"No! We can't sell our daughter! My Li family was once a prominent clan. Even if we've fallen on hard times, we can't let our daughter become a slave or a prostitute!"
Ah Sheng gritted his teeth, unwilling to tarnish the Li family's reputation.
But if they don't sell their daughter, what will their family eat?
"Father, why don't you just sell me?"
Ah Sheng's daughter is eight years old this year. The little girl looks thin, but she has an outstanding appearance.
A few days ago, a matchmaker from town came to the village to buy a little girl and immediately took a liking to her.
However, Ah Sheng and his wife were reluctant to part with it, and even more so, they did not want to bring shame upon their ancestors.
When he was exiled, Ah Sheng was already a teenager, and he still remembered the wealth and power his Li family had once enjoyed.
They came from a scholarly and official family; if their grandfather hadn't been convicted, they would still be prominent figures in the capital.
Their daughter will also be a pampered young lady, how could she be sold into slavery?
"..." Ah Sheng moved his lips slightly, and he said firmly, just like he had a few days ago, "No! Our Li family has never had the custom of selling people!"
Unfortunately, after a few days, the family ran out of food, and Ah Sheng no longer had that confidence.
His nose stung, his eyes reddened, and Ah Sheng couldn't bear to look at his daughter's sensible face.
"My child, it's...it's all your father's fault—"
Ah Sheng squeezed his eyes shut and finally made up his mind.
Sell her! Selling our daughter will not only help our family get through this crisis, but also give the child a chance to survive!
Just then, an old woman ran up from the village entrance, shouting loudly—
"Ah Sheng! Li Sheng! You're really going to strike it rich!"
Ah Sheng thought he had misheard. Get rich?
What kind of wealth can you make?
If his grandfather were still alive, Ah Sheng could still imagine that his grandfather would be pardoned and reinstated, and that their whole family could return to the capital to enjoy wealth and status.
But my grandfather is dead, and my father is dead too.
He was left as a useless person, unable to study or learn martial arts, and the Li family had no chance of turning things around.
Even if gold fell from the sky, it probably wouldn't hit him on the head.
"Hey! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go cut the sugarcane!"
The old woman ran up to him and, seeing that Ah Sheng was still looking blankly blank, quickly said, "The important people on the other side of the mountain are harvesting sugarcane!"
"Tsk tsk, five copper coins a pound, you must have secretly planted quite a few, buddy."
"Half the hillside is covered with them, there must be at least a thousand kilograms of them."
Five coins per pound, so a thousand pounds would be five thousand coins.
These days, a pound of rice costs only ten coins, while a mu of good paddy field costs four thousand coins...
A girl like Li's daughter, who was eight or nine years old, could only sell for two thousand coins.
Ah Sheng is literate and can do arithmetic.
While the old lady was still clicking her tongue in amazement, he had already mentally calculated all the accounts.
"Aunt Huang! Is there really a wealthy person buying sugarcane? Five coins a pound?"
Ah Sheng's eyes widened, and his voice trembled slightly.
"Of course it's true! The people in the villages on the other side of the mountain are overjoyed, and the whole family is harvesting sugarcane overnight."
"It's just that there are mountains in between, so news travels slowly, and that's how we heard the news."
"But it's not too late! The villagers said that even important people need sugarcane, something like 'the more the better'."
After saying this, Aunt Huang looked at Ah Sheng with a hint of envy, "You're so lucky, you planted so much sugarcane. Oh dear, my family planted so little, not even half as much as yours."
Ah Sheng rubbed his hands together, at a loss for words.
"Father, is the family rich now? You don't need to sell me anymore?"
The little girl's timid voice startled Ah Sheng. He wiped away his tears and nodded vigorously, "Yes! Our family is rich now! We don't need to sell our children anymore!"
Ah Sheng and his family worked tirelessly to harvest sugarcane.
On the third day, they carried the sugarcane on their shoulders and in their hands, crossing the mountains with great difficulty, and transported it to the purchasing point.
"1,200 catties, five coins per catty, totaling six thousand coins."
The person in charge of keeping the books was a young girl named Zhao Jinse, who was Zhao Min's daughter.
Perhaps due to her family's tradition of learning math, the little girl was excellent at it. After fiddling with the counting rods for a few moments, she had already calculated the accounts.
"Yes! Yes, yes!"
Ah Sheng was already exhausted, drenched in sweat, and his shoulders and back ached, but when he saw that basket of copper coins, he felt nothing but joy, excitement, and satisfaction.
Life seemed less difficult now, and he saw hope.
"Here's the money! By the way, our Yue Wang Mansion will be buying sugarcane again next year, so you can plant more!"
Zhao Jinse watched as Ah Sheng happily packed the copper coins into his basket, and she was happy for him too, so she kindly gave him a reminder.
"Want it again next year?"
"Yes! The price of sugarcane might be even higher next year!"
Zhao Jinse dared not make any promises lightly; these were the Princess's exact words.
"Okay! Okay! Thank you, miss!"
"...If you really want to express your gratitude, then thank His Highness Prince Yue and His Highness the Princess Consort properly!"
Zhao Jinse dared not take credit for it.
Upon hearing this, Ah Sheng pulled his family members to kneel down and kowtow repeatedly towards the high platform by the sea.
The whole family was very devout, especially the daughter of the Li family, who had long regarded His Highness the Prince of Yue and His Highness the Princess as living bodhisattvas who saved people from suffering!
Ah Sheng's family is just a microcosm of many villagers. Xie Yuan's large-scale purchase of sugarcane has saved countless impoverished people and provided them with a sustainable livelihood.
After receiving the money, the villagers went home and began to tend their fields.
If there isn't enough farmland, then they'll reclaim wasteland.
When there wasn't enough wasteland, they started using hillsides, mountains, and other marginal land.
...These places were all planted with sugarcane.
"Your Highness, people in dozens of nearby villages have started planting sugarcane. Isn't that too much?"
Village Chief Xian was somewhat worried, but relying on his previous interactions with Xie Yuan, he mustered his courage and came to test the waters.
With so many people planting sugarcane, next year will surely be a bumper harvest.
What if the Princess Consort doesn't need so many and can't sell them? Then, wouldn't they all just rot in the ground?
"Not enough! This is far from sufficient!"
If possible, Xie Yuandu would like to turn this entire area into a sugarcane plantation.
Because her candy is selling like hotcakes in Guangcheng!
Xie Yuan made three kinds of sugar: brown sugar, white sugar, and rock sugar.
Brown sugar is a basic sugar and is relatively inexpensive.
White sugar is sugar obtained by refining brown sugar. It has a bright white color and looks very "noble", so it is relatively expensive.
Rock sugar, on the other hand, is a further processing of granulated sugar, making it crystal clear, more upscale, and the most expensive!
Of course, even the cheaper brown sugar is relative.
Zhao Min, who was once a corrupt official, has successfully evolved into a shrewd businessman. Xie Yuan also provided some marketing strategies for luxury goods in later generations, and Zhao Min directly sold sugar at an exorbitant price.
Guangcheng was one of the most prosperous prefectures in the Lingnan region, with no shortage of powerful families and wealthy merchants, so there was a great market for high-end goods like sugar.
The shop was open for only three days, and the money spent on buying the shop was already backed up.
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