Qin Yuan had been busy with Xu Shi's funeral and hadn't inquired about the price of pepper. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "I didn't expect Prince Qi to be so capable. By the Mid-Autumn Festival, the price of pepper will probably be far less than thirty taels of silver per catty."
Shen Changle asked eagerly, "Can we buy it now?"
Qin Yuan asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"
Shen Changle didn't hide anything from her: "I'm worried that others will take this opportunity to buy it up. My master said that we should take back all the lines that were being used to spread the word. I've been keeping an eye on the market. Some Yelü people have been frequently inquiring about prices lately."
The Yelü clan must have their own trade routes in the northern frontier. If the price of pepper is too low, they might hoard it and resell it elsewhere.
Qin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Keep a close eye on things and report anything immediately. If there are any expenses, just put them in the account."
Shen Changle hurriedly waved her hand: "No need, we don't need many."
Qin Yuan said seriously, "Your business practices are different from others. Whether you operate behind the scenes or send people to keep watch, you always have to spend some money to do favors. Even if you don't spend money, walking a few more steps will wear out your shoes, not to mention you have to treat people to snacks and tea. Money is needed everywhere in the capital. If I am unwilling to spend these small amounts of money, I will not be worthy of your efforts."
Shen Changle was grateful, but couldn't express it. She secretly resolved to do something great to live up to her master's trust.
Having finished discussing everything, Shen Changle still needed to find Master Gu to discuss the woodcut illustrations.
After he left, Hongye lowered her voice and asked urgently, "Miss, can the price of pepper be less than thirty taels of silver per catty?"
Qin Yuan closed her eyes and pondered, then said slowly, "I think it should be possible... It's not Mid-Autumn Festival yet. Didn't the King of Qi say that we'd know the outcome before the Mid-Autumn Festival? If it's close to the truth, the King of Qi will send someone to deliver the message."
Hongye gasped dramatically, saying, "My goodness! Now those who bought at such a high price must be heartbroken!"
Qin Yuan responded.
Hongye sighed again, "When we said we wanted to buy it, it was fifty taels of silver."
Cui Ming said, "It's like heaven is helping us, not letting us spend money. I just don't know how much Madam Gu lost."
Hongye said, "Didn't Miss say that as long as we hold on and don't sell, the price will go up later? It's just that we'll make less money."
Cui Ming chuckled softly.
"What can I say to you? At this point, they're probably all eager to make a move, and they're afraid no one will take over. How can they have the mind to hold on to you? If Sixth Master wants to sue them, how can he explain himself without giving something back? Miss thinks that the price will rise greatly in the future, and she wants them to think so too."
Hongye sighed and laughed at the same time.
Qin Yuan opened her eyes, rested her chin on her hand, and sighed softly, "I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. The stewardesses in the manor probably don't dare to cause trouble now that there's a funeral going on and Sixth Brother is going to sue the Xu family. They must be cursing people out of their hearts, but I don't know if they've cursed me... No wonder my ears have been burning and I've been sneezing these past few days."
Hongye was the first to object.
"What does this have to do with Miss?"
Qin Yuan said helplessly, "This whole thing started because of me... I was the one who initiated the hoarding of pepper..."
Cui Ming said, "When people become resentful and refuse to accept their fate, they always try to find someone to take the blame. If they can't bear to blame themselves, they'll drag someone else down with the blame."
Hongye pouted and said, "Shouldn't we blame Granny Zhao even more?"
There's no one to blame when someone dies, but Granny Zhao is still alive. She was one of the ones who actively recruited people to join the group back then.
Qin Yuan said, "Who knows what they're thinking?"
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Sixth Master spoke to Granny Zhao about it, so I don't know how this money will be settled."
Half of the stewardesses in the manor were caught up in this mess, and they really needed to get some kind of explanation.
Otherwise, they might secretly harbor resentment towards their master.
Hongye said, "Why don't we let them decide for themselves whether to hold onto it and wait for the price to rise, or to exchange it for silver at the market price now? But even if they do that, they'll still get scolded. What if the price really goes up later? Even if they don't get scolded after the price goes up, they've all bought at the peak and are now losing so much money, so they'll still get scolded."
No matter what, I'm going to get criticized.
Qin Yuan: "...This matter...sigh..."
Cui Ming smiled and said, "It's rare to see Miss in such a dilemma."
Qin Yuan said, "I want to be generous, but I'm afraid it will encourage their ambitions. We already agreed that this is a matter of self-financing. If I'm not generous, there are things going on inside and outside the manor. It wouldn't be good to let my subordinates have other ideas and create trouble for myself over such a small amount of money."
When dealing with this matter, Master Gu usually consults with Lord Gu and her.
You'll have to think about it sooner or later.
Hongye said, "It is indeed a bit difficult."
"What's so difficult about it?"
Lord Gu's voice rang out.
Startled, Hongye quickly stood behind Qin Yuan, while Cuiming instructed the maid to add water and make tea.
Qin Yuan laughed and said, "You always appear and disappear so mysteriously. Look how scared you made Hongye. Why are you back so early today?"
As he spoke, he went up to take Lord Gu's official hat.
Lord Gu glanced at Hongye casually, unimpressed: "She's usually so fierce, how come she's scared of me now?"
Hongye hurriedly said, "This servant is always very careful in serving you. This servant will go to the small kitchen to take a look."
Before he could finish speaking, he had already turned around and reached the door from the side.
Qin Yuan found it strange and asked quietly, "What did you say about her behind her back? Why were you so scared when you saw her?"
Lord Gu chuckled and said, "That's not true."
Qin Yuan stared at him suspiciously.
Lord Gu stretched out his arm and said leisurely, "Madam, please help me change my clothes."
Cui Ming smiled faintly and also withdrew.
Qin Yuan then asked, "Did you get along well with the people from the Sixth Department today?"
Gu Jinghui nodded, a smile playing on his sharp eyes, contentedly letting Qin Yuan do as she pleased.
"Using the method suggested by Mr. Songshan, we had a showdown with the Minister of Personnel and gave them a hard time. After noon, the Minister of Personnel sent several more people to help with the work, and the officials from the other ministries were no longer as perfunctory and lazy as they had been at the beginning."
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "It seems you didn't know what 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey' meant when you were in the army. Even prisoners who were just brought to the yamen had to be given a beating to set an example."
"Of course I know, but I am a military officer. Apart from asking for things, I rarely deal with these civil officials. I don't know how to deal with the way the literati do things."
Lord Gu hurriedly changed his clothes, drank a cup of tea, and said, "I still need to go to Mr. Songshan to ask him some more questions. Could the small kitchen prepare some dishes that southerners like to eat and send them over?"
This means we're going to have a meal together with Mr. Matsuyama.
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "I know. Hongye already knows exactly what Mr. Songshan likes to eat. You can go ahead and talk to me. I have something to discuss with you in detail when I come back tonight."
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