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“What?” Mister Luo opened his mouth wide in astonishment, eager to reach out and grab the young master’s hand, but the maid beside him quickly stopped him.
He chuckled and rubbed his hands together, asking eagerly, “Young master, do you really have a way to deal with these thousand bolts of silk?”
“Yes,” Wei Yunlan replied with a resolute expression. “But I need Mister Luo to take me to see the condition of this batch of silk first.”
“No problem.” Since he had nothing to lose, Mister Luo, clinging to the mindset of trying anything to save the situation, gestured for her to follow. “Young master, please come with me. The warehouse is out back.”
It was called a warehouse, but it was actually a separate courtyard facing the rear street.
It was similar in size to the front courtyard, both belonging to the same Suijiang merchant. Every year, Mister Luo would rent it for one quarter while doing business in Suijiang.
Leading Wei Yunlan into the courtyard, Mister Luo glanced at the collapsed corner of the main building’s roof and sighed deeply. “If I had known the roof was so flimsy, I wouldn’t have rented this place.”
Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a regret pill. If he could really go back a month and take one, he wouldn’t have rented this courtyard. He wouldn’t even have come to Suizhou!
“Young master, please look. This is all the silk. The ones on the left are a bit squeezed and damaged, while those on the right are completely intact. If you’re not sure, you can check them yourself.”
The door was open, and light shone in from outside. Wei Yunlan noticed that the doors and windows were covered with cotton cloth to block the sun.
Seeing her glance in that direction, Mister Luo explained, “Some silks are delicate and can’t be exposed to sunlight. It’s best to store them in the dark.”
Wei Yunlan nodded and walked toward the silk neatly stacked in the room, starting with the left side.
The damage was minor—some squeezing and deformation, a few stains or broken threads. They wouldn’t withstand close scrutiny, but from a distance of three to five feet, one wouldn’t easily notice unless looking carefully.
These minor flaws wouldn’t be a problem for ordinary fabrics, but the issue was that this wasn’t ordinary cloth—it was silk.
Wealthy families were particular. They would rather go without than use something flawed or inferior.
No matter where this batch of damaged silk was shipped, it would be a loss either way. Mister Luo looked anxiously at Wei Yunlan. “Young master, do you really have a way?”
“I do,” Wei Yunlan replied, already having a solution in mind—but she wanted more than just the flawed bolts.
She then walked toward the undamaged silk on the right. There were dozens of different colors and patterns, the most prominent being the bolts with a pattern of folded branches and peonies. Even in the capital’s silk shops, they wouldn’t look out of place.
Wei Yunlan remembered she had a few bolts of this Tanzhou silk in her dowry warehouse—now safely stored in her space.
“Young master has a good eye. Those bolts are the most valuable in this batch. If sold in the capital, they’d go for seventy to eighty taels per bolt,” Mister Luo said, eyes glinting with hope. This young master clearly understood the business. Maybe he really could help?
Wei Yunlan said nothing more, carefully inspecting the entire room of goods before turning to Mister Luo. “Mister Luo, let’s be frank. I have a buyer who can take all of your goods.”
“All of them?” Mister Luo’s eyes lit up. He pointed to the flawed bolts on the left. “Including those?”
“Of course,” Wei Yunlan replied with a slight nod. “But the price obviously won’t be the same as before.”
“Of course, of course.” Mister Luo chuckled and nodded vigorously. Having someone willing to buy them at all was a blessing—how could he expect pre-disaster prices?
“Young master is willing to help me with this big favor, so I won’t beat around the bush. The price I offered Ruixiangzhai was already 20 percent below the usual rate.” That was for the intact bolts. Ruixiangzhai hadn’t even considered the flawed ones.
His round face full of eagerness, Mister Luo said, “If your buyer can take the entire batch, I can give you another 5% off on the intact ones, and I’ll sell the damaged ones at half price. I’ll also give you a red envelope—300 taels as a thank-you!”
This price was even better than Wei Yunlan expected—mostly because Suijiang’s prices were lower than those in the capital to begin with.
After a moment’s thought, Wei Yunlan asked, “After this batch is sold, Mister Luo, will you remain in Suijiang?”
“Of course not.” Mister Luo answered without hesitation. “As soon as it’s sold, I’ll return to Tanzhou. I’ve been eating poorly and sleeping worse these past few days—I’ve lost weight.”
Wei Yunlan glanced at his round belly and paused before replying, “Then you can forget the red envelope. Help me with this transaction instead. Mister Luo, could you let me have the rest of the lease on these two courtyards?”
“Absolutely! No problem at all!” Mister Luo agreed at once. After all, if he wasn’t using them, it wasn’t like the landlord would refund him.
The Suizhou merchant who owned the courtyards had already fled to Pingzhou with his family the night of the Earth Dragon’s turn.
“I’ll go back and discuss it with my elders. Please wait here for a bit, Mister Luo. I’ll be back in an hour at most.” At that, Wei Yunlan lowered her voice and said seriously, “Please keep this matter quiet—don’t tell the other merchants.”
“Of course.” Mister Luo nodded knowingly and smiled. “Young master, no need to be so formal. That ‘Mister Luo’ title is just what outsiders use. Just call me Old Luo, or Uncle Luo!”
“Uncle Luo,” Wei Yunlan said with a smile. Then, under Mister Luo’s expectant gaze, she created a new identity. “My surname is Yue.”
“So you’re Master Yue.” Mister Luo respectfully escorted Wei Yunlan to the gate. “I’ll be here waiting for your return.”
After bidding farewell, Wei Yunlan led Suihe through the winding streets to a remote carriage shop, where she bought a two-horse carriage.
Then, at a butcher’s stall, she ordered two sheep, four pigs, and a large quantity of cured meat—slaughtered and packaged, to be delivered to a specific location the next day.
As they passed a shop bearing a sign that read Fengji Porcelain Shop, Wei Yunlan’s eyes lit up. She quickly told Suihe to stop.
How could she have forgotten?
The most famous product of Suizhou wasn’t silk or grain—but porcelain.
Porcelain from Suizhou’s kilns was ranked among the finest in all of Great Yong.
If she hadn’t passed by this shop, she might’ve missed a true treasure.
The difficulty with porcelain was transport—but that wasn’t a problem for Wei Yunlan.
She could store it in her space and retrieve it safely, without a single piece breaking.
Silk. Porcelain.
With these two treasures in hand, how could she not make a fortune in Beiguan?