Chapter 48 Chapter 48 “How come this pigeon…
"Why is this pigeon so black? Aren't homing pigeons usually white?" Jiang An looked at it curiously.
Then he noticed that his sister was looking at the letter, the smile on her face quickly disappeared, and her rosy cheeks turned pale.
Jiang Wan's fingertips, which were holding the letter paper, trembled slightly because she was holding it too tightly. She stared at the letter paper for a long time, as if she was trying her best to stare a hole in it.
Then she closed her eyes, opened the system mall, entered the raw material storage section, and used the precise search function to look for a medicinal herb called "Yincong".
The raw material warehouse contains everything. Jiang Wan quickly found the information about Yincong. The Yincong in the product illustration looked like ginseng and was snow-white all over.
The price of this medicinal material is 3,000 points per 100 grams, with a minimum purchase of 10 grams.
And she only had more than 200 points left.
Jiang Wan: System, you might as well have told me there's no such thing. Do you really have to mock my poverty?
It seems that I can only go to Wusun according to the method in the letter.
This letter came from Loulan, sent to her by Aigu. After returning to Loulan, he followed the clues provided by Jiang Wan and actually found out that his mother, Princess Qingrong, who had been bedridden for many years, had been poisoned.
The letter claimed that the substance could soothe the mood and help with sleep, so it wasn't a poison at all, and even a silver needle wouldn't detect it. However, long-term use would initially cause fatigue and weakness, eventually leading to limb weakness and inability to move, organ degeneration, blood stasis, loss of all five senses, and ultimately death from respiratory failure.
Even more terrifying, the poison wasn't placed in the food, but on the lid of the stew pot. Princess Qingrong's stew pot was made of ceramic, a gift from her dowry, and the poison quickly dissolves into the ceramic. The poisoner simply applied a small amount of the poison to the inside of the lid once a month. When boiling water splashed onto the lid during cooking, the poison would enter the soup.
Princess Qingrong did suspect that someone had poisoned her, but firstly, this thing was not considered a poison and could not be detected by silver needles, and it was not directly put into the princess's food; secondly, the symptoms were gradually getting worse, making it difficult to find the specific time of the poisoning, and thus the person who poisoned her could not be caught.
The princess was bedridden for longer and longer periods of time, but no trace of poison could be found. Gradually, she herself began to think she was ill, and for many years she sought medical treatment everywhere, and later even asked monks and Taoist priests to perform rituals. However, her treatment became more and more deviant, and her condition became more and more serious.
After buying Jiang Wan's porcelain, Aigu started using it to cook for his mother, but was surprised to find that his mother's condition had not worsened. He began to suspect a problem with the steamer, and after careful investigation, he found the culprit.
My mother had been ill for over a decade, and a cure required the use of the silver bush. This silver bush, a sacred Wusun medicine, was rumored to be able to bring the dead back to life, but it only grew on the cliffs of the Wusun snowy plateau, where it was covered in thick snow and extremely difficult to find. The experts Aigu sent to search for the medicine had all vanished after entering the snowy region.
He had also asked his father to purchase silver from the Kunmi of the Wusun. However, Loulan was pro-Han, while the Wusun were pro-Xiongnu, and the two nations had no dealings. His father's feelings for his mother had faded over the years, and fearing that any dealings with the Wusun would displease the Great Zhou, he remained unwilling to negotiate with them.
Anyway, if the princess "died of illness", the Great Zhou would send another princess to marry her. She would be younger, healthier, bring new specialties from the Central Plains, and perhaps even more beautiful.
In desperation, Aigu had no choice but to write a letter to Jiang Wan. Xiaofangpan City had a unique geographical location, bordering four countries. He asked Jiang Wan to ask the Wusun merchants there if they had any silver bushes for sale.
Aigu said in the letter that the silver bush was precious and unlikely to circulate in the market, but since it concerned his mother's life, he could not give up as long as there was a glimmer of hope.
Jiang Wan folded the letter and sighed. She looked up and saw her brother staring at her with wide eyes.
"What's wrong, sister? You look so bad." Jiang An asked in confusion.
Jiang Wan cleared her chaotic thoughts and explained, "A friend asked me to buy a medicinal herb."
"What's so difficult about this? I'll buy you whatever medicine you want." Jiang An said as he walked out. Jiang Wan's voice came from behind him:
"Silver Bush."
Jiang An paused, stood there for two seconds, and stammered, "Wh...what medicine?"
"It's the holy medicine, the Silver Bush, that only grows on the Wusun Snow Plateau." Jiang Wan said softly, "I know it's hard to find, but... I'd like to ask all the Wusun pharmacies in the city. Just consider it your duty."
At 3 p.m., Jiang's shop.
Since it was closed for the day, the Jiang family shop was not as noisy as usual. The shop was clean and empty, with only the shop owner sitting on the chair behind the counter.
Jiang Wan has an appointment with the county magistrate's wife, and Mrs. Shen Shi is coming to visit the shop. Fang Hong will also be there, after all, she strongly recommended it.
Of course, the person Jiang Wan wanted to see most was He Wanrong. Nanfeng Pavilion was crowded, so many things were difficult to talk about. When no one was around, she wanted to ask about He Wanrong's recent situation. After all, she was both the original owner's best sister and her brother's beloved, so she would do her best to help.
