Chapter 53 - So he was slapped in the face

Shi Qingluo realised that he was a profiteer, which was useful.

“So what if I do?”

She didn’t deny it either.

Moreover, she wasn’t planning to buy yellow sugar to turn it into white sugar with yellow soil.

Instead, she was planning to sell this technology.

After all, the profit from buying yellow sugar for decolourisation was low and it would be costly to store them.

She wanted to exchange this technology for a sum of money to solve her current problems.

Moreover, her young husband was only an elementary scholar now.

With this technology in their hands, he would most likely be targeted by the powerful.

This would also put him in danger.

If she sold it to the Bai family, they should be able to handle the risk.

She will continue to open the beet sugar workshop.

After all, using beets to produce sugar would cost much less than buying and decolourising yellow sugar.

With the Bai family’s visibility in the sugar market, they would be able to enjoy the benefits in peace.

Bai Xu thought for a moment and said, “I want to see more of this white sugar.”

Shi Qingluo said, “My family has it. That’s why I want you to follow us back. You can look at your precious flowers and also business opportunities.”

She rolled her eyes at him again. “You didn’t believe me previously.”

Bai Xu…

So he was slapped in the face.

“Alright, I’ll follow you back later.”

He really wanted to see how his flowers were doing.

Of course, the focus was still on the sugar.

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Since Shi Qingluo wanted to sell her skills, she naturally had to show it to Bai Xu. “Oh right, you can bring a few catties of yellow sugar with you. I’ll convert them into white sugar for you.”

This time, Bai Xu didn’t question her and nodded. “Alright.”

He asked, “Then should we leave now?”

Shi Qingluo was speechless. “Why are you in such a hurry? We haven’t settled on how to sell our manuscript yet.

“If you’re not interested in profit sharing, we can go to another bookstore.”

She then said with a half-smile, “Of course, you don’t have to taste tofu and look at white granulated sugar too.”

Bai Xu wanted to cry, but no tears came out.

This woman was too ruthless.

“Alright. As long as the tofu you mentioned is delicious and this white sugar will also be like what you said just now, we will continue to be business partners for these.

“Then we will distribute Duke Xiao’s 40% share after we sell the books and offset the cost.”

“This kind of novel isn’t found in the entire Daling Dynasty.”

The main reason was that he also felt that Xiao Hanzheng’s novel might sell well.

He didn’t want them to go to other bookstores.

He was even more interested in tofu and sugar.

Shi Qingluo smiled. “Don’t make it sound so grand. If you weren’t because you foresaw that my husband’s novel would sell well and you didn’t want to miss it, would you be so straightforward?”

Bai Xu remained silent.

He shall not expose himself further.

He turned his head to Xiao Hanzheng and said, “Let’s talk about other business opportunities in the future. How about just between the two of us?

“Your wife’s mouth is too fantastic.”

He could not win against her at all.

Most importantly, she could make others feel that her demand was very logical.

That’s too poisonous.

Xiao Hanzheng could not help but laugh. “My wife is very good.”

He said frankly, “My wife is in charge of our family, so it’s better for her to handle business matters.”

He was more knowledgeable about how to fight in the war, how to negotiate matters in the imperial court, and how to be an official, but not in doing business.

For this, his wife was the best.

Shi Qingluo glared at Bai Xu. “Why? Are you looking down on women?”

Bai Xu realised that Xiao Hanzheng spoiled his wife too much.

Which family had a daughter-in-law as its head?

He had never seen this before.

When he saw Shi Qingluo glaring at him, he gave in for the sake of expensive flowers, tofu, and sugar.

Hence, he smiled embarrassedly. “It’s a joke. I was just joking with Duke Xiao.”

Xiao Hanzheng’s wife was too maverick.

He couldn’t afford to offend her.

Only then did Shi Qingluo let him go.

Following that, Bai Xu and Xiao Hanzheng signed an agreement.

The shopkeeper would take the manuscript and publish the books as soon as possible.

