Brewing wine was a tedious process, they couldn't see the result immediately. But Lu Lin had cooked sweet potatoes in so many ways, everyone enjoyed the yummy sweet potatoes.
Chapter End Notes
Going to the Fair Together
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Granny Shen made over a hundred pairs of gloves from the hide that Lu Lin found at home. Lu Lin gave Granny Shen two pairs and took home the rest.
"Big brother, are you going to the fair in a few days?" Chen Xiao Cai asked.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yes, we are all going."
With that Chen Xiao Mi tried on a pair of gloves and said, "We are going to sell these gloves on the fair.
Granny Shen made two styles of gloves, one was fingerless with an opening but no covering sheath for each finger, the other one had separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. Chen Xiao Mi was fascinated by them, his hands immediately felt so warm and he could move each finger freely.
Chen Xiao Cai also tried on one pair, he murmured, "I'm not sure whether we can sell them, they are warm and pretty, but some people might find it hinders them from doing farm work. Plus they will get dirty easily."
"I'm fairly optimistic. This fair we are going is a big fair, many rich kids will go there. Gloves is still a novelty, I think those rich kids will love the gloves, they can buy a few pairs to show off or impress the girls." Replied Chen Xiao Mi.
"Big brother, I'm going to ask you one more time to make sure, are you really going to take me and Xiao Mai to the fair?"
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, he assured Chen Xiao Cai, "It is true, we are all going."
Chen Xiao Mi had always wanted to take his two brothers to the fairs and marketplaces, but they didn't have carriage, so he kept delaying the plan. And now the kids could sit on the mule carriage and together they could see go to all the fairs.
The fair they were going to was the biggest Winter Fair in town, they would have customers from the town and the surrounding villagers.
Lu Lin woke up early that morning, he and Chen Xiao Mi cooked breakfast together and woke up the kids, everyone was radiant with joy.
Chen Xiao Mai was so stoked, he kept lifting the curtains on the carriage and looking outside. Chen Xiao Cai was a bit low-key compared to Chen Xiao Mai, but his glowing eyes had betrayed him, this kid was just as excited.
Lu Lin had met some villagers who were going to the fair on foot. There were only a handful families who had carriages, but everyone wanted to go to this fair, therefore, a lot of villagers had to walk there.
The villagers stared with the mule carriage with envy.
"Chen Xiao Mi's family is so affluent, they have such a big mule carriage all to themselves."
"I know, right? I heard people from Big Gulf Village sent him some really nice presents to thank him for teaching them the skills to build kang."
"I heard Zhang Da Zhu from our village also visited them and sent them some nice presents for the same reason."
"I've also heard the entire Big Gulf Village now are deeply grateful for Chen Xiao Mi and Lu Lin for bulk buying sweet potatoes from them, otherwise the potatoes will suffer frost damage."
Zhang Da Zhu and his team had also made some money thanks to Chen Xiao Mi, but it didn't occur them that they should visit Chen Xiao Mi and say a thank you in person until they heard Liu Gui Yong and his team had visited Chen Xiao Mi with some presents.
The steward in Yang Heng Zhi's family had heard that, he and Chen Xiao Mi maintained frequent contacts for fresh game meat, he knew Chen Xiao Mi well and he was filled with righteous indignation when he heard the villagers in Big Stone Village kept complaining Chen Xiao Mi for not teaching them the skills to build kang.
The steward spread the word that the villagers in Big Stone Village were ungrateful, and the villagers in Big Gulf Village were opposite, they were grateful and respectful to the hand that fed them.
People started to ask Zhang Da Zhu and his team questions like "where have you learned the skill", "have you thanked the person who has taught you the skill… …"
Zhang Da Zhu and his team were so embarrassed, so they paid a visit to Chen Xiao Mi as well, they also had brought gifts. Zhang Da Zhu knew the Lus now had two kangs at home, so he brought a large amount of firewood in a thoughtful way.
The villagers in Big Stone Village had different opinions on Zhang Da Zhu's gesture as well, some thought that was completely unnecessary, Chen Xiao Mi had only done something that he was supposed to, while others thought Chen Xiao Mi should be appreciated by Zhang Da Zhu.
"What is going on? How come everyone is talking about Chen Xiao Mi?"
"He is probably the wealthiest in our village now."
"Oh my, do you know what happened to him?"
"Some people say he has found ginseng in the mountain and made a fortune through selling that."
