Chapter 211

Chapter 211

The alley behind the Zheng residence was quite long, with many households on either side. Those closest to the back door of the Zheng residence were mostly people from the manor.

Hua Chengfang called for a servant boy from the back gate to help move things and gave fifteen coins to the cart driver.

The cart driver, leading his donkey, walked briskly, with good stamina. It was still early, and he wanted to make a few more trips to the wharf, this was the only trip carrying eggs; otherwise, if it were other goods, he would have already delivered them.

"Guizi, come here," Hua Chengfang said with a smile. "This is my brother-in-law's brother, you can call him Brother Pei. If he comes to deliver things in the future, just look for me."

Guizi, the young servant boy, was small but had a lively, smiling demeanor. He greeted Brother Pei immediately, looking at the bamboo baskets and saying, "Manager Hua got some more eggs?"

Hua Chengfang laughed and scolded, "Do your job, go on, watch them, tell them to be careful not to bump into anything, and bring me the three baskets from my room."

"Sure thing," Guizi agreed, turned around, picked up the last bamboo basket on the ground, and went inside.

"The rules of the manor are strict, it's not easy to bring people in, so please wait a moment," Hua Chengfang said, taking out a purse from his bosom and retrieving nine small silver pieces.

"That's natural," Pei Yan took the silver without any hesitation, smiling as he put it in his pocket.

They exchanged a few more words, discussing the quantity for the next delivery.

Soon, Guizi brought three empty bamboo baskets. Knowing that Hua Chengfang was busy, Pei Yan said his farewells, didn't linger, and left with the baskets.

There were many children playing in the alley. Several boys were "fighting" with wooden swords and knives they had carved, while the girls and Shuang'er were playing cat's cradle or folding colored paper. They had half-egg shells with red and yellow patterns drawn on them, which were probably made by adults, and were arguing over whose was prettier.

Others were shaking bells, playing with grasshoppers made from grass, or kicking a small bamboo ball back and forth. The ball rolled toward Pei Yan, tied with colorful ribbons, likely containing a bell that rang as it moved.

A sweaty little boy urged anxiously, "Kick it over, kick it over."

Pei Yan then kicked the bamboo ball with his toe, the bell ringing as it rolled. Perhaps due to prolonged play or dirt in the bell, the sound was muffled.

The children, being short, focused on the rolling ball, not bothering to look up. They knew it was an adult, but they didn't have time to see what he looked like, lest the ball roll to someone else's feet.

With money earned, and few eggs left at home, Pei Yan was in high spirits. Even though he didn't know these kids, a smile crept across his face.

Some children held paper-made auspicious wheels that spun with the wind, while others licked sugar figurines, savoring them slowly, making the nearby children drool with envy.

As they played, arguments broke out, even fights.

Fights among children were simple: one push, then another, followed by loud crying.

The sky was vast and blue, the alley noisy, the wind brushed against Pei Yan's face as he strode out of the alley, heading towards the wharf.

In the east room.

*

Gu Lanshi sat on a chair, weaving bamboo strips into grids. There were many broken rice straws on the ground. With Xingxing asleep, he had nothing to do, so he asked Zhou Shuyun to bring in the materials and started working.

There were more eggs now. Deliveries to the city were fine, but each time, he had to leave several bamboo baskets with Hua Chengfang, so he decided to make a few more.

Zhou Shuyun was washing diapers in the courtyard. Washing adult clothes was manageable, done every few days, but with a child needing daily diaper changes, she had to wash them every day.

Pei Yan led the donkey cart in, and Liu Dagé, who was chopping firewood, came forward to untie the cart. With his help, Pei Yan didn't need to worry and simply unloaded the items from the cart.

He placed the three empty bamboo baskets under the eaves and headed to the east room with the things in his hands.

"You're back," Gu Lanshi said, looking up and seeing the auspicious wheel and windmill in his hand.

