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Lu Songli’s caravan, upon entering the territory of Jizhou, slowly proceeded towards the northeast. The villages became more frequent.
They didn’t enter any villages. With over fifty people in their group, it would be too much of a spectacle, likely causing panic. Previously, they entered Qingxi Village because of the heavy snow in winter, where sleeping outdoors would be fatal.
They usually found lodging near villages, trying to avoid disturbing the villagers.
Staying on the outskirts of villages also made it convenient for them to trade.
It started unknowingly, but their caravan began exchanging their supplies for unique local goods with nearby villages.
Although they had plenty of grain, it was good to change things up occasionally. Their supplies were after all brought from Chang’an City, and the locals were willing to trade with them.
Besides local delicacies, Lu Songli’s group also consciously collected high-quality local grain seeds.
Then, the opportunity arose during a trade. An old man from the village brought half a sack of medicinal roots and stems he had collected and dried, hoping to exchange them for some cloth from Chang’an.
Xiao Wu, who was responsible for exchanging supplies, was unsure and hesitant to trade with him.
Lu Songli happened to see this and walked over, “Wait, let me have a look.”
Lu Songli didn’t just look, she also broke off a small piece and chewed on it.
She recognized the half sack of cylindrical or elongated conical roots as Bupleurum, specifically the Bupleurum from Shexian County. Its roots were thick, with a dark brown or light brown surface. They were hard and tough, difficult to break, with a faint fragrance and a slightly bitter taste.
Bupleurum and Forsythia from Shexian County were later recognized as National Geographical Indication Products and were commonly known as authentic medicinal herbs.
The old man spoke enthusiastically, “Madam, don’t underestimate these roots, they are truly valuable.”
Lu Songli smiled, “Old man, I believe you. This sack of yours is actually a medicinal herb called Bupleurum. If you take it to a pharmacy in the city, you can exchange it for money.”
The old man gave her a thumbs up, “Yes, every year, people who trade in medicinal herbs come to our village to buy this herb.” After their village learned that this herb could be sold for money, they would collect it in the wild every year and sell it to the merchants who came to their village.
“Besides Bupleurum, do those medicinal herb merchants also buy another herb in your village?” Lu Songli was referring to Forsythia.
The old man gave her another thumbs up, “Madam, you truly know your stuff.”
“Old man, we’ll take this Bupleurum. You can tell him what you want in exchange.” Lu Songli pointed at Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu, being quick-witted, stepped forward and greeted, “Old man, what color cloth do you want? We brought a lot of different colors from Chang’an, come and have a look.”
The old man smiled and followed him.
Lu Songli carried the half sack of Bupleurum back to their temporary camp. She looked at the sack and fell into deep thought.
The gold and silver treasures they had seized from Qinglong Fort had not yet been divided, or rather, the rewards had not yet been distributed.
However, the distribution plan had already been determined.
The general idea of the plan was: everyone in the team gets a share, as they had all taken risks together.
There are differences in the amount of effort contributed by members, resulting in varying levels of rewards. The rewards are distributed based on the size of contributions, and are temporarily divided into five tiers.
Everyone was very pleased with this plan.
In terms of rewards, the Qin family naturally received the most wealth.
Because the Qin family had four members in the first tier, including Xu Zheng and Yang Wei.
Hu Guangcong, Yang Wei’s deputy at the escort agency, Yang Zifa, and four attendants were considered the second tier.
The third tier was naturally led by Qin Sheng and consisted of soldiers responsible for reconnaissance, who also put in a lot of effort.
The fourth tier consisted of the escorts from Yang Wei’s escort agency, who were considered peripheral personnel.
The women and children of the Qin family were placed in the fifth tier, focusing on participation, and received the least rewards, mostly just a nominal fee.
Furthermore, because Qiu Hai’s private treasury was discovered by Qin Sheng and his men, they were given an additional reward along with the soldiers who were patrolling with Qin Sheng at the time.
Initially, the rewards from these seized goods should have been distributed based on merit, with the gold and silver being distributed to individuals. However, Xu Zheng, Yang Wei, and others considered the long journey ahead and the risk of losing the rewards if they carried them individually. Therefore, they decided to temporarily store the rewards in one or two carts for safekeeping until they reached Pingzhou, where they would distribute them among themselves.