"Who could expect someone like Chen Xiao Mi could be so favored by heaven, he is so unfilial towards his grandparents!"
"I beg to differ, it was Grandma Chen who forced Chen Xiao Mi's father to venture into the mountains for game, and we all know how that ended, Chen Xiao Mi's father lost his life because of that. Grandma Chen planned to sell Chen Xiao Cai as a servant to a rich family in town when she knows that young master in that family has beaten two girl servants to death. I can totally understand Chen Xiao Mi's behavior towards his grandparents."
Some villagers were convinced by that, those people who judged Chen Xiao Mi for being unfilial towards Grandma Chen just to fit in with the other villagers started to understand Chen Xiao Mi. And they thought Chen Xiao Mi must have done something right because he, out of all the hunters, had found ginseng, he was favored by Heaven and his family was doing so well.
Chapter End Notes
Street Vendors Xiao Cai and Xiao Mai
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Lu Lin and the Chen Brothers arrived at the fair early to snatch a good stall.
The vendors usually needed to pay for a stall, but this Winter Fair was an exception, 'first come, first served'.
The streets were beginning to hum with life as Lu Lin and the Chens organized the stall, other vendors had arrived one after another, there were lamp vendors, snack vendors, kitchenware vendors, fabric vendors… … everything that one could wish for.
Lu Lin set up three sections of gloves on the stall, the section on the left was three hundred cents, on the right was five hundred, in the middle was two taels.
"What? Two taels?" Chen Xiao Cai asked in surprise.
Lu Lin nodded.
Chen Xiao Cai's eyes were wide open as he saw Lu Lin nodding, "You can buy five hundred kilos of sweet potatoes with two taels of silver, I think three hundred is pricy enough, let alone two taels!"
"This is made of fox skin, do you know how rare it is?" Lu Lin explained patiently.
Fox-fur robes were popular among the prominent officials and eminent personages in town, it was a shame that the fox that Chen Xiao Mi had captured was injured in the trap, the skin was not in best condition. Therefore, Lu Lin had to compromise and he asked Granny Shen to make a few gloves with it.
"Cai, Mai, we are counting on you kids to attract customers. Hawk our gloves! I will buy you honey cakes if you kids do a good job." Coaxed Lu Lin.
Lu Lin was a bit shy when he saw so many people walking past, so he figured he better bride the kids and let them do the hawking.
Chen Xiao Cai saw Lu Lin right through, he despised Lu Lin's behavior, and he thought Lu Lin a bit calculating.
But Chen Xiao Mai smacked his lips and asked in excitement, "Honey cakes, really?"
Lu Lin nodded and replied in earnest, "Yes, honey cakes, as many as you want."
Chen Xiao Mai bit his finger and thought for a little while, then he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Gloves, check out these amazing fur gloves!"
Chen Xiao Cai pressed his forehead on seeing Chen Xiao Mai exerting himself to the utmost.
'My baby brother is so gullible! I can't believe he is hawking in front of so many people, just for a piece of honey cake!'
Chen Xiao Mai kept gazing at Chen Xiao Cai, asking for help. Chen Xiao Cai shook his head and joined his little brother to boost his morale.
Chen Xiao Mai wore a new winter jacket with a hood that ha got tiger embroidery on it, his cheeks looked rosy thanks to Lu Lin's attentive care, and his voice was in such a pleasant high-pitch. Soon a lot of customers had gathered around their stall. However, most customers would turn away immediately because the price was too high.
Seeing that, Chen Xiao Cai got a bit anxious, he looked at Lu Lin and suggested dropping the price.
Lu Lin shook his head and said, "Nah, I reckon this is a perfect pricing."
'People will start to copy our styles, gloves will be all over the market within days! No way can we sell them for a good price by then. We need to have faith, Law of Value, kiddo, our target groups are young masters in wealthy families.' Thought Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Cai looked at Chen Xiao Mi for help, but Chen Xiao Mi said without hesitation, "Listen to Lu Lin."
Chen Xiao Cai lowered his head, he was surprised to hear that, it looked like his big brother listened to Lu Lin more and more. He knew Bios were supposed to listen to the husbands, but he always thought his big brother was different.
Chen Xiao Mi had no idea what was in Chen Xiao Cai's mind, from his perspective, it was very simple. He thought Lu Lin was more educated and more well-travelled than him, plus making gloves was Lu Lin's idea in the first place, it only made sense to listen to Lu Lin.
