Chapter 36 Chapter 36 Counting Money in the Spring
Pei Yanqing smiled. He was lucky to have met the emperor twice. Once he was granted an official position and once he was promoted. If the first time was just for the emperor to see him, this time he was completely in front of the emperor.
From the highest position in the cabinet, the emperor had officially transferred him to the Imperial City Division. If he did a good job this time, the position of the new commander would be his.
The journey was long and difficult, but since he had made up his mind to make a name for himself and had come before the official, it was impossible for him to refuse. Since he had already agreed, he had nothing to fear about the unknown.
There are so many scholars in the world that even if one passes the imperial examination, it is not considered a leap over the dragon gate. What the aristocratic families can achieve is not something that ordinary people can achieve even in their entire lives. If one cannot gain the favor of the government and has no family influence, he may only be a low-ranking official in the city of Bianjing for the rest of his life.
If you want to get ahead, you have to seize every opportunity to climb up.
Pei Yanqing looked at the person in front of him with a curious look on his face, and smiled at her, with undisguised ambition in his eyes.
Baozhu was just curious, and when she found out that it was just as she guessed, she felt a little admiration in her heart. This gentleman was meticulous and thoughtful. If he could make a name for himself, his future would be immeasurable.
It was unknown when Pei Xunshi left Bian Jing. Even Grandma Pei didn't know where he was transferred to, let alone where he was going on this mission. She only knew that it was an errand chosen by the government.
In February, Bianjing was also filled with a hint of spring, with tender buds sprouting on the willow branches. The ban on the Bianjing wharf was also lifted, and for a time the wharf returned to its pre-winter bustle.
At first, I disliked the Zhen family food stall, and the stall selling steamed buns that was often sarcastic closed down completely.
Because there were so many people during the Lunar New Year, some ignorant diners would often come to eat the fu tu. After the Lunar New Year, the streets were less crowded, and his stall had even less business. He only set up the stall for the first month of the year and then sold it in disgrace.
Several adults from the Street Office often came to eat here, and the aunt who sold sesame cakes nearby also took good care of him, so no one dared to cause trouble.
There were many people on the streets during the first month of the lunar year, and the Zhen family's business was always good. With the added bonus of fried skewers, they could earn at least four or five strings of cash a day, and sometimes six or seven strings. The edge of the cart had been burnt by the fire, so they took advantage of the two days of free time to close the stall and rush to the carpenter's shop to ask the craftsman to replace the boards.
I went back and looked at the account books in the evening. I spent a total of 62 strings of cash on duck and mutton offal, meat and vegetables throughout the first month of the year, and earned a total of more than 150 strings of cash. After deducting the cost of labor and some miscellaneous costs and taxes, there was also a stall fee and miscellaneous expenses of 6 strings of cash, so the total net profit was more than 70 strings of cash!
After all the calculations, the stall fee was nothing. Although it was also because there were so many people during the New Year, making money here was much easier than at the docks.
Since Xu Shi wasn't an official agent, she had no other income during the first month of the year and could only work on a single business deal. However, she had some free time during the first month, as many people came to view and rent properties. After deducting the fees she paid to the agent, she still earned 18 strings of cash. Zhen Fu's restaurant distributed fruit and snacks during the first month of the year, along with two jars of their wine. They also gave her a holiday allowance for the first day of the year. All told, the total income for the first month was over 30 strings of cash.
The wages of a cook alone were more than thirty strings of cash. Baozhu couldn't even imagine how much money Fanlou earned that year. In the past, the total monthly revenue of the Zhen family's two restaurants was only more than three hundred strings of cash.
However, the siblings' stall revenue was several times higher than Zhen's father's in the past year, which made Baozhu feel the real value of the money earned from setting up a stall.
The eldest brother only knew that business was good every day, but he didn't know that he had made so much money. When Baozhu asked him to go together to exchange the money for silver, he was shocked for a while. He had only been in Bian Jing for more than half a year, but he had already saved more than a hundred strings of cash.
I used to think the stall fees were expensive, but now I feel that they are nothing special. There is a big difference between the inner city and the outer city. The money earned in the first month of the year is equivalent to two or three months of hard work at the docks.
Baozhu and her eldest brother each took out two strings of cash and deposited them into the public account. The Zhen family had heavy expenses in the first month of the year, but there was still a lot of money in the public account. Xu used her private money to make clothes for her children, and most of the expenses during the year were for food and drink.
Xu had never asked them to pay money. If anyone made money, they would pay more; if they didn't, they wouldn't pay anything. For example, Baorong was studying painting with Yu Niang this month, and she needed to concentrate on her studies, so she naturally had no time to paint and sell. No one would say anything if she didn't pay. Baozhu knew that she had spent a lot of money on her painting lessons, so she gave her a few strings of cash privately so that she wouldn't be reluctant to spend money on any ordinary purchases she wanted.
Ah Xiu and Lady Xu had signed a lease for a small room converted from a warehouse, with a monthly rent of seven hundred coins. Ah Xiu also contributed another ten coins to the treasury for expenses. This left her with only a few coins, but she wasn't worried about having no money. She could learn to eat and drink at Lady Gu's house during the day, and she would also eat at Zhen's house when she returned home in the evening.
Since she was no longer a slave, she felt much more relaxed.
I made some money selling cashmere waistcoats before, but it's hard to sell them now that it's warm. I asked the peddler what's the most popular item nowadays, and learned that both men and women like to wear flowers in their hair in spring, so fresh flowers are the most popular. Many people also buy silk and gauze flowers. Although they are more expensive than fresh flowers, they don't sell worse than fresh flowers if they are well made.
