Chapter 224: You Know Nothing (Make-up Update)

Chapter 224: You Know Nothing (Make-up Update)

Xianjin looked at the little girl sleeping soundly, with a red mark from the crease of her clothes on her left cheek.

Xianjin's arm was a bit sore, so she quietly used her left hand to adjust her right shoulder, whispering softly, "This is outside Dingzhuang, where there are three small paper-making workshops."

As soon as she finished speaking, a wiry old man with a hunched back appeared on the village path, running swiftly and stopping beside the mule cart. He laughed loudly, "Is this Chen's recommended by Village Chief Cao?"

Village Chief Cao was the head of Xiaocao Village.

Xianjin quickly wiped Heng Wuniang's mouth and helped her down from the cart, bowing respectfully to the wiry old man, "Yes, yes! I am He Xianjin from Chen's."

She introduced Heng Wuniang, "This is the eldest daughter of Heng Kee."

"Eldest daughter" sounded much more authoritative than "Fifth daughter." The former implied an unchallenged mistress, while the latter suggested a pitiable creature dependent on her stepmother for monthly allowances—outside, one must maintain their own dignity.

Heng Wuniang glanced at Xianjin, seemingly surprised that Xianjin would reveal her name so directly. She looked away, hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath, "Good afternoon, Village Head Ding. I am Hengxi, the eldest daughter of Heng Kee. You may call me Hengxi."

While leading them forward, Village Head Ding praised, "Both your names are excellent, like gold flowing into the home like a stream..."

Xianjin nodded in agreement—quite a cultured interpretation, albeit with a hint of greed.

Following the narrow village path towards the water, they soon saw dozens of bundles of sandalwood bark submerged under heavy stones in the swift waters of Black Creek.

Village Head Ding rubbed his hands, somewhat embarrassed, "Village Chief Cao said you needed raw materials. It's only March now, and the sandalwood bark we collected before the New Year has just been soaked after steaming. There isn't much..."

He scratched the back of his head, "You know, only my wife and I work in these workshops. The quantity can't compare to Chen's. This amount... hehe, it might not even fill your teeth!"

"What about straw? Is it from the sandy fields?"

Xianjin scanned the area and turned to ask Village Head Ding.

He nodded repeatedly, "The straw and kiwi vine juice have been prepared in these quantities."

Xianjin had become adept at estimating quantities with a glance. These materials could make about sixty sheets of paper, which was consistent with the production level of a village couple's workshop.

Xianjin smiled, "Sixty sheets are not too few, and six thousand are not too many. I'll take all your sandalwood bark, straw, and kiwi vine juice for paper glue. Let's calculate it at six hundred coins per sheet, for sixty sheets. Does that sound fair?"

She offered a price equivalent to medium-quality Xuancheng paper.

The products from private workshops couldn't match the quality or experience of those from Chen's or Heng Kee, and thus couldn't fetch Chen's base price of six hundred coins.

Village Head Ding opened his mouth slightly: Old Cao had warned him that if Madam He made an offer, it would be generous.

This price meant he wasn't just breaking even; he was making a substantial profit!

It was as if someone bought flour, sugar, and yeast but paid the price of a loaf of bread...

He was being paid for labor not yet performed.

Village Head Ding felt he was getting a great deal and continued rubbing his hands, "Fair, fair! We still have about twenty sheets of plain white paper in our warehouse. The quality can't compare to Chen's or Heng's, but they can be used for small things."

Xianjin smiled and nodded, then called out loudly, "Old Dog! Seven-seven-seven!"

With a high wave of her hand, ten or so burly men in padded jackets descended from the second and third mule carts, striding purposefully toward the river. Half of them rolled up their sleeves and pants legs to retrieve the sandalwood bark, while the other half headed for the warehouse.

Heng Wuniang stared in astonishment, then turned to look again.

Goodness gracious!

Goodness gracious!

Three mule carts were parked on the narrow village road, with over a dozen more mule-drawn carts!

What were they planning to do?

What were they going to do?

Heng Wuniang had a vague idea but dared not believe it.

Was this... Was this madness?

Good heavens!

Heng Wuniang opened her mouth to ask something, but her throat felt blocked!

After bidding farewell to Village Head Ding, Xianjin led the group of men out. As soon as they got back in the cart, she crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and rested. About an hour later, they arrived at another unfamiliar village.

A young woman with a traditional married woman's hairstyle greeted Xianjin with a smile, "Are you Madam He, the friend of Master Qin?"

After some pleasantries, Heng Wuniang saw dozens of wet bundles of sandalwood bark and straw loaded onto the mule-drawn carts.

By nightfall, Xianjin had silently visited a dozen villages, filling the mule-drawn carts to the brim.

The silver and gold they brought were almost depleted.

Sitting in the swaying cart, Heng Wuniang swallowed hard, tucked her hair behind her ear, and managed a smile, "Are we planning to buy all the raw materials from every workshop around Xuancheng?"

Xianjin was marking something with a soft brush pen in a small notebook.

Hearing Heng Wuniang's question, Xianjin closed the notebook and smiled, "Tomorrow, we go to Jingde. The day after, to Shatian."

Xianjin tucked the small booklet into her chest and, through the tiny gap where the carriage curtain had been blown open by the wind, watched as houses with their white walls and black tiles, along with villages, receded frame by frame. She murmured softly, "The production cycle for Xuan paper is roughly one year. Almost all the raw materials from the farms have been pre-ordered by various workshops before the end of the year. We can't buy the raw materials directly now."

So...

it’s only big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp.

They would acquire all the raw materials stored by other small workshops this year.

What could be left for Baiji then?

This was why she needed to bring Heng Kee on board.

She did business honestly and wouldn’t engage in unethical monopolistic practices—bringing Heng Kee on board could only be considered a collaboration, not a monopoly...

Xianjin smiled.

Twenty thousand people, forty thousand sheets of paper, four hundred bundles.

Even if Baiji managed to secure the support of the Assistant Prefect, what could they do against her when she held the best raw materials?!

Moreover, she had several other trump cards up her sleeve!

This deal must be hers, and only hers!

Because, most likely, there were even greater benefits behind this deal.

Xianjin's gaze grew serious, and she firmly drew the carriage curtain shut with a swish.

In the study of Prefectural Magistrate Xiong's residence in Xuancheng, his wife chided, "Must you push Chen's to compete to the death with Baiji? Wouldn't it be better to promote Baiji for the examination papers and give Chen's the chance for the tribute goods afterward? Isn't diversity better than one dominating everything?"

Prefectural Magistrate Xiong took a sip of tea and really wanted to tell his old wife, you don't understand anything!

But, the remnants of his rationality allowed him to retain a sliver of life.

After a while, he sighed and said, "...It's very likely that the examination papers and the tribute goods will come from the same source."