The worst case scenario was not able to sell anything, but it was just some fur and hide that had gone wasted.
Lu Lin saw a young master dressed in an embroidered fox-skin robe with a page following him walking past the stall, he promptly winked at Chen Xiao Mai.
Chen Xiao Mai and Lu Lin had rehearsed at home already, Chen Xiao Mai got the cue. He just raised his hands to demonstrate the gloves in his hands and he raised his volume, "Hello, young master, have a look at our amazing gloves."
The young master who was gazing around was attracted by Chen Xiao Mai, he turned around and checked the stall, "What do you have here?"
Lu Lin handed the young master a pair of fox fur gloves and quickly demonstrated them, "They are called gloves, try them out, they will keep your hands warm on the cold night in the study, you can cover the hood when you are not using your hands, and just like that, you can uncover the hood when you are studying and writing."
The young master was intrigued immediately, "So brilliant, how much are they?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Two taels of silver."
The page frowned and said, "Two taels of silver? What a rip-off!"
Then the page looked Lu Lin up and down, 'I know what you are thinking, you just bank on our young master is ignorant of worldly affairs and he will pay you this ridiculous amount of money!'
Lu Lin wasn't surprised when he heard that from the page. 'What a good boy, trying to protect his young master.'
Lu Lin smiled and started to explain with poise, "These gloves in the middle are made of the best fox fur you can find on the market, there are only several pairs in total. If you find them too pricy, the ones on the right are made of rabbit fur, and they are three hundred cents. It's a simple design but they will keep you warm as well. I only suggested the fox fur ones because I thought they suited you more, young master."
The young master's name is Liu Yi, Liu Yi was pleased with Lu Lin's reply, "You are a good businessman, they do look good and I will take them. I want two pairs of fox -furred ones and five pairs of rabbit fur ones."
Liu Yi had it all figured out, he would use the fox fur ones himself, and he could send the rabbit fur ones to his family and friends as gifts.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "Great, five taels and five hundred cents in total, just give me five taels considering you are our first customer."
Liu Yi accepted the offer with alacrity. With that he handed Lu Lin the money, and Lu Lin put the money into Chen Xiao Mi's pocket immediately.
Chen Xiao Mi put the money in the pocket with astonishment, he couldn't believe Lu Lin had already had his first deal, he had sold seven pairs of gloves within a short while.
Gloves were a novelty in that time and space, their stall had attracted so many people, but most of them were just having a look, hoping they could make gloves by themselves.
They had several customers after Liu Yi, but they only bought the rabbit fur ones. They didn't sell any fox fur ones until an hour later or so, a plump woman bought two pairs from them happily.
Chen Xiao Mi was more than happy with the deals they had made, it went so much better than he had expected. 'Those wealthy people, they are willing to spend as many as two taels of silvers on such a small item!'
A group of well-dressed young masters came to their stall not long after the plump woman had left.
"Do you still have fox fur gloves?"
Lu Lin smiled at them and said, "There are only four pairs left."
Lu Lin squinted his eyes and thought this group of people must have seen Liu Yi showing off his gloves.
"I want them all."
"That's not fair, we are here together, you have no right to take them all!" a young master glared at his friend who wanted to hog all four pairs.
Rich young masters were motivated by vanity, they liked to flaunt their family wealth among the peers. Two taels of silvers for a pair of gloves was pricy for ordinary people, but it was nothing for those rich kids who were willing to spend the amount of money that could support a village family for an entire year on a meal.
"You know what, sell them to me, I will pay you three taels for each pair!"
"You jerk, that's out of line!"
The group vied with one another to get the gloves. Lu Lin and the Chen Brothers got to call it a day earlier thanks to the rich young masters.
Lu Lin had noticed several people looked at them funny when the group of young masters surrounded their stall. But Lu Lin didn't pay them much attention.
They got 14 taels of silver from the rabbit fur gloves, 40 tales from the fox fur and wool ones. They had made 54 taels of silver within a couple hours.
Color flared in Chen Xiao Mi's cheeks after he counted the money.
"We had a good day, shall we shop around?" suggested Lu Lin.
Chen Xiao Mi nodded. He cast a glimpse at Lu Lin and said in excitement, "I wish we had made more gloves, I can't believe we've made so much money! I've sold so many animal skins for a cheap price, imagine I saved all of them and made gloves out of them!"