The octagonal windmill's pole was made of sorghum stalks, very common. The windmill was made of overlapping red and green paper, slowly spinning with the breeze created by movement.

"An octagonal one," Gu Lanshi stood up, smiling as he took it. "When I was a kid, we played with square ones, mostly red, rarely two colors."

After saying this, he blew a breath onto the octagonal windmill, making it spin faster.

"I bought it in the city," Pei Yan handed over the auspicious wheel.

The auspicious wheel had seven or eight colorful wind wheels on a wooden rod. There were more colors, red, yellow, green, and blue. It was similar to the windmill, both spinning when the wind blew, but the wind wheels were enclosed by bamboo strips, resembling wheels, hence often called wind wheels.

"It's really bright," Gu Lanshi was delighted. "Xingxing will see it when he wakes up."

"Mm-hmm," Pei Yan smiled, taking out the silver pieces from his pocket. "A total of nine coins."

Gu Lanshi's hands were occupied, wanting to play more, but upon seeing the silver, he immediately placed the windmill and auspicious wheel on the table.

"The boat fare to and from the city was fifty-five coins today. At the wharf, I gave five coins to the man selling boiled offal to watch the cart, spending sixty coins in total."

Pei Yan touched the teapot, noticing it was still warm, poured himself a bowl of tea, and drank it in one gulp standing by the table. Putting down the tea bowl, he continued, "From the city wharf to the Zheng residence where Brother Hua Er is, he spent fifteen coins, hiring a donkey cart to transport the eggs. If I take the boat in the future, it will cost seventy-five coins for a round trip."

They didn't lower their voices while talking. Outside, dogs barked, chickens and ducks clucked, and there were sounds of chopping wood and washing clothes. Xingxing was used to these noises, occasionally mumbling in his sleep but remained deeply asleep with his eyes closed.

Gu Lanshi listened while opening the chest, rummaging through to find the money pouch. "Seventy-five coins isn't cheap. Considering we earned eight coins today, if we calculate by the coin..."

Saying this, he laughed again. "Earning eight coins per trip isn't bad, and we don't have to run around hawking our goods."

"Mm-hmm," Pei Yan refilled half a bowl of tea, drinking it slower this time. "Taking the boat downstream, going to the city is faster than driving a cart. Although there are waves, it's still bearable."

"If Brother Hua Er isn't in a hurry, when delivering eggs again, we'll take the official road all the way. When encountering bumpy sections, we'll slow down. I'll try driving the donkey cart first. It might be slower on the way there, but it doesn't matter on the return trip."

"When I was on the boat, I observed that there weren't any sudden waves, it was stable. If driving is slower, we should still take the boat."

"Considering the boat fare and since I'm the one delivering, Brother Hua Er doesn't have to make the trip. We discussed it, and in the future, we'll deliver whatever amount we have, paying according to the quantity, as long as there isn't significant damage during transportation."

Gu Lanshi put the nine silver pieces into the money pouch. Business had been good recently, selling vegetables and eggs had accumulated several taels of silver. Hearing this, he looked up. "That's how it should be. When you deliver, open them up first. If there aren't too many bumps, a dozen or so won't matter. If you think it's too much, reduce the amount. As long as we make a profit, it's fine."

"Mm-hmm," Pei Yan nodded in agreement. That was also what he thought. "Although Brother Hua Er is doing it for money, we're also using his connections to sell the eggs. Today, he mentioned that if we deliver eggs in winter, passing through his hands, he'll give us at least thirteen coins."

"Thirteen coins? Per egg?" Gu Lanshi paused, quite surprised.

"Indeed." Pei Yan smiled and said, "Last winter, in town, eggs sold for eight or nine wen, mostly eight. He said that in the city, during winter, there's a great demand for eggs. The wealthy families don't mind spending a few extra wen, they're particular about their food, and various dishes require garnishes, which can't be done without eggs."

