Chapter 646: Ours

Editor: Atlas Studios

Qi Haoran rolled his eyes and said, “You also said that they don’t even have grains. Where are they going to get the cured pork for the trade caravan to bring to the capital?”

Mu Yangling chuckled. “Even if there’s no cured pork, don’t we still have salted vegetables and sunflower seeds? The more expensive Liver Tonic Herb isn’t bad either.”

Qi Haoran circulated his energy and said, “Are you really planning to let Big Brother try them all for you?”

“For the sake of the people, Big Brother will definitely be willing.”

“These things aren’t worth much…”

“Even though the profit margin is small, if sold in high volume, it should bring in quite a considerable amount of money too. It’s almost the new year, so every family has to buy some new year goods anyway. Even if they already have pickled vegetables and sunflower seeds at home, many people will be willing to spend a few copper coins to eat the same foods that the Emperor has tried.”

When Qi Haoran thought of the smell of cured meat and salted vegetables floating in his big brother’s palace, he silently tried to stop it. “Only the Miao people know the formula for this Liver Tonic Herb remedy. The Han people can’t earn money from this…”

Mu Yangling waved her hand generously and said, “We’ll let the Miao people earn this money. When the time comes, they’ll bake the herbs and wrap them into individual portions which can brew about ten bowls of tea each. After that, we’ll consolidate them and transport them into the capital to sell.”

The Miao people had come up with the formula for the Liver Tonic Herb, a remedy which was beneficial to the liver and spleen. Qi Haoran had also drunk it before, but he still felt that tea was better. Only his son drank it every few days like fruit juice. This was also commonly sold at two copper coins a bowl on the streets, and the vendors were mostly the Miao people.

Because there were many medicinal herbs inside and it was not sold at a high price, the Han people had never thought of competing for this formula. However, if sold in the capital, this Liver Tonic Herb would undoubtedly be the most expensive because it was the only item amongst them that required expertise.

Just thinking about it made Qi Haoran feel sorry for his big brother.

Qi Haoran gave one last shot at dissuading his wife and said, “Considering these are all food, I’m afraid they can’t be transported into the palace. What if someone poisons them on the way?”

Mu Yangling quickly racked her brains and said, “Why don’t we send more guards? No, this is impossible to guard against. Then prepare a few more ‘tributes’ so that when the time comes, only we know which one is the one to be sent to Big Brother? Wait, that won’t work either. What if they poison everything? But why must we tell others that we’re sending food?”

“Ah, right, we can choose not to mention what we’re sending and hint at the tributes being precious items. Anyway, these things will have to be transported into the capital to be sold. When the tributes are mixed in, others definitely won’t be able to guess that these things are tributes.” The more Mu Yangling spoke, the more she felt that it was a good idea. “When the escorts bring the things to the capital, we can just send them directly to the palace. Anyway, we have to send Little Treasure and Sister-in-law New Year’s gifts to the palace together. Moreover, since these things will be checked by the imperial physicians when they enter the palace, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

Mu Yangling praised herself for her quick-wittedness. Indeed, without suppression, there was no motivation. See, it was Qi Haoran’s suppression that allowed her to so quickly think of a solution.

With a sigh, Qi Haoran said, “I’ll go and discuss it with Zijin.”

Mu Yangling chuckled and threatened, “If you’re unwilling to offer these tributes, I’ll pack it up as our New Year’s gift for Big Brother and Sister-in-law.”

“Are we that poor?” Qi Haoran was furious. To think she was suggesting that they gave his brother such cheap goods for New Year’s Eve.

Mu Yangling turned around and pulled out a box from the box, then opened it and showed it to him. “This is all the silver our family has now.”

There were a few pieces of silver scattered in the empty box, as well as two banknotes. Qi Haoran heaved a sigh of relief, seeing that at least there were still banknotes.

