"You've arrived." The business opened on the eighth day of the lunar new year, and everyone thought it would be booming, but instead it was deserted. Lü Siniang spoke weakly.
"You look like you're in a bad mood."
Lu Siniang didn't even glance at Gu Nanjiao, and said indifferently, "Without a single guest, how can you be in a good mood?"
Gu Nanjiao leaned closer to Lü Siniang and smiled gently: "It's only been a few days since the New Year. People are still wearing their new clothes and haven't had time to change them. Who would still be making clothes? It's perfectly normal that business is bad."
Lu Siniang raised her head and looked at Gu Nanjiao, saying, "If you put it that way, it's true. I was too hasty."
Gu Nanjiao thought for a moment and said to Lü Siniang, "There are many people getting engaged and married before and after the New Year, so let's promote wedding clothes, quilts, pillows and the like."
"That's a great idea!" Lü Siniang perked up, her eyes shining.
"The academy hasn't started yet, so where's the article? Did you send it to his teacher?" Gu Nanjiao asked casually.
"Sigh, how can I trouble people every time? This morning when we opened, Meihua and the children came, saying they were there to help, but no one showed up. I sent her back to take care of the children."
Gu Nanjiao scoffed, "So you still think of Sister Meihua as your nanny, someone who can take care of the kids when business is slow."
Lu Siniang got anxious. She didn't like what Gu Nanjiao said. "We're sisters in the same boat now. What do you mean by 'old woman'?"
"Yes, yes, dear sister, I misspoke." Gu Nanjiao quickly apologized, though she had only been teasing her.
According to Lü Siniang, Liu Shi has rented a small house near the shop, which is barely enough for her and her daughter to live in. She originally wanted Liu Shi to move in with her, but Liu Shi refused and insisted on renting her own place.
Gu Nanjiao nodded upon hearing this, agreeing with Liu's approach. No matter how good the relationship between two families, living together would inevitably lead to conflict. Besides, Lü Siniang was her superior, so it was bound to be somewhat uncomfortable.
Suddenly, Lü Siniang asked, "When the weather gets warmer, let's go to the county town and see if there are any good shops. I'm planning to move the shop there. What do you think?"
Gu Nanjiao slapped her thigh and excitedly grasped Lü Siniang's hand: "Sister Siniang, you and I are thinking the same thing. I was just about to discuss this with you. Oh my, I feel like we are really on the same wavelength."
Lü Siniang was also very happy: "Okay, let's go to the county town another day."
After leaving Jiaoniang Pavilion, Gu Nanjiao went to Bai's Pharmacy. Bai Luochen was not there. Manager Yao told her that Young Master Bai had gone home for the New Year and had not yet returned. She could discuss anything with him.
Gu Nanjiao thought for a moment and decided that it would be the same to tell Manager Yao. So she said, "Manager Yao, the kudzu root powder has been processed and there is a large quantity. I will hire a car to deliver it to you tomorrow."
"It's been processed so quickly. However, before he left, Young Master Bai instructed that if the kudzu root powder is finished and there is a large quantity, you can use Bai's Pharmacy's carriage to pick it up. I'll send you to your house to pick up the goods first thing tomorrow morning."
Gu Nanjiao was overjoyed. Bai Luochen was so capable; he even solved the transportation problem for her. This cooperation was truly worthwhile.
"Alright then, please thank your young master Bai for me. I live in Toad Village, you know my name. Just look for me when the time comes."
...
The next morning, Manager Yao sent someone over.
The visitor was a young apprentice at Bai's Pharmacy, who was usually responsible for purchasing and delivering various medicinal herbs to the pharmacy.
The processed kudzu root filled a whole cart. The young apprentice signed the order and whipped it away, attracting quite a bit of attention along the way.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a horse-drawn carriage."
"Me too, this is the first time I've ever seen a horse."
"What do you think he brought from the Lu family? It's all so mysterious."
"Before the New Year, they bought tree roots for firewood for one penny. Could it be that thing?"
"It doesn't look like it. It's in a bag. How big are the tree roots?"
The neighbors gathered together, whispering and full of curiosity.
Yang Meiqin watched as a large carriage emerged from Lu Yanzhao's house, laden with goods. She couldn't suppress her jealousy. She remembered Lu Yanping mentioning yesterday that the Lu family had found a way to make money, and instead of thinking of their own family, they had called their own relatives over. Perhaps it was related to the acquisition of those tree roots.
Yang Meiqin couldn't help but stir up trouble: "I heard that Gu Nanjiao is buying up those tree roots. I don't think they're tree roots at all. They're probably some kind of good stuff that can make people rich. She's so good at buying ours at low prices and then selling them at high prices. I wonder how much she's making?"
After listening to Yang Meiqin's words, many people felt that she made sense. The things in the back mountain belonged to everyone. Gu Nanjiao bought them at a low price and then sold them at a high price, which was too selfish.
Many people disagreed with Yang Meiqin's words. They argued that what everyone originally used as firewood was now being bought by Gu Nanjiao, allowing everyone to earn some money. They reasoned that having a market for the tree roots was her skill, but even if everyone knew the roots were valuable, they wouldn't know where to sell them, so they would still be treated like waste firewood.
However, Li agreed with Yang Meiqin's words and chimed in, adding fuel to the fire: "Don't you believe me? I saw it with my own eyes. They can earn three taels of silver a day. They only charge us one coin. That's outrageous!"
Gu Nanjiao, who had just reached the intersection, overheard Li's words. She laughed sarcastically, "Second Aunt, I heard you gossiping about me this morning, saying I'm too greedy. You're so mean. I could have led everyone to get rich, but after what you said, I suddenly don't want to buy from this village anymore. There are so many villages around here, I can buy from other places."
The neighbors panicked when they heard this: "Oh dear, Mrs. Lu, we just dug up over a hundred catties yesterday. If you don't collect it, it'll all become firewood. This stuff isn't easy to burn, so it's a waste of your effort!"
Gu Nanjiao lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected: "I originally planned to raise the price to three copper coins per pound, but my second aunt said that I deliberately hid it from you and was making dirty money on my own. Since she said that, how could I do something so unscrupulous? I'll go to the neighboring village to buy it."
"Oh, no, we don't think that way. Everyone knows that Yang Meiqin and Li Shi don't get along with you. We won't listen to their attempts to sow discord."
Gu Nanjiao slowly raised her head: "Right now, the kudzu root hasn't been sold yet, the sales channels haven't been opened up, and the money hasn't been earned. I'm testing the waters first to see if anyone will buy this product. But please rest assured, if it really sells well, then everyone can plant kudzu root, and I will be responsible for purchasing it. What do you think?"
"It's feasible, but I don't know if this stuff can actually make money. We don't have much land to begin with, and if we use it to grow this, what if it doesn't make any money? We won't have any crops left on our land either. Wouldn't we be starving and thirsty?"
Hearing her neighbors' doubts, Gu Nanjiao smiled slightly: "Don't worry about that. I've leased the back mountain and signed the paperwork with the village chief. I'll start planting the first batch in March to test the waters. I'll ask everyone to help with the planting then, and of course, you won't be shortchanged on your wages."
Hearing Gu Nanjiao say this, everyone felt a little relieved and stepped forward to praise her, saying that she was indeed worthy of being the daughter of a scholar and the wife of a scholar, knowing so much.
Gu Nanjiao glanced at Li Shi and Yang Meiqin with disdain, thinking they were just causing trouble every day.
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