WSMTATMC C30

Chapter 30

Wang Ying was an honest person. Since he had decided to be with Chen Qingyan, he was no longer shy about it.

In the morning, he openly kissed him. “I’m going to call Dunzi to deliver the vegetables. You sleep a bit longer.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

“No need, it’s still early.”

Wang Ying put on his clothes and stepped outside. The cold was biting, his breath turning into white mist in the air, which carried a sharp, piercing chill.

Dunzi was already outside. According to Wang Ying’s rule, vegetables were picked up every four days, and today happened to be the fourth day.

Dunzi was a simple, honest man who barely spoke. Seeing the young master come out, he quickly stood up to kowtow.

“Get up quickly. No need to kowtow next time.”

“Ah, alright.”

He said so, fearful that breaking the rules would make the landlord dislike him and that he would be bullied when he returned to the manor.

Last night, Wang Ying had picked six baskets of vegetables from the experimental field, each weighing over thirty jin. These vegetables could be sold for four or five days. Whatever was left over was discounted to the nearby wonton stall and eateries.

After moving the vegetables twice, Chen Qingyan came out and bent down to help.

“Why don’t you lie down longer?”

Chen Qingyan whispered, “The bed is cold after you left; I can’t sleep alone.”

Wang Ying’s face heated; he kicked him lightly. This guy hardly resembled a proper gentleman.

Once the vegetables were packed, Dunzi drove the mule cart out of town. Wang Ying took Ershun to open the shop. By the time Dunzi returned, the day was nearly bright.

While unloading and moving the vegetables, it was inevitable someone would ask about the source of the vegetables. Wang Ying always gave the same old excuse, “They’re transported from Laizhou. How do they arrive so fast? There’s a cart that takes them halfway; we just pick them up at the relay station.”

After organizing the vegetables, customers came one after another. Usually, workers from the two local inns came earliest, afraid their selections would be leftover goods.

Then came several wealthy townsfolk who didn’t mind spending tens or even hundreds of wen daily to buy fresh vegetables.

After sending off these customers, Ershun lit the stove, and the shop warmed up.

Wang Ying began counting money, stringing together loose copper coins with hemp rope. One hundred coins made a string (a diao), with one knot to mark the count. This made the end-of-month accounting easier.

“Excuse me, does this shop sell fresh vegetables?” Suddenly, several unfamiliar voices came from outside.

Wang Ying quickly stood to greet them. “Yes, guests, please come in and see what you want to buy.”

The leader was a young man with a full beard. He said, “Are you the shopkeeper here?”

“Yes.”

The group stamped the snow off their boots and entered. Seeing the wooden racks filled with fresh vegetables, their faces showed disbelief.

“I am Cao Kun, a grocer from Longquan County. I heard that there’s a fresh vegetable shop in Qingshui Town. I thought it was a rumor, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”

“Ah, Mr. Cao, a pleasure to meet you.”

“May I ask the prices for these vegetables?”

Wang Ying reported each price. Seeing no change in the visitors’ expression, he guessed they were not shocked by the rather expensive prices.

The county’s purchasing power was much stronger than the town’s. Wealthy families were numerous, so the prices weren’t that high.

Cao Kun looked carefully at the vegetables. They were not only fresh but also varied. Transported to the county, they would surely fetch a good price.

He cautiously asked, “It’s so cold; the ground must have frozen. These vegetables aren’t local, right?”

“They’re transported from Laizhou.”

“No wonder. Shopkeeper, how much of this kind of vegetable do you have?”

“How much do you want?”

“Fifty jin of each kind. We will buy once every five days. Can you lower the price?”

Wang Ying was stunned. So they wanted to wholesale from him.

“Fifty jin is too much. If we sell to your shop, we won’t have enough to sell here. At most, I can spare thirty jin, but you have to pick it up yourself; we don’t deliver. As for price, I can give you the rate the local inns pay for their vegetables. Any lower isn’t possible.”

