Chapter 64: Coming to Collect the Goods

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Coming to Collect the Goods

By the end of the tenth month, the vegetable gardens had gradually been harvested, bringing the purchasing work to a halt.

However, the vegetables they had collected were more than enough. Any more would have been too much to handle, as they were extremely short on manpower.

Including Ji Huan, the dozen or so people had been working nonstop day and night for days. They had only just managed to finish processing the vegetables in the front courtyard, but the back courtyard was still piled high.

Ji Huan hired Aunt Wang, Sixth Sister-in-law Feng, and a few others to come help. These were all women who had spoken up for her during the family separation and generally had good reputations in the village.

Some others, thinking there were benefits to be had, came to her door on their own to offer help. Ji Huan asked Widow Xie about them and politely turned down anyone with a poor character or a reputation for being a sloppy worker.

She then raised their wages, and everyone worked overtime for half a month, rushing to get everything cleared out.

She opened the door in the morning to a vast expanse of white. A fog had descended.

This was how it was once winter began—either frost or fog that wouldn’t dissipate until late morning. The temperature had also dropped sharply recently, and everyone had swapped their lined jackets for cotton-padded ones.

Ji Huan figured Zhen Jili would be sending someone for the goods soon, so she and Hu Liang pulled a cart to Fifth Grandpa’s house to pick up the last batch of rattan baskets.

Upon entering the courtyard, Hu Liang took a bag of coarse flour from the cart and placed it in the main hall. He then dragged down a bulging burlap sack filled with durable produce like cabbage and radishes.

Fifth Grandpa repeatedly said there was no need, telling them to take it all back.

Hu Liang said with a smile, "Right now, we’re short on everything at home except vegetables," and insisted that he keep it.

After they loaded the baskets, Ji Huan handed the payment to Fifth Grandpa.

Fifth Grandpa wrung his hands and sighed. "You two... *sigh*. When I used to send my work to town, I was always paid monthly. Sometimes, they’d even delay for several months... You’re paying such a high price, and on delivery... You really don’t have to pay me yet. You can wait until after you’ve sold your goods."

’Fifth Grandpa knew perfectly well they could have easily worked with a shop in town. The shop would have distributed the work to people in various villages, and it would have been done much faster.’

’But they insisted on giving the job to him. Wasn’t it just because they pitied him...?’

’According to the market rate, a small basket would only sell for two or three cents. A larger, more difficult one might fetch five cents if he was lucky. Yet Ji Huan had priced them at ten cents each.’

’And these two kids... every time they came, they brought either flour or vegetables...’

’He couldn’t just take their money without a second thought. He had to consider things from their perspective. Doing business wasn’t easy.’

Ji Huan smiled. "Fifth Grandpa, please don’t let your mind wander. These goods are for the military, so we can’t afford to be careless. If we gave this job to someone else, the quality would be inconsistent. Who could guarantee it? Besides, my requirements are so high—with lids and hidden clasps—it’s much more work than the things you usually weave."

"I’m just afraid I’ll delay your business..."

"You haven’t delayed us at all," Hu Liang added. "We’ve been managing the schedule. See? Every time we finish using one batch, you have the next one ready. The timing is perfect."

Ever since taking the job, Fifth Grandpa had truly been weaving day and night. His wrists were badly swollen.

Ji Huan couldn’t bear to see it and suggested he find a few people to help. But Fifth Grandpa, thinking she was complaining that he was too slow and wanted to replace him, rushed to explain and make promises, so Ji Huan let the matter drop.

’She wasn’t someone who acted purely on emotion. Helping Sixth Ancestor Grandma’s family was one thing, but she was also confident that it wouldn’t delay her important business.’

’Besides, with these hand-woven products... forget about her own era; even in this one, if they were taken to a different place, painted, and decorated a bit, they could sell for dozens of cents at the very least.’

’Unfortunately, materials like rattan were ubiquitous in the Northern Pass, so common they were practically worthless. Every family knew how to weave, so naturally, the products couldn’t fetch a high price.’

With the four previous batches and this final one, Fifth Grandpa had earned several taels of silver in total. One could only imagine his excitement.

’He had lived for most of his life, and this was the first time he’d ever earned so much money. It was also the first time he hadn’t felt so useless.’

’It was just a pity his wife was gone, and Da Xiang, too...’

Ji Huan saw that Fifth Grandpa, who had been so happy just a moment ago, suddenly looked crestfallen, and she could guess the reason.