"I didn't ask him how much he was selling them for, thirteen wen, which is a high price for us. On my way back, I saw so many large restaurants in the city, originally thinking of exploring opportunities during winter. But considering the limited number of eggs in winter, it's better to focus on taking care of Brother Hua Er's side first."

"Indeed." Gu Lanshi nodded, his face involuntarily showing a hint of joy.

Pei Yan, having had enough tea, stopped pouring more and said, "Since the prices in the city are so high, after winter sets in, we won't need to deliver to the Gao residence anymore. It'll suffice to take care of the restaurants and taverns in town."

"How many hens are you raising indoors this year?" Gu Lanshi put the money bag back at the bottom of the chest.

"Thirty, any more than that might not work," replied Pei Yan.

Gu Lanshi locked the chest and, based on last winter's experience, began calculating aloud, "Now that we've got the hang of it, if each hen lays an egg every two days, we should have around four hundred to four hundred and fifty eggs per month."

"Without exaggerating, we should have four hundred eggs per month. We can leave one hundred to two hundred for the town's restaurants, but I estimate they won't even want that many. Reserving one hundred and twenty, we could send two hundred and eighty to the city."

"At thirteen wen per egg... two hundred would be two liang and six tael... "

His eyes involuntarily looked up as he calculated. Just as he finished, Pei Yan spoke up, "Around three liang and six tael."

Fifty eggs would be six hundred and fifty wen, thirty would be three hundred and ninety wen. Gu Lanshi insisted on calculating with his fingers, saying, "The first batch is nine hundred wen, the second is one hundred and forty wen, totaling one liang and fourteen wen. Without counting the fourteen wen, it's exactly three liang and six tael."

He preferred to calculate small numbers separately, although slower, it kept things clear in his mind, preventing confusion.

"Adding the ones sent to town, we're looking at no less than four taels per month." Gu Lanshi raised his gaze, his eyes sparkling.

Pei Yan chuckled. "Yes, four taels is guaranteed, and it should be a bit more."

"The boat fare is negligible." Gu Lanshi sighed contentedly.

Last year, after the cold set in and they started selling eggs, when they were still unfamiliar with heating the coop and feeding the chickens, they were overjoyed to earn one tael a month. If they could make four taels a month this year, that would be twelve taels in three months. It wouldn't matter if they had to serve the hens, let alone just take care of them.

They enjoyed their moment of happiness. Then, Gu Lanshi rubbed his face. No, no, they shouldn't get too carried away before the money was in their hands. They could celebrate once they sold the eggs in winter.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to town to sell wine and meat. Is there anything else you need?" Pei Yan sat down in the chair where Gu Lanshi had been sitting earlier, picking up the bamboo slat frame to continue wrapping thread.

Gu Lanshi thought for a moment and said, "Meat, fish, buy one chicken and one duck each. Hawthorn cakes are bright in color, buy a large pack, enough to fill a plate. Plum pastries look good, buy a large pack of those too. And candied fruits and preserved fruits, pick two types to buy."

"What about cooked mutton?" asked Pei Yan.

"Sure, buy a piece," Gu Lanshi paused and added, "Remember to buy good quality alcohol, and also buy two jars of plum wine. It's sweet, suitable for Mother, Sister, and Sister-in-law to drink."

"Alright." Pei Yan took note.

"I don't think there's anything else." Gu Lanshi sat down beside him and continued, "Don't forget to buy a few bones. They can be used to make soup for the banquet and feed some meat to Dahei and the others, letting them have a taste too."

Pei Yan nodded with a smile. "Okay."

What they were discussing was the banquet for the child's full moon ceremony three days later.

It felt like they had been waiting for the stars, and finally, the stars had arrived. Naturally, the full moon banquet couldn't be taken lightly. Their family was small, only three people including the baby, and they had no other relatives except for the in-laws.

Although it wasn't as extravagant as the banquets held by wealthy families, they could still buy some wine and meat, ensuring that their own family ate well and drank well.