The other vendors all chimed in.
"Brother Zhu's price is not low!"
It's a few copper coins more expensive than what we bought this morning; the profit margin isn't big!
"At this price, we can only sell in large quantities after we receive them!"
Xie Yushu looked at Xie Baotian and the others. Xie Baotian whispered with several village leaders for a while and then told Xie Yushu that the prices here were much higher than in Tai'an Prefecture. Over there, a new adult wolf pelt only cost 600 copper coins, and a large sheepskin only cost 300. Everyone decided to sell here!
Xie Yushu agreed, saying that it made sense. Firstly, Tai'an Prefecture was suffering from drought, which caused a slump in the market and made it difficult to offer prices. Secondly, the goods collected there would eventually be sold here, so they would definitely make a profit in the process, and the prices offered here would be higher.
As for reselling them elsewhere for several times the price, that's their skill; they can only go this far!
After everyone reached a consensus, they all sold their goods here. Xie Baotian's five wolf pelts were the best, and he sold them for four taels of silver. He sold one sheepskin for four hundred copper coins and eight rabbit pelts for three hundred copper coins. In total, he sold four taels of silver and four hundred copper coins.
Liu Xiaodong sold eighteen wolf pelts and a few rabbit pelts for a total of fifteen taels and nine mace of silver.
Xiao Dashan and his wife sold two adult wolf pelts and five rabbit pelts for two taels of silver and fifty copper coins. Old Man Xiao sold a wolf pelt to his fourth son, Zhao Yuanhang, for eight hundred copper coins.
The others, except for the two families who received a wolf pelt as compensation for their deaths and sold it for eight hundred copper coins, sold for anywhere from one to several taels of silver.
That's roughly how much profit they made from fur. Many people still had some snakeskin left unsold. The snakeskin could only be sold to pharmacies, so everyone went with Xie Yushu to the medicinal herb market to sell medicinal herbs.
After asking around at several pharmacies, the group finally chose Renjitang, which offered warm hospitality and reasonable prices.
A snakeskin sells for anywhere from 20 to 50 copper coins. Most people have snakeskins and snake gallbladders as their medicinal materials, some having only three to five pieces, others a dozen or so. They collect these while fetching water in the mountains to deal with snakes, and they're quite satisfied selling them for two or three hundred copper coins.
Liu Xiaodong's piece of musk and a few pieces of tiger bone were quite valuable. The shopkeeper took them to the back room to check and gave him a total of thirty-one taels of silver! Liu Xiaodong was overjoyed, his eyes practically popping out of his head. He thanked Xie Yushu repeatedly. If it weren't for Xie Yushu, his two silly brothers would have thrown the musk away like a dung ball!
Xie Tianqi sold three dried snake gallbladders for a hundred copper coins, but the honey sold for a tael of silver!
The wild honey here costs 500 copper coins a pound, and Xie Tianqi's piece weighs exactly two pounds. Xie Tianqi gave the money directly to Xie Baotian, but Xie Baotian refused to accept it and instead stuffed some more money into Xie Tianqi's hand.
"From now on, you'll be out there without some money to rely on. I've kept the money from the wolf pelt; you can keep this tael or so for yourself!"
Xie Tianqi looked at Xie Yushu, and Xie Yushu said...
"Take out 500 copper coins and give them to Second Uncle, so he can give them to Brother Tianming!"
Xie Baotian already knew Xie Tianming would go to Tai'an Prefecture, but he hadn't expected those details. Now that Xie Yushu brought it up, he repeatedly said…
"That's only right, second brother, you keep it!"
"Why don't we just leave it with Tianqi? Anyway, the two brothers will be together from now on!" Xie Baoshu said.
Xie Tianqi, however, simply counted out five hundred copper coins and stuffed them into Xie Baoshu's arms.
"Let's just give it to Brother Tianming! It'll be more convenient for him to carry it around."
Seeing that Xie Tianqi and the others were giving so sincerely, Xie Baoshu accepted the gifts.
