Chapter 32 Making Money: This is the Power of Capital
As the first cold wind of early winter blew in, more than ten young couples were getting married in the five counties of Yunhe.
He Qinglan sat with the parents of the newlyweds in the "high hall" and received their kowtows.
Then, amidst cheers from the crowd, the newlyweds bowed to each other.
He Qinglan stood up. "I hereby announce that you are officially married."
The cheers at the scene were deafening.
A bonfire was lit in the square with firewood and honeycomb briquettes, and the wedding guests sat around it, chatting idly.
On the other side, dozens of square tables were set up, with charcoal braziers under the tables. In the middle of the tables was a hot pot of cured pork trotters, and around the hot pot were more than a dozen meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and cold dishes. The people eating the feast were already sitting around the tables, eagerly waiting for the wedding ceremony to end.
Not far away, several iron pots were set up to boil water, which was used to wash the small iron pots and bowls used to hold the cured pork trotters hot pot.
After the ceremony, the "chief steward" in charge of the wedding announced the start of the banquet, and the people eating began to pick up their bowls and chopsticks to eat.
The rich, sour soup, tender and flavorful smoked pork, paired with pickled cabbage and beans, is fresh, fragrant, delicious, and pleasantly spicy. On such a chilly day, enjoying a steaming pot of this dish warms both body and soul.
Someone picked up a spoon, scooped a few spoonfuls of soup into the rice, and exclaimed, "Is this hot pot? It's delicious!"
"The goddess said that the proper way to eat hot pot is to add vegetables while it's cooking."
"Then we..."
"Please, this is a wedding banquet. We're having a continuous feast. Hurry up and eat so others can have their seats."
"If you want to try the way the goddess described, you can cook it at home yourself."
"I don't have an iron pot at home."
"You can go to a house with an iron pot, provide meat or vegetables, and cook together with them."
The women called the children who were running around all over the place to the edge of the stage and made them line up.
A dozen or so newlyweds came over affectionately, carrying baskets and handing out melon seeds, peanuts, longans, red dates, and candy to the children.
The first child to receive it was patted on the shoulder by her mother, who shouted, "Happy wedding! May you have a long and happy marriage!"
The bride couldn't help but laugh and gave her another candy, saying, "Thank you!"
Seeing this, the children behind them followed suit, each saying a lucky phrase loudly after receiving a snack, which made the newlyweds very happy.
Qiu Tang, dressed in a knitted sweater and woolen pants, with a scarf around her neck and a woolen hat on her head, looked all fluffy as she carried a handful of dried fruit to find He Qinglan.
Along the way, she overheard people warming themselves by the fire chatting: "This sweater is quite warm!"
Don't you think it's a bit drafty?
"You can wear an extra layer of clothing over it."
"My daughter has been knitting socks and shoes lately."
Wow, can you knit socks with yarn?
"Thank you so much, Miss Yun and the others. The yarn is really good!"
Some were saying, "These honeycomb briquettes are really useful!"
How did you come up with the idea to make it this way?
"My son said it was modeled after a honeycomb."
"Of course it's called a honeycomb briquette, otherwise it wouldn't be called a honeycomb briquette
Why is it easier to cook this way?
"My daughter said it was... physics?"
What exactly is physics?
Some were talking: "So-and-so and so-and-so got married today, their parents didn't approve of it at first."
"Then what..."
"Hmph, the two of them went to beg the goddess, and the goddess said that according to the 'Yunhe Law,' men and women can choose their own marriage partners."
"What? Freedom of choice in marriage? So you won't listen to your parents after you get married?"
"Are parents more important, or is the goddess more important?"
"Since the goddess has agreed, their parents can't really say anything..."
"The goddess said that everyone is her subject and that we must obey her in everything!"
Some were chatting: "I wonder when we'll attack Anling County. They've been keeping an eye on us."
"We should be able to get through this winter by now, right?"
"Yes, we're so busy. We do autumn plowing, road repairs, and then we make honeycomb briquettes, work with wool, and knit sweaters."
"I heard that tea and wine sell very well on the grasslands."
"Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to buy so many sheep!"
"Do you think mutton hot pot is delicious?"
"Speaking of hot pot, you can cook cured pork trotters, so you should be able to cook fish too, right?"
As Qiu Tang listened, a bright smile appeared on her face.
She pushed through the crowd and found He Qinglan chatting with Yun Youning and others.
Yun Youning smiled and said, "...The scale of the distillery needs to be expanded. I think our corn liquor should not only be sold to the northern grasslands, but also to the northern imperial court and several eastern states."
Cheng Hui frowned. "But as you know, there isn't that much corn available right now, and manpower is also limited."
Yun Youning nodded gently, her voice sweet, "So we need to take Anling County as soon as possible."
Cheng Hui: "...You really did incite everyone to attack Anling County in two out of three sentences."
Yun Youning made a helpless expression, "I can't help it, we need the goods."
Zhu Youchuan, who appeared out of nowhere, chimed in, "This is the power of capital, isn't it?"
