The Imperial Household Department, being such a large organization, naturally had its own mature and systematic operational procedures.
In the morning, Zhou De'an had just delivered Ding Zaobao's handwritten note, and by noon, a team of eunuchs from Guangchusi arrived to deliver the Apple Green Glazed Vases.
This batch consisted of thirty vases, delivered at noon and to be collected again in the evening. Therefore, Su Muyao and her maid Yun Mo had to finish inserting the trimmed Snow Peak Spring Pear branches into the vases before dusk.
To be honest, this task was no easy feat.
First, they had to climb a wooden ladder, select suitable branches from the pear tree, cut them down, and after some processing, insert them into the vases. Even after insertion, the work wasn't done—they still had to meticulously refine the arrangement to ensure the vase flowers were aesthetically pleasing.
This process tested not only their physical strength but also their sense of aesthetics.
Fortunately, Su Muyao's taste was up to par.
Although she had never formally studied flower arrangement, she had dabbled in it before.
In her modern life, she would often visit flower shops from time to time, buy flowers, and arrange them in containers at home. After trimming and adjusting them, she would place them on the coffee table or dining table. Occasionally, catching a glimpse of them while passing by would lift her spirits—a small hobby of hers.
Now, this hobby had come in handy in a big way.
Yun Mo lacked the artistic flair for flower arrangement, so Su Muyao had to take charge herself. The two divided the work: Yun Mo was responsible for climbing the ladder and cutting the branches, while Su Muyao handled the insertion and refinement.
It was exhausting, but the thought that each vase of Snow Peak Spring Pear could net them twenty taels of silver filled both of them with motivation.
After working nonstop for seven or eight days, the number of Apple Green Glazed Vases delivered by the Imperial Household Department finally began to decrease gradually, likely because the palace's demand for Snow Peak Spring Pear had peaked.
With some free time on their hands, Su Muyao and Yun Mo decided to tally their earnings. Yun Mo read out the signed receipts while Su Muyao recorded:
Day 1: Thirty vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting six hundred taels of silver;
Day 2: Sixty vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting twelve hundred taels of silver;
Day 3: Ninety vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting eighteen hundred taels of silver;
Day 4: One hundred and ten vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting twenty-two hundred taels of silver;
Day 5: One hundred and ten vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting twenty-two hundred taels of silver;
Day 6: Twenty vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting four hundred taels of silver;
Day 7: Fifteen vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear, netting three hundred taels of silver;
In total, over the week, the Imperial Household Department had taken away four hundred and thirty-five vases of Snow Peak Spring Pear. At twenty taels per vase, they had earned a total of eight thousand seven hundred taels of silver.
Eight thousand seven hundred taels of silver!
Just hearing the number, Yun Mo nearly fainted from happiness. If she hadn't pinched her arm hard enough to make her grimace in pain, she would have thought she was dreaming!
She felt as if she were floating when she walked.
Su Muyao chuckled, "This is just the beginning. Why are you acting so foolish already?"
Catching the implication in her words, Yun Mo asked in surprise, "Miss, didn't you say the palace's demand for Snow Peak Spring Pear has already been saturated?"
"It has been saturated, but you've forgotten one thing," Su Muyao's eyes gleamed as she said, "Vase flowers are rootless, unlike potted plants. Even with water to nourish them, they can survive for at most ten days or so."
Counting the days, the first batch of Snow Peak Spring Pear they had delivered should be due for replacement.
After all, these were placed in the consorts' palaces. The branches couldn't be even slightly wilted—there was no way they would be left until they withered and decayed.
How improper it would be if the consorts saw them in such a state.
Yun Mo poked her index finger, hesitating as she said, "But miss, you seem to have forgotten that the pear blossoms in Yuhuayuan have also begun to bloom these past few days…"
This year, the weather warmed up quickly. Not only the pear blossoms, but also the peach, apricot, and winter jasmine flowers in Yuhuayuan showed signs of blooming in full splendor.
