Holding the contract she signed with Manager Yu, Yang Cui first went to the market and bought two pieces of tofu. She was tired of eating cucumbers and eggplants every day. Then she went to the grain and oil shop next door and bought five catties of salt, ten catties of sugar, a peck of rice, and six catties of rice vinegar. Because she bought a lot, the shopkeeper gave her a catty of mung beans as a gift.
Finally, she went to the porcelain shop and ordered sixty porcelain jars with peony patterns and ten porcelain jars with red plum patterns. Because of the large quantity and the fact that it was a long-term business, the jars, which were originally priced at forty-five coins each, were finally sold for forty coins.
Yang Cui intended to use the porcelain jar with the red plum pattern to store dried perilla plums. If the perilla peach ginger sold well, she believed that the dried perilla plums could also be sold at the Observatory and open up sales channels.
Because of the large quantity, the porcelain shop also offered home delivery. However, since there were only forty porcelain jars with peony patterns available at the moment, Yang Cui asked them to deliver these forty first, and the rest would be delivered in three days.
The sight of a horse-drawn cart carrying goods into the village naturally attracted the attention of everyone. When the villagers saw the cart enter Yang Cui's house, they were so astonished that their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Even more astonishing was that they saw Yang Cui get out of the cart!
"Xiao Cui, what happened? Why did you come back in a carriage?"
"Xiao Cui, could it be that you've found someone else in the city?"
"Xiao Cui, what does your new man do?"
"Xiao Cui..."
Yang Cui glared at her, "Auntie, what next client? What new man? Don't talk nonsense! If you ruin my reputation, I'll never forgive you!"
Yang Cui knew that her actions today would definitely cause a huge uproar in the village, but she didn't expect these people to say such unpleasant things.
Yang Cui asked the shop assistants at the porcelain shop to help move the porcelain jars into the room. The villagers were very tempted when they saw so many beautiful porcelain jars; they really wanted them!
Seeing that Yang Cui had turned hostile earlier, the villagers were less harsh in their words now.
"Xiao Cui, why did you buy so many porcelain jars? You don't need that many to pickle vegetables!"
"Who uses such a beautiful porcelain jar to pickle vegetables? It must be expensive!"
“My family bought a similar one, a little smaller than this one, and it cost them thirty-eight coins!”
"Those are dozens of them! That must cost a fortune!"
At this moment, everyone thought of the compensation Yang Cui had received earlier.
Many people began to suspect that Yang Cui hadn't actually lost any money!
The nosy villagers all crowded into Yang Cui's house, and several women were envious of the conditions in Yang Cui's home.
Ninety-nine percent of the villagers in Ji'an Village live in mud-brick houses with thatched roofs, the kind that leak when it rains and let in the wind. They don't even have decent furniture. But Yang Cui's house is different!
After Lin Shih-kang passed the imperial examination, he became wealthy and replaced all the furniture in his home. Although the furniture wasn't expensive, it was very new, and the house was also renovated.
Many villagers were still eyeing Er Ya and San Ya, but they were still observing and would only send a matchmaker to their door once they were sure that Er Ya and San Ya really wouldn't go to the capital with Fan Shi.
Looking at the group of villagers, Yang Cui felt incredibly fortunate that the rice, salt, sugar, and other items she had bought were divided into ten jars. Otherwise, if they had seen them, who knows how much trouble would have ensued.
"Xiao Cui, you still haven't told me why you bought so many porcelain jars!" The speaker was Aunt Guo, who had previously arranged a marriage for Yang Cui.
Seeing these things, she felt both happy and heartbroken. If Yang Cui married her son, these things would be hers! The money used to buy them would also be hers. Her money wouldn't be spent like this!
Ugh, what a spendthrift woman, she doesn't know how to manage a household!
Yang Cui had no idea what she was thinking. If she did, she would definitely call her a lunatic!
The villagers wouldn't leave, asking Yang Cui where she got the money and what she needed the jar for...
Yang Cui was annoyed by their refusal to leave until they received an answer.
Yang Cui lied and said, "I bought it for my uncle, and I don't know what he's going to do with it."
"Your uncle? Your uncle can afford something so expensive?" Aunt Guo exclaimed in surprise.
Not only was Aunt Guo surprised, but everyone else was too. In ancient times, when people got married in the countryside, it was usually a marriage alliance between people from the same neighborhood. Who wouldn't know the situation of each other's families?
“What are you saying, Aunt Guo? Does that mean my uncle is destined to be poor his whole life?” Yang Cui retorted.
"That's not what I meant, but from what you're saying, it sounds like your uncle has struck it rich!"
"Whether I'll make a fortune or not, I don't know. Sorry, I have to go to my uncle's house now, I need to lock the door. Let's chat another day!"
Yang Cui invited the person out, then locked the doors and windows before setting off for Anjia Village. She needed to get this cheap uncle to bring her more peaches.
After Yang Cui left, the villagers were still discussing the fact that she had returned by carriage and bought many beautiful porcelain jars. Everyone knew that An Dafu had four sons who were still single, and they thought that if the An family really became rich, they should hurry up and settle down if they had a daughter.
*
settle down.
“Xiao Cui, even if you hadn’t come, I was thinking of coming to see you first thing tomorrow morning!” An Dafu said. “We’re not going to raise pigs, and I hope you won’t either. If it were as profitable as you say, everyone else would be doing it, and we wouldn’t have a chance. Listen to your uncle, don’t waste that money and time.”
An Dafu's refusal was within Yang Cui's expectations.
She didn't argue, but smiled and agreed. However, she still wanted to raise the pigs.
"Uncle, I've come today for something else."
"What's wrong? Did that damn Lin family bully you again?"
"No, it's like this, I want to buy two hundred catties of peaches and fifty catties of plums from you."
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