Lu Lin replied, "Soon people will start to copy this idea, don't blame yourself for not keeping the hide. Plus we need to thank Granny Shen, she's got great needlework."
Chen Xiao Mi nodded, "Yeah, those gloves are very well made."
Chen Xiao Mi bought the kids several pieces of honey cakes, Chen Xiao Cai and Chen Xiao Mai ate the hot and soft cakes with relish.
Chen Xiao Mi bought two new quilts on Lu Lin's request even though he was completely fine using the old ones, this winter was already much better than the previous years. But Lu Lin saw it differently, he thought they might as well improve their life quality now that they were able to live a comfortable life.
Chen Xiao Mi didn't reject Lu Lin's suggestion even though he thought Lu Lin was just making a fuss.
Chen Xiao Mi gave Lu Lin some allowance from the fortune they hade made from selling gloves, but Lu Lin spent most of them on buying stuff for Chen Xiao Mai. Chen Xiao Mai got so excited on the market, he would point at everything and stare at Lu Lin with those puppy eyes. Lu Lin ended up buying all of them for Chen Xiao Mai.
"Xiao Mi, here you are!" Yang Heng Zhi suddenly appeared and exclaimed.
"Young Master Yang, what are the odds!"
Yang Heng Zhi looked mad, he glared at the young couple and said, "I'm here looking for you! I heard you guys were selling gloves, how could you sell such great stuff to those jerks without taste?"
'Those young masters must have bragged to him, and now he wants some gloves, but we don't have any left, what should I do?' Chen Xiao Mi frowned.
"Young Master Yang, I've kept some for ourselves, but please have a look if you are interested, the only thing is your option will be limited." Lu Lin replied.
Chen Xiao Mi looked at Lu Lin in surprise, so did Yang Heng Zhi.
"Really?"
Lu Lin nodded and produced three pairs from the carriage, he handed three pairs to Yang Heng Zhi, two pairs of rabbit fur and one fox fur.
Yang Heng Zhi was wild with joy when he saw the fox fur ones that his classmates failed to buy.
"Fancy! There's one pair of fox fur!" Yang Heng Zhi was surprised.
"I saved a them just for you when I didn't see you on the market." Lu Lin said in a clever way.
"Thank you so much for the thought, Lu Lin. I will take all three pairs, keep the change." Yang Heng Zhi gave Lu Lin five taels of silver and left.
Chen Xiao Mi asked Lu Lin when Yang Heng Zhi had left, "Why did you save three pairs?"
Lu Lin smiled, "I saved those for us, but I don't mind earning a few more taels now that Young Master Yang likes them so much."
Chen Xiao Mi secretly thought, 'Keeping a pair of fox fur gloves to ourselves? That's so luxurious, the rabbit fur ones will do the job.'
Lu Lin and the Chen Brothers had an awesome time on the market, they went back home after they were stuffed to the max.
Chapter End Notes
Granny Shen is Relieved
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Lu Lin and the Chen Brothers had once again become the talk of the village after the Winter Fair.
"Have you heard they had made 50 taels of silver from selling gloves on the market?"
"Yes! I can't believe those rich people are actually willing to spend two taels of silver on a pair of gloves! I heard they were all sold out even."
"Chen Xiao Mi has made yet another fortune."
"More than 50 taels! That is a fortune."
"The thing is they dare charge that high for literally some palm-sized stuff!"
"I heard it's Granny Shen who did the needlework for them."
"Yeah, Granny Shen made their winter jackets as well."
"I wonder whether Granny Shen will get a cut."
"I doubt it, I think how it works is Lu Lin pays Granny Shen for the workmanship, but Granny Shen don't get a cut no matter how much money they make from it. But I'm sure Granny Shen doesn't mind, she has made some money from her needlework already. Plus Lu Lin asked Zhang Da Zhu to build a kang for her for free almost."
…………………………………………………………………………………..
The villagers used to feel sorry for Lu Lin for marrying into Chen Xiao Mi's family, now they thought Lu Lin was in luck for marrying such a great young Bio. They used to find Chen Xiao Mi terrifying nut now they started to talk about Chen Xiao Mi with a touch of awe and fear mixed because Chen Xiao Mi was getting so rich, even the people who were working for Chen Xiao Mi had become richer, such as Zhang Da Zhu and Granny Shen.
The villagers all agreed there must be something that Chen Xiao Mi was doing right.
