Now that the Children Charity Home issue was finally resolved, Yuxi no longer had to keep a close eye on it and had time to do other things.
A few days after receiving this news, someone from the Zhao family came to visit. Er Nainai[1] Zhao, Tu Shi, introduced Yuxi to the rich-looking woman beside her, "Yuxi, this is the Dasao[2] of my clan." The person who came with Tu Shi was the Da Nainai[3] of the Zhao family's main house, Fei Shi.
Seeing Yuxi, Fei Shi smiled and said, "I've always heard Qingmei[4] praise Madam's extraordinary temperament. I've hated not being able to glimpse Madam's elegance. Today, I can say that my wish has come true." Half of it was just a compliment, and the other half, indeed, came from her heart. After all, no one in Yu City was raised to have such a temperament. Even Xu Shi, whom she had met before, was far inferior to the person in front of her.
Yuxi smiled. "You are too polite. Please, have a seat."
Fei Shi smiled and introduced herself, "My husband's surname is Zhao, and his name is Huan[5]. Everyone calls me Da Nainai[3] Huan." In reality, in the Zhao household, everyone referred to her as Da Nainai[3] Zhao.
Yuxi smiled slightly and asked, "Can Da Nainai[3] Huan represent the Zhao family?" She didn't want to waste her time if Da Nainai[3] Huan couldn't.
Fei Shi was taken aback by Yuxi's directness but still nodded. "I heard that Madam wants to lower the price of medicinal herbs. Madam, the prices of these medicinal materials are actually very reasonable. If we reduce the price, we will have no profit at all."
When Yuxi heard this, she smiled and said, "Da Nainai[3] Huan, I've told Er Nainai[1] Zhao before that I've been learning to make medicinal dishes from my momo[6] since I was five years old, and I'm well aware of the price of medicinal herbs. Even if there is a difference in price depending on the region, the difference should not be that much." Having said that, she looked at Er Nainai[1] Zhao with a smile. "Could it be that Jiejie[7] hasn't told Da Nainai[3] Huan about this?"
In Yuxi's opinion, the Zhao family were much smarter at making money than the Xu family. The Xu family liked letting the whole world know they were rich. The Zhao family, on the other hand, were suffocatingly quiet while earning large sums of money every year. According to Yuxi's calculations, even though the two families made a lot of money every year, the difference in wealth between them was not that great. However, the Xu family was hated for this, while the Zhao family's reputation was still very good.
Although Er Nainai[1] Zhao was an outspoken person, she was no fool. When she heard this question, she responded somewhat apologetically, "I was too busy until I became so confused that I forgot about it." In fact, Er Nainai[1] Zhao had already raised this matter with the family.
With a smile, Da Nainai[3] Huan tried to reason, "Madam Yun, considering how unsafe it is to travel on the road nowadays and how hard it is to harvest those herbs year after year, the price has become slightly higher."
In response, Yuxi pointed out, ''As far as I know, the price of the medicinal herbs you supply to the military is twenty to thirty per cent higher than in the capital's herbal medicine stores, and those rare herbs are almost twice as expensive. Granted, the road from Jiangnan[8], Sichuan, Guangxi[9] and other places to Yu City is not exactly safe, but the price should not be so high. As for Da Nainai[3] Huan's comment that the herbs are getting harder to harvest year after year, it shouldn't become difficult to collect unless there is a natural or man-made disaster." In the case of natural and man-made disasters, it was normal for the price to rise significantly.
After saying this, Yuxi asked Mama Qu beside her to hand Da Nainai[3] Huan a long list. The list contained the prices of various medicinal herbs in the capital and Yu City.
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
Da Nainai[3] Huan looked at it, and her face turned a little green. Although the Zhao family was in the medicinal herb business, she knew little about medicinal herbs. Not knowing about herbs was fine, but the price difference was obvious. After a while, Da Nainai[3] Huan looked up and questioned Yuxi, ''Madam, there is no way to compare Yu City with the capital. Jiangnan can go to the capital by water, which is not only easy but also fast. Meanwhile, for Jiangnan and other places to get to Yu City, the road is not only difficult to travel on, but also unsafe."