After the visit, she planned to go to Dunhuang Prefecture to determine the location of the celadon factory and then submit an application to the government to build the factory.
After finishing the afternoon plan, the county magistrate's wife's carriage just happened to stop at the door.
Jiang Wan stood up and went forward to greet him.
The lady raised her hand to signal her to excuse herself, and said with a smile, "I've heard Ah Hong talk about Miss Jiang's glazing skills, especially the colored glazes. Ah Hong's eyes light up every time she mentions them, which makes me curious too."
Hearing this, Fang Hong's face flushed slightly, and she secretly tugged at the county magistrate's wife's clothes. The latter patted the back of her hand and stopped talking.
Jiang Wan couldn't help but laugh as he witnessed their little antics. He'd heard that the County Magistrate's wife and Fang Hong grew up together, and it seemed their relationship was indeed as close as the rumors had it.
"Master Fang, thank you for your compliment," Jiang Wan pointed to the window display where two freshly-baked colored porcelain jars were placed. "Those are the new colored porcelains in our shop. Madam, would you like to see them?"
The county magistrate's wife came to the window and stroked the pattern on the jar while asking, "Is this a painting of koi carp playing in the water? It's so lifelike, just like a living thing. It feels so smooth and delicate, so it's obviously top quality. Many of the porcelains in my room are not as good as this one, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Wan: "If Madam likes it, I will give this jar to you as a token of my gratitude for your kindness in caring for my young lady. Koi bring blessings, and Jiang Wan wishes Madam good fortune this year."
"Then I won't be polite to you, young lady," the county magistrate's wife smiled gently, and then said, "If you have any difficulties and need my help, please let me know."
As expected of the county magistrate's wife, she heard the flattering tone in Jiang Wan's words and immediately realized that the other party had something to ask of her.
Jiang Wan cupped his hands and said, "To be honest, Madam, I want to build a celadon factory in Dunhuang Prefecture and I'd like to get permission from the government."
The County Magistrate's wife paused, her gentle expression becoming more serious as she spoke sternly, "Miss Jiang earns nearly a hundred taels a day, which is truly unique in Xiaofangpan City. But in Dunhuang Prefecture, there are many antique dealers earning a hundred taels a day. Land prices in Dunhuang Prefecture are high, and there are not many plots approved for factory construction. Coupled with the low price of raw materials and convenient transportation, competition for land is fierce. According to convention, antique dealers who can pass the government inspection and obtain land must have at least one shop in Dunhuang Prefecture with a daily income of more than three hundred taels of silver. Miss Jiang, you don't have a shop in Dunhuang Prefecture."
The county magistrate's wife is kindhearted, but she won't go against official conventions. To get permission, Jiang Wan must prove his ability.
Having researched the requirements for establishing a factory in advance, Jiang Wan was prepared. "It's true that this is a common practice. But it's not a written rule. I remember two shops in the past ten years that obtained licenses even though their revenue was less than three hundred taels of silver. The first one was the creator of the Flowing Jade Bowl, which became famous in the Western Regions. They obtained a franchise right after opening, and later grew into a chain store, with a total daily revenue of nearly five thousand taels. The second one was run by a veteran craftsman from the palace, and he also obtained a factory license before even having a shop."
Jiang Wan paused and said, "Madam, the ultimate goal of this practice is to promote the prosperity of Dunhuang Prefecture's commerce and maintain market order. However, making an exception to introduce capable merchants is also beneficial to the development of the industry! For example, if the craftsman who first created the Flowing Jade Bowl didn't obtain a special license and opened a shop in another prefecture, wouldn't Dunhuang Prefecture have lost tens of thousands of silver coins?"
Seeing the magistrate's wife's expression soften, she continued, "I understand you're worried about breaking convention and causing dissatisfaction. But I will prove my ability to you. I will immediately take over a shop in Dunhuang Prefecture. Within a month, I guarantee that the daily income will reach 300 taels, and within six months, the daily income will reach 1,000 taels."
The county magistrate's wife looked shocked. Even the first two licensed artisans couldn't achieve a daily revenue of a thousand taels within six months of opening. Most shops that could achieve this were chain stores throughout the Great Zhou. They were not only powerful, with nationally renowned merchandise and a strong brand reputation, but also skilled in management, building supporting production, transportation, and publicity systems. Some large shops even participated in the struggles within the Lin'an court.
If a shop of this level started in Dunhuang Prefecture, it would not only bring economic benefits to the entire county, but also soft cultural benefits, and would be a signboard to attract consumers from all over the world.
How dare a young girl who just escaped from her native country and had little money left make such a promise?
Seeing that the County Magistrate's wife didn't say anything and seemed not to believe her, Jiang Wan leaned forward slightly and said solemnly, "If I can't do it, I am willing to confiscate all the shops and factories, then put my fingerprints on the indenture and become your maid like my young lady."
Jiang Wan spoke in a low voice, but every word he said seemed to carry a thousand-pound weight, causing the county magistrate's wife's shoulders to tremble.
The latter had never heard such a promise and gambled his property, career, life and the freedom he had fought so hard to gain.
So confident and so carefree, bearing a heavy weight yet seeming as light as a feather.
She seemed to see Jiang Wan in her previous life—a powerful businessman who could decide the fate of the industry while sitting there and speaking softly.
The county magistrate's wife couldn't help but nodded.
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