In Chen Xiao Mi's house.
Chen Xiao Mi sat cross-legged on the kang, he kept counting on their savings again and again.
Lu Lin showed a doting smile, "I remember it's 83 taels and 536 cents when you counted them five seconds and five minutes and fifteen minutes ago."
Chen Xiao Mi grinned, "I'm just counting them again to make sure I get the right number."
"You got the right number, I can be your witness."
"I can't believe we have so much money now!" Chen Xiao Mi got a bit emotional.
Lu Lin squinted his eyes and said, "If we can make twice this amount of money, we can afford a house in town, right?"
Chen Xiao Mi gasped a bit, "in town?"
Chen Xiao Mi found the idea of moving to town quite intimidating like all the other villagers.
"How can we make a living in town? We don't have any farmland here, but we have our veggie patch in our yard. And I won't be able to go hunting every day. If we sit idle, do nothing, everything we have earned will be used up."
Lu Lin smiled, "This is just a thought, of course we need to give the matter further thought."
Chen Xiao Mi nodded. He felt so glad that Lu Lin was married to him, it took him a lot of time to finally decide to spend 10 taels on the betrothal present. And look at them now, Lu Lin had made over 80 tales for the family already.
"I think we should buy more land if we have more money, but the villagers won't sell their land because they all count on the land for farm produces." Said Chen Xiao Mi.
Lu Lin frowned and said, "I'm not a big fan of farmland anyways, sounds like work."
Chen Xiao Mi rolled his eyes in the heart, 'What a spoiled rich kid! Land! He isn't a fan of land because he doesn't like to work!'
Lu Lin blinked a few times and added, "Well, we can buy some land and rent them out to the tenant peasants."
Chen Xiao Mi's lips twitched, he thought what Lu Lin just said was crazy talk.
In Granny Shen's house.
Tears of happiness sprang up in Granny Shen's eyes when Chen Xiao Cai sent her the bonus for the gloves.
"Gran, was Xiao Cai just here to send money to you?" Shen Chi asked in surprise.
Granny Shen took a deep breath to calm down, "Yeah, Lu Lin said this was bonus. How nice they are!"
Two taels of silver, she could buy two pigs with that amount of money, she and Shen Chi could have a comfortable winter now.
Granny Shen didn't want to take the bonus in the beginning for Lu Lin had already paid her three hundred cents for her needlework, and Lu Lin had given her two pairs of gloves as a present.
But Chen Xiao Mai passed on the message that Lu Lin said he was looking forward to working with Granny Shen more, he would feel hesitant to give her more work if she turned down her bonus. Therefore, Granny Shen changed her mind, she would love to work for Lu Lin for a long term.
Shen Chi put on the gloves that Lu Lin gave him as a present and said, "Gran, Xiao Cai told me they had made about 50 taels of silver in the Winter Fair."
Some villagers who had seen Lu Lin's stall on the fair had observed them for a while, they did some math, and they calculated the rough number as well. But Granny Shen was still surprised when she heard it from Chen Xiao Cai.
"That's a lot of money, I can't believe it's so profitable."
Granny Shen wasn't optimistic when Lu Lin sent her the hide and the sewing kit and asked her to made gloves in those strange shapes, she had been worried for the young couple even though she wouldn't take any risk, 'what if no one buys these strange things?'
But now Granny Shen finally felt relieved that they made a fortune from selling those strange things.
Chapter End Notes
Market Saturation
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The news that Chen Xiao Mi had made a huge profit by selling gloves had caused yet another upsurge of sour grape talk in Big Stone Village.
Most villagers worked all the year round usually would get a profit about seven or eight taels of silver. But Chen Xiao Mi had made over 50 taels of silver on one Winter Fair.
Fox fur gloves had become the most coveted item among the young masters in town, it had even become a symbol of wealth and status.
Some people who didn't get the fox fur gloves would put on a pair of gloves made of rabbit fur as compromise. Some others bought fox fur and asked tailor shops to make fox fur gloves for them.
This trend had even driven up the fur market in town.
Gloves soon had lost its novelty, the wealthy young masters preferred the fox fur ones while the plain folks preferred rabbit fur ones, and the prices of gloves had soon dropped. A lot of people started to rent stalls in the market and sell homemade gloves.
Chen Xiao Mi didn't go to down these days, but he had heard one thing or two about his fellow villagers had also tried their luck in town by selling gloves. Hearing none of them had made any profit, Chen Xiao Mi gloated over the villagers' failure.
