Duan Zheng nodded, finally understanding why Zhou Qingci’s letter had instructed him to listen to this nursemaid.
Shen Mingqing knew everything she said was correct, but he still worried about how a delicate woman and two children could survive in such a place.
“Yunzhou and Suizhou may seem only three hundred li apart, but the Zheming Mountain stands between them. This mountain range acts like a barrier, blocking the warm winds and moisture from the south. Are you truly certain?”
“I am certain.” Zhao Nuan nodded firmly.
Before departing, she took out thirty taels of silver and entrusted Duan Zheng to have it delivered to Li Kui, Xiao Bai, and Lao Zhang as a token of gratitude.
Zhao Nuan counted her remaining silver. Over the years at the Hou Estate, she had saved about fifty taels. The Marquise and First Madam had given her five hundred taels in total, plus over ten taels in loose silver.
Sixty taels had been spent on the journey, nearly eighty taels were hidden with the Zhou family, and thirty taels were given to the security company as thanks. Now she had close to four hundred taels left.
While it seemed substantial, she needed to budget carefully to establish a home and support two children in an unfamiliar place.
When she asked Shen Mingqing about conditions in Suizhou, he laughed.
“I actually reside in Suizhou.”
“Ah?”
Noting her surprise, he sneered, “What good outcome can blindly loyal people expect? I predicted this long ago. I just never thought the Zhou family would fall before the Shen family.”
…
According to Shen Mingqing’s description, the Zheming Mountain range resembled the Changbai Mountains—long, harsh winters with heavy snow sealing the passes.
Suizhou was a small settlement built in a clearing within the mountains. Surrounded by forested peaks, those exiled there were primarily assigned to cut trees and produce charcoal.
For a modern person, this wouldn’t be difficult. But for ancients with only simple tools, it was a barren, bitter, and frigid land. Countless people froze or starved to death in winter, making the very mention of it strike fear in hearts.
“How much charcoal must be submitted daily?”
“One person, one day: ten jin of charcoal earns two coarse grain buns.”
“Any excess can be exchanged—one jin for one copper coin. If you produce low-smoke Silver Filament Charcoal, one jin earns three coins.”
Zhao Nuan frowned. “Regular charcoal sells for eight coins per jin in the capital, and Silver Filament Charcoal goes for as high as sixty coins. These purchase rates are far too low.”
Shen Mingqing raised an eyebrow. “Charcoal must be carried down the mountain personally. Suizhou has five months of winter annually, and heavy snow blocks the mountain paths. So… if the Zhou family is to survive entirely—excluding the child in your arms—they’d need to produce a hundred jin of charcoal daily just to scrape by.”
“Of course, if you have money, you can avoid submitting charcoal—twenty coins per jin in lieu.”
Some newly exiled individuals did this initially. But it depended entirely on how long external support lasted, not to mention the dangers of flaunting wealth in such a place.
Zhao Nuan…
It went without saying that they’d be using the simplest, least efficient earthen stoves for charcoal production.
Charcoal is lightweight—producing one hundred jin would require seven to eight hundred jin of wood.
Seven to eight hundred jin might not sound like much, roughly one tree’s worth.
But first, they’d need to fell the tree with an axe, trim the branches, cut it into sections, dry it, and finally load it into the stove.
Moreover, it was obvious that fragments and debris wouldn’t be accepted, so losses had to be factored in.
Zhao Nuan pondered. It was already late autumn—far too late for planting crops.
So she asked Shen Mingqing if she could purchase some well-preserving vegetables in Yunzhou to bring along.
Shen Mingqing, having always been alone, had merely endured hunger and occasional fullness without much planning.
Upon hearing this, he was momentarily stunned before realizing that Zhao Nuan, with two children in tow, was in a different situation than him.
“Then we’ll have to leave tomorrow. It’s already evening, and the city market has closed for the day.”
“Alright, I’ll write you a list. Could you help me purchase these items tomorrow?”
Shen Mingqing was surprised she could read and write, but didn’t show it, merely nodding in response.
Zhao Nuan genuinely didn’t know what Yunzhou produced, so she wrote down durable and common items like radishes, cabbage, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Then she listed a hundred jin each of white flour and white rice, plus a hundred jin each of highland barley flour and oat flour. Eating only white flour was too extravagant, and these two alternatives were cheaper and more filling.