Once the hundred flowers of spring bloom, wouldn't the advantage of Snow Peak Spring Pear be completely lost?
Thinking of this, Yun Mo couldn't help but feel a bit sorrowful.
Making money was exhilarating in the moment, and making money continuously was even more exhilarating. She would rather endure exhaustion every day than lose this opportunity to make a fortune.
Su Muyao glanced at her but offered no further explanation.
On the surface, Yun Mo's concerns seemed reasonable, but in her view, Snow Peak Spring Pear would never be overshadowed by ordinary pear blossoms, for two reasons:
First, Snow Peak Spring Pear was cultivated by her using Spirit Spring Water, so its quality naturally differed from ordinary pear blossoms. Its fragrance was more delicate, its blooms more abundant, and its petals more pristine white.
Second, there was the difference in naming. The name "Snow Peak Spring Pear" directly distinguished it from ordinary pear blossoms, turning it into a synonym for a rare and precious flower.
Just as modern products must be trademarked, having a trademark not only protects a company's interests but also creates a unique brand image imprinted in consumers' minds.
With these two distinctions, even if pear blossoms in the capital gradually bloomed, she wasn't worried that Snow Peak Spring Pear would completely lose its market.
Moreover, she believed that with other pear blossoms for comparison, the advantages of Snow Peak Spring Pear would become even more pronounced. Ordinary spring pears would likely no longer catch the eye of the esteemed consorts in the palace.
Su Muyao had only anticipated half of it.
The popularity of Snow Peak Spring Pear far exceeded her expectations.
Over the next ten days or so, the order volume from the Imperial Household Department suddenly skyrocketed. At first, they requested two hundred bottles of Snow Peak Spring Pear per day, then increased it to three hundred, and later even raised it to five hundred bottles per day.
Even Su Muyao felt a bit uneasy.
Among the eunuchs who came daily to deliver the Apple Green Glazed Vases, there was a leader named Zhang Bao. Fair-skinned and seemingly young, he spoke and acted with remarkable efficiency.
When Su Muyao inquired, he had nothing to hide and replied with a smile, "You may not know, but the reputation of Snow Peak Spring Pear has spread from the palace to the imperial court. Those princes and dukes, hearing it was favored by His Majesty and the palace consorts, have all sought it out—some to follow the trend of elegance, some to flaunt their status, and some to cater to the preferences of His Majesty and the consorts… In short, the price of a single bottle of Snow Peak Spring Pear in the capital has nearly skyrocketed, truly creating a situation of high demand and low supply."
Su Muyao was taken aback. She had originally thought that since the imperial court and the inner palace were interconnected, Snow Peak Spring Pear, being favored by the palace consorts, would eventually spread to the court, but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
In that case, there was one thing she had to clarify in advance.
Su Muyao took a sip of tea and said softly, "Go back and tell Su Jia that my pear trees are limited, and so is my energy. From now on, I can only provide a maximum of one hundred bottles of Snow Peak Spring Pear per day. Any more than that is impossible."
A flicker of anxiety appeared in Yun Mo's eyes. She moved her lips as if to speak, held back for a moment, and then suppressed the urge.
In her opinion, they could provide as much Snow Peak Spring Pear as needed.
For some reason, the eight pear trees in Dongkuayuan grew exceptionally tall and large, with an astonishingly rapid growth rate. The pear blossom branches she had pruned just the day before would grow back by the next day, much like a gecko's tail.
With such divinely blessed trees, why would they ever worry about failing to supply the Imperial Household Department with Snow Peak Spring Pears?
Though she couldn't understand why her mistress would turn away such immense fortune, Yun Mo believed that if her mistress said so, there must be a reason.
When they were finally alone, Yun Mo couldn't hold back her confusion any longer and voiced her questions. Su Muyao listened and chuckled, "Don't just think about making money all the time. You should also think more about yourself."
