CH 85

Mo Yan sat on a stool and watched the old man work. He cut the bamboo into small pieces and began expertly weaving them together. Before long, he had made the base of the basket.

“There isn’t any bamboo in the north, where did you get this from?”

“From the south, of course! It’s as cheap as firewood there, although I have to pay a transport fee to get it sent here.”

“There’s someone who’ll transport goods over to the north?”

“In Yi City, there’s a lumber merchant where I buy all my bamboo from.”

If lumber could be transported over from the south, so could other goods.

Before long, there was a small bamboo basket in the old man’s hands, made to Mo Yan’s measurements. She said, “That’s good, I want twenty of these! I’ll come back tomorrow to get them, if that’s fine.”

She paid, then left for a calligraphy store. Doing business required a ledger, and income and expenses needed to be clear.

She bought a ledger book, ink and cooking paper. She remembered that every business had their logo on their goods, be it in the food industry or the finance industry.

“Manager, can you make stamps as well?”

“Yes, what do you want on your stamp?”

“I want to print a business logo.”

“Alright, can you write it out for us?”

The manager handed over a brush and ink over to her, but Mo Yan declined, “I’m not good at calligraphy. I’ll ask someone else to write my words for me before handing it over.

She went to Ms. Zhao’s courtyard. Seeing that Lu Junming’s horse was outside, she went in. After calling his name, he didn’t come out, but Ms. Zhao went out instead, “Yan’er, you’re here? Quick, come in.”

He finally came out, “Are you here to find me? If there’s nothing in particular, let’s go out! Otherwise, mum will start brushing your hair again.”

Mo Yan replied, “I have something to ask of you. Do you mind writing a business logo for me, like how you wrote the words on the plaque of my business? I want to make a stamp.”

After hearing that, they both praised her intelligence. Ms. Zhao said, “During the New Year, when people buy gift baskets, the baskets the gifts are stored in usually have the business’ logo stamped inside.”

Mo Yan had an epiphany, “That’s right! Our goods would massively increase in value if they were made into packages. We could do it with the lotus leaves, lotus roots, dried fruit, and even the sauce for our wraps!”

“You could separate the baskets into several compartments, it’d make it look nicer and be more suitable for a New Year’s gift.”

If the gift baskets were wrapped up nicely, we could definitely sell it for a nice price!

But aside from that, what should we do with the silk?

They didn’t have any place to sell the silks, so their best bet was probably to sell them at the two fabric shops in the city. However, the stores there didn’t have a lot of business, so they might not be sold off.

“Do you know how to tailor?” Mo Yan asked.

Ms. Zhao nodded, “Yes, I learnt from my mother since I was young. When I went to the Upper Valley, I learnt a few tricks from Ms. Shen too.”

“You’re talking about…Shen Hongling?”

“Yes! How do you know her?”

“We went to Hongling Embroideries during this trip to the Upper Valley, and the clothes there were very high-quality.” Mo Yan looked at the courtyard and sighed, “It’s a shame!”

“What’s a shame?”

“It’s a shame you like tranquillity and quiet, and definitely wouldn’t like the noise.”

Lu Junming immediately asked, “Do you want to use this courtyard? But it’s so far out of the way!”

Ms. Zhao said, “Now that the two of us have decided to support ourselves, what’s a little noise? I was just fretting about how I wasn’t able to help you! Tell me, what are you planning?”

“In the winter, people don’t have to farm. It’s the season where women of all ages start tailoring clothes. They gather around in twos or threes and talk while they tailor. If you gather them all here and also give them tailoring lessons, I don’t believe we won’t be able to sell off these silks.”

She was inspired by old man Luo, who’s basket-weaving business was also in his courtyard.

“Giving them tailoring lessons isn’t a problem, but how do we gather them here?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle that part. Think of a name for your courtyard, and hang a plaque, so others can find it easier.”

“Let’s call it Jiaolan Courtyard!” Ms. Zhao’s name was Zhao Yulan.

Lu Junming helped Mo Yan write the words for the stamp. It was identical to the plaque that hung outside, just much smaller.

She took it to the calligraphy shop to make a stamp, then returned to the storefront, where she saw Ms. Hua talking to her sister, “You can’t put these outside, they’ll gather dust and insects will be attracted to them! Also, what would happen if it snowed?”

Mo Yan knew they were talking about the dried fruit, “We can store it in your house! We’re just worried about disturbing you.”

Ms. Hua hurriedly waved her hands, “It’s not a bother, it’s just the two of us living here, so we have a lot of space! I was just afraid you wouldn’t be fine with it.”

“We can trust you, please keep an eye on it! I’ll buy some oil tarps to wrap the goods that can’t be placed inside. During the spring, we’ll probably make a warehouse in your courtyard, or it’ll be annoying during the summer when it rains.”

“Alright, I’ll help you find bricks and lumber when that happens.”

Ms. Hua was right, they couldn’t expose their goods out in the open. Mo Yan went to buy some oil tarps and wrapped the goods with Mo Ling’s help.

It was already turning dark. When they returned home, Mrs. Liang was cooking dinner while coughing profusely.

Their living conditions had improved significantly. They might not be living like an emperor, but they can eat white rice every day now, and they weren’t struggling to survive day by day. Even the old woman living at the back received some benefits. Her daughter and her grandchildren were coming over more often than before.

Hearing them enter, Mrs. Liang sighed, “Why did you come home so late? The sky’s already turned dark.”

“The wares arrived today, so we had to take care of them.”

“What did you import over?”

“Aside from the usual lotus leaves and roots, there’s also dried fruits, dried jerkies, and silks. The fish and seafood didn’t sell well last time, so we didn’t buy those again.”

“Can the storefront sell all of this?”

“Don’t fret, all of this can be sold!”

Another coughing fit came along, and Mo Yan sighed, “I never made you the medicine for your cough. I’ll find a few medicinal herbs and discuss it with Mr. Cao.”

“There’s no use, I’ve asked so many doctors for help to no avail. I’ll naturally recover when spring arrives.”

“We still have to try, a body can’t withstand this much coughing.”

Mo Feng only came to the kitchen when Mrs. Liang called him over for dinner. They had no idea what he was doing inside his room all day.

After dinner, Mo Yan continued reading up on medicinal herbs that might help her mother with her coughing.

She needed astragalus to strengthen the lungs, honeysuckles and dandelions to clear phlegm. As for the cough itself, coltsfoots, daturas…

She recorded all of the medicinal herbs that would help with coughs down, planning on talking to Mr. Cao about using these to help her mother.

Post-translation notes: So it turns out getting inspiration from other businesses is a really important thing! Who would’ve thought. As always, thank you for reading!