With Wang Dongmei setting an example before him, Lu Liu felt his face flush as he spoke of these matters.
His brother was genuinely ill, and Li Feng knew it. But the way he talked about it sounded like he was scheming to subsidize his wife’s family.
Chen Guizhi urged him to take it, saying, “I know your brother helps our family with the business. This isn’t asking you to empty your savings—it’s just normal give-and-take. You decide for yourself.”
Lu Liu flashed a smile, thanked her repeatedly, and added, “Once I save up, I’ll buy you pig stomach to eat!”
He remembered his mother loved pig stomach.
Chen Guizhi told him to head to the county town first, “The sooner you go, the sooner you return.”
Lu Liu agreed and got into the car with Li Feng.
After the Lantern Festival, several rains fell. He was busy making fermented bean paste at home, oblivious to the weather outside.
Only when he ventured out, traversing the muddy mountain paths, did he truly grasp the power of the rain.
Li Feng had made preparations: the large soy sauce jars were bundled together, the smaller ones packed into a wicker basket. Both the basket and the large jars were secured to the cart with ropes, ensuring they remained firmly in place.
This time, Lu Liu didn’t sit next to Li Feng up front but stayed in the back, holding onto the soy sauce jars.
His strength was small, his hands small too. If the cart tipped over, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. Still, he stubbornly reached out to steady them, hoping to keep the jars secure.
The journey was arduous. On the road to the county seat, it was mostly Wang Meng who talked with Li Feng, while Lu Liu just listened.
Passing through Lujiatun, Li Feng pulled over to deliver soy sauce to his two fathers and see if the household needed anything replenished.
His two fathers asked about the piglets, inquiring when they could be brought home.
Li Feng returned and drove straight to the county town, heading for Lu Yang’s small shop.
………………………………………
Xie Yan had gone off to school, but life still had to go on.
After the New Year festivities, with all the social visits, court cases, and gift-giving, they went out often and gave away plenty of meat buns.
In just over half a month, the number of buns sold barely matched the number given away, leaving little profit.
Lu Yang’s fingers flew over the abacus beads, his heart sinking with each calculation.
In that moment, he almost understood Old Chen’s stinginess.
Spending like this would make anyone wince.
After the New Year festivities ended, life returned to its regular rhythm.
He tallied the silver in his accounts, ready to formulate plans for the new year.
Originally, he had saved seven taels of silver for tuition fees. He had given Xie Yan two taels and kept one tael for himself. That left only four taels in this account, with a three-tael deficit.
Having spent more time with Young Master Wu recently, Lu Yang could see how seriously Wu Pingzhi took the imperial examinations. He believed Wu Pingzhi wouldn’t easily abandon Xie Yan, so he could rest assured about the tuition fees. He saved this silver, thinking of using it to rent a house.
He still had two taels and three mace of silver left, which he used to buy piglets.
His uncle’s household had given him four hundred and fifty cash coins. He had already paid for one piglet and put one hundred and fifty cash coins into his own small pouch. Three cash coins remained.
The two taels of silver given by his two fathers remained untouched. The piglets wouldn’t require that much.
Lu Yang knew the family finances well and wanted to keep the silver for a while. Once the books were printed and sold, he’d see if he needed to add more silver. He could let his two fathers invest a small stake, earn some silver, and repair that little dilapidated house in the village.
He wasn’t talking about tearing it down and rebuilding. The crooked walls and leaky roof needed proper fixing at the very least. Once spring brought warmth, he wouldn’t have to worry about clothes and shoes for three seasons. He could save up silver, stockpile cotton and fabric, and next winter, wear thick cotton padded jackets instead of freezing.
Additionally, he’d set aside a piglet for Lu Lin, who’d already decided to raise it.
There was another piglet. Once back in the village, they’d see which relative his uncle recommended, then exchange cash for the piglet.
Lu Yang wouldn’t profit from these two.
The shop’s silver amounted to just over four taels.
The bamboo shoot payments had been settled; any future income from them would be his own.
The same applied to the dried goods—he’d already paid for the inventory, so the proceeds would be his.
The mountain mushrooms hadn’t been paid for yet. Sales were brisk lately. After soaking, rinsing, and slicing, they were delicious whether stewed in soup or stir-fried.
Following the winter bamboo shoots, wild mushrooms had also seen a surge in sales.
