Ding Heli mainly felt that the kudzu root was not weighed raw or cooked, but rather each piece was dried thoroughly and thus considered a dried product, which was only eighteen coins per pound, making it very uneconomical for him.
However, considering that villagers sell corn, rice, and wheat only after they've dried them, and the price is at most eight coins per pound, and grains need to be tended from the moment they're planted, the price of kudzu root is quite good in comparison.
He looked at the men and stated the conclusion of their discussion: "The shopkeeper said that since we delivered early, it's new stock this year, and he'll take as much as we have. However, he doesn't know if he'll accept the next delivery or how much he can take."
The men grinned. "It would be great if we could take them all this time! At least we won't have to haul them back."
Although they were mentally prepared to take the medicine home if the pharmacy refused, they didn't care about the effort involved, but their parents and children would be heartbroken to see it.
And this time, I don't know if the money I've been given will be enough to buy fabric. I'll use the money from selling kudzu root to make up for it and buy a few more feet of fabric. That will put my mind at ease.
"We brought a lot this time, so next time we'll bring less."
"If all else fails, we can make kudzu root powder and keep it for our own consumption."
"Uncle Ding, where should we move the medicinal herbs? I'll carry them!" Fan Xiaoliu asked loudly.
“We have a lot of medicinal herbs, so the shopkeeper said we can just move them to the backyard. It’s a big place there, and it’s convenient for weighing them,” Ding Heli said, leading the way.
The men realized what was happening and, laughing, followed along as they unloaded the goods.
They were all used to farm work, so a sack of medicinal herbs was nothing to them. They carried it all into the backyard of the pharmacy in no time.
In the backyard, several apprentices were already waiting. After confirming the herbs, two were responsible for weighing them and one for recording the information.
Hu Wenhua came out and told the men to go sell the rabbits first, leaving Feng Da, Feng Er, Mancang, and Manku to wait here.
The men followed without a word. They had weighed the items before they came, and everyone remembered how many kilograms each household had, so there was no chance of making a mistake. They were relieved to leave things to Ding Heli and Fan Jin.
Because it had been a long time since they last sold rabbits, some wealthy families bought more than usual, and this time the sales were faster than the previous times.
Since they sold out early, Li Wen suggested, "Shall we go to the government office gate and see if there are any notices?"
This has always been the biggest concern for my father and the old folks in the village. They have given up hope of receiving disaster relief grain, but with the floods so severe and the fields yielding almost nothing, shouldn't the imperial court at least reduce or exempt taxes?
Since we've come all the way to the city, we should definitely take a look before we feel at ease.
"Good! Even if it's not a three-year tax exemption, it would be good if we could just reduce it by a portion. The imperial court won't ignore the lives of the people."
"Let's go take a look, maybe they've already put up a notice. After we see it, I need to go to the general store to buy my daughter a hair accessory, and a red hair tie too!"
"What a coincidence, my sister also asked me to put a hair accessory and a red ribbon in her hair."
Hu Wenhua, who was literate, was among the group and walked towards the government office.
After Fan Qian and his two companions entered the city, they separated from the main group.
Fan Jin and Ding Heli were going to sell medicinal herbs, and the villagers were going to sell rabbits. They weren't selling anything, so they wouldn't waste time following along like last time.
They went straight to the side gate at the back of the yamen, had the gatekeeper announce their arrival, and waited quite a while before seeing the belated Fan Damu.
Fan Damu, looking impatient, yawned and asked, "What is it? The prefectural city has been quite unsettled lately. Many wealthy households have been robbed, and everyone is living in fear. How dare you come here?"
The chaos in the Southern Capital eventually reached their Guangning Prefecture, though late.
Magistrate Wu was overwhelmed with complaints from wealthy merchants every day, who wanted him to arrest the criminals.
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