“What’s done is done. So what are you going to do about it?” Jiang He said, deciding to throw caution to the wind.
Xie Zhao took a deep breath and said seriously,
“Promise me that from now on, you’ll discuss important matters with me first. Something like this must never happen a second time.”
“What?”
Jiang He became so flustered that her tongue nearly tied itself in knots.
“Why should I discuss everything with you? I’m an independent person. Don’t I deserve freedom? Do I have to ask your permission every time I go to the bathroom too?”
Xie Zhao: “…”
How is she so good at arguing?
“It’s not that you have to discuss everything with me. How about this? As long as you’re in Anyue Town, you can decide things for yourself. But if you’re leaving Anyue, you can’t keep it from me.”
Jiang He waved her hand impatiently.
“Fine, fine. I promise.”
“Swear it.”
Jiang He: “…”
Seeing her reluctant expression, Xie Zhao softened his voice and coaxed her gently.
“Hehe, be good and listen to me. It’s not that I want to control you. It’s just that the world isn’t peaceful these days. Look at me—even someone as tough as I am ended up like this. You’re a young woman. It’s too dangerous for you to be wandering around alone. Am I wrong?”
Jiang He had never imagined he could be this persistent.
If she’d known clearing up the misunderstanding would make him like this, she would have rather remained on bad terms with him.
Back then, he ignored her.
But at least he didn’t interfere with her life.
Now she’d practically found herself an overbearing father.
With obvious impatience, Jiang He raised her hand.
“Fine, fine. I swear. If I ever leave Anyue to do business without discussing it with you first, then…”
Before she could finish, Xie Zhao grabbed her wrist.
“You’re not allowed to swear on life or death. Instead, if you break this promise, then may you never become a wealthy merchant for the rest of your life.”
Jiang He: “…”
You…
That was the last straw.
She exploded.
“Xie Ziming, don’t push your luck! I’ve been humoring you this whole time, and now you’re taking advantage of it? You actually want me to swear something that vicious? Hmph! Believe me or don’t—I don’t care!”
She angrily shoved his hand away and, out of spite, raised four fingers toward the sky.
“If I break this promise… then you’ll never become a wealthy merchant either!”
Seeing her face flushed red with anger, Xie Zhao hurried to soothe her.
“Fine, fine. Then I won’t become one. There, don’t be angry anymore.”
At last, he managed to calm her down.
Following Jiang He’s advice, Xie Zhao went to a nearby stall and ate a bowl of wontons.
While he was eating, Jiang He took the opportunity to explain her plans.
Only then did Xie Zhao realize just how much she had accomplished over the past several days.
“So… you’re really serious about rebuilding the family business?”
“Of course. You didn’t think I was joking, did you?”
To be honest…
When she’d first mentioned it, he really had thought she was joking.
“My parents were merchants,” Jiang He said. “I grew up watching them do business. If I can rebuild what they started, that would count as carrying on the family legacy, wouldn’t it?”
Xie Zhao nodded.
“If that’s truly what you want, then it’s a good thing. If you really succeed, Father will surely be pleased in heaven.”
After a pause, he added,
“But doing business isn’t that easy. And we don’t have any capital.”
“Aren’t we almost done saving enough for travel expenses?”
Xie Zhao poured another bucket of cold water over her hopes.
“Don’t pin all your hopes on collecting that debt. So many years have passed. There’s no guarantee we’ll even find the debtor. And even if we do, there’s no guarantee we’ll actually get the money back.”
…
He had a point.
Three hundred and eighty taels wasn’t thirty-eight taels.
It was an enormous sum—enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Even so…
She had to try.
“Let’s finish saving for the journey first. No matter what, we have to go collect that debt.”
“Mhm.”
“Oh, right.”
Xie Zhao took out a room key.
“I rented a room upstairs. We can stay until noon at the latest. Go upstairs and get some rest. I’ll come get you when I’m done.”
“No.”
Jiang He stepped in front of him.
“You’re staying here.”
“We still have to head home after everything’s finished. You haven’t slept all night, and your eyes are so red. How are you supposed to travel like that? What if you suddenly drop dead from exhaustion? Father might crawl out of his coffin just to strangle me.”
Xie Zhao laughed.
“Silly. Father would never strangle you.”
“He absolutely would.”
Jiang He spoke with complete seriousness.
“Father was bedridden for an entire year. Since it wasn’t appropriate for me to care for him up close, you were the one who looked after him almost every day. Father’s love for you wasn’t any less than his love for me. If he found out I’d worked you to death, he’d definitely come after me.”
“You’re making broad daylight sound creepy.”
He chuckled.
“Fine. I’ll listen to you.”
Jiang He stuffed the room number token and key into Xie Zhao’s hand.
Only after watching him enter the inn did she head once more toward the Bureau of Manufactures across the street.
She had brought six bolts of fabric in total.
One bolt each of chou and juan silk in three grades: superior, medium, and lower.
The clerk in charge examined them repeatedly, running his fingers across the cloth before pulling out a single silk thread and holding it up by the window to inspect it.
After checking everything thoroughly, he finally spoke.
“Your two superior-grade bolts are acceptable. But these two medium-grade ones don’t meet the standard. They can only be classified as lower grade.”
Jiang He frowned.
“They’re obviously much better than the lower-grade ones. Why don’t they qualify as medium grade?”
“Whether they qualify isn’t for you to decide.”
The clerk replied calmly.
“The grading of medium-quality cloth isn’t based only on weaving density. The quality of the silkworm cocoons themselves also matters.”
“If you don’t understand, go to the room on the right. They have samples and grading standards for every type of fabric there. Compare them yourself, and you’ll understand.”
“Thank you. I’ll take a look.”
After thanking him, Jiang He entered the neighboring room.
Inside were display cabinets exhibiting different fabrics, weaving techniques, and the official standards used to determine each grade.
She compared her own cloth against the samples.
Although her so-called medium-grade fabric was indeed better than the lower-grade cloth, according to the official standards, it still fell short.
She could only admit defeat.
After carefully memorizing the grading standards, she returned.
“All right. Lower grade it is. Then how will you calculate the price?”
The clerk simply pointed.
“The pricing chart is over there. Read it yourself.”
Well then.
She had seriously underestimated the Bureau of Manufactures.
Not only were their grading standards unified—
Even the prices were fixed and publicly listed.
Forget about making huge profits selling ordinary cloth.
Everything was standardized.
After all her effort, she’d only be able to earn a modest margin.
Still…
It was better than Xie Zhao exhausting himself doing manual labor.
She could always start with a small business before thinking about bigger ventures.
“Sir, may I borrow some paper and a brush?”
“Certainly. Two copper coins per sheet of paper. Brush and ink are free.”
Jiang He paid without hesitation and copied down the entire pricing chart.
The chart included not only official prices but also the minimum delivery requirements.
For ordinary cloth like hers, the minimum order for superior-grade fabric was one hundred bolts.
For medium grade, two hundred bolts.
For lower grade, three hundred.
The Bureau clearly wasn’t interested in dealing with small-scale sellers.
That meant…
They absolutely had to recover those three hundred and eighty taels.
Otherwise, she’d never be able to purchase inventory in such large quantities.
…
When Jiang He returned to the inn, the room door was still tightly shut.
Instead of knocking, she quietly found a secluded corner and waited.
Only when the inn staff came to remind guests that checkout time had arrived did she finally go upstairs and knock.
A moment later, Xie Zhao opened the door.
Yawning, he asked,
“What time is it?”
“It’s noon. The waiter has already come to remind us.”
“All right.”
He stretched.
“Let’s go.”
After checking out, the two of them set off together toward the city gates.