"Lu Lin, you are right about this, the price of gloves is plunging."
A lot of villagers had copied the idea after they head Chen Xiao Mi made a fortune on the fair, they scrambled to buy fur and as a result the price of fur had gone up, thus the cost had rise up as well. Many of the latecomers couldn't break even.
Lu Lin smiled, "Because there's nothing complicated in it, we can sell them for a good price when they are a novelty, but not any more."
Granny Shen's needlework was great, but the embroiders in wealthy families in town had already updated the game, more exquisite and fancy gloves had hit the market too.
Chen Xiao Mi titled his head and said, "My uncle Chen Shou Xin has also bought some fur from the hunter in Big Gulf Village and jumped on the bandwagon of renting a stall in town, but he didn't sell much of them. Animal furs aren't cheap, I'm sure he's losing money already, that fool!"
Lu Lin had encountered Chen Shou Xin several times after he married Chen Xiao Mi. Chen Shou Xin would always look at Lu Lin with contempt like Lu Lin owed him money or something.
Lu Lin and Chen Xiao Cai had become close recently, Chen Xiao Cai had mentioned to him that Lu Lin was once trapped in the mountain for a night, Chen Shou Xin thought Chen Xiao Mi must be dead so he marched towards their house and claimed everything in the house. And he ended up being beaten up by Chen Xiao Mi who came back home safe and sound.
Chen Shou Xin was such a greedy person, chances were he still thought he owned everything that Lu Lin owned even though Lu Lin had already lived independently.
'No wonder that Chen Shou Xin has always been so haughty to me, Chen Xiao Mi spends 10 taels on marrying me, he must fricking think he owns that 10 taels silver hence he owns me', thought Lu Lin.
"How did you know about Chen Shou Xin and his gloves business?" Lu Lin asked with curiosity.
"I heard it from Zhang Da Zhu." Replied Chen Xiao Mi.
"Ah~ speaking of Zhang Da Zhu, he has sent us another batch of firewood recently."
"Yeah, and I've also noticed more and more villagers starting to talk to me."
"That's a good thing!" Lu Lin was happy.
Chen Xiao Mi shook his head, "I beg to differ. They kept asking me whether we need to buy pickle vegetables or sew new clothes, they want us to buy stuff them instead of Granny Shen."
Lu Lin squinted his eyes, "It looks like they knew we are buying stuff from Granny Shen."
Chen Xiao Mi scratched his head, "Yeah, people talk, nothing is a secret in this village."
Chen Xiao Cai always visited Granny Shen with Chen Xiao Mai, of course the villagers had noticed that. The villagers actually had noticed the gloves that Granny Shen made for them, but back then no one knew what those strange things were, and Granny Shen deliberately talked vaguely when others asked her what she was making.
It was already too late when the villagers had the 'a-ha' moment. Chen Xiao Mi had already made 50 taels of silver by selling that novelty.
In Lu House.
Tang interspersed her talk with curses, she was overwhelmed with indignation by the fact that Chen Xiao Mi made yet another fortune.
"Mom, 50 taels? Really?" Lu Tong asked in shock. She wanted to go to the Winter Fair to do some shopping, but she gave that up because she didn't manage to borrow an ox-cart.
Tang nodded, "Two taels for a pair of fox fur gloves! Along with the rabbit fur ones, he must have made more than 50 taels!"
"That's a huge amount of money!" Lu Tong found that jaw-dropping.
The Lu Family was doing pretty well because they had a vast area of farmland, but Lu Cheng Yu's tuition fee was expensive, they were very generous in fawning upon the teachers at school as well, that was an expenditure of dozens of tales.
Lu Tong saved so hard for years for about two taels as her case-dough. She turned green with envy when she heard Chen Xiao Mi made 50 taels on a day.
Even a grand wedding in the village would only cost three or five taels, but that Chen Xiao Mi had made more than 50 taels on a day!
Chapter End Notes
Leech Knocks on the Door
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
In Chen Shou Xin's house.
Chen Shou Xin's wife Zhang Yue Hong looked at the mounting pile of gloves on the table and frowned, "These gloves are made of the best furs, how come no one is buying them from us?"
Chen Shou Xin sighed. He scrambled to buy furs after he heard Chen Xiao Mi made a huge profit from selling gloves. He ended up outbidding others who also wanted to purchase the fur to make gloves. He offered the seller seven tales, two taels higher than the list price.
