Chapter 46
Without sugar, the bayberry water won’t be sweet enough.
So Gu Ran had to rest for a day and stop his business. He planned to take some time to go to the county town to buy more sugar and bring the two tanned furs to the county town to sell.
She had been selling bayberry drinks in Donglin Township these days. She had inquired about the prices offered by the merchants who bought furs in the Donglin Township market, and also asked the prices of the vendors who sold furs and wild animals in the market. Only then did she realize that those mountain people who brought wild animal furs to Donglin Township to sell were actually doing it for the convenience of nearby transactions.
But because of this, the prices that merchants and vendors charge for goods are lower than those of the purchasing houses in the county.
If the leather is good and you want to make more money, it would be more cost-effective to take it to the fur shop in the county town.
It just so happened that Gu Ran was going to the county town, so she planned to take it directly to the county town to sell it and see how much silver she could get.
Since it was convenient, she naturally took the bayberries she picked yesterday afternoon to the county town to sell.
In this way, Gu Ran took a boat to Yongchang County for the second time with more than one or two taels of silver in his pocket.
Because he wanted to sell the bamboo basket of bayberries he brought with him, Gu Ran did not go directly into the city. Instead, he found a place to unload the bamboo basket like he did in Donglin Township and started selling them directly. As a result, he attracted two police officers.
It turns out that the county town is different from Donglin Township. In the market at the ferry in Donglin Township, people can come and go as they please and there is no stall fee, but this is not the case in the county town.
If you sell things at the dock in the county town, you have to pay a stall fee regardless of the size of the space you occupy.
For just one bamboo basket and one person's space, Gu Ran had to pay five cents.
However, it makes sense for them to accept money. After all, the county town is much more prosperous than Donglin Township. There are more people, which means more customers, so they can make more money.
Seeing the bustling hawkers carrying their poles and selling drinks, Gu Ran couldn't help but feel jealous.
Look at the county dock, with so many merchants coming and going. If she were to sell bayberry juice here, how many more drinks could she sell in a day and how much more money could she make?
He took down the bamboo basket angrily, picked up the bayberries inside, set up a small stall and started selling them.
Out of jealousy, someone coveted the bayberries in her hand, and when asking the price, Gu Ran asked for five cents more, twenty-five cents for a small pile.
As a result, because the fruits were so good, they were sold out in no time. People in the county town didn't even pay attention to the few cents she raised the price for.
Gu Ran: ...
Hi, that was a mistake. I should have given you ten cents more.
However, even so, a bamboo basket of bayberries was sold at a high price of 220 coins, which is much more profitable than usual, so I should be content.
Gu Ran hopes that this good luck will continue to his business of selling furs at a fur shop.
The fur shop was still in the market of Donglin Township. I found out about it by pretending to buy furs from a small vendor. It was called Hefeng Goods Shop.
When Gu Ran took out the two gathered skins and placed them neatly on the counter, the indifferent expression of Zheng, the shopkeeper of Hefeng Goods Store, disappeared. He stood up, reached out and gently picked up one of the skins. He first leaned over to sniff it, then stroked the fur with his big palm, and immediately revealed a satisfied expression.
Then she turned the leather over and checked the inside. Seeing that the leather was scraped clean and smooth, she couldn't help but look at Gu Ran: "Was this tanned by your husband?"
"No, I tanned it myself," Gu Ran explained. "Boss, take a look at this piece of leather. How much silver is it worth?"
Shopkeeper Zheng widened his eyes slightly and looked Gu Ran up and down. "You handled it? Are you a hunter?"
"Well... I learned it from the hunter in the early years."
"Oh, so you caught this bamboo rat too?"
Gu Ran nodded.
"So, where's the meat?" Shopkeeper Zheng asked, then pointed to the wild animals drying in the shop. "Did you see that? We also buy wild animals."
"Boss, we only sell furs, not meat." Gu Ran said with a smile.
After finally hunting back, Gu Ran kept all the meat for himself to eat, because he needed to replenish his body, and bamboo rat meat was nutritious enough.
