Chapter 94: Moving 2/3

When someone came to pick up goods, they could also load them onto boats here.

Jin Xiaoye really loved this shop, but she was also a bit worried—she didn’t know if the things she made would still sell well in the future.

Meanwhile, in the capital city.

Wu Baichuan, with a large batch of goods, followed that big fleet and hurried all the way, finally arriving in the capital city on the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The capital city was much more prosperous than Chongcheng County, but the buildings here weren’t as beautiful. Everything looked neat and solemn, with stricter management.

For example, there was always a curfew in the capital city, but Chongcheng County had already abolished it. In Chongcheng County, many people would still be out late at night, and there would even be people loading goods at the docks overnight.

Furthermore, there were more rules in the capital city, and more important figures.

The leader of the fleet Wu Baichuan was in had some reputation in the south. Officials like County Magistrate Gou would be polite to him, but in the capital city, he smiled at everyone and didn’t dare offend anyone.

Not only that, but if they wanted to do business peacefully, they had to rely on a big shot. Wu Baichuan’s caravan had allied with the powerful eunuch Lu Qingxi.

Not only did they have to give money to Lu Qingxi, but the goods they brought also had to be picked first by Lu Qingxi’s steward.

In fact, they had originally been affiliated with an official from Hexing Prefecture, but seven or eight years ago, this official was purged by Lu Qingxi. They were then taken in by Lu Qingxi. If Lu Qingxi were to fall one day, someone else would probably take them in.

Who wouldn’t want free money?

The merchants in the caravan pooled their money and sent it to Lu Qingxi, and then the stewards of the shops under Lu Qingxi’s control came to pick up goods.

The goods from Wu Baichuan’s Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop looked fashionable, and one female steward immediately took a liking to them and bought all the goods at once.

Wu Baichuan was pleasantly surprised. His batch of goods had now sold for double the price, earning him a good profit!

Unfortunately, nobody else wanted the rest of Wu Baichuan’s goods, so he had to find another way to sell them.

Fortunately, during the days around the New Year, as long as the goods were good, they would definitely sell in the capital city.

Sure enough, on the fifth day of the first lunar month, Wu Baichuan had already sold out all his goods and made arrangements to go to a restaurant.

However, on the way to the restaurant, he saw a crowd gathered in front of the shop owned by the female steward who had bought all his goods. They were clamoring for the goods he had brought from Jin Xiaoye.

“Do you still have gloves from Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop?”

“And hand warmers?”

“We need children’s clothes. My young master was born in the Year of the Rabbit, so we want clothes with little rabbits!”

“We want shoes with little tigers!”

…

Wu Baichuan stood still, feeling a bit dazed—his goods were so popular in the capital city?

During dinner that day, Wu Baichuan was absent-minded, wanting to know what was going on, but unfortunately, he knew few people and didn’t find out much.

However, on the seventh day, the female steward took the initiative to approach him, asking Wu Baichuan to bring more new styles next time he came to the capital city.

“The goods from Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop are ordinary in terms of craftsmanship, but the designs are novel. You can ask them to come up with more new designs and make more things.” The female steward appeared to be in her twenties, dressed as a mature woman, extremely beautiful, with every expression and smile exuding charm.

But Wu Baichuan didn’t dare underestimate her. Considering how the stewards under Lu Qingxi’s command had deferred to her when selecting goods, despite being a woman, she likely held significant influence in Lu Qingxi’s eyes.

Wu Baichuan agreed repeatedly, not daring to ask more questions, and promised to come again in the summer.

In the following days, he inquired around and finally managed to gather some information.

After the female steward bought the goods from him, she sent some to Eunuch Lu, and Eunuch Lu gave those things to the current noble consort, who actually used them.

Once the noble consort used them, naturally, the noble ladies in the capital city also wanted to use them.

After Wu Baichuan bought goods from Jin Xiaoye and sold them at double the price to the female steward, the female steward… sold them for ten times the price.

It’s said that she even hired many embroiderers to specifically replicate these goods. What’s more, she spread rumors, claiming that her shop sold genuine products while others sold fake ones.

Wu Baichuan: “…” No wonder Eunuch Lu values her so much; she’s really good at doing business!

But… weren’t the goods made by Jin Xiaoye genuine? Since when did goods made by the embroiderers she hired become genuine?

Anyway, he made quite a profit. This time, when he went back, he definitely had to buy more goods from Jin Xiaoye.

In Chongcheng County.

For several consecutive days, Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye were busy decorating their new home.

The house was made of bricks and tiles, with stone slabs laid on the ground. It was much more comfortable to live in than the houses in the countryside! Li Qingzhi even built a bathroom next to the kitchen and made some improvements to the toilet.

There were regulations in Chongcheng County that prohibited dumping waste into the river. It wasn’t possible to install flushing toilets, but it was acceptable to make some improvements for cleanliness.

Li Qingzhi dug a large pit in the backyard and placed a tank inside it, connecting it to a squat toilet, with a lid on top of the tank.

After using the toilet, everyone could use water to flush the waste into the tank, which made it much cleaner.

In the blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the first lunar month.

Jin Xiaoye had said they would move on the tenth day of the first lunar month, but she had gradually moved things to the county town in the past few days, so there weren’t many things to move on this day.

Early on the morning of the tenth day, Li Qingzhi got up.

Today was not only the day to move but also the day he would report to Li Xiucai with his three children. He planned to move in the morning and report in the afternoon.

Starting from tomorrow, he will focus on studying.

Today was busy, so they didn’t have breakfast. After Li Qingzhi got up, he went to Li Damao and Li Ermao’s room to have them put on their new clothes.

The two children were very interested in moving to the county town. The villagers all thought it was very prestigious to live in the county town, and so did they.

Li Qingzhi had initially been a little worried that they wouldn’t want to leave their little friends in the village, but he later found out he was worrying too much.

These two children cared most about each other, and with Zhao Xiaodou going with them to the county town… they didn’t miss their village friends at all.

It made sense. When he took them to the Zhu family to write, they didn’t see their friends all day and never missed them.

The villagers all knew that the Li family was moving. Many people came to help and congratulate them.

Seeing this, Li Laogen puffed up his chest with indescribable pride: “I’m going to live in the city from now on; don’t even think about me!”

The villagers: “…” Who would think about Li Laogen!

Well, there would still be people who would think about Li Laogen. Zhao Laosan, who came to help, spoke up: “Brother, I’ll come to see you in the city later.”

Li Laogen said, “Great! Great! I’ll treat you to tea then!”