They rarely got to see each other, and time was short. After Xie Yan stepped out, Lu Yang quickly brought up another topic—something about making money.
“Your village is pretty far from town. Have you ever thought about bringing in goods to sell locally? Stuff like wine, soy sauce, dried goods—sunflower seeds, peanuts, that kind of thing?”
Neither of them had really considered it. Lu Liu hadn’t thought about it at all, and though Li Feng had once considered it, after his father passed, his mother hadn’t remarried. Their household split off on its own, and they didn’t have as many people as other families—so they were always at a disadvantage when it came to farming.
Fortunately, Li Feng had gotten good at hunting. Otherwise, just keeping food on the table would’ve been hard.
His mom and his brother Shun weren’t strong enough for heavy labor. Now with Lu Liu in the house too, and with their mother thinking about separating off the second field wife, neither side had enough labor to manage the land properly.
Li Feng could still go into the mountains to hunt, but his mother wasn’t happy about that either. Making rice cakes only happened during certain seasons, and it couldn’t sustain them year-round. If they had a little side business—just enough to bring in a few coins each month—it would ease the burden. The problem was, they didn’t have any supply channels.
But Lu Yang had already spoken to Boss Ding next door—he could help them get a bit of wine to try selling.
The pricier the wine, the better the profit. Locally brewed wine had slim margins—every three jin (1.5kg) earned just two copper coins.
Lu Yang had argued with Boss Ding for two days, explaining that people in the villages couldn’t read—things like “three jin for two coins” were too confusing to calculate. He told him, “You’re such a big boss, are you really going to nitpick over pennies? Besides, the wine’s made from grain. When we harvest, we can sell you some too. Make things easier for us.”
Eventually, they settled on a rate: one copper coin profit per jin.
As for the rest—dried goods could be bundled in with the shipment. These weren’t handmade or specialty items, so the profit was low—just a few coins, mostly just to show face and build some goodwill.
Lu Yang said, “You live right up against the mountains. You could gather wild goods—game, wild walnuts, chestnuts, mountain veggies, mushrooms, fruits. I’ll buy them all. Price-wise, let’s wait a bit—I’ve been too busy to check the market, but for now, just start collecting.”
He had thought through a lot. His younger brother was quiet and timid, preferred staying at home. Lu Yang didn’t expect him to push himself. If they ever wanted to do business in town, he’d help however he could. But for now, it was best to work with what they had.
If they stayed in the village, then the business would be local. The mountain was their advantage. Wild goods had a market, but just like vegetables, a single family wouldn’t have much. Most of what they picked would get eaten at home. If they had someone in the village collecting those goods regularly, though, people would be more motivated to gather and sell—leading to a steadier supply.
Lu Yang wasn’t worried about someone else stealing the idea. No matter how good another dealer’s network was, they wouldn’t care about his brother the way he did. The way he gave up profits—nobody else would do that.
He wasn’t trying to make money off mountain goods. If he sold them in his shop, it’d just expand his inventory and draw in a little more traffic. The real profit would go to his brother.
Lu Liu’s eyes lit up. He’d been thinking of ways to earn money. He had plans to raise rabbits—once the females had litters, he’d raise the babies. When spring came, he’d get Li Feng to catch some chickens to raise too.
With just those things, scattered throughout the year, he could probably make a few hundred copper coins.
He didn’t know how much he’d earn with his brother’s idea, but since they had empty rooms anyway, he figured he’d give it a shot. If it worked, he could help take some of the burden off Li Feng. With more money coming in, Li Feng wouldn’t have to work so hard—and maybe spend more time with him.
He wanted to try—wanted to give it his best. But he’d never made decisions for the household before, so he just looked hopefully at Li Feng.
Li Feng didn’t agree right away. “I don’t have much silver on me right now. Maybe next time—”
Lu Yang cut him off. “You don’t need much. I’ve got enough face with Boss Ding to make this happen. Just think about what goods you want to carry. The rest can wait—for now, I’ll take you to pick up some wine.”
The dried goods were already at his shop—they could just take a small batch to test the waters.
Around the Laba Festival, there would be more market days and a lot of shoppers. Once most families had bought everything they needed, there would still be a few craving snacks or little luxuries. If they brought a small stock, maybe someone who had already run out would buy some.
That’s how food selling worked. Once it’s eaten, it’s gone. And if someone gets a craving and they know where to get it—close by, fair price—they’ll go for it.
Customers would spend three or five coins at a time, shopkeepers would earn one or two per sale. But it added up—and over time, it built up the household savings.
The best time to make money was actually when people were idle. When they had nothing to do, their mouths got bored too.
