“Come quickly and see the new seedlings. In just a few days, we’ll be able to eat the vegetables we grew ourselves at home!” Zhuang Yubai, trying to cover his embarrassment, quickly changed the subject.
Meng Zhizhang nodded, tucked the handkerchief back into his sleeve, and turned his back, pointing to the compost pile in the corner of the vegetable garden. “Is it time to turn the pile tomorrow? How should it be done? I’ll do it.”
“Tomorrow will be the fourth day. Luckily, Brother Meng, you still remember.”
Zhuang Yubai followed him to the compost pile to check the current decomposition status. The overall height of the pile hadn’t decreased much. Zhuang Yubai waved his hand a few times to waft the air towards his nose. Hmm, no bad smell. He circled around it and found no white powder on the outside. He found a stick, poked a small hole in the pile, and reached in—ouch, it’s hot!
Rubbing his hands, Zhuang Yubai nodded continuously. All parameters were normal, indicating a balanced carbon-nitrogen ratio, with just the right internal moisture and heat.
For a first attempt, cobbling together a compost pile like this and having it succeed, it seems he really should thank the “beginner’s protection period.”
“The principle of turning the pile is to turn it inside out, top to bottom.”
Afraid he might not explain it clearly, Zhuang Yubai was about to perform a pantomime with the stick in his hand when he heard a calm voice beside him say:
“Got it. Should the height remain the same?”
“Yes! Keep the height.”
Having obtained the clear information he wanted, Meng Zhizhang packed up the tools he brought to the vegetable garden and walked home under the evening glow.
Following behind, Zhuang Yubai nodded continuously, his eyes full of admiration: A top student is different; as soon as he finishes reviewing the question, the answer is out. Just as he was muttering to himself, he looked up and saw a dynamic portrait in front of him:
Broad shoulders, narrow back, and an imposing presence, with the slanting sunlight casting on Meng Zhizhang’s still-unchanged green robe. This proud posture, this overall aura…
Those who know would understand he’s just returning home after planting vegetables; those who don’t might think he’s some envoy from a great nation, having just won a diplomatic negotiation, returning triumphantly with his capable assistants.
Looking at the towering figure standing on the barren land, Zhuang Yubai wanted to sigh a few more words, but he saw the “envoy” already standing by the woodpile, waiting for him.
“Let’s go home.”
“Alright! Coming!”
*
After eating several days of “innovative” shrimp chip meals, the leftover pieces from the “trial and error period” were finally consumed.
After dinner, the small courtyard quieted down, and a single light flickered inside the thatched hut.
A large sheet of paper spread out, taking up half the desk, with scribbles that were so abstract they could be mistaken for ghostly symbols.
Zhuang Yubai held a bamboo pen, struggling as he wrote and scribbled. The light and shadows flickered inside the room, occasionally accompanied by sighs.
After filling several sheets of paper, with teeth marks left on the pen’s end, the “Gold and Jade Full House” input-output table was finally drawn.
Zhuang Yubai reviewed it from start to finish, feeling quite satisfied.
“Gold and Jade Full House” Input-Output Table
3 jin of wheat + 1 jin of shrimp = ① 2 jin of dried shrimp chip blanks + ② 0.6 jin of washed gluten + ③ 0.6 jin of wheat bran
① 2 jin of dried shrimp chip blanks = 20 packs of jade chips * 8 wen/pack = 160 wen
② 0.6 jin of washed gluten = 6 packs of golden balls * 8 wen/pack = 48 wen
③ 0.6 jin of wheat bran = 0 wen (given to Uncle Niu’s old donkey (*^-^*)
Gross income: 160 wen + 48 wen = 208 wen
Total cost: Wheat (24 wen/3 jin) + Shrimp (22 wen/jin) + Oil, firewood, sugar, salt, and seasonings (5 wen) + Grinding (1 wen) + Tasting and other losses (4 wen/pack) + Peddler Zhang’s distribution discount (26 wen/26 packs) = 82 wen
Profit: 208 wen – 82 wen = 126 wen
Currently, the channel with Peddler Zhang seems promising.
Having repeat customers right from the first attempt proves that our “flagship product” has great market potential.
Zhuang Yubai’s confidence soared, his fighting spirit high.
He pulled the pen from between his tightly clenched teeth, quickly flicked it to push aside a strand of amber hair covering his eyes. Looking at the teeth marks on the pen, he put it back in his mouth and continued to chew.
He bent over the table, almost burying his head in the chart, furrowing his brows, calculating seriously in his mind.
According to his prediction, business would see a small wave in the coming period. Once the trend passes, under normal circumstances, 20 packs of jade chips and 6 packs of golden balls should be sold out every two days, with Peddler Zhang coming to pick them up every other day.
Calculating this way, a profit of 126 wen could be made every two days. In 30 days, that’s 1890 wen.
Wow, in one month, there would be 1.8 taels of silver coming in!
1.8 taels! Zhuang Yubai jumped up from his chair.
The lamp flickered violently, and the shadow that had been huddled by the desk suddenly stretched out, like a small black cat suddenly awakened, stretching its long body, reaching up to the wall and the ceiling.
The cat’s head paused on the ceiling for a moment, then quickly shrank back, curling up by the desk again.
A pen was being chewed with a “crunch, crunch” sound.
The most money Zhuang Yubai had ever touched was the 150 wen given to him by Meng Zhizhang. He already thought that was a lot.
1800 wen, laid out on the table, wouldn’t that be a huge pile?
To earn so much in a month! Incredible! Unbelievable!
“Swish, swish” in the wooden basin, the sound of water rippled, the rhythm of the actions relaxed and controlled.