Yuxi made a sound of agreement and said, "I didn't request for the price of the herbs to be the same as in the capital. I just think that it's a bit too high." Her words were tantamount to saying that the price aspect was negotiable, not something definite.
Da Nainai[3] Huan asked, "Madam, what price do you think is fair?"
Yuxi still gave the same sentence, "For ordinary medicinal herbs, reduce the price by ten to twenty per cent from the original base price. For precious and rare medicinal herbs, the price should be reduced by forty to fifty per cent." As a matter of fact, the precious and rare medicinal herbs were not used by ordinary soldiers but by middle- and high-ranking generals.
Da Nainai[3] Huan's face looked better. At least Yuxi hadn't lowered the price too much. Da Nainai[3] Huan said, "Precious and rare herbs are hard to find and cost a lot. If the price is reduced to forty or fifty per cent, there won't be any profit ever."
After thinking for a moment, Yuxi also took a step back and said, "Then lower it by thirty to forty per cent from the original price." After saying that, she paused momentarily before adding, "It can't be lowered any further." The problem was that Yuxi was preparing to forge her own path in the future so that she wouldn't be restricted by others.
Da Nainai[3] Huan was also clear that her counteroffer could only be within that range. However, she only came over to negotiate, not to make the final decision. She let out a smile and said, "Madam Yun, I'll go back and ask the head of the family first, then I'll give you an answer."
Yuxi smiled and replied, "Of course."
Before Da Nainai[3] Huan took her leave, she left behind a gift. She was particular about what she gave: not gold, silver or jewellery, but a small basket of lychees.
Yuxi smiled as she looked at the small basket of lychees. To think that she had even attacked Xu with it back then! Unexpectedly, Da Nainai[3] Huan had sent her lychees, but she hadn't eaten any since she arrived in Yu City, and looking at them, she felt like eating them. Since they had been given to her, no matter what Da Nainai[3] Huan meant, these things could not be returned. Furthermore, it was just a basket of lychees. "Fill up a plate and put the rest in the well."
When Mama Lan saw this scene, she advised, "Madam, this lychee is very heavy with internal heat. It's not advisable to eat more of it." When you were breastfeeding, there were a lot of things you couldn't eat. But that didn't mean you couldn't eat lychee at all. It was just that you couldn't eat too much of it, and if you did, you would suffer from excessive internal heat.
A smile appeared on Yuxi's face as she answered, "I know." Let alone at that moment, even when she was still in the capital, she did not eat too many lychees. Of course, she also knew Mama Lan was saying that for her own good.
When Yun Qing returned home that evening, Yuxi told him, "I think the price of ordinary medicinal herbs can only be pushed down by 15% at the most, and those precious and rare ones can only be reduced by 30%." The Zhao family was different from the Wu family. Yun Qing and the Zhao family were allies, so they had to make concessions.
Yun Qing said, "This is already very good." If it had been him, it would have been business as usual. Where would he have been able to suppress the price?
Yuxi smiled and changed the subject from the medical herbs supplies to the children at the Children Charity Home. "He Rui, I have put in more than two hundred taels of silver to the Children Charity Home in the past six days. If it takes one or two months, I can still hold out, but if it continues like this, I won't be able to." During this period, she had people make clothes for those children, two sets for each child. If the children were only given one, they couldn't change and wash it. In addition, more than 20 children were sick at the time and needed medication, which cost a lot of money. The total amount of money she had spent was more than two hundred taels. On average, that was more than forty taels of silver a day. It would be more than ten thousand taels if calculated based on one year. If it were just for one year, it would still be manageable even if she had to grit her teeth. The problem was that some of these children were only two or three years old. In Yuxi's current condition, she couldn't raise them until they reached adulthood. Even if she wanted to, she could not afford to!
When Yun Qing heard this, he said with some bitterness, "The pension from the court has not yet been sent down." If the pension arrived, the money could be given to the child's relatives to raise them on their behalf. But now that the pension had yet to be released, it was impossible for the average family to take care of an additional child. After all, one more child was one more burden.
