The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 265: Achievements

Lin Jiuniang was too embarrassed to discuss this matter with Wei Qinghe, but knowing her Aunt Wu’s nature, she didn’t want to be caught off guard. So, she quietly told her mother about it when she got home.

Mrs. Lin San’s eyes blazed with anger upon hearing the news.

“How dare she! Now that her family is falling apart, she’s targeting you.” She calmed herself and patted her daughter’s hand. “You don’t need to worry about this. Don’t mention it to Qinghe either. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

Lin Jiuniang smiled upon hearing her mother’s words, knowing she wouldn’t have to handle it herself. She clung to Mrs. Lin San’s arm and cooed, “Mother, I really like Daxing Village. The match Grandpa chose for me is really wonderful.”

Mrs. Lin San raised her eyebrows upon hearing her daughter’s words.

To be honest, with the world in turmoil for years, many girls’ marriages had been delayed. When the old man first mentioned this match, the second, third, and fourth branches all had eligible girls. The other two branches inquired about Wei Qinghe’s background and found him poor and previously a servant of the Wang family. Although he had been freed and was now educated, his status was still not impressive. The girls from the other branches fell ill one after another.

The old man knew well enough whether they were genuinely ill or just faking it. He directly asked the third branch if they were willing and said that if they were not willing, they didn’t need to force it.

Lin Jiuniang, though appearing gentle and mild, was quite determined. She didn’t care about modesty and had asked her grandfather in detail about the groom’s age, appearance, education, and character. She even had a maid observe from a distance at the academy entrance and then gave her approval.

The old man was pleased, increased the dowry considerably, and arranged a grand wedding.

As a pampered daughter, Mrs. Lin San was understandably concerned. She initially worried that her daughter might only report the good news, but now seeing her so happy and praising her match, she couldn’t help but be curious.

“What’s it like?”

“The atmosphere is great. The people are sincere and straightforward, with little scheming or intrigue. It feels like a big family,” Lin Jiuniang said. “Daxing Village feels very united.”

Mrs. Lin San, seeing that her daughter truly liked it, relaxed and smiled. “And you’re close to the local noble, right?”

Lin Jiuniang’s smile widened.

“A woman like her is truly remarkable.”

When Lin Jiuniang visited Daxing Village during the plowing festival, she saw the whole scene both inside and outside the city. She felt that Sang Luo seemed to shine with her own light. When the imperial edict and plaque came later, Lin Jiuniang thought Sang Luo seemed like a legend compared to someone who grew up in a secluded inner courtyard.

Mrs. Lin San tapped her daughter’s forehead with her finger. “You were interested in this match because of Daxing Village, weren’t you?”

Lin Jiuniang smiled. “I was interested, but that wasn’t the deciding factor. My husband is a talented man. His humble background doesn’t matter much. Although he is poor, the dowry provided is substantial. Even if he remains poor, he won’t stay that way forever. Besides, from what I’ve seen in these past few days, children in Daxing Village, even as young as a few years old, are literate. Even the children of the Shen family’s long-term workers are attending school in the village. The school is located at the Shen family’s house.”

“Children of the long-term workers are also attending school?” Mrs. Lin San was surprised. “Is it a teacher hired by the Shen family?”

“No,” Lin Jiuniang replied. “It’s a few older children from the village who are teaching basics like elementary reading and arithmetic. Mrs. Shen and Qinghe’s niece Wenyin teach more advanced subjects like classical texts and poetry. Qinghe said they also hold classes for the children during their days off. There are six people from the village studying at the academy, taking turns teaching.”

Mrs. Lin San found this hard to believe. Considering what she had previously learned about Daxing Village, she now understood why so many villagers had managed to enter the academy.

She murmured to herself, “You’re right; your grandfather really found a good match for you. With a village like this, even if they are all farmers, given time, it will surely prosper.”

The second and fourth branches would probably regret their decision in the future.

Mrs. Lin San was now truly relieved. After hosting her daughter and son-in-law, she went to visit the old lady. How the old man and the old lady would handle the fifth branch was no longer her concern.

…

“Each flower blooms in its own way.”

