While Zhao Ger was reading, Fang Zichen secretly pulled two silver notes from the envelope and stuffed them into his clothes.
With such a thick stack, missing one or two probably wouldn't be noticed. The sender was probably a big fool who'd made a mistake.
Meng Ruqing's letter was mostly greetings—advising him to take care of his health, and to write if he needed anything or ran into any difficulties, not to stand on ceremony. He also said the three children were doing well there and to set his mind at ease. Old General Qin had been overjoyed to see the children, and his good mood had helped his injuries heal considerably. He wanted the children to stay a few more days to keep Old General Qin's company. Finally, he told the couple to take care of their health, and said the silver notes were for them to use as pocket money—no need to be polite. When they ran out, they would send more.
How extravagant!
Hearing that it was for them and not a mistake, Fang Zichen was absolutely delighted, grinning from ear to ear.
"The Qin family is truly too kind. When they pass away, they'll definitely go to heaven. If only I could meet eight or nine more big shots like them."
---
Knowing that Jizhou hadn't gone to war yet, Fang Zichen wasn't in such a hurry to travel. Every day he stuck to Zhao Ge'er like glue, all lovey-dovey. Otherwise, he went to tease Liuliu. If it weren't for missing Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu, Liuliu would have wanted to go with Guaizai! But in the end, he missed home and came back with Zhou Ger.
When they left, the goods had been piled meters high. On the way back, there was only one flatbed cart, empty and bare. As soon as they crossed into Hezhou, the common people saw them and word spread like wildfire.
"Lord Fang is back! Lord Fang is back!"
"Lord Fang has only been gone how long? And he's already sold all those cartloads of goods?"
---
The weather was nice today. Lao Wang was digging the last batch of sweet potatoes in the sweet potato field. There weren't many left. His eldest daughter-in-law had wanted to come with him today, but he hadn't let her. In previous years, the sweet potatoes in the field would have been fully harvested by this month. But this year, his eldest son had gone out with the prefect, and his second and third sons worked at the sweet potato noodle factory. The field work was left to him and his two daughters-in-law, so naturally it was slower.
Every household was the same, but no one complained. A delay was fine, it didn't matter. The frost hadn't come yet, and sweet potatoes buried in the ground wouldn't spoil. This year, the heavens had shown mercy to the common folk — the frost hadn't come so early. So there was no need to rush.
Otherwise, once the frost came, the sweet potatoes in the field would spoil.
This year's sweet potatoes were big, and the soil was wet. The potatoes had grown deep into the ground, making them harder to dig than before. In the cold weather, Lao Wang was sweating profusely.
From sheer exhaustion.
But his face was full of joy and ease.
Tired, yes, but there was hope in life. So no one felt tired. On the contrary, they had endless energy. Unlike before — back then, they worked themselves to death but couldn't even eat their fill. Living was suffering; only death was relief.
Now things were different. Life was good!
Just as he was busy working, Shi Ger came running panting along the field ridge from afar, shouting as he ran.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
"Hey, why are you here?" Lao Wang saw him covered in sweat, clutching a piece of candy. He didn't think much of it, assuming his daughter-in-law had bought it for him. When Shi Ger reached him and he went to wipe the boy's sweat, but his hand was covered in mud, so he lifted his hem to wipe the boy's face instead. "Why are you running so fast? What if you fall?"
"Grandma says come back," Shi Ger said. "Father's home."
"What?" Lao Wang became uneasy. "Your father really came back?"
"Yes!" Shi Ger held up the candy to show him. "This candy is what Father bought. Grandpa, eat it."
Wang Da had brought it back from Shangyang. It was good stuff — sweet, not bitter at all. Just a bit expensive. But Zhao Ger paid well, and it was a rare trip out, so Wang Da had gritted his teeth and bought some — malt candy, hair ribbons, and brightly colored cloth.
The whole family had been dazzled.
Hearing this, Lao Wang's face immediately clouded with worry. He wasn't happy at all. Several women working in the nearby fields heard and gathered around.
Their faces were full of anxiety. "Village chief, did the goods not sell well?"
No wonder everyone asked that.
Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu lived in the village and liked to chat with everyone in their spare time. Last time, the village chief had asked Uncle Liu how many goods the prefect was taking out this time.
There was no harm in saying it. Uncle Liu said, "Probably about ten carts. Our sweet potato noodle factory loaded six carts, as Zhou Ger said. Pingxiang Village loaded six more."
Everyone's breathing became difficult when they heard that.
Ten carts — how long would it take to sell all that?
Then, on the day the sweet potato noodle factory shipped out, everyone went to have a look. Since sweet potato noodles weren't very heavy, they were stacked sky-high — six full carts. Without a month or two, they probably couldn't be sold out. And that was not to mention the other goods.
This time, they'd only been gone a little over three months before coming back—so everyone instinctively assumed the goods probably weren’t selling, and that was why they'd returned so early.
Lao Wang hoisted the carrying baskets onto his shoulder and said, "I’ll go back and take a look first."
"Village Chief, we’ll go with you." Everyone was worried sick—who had the mind to dig sweet potatoes at a time like this?
Lao Wang, carrying over a hundred catties of sweet potatoes, still walked as briskly as if flying. The moment he reached the courtyard gate, he heard lively voices inside.
"The fabric from out there is really beautiful—what kind of flower is embroidered on it?"
"I heard the lord say it’s a peony."
"Peony? What kind of flower is that? Never heard of it, but it’s really pretty."
One look at Wang Da’s expression, and Lao Wang breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Da went over to help unload the sweet potatoes. "Father."
Lao Wang asked urgently, "You’re back—how so soon? Has the lord sold all the goods?"
Wang Da said with a smile, "All sold."
"All sixteen carts of goods sold?" Lao Wang said. "And those six carts of paper too?"
Wang Da: "Mm!"
"This…" One of the women said, "How did they sell so fast?"
So Wang Da explained.
How could they not sell fast?
Those instant noodles were bought by the pack, sometimes a dozen packs at a time, and the sweet potato noodles went by the ten-plus catties. How could they not sell fast? The instant noodles alone sold several carts on the first day, and after that it got even crazier—people were practically fighting over them.
The paper went without saying too—several academies bought it by the half-cart, and outsiders spent generously, nothing like the people here! Sure, sweet potato noodles were tasty, but who would buy ten-plus catties at a time? People only bought a few days’ worth when they couldn’t resist the craving anymore, and not everyone could have a full bowl—just a plate, eaten like a dish, since one catty cost thirty copper coins!
They themselves were like that—no matter how rich outsiders were, they couldn’t buy it every day! So everyone thought six carts of sweet potato noodles would take at least a few months to sell out.
Now hearing this, every one of them gaped. "They were fighting to buy it?"
"Exactly—people who came later couldn’t get any, and almost came to blows!" Wang Da said.
"My goodness, thirty copper coins a catty, and they buy ten-plus catties at once—doesn’t it hurt their hearts?"
"Wrong, wrong." Wang Da said. "It’s not thirty copper coins a catty."
"Then how much? Twenty copper coins?" That would explain the fast sales.
The woman was thinking this when Wang Da said, "Twenty copper coins? How could it be twenty copper coins—it was sixty-eight copper coins."
The entire Wang family courtyard went silent.
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