Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Finally, the next day arrived, and Lu Wei yawned as she got out of bed, pushing the door open and rubbing her eyes. "Is it snowing again?"

Ying'er and Mei'er entered with a food tray. "Good morning, Sister Lu Wei. Yes, it's snowing again, and it's not any smaller than yesterday's."

Lu Wei: "When did it start? I didn't see any snow when I got up in the middle of the night last night."

Ying'er: "I remember it started around the fourth watch, right at the stroke of midnight. It was a heavy snowfall, like large goose feathers. In just one hour, the ground was already covered with a thick layer."

Mei'er: "Sister Lu Wei, hurry and put on more clothes. It's quite chilly outside today."

Li'er enters, "Sister Lu Wei, Lady Elder just sent word that there's no need to pay respects this morning."

"I understand."

Lu Wei enters the room and, together with Xing Huang, unpacks the meal from the food box. Coincidentally, Xue Qing has just finished styling Meng Die's hair. "You've brought the food so early, does that mean we don't have to pay our respects today?"

Lu Wei: "Yes, Lady Elder just informed us that it's not necessary."

Meng Die emerged from within: "It's snowing again?"

Lu Wei replied, "Heavy flurries, it seems even thicker than yesterday."

Meng Die stepped to the door and peered outside, instantly shivering from the cold.

Lu Wei promptly handed her a hand warmer. "It's freezing out there, be careful not to catch a chill."

With no need to pay respects that day, Meng Die had more time on her hands, just right for reading the articles she should have perused the previous afternoon. The texts delivered this time were all written by Zhuang Ming in the last couple of days. Meng Die found them vastly superior to his earlier works – they now exhibited a much-needed dialectical perspective, no longer blindly adhering to a single viewpoint.

"Second Lady."

"Mistress Fan?" Meng Die put down her manuscript. "Why are you here on such a cold day?"

Mistress Fan's face was beaming with joy. "Today, someone inquired at the Rose Rouge shop again, asking Manager Rong about purchasing blankets and furs. They even said they want everything we have in stock."

Xing Huang interjected anxiously, "How much are they offering?"

Mistress Fan smiled, pursing her lips. "They're willing to pay thirty-five thousand silver taels. Imagine, it's only been a few days, and we'll make a profit of fifteen thousand silver taels just by reselling."

Meng Die smiled. "No rush, we're not selling for now."

Aunt Fan asked in surprise, "Ah? Second Lady, you should think this through. It's not easy to find such a fool, and if you miss this opportunity, there won't be another. Where else can you find a deal that nets you fifteen thousand taels?"

"Fool?" Meng Die waved her hand. "If we were to sell to him, then we would be the fools."

Aunt Fan shot a glance at Lu Wei, questioning.

Meng Die continued, "Do you know why they're buying furs and blankets, and why they're offering that price?"

Xing Huang leaned closer and asked, "Does Second Lady know about this?"

Meng Die sipped her tea and explained, "As soon as it snows, people come to buy these defective blankets and furs. Presumably, they're needed by the major merchants who specialize in warm cellar cuisine. With the year-end approaching, it's now when their dishes thrive best. After two rounds of snow, the cold intensifies. They either increase their coal and firewood consumption or hang blankets and furs around their houses for better insulation."

Meng Die continued, "Have my word conveyed to Manager Rong: If those big merchants bring ten thousand taels of silver, I'll sell them all the furs and blankets I purchased from the Hu merchants."

The four, including Fan Ma, gasped in unison, "Ten thousand taels of silver?"

Meng Die curved her lips into a smile. "Times have changed. With these two unexpected heavy snowfalls, I might not sell it for a hundred thousand taels even if it snows a few more times in the coming days."

Aunt Fan's eyes widened. "Second Lady, you... you're..."

Meng Die chuckled proudly. "Rule number one of being a cunning merchant: hike up the price. That's what I'm doing."

...

It took Aunt Fan and the others a while to recover from their shock. Lu Wei remained concerned. "Second Lady, ten thousand taels is no small sum. Even if those merchants want to buy blankets and furs, I doubt they'll be able to afford it."

Meng Die: "You're thinking too much. Those who specialize in warming oven dishes, don't they always fill their coffers every winter? Let alone ten thousand, they could even afford twenty thousand without breaking a sweat."

Lu Wei is astonished. "Is making hearth-cooked dishes that lucrative?"

Meng Die: "In the capital, nobles and wealthy families abound. Who wouldn't desire fresh vegetables in the winter? Which household would begrudge a few coins for such a luxury?"

Xue Qing knitted her eyebrows, saying, "Second Madam, I've heard that the fresh vegetables for our Marquis's residence are not purchased but sent from our country estate. It's said that the late Dowager, in her time, had ordered the construction of warm kilns on the estate and assigned specialized personnel to cultivate vegetables there."

Lu Wei pondered for a moment and realized, "Our Marquis Manor doesn't need to purchase vegetables, and those families even more affluent than ours do not either. This means..."

Meng Die waved her hand to interrupt Lu Wei's words. "The Marquis household is a founding contributor. After the Great Ancestor Emperor bestowed the title of Marquis upon our ancestor, apart from granting over a dozen grand manors in their hometown, he also awarded two vast estates with thousands of fertile acres near the capital. Such estates aren't possessions that any wealthy family can claim. Back then, wasn't it true that even our Meng family had to purchase fresh vegetables?"

Xing Huang: "How did Second Lady know that it was going to snow?"

How could one predict the snowfall? Meng Die's lips twitched. "I say I had no idea it would snow—it was simply good luck. Would you believe me?"

The other four individuals in the room, with their eight eyes fixed upon Meng Die, wore expressions of blatant skepticism. It was as if they were saying, "Go on with your tale, and we'll believe you if you can convince us."

Meng Die pressed her hand to her forehead, acknowledging that encountering snow this time was purely a stroke of good fortune. She was no deity capable of forecasting the weather; in the dream world where technology was so advanced, even with all means employed, accurate predictions of weather remained elusive. There was even a jest circulating that if your child’s words were never reliable, they could find work at the meteorological bureau. How could she possibly have predicted the weather correctly?

Initially, she intended to purchase these furs for the orphans, with the blankets reserved for their use and the furs to be cut and sold to cloth merchants.

In recent years, the nation has enjoyed peace and prosperity, resulting in an increasing number of households with surplus wealth. With more money at their disposal, people naturally sought a better quality of life. Even if they were not wealthy, ordinary families would still add fur trimmings to their sleeves and collars, complemented by matching fur hand warmers, creating an appearance of elegance and sophistication.

The idea of cutting whole pieces of fur into smaller sections was still considered wasteful by many. The furs Meng Die had purchased had imperfections, making them ideal for such segmentation. This inspiration was derived from Lu Wei's suggestion.

"Meng Die shrugged off any further debate. "Believe it or not, it's up to you. In any case, you just need to follow my instructions. Given our stroke of luck, we'd be remiss not to make a substantial profit."

Hearing Meng Die's explanation, Nurse Fan felt somewhat reassured, albeit still predominantly skeptical. This skepticism was evident in her unsteady steps as they exited, her legs still feeling as if they were floating.