to Prince Cheng, as he felt the prince had considerable star power. In his previous life, hiring a third-rate celebrity as a spokesperson would cost a fortune; compared to that, the prince was much more generous, only needing to send some food. Moreover, the prince always returned the favor with even more valuable gifts.
Not long after Lu Lin's two boxes of squid were delivered to the Prince's Mansion, many people from Kyoto came to buy dried squid. In just a few months, Lu Lin had raised the price of dried squid several times. However, for the wealthy people in Kyoto, that amount of money was not a problem at all.
Squid isn't considered a delicacy in Shaxian County, but transporting it to Kyoto still requires considerable effort.
"Has Ji Yun'an sent a letter?" Lu Lin asked.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "Yes, it's here. Xiaomai also wrote a letter."
Lu Lin's lips twitched slightly. He thought to himself: "Only Chen Xiaomi can probably understand the letter Xiaomai wrote. But that's understandable, after all, they're brothers."
"Is Xiaomai doing well in Kyoto?" Lu Lin asked.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "It should be good."
Some noble ladies in Kyoto enjoyed attending banquets, playing cards, playing chess, and shopping.
Wheat is a special case; it has absolutely no interest in these things. In Kyoto, wheat is used for cooking and brewing.
Lu Lin passed on his brewing skills to Chen Xiaomai, who also has a talent for brewing. It is said that the prince is very fond of the wine brewed by Xiaomai.
Chen Xiaomi said with a mix of worry and relief, "It seems he has made a good friend."
Lu Lin asked with some surprise, "Good friend?"
Chen Xiaomi nodded. "He's an official's two wives, and seems to come from a good family."
It was relatively rare for officials in Kyoto to have two wives as their principal wives, but it did happen. However, the wives of two wives had a lower social status, making it difficult for them to mingle with the other officials' wives. As a result, they formed a small clique.
“If wheat can make friends, that’s a good thing,” Lu Lin said.
Since Ji Yun'an is going to pursue a career in politics, he can't possibly spend all his time with them like Xiao Cai. It's good that Xiao Mai has her own social circle.
Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "He said that the woman with two wives learned to cook from him."
The kitchen of Ji Yun'an's mansion.
Chen Xiaomai was using a ladle to cook a spicy crab dish, saying, "Put all of these in, and stir-fry like this."
"What is this?" Song Yufei asked curiously, looking at the jar next to Chen Xiaomai.
Song Yufei was also a double wife. There was a small group of double wives in the capital, which consisted of the double wives or concubines of some officials in the capital.
Chen Xiaomai didn't know many people in Beijing. Sometimes, she was bored. Out of curiosity, she went to the Shuang'er group twice, but the people there didn't really pay attention to her.
Chen Xiaomai always felt out of place among those with two wives. The wives with higher status in the group were all born into scholarly families, eloquent, and had received various rules and educations since childhood. Compared to these people, Chen Xiaomai was just a wild boy.
However, Chen Xiaomai met Song Yufei at this group gathering, and the two found they shared similar interests.
Song Yufei's family owns a pastry shop, and they are very skilled at making pastries.
Chen Xiaomai likes to cook, and Song Yufei knows how to bake pastries. They both love to eat and can chat a lot.
Chen Xiaomai said somewhat proudly, "This is spicy sauce. Brother Lin gave it to me. I'll give you a jar."
Song Yufei's eyes lit up, and she said, "Really? Thank you."
The chili sauce made by Lu Lin in Yucang County is very popular with the prince, and Song Yufei has also heard of it.
"I'll bring you some flower cake next time." Chen Xiaomai licked her lips and said, "Okay!"
Song Yufei's family owns a pastry shop that is very famous in Kyoto. Chen Xiaomai likes the pastries in the shop very much, but because the prices are too high, a small piece of pastry costs several hundred yuan, so Chen Xiaomai is not very willing to buy them.
In the fishermen's dormitory, several fishermen are busy at work.
"Zhou An, how's the situation?"
Zhou An nodded and said, "The matter is settled." A month ago, Zhou An found a little girl who had fallen into the water. After the little girl was rescued, she stayed as a family member of the fleet. Qin Lang arranged for the little girl to stay in a room with several other children.
