After a long discussion, by the time Shen Ruo stepped out of “Lanshan,” it was nearly noon. He was holding a contract and a twenty-tael silver deposit in his arms, practically grinning from ear to ear.
The first ten handkerchiefs, after the discount, came to just 150 wen, but Lan Fan, the eldest young master, didn’t bother calculating, he simply handed over twenty taels and said, “Let’s try your method for a month. After that, any small items you make can be directly deducted from this amount, and when it runs out, let me know.”
Lan Fan’s generosity was so impressive that Shen Ruo almost felt guilty not to give him a good deal.
Still, this was clearly a win-win situation. Not only was Shen Ruo providing the products, but also the ideas. If this succeeded in bringing Lanshan a hundredfold or even a thousandfold in profits, Lan Fan would earn far more than the silver spent buying the goods from Shen Ruo.
There was still time, so Shen Ruo followed his memory to a general store to buy some supplies in preparation for making more handkerchiefs and other items.
Reservoir Street backed onto the south of the town, with a row of four connected general stores. Each store had one particularly popular item, or at least one item priced lower than the others, so all four had been running successfully for a long time.
The store managed by Shen Hong was also here, called “Li’s General Store.”
Shen Ruo wanted to buy a soup iron for pressing fabric. Along the street were many small vendors with stalls, so he first checked whether anyone sold it there. If not, he would have to go to the general store, where goods sold on consignment were more expensive than buying directly from the producer.
Even though he now had twenty taels of silver, he couldn’t spend recklessly; he had to budget carefully and spend wisely.
Walking the entire street, he didn’t see anyone selling a soup iron. Most of the stalls offered handmade items from local villagers, brooms, bamboo baskets, and the like.
So he would have to check the general stores. The four stores were amusingly named: “Zhao’s General Store,” “Qian Mansion General Store,” “Sun Family General Store,” and “Li’s General Store,” together forming “[1]“Zhao Qian Sun Li” (趙錢孫李) refers to the first four surnames listed in the traditional Chinese text Hundred Family Surnames (百家姓). jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1842815_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1842815_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Zhao Qian Sun Li,” a sequence from the Hundred Family Surnames.
Shen Ruo wasn’t in a hurry to enter the stores. His attention was caught by a young vendor at a nearby stall selling grass-woven handicrafts. There was a grasshopper that looked amusing, its long straw body holding the insect aloft; when the wind blew, it swayed left and right as if alive.
The vendor’s hands moved continuously, stacking finished items. These inexpensive little trinkets rarely sold, so he didn’t bother shouting like other sellers to attract customers.
A shadow suddenly fell across his stall. The vendor looked up and saw a young, handsome ge’er, Shen Ruo. A smile immediately brightened his face. “Young master, take a look! Nothing is expensive. Small ones are two coins each, large ones two wen. I’ve been skilled at this craft since I was little, top-notch work. If you keep them well, they can last over ten years!”
Shen Ruo smiled in return. “Alright, I’ll pick a few more.”
The vendor was almost stunned. Most customers in town were picky or demanding, usually children wanted to buy something, but adults refused, and only after much pleading would the child get their way. When handed coins, the customers would glare as if he had stolen their money.
This was the first time someone smiled at him, and such a charming smile!
Shen Ruo picked up a few pieces and examined them closely. In the twenty-first century, all handicrafts were expensive, and there were still grass-weaving artisans among the people. He had once curiously bought a grasshopper like this, and it was no different from what the vendor had made.
Later, he ended up taking it apart, because he wanted to see exactly how the grass-woven grasshopper was made. Step by step, he dismantled it and analyzed it, but in the end… he couldn’t put it back together.
The once delicate grasshopper became just a small pile of dried straw, and Shen Ruo felt quite regretful.
He picked out two large ones and two small ones, holding them in his hands. Then, as if casually, he asked, “I also want to buy a soup iron, do you know where I could get one, young master?”
Shen Ruo knew the general stores would have them, but he didn’t know the prices. If this vendor knew, it would save him the trouble of asking every store individually. Besides, having been here for a while, the vendor would probably know the pricing at each shop.
The vendor already had a bit of a favorable impression of him. Hearing the question, he immediately said, “Ah, young master, you’ve come to the right person. My relative makes soup irons, and Li’s General Store gets theirs from my relative. They sell them for one tael each, and the larger ones go for one and a half.”
Shen Ruo’s expected price for a soup iron was around one tael anyway. In the ancient era, metals like copper or iron were expensive. Soup irons weren’t made of pure copper but contained more impurities, so they weren’t cheap.
But hearing the vendor, Shen Ruo felt he could probably get an even lower price.
“Can I buy them directly from your relative?” Shen Ruo asked.
The vendor frowned slightly and said softly, “Young master, you don’t know, this general store has a contract with my relative. They can’t sell to anyone else.”
Shen Ruo understood. Industry monopolies have always existed, and he himself had signed a similar contract with Lan Fan.
Still, it was a little disappointing. Buying from the source was always the cheapest, but if that wasn’t possible, he would just have to compare prices at different stores.
Seeing Shen Ruo look a bit disappointed, the vendor quickly added, “But my relative still has some defective ones. They’re new, but the general store doesn’t want them. I can sell those to you.”
Shen Ruo didn’t mind minor flaws, it was just a soup iron, after all.
“That’s fine, as long as it works.”
