PDLP Chapter 73 almost exposed their secrets.
Chapter 73 almost exposed their secrets.
After finishing her sentence, Song Jiaojiao picked up the teacup in front of her and took small sips of water.
Wang Ziyi remained silent, pondering Song Jiaojiao's words carefully. Indeed, he had heard from court officials that the crayfish infestation had caused river dams to burst, and it was unknown whether it would also affect grain production. The court had sent many people to manage the situation, and although it was resolved that year, the crayfish infestation returned to become a disaster within two years, causing headaches for the higher-ups, who were helpless in dealing with it.
If it were truly as Song Jiaojiao said, wouldn't that have unknowingly solved the Emperor's headache? In that case, it would indeed be a great achievement.
"Very well, very well, it's really as you say. I'm determined to get this prescription no matter what. Madam Song, tell me, what price are you planning to sell it for?" Wang Ziyi had figured out the details and was getting impatient.
Song Jiaojiao naturally spoke up, passing the buck back to Wang Dongjia, "That depends on what value Mr. Wang thinks it has."
Just as Manager Wang said, this woman really wouldn't suffer any loss. "How about this, 500 taels, and I'll take the recipe for crayfish."
Even Song Jiaojiao was surprised by the price. She thought she would be lucky to get three hundred taels, but this young master from the capital asked for five hundred taels. He didn't show it on his face.
"Alright, since Mr. Wang is so sincere, I'll give you the stir-fried snail meat. Snails are a bit troublesome to process, so you can offer two different prices when you buy them: higher for those that have been purged of sand at home, and lower for those that haven't. Make sure to purge all the sand out, otherwise it will affect the taste. I'll write down the processing method in a bit."
Wang Ziyi was so focused on the crayfish that he had completely forgotten about the snails. If Song Jiaojiao hadn't brought them up, he probably would have missed out again.
Before Wang Ziyi could speak, Song Jiaojiao spoke again, "Young Master Wang, you'd better spread the word about buying snails as soon as possible. Although there are some in the streams, there are even more in the fields. It's spring planting season now, and many families will be cleaning the snails out of their fields."
Oh, by the way, these two things are called "big turtle" and "stone worm" here. As for their names in other places, you'll have to find out, young master. Don't make a mistake when you buy them.
Wang Ziyi had never been to the countryside before, so he didn't know these things. If Song Jiaojiao didn't explain clearly, it would probably take a lot of time.
"Thank you for informing me, Madam Song. I've noted it down. I'll have someone prepare the contract right away. I'm sorry to have taken up your time."
Song Jiaojiao simply nodded without speaking, but in her heart she was thinking that a poor person's time was not worth anything compared to money, which was five hundred taels.
Remembering what the old lady at the wonton stall in the county town had said last time, that all the wontons sold by the same person belonged to the same owner, and since the owner was right here, Song Jiaojiao said, "Young Master Wang, there is something else I don't understand. Could you please tell me?"
Although Wang Ziyi was puzzled, he nodded and asked, "Please speak freely."
"It's like this, last time I took my son to the county to learn martial arts, I heard people say that all the shops with four directions in their names are owned by the same person. I wonder if this is true?"
Wang Ziyi thought it was something big, but it turned out to be just this. "Yes, as long as the nameplate has 'Sifang' on it and my Wang family name, it belongs to our Wang family."
Just as Song Jiaojiao had guessed, "It seems that Young Master Wang's family has quite a wide network of connections."
Prince Yi raised his chin proudly and said, "That's right. We have businesses throughout the entire Great Jin Kingdom, including restaurants, inns, silver shops, and jewelry stores. There are also some small shops, such as grain stores and bookstores, you name it. Of course, with more shops, we have more customers, and we didn't trust others to transport goods for us, so we later built our own escort agency."
In addition, my father is a general...
At this point, Wang Ziyi suddenly stopped. Luckily, he almost revealed his secret.
Seeing that Wang Ziyi stopped before finishing speaking, Song Jiaojiao asked in confusion, "What? Why did you stop speaking, Young Master Wang?"
"It's nothing, just remember that anything with four sides belongs to the Wang family." Wang Ziyi wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead and changed the subject.
"I wonder why Madam Song is asking these questions. Is there something new and unfamiliar to you?"
"Yes and no. If I have any ideas later, I will contact Sifanglou as soon as possible. The main reason is that my son is an apprentice at Sifang Escort Agency. It has been almost three months. I don't know how well he is learning or if he is being bullied. However, I feel much more at ease knowing that it is a property of the young master's family."
Wang Ziyi suddenly realized, "These are all minor matters. Could you please tell me the name of Madam Song's son? I will have my men treat him well. Whenever we have dealings with Sifanglou in Yunshui Town, we can have him come back with us. It's not a big deal."
Upon hearing this good news, Song Jiaojiao thought, "Why not rely on someone who has connections?" She said, "Wang Hefan, my son is named Wang Hefan. He is an apprentice at the Sifang Escort Agency in Tongan County. Xu Sen, the son of one of my servants, is with him."
"Alright, I've got it. Madam Song, there's no need to worry too much. We should meet again soon. I was just wondering if Madam Song's husband's family shares the same surname as mine."
"Alas~ My husband wasn't as lucky as Young Master Wang. He went to serve in the military a few years ago, and the bad news came before the new year that he had passed away half a year ago." Song Jiaojiao said without joy or sorrow. Although she had the original owner's memories, they had never spent time together, so she couldn't pretend to be heartbroken.
Wang Ziyi, unaware of the situation, said with some guilt, "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I didn't mean to bring up Madam Song's sad story."
Song Jiaojiao said calmly, "It's nothing, I'm used to it."
Just as the atmosphere suddenly became awkward and Wang Ziyi didn't know what to say, Wang Yu entered with the contract, breaking the awkward situation.
After signing the contract, Song Jiaojiao left Sifanglou and went to Huichuntang.
Huichuntang was filled with goods, and Manager Liu was directing his apprentices to move things.
Song Jiaojiao stepped forward and greeted him from behind, "Manager Liu, are you busy?"
Manager Liu was startled by Song Jiaojiao's sudden voice. When he turned around, his face was still full of fear. "Oh, it's Madam Song! My heart was about to jump out of my chest because of Madam Song."
Song Jiaojiao was unaware of her immense power; it was just a casual greeting. It was simply that Manager Liu was too focused.
Before Song Jiaojiao could speak, Manager Liu said, "It's perfect that you're here, so I don't need to send someone to inform you. Didn't you ask me to buy some medicinal seeds for you before the New Year? I happened to buy a lot of medicinal seeds that we've never seen before in Nanning County this time, and they're all there."
Manager Liu pointed to a half-sack of medicinal seeds in the corner, and Song Jiaojiao looked over and her smile widened.
Oh dear, finally we have some new seeds! Fei Hu has been muttering about it in his head every day for the past two days, and Song Jiao Jiao is almost like Sun Wukong with the golden headband on. With this half bag of seeds, she can finally calm down a bit.