Lin Jiuniang returned home, and Daxing Village’s workshop was bustling with preparations. The men went to help with the setup, while Mrs. Chen and Sang Luo, along with her mother-in-law, began recruiting workers.

Chen Dashan and the others wasted no time. Last night, they had Shopkeeper Xu provide an emergency training session that lasted over an hour. The eight of them discussed and made plans, and early this morning, they sent Shen Ning to handle the food, lodging, and transportation expenses. They sent two teams of four: one team with samples went south and the other north to find orders.

The term “tribute” added a significant prestige to Daxing Village’s products. Coupled with the uniqueness of the products themselves, as Shopkeeper Xu suggested, they had to elevate their position. They started by carefully selecting potential partners before negotiating.

These eight business rookies, lacking experience, found it difficult at first. They had prepared conditions based on Shopkeeper Xu’s teachings and their own brainstorming. Each group carefully evaluated potential partners one by one.

When the two-person teams made their first proactive visits, even experienced individuals like Chen Dashan and Lu Erlang felt nervous, their palms sweating in the cold January weather.

With little experience, facing rejection was inevitable. While other groups faced challenges, Chen Dashan and Shen Jin, at their first visit, were rejected before they even had a chance to explain.

Chen Dashan glanced at the shopkeeper and realized this was not a welcoming customer. He exchanged a look with Shen Jin and turned to go to their pre-selected second choice.

Fortunately, the second visit went quite smoothly. Because the products were genuinely good, whether due to the products themselves or their added prestige, once they were able to present and showcase them, the shopkeepers were impressed. Many of them even knew Sang Luo from nearby Shezhou.

“Is this the local noble praised by the emperor?”

After negotiating for a quarter of an hour on the price, they successfully secured their first partnership.

With this initial success, their confidence increased. They were able to handle contracts and deposits and set delivery dates with more ease.

This was when the benefits of having young, literate children in the mountains came into play. In each team, there were two particularly reliable members: in Lu Erlang’s team, they were Xu Wenqing and Zhou Changgong, and in Chen Dashan’s team, they were Shen Jin and Chen Ershan. Each team had at least one capable person, making the contracts look professional.

When the shopkeeper saw Chen Dashan negotiating but a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old handling the contract, it was unusual. Literacy was still rare, and the contract terms, while not particularly sophisticated, were detailed and precise. It was almost impossible to find loopholes.

The shopkeeper gave Shen Jin a thumbs-up: “Young man, impressive!”

…

After spending five days out, the big group led by Lu Erlang returned to Daxing Village on the afternoon of the twelfth day of the new year. The four of them, beaming with joy and full of pride, were in high spirits.

Mrs. Xu, Wei Lingzhen, and Lin Jiuniang saw Xu Wenqing had also returned. When the old lady saw her grandson’s expression, she exclaimed, “Did you win your first battle?”

Xu Wenqing laughed heartily and gave the old lady a hug. “Yes, Grandma. I’ll bring the money to honor you next month.”

Having mixed with other families for a while, he no longer called her “Grandmother” formally but used the more affectionate “Grandma.”

The old lady was delighted and said with a smile, “I’ll go settle the accounts now.”

“Go ahead,” the old lady said, waving her hand and inviting Wei Lingzhen and Lin Jiuniang. “Shall we go and have a look?”

Xu Wenhong and Xu Wenbo, who had been studying in the house, heard the commotion and came out. The two brothers quickly caught up with Xu Wenqing. Xu Wenbo asked, “Brother, did you sell the goods? How much did you sell?”

Xu Wenqing proudly took out three orders from his chest and showed them: “See for yourself.”

As they walked towards the Shen family, they not only needed to settle accounts but also needed Shen Ning to prepare the goods. Along the way, people from the village followed to see the excitement.

When they entered the Shen family’s courtyard, Wang Yunzheng was teaching the village children in the south room. He noticed a crowd of people arriving outside, including some who had been out on business. He felt a stir in his heart but continued with his lesson.

Since he continued teaching, the children listening couldn’t move and had to keep their eyes on the lesson. When the class ended, Wang Yunzheng went into the Shen family’s courtyard, followed by Ah Xu, Zhou Wulang, and others. The two Gans who had been working in the mountains also arrived upon hearing the news.