Bai Xu sent someone to prepare the carriage for Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo to return to the village.

After getting into the carriage, Shi Qingluo said to Number Four who was riding the carriage, “I want to buy some things. Bring me to the places we went the previous time.”

Number Four didn’t know what to do.

He glanced at Bai Xu and waited for instructions.

Bai Xu sighed. He knew that this woman just wanted to ride the carriage home.

“Go, let her buy them.” What else could he do?

Number Four nodded and drove the horse carriage to the meat stall and the grocery store.

Shi Qingluo went to the cloth store to buy some fine and coarse cotton fabric for making clothes.

She only had two sets of clothes.

They were shabby and made from coarse linen, hence uncomfortable to wear.

Mother Xiao and the others’ better clothes were snatched away by the people from the old residence, so they needed new ones.

Fortunately, the Daliang dynasty had cotton and cotton fabric was available in the market.

Otherwise, it would be inconvenient to wear clothing made with silk, and she didn’t like linen fabric.

After buying a bunch of things, Shi Qingluo let Number Four drive the carriage back to the village.

In the carriage, Shi Qingluo was leisurely drinking tea and eating snacks.

She looked at Bai Xu and asked, “The horse that is pulling the carriage is not bad. Did it come from somewhere else? Is it a horse from the grassland?”

Bai Xu looked at Shi Qingluo, who was enjoying her tea elegantly.

She didn’t look like a village girl at all.

When she heard her question, she was stunned. “You know about horses?”

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His family’s horses were indeed transported from a grassland at a high price through guanxi (关系: having personal trust and a strong relationship with someone to gain and exchange personal or business benefits).

Shi Qingluo nodded. “Of course.”

Born with a silver spoon, learning how to ride a horse was compulsory since she was a child.

Because she also liked to ride them, she was very knowledgeable about horses.

“How did you know that?” Bai Xu asked curiously.

Shi Qingluo replied, “Your horse has a big head and a short neck. It has a strong physique, a broad chest and a long mane. Its fur is thick and gives a boorish and fierce look. Horses in the grasslands are like this.

“However, it’s still better to have a Ferghana horse from the Ferghana Valley.”

She turned to Xiao Hanzheng and said, “If there’s a chance in the future, let’s raise a few.”

She had already raised a few horses with noble bloodlines in the modern era.

She did not want to shortchange herself when she came to the ancient era.

Xiao Hanzheng nodded with a smile. “Alright!”

Since his little wife wanted it, he would go and get it.

Bai Xu thought to himself, the two of them were discussing getting a Ferghana horse from the Ferghana Valley as if it was as simple as eating and drinking. He was impressed.

He couldn’t help but sigh again.

Xiao Hanzheng was too indulgent with his wife.

“You also know about Ferghana?” This wasn’t something a village girl could know.

He only knew about Ferghana because of the trading between the borders and with the western regions through one of his clan’s young masters bragging about doing business with the people there.

Shi Qingluo said lazily, “Why wouldn’t I know?”

She threw the blame at him again. “I’m the disciple of the old immortal. I know a lot of things.”

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Bai Xu was speechless.

He was suddenly tempted to visit the old immortal.

Shi Qingluo continued, “The fur and gemstones there are very good. You can do business with non-Han people in the future.”

Bai Xu laughed. “I’ll take a look when I have the chance.”

He had a feeling that this woman wasn’t just bringing up these matters.

So he asked, “Do you want fur and gemstones?”

Shi Qingluo smiled. “Smart!

“I also want to buy a few horses you bought from the grassland.

“Although they’re not as good as those from Ferghana, I’ll just use them first.”

With more workshops opening, it was necessary to prepare a few carriages to carry the goods.

Bai Xu was speechless. He knew it.

What made him even more helpless was that it wasn’t easy to get a grassland horse, and she actually felt that it wasn’t that worthy.

Footnote:

guanxi 关系 – having personal trust and a strong relationship with someone to gain and exchange personal or business benefits