It was just as well as the experimental field had upgraded overnight, producing more vegetables. He had wondered how to manage the surplus and now had an answer.

Cao Kun’s face was full of delight. He originally hoped to test his luck but hadn’t expected to find such an opportunity.

Transporting these vegetables to the county could double his profit compared to other goods.

“When can you come to pick up the vegetables?”

“In five days.”

“Good, agreed!” Cao Kun was straightforward, immediately pulling out a ten liang silver ingot and setting it down. He wasn’t worried about the shop cheating him because these experienced itinerant traders knew their business and could easily spot trustworthy people.

After leaving the vegetable shop, a brother whispered, “Brother Cao, why don’t you check carefully where these vegetables come from? Wouldn’t it be more profitable if we go pick them up directly?”

Cao Kun said, “Do you think others haven’t thought of that? There are so many shops in town. The fact there’s a shop selling fresh vegetables means what?”

“I don’t know.”

Cao Kun tapped his head. “It means none of us dare offend them easily.”

“Brother Cao’s experienced!”

“Another thing — make sure you don’t tell outsiders about buying vegetables from this town. If someone asks, say they come from Laizhou.”

“What does that mean?”

“We buy vegetables from the town to avoid competitors stealing our business!”

The group nodded in agreement.

Wang Ying hadn’t expected that, unintentionally, he had confirmed the fact the vegetables were transported from Laizhou.

That evening, he planned to take Chen Qingyan for a walk in the experimental field.

Since the upgrade last night, he had been thinking about it. Tonight, after dinner, Wang Ying locked the door and mysteriously pulled Chen Qingyan into bed.

Chen Qingyan’s face flushed; excitedly, he said, “Starting so early today…?”

“Starting what? Come, I’ll take you to a good place!”

“Good place?”

Before Chen Qingyan could react, he felt his eyes blur, followed by a sudden sensation of weightlessness. He staggered and fell to the ground. His vision was bright and green with vitality.

“How is it? Is this field nice?”

Chen Qingyan was stunned, “There really is such a paradise on earth…” He murmured as he stood and sprinted through the field. He saw wheat with newly sprouted leaves, many kinds of vegetables growing, and a few peach trees full of green leaves.

Looking up, the sky was bright with blue and white clouds, and there was even a gentle breeze—almost exactly like outside.

“What’s that place in the distance?”

“I don’t know. There’s an invisible empty wall surrounding the area. If you walk to the boundary, you bounce back. Don’t look—help me with this.”

Wang Ying was dividing seedlings. These new vegetables would be ready to harvest in about half a month, just in time for supply.

Chen Qingyan hurried over and copied Wang Ying, squatting to pull out vegetable seedlings.

“Why pull them out?”

“This is called transplanting. The seedlings were planted densely for space-saving. Once they grow to a certain stage, they must be separated; otherwise, the closeness affects root absorption of nutrients and blocks sunlight.”

Chen Qingyan nodded half-understanding. Once they finished, Wang Ying used the screen to select a patch of land and adjusted the temperature to the ideal 24 degrees Celsius. He raised the humidity to maximize the survival chance of the transplanted seedlings.

Chen Qingyan couldn’t see the screen but saw Wang Ying’s finger sliding in midair. “What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see this?”

“No.”

Wang Ying stroked his chin. Although the experimental field was bound to both of them, it seemed Wang Ying alone had usage rights.

“How’s that?”

“Really nice, like a paradise.”

“Too bad we can only come in an hour every day. But at night when we have time, we can come help farm.”

“Good!”

After busying themselves for a while transplanting seedlings, Wang Ying looked at the densely planted experimental field and felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

Seeing Chen Qingyan sweaty, he adjusted the temperature around them to eighteen degrees, instantly making it cooler.

As the time nearly came, both were ejected from the field.

Lying on the bed, Chen Qingyan held his chest, gasping for breath. “Feels like a dream.”