She learned embroidery in Madam Gu's embroidery workshop. Since she had no time during the day, she would light a lamp and make flowers at night. Baozhu saw her making flowers to sell, and suggested that she also make some paper flowers, dye them and make petals into stamens, so that they would look just like real flowers. She could go to the pharmacy to buy some paper to try it out. If they sold well, it would also be a way to make money.
Ah Xiu understood everything very well. In addition to silk flowers, she also made paper flowers. She specialized in making flowers that were not available in spring. She was very skillful, and the flowers she made looked just like real ones except for the lack of fragrance. The peddlers she often dealt with knew the value of the flowers and were willing to pay a high price for them.
Although spring had arrived, it was still chilly in the mornings and evenings, and the wind still felt damp and cold, so Baozhu still had to wear thick clothes when she went out. Since the boats had started sailing again at the dock, her eldest brother had gone to tend to the stall there, while Baozhu continued to tend to the stall at Zhouqiao.
I didn't feel it at first, but now that Ah Xiu is not around, I feel like there are too many things to do. I have to beg for the soup I cook at home, and someone has to watch over me when I collect money at the stall.
With the addition of another stall, they couldn't find anyone to help. From taking orders from customers to clearing the bowls and wiping the table, they were always busy and the brother and sister were often in a mess. Xu now had acquaintances in the pawnshop, so Baozhu asked her to help find two reliable helpers, as her eldest brother also needed people.
The aftermath of last year's flood is still lingering, and now is the time of famine. The price of grain in Bianjing is high, and the cost of labor has also increased a lot. Previously, it would cost at most seventy or eighty wen a day to hire a worker, and even the most tired porter at the dock would only earn a hundred wen a day. Now, even the most ordinary worker would cost a hundred wen a day.
Because they were too busy, the delivery business was temporarily suspended. If someone wanted to order food, they had to find a runner to pick it up, and they had to pay the runner the full price.
Sometimes when the students of the Imperial College wanted to eat, they would pool their money and ask someone to deliver it to them.
Brother Wang and Brother Liu had already visited all the restaurants in Bianjing. Their business of selling garlic and side dishes was stable, and since they had nothing else to do for the time being, Baozhu simply asked the two of them to take over for a while.
Brother Liu Si was smarter, so he asked him to help the eldest brother. Although Brother Wang was an honest man, he was very strong. He looked very imposing even when standing on the stall. Ordinary people didn't dare to make trouble, so he asked him to help Baozhu on Zhouqiao Street.
It would be much easier to have more people around, so Baozhu would pay them both on a daily basis for now. Now is not as busy as during the New Year, so she would pay them both one hundred coins a day according to the market price.
Last year, the pawnbroker's manager promised to find a vacancies for Madam Xu if they became available, but now there's some confirmation. Madam Xu has been running around for days, even stopping to look for houses, making all the necessary arrangements and sending out many gifts before the matter is finally settled.
From then on, he became a registered official in the government office.
Madam Xu is really an expert at dealing with people. She has some connections with everyone in the brokerage industry. Now that she is an official broker, although she has to bribe people and give them gifts, if she doesn't have any skills, no one will pay attention to her. Even if she has money, she won't be able to give them gifts.
When she was in Suzhou, the family relied on her for many social interactions. The Zhen family was able to own two restaurants and other businesses, thanks to her hard work.
After hearing that this matter was accomplished, Baorong thought that A Niang was very capable and gave her a thumbs up and praised her non-stop, saying, "Among the people I know, A Niang is one of them."
Baozhu had just finished cleaning the cart when she looked up and asked, "What do you mean by 'Aniang counts'? Isn't Aniang the most powerful? Then who is the most powerful?"
Baorong rolled her eyes and said, "Mother, did you see that? My sister is trying to stir up trouble!"
Baozhu made her laugh out loud.
But when talking about this matter, Bao Rong showed a look of admiration on his face.
"If we talk about powerful women, I think there are many powerful women. Not to mention others, Madam Yu and Madam Gu are both very powerful. They have bad relationships with their families, so they set up their own women households."
"When Madam Gu's husband passed away, her uncle fought over the inheritance and drove her and her daughter out. When Madam Gu first came to Bianjing, she had only two taels of silver. Later, when she became wealthy, she sued the officials and took the property back. Now she has this family fortune."
"Mrs. Yu's previous husband's family was extremely rude, and the husband was even more incompetent. The whole family embezzled her dowry, but her natal family refused to help. She couldn't bear it anymore and decided to divorce. If they didn't agree, she would write a petition to sue. Her husband's family was afraid of trouble, so they also kept quiet and wrote a letter of divorce. However, Mrs. Yu's natal family also had a rift with her because of this incident. They didn't feel like they were a family anymore, so they simply set up a separate household for the woman."
Baozhu sighed, "Women in this world have always had a harder time. Fortunately, the Empress Dowager is kind and has allowed the establishment of female households. She also provides support for female households and exempts them from some rent and taxes."
Those who have a better life, like Madam Gu and Madam Yu, and those who have an ordinary life, like the female vendors, female shopkeepers and female chefs on the street, all have to work harder to establish a reputation.
The mother, daughter and her two daughters were filled with emotion. The Zhen family had originally been afraid that they would not be able to survive in Bianjing City, but after more than half a year, they had already established their own careers.
Seemingly overnight, the branches of trees in the streets of Bianjing were draped in red and green. Restaurants, teahouses, and alleyways were filled with flower vendors, carrying baskets filled with peach and apricot blossoms. Bianjing residents also took advantage of the spring weather and flocked outside the city to enjoy the blossoms.
Aunt Zhen sent someone to call Baozhu and Yu Niang to go for an outing in the garden outside the city during the Flower Festival. Baozhu was just trying to make some money during the festival. Baorong had some time, so he asked his aunt and called Yu Niang to go with them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
