Chapter 380: We Are Just People with Overnight Riches
Chapter 375 of "The Great Ming in the Box" opens revealing: Liu Youâs Fresh Water Hele shop made a crazy amount of money.For several days in... Keep going!
Liu Youâs Fresh Water Hele shop made a crazy amount of money.For several days in a row, the villagers of Gaojia Village stood in line to come try the novelty. Business was exceptionally good.
However, the overwhelming business also caused a minor issue.
The coal Liu You used to cook the Fresh Water Hele was coal he had brought by his own cart from Heyang County, along with his cooking utensils. How much coal could that little cart hold? It ran out in no time.
He now had to buy firewood from Gaojia Villageâs âwoodcuttersâ.
As everyone knows, the efficiency of firewood is no match for coal. Consequently, the cost per bowl of Fresh Water Hele increasedâŚ
Liu You began to miss the cheap coal back in Heyang County.
He thought about it and decided to just make a trip back to Heyang County.
He had come to Gaojia Village alone this time to scope things out. His wife and children were still back in the broken house in Heyang County. His plan was that if the Fresh Water Hele business couldnât be done in Gaojia Village, heâd just load everything back onto his cart and head home. But if the business was viable here, heâd bring his wife and children over.
Now that his scouting trip was a successâGaojia Village seemed like a place where he could make a fortuneâthere was no reason to hesitate. He definitely needed to go fetch his wife and children.
He might as well take the opportunity to haul back a big load of coal.
So he temporarily closed his Fresh Water Hele shop, packed some luggage, and prepared to head home. Just as he stepped out the door, a sudden inspiration struck him: âWait! If I foolishly go back just to fetch coal, wouldnât that be stupid? The grain price here is so cheapâonly seven wen per jin. Why not bring some back? Hauling grain from here to Heyang County, and then coal from Heyang County back here⌠I could make a killing!â
Thinking it, he acted on it.
Liu You had earned quite a bit of cash during these days. He first exchanged it for more portable silver. Then he went to Gaojia Villageâs âVillage Grain Storeâ and spent the majority of his earnings to buy enough grain to fill three oxcarts.
Next came hiring the carters.
Gaojia Village hadnât had professional carters before, but after the connection to Chengcheng County was established, many carters came from the county town to Gaojia Village looking for work. They often handled shipments for Gaojia Village, mainly transporting the aid and food distributed by the Deity to small villages in Chengcheng County and the prison up in Huanglong Mountain.
Liu You had just hired three carters and settled on the price.
Then he saw a middle-aged man who looked like a high official, also here to hire carters. And this manâs scale was impressiveâhe hired dozens of carters in one go.
Liu You couldnât help but ask the carters quietly, âWhoâs that man? Seems like a big shot?â
The carters whispered back, âThatâs the second most important person in Gaojia Village after the Saint Lady. Heâs called Thirty-Two, everyone calls him âThird Stewardâ! He manages all the administrative affairs of Gaojia Village.â
Liu You was startled: Thatâs practically the magistrate of Gaojia Village, isnât it?
While Liu You was murmuring to himself, Thirty-Two walked over and greeted him with a smile. âHuh? If it isnât the owner of the Heyang specialty, the Fresh Water Hele shop? Why arenât you open today? What brings you here?â
Liu You was taken aback that such a big shot recognized him. He quickly replied respectfully, âReporting to Steward Thirty-Two, this humble one needs to go back to Heyang County to fetch his wife and children to live in Gaojia Village.â
Thirty-Two smiled warmly. âBringing your wife and children? Excellent, excellent! Huh? But to fetch your family, hiring one horse cart would be enough. Why hire three oxcarts? Youâre trying to fit a square peg into a round hole here.â
Liu You heard a proverb he completely didnât understand and saw Thirty-Two posing with a weird, pretentious expression. He felt a strong urge to punch him in the face. But since he was a big official, Liu You dared not. He could only explain, âThis humble one reckoned, since the grain is cheap in Gaojia Village and expensive in Heyang County, he might as well trade some grain. Haul grain here over there, and bring back coal from there.â
Thirty-Twoâs face brightened with another smile. âA good idea! Excellent! We think alike. See, the dozens of carts Iâve hired are all for that task.â
This sentence truly shocked Liu You.
Competition! And big competition at that. No, waitâactually, it was him who was competing with the big lord! Would the big lord get furious and have people beat him to death?
Liu You started to feel afraid.
Thirty-Two smiled reassuringly. âDonât be afraid! Heyang County has over eighty thousand people. How can my few carts be enough? I wonât take all your business. You hurry up and set off ahead of me. If you get there first, youâll get a better price. Thatâs called âto take the leadâ.â
Liu You let out a surprised sound. âHuh?â
He hadnât expected that not only wouldnât the big lord be angry about him competing in the business, but the lord would actually give him suggestions. Everyone in Gaojia Village, from top to bottom, truly were good people.
Liu You gave Thirty-Two a deep bow, quickly gathered his three carters, and set off. Driving the three oxcarts laden with grain, they urged the oxen forward, hurrying back to Heyang County City. He knocked on the door of his own house.
The door opened. Liu Youâs wife appeared. âAâYou? Youâre finally back! Youâve been gone for days without a single word. The child and I have been worrying sick every dayâŚâ
Liu You radiated happiness, grinning ear to ear. âHehehe, Gaojia Village is a wonderful place! Weâre going to be rich! Iâm back to take you and the child to Gaojia Village to live a good life!â
âWhat kind of fortune can we make with a small business?â Mrs. Liu shook her head. âPeace for our people is what makes a good life.â
Liu You gestured proudly. âLook behind you! In just a few days, Iâve earned all this!â
Mrs. Liu looked past him. On the street behind Liu You were three oxcarts. They were piled high with sacksâthree carts full of grain!
Mrs. Liu was utterly astonished. âThis⌠this is all⌠ours?â
Liu You puffed out his chest. âYes, itâs all ours.â
Heyang County now had an increasing supply of grain because Gaojia Village had been transporting grain continuously to pay the road construction workers their daily three jin of flour. But even so, the grain shortage remained significant, and the grain price stayed high.
Three cartloads of grain! This represented a huge sum of money in Heyang County!
The happiness hit too suddenly. Mrs. Liu gasped, clutched her forehead, and felt slightly dizzy.
âWeâll sell all this grain,â Liu You explained excitedly, rubbing his hands together, âthen buy three cartloads of coal to bring back to Gaojia Village. After that, Iâll cook the Fresh Water Hele, youâll help serve the customers. Our husband-and-wife shop is going to rake in the money! Henceforth, Iâll be called âRich and Wealthy,â and youâll be âThe Rich and Wealthy Wife,â hahaha!â
Mrs. Liu looked torn between laughter and tears. âA nickname like that⌠isnât it too much like those with overnight riches? It sounds awful!â
Liu You declared brightly, âBut we are people with overnight riches! Since we are like that, whatâs wrong with having a name that fits it? Would it be funnier if we pretended to be gentlemen instead?â
âThisâŚâ