Shopkeeper Zheng swallowed regretfully.
This bamboo rat was once called the best meat by the ancients. It nourishes the spleen and replenishes qi, and its taste is endless.
Shopkeeper Zheng collects furs, but he is unwilling to be a hunter. If he wants to eat all kinds of mountain products, he has to buy them from hunters who sell furs.
"Next time you catch bamboo rats, leave a few for me and I'll give you a good price."
"Sure, then, could you offer me a more favorable price, boss?" Gu Ran asked. "As long as the price is right, I can sell you the game I hunt and the hides I tan in the future."
"Of course, that's fine. One or two skins are still too few. People buy civet skins in batches of ten or eight, otherwise they wouldn't be enough to make a piece of clothing." Shopkeeper Zheng nodded. "When you have accumulated these skins in the future, bring them to me and I'll take a look. Since you tan them so well, I'll give you one or two taels of silver for the big one and six hundred coins for the small one. How about that?"
"Okay." Gu Ran nodded repeatedly.
Originally, bamboo rat skin is a fine-haired leather, which is the same type of small fur as lamb skin and fox skin.
Fur dealers also classify leathers according to the different types of animal skins. Leathers with fine hair and lots of velvet, such as the common mink skin, otter skin, and the fox skin and bamboo rat skin mentioned above, are all fine-haired furs, while rougher furs, such as wild boar skin, goat skin, cowhide, etc., are called coarse-haired furs.
You can tell from the texture that fine-haired leather is used to make exquisite fur coats and boots, while coarse-haired leather is mostly used to make bow bags, boot soles and other craft devices. The prices of the two are very different.
Generally speaking, fine fur leather is more expensive than coarse fur leather.
People in the industry artificially distinguish between the two. Generally, the shops specializing in fine-fur leather are called straight-fur shops or small-fur shops, while the shops specializing in coarse-fur leather are called old-fur shops or big-fur shops. Any hunter or fur trader with a little common sense will know what kind of leather the other party is buying just by hearing the name.
Hefeng Goods Company is a comprehensive fur goods company that buys both fine and coarse furs.
A piece of leather tanned by myself can be exchanged for up to one or two taels of silver, which is equivalent to selling bayberry cold drinks for ten days!
Gu Ran happily put away the one tael and six hundred coins.
Ha, for this trip to the county town today, she will get two taels of silver.
After leaving the store, I went straight to buy sugar.
The bayberry is ripe and edible for only one month, and now it is the beginning of summer, which is the best-selling season for bayberry ice drink. During this period, she has to seize the time to earn the money she can.
After buying ten pounds of white sugar, he saw that there was camphor sugar and ordered another five pounds. In total, he spent six hundred and twenty-five coins.
There are many sugar beets and sugarcane grown in Fujian, and all kinds of sugar products are produced in abundance, and the price of this sugar is not cheap.
Then she went to the blacksmith shop and bought some farm tools: a hoe, a sickle and a shovel. These three items cost her eight hundred coins.
But this is also a necessity. It can be used to turn the soil and as a weapon. In the future, when she enters the Dayu Forest, she will not need to use a fire stick to protect herself, but can use a sickle and a hoe instead.
He also bought a wooden fork and a hoe from a carpenter's shop, spending eighty coins.
Because she had to go to Dayu Forest frequently, she naturally needed some medicinal herbs such as dried mugwort for fumigation to repel mosquitoes and atractylodes for making masks. It was not easy to go to the city, so she bought half a tael of silver, which was enough for her to spend some time.
I haven't even had time to warm up the three taels of silver I earned recently, and two taels of silver are gone.
However, because he had the business of making bayberry drinks and knew that the tanned furs he made could be sold at a good price, Gu Ran did not panic like the first time he went to the city and spent more and more money, which made him increasingly unsure of his future.
The money she spent was to prepare for her to make a lot of money in her future business, and she could make a profit from it in the future.