Chen Shou Xin had this calculation based on his wishful thinking, he thought he could easily make a dozen of gloves with the fox fur he had bought, he could at least make twenty tales of silver. However, against all expectations, he didn't even sell one pair.
It baffled Chen Shou Xin why those young masters were willing to pay Chen Xiao Mi two or even three tales for the same product, but now his business wasn't improving even though he was willing to sell them for one tale! He had only made one sale after he made tremendous effort on that pitch.
Chen Shou Xin gnashed his teeth and blamed it all on Chen Xiao Mi.
Chen Shou Xin's son Chen Jing, on the other hand, wasn't feeling too down. He loved the idea of having a new pair of gloves every day, he enjoyed the attention from his classmates. He had a few classmates from wealthy families, but the majority of them were just plain folks.
Zhang Yue Hong asked her son anxiously, "How come your classmates are not buying gloves from us?"
"They all have bought gloves elsewhere already. Some of them can't afford fox fur, so they are happy with their rabbit fur ones." Replied Chen Jing.
Cliques existed everywhere, Chen Jing's class was no exception. Those wealthy young masters who went to school with a page to take care of them had their own circle and clique, kids like Chen Jing and Lu Cheng Yu who were from the village couldn't fit in. Chen Jing could only show off in front of Lu Cheng Yu and the like.
Zhang Yue Hong sighed, "What can we do now?"
Grandpa Chen had rebuked Chen Shou Xin when he spent seven taels on the fox fur, but Chen Shou Xin guaranteed Grandpa Chen that he was going to make a fortune. But now he had only sold one pair of gloves for one tael, Chen Shou Xin ended up losing money.
Zhang Yue Hong couldn't imagine how mad Grandpa Chen was going to be when he found out the truth.
"Jing, why don't you bring several pairs of gloves and ask whether your classmates are interested… …"
Chen Jing replied with a frown, "Mother! I will attend imperial examinations and pursue an official career, doing business is despicable and it will tarnish my good reputation!"
Zhang Yue Hong regretted it as soon as she asked her son the question, "I'm so muddleheaded!"
Chen Shou Xin didn't want to just give up, he went to town several times to try his luck. To his utter astonishment, sellers were even more than buyers! No one showed any interested in his fox fur gloves, but some stalls which features rabbit fur gloves had attracted quite a few customers for small profits but quick turnover.
Chen Shou Xin always borrowed or rented ox-carts from the villagers whenever he went to town, but as time went by, the villagers were just fed up with him and they were reluctant to help him. Chen Shou Xin had to go to town on foot, soon he gave up on the idea of selling gloves.
In Chen Xiao Mi's house.
"Chen Xiao Mi! Chen Xiao Mi, come out!" someone banged on the door.
Chen Xiao Mi's eyes dimmed as he heard that, he grabbed a bamboo stick and dashed out.
Lu Lin was terrified on seeing that.
"Chen Xiao Mi, your grandfather is sick, you need to visit him." Shouted Chen Shou Xin.
Chen Xiao Mi snorted, "Does that have anything to do with me?"
"You cold-hearted viper! That's your grandfather you are talking about!"
Chen Xiao Mi said in a sarcastic manner, "This reminds me of when Mai was sick, he was the one who told me not to send for a doctor because Mai would just turn better. Look how the table has turned, I'm sure he will just turn better."
"What a scoundrel! You unfilial monster!" Chen Shou Xin shook his head in exasperation.
Chen Xiao Mi squinted his eyes and said, "I know what you are up to! But I have been living independently for the past few years, you and your family have renounced me! Tell you what, the money I've made has nothing to do with you! Just piss off!"
Chen Shou Xin gnashed his teeth, "You! What a jerk! You! How could my brother rest in peace knowing you are so unfilial!"
Chen Xiao Mi's face darkened, "Unfilial? Me? Okay, you are unfilial, why don't you send a doctor for your own father now that he is sick? Yes, my father wouldn't rest in peace knowing you are still harassing me!"
It was Chen Shou Xin who had incited Grandma Chen to force Chen Xiao Mi's father to venture into the mountains. Chen Xiao Mi would never forget about that.
Chen Shou Xin made a scene by thumping his chest and stamping his feet, "Second Brother! Just look at your unfilial son, so disrespectful… …"
Chen Xiao Mi brandished the bamboo stick impatiently, "Just piss off already!"