Xie Yushu only sold the Dendrobium officinale; she didn't take out the ginseng or snake gall. She planned to come back separately tomorrow or the day after. Selling now would be inconvenient with so many people around. Secondly, it would prevent Old Man Xiao from getting jealous and causing trouble!
The price of Dendrobium officinale was 800 copper coins per kilogram. Xie Yushu remembered that good quality Dendrobium officinale in modern times cost over 1,000 yuan per kilogram. This price was a little lower than she expected, but the times and places were different and there was no comparison, so she sold it without hesitation.
It weighed a total of 26.9 jin and sold for 21.5 liang of silver.
Old Man Xiao was very envious and reached out to ask for it.
"It's inconvenient for a woman like you to carry so much silver. Give it to me, I'll keep it all!"
Xie Yushu laughed. Did they have to eat like that?!
Xie Yushu initially intended to pretend she hadn't heard and leave, but then she thought about it. Xie Baotian was still there, and Old Man Xiao could be truly shameless when he wanted to. She couldn't give him any reason to say that Xie Baotian had failed in his duty to raise his daughter, so she replied...
"I need to use this money to buy medicine for Xiao Yi's leg. Besides, Xiao Yi has already given all his land to you two. Our family of four or five doesn't even have two acres of land. We need to have some money to buy food and clothing!"
Besides, my father-in-law has witnessed my skills; the money is with me, it won't get lost, so there's no need for him to worry!
After Xie Yushu finished speaking, she pulled Qu Xiaodie away. Old Man Xiao was furious, but he had already separated Xiao Yi from his family. It was not wrong for Xie Yushu not to give him the money. Besides, her family was still there, so he could not force her. He had no choice but to suppress his anger and decided to go home and let his wife handle it. Twenty taels of silver was enough for his fourth son's tuition for two years!
When Xie Yushu came out, the others who had sold their snake skins and gallbladders were already waiting outside. It was past noon, around 1 p.m., and everyone was starving. So they discussed finding a place to eat, buying some food, and then taking the boat back!
Although the imperial court would distribute disaster relief grain, it was easy to imagine that the grain provided by the court alone would not be enough to feed everyone. It would be considered good if they could get two meals of thin porridge a day to last until the next year! But there were still elderly people at home, and the children were growing up and were so hungry that they were emaciated. If they were not fed properly, they might not survive. That's why I decided to grit my teeth and buy some grain to take back with me.
Because there were so many people, everyone ate separately. They were mostly families or people from the same village eating in one place. Since everyone was nearby, they would greet each other after eating, and it was convenient to walk together.
Although everyone had just bought things and had money in their hands, they were reluctant to spend it because they had families to support. Most of them bought steamed buns, dumplings, or flatbreads and ate them under the trees by the roadside.
Only a few families with many able-bodied men, who sold noodles for a lot of money and were mostly young and strong men, would splurge and order a large bowl of noodles.
Of course, Xie Yushu, Xie Baotian, and the others also ate large bowls of noodles.
With the 100 taels of silver given by Han Zhongyu for the consultation, and another 21 taels from selling medicinal herbs, plus the 10-odd taels left from the money she robbed the drunkard to buy medicine for Han Zhongyu, not counting the money Xiao Yi brought her, she had over 130 taels of silver! Not to mention the ginseng and snake gall that she hadn't sold yet!
Xie Yushu is undoubtedly a young and wealthy woman now! She's very confident!
Xie Yushu had intended to invite Xie Baotian and the others to a restaurant for a meal, but Xie Baotian kept complaining that it was too ostentatious and refused. So Xie Yushu had to compromise and treat them to a big bowl of noodles instead!
The full name of Xie Family Shop is Big Bowl Bone Broth Noodles. The shop is not big, but it is quite popular. The six tables under the shade of the trees outside are almost full, leaving only one table. Xie Yushu and her party could not fit, so they went inside.
Old Man Xiao and his wife Xiao Dayong had bought meat buns and were eating them by the roadside when they saw Xie Yushu and the others enter the noodle shop. Old Man Xiao brought Xiao Dayong and his wife over as well, saying that it was too hot and they couldn't eat dry food, so they needed something smooth to eat.
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