No matter how the shadows in the room jumped up and down, flickering and dancing, they couldn’t disturb the person working seriously over the wooden basin. Meng Zhizhang seemed to exist in another time and space, completely unaware of Zhuang Yubai’s surprise.
Meng Zhizhang had temporarily set up a table and chair, kneading the dough by the light. His hands were half-submerged in the milky white broth, which made a sound as it was kneaded and squeezed, sometimes “ding dong,” sometimes “splash.”
The table and chair were near the north window, maintaining a safe distance from the desk and the person at the desk, ensuring they wouldn’t disturb each other.
Since the paper was spread out, the person at the desk hadn’t stopped. Waving sleeves, adjusting his posture, like a drunken butterfly, holding the pen, splashing ink, pointing out the world.
Meng Zhizhang, calm as a mountain, remained unfazed, as long as the roof was still there today, he would focus solely on whether the dough in his hands had enough strength.
Zhuang Yubai, engrossed in his calculations, didn’t notice when the pen got smeared with ink, and when he pinched it, it smeared all over his hand.
He sneaked a glance at Meng Zhizhang, who was seriously washing gluten. Although he was temporarily pulled in as free labor, his comprehension was excellent, and his strength… was sufficient. This was good.
Now, with May approaching, Meng Zhizhang would go to the Prefecture City for the academy exam in July or August. By then, just the “Gold and Jade Full House” would bring in five or six taels of silver. Meng Zhizhang currently had 1 tael in savings, could earn another tael by copying scriptures and books, and with the summer harvest’s 1.5 taels, by July, the household would have saved nearly ten taels of silver…
Ten taels of silver?!
Zhuang Yubai was shocked.
He thought he was seeing things, so he checked the numbers on the paper twice.
It was ten taels of silver, no mistake!
Before crossing over, he had no concept of ten taels of silver. Now he knew that a jin of grain sold for eight or nine wen, Peddler Zhang, working hard all day, earned only sixty or seventy wen, and Niu Dayou’s family, working hard to make charcoal and sell firewood, earned about 200 wen a day. As for the semi-intellectual Meng Zhizhang, finding decent work meant copying scriptures and books, which wasn’t stable, averaging only a few dozen wen a day.
He, Zhuang Yubai, currently penniless—well, not completely penniless, since he still had the 100 wen borrowed from Meng Zhizhang—would have ten taels of silver, 10,000 wen, in three months!
Isn’t this the classic rags-to-riches, hot-blooded inspirational story of a poor boy becoming a millionaire?
With this small goal, the previous military order of turning 100 wen into ten times in a month was nothing to worry about!
Zhuang Yubai was so happy with his calculations that he completely forgot the “gentleman’s agreement” had a one-month deadline. Fortunately, he was originally supremely confident and firmly believed that even if the one-month deadline arrived, Meng Zhizhang wouldn’t kick him out. He was now the “little god of wealth” in this household.
This wasn’t just empty talk; it was a “big pie” already formed and ready to be eaten.
“Brother Meng, Brother Meng! We’re about to have ten taels of silver! Ten taels!”
The little god of wealth leaned entirely on the desk, one hand supporting the table, the other flamboyantly waving the pen at Meng Zhizhang.
Meng Zhizhang lifted his eyes from the wooden basin, meeting Zhuang Yubai’s gaze in the flickering light, eager to hear more.
Zhuang Yubai bit the pen horizontally, like holding a book of merits, and spread the black-and-white paper in front of Meng Zhizhang, explaining the money-saving path he had just deduced, “showing off” to Meng Zhizhang.
His voice grew higher, the stars in his eyes multiplied, and he got closer and closer to the water-splashing Meng Zhizhang… “Ten taels of silver!”
Just as Zhuang Yubai was getting excited, a tree trunk-like arm blocked his way. He instinctively pushed it, but it didn’t budge.
“Brother Meng, what’s wrong…”
“If you go any further, you’ll fall in.” The strong arm remained firmly in place, the muscles under the coarse cloth tight and robust.
Zhuang Yubai quickly looked down; the wooden basin was right there. If he went any further, he would indeed fall into the water.
“Sorry, I got carried away.” Zhuang Yubai’s wrist rested on the solid muscle, retreating a bit, the support and comfort were excellent. “Brother Meng, with these ten taels of silver, do we have enough for the travel expenses to the Prefecture City for the exam?”
“We?” Keyword locked.
The light shone from behind, casting Zhuang Yubai’s shadow over Meng Zhizhang’s face, making it hard to see the emotions in his eyes.
“Yes, we! I’ve never been to the Prefecture City. With this opportunity, Brother Meng, take me to see it.”
The milky white broth gathered at Meng Zhizhang’s fingertips, “drip, drop,” creating ripples on the water’s surface.
The raised arm retracted, and the sound of water resumed in the basin.
“You remember… you haven’t been to the Prefecture City?” A casual question was thrown.
Having just crossed over a few days ago, Zhuang Yubai certainly hadn’t been to any Prefecture City. But whether the original owner had been, his memory was a blur, and he couldn’t recall. He was about to say he hadn’t been, but the words stopped at his tongue, quickly retracted with an emergency brake.
“……”
Hmph, didn’t see that coming, didn’t expect you to set a trap for me. This is a pit. Whether I’ve been or not, I can’t say.
Yes or No, Zhuang Yubai could only choose or.
He was now a pitiful amnesiac seeking refuge with a money-making golden finger, and this persona must not deviate.
Author’s Note:
Later, everyone will find out that our Amber’s “tea art” is also quite good [pitiful]