She quickly changed the subject. "It’s getting cold, Fifth Grandpa. You should stock up on grain soon. Let us know if you need anything. If there’s something you want to buy, just have Brother Liangzi pick it up for you. He’s been going to town often lately."

’Originally, they had considered buying some fabric to give them. The weather was frigid, and the jackets worn by Fifth Grandpa and Sixth Ancestor Grandma were old and tattered. Who knew how many years they’d had them? The cotton padding inside was almost completely gone.’

’But considering the elderly couple’s situation, they wouldn’t be able to make clothes even if they had the fabric. So, Widow Xie had said that once this busy period was over, she would work on it in the evenings and bring the finished clothes over to them.’

Fifth Grandpa’s attention was successfully diverted. After a string of thank-yous, he showed Ji Huan a new weaving method he had devised—one that was simpler and more efficient but didn’t compromise on quality.

The two of them didn’t head back with the cart of baskets until almost noon. Before they even reached the Hu Family’s home, they saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance, with a line of horse-drawn carriages parked neatly.

Someone in the crowd spotted them and shouted enthusiastically, "Liangzi! Wuan! Hurry up! People from the army are here!"

’She’d never seen these people act so eager before.’

Ji Huan and Hu Liang pulled the cart into the courtyard through another entrance, only to find more than twenty soldiers standing inside.

Widow Xie, Aunt Gao, and the others were all huddled together in the kitchen, not daring to come closer or even speak. They were clearly intimidated.

Common folk feared officials—any kind of official would do.

Upon seeing Ji Huan, the man in the lead spoke up. "You’re Doctor Zhen’s younger sister?"

"Er... I suppose so." Ji Huan felt a headache coming on.

’Just how desperate for a sister was this Zhen Jili? How many people had he told?’

When she nodded, the man, who was built like an iron pagoda, broke into a wide grin, revealing a set of strikingly white teeth.

Widow Xie and the others could hardly believe their eyes.

Just moments before, these men had stormed menacingly into the courtyard. Upon hearing Ji Huan was out, they had stood there with grim faces, not saying a word, looking like King Yan himself had come to collect a debt. The women had been so frightened that after serving tea, they hadn’t dared to step out again.

’So why did they turn into... this... the moment they saw Wuan?’

"Doctor Zhen is always bragging to us, saying his sister is intelligent, beautiful, and unparalleled in all the world. Now that I’ve seen you today, I can see he wasn’t exaggerating, heh heh!"

The burly man spouted this enthusiastic nonsense, not forgetting to hand the money pouch to Ji Huan.

Ji Huan chose to be selectively deaf to the bullshit that came out of Zhen Jili’s mouth.

She took the money pouch, opened it, and looked inside, a little surprised.

"This... is too much."

Ji Huan had already done the calculations herself.

In total, they had purchased approximately 120,000 catties of fresh vegetables. The bulk of it was cabbage, spinach, chives, radishes, and cowpeas, but there was also crown daisy, bottle gourd, eggplant, and zucchini.

They had also acquired some vegetables that could be used as seasonings, like scallions, garlic, and coriander, as well as small amounts of winter bamboo shoots, yams, and various mushrooms.

About sixteen catties of fresh produce could be dried into one catty of dried goods.

Fresh vegetables were cheap to begin with, and they had timed their purchases for the massive price drops when the gardens were being cleared for the season, rather than paying market price.

Normally, spinach was eight catties for one cent, but the price had dropped to twenty catties for one cent. Radishes went from three catties for one cent to nine catties for one cent. Chives dropped from two cents per catty to one cent for five catties. Cabbage, also usually two cents per catty, was eventually sold at one cent per head.

The price drops for winter bamboo shoots, yams, and mushrooms weren’t as drastic, but they were still more than half off their usual price.

On average, the cost for sixteen catties of fresh produce was about three and a half cents, while one catty of the dried product could be sold for ten cents.

All things considered, after turning 120,000 catties of fresh vegetables into dehydrated ones, she should have earned a revenue of about seventy-five taels of silver.

Of the thirty taels of capital she had given Hu Liang, purchasing had only cost twenty-four taels. Labor and basket costs combined were just over five taels.

In other words, after subtracting all costs, their total profit should be forty-five taels.

But this money pouch contained four fifty-tael silver sycees—a full two hundred taels.

This was far, far more than the seventy-five taels she had estimated.