The vendor said, “About five hundred wen each.”
“I’ll take four,” Shen Ruo said. That way, when the weather got cooler, his family could still use them.
The vendor put down the butterfly he was weaving and was about to leave. “Could you watch my stall for a moment, young master? I’ll go pick the four best ones for you!”
At this time, anyone trying to monopolize a craft usually worked behind closed doors, afraid someone would copy them.
Shen Ruo had wanted to follow and see how a small ancient workshop operated, but now he had no chance. He simply walked to the stall and sat down on a small wooden stool.
Zhou Lang carried a basket of sweet potatoes into town. He was going to take them to Li’s General Store for consignment. Out of breath from the effort, he put the basket down by the roadside and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Raising his eyes, he saw Shen Ruo sitting at the grass-weaving stall in the shade.
He was also wearing a soil-colored hemp shirt, but for some reason, it didn’t make him look rustic at all.
Shen Ruo hadn’t slept well the night before, kept awake all night by Xiao Yuntun. Earlier, he had been busy with other things and hadn’t felt tired, but now, sitting on the small wooden stool, his head bobbed as if he was about to fall asleep.
His legs didn’t have room to stretch, so he hugged his knees, resting his chin on his arms. In his hand, he still held one of the grass-woven grasshoppers.
For no particular reason, Zhou Lang felt a surge of good mood and smiled silently.
It was like he suddenly had energy again. He hoisted the basket and headed to Li’s General Store. After paying the fees, he came back out.
Perhaps the sunlight was too glaring, because instead of heading straight home, Zhou Lang impulsively grabbed a few stalks of foxtail grass from the roadside and quickly wove two five-petal flowers.
Seeing Shen Ruo still drowsy, he quietly placed the flowers by his feet and then moved to a shaded spot nearby to watch him.
Zhou Lang didn’t know what had come over him. His brain had just gotten overheated, and he’d put the foxtail flowers there. Now, thinking about it, he felt a little regretful, these flowers didn’t come close to the delicacy of Shen Ruo’s grass-woven grasshopper. How could he dare give them!
Shen Ruo felt someone approaching and tried to shake off his drowsiness. Thinking it was a customer, he opened his eyes but saw no one there.
Still sleepy, he lowered his head and noticed the two foxtail grass flowers at his feet.
Amused, he picked them up and examined them, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t help glancing around, curious who had done such a thing.
Zhou Lang’s heart felt warm. After a few more glances, he left, feeling very happy.
Seeing no one, Shen Ruo didn’t pay much attention. Nearby was a broken clay pot filled with soil. He stuck the foxtail flowers in it. Surprisingly, it looked quite nice, adding a touch of wild charm.
If this were the twenty-first century, Shen Ruo would have already pulled out his phone to take a picture and post it online.
“Young master! I’m back!” The vendor came running quickly, carrying two soup irons, sweat covering his face and head.
Shen Ruo pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to wake himself up.
“Look, these are the best ones from the batch. Absolutely no leaks,” the vendor assured him.
“Thanks, I’ll take a look.” Shen Ruo smiled in return, but still inspected carefully. Of the four soup irons, three weren’t perfectly round and had four or five small dents. One had its lid missing a handle for gripping. Only one looked flawless, smooth to the touch with no obvious defects.
Shen Ruo: “This one…”
The vendor winked at him and smiled.
Shen Ruo understood immediately, this wasn’t really a defective piece; the vendor’s relative had simply sold it as such.
This was an incredible bargain.
Shen Ruo returned the favor: “I’ll take everything else on your stall too.”
The vendor grinned broadly, showing almost no teeth, and repeatedly said, “Alright, alright!”
Finally, they calculated the total price. The four “defective” soup irons came to 2 taels. The large grass-weaving pieces were thirty in total, at two wen each, totaling sixty wen. The smaller ones were sixty-six pieces, at one wen for two, totaling thirty-three wen. Altogether, 2 taels and 93 wen.
As Shen Ruo was about to pay, the vendor said, “Young master, since you’re helping support my family’s business, just give me 2 taels and 50 wen. In the future, if you need more, come find me. My relative can make other copper items too!”
“Deal. I’ll come back when I need more.” Shen Ruo didn’t bother being polite and handed over the 2 taels and 50 wen.
He figured that in the future, he would indeed need the relative’s help. Copper could also be made into exquisite art pieces. Shen Ruo even thought about the blind-box figures that had become globally popular in the twenty-first century… but those were expensive, and he couldn’t afford them yet. That would have to wait.
The two exchanged family names, formally getting acquainted.
Shen Ruo wandered around town until nearly dark, mapping almost every corner. Only then did he return to the spot where he had gotten off the vehicle that morning.
There were far fewer people on the way back. Some had errands at home and wouldn’t return to the village so late. Most would take the ride one way and then walk back.
Gu Yun was nowhere to be seen.
On the return trip, the ox cart carried only Shen Ruo and the two women, loaded with their purchases. Their constant chatter was almost hypnotic, so Shen Ruo hugged his knees and pretended to nap.
Only when it was fully dark did he arrive back in the village, carrying the four soup irons and a large bag of small grass-weaving items. As he stepped inside, he immediately sensed something was wrong at home.
Just then, Shen Feng came out of the kitchen. Seeing Shen Ruo, he shouted: “Ruo’er! Come quickly and help, our ewe is having trouble giving birth!”
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