Over the course of a month, Zhou An and Xiao Shuang'er developed feelings for each other and discussed living together.
Zhou An originally had a wife. He had spent a considerable dowry to marry her, but after they got married, the woman felt that life on the ship was too hard and secretly ran away with the money.
For the next few years, Zhou An no longer thought about getting married and kept his distance from women. Until he met Xiao Shuang'er, Zhou An was not young anymore and wanted to get married as soon as possible. Xiao Shuang'er did not want any dowry, and the two planned to keep everything simple.
Zhou An originally lived alone with a few fishermen, but considering that he was about to start a family, he felt he couldn't continue like this.
Zhou An told Qin Lang that he wanted a private dormitory room for two people, and Qin Lang nodded in agreement. However, he said that if he wanted to buy a dormitory room, he would need three taels of silver. The fish that Zhou An had paid in advance could offset part of the cost. If he wanted to buy a house, he would need two taels and five hundred coins.
Zhou An wasn't wealthy, but he still had two taels and five hundred coins. He had already paid Qin Lang the money when he found him.
"Brother Qin said I can choose any room in that newly built dormitory building." A fisherman patted Zhou An on the shoulder and said, "Old An, I didn't expect you to be getting married too."
Zhou An smiled憨厚ly and said, "Yes!"
"Ah An, what's the background of that little Shuang'er you found? Have you figured it out yet?" a fisherman asked.
Zhou An smiled and said somewhat vaguely, "He doesn't remember very clearly." Zhou An lowered his head. He actually knew the identity of the little Shuang'er he had picked up. The little Shuang'er's name was Li Xiaoyu. When he was thirteen years old, his parents sold him to an old man as a concubine. Li Xiaoyu was treated as a servant in the old man's house and lived a very hard life.
The old man died a few days ago, and Li Xiaoyu was kicked out of the house.
Li Xiaoyu, who had been kicked out of the house, returned home and overheard his parents complaining that he was just loafing around at home and that they were thinking of selling him to a consumptive man to bring him good luck.
Li Xiaoyu was in despair. He never expected that his parents would not be satisfied with selling him once, but would actually want to sell him again. Li Xiaoyu was in a state of emotional turmoil and ran away, but was chased to the lakeside and jumped into the lake.
The news that Li's parents had driven their son to his death spread throughout the village. Fearing that things would escalate, Li's parents simply reported Li Xiaoyu's death to the authorities and that was the end of it.
"It's okay if you can't remember. The adults have already helped you re-register your household registration, so there won't be any problems," Zhou An said.
Zhou An, carrying Li Xiaoyu and their belongings, moved into the dormitory.
Although it was just a small room, Zhou An was still very happy, and Li Xiaoyu was also very happy.
Zhou An helped Li Xiaoyu tidy up the room. Fishermen don't follow the usual formalities of marriage, so Zhou An took Li Xiaoyu to a self-service fish restaurant for a meal, and the matter was settled.
Li Xiaoyu was very excited after having a hearty meal at the all-you-can-eat fish restaurant. When Li Xiaoyu was at the old man's house, his wife didn't like him and he ate worse than the servants. Later, after returning home, his family also complained that he ate too much.
Li Xiaoyu hadn't expected to find such a great place where he could eat as much as he wanted for just ten coins. Unfortunately, his stomach betrayed him; he was almost full after eating only three steamed buns. Thinking about all the delicious food available at the buffet, Li Xiaoyu wanted to sigh.
Zhou An looked at Li Xiaoyu, smiled, and said, "If you want to eat, I can bring you again next time."
Li Xiaoyu quickly shook her head and said, "No need, it's too wasteful."
Zhou An smiled and said, "It's alright. The fleet often issues coupons, and you can eat for free once you get the coupon." Li Xiaoyu said happily, "The fleet's benefits are really good."
Zhou An nodded, somewhat proudly, and said, "Yes! The benefits of joining the fleet are good, and it seems to be getting better and better. I was one of the first people to join the fleet, and it's not easy to join now."
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