Dried wild mushrooms didn’t weigh down the scales; a jin yielded quite a bit.
Depending on the variety, his purchase price ranged from four to forty-five cash per jin, and he always marked them up when selling.
His purchase price was higher than elsewhere, but his selling price matched the market rate. Mushrooms range from six to fifty cash per pound.
The most expensive batch delivered last time was blue-capped mushrooms, priced at sixty cash per pound with no room for negotiation.
The total quantity was also the smallest, barely over a pound altogether.
Li Feng explained that villagers love these mushrooms, but each household has only a little. Thinking they wouldn’t fetch much, they’d already eaten their share. What remained was this small amount, pooled together from several households.
Other mushrooms were cheaper. Chicken-fat mushrooms were priced at twenty-two cash per jin, sold for twenty-seven cash. There were over six jin of these.
The remaining quantities were slightly larger for wood ear mushrooms and matsutake mushrooms. Silver ear mushrooms had a different price.
In Lu Yang’s memory, matsutake mushrooms had been expensive for a while, sold individually.
Back then, he’d heard Old Man Chen say that if he had time to return to the village, he could buy cheap, good quality goods from the villagers. Some villagers were related to the Li people and could buy directly from the mountain village.
Now things had changed. Matsutake prices had fallen significantly, even becoming somewhat unsold. They were the last to sell out, fetching only seventeen cash per catty. When he used to buy them, they cost thirty cash per cap, and you couldn’t even pick and choose. If you went too late, you couldn’t get any.
Lu Yang shook his head. There were still too few wealthy families in the county town.
The poor were numerous and couldn’t afford them. Mountain produce required no cultivation effort, so prices naturally plummeted.
The steep decline meant that after a trip into the mountains, the mushrooms gathered and dried yielded little weight. Fewer people ventured into the hills.
Ordinary households had limited culinary options, and few could afford such delicacies. With no shortage in recent years, prices never rebounded.
He planned to ask Wu Pingzhi how to connect with traveling merchants from other regions, to see if they’d buy quality mountain goods.
The wealthy in the prefectural city outnumbered those in the county seat, and the provincial capital had even more. Selling to the capital would be where the real money was.
Beyond these, the cheapest option was white mushrooms.
There were two types: round caps and large, flat ones. Both sold for the same price—six cash per catty. These two varieties moved fastest; once in the shop, they sold even quicker than bamboo shoots.
The first shipment of mushrooms was small, only four baskets.
Later, that man called Sanmiao helped deliver two more shipments, roughly the same quantity each time.
Lu Yang also used some white mushrooms for his stir-fried sauce, so he settled the payment for all these goods together.
He needed to pay Li Feng a total of one thousand three hundred and twenty cash coins.
The shop had just restocked, with no shortage of meat, flour, sauces, oil, or salt. After deducting these payments, there was still about three taels of silver left.
Not bad at all.
Lu Yang stroked his chin, forming new ideas about the shop’s business.
Based on his current daily surplus, dried goods brought in peanuts—selling more just covered labor costs.
The real money came from vegetables. Whether it was the earlier radishes and cabbages or the later winter bamboo shoots and wild mushrooms, they were all profitable.
Even the game meat, with its modest 5% profit margin, brought in a decent sum.
His profit per item wasn’t huge, but he made up for it with high volume.
Next came the steamed buns—exhausting work, but quite rewarding.
After winter, vegetable prices would drop, but they’d soon start selling mushroom paste.
Mushroom paste had slim margins, so his share wouldn’t be large. This venture was mainly to support his younger brother.
But once this support was established, he could secure more mountain produce and wild game. If a steady supply wasn’t possible, he’d set specific days. He planned to launch a “Wild Game Day” to build a reputation, making people know that when buying wild game, his place was the first choice.
Besides mushroom paste, he also makes egg paste.
When the weather warms up, villagers are busy with farming and rarely come out to sell eggs.
Eggs also spoil quickly in the heat, causing prices to drop seasonally. The winter premium is gone, so he can hire someone to collect eggs.
Lu Lin was perfect for the job. He wasn’t suited for field work, and his sales pitch had recently improved. He’d send Lu Lin to collect eggs, making trips to the shop every few days. Lu Lin could bring some fresh vegetables along the way.
Fresh eggs were sold first. Any unsold ones were used to make scrambled egg sauce.