Coarse grains like millet, red beans, black beans, soybeans, and mung beans were requested at two hundred jin each.
She also estimated twenty bolts of coarse cloth, as work clothes wore out quickly.
Needles and thread, pots, bowls, ladles, pans, knives, scissors, farming tools, and even an axe were all included in her plans.
Yunzhou was remote, so prices were likely slightly higher than in the capital, and buying all these would require a significant amount of money.
But she was certain that purchasing them in Suizhou would be even more expensive! And it would risk revealing their wealth.
Shen Mingqing looked at the list in his hand and swallowed hard: “You haven’t spent all the monthly savings you’ve accumulated over the years on this, have you?”
Zhao Nuan nodded: “These are necessities for survival. Besides, I’ve spoken to Zhou Qingci and asked her to secure more money in the capital to occasionally support her family.”
“Did she agree?”
“She didn’t object.”
Shen Mingqing clicked his tongue in amazement. Cousin Zhou, with her unyielding nature of “rather be a shattered jade than an intact tile,” could actually be persuaded.
“Alright then, I’ll take care of these first thing tomorrow morning.”
Shen Mingqing took the list to find Duan Zheng. He didn’t tell Zhao Nuan that although exile wasn’t as brutal as execution, the survival rate of pampered nobles traveling from the capital to the exile location was less than one in ten. These preparations might not even be needed.
Yunzhou bordered neighboring countries, with active border trade, so obtaining these items wouldn’t be difficult.
Duan Zheng took the initiative to purchase some herbs for treating colds and external injuries, as well as plenty of ginger, chili peppers, and leeks that could prevent ailments and be used in cooking.
Finally, he came across a dead lamb and a lactating ewe, which he also bought.
Looking at Duan Zheng’s accounts, Zhao Nuan couldn’t help but sigh. Prices in Yunzhou were nearly one-third higher than in the capital.
White rice and white flour cost about fifteen wen per jin in the capital, but here, even with Duan Zheng’s connections, it was twenty-two wen per jin.
With a hundred jin of each, that alone came to five taels of silver.
Millet and various beans were around five wen in the capital but eight wen here. Because of the large quantity purchased, two hundred jin cost one and a half taels, totaling twelve taels.
Radishes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and potatoes happened to be produced in Yunzhou and were even cheaper than in the capital.
Duan Zheng thought these could serve as both staple foods and dishes, so he bought a cartload for five taels of silver.
If the previous items didn’t seem too expensive, the subsequent ones—needles and thread, pots, bowls, ladles, pans, knives, scissors, axes, and farming tools—were costly.
The Da Hong Dynasty had iron mines, but most of the iron was used for weapons.
Ironware for civilian use came from official allocations to various regions based on need, which were then distributed locally. This made iron products exceptionally expensive.
Scissors and knives could be considered family heirlooms. If they became worn out, having them melted down and reforged at a blacksmith’s shop would still incur significant expenses.
Therefore, impoverished families used earthenware pots, and items like scissors, kitchen knives, sickles, and hoes were kept in their bedrooms, fearing they might be stolen.
Duan Zheng also bought her some back baskets, winnowing baskets, wooden basins, and other items, spending nearly fifty taels in total.
Apart from ironware, cotton was also expensive.
Cotton priced at forty wen per jin still contained seeds. Zhao Nuan bought five taels’ worth, which seemed like a lot but, when spread thin, could only make a few thin quilts.
There was no other choice—with children around, she couldn’t afford to be frugal.
Zhao Nuan clicked her tongue, feeling the pinch.
One cart of grain and one cart of vegetables cost over twenty taels, while two back baskets of utensils cost twice as much.
Next came the cloth. Coarse cloth in the capital was three hundred wen per bolt, but here it was six hundred wen.
Adding medicinal herbs and other items, Zhao Nuan had initially thought she would get some loose change back from the hundred-tael banknote she handed over.
To her surprise, she ended up having to pay Duan Zheng an additional two taels.
After purchasing everything, they set off that very night.
To travel from Yunzhou to Suizhou, they had to backtrack a hundred li.
Turning left at a Y-shaped intersection and walking another fifty or sixty li, they could see the dark, towering Zheming Mountain range ahead.
Zhao Nuan had previously thought the mountain range’s name was quite poetic, only to realize it was actually a literal description.