Chapter 32

Fan Jin withdrew his heavy gaze, pursed his lips, and responded with a soft hum.

He then explained, “My cousin is extremely shrewd in handling matters—so shrewd that it sometimes goes overboard. His family isn’t small, either. If they could shell out five catties of gorgon seeds in the morning, it makes no sense that they only managed one catty in the afternoon. Knowing him, he likely wants to find a way to do business directly in the prefectural city, bypassing us altogether.”

Unfortunately, this time, his cleverness backfired.

The gorgon seed business isn’t in the prefectural city, nor anywhere in the entire Ming Kingdom.

Shuiqing laughed along, “Let him be. There are so many profitable businesses out there, yet instead of thinking about those, he tries to steal our customers as soon as we start a small venture. Truly, he’s a ‘clever and capable man’!”

Commonly known as a bully at home.

“Right, so should we pretend not to know, or just stop buying from him?” Fan Jin deferred to Shuiqing’s opinion without realizing it.

Shuiqing thought for a moment and said, “He just delivered less today; it wouldn’t be right to suddenly stop buying from him. Let him make a fuss, and while he’s at it, we’ll weed out all the unstable elements. Then we can stop buying from them all at once.”

For acquisitions, stability is key. Whether it’s the buyer or the seller, once an agreement is made, it must be honored. It can’t just be empty talk.

Fan Jin smiled lightly in agreement.

The two of them moved all the gorgon seeds into the house and closed the doors and windows.

Shuiqing clicked the confirmation to sell on the mall page.

Ding dong, the balance reached 6840 yuan!

Shuiqing immediately checked the total amount. Including the sale of the chicken fungus and the gorgon seeds from the afternoon, the total now was 10296 yuan.

Over ten thousand!

Shuiqing suddenly felt very wealthy.

“Should we activate the medicine category first?” Fan Jin asked quietly.

Shuiqing shook her head after snapping out of her joy. “Not yet. We’ll activate it when we urgently need medicine or when our balance is sufficient.”

“Okay. I calculated that we bought eighty-four catties of gorgon seeds today, which means we need to pay for two hundred and ten catties of rice. How much do we need?” Fan Jin reminded.

Unlike the mushroom business, which has no cost, gorgon seeds require some expenditure.

“Got it.” Shuiqing found the rice category and located the previous selection. She reported the corresponding weight: “Two yuan per catty for rice. Two hundred and ten catties would cost 420 yuan at full price, but with a bulk discount, it’s only 410 yuan.”

Fan Jin: … Does the mall really not incur losses?

Why is rice, which everyone loves to eat, so cheap, while mushrooms and gorgon seeds, which are plentiful here, are so expensive…

Shuiqing ignored Fan Jin. She first bought dozens of catties of rice to fill their sacks, then added a few more catties of flour.

Seeing the sacks full of grain, she felt extremely happy.

She never liked to stockpile in the past, but in just two days here, she felt that no amount of grain was too much.

“I’ve arranged with the pharmacy manager to continue sending him the fleeceflower root. I think we can send another batch tomorrow and then stagger the deliveries every three to six days until winter, claiming we found it on the nearby hills. It shouldn’t draw too much attention.” Fan Jin spoke after Shuiqing finished buying the grain.

Shuiqing responded with a hum, “Should we keep the quantity the same as today, with some variation?”

They sold eight taels today, leaving only three taels because their household, having just split, had nothing and needed to buy everything, which was expensive.

By the way, “Why did you buy fabric?”

It was fine cotton cloth, the most expensive item he bought today.

“Your clothes and the children’s have too many patches. Now that we have money, we should make some new ones to wear when it gets cold.” Fan Jin said awkwardly.

Shuiqing agreed with the idea of earning money to spend. Being stingy was not her style, and she didn’t expect Fan Jin to be so generous either.

She nodded and asked, “What color do you want? I’ll have Auntie Li make it tomorrow.”

Fan Jin replied casually, “I don’t need any. My clothes don’t have patches and are still wearable. No need for new ones.”

He didn’t need to transcribe books at the moment, so he didn’t need to dress up.

Shuiqing: … She thought he was generous, but it turns out he was only generous to her and the kids!

“We’ll buy more fabric after selling the fleeceflower root tomorrow. Money isn’t an issue!”

Fan Jin laughed and finally nodded in agreement.

“Tomorrow, let’s sell a bit less, maybe around five taels of silver.”

They had enough to eat and drink for now, so it was better to be cautious.

“Whatever you decide.” Shuiqing fully delegated the decision, then quickly shifted her focus to her most pressing concern: “How much silver do we need to build a siheyuan (courtyard house)?”

“A siheyuan?”

Shuiqing calculated, “Yes, we have five children. Yan Qiuxing will need her own room soon. Jiang, He, and Hu can share a room when they are young, but eventually, they will need three separate rooms. Plus, you and me—at least six rooms just for the family. Then, if Dad, Mom, or Wenhua come to visit, squeezing in with the kids is inconvenient. It’s better to earn more money and build a siheyuan where everyone has their own space.”

Unlike modern times, there are no hotels or inns here where you can pay for a stay, and transportation isn’t as convenient, so visitors usually stay for a few days.

With more space, everyone can have their own room.

Fan Jin thought for a moment and said, “I’m not sure about a siheyuan, but I know that building three bright brick rooms costs about twenty taels of silver. Including furniture like beds, cabinets, chairs, and tables, thirty taels should be enough. 

We could build three main rooms for us, with two smaller rooms on the sides for Yan Qiuxing. Five rooms in a row in the front for Jiang, He, and Hu, with two as guest rooms. The kitchen and dining area can be on the east, and two additional rooms on the west for storage or extra space. With the courtyard walls, corridors, and paving, it would be at least a hundred taels.”

Shuiqing felt unfairly treated. In novels, the protagonists casually pull out a thousand or ten thousand taels. Why does it feel like a hundred taels is astronomical for her?

Damn, it’s not fair!

“We can sell fleeceflower root until November. If it gets too cold, we might not be able to sell it anymore. That gives us about two months, selling once every five days, averaging six taels each time. That’s seventy-two taels in two months.” Fan Jin continued calculating.

Shuiqing: … She felt confident again!

But seventy-two taels still seemed too little. She needed to find a way to cash in more.

No one ever complained about having too much money, and it’s comforting to have extra funds.

“Can you think of any other herbs around here?” she asked.

Fan Jin thought hard, “There are other herbs, but none as valuable and cost-effective as fleeceflower root. Maybe we could sell in other prefectural cities?”

Shuiqing knew selling in different cities would draw less attention, but there was one crucial concern!

“Is it safe to travel to other prefectural cities?”