100 She is going to the capital?
◎I am going to Yuezhou City to resolve this matter◎
The next morning.
Aunt Wang hurried to the county government office anxiously again. Now the mushrooms of more than a dozen families had become moldy. She had no other choice but to urge County Magistrate Ye, the all-powerful County Magistrate Ye.
She secretly encouraged herself in her heart. When she reached the backyard of the county government office, before she could call for help, she knocked lightly on the door, but it creaked open by itself.
Aunt Wang walked in on her own. Seeing the draft sweeping through the main room, she asked in surprise, "Why don't you close the window?"
As soon as she stood firmly outside the window, Aunt Wang was surprised to see that there was a somewhat shabby bunk bed inside with woven mushrooms floating on it, but no one was resting on the bed.
She peeked inside and turned around to see three or four benches neatly stacked in the corner. County Magistrate Ye was curled up on one of them, wrapped in a quilt and sleeping!
"County Magistrate Ye?" Aunt Wang pushed the door open. She had no idea how long the window had been open, and there wasn't even a charcoal brazier in the room. Yet, it was equally cold inside and outside!
How can anyone sleep in a place like this!
She hurriedly pushed Ye Yunzhao and called out anxiously, "County Magistrate Ye! County Magistrate Ye! Wake up! It's too cold in your room!"
Ye Yunzhao, who had curled up in a ball, woke up slowly and asked dazedly, "What?"
Aunt Wang was anxious and angry: "Hurry! Get up! Go to the kitchen and warm up first!"
The sound was very loud, and Ye Yunzhao finally regained some spirit. Before he could speak, he sneezed even louder: "Okay... okay..."
"oops!"
As soon as Aunt Wang opened the kitchen door in a hurry, her heart sank. The cold pots and stove were no different from the ice cave in the main room.
Fortunately, Aunt Wang was an expert at making fire and cooking. She skillfully stuffed a handful of hay into the stove, lit it with the fire starter on the windowsill, then stuffed in some thin dry firewood and blew air from her mouth.
In just a blink of an eye, flames were lit in the stove.
Then he didn't rest. He quickly poured two gourd ladles of water into the pot, grabbed a handful of corn, stirred it, and the steaming corn porridge was ready.
It was only at this time that Ye Yunzhao arrived late.
"County Magistrate Ye, come here and drink some hot porridge to warm yourself up." Aunt Wang handed her a bowl of corn porridge. Looking at the girl in front of her, who was about the same age as her daughter-in-law, she couldn't help but scold her, "It's so cold now, how can you open the window at night? It will be troublesome if you get hurt!"
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao took the ceramic bowl and smiled. She lowered her head and took a sip of the fragrant corn porridge, her eyes curved. "Auntie Wang, maybe there's a way to save the weaving fungus that can work."
Aunt Wang was stunned, her eyes immediately reddened, and she exclaimed in surprise and joy, "Really?! There's hope! There's hope!"
Ye Yunzhao moved his head towards her, motioning her to follow him, and the two of them entered the main room one after the other.
"That's the method." Ye Yunzhao held the pottery bowl in one hand and reached for the woven mushroom on the bunk bed with the other.
The woven mushrooms, which were as soft as silk last night, were blown by the cold wind all night long, and now they feel dry and hard on the outside.
Aunt Wang followed her example and raised her hand to touch it, and asked in surprise, "Is it done?"
Unexpectedly, Ye Yunzhao shook his head: "Not yet."
She squeezed the mushroom stem in her palm hard. Although it was dry and hard on the outside, it was still somewhat flexible on the inside.
"Can you smoke meat?" Ye Yunzhao changed the subject.
Aunt Wang didn't know what she meant, so she told the truth, "Every household in Lingnan County doesn't know how to smoke meat. We don't eat meat very often throughout the year, so smoking it into bacon will keep it longer, so we can enjoy more meat."
After she finished speaking, she smiled sheepishly.
Ye Yunzhao didn't notice her strangeness. When he heard that everyone could do it, he was overjoyed and said quickly, "These mushrooms that have been air-dried overnight, smoked for two days, and then hung to dry, can be preserved for a long time!"
"Really?!" Aunt Wang said with a hint of disbelief, but her hands couldn't lie. She kept stroking the somewhat dry and hard stems of the woven mushroom and muttered, "That's great... That's great... I'll go back and tell everyone now!"
Seeing her frantic anxiety, Ye Yunzhao grabbed her arm and warned her word by word, "From the moment the weaving mushrooms are cut, they must never come into contact with water. Once they do, they'll become moldy like those mushrooms before. Besides that, it's best to air-dry them overnight. Once the mushrooms from each household have dried to this state, then smoke and roast them. Do you remember this?"
Aunt Wang nodded hurriedly: "I remember it clearly! I remember it clearly, but..."
She paused, looking at the dried woven mushrooms, which had shriveled up in her palms due to drying, and asked, "But after the woven mushrooms are dried and smoked, can they still be sold at the same price as before? Can they still be sold?"
"Don't worry! Do you know why I asked you to teach them how to dry, smoke, and roast the woven mushrooms?" Ye Yunzhao's eyes showed hope. "I'm going to Yuezhou City to resolve this matter right now! Just put your mind at ease."
After hearing this, Aunt Wang no longer had anything to worry about. She always believed in Ye Yunzhao: "Okay! Okay! I'll go back right away!"
"Remember to tell everyone about my plan to find a way to sell the mushrooms. Tell them to trust me! Although they're not selling well right now, I, Ye Yunzhao, promise that I can help you make money! We absolutely cannot let them do the stupid thing of tearing up the mushroom shed again!"
"Okay! County Magistrate Ye, go ahead and find a way!"
