Chapter 110 [VIP]
Fang Ling's visit this time wasn't just for her son; she also wanted to help her husband build connections.
Since Chen Jing was transferred to Shanzhou, he has governed Shanzhou exceptionally well in the past two years, receiving top ratings in the first two years. Now, in the third year, barring any mishaps, he should be able to be transferred back to a better prefecture.
Chen Jing is not young anymore; he will be forty-two after the New Year. In ancient times, the average lifespan was only around forty years, so he is already considered to be approaching old age. If he cannot make any further progress, it will be difficult for him to enter the capital.
Fang Ling's ancestral home was in Jizhou. She had three older brothers. Apart from her eldest brother who inherited the family business, her other two brothers were officials in the capital. Her second brother was the fifth-rank Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and her third brother was the fifth-rank Imperial Censor.
If I could get help from my two older brothers to cultivate good relationships in the Ministry of Personnel, it would be great if Chen Jing could be transferred back to Laizhou or Jizhou after next year's assessment.
Besides that, Fang Ling was most concerned about her son's imperial examination. "It's already November, and I don't know if they've returned yet. If they can't come back by the end of the year, it might delay their county examination."
"Fourth Aunt, don't worry. Old Master Liang cares about this imperial examination even more than the three of them. He won't let them miss the deadline."
This is indeed true. Liang Boqing's sincere desire to teach his son was even stronger than Chen Jing's. It was also because the two of them got along so well that their relationship over the years was comparable to that of a father and son.
Fang Ling only brought two servants and an old woman with her this time. Wang Ying cleaned up the west wing for her to stay in.
The courtyard was small when we rented it, but we didn't have much money back then, so we just made do. We'll see how the popsicle business goes in the summer. If we can make as much money as we do in the winter, maybe we can buy our own house in the prefectural city next year.
*
As the Lunar New Year approached, Wang Ying arranged for a porter to deliver the prepared New Year's goods to her third aunt and eldest uncle.
When my uncle wrote last time, he said that this year had been tough and that Wang Ying and the others shouldn't send New Year's gifts anymore. But now that we have some money, we don't want to stop.
Unexpectedly, my uncle thought the same way, and on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, he sent over New Year's gifts, including food, daily necessities, six bolts of fine cloth, and two hundred taels of silver.
When Li saw these things, her nose tingled and her eyes immediately reddened. Over the years, her elder brother had always cared about her, fearing that she would have a hard time.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year's gifts were also sent from the county town, delivered by Cao Kun himself.
Upon seeing him, Li was overjoyed. "Why did you come? Are your mother and Qiu'er alright?"
"Thanks to my aunt, everything is fine at home, except that there is a severe food shortage in the county."
Although the flood didn't damage many houses, it destroyed the crops in the surrounding villages, resulting in a complete crop failure in the fall. Grain merchants raised prices drastically, charging 600 coins per dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice. Unable to afford the grain, the people began stealing and looting. With the government failing to act, Longquan County descended into chaos.
Upon hearing this, Li clutched her clothes in alarm, "Oh dear! Is everything alright at home?"
"It's nothing serious. Thanks to my sister-in-law for giving us so much grain, none of us went hungry. I worked in the porters' trade for seven or eight years and made a lot of friends. Later, I organized people to patrol near my home every day, and we would chase away anyone who tried to steal or rob us."
Just hearing it makes you know it's extremely dangerous.
Wang Ying asked, "So how is it now?"
"The imperial court's disaster relief grain was gradually distributed at the end of October, which greatly improved the situation for the people in the city. However, many people still starved to death at home. Currently, the price of grain in the county town remains high. I thought I would buy some grain in the prefectural city on my way here and transport it back to make some money by reselling it."
Cao Kun did not come alone; he brought more than ten men with him in seven horse-drawn carriages. The others were accommodated at the post station in the city and did not come over.
When the head of the porters was caught in a flood, he took several brothers out to buy grain, but they were robbed on the way. They lost their carts, horses, and grain, and they all died on the way.
The escaped men approached Cao Kun, hoping he would take over the porterage business, as he was now considered the head of the porterage.
Wang Ying said, "I happen to know the owner of the grain store in the city. I'll take a day off today and take you there tomorrow to ask about the prices."
Cao Kun was overjoyed. He had thought he would have to inquire about grain prices himself once he arrived in the prefectural city, but he never expected that his cousin-in-law would actually get to know the big boss of the grain store! His admiration for Wang Ying grew even stronger.
At noon, Wang Ying booked a table at Xianghelou Restaurant, and the family gathered together for a meal.
This was the first time Fourth Aunt had met Cao Kun. She handed him the gift she had prepared in advance for Qiu'er's child: a silver necklace that looked exactly like Yuanbao's.
"When Qiu'er got married, your fourth uncle and I were both in Shanzhou and couldn't come back. We were planning to go back to see you after the New Year when the Qinghuai County exam was held. Now that you've come, it's a good time to take the things back with us."
"Thank you very much, Fourth Aunt."
"No need for formalities. Our family is small, and our relatives live far away and we can't visit each other often. We just hope that you younger generation can get together and work together as a team so that we can live well."
In ancient times, people valued a large and prosperous family, where everyone worked together to make a living.
Compared to other prominent families, the Chen family is indeed small in number. Leaving aside the second branch, the first branch only has two sons, Qingyan and Qinghuai, and one daughter, Qingyun. Chen Jing has two sons and a daughter, but his youngest son is only five years old this year, which is far behind them.
My aunt only had two sons, both of whom are now married.
Lin Sui got married in October. The wedding was very simple, with only a few tables of banquet food set up by the groom's side, and a few relatives from the county town were invited.
There was no news from the prefectural city, and Wang Ying and the others had just settled down, so Chen Rong didn't want to trouble them to make another trip.
