CH 81

For the next few days, Zhulan consciously paid attention to the movement next door. She knew that Wang Ru would go to the county in a bullock cart every day, and she didn’t know what Wang Ru and Fourth Wang were fooling around for. Fourth Wang was not at all as useless as he was a few days ago, it should be that Wang Ru must have come up with an idea to make money.

Zhulan was counting the days, Zhou Shuren should have reached to the south of the Yangtze River. The north was covered with silver makeup, and the ancient scenery in the south was unknown, she really envied Zhou Shuren!

Zhou Shuren had been here for three days, and he had a certain understanding of the ancient Jiangnan’s wealthy family. There were various famous restaurants everywhere, and there were countless money-making businesses on the river. He had also witnessed some extravagant young masters of the business world throwing money around, not with silver bills but with paper-like money.

Zhou Shuren, with his foresight, knew that the caravan would only stay in Jiangnan for ten days. In these three days, he met some scholars and showcased his expertise in identifying antiques. Initially, some people approached him with a hint of skepticism, testing his abilities. However, once they realized Zhou Shuren’s true talent, more people started seeking his services.

Zhou Shuren felt that there were quite many scholars in Jiangnan. The study environment was one aspect while the important thing was money. The economy in Jiangnan was the most developed, and families with spare money could afford the cost of books. Hence naturally there were more scholars. The disadvantage was that the imperial examination in Jiangnan was the most competitive.

Time passed quickly. After staying in Jiangnan for eight days, Zhou Shuren did ten jobs and earned 1,000 taels of silver.

Zhou Shuren didn’t feel embarrassed at all about being looked down upon. It was indeed a fact that he was not even a scholar, let alone a person of high status. The businessmen and merchants could still show him respect, but those who held esteemed positions didn’t really take Zhou Shuren seriously.

As for the prescriptions from his in-laws, Zhou Shuren also managed to sell quite a few of them. However, most of the buyers were small merchants. The only significant transaction was with foreign merchants from Tubo (modern-day Tibet), who exchanged gemstones instead of silver coins. Later, Zhou Shuren converted those gemstones into silver coins for Father Li.

The Li family’s trip to the south of the Yangtze River yielded a lot of money, nearly one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Zhou Shuren was going to appreciate only once to earn some family property, and he was not doing it again in the future. Since it was going to be just a one-time thing, he was sure that he was not going to be famous, so no one will remember him later. After a long time, he will be forgotten. But if he does this too many times, then it will inevitably affect his reputation. After all, he had decided that from now on he will honestly study at home and prepare for the exam.

On the last day, Zhou Shuren took his in-laws around to buy, and Zhou Shuren pawned the jewelry given by Zhulan. Ancient pearls were really valuable. A string of necklaces and a pair of good-quality bracelets were pawned for one hundred and fifty taels.

With the initial fifty taels of silver he carried and the additional fourteen hundred taels he earned, Zhou Shuren had enough money in his hands. After spending a small portion on travel expenses, approximately twenty taels, he still had a substantial amount left. He didn’t hold back on his purchases and ended up hiring a carriage from the caravan. He loaded several large boxes with goods onto the carriage.

In comparison, the purchases made by the Li family were relatively modest. However, taking advantage of the lower prices in Jiangnan compared to the northern regions, Zhou Shuren also bought a whole box of items. It was a rare opportunity to be in Jiangnan where goods were more affordable and readily available.

When Zhulan was at home waiting for Wang Ru to introduce sausage, Zhou Shuren set off with the escort to return.

Ever since Zhulan knew that Wang Ru knew that her daughter was the heroine, she had been guarding against Wang Ru’s schemes. But maybe because Xuehan and Wang Ru has already broken up, Zhulan found that Wang Ru was not trying to scheme but living honestly.

It wasn’t until the sausages were made ahead of time that Zhulan knew that it wasn’t that Wang Ru didn’t want to plot against the Zhou family, but that she was busy making sausages and wanted to cooperate with the shu-born son of the businessman. In the novel, Wang Ru initially relied on selling spicy cabbage, and only when it ceased to be profitable, she gradually started producing sausages. Unfortunately, due to the deviation in the plot caused by Zhulan and Zhou Shuren’s transmigration, spicy cabbage became ubiquitous, forcing Wang Ru to bring out the sausages instead.

Li Shi felt particularly aggrieved and frustrated that she couldn’t taste the tantalizing sausages. She said, “Mother, I went to buy sausages, but San Ya refused to sell them to me. She even said that she wouldn’t sell to anyone who gave me sausages. What’s even more outrageous is that she not only refuses to sell to me but also to our family and my mother’s family. Isn’t this bullying?”

Zhulan looked at Li Shi silently, and with the lesson learned from spicy cabbage, she wouldn’t sell it to Li Shi if she was Wang Ru. Li Shi was simply born to be the nemesis of Wang Ru!