Chapter 249: First Signs of Decline

Chapter 249: Chapter 249: First Signs of Decline

After her afternoon nap, Ji Huan took Dabao to the Hu Family’s home to return their dishes.

The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she heard a commotion from the main room. Inside, she found all the families who had partnered with them on the new venture.

After returning from their stalls, they had heard that the Cao Family had actually dared to come and cause trouble. Every one of them was filled with righteous indignation.

They had all learned the trade from the Hu Family and were in this together, so naturally, they had to back them up. Besides, they were all from the same village; how could they let outsiders come and run rampant?

But being angry was pointless. The troublemakers were already gone.

They had wanted to come and comfort Widow Xie sooner, but by then it was noon. With the morning’s farm work mostly done, everyone was used to taking a short nap after their meal, so they had all agreed to come in the late afternoon instead.

"No wonder I didn’t see any of them this morning! That whole family deserves to be struck by lightning! They just wait! Our families have made a pact. Starting tomorrow, even if it means neglecting our own business, we’re going to find a way to completely ruin their stall!"

Widow Xie said, "But you can’t let it affect your own businesses..."

"Bah! Don’t you worry. It won’t be long now. Their business is already on the verge of collapse. This morning, there was barely a soul at their stall."

Business in the summer couldn’t compare to the winter and spring, but the hot and spicy soup stalls operated from early morning until noon. And no matter how hot it got, people still had to eat breakfast, so the customer base hadn’t decreased too significantly.

Only the Cao Family’s stall had more flies than customers.

As soon as Aunt Wang finished, Second Sister-in-law Xu added, "And you can’t blame it all on us. They’re dishonest. In this heat, they’re saving leftovers to sell the next day. Do they take their customers for fools?"

They were reaping what they sowed. And with the other vendors banding together to squeeze them out, their demise was all but certain.

Widow Xie glanced at Ji Huan. Seeing that she said nothing, Widow Xie didn’t try to dissuade the others any further.

Aunt Wang and the others then turned their attention to Ji Huan.

"I won’t lie to you, Wuan," Aunt Wang said. "We had our suspicions for a while... but we never thought it was really you!"

"That’s right. Aunt Xie just told us. It’s because you gave permission that we were able to learn the recipe. You’re also the one who raised the barrier to entry, which means we have fewer competitors and business is easier."

Ji Huan waved her hand dismissively. "Please, don’t say that. You all paid for it, and besides, we’re all neighbors. There’s no need to be so formal."

Everyone chimed in. "That’s right! We’re all neighbors here, no need for formalities!"

No one asked where Ji Huan got the recipe. Deep down, they had all decided that it must have been something Mrs. Wei left for her.

After they had chatted and laughed for a while, Ji Huan asked, as if the thought had just struck her, "Aunties, do you usually have a hard time buying spices?"

Her question hit a sore spot.

"A nightmare! Liangzi told us to buy from Yide Hall, but who knows what they’ve been busy with lately. Once they sell out of something, they don’t have time to restock. We’ve had to ask people to buy from other apothecaries, and sometimes they can’t get everything, or they don’t have enough. Wang Min even had to make a special trip to the county seat for it..."

"Buying them is one thing, but preparing them is the real hassle! All that pounding and grinding, sifting and sieving... We’re terrified of making one little mistake and ruining the whole batch. What a waste that would be!"

"Tell me about it. It’s more work than farming. I’d rather spend half a day weeding the fields."

Ji Huan couldn’t help but smile as they all chimed in with their complaints.

"I might be able to help you all with that problem."

All eyes in the room snapped to her.

Aunt Wang couldn’t contain her curiosity. "Wuan, if you have a good idea, spit it out!"

Ji Huan cleared her throat.

"Well, I’m planning to open a spice workshop. I won’t be selling basic condiments like oil or soy sauce, just all sorts of spices. If you’re worried about the hassle, you can buy them from me. And if you need, I can also process them for you and sell you the finished spice blends directly."