Lu Lin who was walking out of the room had caught Chen Shou Xin's attention. He pointed at Chen Xiao Mi and said, "Your husband is right here! How dare you brandish a weapon like this! You need to behave in front of your husband!"
Chen Xiao Mi sneered, "Stay out of my business. Save your nonsense for your son."
"You know what, you have to give me ten taels! I'm not leaving unless I have ten taels of silver!"
Killing intent flashed across Chen Xiao Mi's eyes, he dashed towards Chen Shou Xin with the bamboo stick.
Chen Shou Xin didn't see that coming, he had no idea Chen Xiao Mi would really attack him. He scrambled to his feet and ran away, almost wet his pants in terror.
Chen Xiao Mi walked back to the room and sat on the kang in a daze.
Lu Lin rubbed Chen Xiao Mi's forehead and asked, "What's wrong?"
Chen Xiao Mi took a deep breath and said, "I don't know whether my father would blame me for this."
Lu Lin smiled, "No way would he blame you for doing the right thing!"
Chen Xiao Mi raised his head and said out of the blue, "But you've wronged grandma, you said she stole from us, but that's not true."
Lu Lin had no idea why Chen Xiao Mi brought it up again, he just said, "I was protecting us, she was the one who made a scene in the first place."
In Chen Shou Xin's house.
"Shou Xin, have you got the money?" Grandma Chen asked anxiously.
Chen Shou Xin shook his head, "He refused to give me any."
"That stingy little jerk, didn't he make over fifty taels in a day?" Grandma Chen said that furiously.
Grandpa Chen sighed and said, "So be it, just let it go."
"Let it go? No way." Grandma Chen clenched her fists, how she regretted that she had renounced Chen Xiao Mi.
Grandpa Chen got a bit impatient, "What else can we do at this point?"
Grandma Chen didn't talk back on seeing her husband was getting angry.
"Shou Xin, how could you spend seven taels on a whim? You should know better than that." Grandpa Chen blamed Chen Shou Xin.
Seven taels of silver was no small amount of money for them.
Grandma Chen defended her son, "This is not entirely his fault, it's just bad timing. Those young masters were fighting each other to buy gloves from Chen Xiao Mi, Shou Xin was just a bit late."
"There's risk in any business", sighed Chen Shou Xin's Third Brother Chen Shou Ren. "Those young masters didn't like to wait for gloves, I heard some of them had even tore their fox-fur robe to make gloves. Brother, you should think twice before you spent that large amount of money. That money was for the special purchases for the Spring Festival, we can't afford anything now."
Chen Shou Xin's face darkened as he heard that, "I meant well, I wanted to make some more money for us."
"But brother, for fur isn't that expensive, you are ripped off." Chen Shou Ren shook his head.
Chen Shou Xin felt more depressed as he heard that, he knew he had paid a ridiculously high price for the fox fur, but he made that decision of his own free will.
"Those businessmen are all greedy, they saw an opportunity to raise the price and of course they would do it." Said Grandma Chen indignantly.
Chen Shou Xin walked out to the yard in low spirits.
Zhang Yue Hong asked worriedly, "How did it go?"
Grandma Chen had been giving Zhang Yue Hong a hard time, she blamed Zhang Yue Hong for her son's failure, she said Zhang Yue Hong's needle work must be terrible, that was why no one was buying anything from them. Zhang Yue Hong felt so wronged, she had all the confidence about her needlework.
"Father is a bit unhappy." replied Chen Shou Xin listlessly.
Chen Jing walked towards them and said, "Don't you find it a bit strange? Chen Xiao Mi is just a boor, how come he has all these inventive ideas like kang and gloves? And all of sudden, he became so rich."
"People say he has found something in the mountain." Murmured Chen Shou Xin.
"Something in the mountain?" Chen Jing was confused.
"Some people took refuge in the mountain to avoid the chaos of war, I heard Chen Xiao Mi has found some books saved by those people."
Chen Jing sneered, "But Chen Xiao Mi is completely illiterate."
Chen Jing was the only one who went to school in Chen Family, he wasn't doing great at school, but he took great pride in it.
"Maybe there are drawings in the books." Said Chen Shou Xin.
"Have you seen the book?" Chen Jing asked in excitement. He was so stoked by that 'treasure book', he wished he could invent something and attract some attention as well.