So when she left the county town, she saw a butcher at the dock and did not hesitate to buy herself two pounds of pork belly for thirty cents, intending to use it to make oil, one pound of bones for twenty cents, intending to use it to make soup, and one pound of mutton for forty cents. What surprised her was that there were people openly selling beef, which was only five cents more expensive than mutton per pound.
After some inquiries, I learned that the Dasheng Dynasty had already mastered the methods of raising pigs, cattle and sheep.
Especially pork. Many families know how to castrate pork to make it strong and not fishy. There are many ordinary people in the world who eat pork, so pork naturally becomes cheaper.
Of course, in Fujian, the cheapest things are all fresh river food, seafood and fish.
However, this time Gu Ran did not buy fish or shellfish. Instead, he bought a lot of fish balls, made from all kinds of fish meat. There were ordinary fish balls made from river fish, as well as those made from sea fish, such as silver carp balls, bighead carp balls, cuttlefish balls, eel balls, as well as shrimp balls, etc. There were rich varieties and many flavors.
After all, it is a local specialty food and the price is not too expensive. Gu Ran can afford it. He can buy more and take it home. After refrigerating it, he can take a few pieces as a snack when making soup or eating noodles.
I saw someone selling white rice cake and vermicelli, so I bought some.
As for the fact that people openly sold beef, it was because farming in the Great Sheng Dynasty mainly relied on animal power, and horses were the main source of power.
Horse farming was popular during the Great Sheng Dynasty, so horses were not only strategic materials but also a means of farming. As a result, the value of horses was higher than in any other dynasty. The court's grooms and horse supervisors even bred short-legged horses suitable for serving in the southern border areas.
The convenient use of horses in farming greatly reduced the Great Sheng Dynasty's reliance on ox-drawn plowing, so cattle were no longer as important as they were in the past. The court also opened up regulations, allowing people to raise cattle specifically for meat sales after obtaining approval.
Over time, beef has become one of the most common meats among the people, but its price is still more expensive than other meats.
It was rare to see beef, so Gu Ran naturally wanted to buy some, so he bought another two pounds of beef to try it out.
After returning to Xiaxi Village with such a full granary, Gu Ran's granary was much fuller. Moreover, from today on, she could barely achieve the freedom to eat meat!
Gu Ran was filled with joy.
We immediately decided to have fried white rice cake with shredded beef and fish ball soup with big bone for dinner tonight.
Baigao is made by beating and pounding japonica rice. The general method is to cook the japonica rice until it is 70% cooked, then take it out and pour it into a stone mortar. After adding clean water, it is beaten repeatedly until the rice sticks together and the rice grains are no longer obvious.
Then put the rice ball into the steamer and steam it until cooked through. Put it back into the stone mortar while it is still hot and continue pounding it until the rice grains are completely sticky and become like dough. It is basically done.
This kind of dough can be made into various shapes, such as long strips, round cakes, and can also be made into petal shapes or star shapes using molds, etc. It is also the prototype of the Fujian version of rice cake.
Moreover, white rice cake can be refrigerated and can be eaten at any time.
Because rice is abundant in the country, there are many rice noodle and vermicelli products made from rice, such as white cake.
The method of making fried white rice cake is the same as that of fried beef noodles.
Cut the beef into thin slices and then into shreds, stir with salt, shredded ginger and green sauce to season. After heating the oil, put the shredded beef in and stir-fry until cooked, then add the shallots.
Gu Ran discovered shallots when he was picking bayberries in Dayu Forest.
This kind of onion is thin and long, a bit like leeks. It grows in batches at the foot of the rocks in the forest. It tastes a bit spicy and is perfect as a side dish.
Of course, shallots could not escape the fate of being transplanted back by Gu Ran. She took out a few bulbs of shallots with thick stems and leaves and threw them into the soil next to the green onions and ginger pieces.
By the way, the green onions are growing well now, and the ginger has taken root and sprouted. It will be soon enough before they can be picked and used as seasoning. Gu Ran also plans to expand the planting of these frequently used green onions and garlic, since they are easy to care for!
She will move there after she plows the acre of land behind the house.