"Oh!" Aunt Wang exclaimed. "That would be wonderful!"

The others were overjoyed as well.

But some were worried about the price.

"We’re all neighbors, so of course I’ll give you a good price. Even for the finished blends, it won’t be any more expensive than buying the raw ingredients and processing them yourselves."

Her words put everyone’s minds at ease, and they eagerly asked when her spice workshop would be open for business.

"Late August, probably," Ji Huan said after a moment’s thought, giving them a rough timeline.

They had all arrived with bellies full of anger, but they left overjoyed.

Widow Xie, however, looked worried.

"Announcing it so openly... what if the Ji Family finds out?"

"Granny Kang is greedy as they come, and that shameless Mrs. Zhu is always looking to take advantage of people. She was afraid Ji Huan would get entangled with the Ji Family."

"I’m running a legitimate business. Why should I have to be sneaky just because of a few malicious people? That doesn’t make any sense. There’s a difference between being low-key and being furtive. Besides, once the workshop is up and running, I can’t possibly manage it on my own. I’ll probably have to ask you for help, Aunt Xie. And even the two of us won’t be enough. We’ll eventually need more hands, just like when we made dehydrated vegetables last year. It’s impossible to keep something like that a secret."

Widow Xie couldn’t help but argue, "But with the dehydrated vegetables, people only knew we were busy with something behind closed doors. They didn’t know *what* we were doing. Why can’t we do that again this time...?"

"We sold the dehydrated vegetables in a single transaction and that was the end of it. This spice business, however, is something I want to do for the long haul. There isn’t an established market for it yet, which means we need customers, we need to get the word out, and we need to build our reputation one step at a time. How can we do any of that quietly?"

Ji Huan paused, a wry smile touching her lips.

"And let’s be honest, even if I was as careful and as low-key as possible, even if I spent the rest of my life hiding in a shell, do you really think the Ji Family would just leave me alone?"

"They seem to have been quiet lately."

"They’re only quiet because all their energy is focused on Ji Liantang. They’re too busy praying to every god and buddha they can find to have time for anything else. They certainly wouldn’t target me; they’re probably afraid I’d bring bad luck to their precious son."

Widow Xie had heard the rumors. Since the start of spring, Granny Kang had visited every well-known temple in Yeyang, collecting divine talismans and making offerings to statues. She had been telling everyone that her son was as good as a Scholar already, and now with the blessings of all the gods, his success was practically guaranteed.

"But what if Ji the Fourth really does become a Scholar? What will you do if he decides to come after you then?"

"It would actually be better if he did become a Scholar. The Ji Family would see themselves as a different class of people. Once they start getting smug, they’ll forget all about me. In fact, they’d probably be afraid I’d show up on their doorstep looking for a handout."

Widow Xie’s expression was complicated.

’Come to think of it, that sounds exactly like something the Ji Family would do.’

"And what if he fails?"

"If he fails..." Ji Huan tapped her chin with her forefinger. "Then I’ll be in big trouble."

Widow Xie grew anxious. "What does his failing have to do with you? He’s the one who’ll be in trouble!"

Instead of answering, Ji Huan asked a question of her own. "Aunt Xie, let me ask you, how has the Ji Family been faring these past few years?"

Widow Xie thought for a moment. "They used to be quite well-off, one of the more prominent families in the village. But in recent years... things have been a bit..."

When a large family begins to show signs of decline, those living within it are often the last to notice, while outsiders can see it at a glance.

Never mind that in the younger generation of the Ji Family, some had died, some were crippled, and some had split off from the main household. Financially alone, their strain was visible to the naked eye.

Ji Qingshan and Granny Kang ignored everything else, draining the family’s coffers to fund Ji Liantang’s studies. If he failed to become a Scholar this time, it was uncertain whether he could even afford to continue at the academy.

Because the Ji Family had run out of money.