Madam Li exclaimed in surprise, "Sui'er is married! Wasn't the wedding supposed to be next year?"
Cao Kun said, "The Huang family was anxious, and Sui'er herself was also willing. After discussing it, they decided to proceed with the marriage."
Huang Yong didn't like his brother-in-law Cao Kun. Relying on his years of education, Huang Yong always spoke with an arrogant attitude and looked down on Cao Kun for being a porter. He was always lukewarm whenever they met.
After a while, Cao Kun got tired of paying attention to him. His cousins were much better at studying than him, and they were never as arrogant as him.
However, he only mentioned these words to Lin Qiu a few times, and never mentioned them to anyone else, since they were all relatives and he didn't want things to get too ugly.
The meal didn't end until the sun was setting, and everyone walked home.
Cao Kun still had to go to the inn to check on the staff, and they had arranged to come over early the next morning to visit the owner of the grain store with Wang Ying.
That evening, Wang Ying took Yuanbao into the experimental field. It had been more than half a month since their last visit. Yuanbao happily jumped around inside, picking a fruit or a small flower every now and then.
Wang Ying then tallied up the money she had earned during this period, planning to exchange it all for silver at the money exchange the next day to save space.
In the nearly two months since the business opened, we have earned a total of over 470 strings of cash. With the money we had saved up before, we now have over 600 strings of cash in hand.
There's still some time before the New Year, and the second batch of vegetables in the experimental field has gradually ripened. It's estimated that there will be a peak sales period around the New Year. Once this batch of vegetables is sold out, I can save at least a thousand taels of silver!
If I save for another year, I should have enough to buy my own house in the city. Renting isn't a long-term solution; it's better to settle down properly.
After packing up the money, Wang Ying looked at the notes Qingyan had left over the past few days. On the way back, because of the cold weather, the seaside was frozen and they could not take a boat, so they could only take a car back.
I arrived in Xuzhou the day before yesterday; the journey is already halfway complete.
Their journey was quite arduous. The climate in the south was warm, while the weather in the north was cold. After crossing the Huai River and the Qinling Mountains, the temperature dropped sharply. Despite wearing enough warm clothes, several of them caught colds one after another.
The group rested in a nearby county town for four or five days before continuing their journey.
The further north you go, the more difficult it becomes to travel. In some places, the snow is more than a foot deep, making it very difficult for horse-drawn carriages to travel on it.
Fortunately, they encountered a troop of soldiers escorting provisions northward. The general in charge had previously served as a commander in Jizhou and was none other than Mr. Lu's nephew. Liang Boqing had met him once before.
General Lu led them on their journey. With soldiers clearing the way, the journey became much faster, and they would reach Jizhou Prefecture in about ten days.
Wang Ying happily hugged her son and spun him around twice, "Yuanbao, your dad will be back in a little over ten days!"
Yuanbao can now count from one to one hundred and has a concept of ten. He counted on his fingers and asked, "Will Daddy be able to play with Yuanbao every day when he comes back?"
"Yes, Daddy can also build a snowman with Yuanbao."
“┗|｀O′|┛Aww~~” The little guy danced with joy.
"But you mustn't tell anyone that Father is coming back. This is our secret."
The little boy covered his mouth and nodded, "Yes! Yuanbao won't tell anyone!"
Wang Ying rubbed his little head and said, "Come on, let's go back to sleep."
*
The next morning, Wang Ying took Cao Kun to Yang's Trading Company.
When they arrived, Yang Deguang had not yet arrived, so the waiter made tea for the two of them and asked them to wait a moment.
Cao Kun asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, what are the prices like at the grain stores in the prefectural city?" He didn't have much silver on him and was afraid that if the prices were too high, he wouldn't make much money transporting it back.
"Millet was over 150 wen per dou a while ago, but the price might be a little lower now. Don't worry, this is the largest grain store in the prefectural city. If their price is high, other grain stores will only be more expensive."
Cao Kun nodded and waited anxiously for half an hour before Boss Yang finally arrived.
Because of the cold winter weather, he didn't want to come too early. After meeting Wang Ying and Cao Kun and learning their purpose, he said, "Right now, the entire Jizhou is short of food. The grain I have is all purchased from other places. After deducting costs, the lowest I can give you is 110 coins per dou of millet and 170 coins per dou of flour."
This was only because of Wang Ying's influence. For others, the minimum price for millet was 130 coins per dou, while for ordinary people, it was 150 coins per dou.
This price is already very cheap. You should know that the lowest price for grain in the county town is still 240 or 250 wen per dou. Transporting it back would mean a 50% profit!
Cao Kun was overjoyed to hear this. He had more than two hundred taels of silver with him, which he exchanged for grain and transported back. He figured that if everyone shared the profits, they could have a good New Year!
Yang Deguang didn't care about this small business. He called his men to take Cao Kun to arrange the grain, while he chatted with Wang Ying.
"How has Lord Wang been lately?"
"Uncle is in good health. A few days ago it was Aunt's birthday, and he sent someone to deliver fresh vegetables to her."
Yang Deguang also heard about it, but unfortunately he couldn't get in touch with them, and his husband had no way to send gifts.
"When you have some free time, would you please help me make an introduction, Manager Wang?"
Wang Ying replied vaguely, "Definitely, definitely."
Both of them were busy and didn't say anything. After Cao Kun arranged the food, Wang Ying returned to her own shop, where Ma Qianzi and Tian Ju had already set out the vegetables and opened for business.
It was too cold, so Wang Ying didn't let Qingyun come out. She took charge of weighing and collecting money herself. After finishing her work, she sat by the stove and counted on her fingers like a gold ingot how many days it would take for her husband to come home.
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