“Right? You think so too.”

Suddenly, Wang Ying grew serious, “We mustn’t tell anyone about this. Heaven and earth, not even your mother.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” Wang Ying trusted him not to spill the secret. This guy was tight-lipped like an oyster and had kept the imperial exam plans secret for over a year.

Chen Qingyan squeezed his hand. “The world is full of ill-intentioned people. If powerful folks find out about this miracle, it could harm you.”

“Let’s just sleep.”

“…Can I share the blanket?”

Wang Ying kicked him lightly, pulled back the covers, and slipped into his bed. The two immediately wrapped their arms around each other.

“Can you sleep now?”

“Hm.”

“Then don’t push with your stick, you bastard!”

Time flashed to the twelfth lunar month, and preparations for the New Year gifts were underway.

This year, with the shop and private school running, finances were much better. Wang Ying planned to prepare more abundant New Year gifts, partly to thank Fourth Uncle and Third Aunt for helping to maintain justice last time.

Wang Ying asked Madam Li about the usual standard for New Year gifts.

Madam Li looked blank. “New Year… gifts? We haven’t prepared any.”

Chen’s father was the oldest brother among siblings; previously, the younger siblings prepared New Year gifts for him. But this year was different—Chen’s father had passed away, and the family had only juniors left, with no elders to give gifts to younger kin.

“Relatives visiting often keeps family bonds. Our family is small, and Uncle and Third Aunt live far away. I thought to prepare more gifts for them this year.”

Madam Li nodded. “You arrange it. If you don’t have enough money, I’ll give it to you.”

“The shop’s business is good now. We have enough funds.”

Yesterday, Wang Ying finished his accounts. Within three months of opening, he had made back the money spent to buy the shop. Business was expected to improve even more by year’s end, and he was ready for a big sale.

“Oh, by the way, what about your uncle’s side? Aren’t they preparing anything?”

Madam Li’s expression stiffened. “There’s no need to prepare for them. We haven’t had much contact with them over the years.”

“Alright.”

There must be other reasons Madam Li was unwilling to say, and Wang Ying didn’t press further. That night, he would ask Chen Qingyan; perhaps he would know the reason.

Third Aunt lived nearby and would be sent fresh vegetables. Also, some wild chickens and wild boars hunted in the mountains would be purchased—good for winter storage and New Year meals.

Hunters in the village mostly went out in winter since there were no poisonous insects or snakes, and black bears hibernated, making it safer. At big market days, many wild game sellers could be seen.

There were also dried mushrooms, jujubes, peanuts—thirty jin each—ten jin of fine white sugar, and two jars of oil.

Though many items were prepared, the prices were reasonable since good-quality goods were scarce in town.

For Fourth Uncle’s New Year gift, vegetables were unsuitable due to distance—frozen vegetables would rot in transit.

Wang Ying planned to send some hometown specialties, which showed sincerity but didn’t cost much. He asked Aunt Chen in the kitchen. Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt, who hadn’t gone out yet, loved the hometown yellow millet and jujube cake, so thirty jin were specially made.

The dried goods were similar to what was sent to Third Aunt—thirty jin each—and some good-quality leather was added to the gift to avoid seeming inexpensive.

Wang Ying planned to personally go to the county to deliver Third Aunt’s New Year gift and to arrange with a grocer to send Fourth Uncle’s gift to Laizhou, since no one in town traveled long distances.

Footnotes:

1. Jin (斤) — a traditional Chinese unit of weight roughly equivalent to 0.5 kilograms or about 1.1 pounds. 
2. Wen (文) — a unit of copper coin currency used in imperial China. 
3. Liang (两) — a Chinese silver weight unit (tael), a standard currency measure. 
4. Diao (吊) — a string of one hundred copper coins; a counting unit for currency. 
5. Hai (亥) — the twelfth of the twelve traditional two-hour Chinese time periods, roughly 9 PM to 11 PM.