With just the two of them in Qianxi Sisuo, producing a hundred bottles of Snow Peak Spring Pears a day was already tiring enough. Any more would simply be asking for trouble.
Yun Mo argued, "We could hire people to help."
Even if they didn't want to hire outsiders, they could select a few palace attendants to serve them.
The Jingshi Office had previously offered to send people over, but her mistress had declined.
Firstly, her mistress considered her own low rank and worried that the eunuchs and palace maids might not be loyal enough.
Secondly, if they took on those eunuchs and palace maids, their monthly allowances would have to be deducted from her mistress's own stipend. They were already struggling financially—how could they afford to support so many people?
Yun Mo believed that she alone could take good care of her mistress's daily needs.
But now things were different.
They had money, and her mistress could once again live a life surrounded by maids and attendants. Who wouldn't want more people to serve them?
Moreover, they now had connections in the Imperial Household Department. Wouldn't it be easy to select a few sincere palace attendants skilled in horticulture to join them?
Su Muyao patiently explained, "It's not just that. I have other considerations as well."
All high-end, exclusive products employ a strategy of scarcity marketing.
The market can become saturated. No matter how popular her Snow Peak Spring Pears are, once their production increases, they will lose their value.
Especially for the nobility, only rare items obtained through great effort hold worth.
She didn't want her Snow Peak Spring Pears to become commonplace.
Additionally, in this business, she firmly held the moral high ground, claiming that as a mistress, she was helping the Imperial Household Department solve a problem. At most, the Imperial Household Department and she were in a cooperative relationship.
There was no reason for them to supply as many bottles of Snow Peak Spring Pears as the department demanded.
Su Muyao comforted Yun Mo, "Life is long, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make money. There's no need to exhaust ourselves over small gains in the present."
Yun Mo: "…"
Why did she feel that when her mistress said this, a flicker of regret passed through her eyes?
So was her mistress comforting her, or comforting herself?
A moment later, Yun Mo remembered another question that had long puzzled her.
"Miss, the trend of searching for pear blossoms for vases among the palace ladies was started by His Majesty. But while pear blossoms haven't bloomed elsewhere in the palace, only our Qianxi Sisuo is filled with spring pears in full bloom. Don't you think there's something strange about this?"
What was so strange about it?
Su Muyao had already considered this question. Propping her chin on her hand, she said, "It's probably related to that eunuch who came to our palace that evening asking for pear branches. Do you remember which palace he was from?"
Yun Mo replied, "He said he was from Consort Nian's palace."
Su Muyao nodded and said, "That makes sense. I've heard Consort Nian has long enjoyed the emperor's favor. Perhaps she likes pear blossoms, and when the emperor visited her palace, he praised them once or twice, and word spread. Or perhaps Consort Nian saw how beautifully the pear blossoms were blooming, cut a branch, placed it in a vase, and presented it to the emperor… In any case, we've stumbled upon a great opportunity."
She naturally assumed that Consort Nian was the intermediary.
She could not have imagined—nor would it have occurred to her—that Yongzheng, in order to resolve a small doubt in his mind, had instructed Su Peisheng to impersonate Consort Nian and deliberately test the waters at Qianxi Sisuo.
Requesting the pear branch was merely an excuse, and also an unexpected turn of events.
From Yun Mo's perspective, or from the perspective of anyone involved in the situation, Su Muyao's analysis was exceptionally reasonable.
Who would have any reason to suspect otherwise?
Even in modern times, ordinary people wouldn't be sensitive enough to wonder whether the elderly man selling jianbing guozi downstairs might be a foreign spy.
Let alone in ancient times, where those in power found it all too easy and simple to create information asymmetry.
After engaging in a "reasonable" speculation with Yun Mo, Su Muyao resumed her daily routine of pruning pear branches. Occasionally, she would tally accounts or count the rapidly growing savings in her treasury, treating it as a leisurely pastime amidst her busy schedule.