After frying the shallots and beef, add the egg liquid. When the egg liquid solidifies slightly, you can add the white rice cake.
The white rice cake is already cooked, so the main thing after putting it into the pot is to reheat it and add two drops of fish sauce to let it be soaked with the flavor of the gravy.
The fried white rice cake looks as white as jade against the backdrop of meat strips, egg shreds and green shallots. It tastes delicate, chewy and refreshing.
After eating, have a bowl of fresh and sweet fish ball soup, and the dinner will be complete.
After digesting the food, while holding a candle in the patio to digest the food, Gu Ran heard a subtle sound, as if someone was sneaking in. His originally relaxed mood suddenly became tense.
She has been in Xiaxi Village for some time. Although she does not interact with the villagers, the villagers probably already know that she has settled in the village alone.
She is a single woman living in a small house far away from other villagers. Could it be that someone with malicious intentions from the village has sneaked in?
Who could it be?
Gu Ran was a little scared, but also a little not afraid.
She was afraid that the bad guys who came in would do something bad to her, but she was not afraid that even if she couldn't deal with the bad guys, she could at least hide in the workshop.
Well, losses are inevitable. All the food I bought these days is kept in the kitchen, and the meat I bought today is still in the jar. I hope they will not be stolen.
Gu Ran's heart was in his throat. He happened to see the hoe and shovel he had bought today placed in the corner. He picked up the hoe and raised it: "Who is coming into my house as a guest? How rude of you to come in and not even say hello?"
The other party didn't move.
"Who the hell is it? Come out right now, or don't blame me for being rude!"
Gu Ran gripped the hoe tightly and walked slowly towards the direction of the sound. When he was about to reach the place where dried fish and meat were drying, suddenly a black shadow fell to the ground with a thud. The pole shook twice, and one of the dried meats fell to the ground and hit the black shadow.
With a "meow", the black shadow screamed and jumped in panic, then escaped from the patio.
Hearing this sound, Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
It's a cat!
Gu Ran walked to the pole, picked up the fallen dried meat, and planned to wash it before hanging it up again. He noticed that one of the fish hanging there had a big hole bitten in its head.
It was a thief cat that smelled the fish in the house and sneaked in to steal the fish!
After Gu Ran hung the dried meat back up, he returned to the side room holding a candle and started burning dried mugwort.
The workshop is too narrow and is only suitable for drawing talismans, not for resting. If you want to sleep well, you still have to sleep on the big bed in the wing room. Therefore, daily fumigation with mugwort to repel mosquitoes is an essential activity before going to bed.
After entering the workshop, Gu Ran bent over his desk, looking at the space card pattern that had been half repaired.
Fortunately, it was a cat and not a human who came into the house today!
Thinking of the false alarm just now, Gu Ran was still a little scared.
This is the bad thing about a girl living alone. Others may look down on her or even have evil intentions. Girls like her are the ideal targets of those evildoers.
If the person who just sneaked in was not a cat but a person, the problem would not be solved so easily!
She has a workshop where she can hide in times of emergency, but if she wants to survive here, she can't just ensure that others are safe, she also has to be careful about the things she has stockpiled at a high price and avoid any loss.
Isn't it just for these things that people come to rob and steal?
Gu Ran suddenly felt that it was necessary to open an extra storage space before any damage was caused.
If there are multiple space grids, all the rations that can be stored can be put in them, leaving only the necessary ones outside, which can reduce losses.
So, while continuing to sell bayberry water, Gu Ran focused all her attention on repairing the space card. Finally, five days later, she completed the second space card and opened space slot number eight.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully repairing the space card. The space card corresponds to space slot number eight.]
[Space Grid No. 8 is a static space, accommodating only inanimate objects and maintaining their original state. 400 cubic meters]
[Space slot number eight has been opened, host, enjoy using it.]
When he saw the attributes of space grid number eight, Gu Ran pursed his lips and cheered in his heart.
She was just lacking such a space, so when she was repairing the pattern, she deliberately framed it towards the rune that meant time stood still, and it actually worked.