Their concerns were valid, so the rewards were temporarily not distributed, but the amount of gold and silver each person would receive was recorded.
Lu Songli pondered over this, mainly because she couldn’t stand seeing so much wealth lying idle.
Her best friend in her previous life often said, “If you don’t manage your finances, your finances won’t manage you.”
Well, she admitted that she was itching to play the game of money. As the saying goes, “If you have money, don’t let it go to waste.” With so many authentic medicinal herbs in Jizhou, and her expertise in this area, she saw an opportunity. She had the capital, so why not give it a try?
After contemplating for a while, she believed her plan was feasible. If they were willing, she decided to take them on this journey, where everyone would contribute financially and physically, making money work for them, creating wealth together.
As for how many people would respond, it didn’t matter to her. She was confident that the Qin family would support her.
Qin Sheng returned with a few fish from the river and saw his wife lost in thought, “What are you thinking about?”
Lu Songli asked Qin Sheng to bring Qin Heng and Qin Zhao, then laid out her plan.
Qin Heng: “The idea is good, let’s give it a try.”
Qin Zhao: “Little sister, you’re up to something again.”
Qin Sheng: “Money is meant to be used, don’t ask me.”
The three brothers of the Qin family supported her idea. They handed over all the silver they received to her for management.
They were very open-minded about it, considering that the funds she wanted to use were unexpected gains. Since she had contributed a lot to obtaining these unexpected gains, they were fine with her using them. If she made a profit, great, if she incurred a loss, they would treat it as if it never happened.
After reaching a consensus within the Qin family, they gathered everyone to discuss the matter.
“…So, this is the situation. You all have half an hour to consider. Those willing to invest can do so, whether it’s a large or small amount. Once we make money, the profits will be distributed according to the amount invested. Those who are not willing to invest can opt out, but the gains and losses of this venture will not affect this group. Rest assured, the portion of money that belongs to you will not be used. That’s it,” Lu Songli announced before dismissing everyone.
This matter impacted all the members of the team, and they gathered in groups to discuss it.
The four attendants, Xiao Lu and Ding Ge, approached Xu Zheng, “Constable Xu, what do you think about this? Invest or not?”
“I’ve decided to invest.”
“How much?”
“All of it.”
“Constable Xu, you’re generous!”
After knowing Xu Zheng’s decision, the four attendants huddled together and whispered.
The escorts from Yang Wei’s escort agency surrounded Yang Wei, asking his opinion.
“Invest! I’m putting it all in!”
Hu Guangcong’s group of soldiers were more united, all in! Following Sixth Madam, there’s meat to be eaten!
The most hesitant were the escort brothers from Yang Wei’s escort agency. Some of them were timid and only intended to invest half, since Sixth Madam said it was acceptable. They thought, even if they lose, they still have half left.
However, seeing their close friends investing everything, they couldn’t help but hesitate.
For example, Liu Yi saw Xiao Wu investing everything and couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Wu, why are you putting everything in?” What if they lose? Wouldn’t it be a waste of time?
Xiao Wu knew Liu Yi’s hesitation. They were good friends, so he wanted to advise him, “A Yi, how do you see yourself?” Xiao Wu pointed to his temple and asked, “Do you think you’re smart?”
Liu Yi used to think he was quite smart. He believed he was among the smarter ones in Yang Wei’s escort agency, but this experience had made him question his intelligence.
“Alright, you don’t have to tell me the answer. What I want to say is, it’s okay if we’re not smart, just follow the smart people. In this venture, Xu Yasi and Yang Zong are putting everything in. Do you think they’re stupid?”
Liu Yi: “No, they’re not stupid at all.”
Xiao Wu felt that he had said what he needed to say. If a cow doesn’t want to drink water, can you force it to?
Following the advice, Liu Yi finally decided to follow the crowd and put everything in!
Go for it! If they win, they’ll be masters of their own destiny. If they lose, it’s as if this wealth never existed.
Once there’s one, there’s two. The herd effect is real. In the end, everyone invested everything, without a single dropout.
Thus, Lu Songli utilized the wealth they obtained from robbing the bandits effectively.
Later, when everyone was waiting for their share of the profits, those who had been timid were immensely grateful for following the crowd. Otherwise, their brothers, who were originally in similar situations, would have been left far behind. If that had happened, they would have regretted it deeply.