Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Manager Leng of Ranxiangju is an expert, shrewd and capable, and also skilled in blending incense. He said that Ranxiangju doesn't have much pepper in stock, and he has to ask others to find out if they have any."
With just a few words, she made Rong Momo's face light up, and the smile in her eyes deepened.
Gu Jinghui glanced at her but remained silent.
Madam Gu asked, "Yuan'er, how much do you plan to stock up on?"
Qin Yuan gave a number, "Ten bushels."
"So many?" Old Madam Gu was taken aback.
Although Gu Jinghui remained silent, his expression was far from relaxed.
One bushel is five pecks, or one hundred and twenty catties. Pepper that costs fifty taels of silver per catty would cost a staggering sixty thousand taels of silver for ten bushels.
That's an incredibly extravagant gesture.
No wonder Manager Leng said he wanted to look for it.
Rong Momo hurriedly asked, "Madam, did Manager Leng say that this business is unacceptable?"
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Manager Leng is well-informed. He said that the amount of pepper imported from the Western Regions has been decreasing in recent years, and the price is ridiculously high. Several wealthy merchants are raising funds to go overseas to buy pepper. If this is successful, I'm afraid the price of pepper will come down."
Rong Momo immediately advised, "He has been in this line of work for many years, Madam should still listen to him."
Although Madam Gu did not say anything, she clearly thought the same thing.
Gu Jinghui waited quietly for her to continue.
Qin Yuan sighed and said, "I know that Manager Leng is right. Even the managers of my dowry shop have advised me to do the same. But I have been having dreams for several days in a row. In my dreams, pepper prices start to rise before the end of the year. Wealthy merchants can't even buy pepper to stew meat for their family sacrifices. They are worried that their ancestors will be displeased."
"If this dream is real, wouldn't it be like passing by a treasure and not taking it? As the saying goes, if Heaven gives something and you don't take it, you will suffer the consequences; if the time comes and you don't act, you will suffer the calamity."
These words left everyone speechless.
Qin Yuan had not expected to gain the old lady's approval.
However, the Marquis's family was large and wealthy, and the old lady was reasonable, unlike Lin's mother who would worry about how to spend her daughter-in-law's dowry money.
However, since she needs to stockpile a lot, and pepper will become scarce in the future, people will inevitably come to her for help. This matter cannot be kept secret, so it is better to make it public to the old lady as soon as possible.
If the old lady were to listen to her and get involved, making a fortune in the process, that would be even better.
She had always been kind to the old lady and was willing to repay her kindness.
Madam Gu lowered her head and pondered.
Gu Jinghui suddenly said, "Pepper is a rare commodity. In the previous dynasty, it was used to pay officials' salaries. When wealthy merchants brought pepper from overseas, they would not let it become a cheap commodity."
Madam Gu nodded.
Qin Yuan glanced at him, surprised that he had such insight.
Lin Ziqi only cares about studying and becoming an official, and looks down on the behavior of merchants. If you say these things, it will only displease him and make him say that it is an insult to literature.
Gu Jinghui added, “When I was stationed in the northern frontier, the foreign tribes also regarded pepper as a treasure, and only their leaders could add pepper to every meal. I think that even if this business loses money, it will be limited.”
As he spoke, Rong Momo's expression relaxed considerably.
After thinking for a moment, Madam Gu said, "Hui-ge'er is more knowledgeable than us women. What he said makes sense. Even if the price of pepper drops, we won't lose much money. However, to be on the safe side, Yuan'er can buy less."
It's my wife's first time doing business, so I should support her. But I shouldn't buy too much. Those things are rare, and most people are reluctant to use them. They're hard to sell even if they're in a hurry.
Qin Yuan said gratefully, "Mother and husband are absolutely right. I'll buy a little less."
Madam Gu smiled and said, "I'll also buy a thousand taels of silver, to share in Yuan'er's good fortune. If I make money, I'll have enough for the card game."
Rong Momo chuckled and said, "The old lady wins more and loses less. Why don't I also bet two hundred taels of silver? If I make money, I'll have enough to pay the old lady's share."
"You old fool," Madam Gu couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Qin Yuan's intelligent and perceptive heart felt as if it were being soaked in hot water, bringing indescribable warmth and comfort.
Even though the old lady is not short of money, such generous subsidies truly show that she is going to great lengths to pamper her.
I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful mother-in-law.
Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Then Yuan'er must set up an account book to keep a clear record of Mother and Rong Mama's accounts, and use this account book to give money during festivals."
Gu Jinghui looked at her and smiled.
Qin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Would you like some, my husband?"
Gu Jinghui shook his head.
Old Madam Gu nudged him irritably and said, "You don't even help your own wife."
“Mother, my money… if she loses it, I’ll have to find a way to help her out,” Gu Jinghui said, which surprised everyone, and then they all burst into laughter.
Qin Yuan complained, her face flushed, "Mother, the Marquis's accounts are the Marquis's accounts, and Yuan'er's accounts are Yuan'er's accounts. He's just talking nonsense."
A woman's dowry is a private account, while a man's personal property is a public account.
The household provides all the daily necessities, including food, clothing, and other necessities, and these are paid for through the household's public accounts.
The rest was given by the man to his wife to support the family.
Many men give their wives money every year or every month for daily expenses, but if they want to use it to buy expensive items such as jewelry, the man has to give his approval first.
Therefore, many female housekeepers would put any surplus into their private accounts, a tacit secret between husband and wife.
Gu Jinghui's words made it seem as if he intended to give Qin Yuan more money so that she could take the opportunity to make up for the shortfall in her dowry.
Madam Gu smiled and glared at her son a few times, saying, "Since he's asked, just ask him for the money. His own parents have no idea how much money he has in his private coffers. In that place in the north, people have money but nowhere to spend it, so who knows how much he's saved up."
Gu Jinghui: "..."
You can't forget your son just because you have a wife.
His father's private treasury—his mother didn't even know about it back then.
but……
Looking at Qin Yuan's flushed face, Gu Jinghui thought to himself, "It's not impossible."
However, we cannot give it to her easily.
His officers all said that once money was in a woman's pocket, it was hard to get it out.
Asking a woman for money with your palm facing up is not an easy life.
Madam Gu acted immediately, taking out a thousand taels of silver notes, and Rong Mama also took out two hundred taels, which Qin Yuan recorded in the account.
It wasn't long before news of Qin Yuan's plan to stockpile pepper reached Madam Gu's ears.
“The old lady has a large private treasury, but she can’t treat money like it’s nothing. Sprinkling silver to make her third sister-in-law happy is not the way to show affection to a daughter-in-law.”
Madam Gu sat behind a table by the window, stringing beads for her daughter while complaining to Gu Jingjun, who was resting on the daybed.
Gu Jingjun said lazily, "That's because she knows how to please the old lady. Third sister-in-law is beautiful, and the old lady has always liked beautiful women. All the maids in the house are as fresh and tender as scallions. Unlike the maids in our house, they are all like burnt pancakes."
A burnt pancake?!
Madam Gu was so angry that her face turned ashen. Just then, Cai Mama, who was in charge of the repairs, sent someone to announce that she was ordered by the old lady to repair the small kitchen in Wutong Garden and needed to set aside some supplies.
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