Then from now on, put all your valuables into this space number 8, and you won’t have to worry about them being stolen!
Gu Ran immediately went to the kitchen, left a half-month supply, and stored all the dry food, flour, etc. that he had bought before into space grid No. 8!
When you have saved enough money, you can go to the county town and buy more food and necessities at once, so you won’t have to go to the county town every once in a while, which is so troublesome!
As for dried meat and the like, you can only take them in after they have been dried in the sun.
As for the thieving cat that sneaked into Gu Ran's cottage, it came back the next day. It must have tasted the sweetness and set its eyes on the fish that Gu Ran was drying in the sun.
When Gu Ran came back from selling bayberry juice in Donglin Township during the day, he happened to see the thief cat jumping out of the yard. When it saw Gu Ran, it seemed to remember that this was the human who chased it away that day and night, so it ran away with its ears erect.
It's a tabby cat.
A very common rural cat that is orange all over but has tiger stripes.
Gu Ran walked into the yard and took a look. He saw that the hole in the fish that had been bitten by the cat had become bigger.
Although cats have bird stomachs, if they continue to do this day in day out, they can't prevent the whole fish from being eaten.
Gu Ran was helpless.
A fish costs twenty cents. Plus, she pickled it with salt and ginger, and dried it in the sun for several days, and the labor cost also has to be taken into account, so the cost is far more than twenty cents.
Moreover, cats cannot eat food with high salt content, as it is not good for the cats themselves.
So the next day, when he went to Donglin Township to sell bayberry drinks, Gu Ran went to find a fisherman and bought some small fish and shrimps for a penny a handful. After washing them, he placed them under the poles used to dry dried meat. The dried meat strips and fish drying on top were put into space grid No. 8.
On this day, because Gu Ran had almost picked all the bayberries on the two trees and there was little bayberry water left, Gu Ran went to Donglin Township to sell drinks the next day. When he was not setting up the stall, he went to Dayu Forest to set traps.
Before she went out, she heard a slight noise outside. Knowing that the tabby cat had come, she walked stealthily to the door and stuck half of her head out to look inside.
In the sunlight, the fur on the cat's not particularly clean body was tanned to a golden color.
With graceful cat steps, it slowly walked to the bottom of the pole. When it raised its round golden eyes, it saw that it was empty. There was no fish that it used to steal. There was still a hint of suspicion on its face. When it saw the small fish and shrimps in the small bowl beside it, it stood still and looked at them for a long time before walking over, lowering its head to sniff, and then buried its head in eating.
Oh!
Watching the civet cat quickly finish eating the fish and shrimp, licking its pink tongue, and starting to comb its hair, wash its face and eat its paws, Gu Ran also felt his hands itchy.
I really want to pet a cat!
But as soon as she appeared, the tabby cat was frightened and ran away.
Gu Ran had no way to deal with this little thing.
But in the future, whenever I go to Donglin Township, I will still bring a handful of small fish and shrimps and put them in the corner.
Gradually, the tabby cat learned that there would always be fish and shrimp in the house, and it would appear from time to time, eat, and leave. It never bothered to even give Gu Ran a glance, and was extremely cold and arrogant.
Cats are wild by nature. Even in modern times, there are cats that have not been completely domesticated by humans. Moreover, the tabby cat is the most independent of them.
Gu Ran didn't care too much.
The bayberry season was over, and she had saved a small amount of money, so she had to focus on collecting products from the forest to have a regular income to support her livelihood.
Gu Ran started setting traps after buying farm tools.
The traps she made were also very simple, all rope traps and mud pit traps for small animals.
She was alone, and not to mention that she had to go deep into the island forest to hunt large animals and risk the danger of miasma that could spread at any time, even if she encountered an animal, she would be outnumbered and unable to cope. By then, she would not know whether she would be the prey or the animal would be the prey.
Living alone has many conveniences, such as freedom and leisure, but it also has many inconveniences, such as times like this.
So it’s better to be careful.
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