Yun Youning and Cheng Hui turned to look at him blankly. He held a feather fan and shook it pretentiously. "Merchants need enough goods and large markets, so they need their own territory and population. To acquire territory and population, they have to wage war. Over time, in order to better develop the economy, they also need to gain political status."
Yun Youning: "..."
Cheng Hui: "..."
Gu Lanying: "..."
He Qinglan smiled silently.
Yun Youning ignored him and asked Cheng Hui, persisting in her efforts: "What did the military camp say? Do we have to wait until spring? But spring is for spring plowing, and everyone will be even busier then."
Gu Lanying chuckled. "Yun girl, if you don't have enough wine, you can sell books."
"Sell...books?" Yun Youning asked, puzzled.
The people present were shocked. Cheng Hui asked, "Haven't you been to our library yet?"
Yun Youning nodded. "Since I came to Yunhe, I've been busy with accounts and business." She wouldn't have time to stroll around.
Gu Lanying said, "Thank you for your hard work. You can take some time to visit the library and try selling books for now."
Hearing this, Yun Youning immediately became curious and said, "I'll go take a look."
Cheng Hui said, "Let's get through this winter safely first; it's only just starting to get cold."
Yun Youning smiled and said, "The coal mines in Dongkou County are sufficient at present."
They mined coal and processed it into honeycomb briquettes, which were supplied to households and also to various workshops as fuel.
Gu Lanying nodded in agreement, "Wool sweaters are quite warm and practical. After this winter, we'll plant cotton next year, and then we'll have cotton-padded clothes and quilts for the next winter."
There is food, clothing, and charcoal; hopefully, more people can survive this winter.
“What I’m more concerned about, Goddess,” Yun Youning asked thoughtfully, “is our workshop never paying wages?”
Since the business had never been profitable, and the goddess had always provided everyone with three meals a day, it was understandable that she didn't pay wages.
Today, the distillery is profitable and has also bought back a large number of cattle, sheep and horses.
She worried that things would get complicated if this continued.
He Qinglan finally spoke up, "Of course not. We will re-plan after we take over Anling County."
Zhu Youchuan laughed and said, "Now, the Goddess nominally controls more than a dozen counties, but in reality, she still only controls the five counties of Yunhe. We should take measures as soon as possible to consolidate power."
Cheng Hui frowned. "The main problem is that they're too spread out, making them inconvenient to manage."
Zhu Youchuan looked at Yun Youning and smiled, "So..."
Yun Youning said, "It would be best to take over the entire Jinzhou."
Gu Lanying's expression was indescribable.
Zhu Youchuan shook his fan. "You still have to have dreams."
Cheng Hui raised his right hand and pressed it against his temple. "Let's be realistic."
“To be more practical, we could open furniture stores and restaurants in the northern and eastern states,” Zhu Youchuan suggested. “Our tables and chairs are very good, and I think there’s a market for furniture. As for stir-fries, needless to say, while woks haven’t become widely available yet, we can open restaurants in various states and make a fortune.”
Gu Lanying thought for a moment, "But wouldn't it be too costly to ship furniture to different states to buy it?"
Yun Youning's eyes darted around, and she said softly, "We can open a workshop where we want to open a furniture store, buy wood locally, hire people to make furniture according to our requirements, and then sell it locally."
Cheng Hui and Gu Lanying both thought it was feasible.
He Qinglan suddenly spoke up, "There's another business opportunity that's very easy to do."
Several people present cast expectant glances at him.
He Qinglan conjured up an extra-large glass vase with a mouth shaped like flower petals and a body made of raised bamboo branches and leaves, all of which was transparent and beautiful.
Yun Youning's eyes suddenly lit up with an unusual brightness. She subconsciously took a few steps forward, wanting to reach out and touch the vase, but then tried her best to restrain herself.
“This…this is…” Yun Youning looked at He Qinglan excitedly.
He Qinglan handed the vase to her, and Yun Youning held it carefully, touching the bamboo leaves on the vase.
Cheng Hui, Gu Lanying, and Zhu Youchuan quickly gathered around Yun Youning, scrutinizing her closely. "How was this made?"
"very beautiful."
"Goddess, such a treasure..."
Qiu Tang opened her eyes wide and looked at the vase in surprise. She slowly moved over and quickly reached out to touch the vase.
Yun Youning pretended not to see it and looked at He Qinglan excitedly.
He Qinglan said, "It's called a glass bottle, and it's used for holding flowers."
The group: "???"
He Qinglan: "It's made by firing sand and gravel. You can make it too."
The group: "!!
Zhu Youchuan's hand holding the fan trembled. "Sand and stone?! You mean, such a beautiful treasure is made from sand and stone???"
Cheng Hui stared in disbelief: "This is unbelievable."
Gu Lanying unconsciously repeated, "We can make it too? We can create such a treasure?!"
Yun Youning couldn't help but laugh. "Such a treasure, those high-ranking officials and nobles would definitely be eager to buy it!" She looked up, her eyes sparkling like stars. "Goddess, when shall we begin making it?"
He Qinglan said, "I'll give you the firing method right away. Go and open your workshop."
Yun Youning nodded repeatedly, "Okay!" She seemed to see herself counting money in the near future.
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Author's Note: [Poor thing]
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