After unfolding the banknotes, Mu Yangling placed them in front of him. She waved them and said, “One 100 taels note and one 150 taels note—that’s all our family has left. We don’t even have enough money to buy seeds in spring. Now, we’re just waiting for the festive silver distributed by the Imperial Court for the new year. However, I feel that with the strength of the national treasury, it’s unknown how much silver we will receive. It’s better to let the lower-ranking officials have it instead, since they don’t have any additional income and are relying on that bit of silver for the new year. As a Prince who doesn’t have to worry about food and drink, do you have the cheek to snatch it from others?”

“You’re lying. How can our family be so poor?” Qi Haoran was furious. He only had 250 taels of silver left? Pfft, he was no fool.

“That depends on how we calculate it. Of course, with our dozens of hectares of land and several mountains, our family doesn’t look poor on the surface. Our jewelry and antiques fill the storerooms in the capital. Also, our business partnership with Zijin brings in a lot of profit every day. But, can the land be sold? Even if you dare to sell it, will anyone dare to buy it? Can the jewelry and antiques be cashed out? Will the gold and silver earned from the businesses fall into our hands? They’re all invested into the gigantic hole that is the Great Qi on the accounts, so this is all the silver our family has now!”

Qi Haoran hugged the box and asked in a dilemma, “Then the money in our family’s accounts now…”

Mu Yangling said with a straight face, “It’s all sponsored by Zijin.”

Qi Haoran heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he did not touch his wife’s dowry.

Mu Yangling sighed and said, “But we can’t always depend on Zijin. Even biological brothers have to settle accounts clearly. We have to repay the money eventually, right?”

Qi Haoran instantly felt that he had let his brother down. He whispered, “Why don’t I go and eliminate the bandits?”

He would be able to bring in money from doing so.

Mu Yangling rolled her eyes. “The bandits in Qiannan have long been dispersed by the West Xia soldiers. Didn’t you take them into the army? Where else are we going to find bandits?”

Qi Haoran looked at her with bright eyes.

Mu Yangling could not help but pinch his ear and say, “It’s not easy for West Xia to stop. You’re not allowed to provoke them.” Mu Yangling said, “I’ve already thought it through. Considering we’ve just arrived not long ago, I’m sure the people of Qiannan don’t trust us yet and won’t be willing to transport the items to the capital for nothing. Therefore, we’ll acquire those goods at a reasonable price, accepting either money or notes. When we transport them to the capital and sell them, we’ll exchange them for grains, then transport the grains back to sell to them. Or we’ll exchange the grains for the notes. By doing this, we can earn some money.”

“Didn’t you say that our family doesn’t have any money left? Where will you find the money to give them?”

Mu Yangling glanced at him and said, “Our family doesn’t have it, but I do.”

Only then did Qi Haoran think of Mu Yangling’s expensive dowry. He jumped up and said, “You’re mine, so your dowry naturally belongs to our family. How can your money not be included?”

Mu Yangling said faintly, “You’re finally willing to say that. I thought you’d rather starve to death than use my dowry.”

Seeing that he was silent again, Mu Yangling was so angry that she lay on the bed to sleep and ignored him. At night, when Qi Haoran hugged her, she ignored him.

Qi Haoran pressed her down and asked, “Are you really angry?”

Mu Yangling turned over and hugged him back. “We’re husband and wife. What’s yours is mine, so naturally, what’s mine is also yours. Never mind if we’re living a cushy life and have no use for my dowry. In that case, I’m fine keeping it as my private savings. But our family only has a little silver now. Since you’ve given all the money to Big Brother, what’s wrong with using my dowry? Surely Little Bear and I can’t eat chaff and vegetables while waiting for you to earn money, while leaving my money locked up in a vault? Is face really that important?”

“Nonsense.” Qi Haoran couldn’t help but pat her butt and sigh faintly. “I’m not doing this for my reputation. I’m doing this for the sake of the two of you. I’m selfish.”

Chapter end