In the small side hall of the east wing, preparations were already underway. Sang Luo had pushed the children’s stroller into the east wing hall. The main business was handled by Shen Ning, with several strings of coins on the table, presumably for deposits. Shen Ning had the ledger open, with writing tools at the ready. Lu Erlang and Xu Wenqing each handed over three orders, and Shen Ning was efficiently recording them. Xu Wenyin, who had been visiting the Xu family, was helping count the money.

Lu Erlang told Sang Luo, “This was our first trial, and we were eager to return and submit the orders. We didn’t travel far, only to the county, not the nearby provincial capital. Conditions in the county are not as good as in the provincial capital. Finding distributors for fermented tofu and vermicelli was easier, but meat jerky, meat floss, and honey are more expensive. Most shopkeepers are hesitant. Among the six distributors we found, only one in Wenqing’s area agreed to cooperate. We agreed to start with ten cans for trial sales.”

“That’s pretty good,” Sang Luo said. This was within her expectations. The county town had fewer truly capable large households compared to the provincial capital, and in the chaotic years, such mid-sized wealthy households were often targeted by marauding forces. It was difficult for them to recover quickly.

Feng Liuniang and the others came over to see how many orders had been sold. With six orders laid out on the table, but unable to read the characters, Feng Liuniang asked Ah Xu to help read them.

Ah Xu glanced at the three orders signed by his father and said, “Three shops: one ordered a hundred jars of fermented tofu and fifty pounds of vermicelli, with a distributor price of seven thousand two hundred coins.”

Feng Liuniang, having done business for years, could quickly do the arithmetic, but with such large sums, she couldn’t compute it all in her head, though she understood the quantity.

“In just five days, three hundred jars of fermented tofu and one hundred fifty pounds of vermicelli is pretty good.”

She then asked Shen Ning, “How much commission can Uncle Lu earn from this trip?”

“Uncle Lu’s three orders total three hundred jars of fermented tofu and one hundred fifty pounds of vermicelli, with a distributor price of twenty-one thousand six hundred coins.” Shen Ning paused slightly before reporting, “The commission should be six hundred forty-eight coins.”

Xu Wenqing’s eyes widened: “An Ning, you’re amazing! You can calculate that so quickly?”

When Lu Erlang received the three orders, Xu Wenqing had asked him to help calculate the commission. Xu Wenqing didn’t have the ability to just glance and provide an answer that fast.

Xu Wenyin, who had just calculated an integer, laughed at her elder brother’s embarrassment. Seeing her smile, Xu Wenqing pushed his three orders toward Shen Ning, saying, “Calculate mine too.”

Shen Ning took a look at the orders. Since the fermented tofu and vermicelli were set at the minimum distributor standard, these were the same as Lu Erlang’s, just with an additional thirty cans of meat floss, meat jerky, and honey. Without first registering, she tapped a few numbers with her fingers and said, “The fermented tofu and vermicelli are the same. The thirty cans of more expensive items have a distributor price of eighteen thousand coins. The commission for these is… five hundred forty coins. Adding the commission for the fermented tofu and vermicelli of six hundred forty-eight coins, the total commission is… one thousand one hundred eighty-eight coins. Is that right?”

She spoke with a slightly slower pace when reporting the key figures and then smiled, asking Xu Wenqing if it was correct.

Xu Wenqing, who had previously struggled to calculate with a twig on the ground, looked at Shen Ning with a mix of admiration and frustration: “…”

You’re not human!

He turned to Sang Luo, playfully asking, “Mistress, are you still accepting apprentices? I think An Ning and I might just be lacking in the teacher’s skills.”

It can’t be that I’m just slow!

Wei Lingzhen laughed and gave him a gentle tap on the forehead: “Stop complaining. Didn’t you hear your sister-in-law teach in the mountains? An Ning is very smart. Apart from Yunzheng and Xiao Jin, there’s no one here who can calculate faster than her. It’s not embarrassing to be outshone by her.”

Everyone laughed, and Wang Yunzheng’s eyes also showed amusement.