People said you only ate well when you were busy, but those were rare indulgences—how often did you really get to eat the good stuff during harvest season? People didn’t even have time to stroll around.
From Lu Yang’s years living in the county town, he knew: the slower the season, the easier it was to earn those tiny bits of money. Folks always said they didn’t have the spare cash, but they’d come by every few days anyway—thinking it was just a little each time, but over time, it added up fast.
Small businesses made small profits. What they sold were little snacks to satisfy idle appetites—perfect for the holidays.
Li Feng wasn’t stingy. He had guts when it came to doing things.
He wasn’t familiar with prices of everything and didn’t buy much himself, so he said he’d ask his mom once they got home. But the wine—he could take that now.
The men in Lizhai all drank. Quite a few wives and husbands drank too. It wasn’t just for the holidays—some had a bowl every day.
They were all frugal, so when they bought wine, they didn’t buy much. Once it was gone, that was it. It was their way of saving money.
But if someone set up a wine stall right at their doorstep? Business would come on its own. Even with the low margins, two jin wasn’t much—he could drink that in one sitting.
The only issue was—he really hadn’t brought much money today, and they still needed to go buy glutinous rice.
Li Feng asked about the price, pulled out his coin pouch, and counted out four and a half strings of coins—450 wen.
Local wine sold for ten wen per jin. It was the cheapest kind.
Last time Lu Liu came to market, a small jar had cost twenty.
They could make one copper coin of profit per jin, so even if they bought at nine coins per jin, buying fifty jin today would bring in fifty coins of profit. One in, one out—that was the math.
Lu Yang didn’t push them any further. He told them to sit and rest for a bit, then headed next door to the wine shop to find Boss Ding while it was still early.
He’d mentioned wild game to Boss Ding last time, but hadn’t heard anything back. Now, at least, he was bringing business first.
“Let’s start with fifty jin to kick things off. Here’s to a long and steady partnership, and many thanks to Boss Ding for looking out for us!”
Boss Ding was all smiles when it came to Lu Yang. His baozi shop always had government runners stopping by, which meant troublemakers avoided the area. As his next-door neighbor, Ding’s shop had benefited from the calm, so he was more than happy.
“No wonder I didn’t see you hawking at the front today,” Boss Ding chuckled. “It’s been quiet around here—I figured you had family visiting.”
Lu Yang smiled and nodded. “Exactly. And Boss Ding, you’ve been in this business a long time, you’ve got the connections. Would you mind helping me get in touch with a few others? My brother lives way out in Lizhai—it’s really far. I was thinking, if we could bring some condiments, oil, and rice out there, it’d save them money on daily stuff. Even a coin or two here and there adds up over time—it really helps.”
Boss Ding genuinely liked talking with Lu Yang. The guy had a sharp mind and a good heart. He always remembered favors, spoke kindly, and never rubbed people the wrong way.
“If your brother can move the wine,” said Boss Ding, “then I’ll mention it to a few of my old contacts. No big deal—it’s all part of making friends.”
Lu Yang lit up inside—this gave him an idea.
Selling the wine didn’t mean it all had to go to one place. There were four villages west of the county. He could handle Shàngxī Village himself, ask Brother Dàsōng to sell some in Lujia Hamlet, and Li Feng’s uncle was in Chenjia Bay—some could go there too. How much would really need to be sent up to Lizhai? There was no way they wouldn’t sell it all.
And if they didn’t sell out? He’d just pick up another fifty jin next time—no big deal. He still had people to visit and favors to return. The wine kept well, so even if it was just used to maintain relationships, it was worth it.
The real prize was the soy sauce and oil—those were valuable. If he could get those at a cheaper rate, not only would his brother earn a little, but his own baozi costs would go down too. Lower costs meant more profit.
“Boss Ding, you’re a true friend. It’s getting late today, but tomorrow—my treat, baozi on me!” Lu Yang grinned.
While Lu Yang was buying the wine, Li Feng spoke with Lu Liu. He told him that he’d be heading out soon to buy glutinous rice and that Lu Liu should wait for him at the shop.
By the time Lu Yang got back and greeted Li Feng, it’d be a good chance to spend some time alone with his little brother.
Lu Liu had brought gloves along today. He took them out of the small leather pack he carried.
The pack was one Li Feng usually used when heading into the mountains—sturdy leather, used to hold important supplies like hemostatic herbs, powders, and small salt pouches.
Lu Liu had carried it out today just to pack the gloves and his coin pouch.
The gloves were made to fit his hands exactly, and when Lu Yang tried them on, they were a perfect fit.