Watching Aunt Wang hurried away, Ye Yunzhao only wished she hadn't had three heads and six arms, or the ability to split herself into two. Time was tight, and she simply couldn't spare the effort to run to Xixiang again. Mushrooms, unlike other agricultural products, couldn't wait even a moment.
She was a little worried about handing such an important matter to Aunt Wang. Before leaving for Yuezhou City, she went to find County Magistrate Han. He had been working in Lingnan County for more than ten years. If he went to appease the people in Xixiang, he would probably be more reliable than Aunt Wang.
But Ye Yunzhao never expected that County Magistrate Han was sick, and he was so angry that he fell ill because of the moldy hat fungus!
At this point, she had no choice but to settle for the second best and handed the matter over to Liu Mazi. After giving him numerous instructions, she left the county government office anxiously.
Fortunately, just after leaving the gate of Lingnan County, Ye Yunzhao happened to meet someone from Dongxiang driving an ox cart to Yuezhou City. She shamelessly hitched a ride, and after shaking for more than half an hour, the gate of Yuezhou City appeared in front of her.
She thanked him hurriedly and handed the man two or three copper coins. The two agreed on a time to return in the evening.
This time when she came to Yuezhou City, Ye Yunzhao was not as leisurely as before. She bought two wild vegetable and egg buns at a bun shop on the street, one to fill her stomach, and the other to take the opportunity to inquire how to get to the capital.
"Auntie." She handed over the money for the buns and asked casually, "Do you know how to get to the capital? I heard that we have to hire a carriage and take the post road, which is too expensive..."
She had discovered this method from the remaining memories of her original self. When her original self came to Lingnan County to take up her post, she had hired a carriage and a groom at great expense. The expense aside, ordinary horses were not as capable of traveling a thousand miles a day. The journey wasted many days due to stops and starts.
If she took a carriage to the capital this time, she would probably find that by the time she returned, the people, overwhelmed by the situation, had already razed the mushroom shed to the ground...
"Oh! Why would you want to take a carriage to the capital?" The vendor took the money and handed her the buns. She looked her up and down, and seeing that she was dressed in ordinary clothes, she smiled and said, "Madam, we are not a wealthy family. A carriage is expensive and bumpy. If you believe what I say, just go to the docks and find a merchant ship. Just give the captain some money and you'll be in the capital in one day!"
"A dock?" Ye Yunzhao was stunned. He looked towards the mountains in the distance and said in disbelief, "There's a dock in Yuezhou City?"
This time, it was the vendor's turn to be surprised. She said, "I'm afraid you're not from Yuezhou. Don't assume there's no river just because there are so many mountains outside the city. Go straight down this street, then turn east. You'll be there after two alleys. Go to the pier and take a look. I guarantee you'll be surprised!"
Ye Yunzhao thanked her quickly and strode in the direction she pointed.
It would be best if she could take a boat. Water transportation is fast and takes less time. The more she thought about it, the happier she became. She didn't notice that a pair of eyes were fixed on her from the second floor of Ruyi Tower not far away.
After walking for half an incense stick, Ye Yunzhao was shocked by the scene in front of him.
There are mountains in the distance and a wide river nearby. There are more than a dozen ships of different sizes parked at the dock. Dozens of strong men are carrying cargoes onto the ships. On one side of the dock, there is a man dressed as a ship captain, who is loudly shouting at everyone to speed up.
No wonder Yuezhou City is so remote yet so prosperous. It must be related to this wharf.
Ye Yunzhao stepped forward quickly, a smile on his face. He was about to speak to the captain, but he asked first, "Take a boat?"
"Exactly!" Ye Yunzhao asked with a smile, "I wonder how much silver it will cost to go to the capital? Is there a boat available today?"
The dark-skinned captain glanced at her and said, "It costs two taels of silver to go upstream to the capital. There are no boats these past two days, and the fastest one will take four or five days."
She even exclaimed, "So long!?"
"It's already early. It's not even the end of the first lunar month yet, so there's no way there'll be a boat to the capital. If you can't wait, why not ask at the coach house, or spend seventy taels of silver to charter a small boat."
"Thank you..." Ye Yunzhao's pockets were empty, and she said goodbye in a daze, "Let me think about it... think about it..."
It costs two taels of silver to take a boat to the capital, which sounds like a lot, but Ye Yunzhao doesn't think it is expensive. If he goes to a carriage company to hire a carriage, it will cost at least 150 coins a day, and the coachman will charge seven or eight coins per mile. It will take at least ten days to get from Yuezhou City to the capital. This way, the cost will probably be far more than two taels of silver.
But there were no boats to the capital right now. Four or five days... She could afford to wait, but could the people of Xixiang afford to wait? Could Bian Lijun afford to wait? Ye Yunzhao was unsure.
If we charter a boat, we can set off today. Seventy taels of silver... for her now, it's an astronomical figure...
The more Ye Yunzhao thought about it, the more worried she became. She didn't notice a familiar figure standing where she had just stood.
*
"Have you made up your mind?" The captain thought it was the lady who had just asked about going to the capital, and asked without even looking up.
Seeing that no one answered, he looked up impatiently, but saw that the person standing in front of him was the boss of Ruyi Tower - Chen Jingshan!
Ruyilou was his big client, chartering two merchant ships year-round. The captain quickly stood up, a flattering smile on his face:
"Oh! Master, why are you here in person? If there's anything, just send someone to let me know!"
Chen Jingshan pointed at Ye Yunzhao's back not far away and asked, "What is she doing here?"
The captain was stunned and had some guesses in his mind. He told him everything that had just happened.
Going to the capital? Chen Jingshan was a little surprised, but his expression remained unchanged.
"The time for Ruyi Tower to leave for the capital has been changed to 1:15 PM tonight," he said concisely.
"Bring her back later and tell her there's a boat to the capital tonight."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