Yuxi felt unhappy, but it was indeed a great burden. Of course, she didn't want to shirk from it; she just wanted to find a solution. "Write a memorial about the situation of these children and submit it. I don't believe the Crown Prince and Grand Chancellor Yu will throw these children away. If they really don't care, we will find a solution." The pension amount was too huge, and they could do nothing if the Imperial Court couldn't come up with it. But if the Imperial Court couldn't even help deal with these children, it would definitely cause the soldiers in the border towns to be deeply disappointed. Of course, most of their hearts were already disheartened. Everyone fought so hard, but in the end, they couldn't even get any pension when they died.
Yun Qing nodded. "Okay, I'll have Mr Xia help me draft a memorial tomorrow." Such errands as paperwork had now been handed over to Mr Xia and Mr Chen.
Yuxi thought momentarily before saying, "Ask Mr Xia to write it more sentimentally." Without sentimentality, how could they let those in the depths of the palace and high positions know how hard these children were currently living and how unworthy the deaths of those soldiers were?
Yun Qing was silent for a short time and said, "Yuxi, Qin Zhao and the Xu family have been selling grain beyond the pass. I suspect that the late Marshal knew about this and even participated in it all along."
Yuxi was shocked. "How can this be?" Marshal Qin was a highly respected and very revered old man. How could he do such a thing?
Yun Qing laughed bitterly. "Even if the Marshal was involved, he probably had no choice." Only when he actually sat in this position did he realise how terrible the situation was in Yu City. The fund allocated down from above every year was only so much and was simply not enough. Without enough money, they couldn't starve and disappoint the soldiers! So, they could only get the money themselves.
How could Yuxi not understand after hearing this statement? Yun Qing wasn't suspicious at all, but he was certain. However, Yuxi thought that even if Marshal Qin was also involved, his purpose and that of the Xu family were completely different. The Xu family was doing it for personal gain, while Marshal Qin was doing it for the sake of Yu City. Marshal Qin truly spat out his heart and shed his blood[10] for Yu City. But when he was forced to this point, one could only say that it was really a forlorn moment for him. "It's all because of the Emperor's foolishness and the Imperial Court's incompetence." The Emperor only knew how to eat, drink and lead a life of pleasure, and the officials were highly corrupt.
Yun Qing smiled wryly. "If we don't find a way soon, it won't be easy for the soldiers to get through this winter." He had been very critical of Qin Zhao before, but only after he took over did he realise that Qin Zhao had gone to great lengths to ensure that 100,000 generals could get through the winter peacefully.[🦊]
Yuxi was startled and asked, "You're not thinking of selling army supplies to those northern barbarians, too, are you? Yun Qing, doing so is like drinking poison to quench your thirst[12]."
Yun Qing shook his head. "Don't worry, I will never use this method. However, we still have to find a way to make more money." Otherwise, it would be difficult to get through this winter. Fortunately, the war at the beginning of spring had severely damaged the northern barbarians' strength. Even if the northern barbarians were to invade after the summer, it would not be on a large scale, and they would have time to rest and recover.
Yuxi thought about it for a long time but still couldn't think of any business that could make a lot of money. She didn't want to think about it anymore and said to Yun Qing, "No matter how anxious you are, it can't be solved immediately. So let's go to bed first!" Yun Qing had also lost a lot of weight during this period. Even though Yuxi had given him extra nourishment, he still lost weight. Both husband and wife had lost a lot of weight during this time.
Yun Qing nodded. "Alright, let's go to sleep!"
Footnotes Full List
- er=second, nainai=a young mistress of a family
- eldest sister-in-law
- da=eldest, nainai=a young mistress of a family
- Tu Shi's first name, meaning 'green plum'
- brilliant/lustrous
- a term for an elderly woman
- elder sister
The Jiangnan region under its various definitions
Image Credit | SY, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Map of China's Regions and Provinces
Image Credit | Fanyu Zhang (Trend and spatiotemporal distribution of fatal landslides triggered by non-seismic effects in China, May 2018)- Chinese idiom: Work one's heart out
- As I said before, Qin Zhao is a good soldier but not a good leader.
- Chinese idiom: seeking quick relief regardless of the consequences
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi