Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Yu Ancheng had always been proud, and although he was now lame, his temper hadn't changed much.

As a martial arts master invited to teach, how could he not care about his reputation after being left hanging by his student on his very first day?

So the next day, he deliberately found an excuse to take a day off, returning the snub by leaving Jiang Chun, his student, hanging as well.

It wasn't until the third day that Jiang Chun finally met with her master and officially began her martial arts training.

Yu Ancheng didn't ease up on his new student just because she was a woman. He spent the whole morning having Jiang Chun repeatedly practice the same move.

In the cold winter, Jiang Chun was sweating profusely, her training clothes drenched.

Although she was strong, it didn't mean she didn't get tired.

As soon as lunch break came, she quickly told Yu Ancheng, "Master, my husband cares about me and doesn't want me to train a full day. So from now on, we'll only train half a day.

My husband also said that since you'll be teaching me so hard, you must stay for lunch at the Song family, rest, and take a nap before returning, otherwise he'll feel guilty.

I've already arranged a separate room for you. After lunch, please go rest and recover before heading back. Is that acceptable?"

Training only half a day meant, firstly, she wouldn't be overly exhausted and wouldn't have to push herself to the limit every day.

Secondly, she had many other miscellaneous matters to handle and couldn't dedicate all her daytime to training.

Yu Ancheng was the same age as Second Master Song, 45 this year. Although his lifelong practice of martial arts made his body stronger than most people his age, he was still tired after traveling from outside the city and standing on his lame leg to guide Jiang Chun for the entire morning.

Initially, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Jiang Chun's plan to train only half a day, seeing it as a lack of commitment. But upon hearing how thoughtfully her husband had arranged for him, his dissatisfaction largely lessened.

He coldly responded with, "Very well."

Jiang Chun felt immensely relieved and quickly asked someone to prepare hot water for her to bathe before hurrying to the main hall for lunch.

After lunch, she had Gui Zhi prepare three food containers, preparing three platters of braised meat to pack into the boxes.

She then had Gui Zhi and Gui Ye deliver the braised meat platters to Lady Xiao, the wife of the Marquis of Jinxiang’s heir, Second Lady Lu, and Princess of the New City.

Of course, these platters of braised meat did not include any braised pig intestines.

Such delicacies were naturally kept for the family to enjoy.

If given to outsiders, they might not appreciate it and could even think she was intentionally insulting them.

Half an hour later, Gui Zhi returned from the Marquis of Jinxiang’s estate with gifts from both Lady Xiao and Second Lady Lu.

Lady Xiao's gift was two boxes of five-spice melon seeds.

Gui Zhi relayed Lady Xiao's message to Jiang Chun: "Please thank your mistress on my behalf for the braised meat. It smells delicious, and I'm sure it will help me eat an extra bowl of rice tonight. I've truly benefited from her good food.

As for the five-spice melon seeds your mistress wanted, I've already prepared them. Please take them back to your mistress. If she finishes them, just let me know, and I'll have more made. It's no trouble at all."

Jiang Chun smiled, opened one of the boxes, and grabbed a handful of five-spice melon seeds. She began munching on them while inspecting the gift from Lady Lu.

Lady Lu's gift was also food—her own homemade dried bacon.

The dried bacon can be considered a local product of Qi Prefecture.

This bacon is different from the smoked bacon of Sichuan and Shu. It is made by rubbing meat with salt and spices, then hanging it in a cool, well-ventilated place to dry.

The locals start making bacon when winter begins, and Jiang Chun had made some before as well.

Upon receiving this bacon from Lady Liu, Jiang Chun became interested and muttered, "I want to make some sausages to eat."

When Gui Zhi heard the word "intestines," her heart skipped a beat. After holding back for a while, she couldn’t help but boldly remarked, "You're really obsessed with pig intestines, aren't you, Madam?"

Jiang Chun laughed.

Although Gui Zhi misunderstood and thought that sausages were simply pig intestines hung to dry, her words weren’t wrong.

After all, making sausages requires pig intestines for the casings.

So, wasn’t she right to say that you’re obsessed with pig intestines?

After a while, Gui Ye returned from delivering the braised meat to Princess Xinchang’s mansion, also bringing back a gift from Princess Xinchang — a big basket of lotus roots.

Jiang Chun was surprised and raised her eyebrows. "Lotus roots? Really?"

Gui Ye smiled and said, "Nanny He said that before the canal froze, the princess’s boat carrying fruits and vegetables came back from the south, and she sent this basket for you to try the fresh flavor."

Jiang Chun thought for a moment and asked Gui Ye to put some lotus roots in a small basket, sending the rest to the main kitchen to add to the family's dinner.

She took this small basket and, along with Gui Zhi and six family servants, went to the Jiang family’s residence on Shengping Street by carriage.

*

The Jiang family had already lit the heating stove, and the smoke outlet at the southeast corner of the east room was gently emitting white smoke.

Jiang He and Zheng Kun were enjoying a tranquil moment. One sat in front of the heating stove in the east wing room, grilling taro over an iron net, while the other sat at the kang table in the east annex room, practicing calligraphy.

Jiang Chun placed the basket of lotus roots on the stove in the east wing room and said with a smile, "Someone gave me some fresh lotus roots, so I brought a basket for you to try."

Jiang He made a polite remark, "Save it for your son-in-law; why did you bring it over?"

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "We have plenty at home; it’s enough to feed him for a whole meal."

Jiang He then let it go.

Jiang Chun moved closer to the heating stove and asked with a grin, "Dad, is the taro ready? Can I have one?"

"You little glutton," Jiang He teased her, took the iron skewer she had given him earlier, skewered a taro, and handed it to her.

Jiang Chun skillfully peeled the skin and took a bite, then raised her thumb to Jiang He while exhaling and mumbling, "Dad, great job, it’s roasted perfectly!"

Jiang He didn’t hesitate to boast, "Of course, I roast taro for you every winter; I’ve had plenty of practice."

Jiang Chun ate three taros in a row before stopping.

After chatting with Father for a while about family matters, she went into the east annex room to watch Zheng Kun practice calligraphy.

Zheng Kun scratched his head and said awkwardly, "My handwriting is only decent and lacks character, so I’ve embarrassed myself in front of my cousin."

Jiang Chun chided him gently, "Cousin, don’t be modest. Writing neatly isn’t easy, and as someone who’s just learning, I can deeply understand that."

Zheng Kun arched his eyebrows in surprise. "Is Cousin learning to write?"

Before Jiang Chun could respond, he continued, "My cousin's status is different now. I think it’s important for you to learn to read and write, and maybe even how to read ledgers, to avoid being misled by the staff."

Jiang Chun smiled. "My husband agrees."

After a pause, she added happily, "Oh, Cousin, I have some good news to share with you. My husband has regained control of the shops, and the property deeds have been given to me.

We should start planning what kind of business to run with these shops."

Zheng Kun, who had been staying in the capital for two or three months, immediately broke into a broad smile upon hearing this. "This is fantastic news."

Although he had been idle, he hadn’t been entirely inactive. Since he was close to the West Market, he often went there when he had free time.

Regarding what kind of business to pursue, he had his own ideas. "I believe dealing in fabrics is a good option. Everyone needs clothes, and people in the capital are more fashion-conscious than those in Qi Prefecture. The fabric trade can provide a steady income.

Sourcing goods is also straightforward. You can hire specialized brokers to handle procurement. Just tell them what we need, and they’ll find the sellers for us.

However, you’ll need to pay them a brokerage fee.

If you want to avoid the fee, you can stay informed about cargo ships. Once you hear that a ship carrying fabrics from the south has docked at Tongzhou Port, you can head over.

Many cargo owners, to avoid warehouse fees, prefer to sell their goods directly at the port. The prices there are up to twenty percent lower than those from brokers’ contacts.

Most fabric shops in the West Market rush to the port to secure goods."

Jiang Chun nodded in agreement.

It seemed Zheng Kun had indeed put in a lot of effort and understood the business well.

Due to the original work being a story of a strong female protagonist's struggle, most of the narrative after arriving in the Imperial City focuses on Zhong Wenjin's business ventures. Therefore, Jiang Chun researched a lot about the Northern Song Dynasty's Bianjing.

She didn't know what she was getting into until she started her research, and it left her quite surprised.

To put it bluntly, apart from the lack of modern facilities, Bianjing was not much behind contemporary times in other aspects.

From affordable rental housing, food delivery services, car-hiring, women's wrestling and polo matches, hiring performers for home entertainment, setting up stalls right outside the palace gates, and even imperial concubines sending people out to buy snacks, these were all commonplace.

Even the water for morning face washing was sold by vendors walking through the streets.

The people of Bianjing referred to themselves as "proud citizens with sleeves folded," and many wealthy households did not even bother to cook at home.

Because of the thriving commerce, buying meals from outside was cheaper than cooking at home.

After all, cooking required a kitchen and a set of pots, pans, and utensils, along with the purchase of vegetables, meat, rice, and seasonings, and firewood.

Most importantly, one had to either buy or hire a cook; it would be too undignified to have the lady of the house cook herself.

The original work's Yanjing drew heavily from the details of Bianjing, so its prosperity and "modern" nature can be easily imagined.

Jiang Chun nodded and said, "We can use one of the shops for selling fabrics."

After some thought, she added with a smile, "However, the canal is starting to freeze, so we won't be able to rush to Tongzhou wharf for goods. We'll have to ask an agent to help us connect with suppliers and get a small amount of stock from their warehouses to start selling."

Zheng Kun smiled and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Jiang Chun was generous with her praise, giving Zheng Kun a thumbs-up: "Uncle didn't waste money sending Cousin to learn skills from others; he has indeed made great progress."

"Do you have any other ideas, cousin? We have eight shops, and one of them is being used for a partnership business with my sister-in-law. There are still seven shops unoccupied."

Jiang Chun had no intention of opening all seven shops.

For one, she didn’t have that much capital.

At the moment, she only had 1,000 taels of silver from selling pepper, which was just enough for stocking two shops.

For another, she didn’t have enough staff.

Of course, she could hire more people, but wouldn’t that also require money?

As for the remaining five shops, she decided to rent them out for the time being to earn some rent.

When she had more money and came up with a good business idea, she would reclaim them for her own operations.

Zheng Kun scratched his head and said, "I haven’t figured out any other business. I don’t dare to say anything reckless."

Jiang Chun didn’t push him and smiled, "Understanding the cloth trade is already impressive, cousin. I’ll think about the rest."

She took a key out of her money pouch and handed it to Zheng Kun, saying straightforwardly, "This is the shop in the West Market, directly opposite Liao Ji Restaurant. When you’re free, go take a look and write down what’s missing. I’ll send someone to purchase them."

Zheng Kun said delightedly, "A shop in the West Market! That’s wonderful! For the cloth trade, no other location is as conveniently located as the West Market."

Of course, the cloth trade they were talking about was just ordinary cloth, mainly cotton, ramie fabric, and hemp fabric.

They also sold silk, but it was the cheaper kind, priced at just a few taels per bolt.

It was aimed at the lower-class customers who regularly visited the West Market.

Wealthy people wouldn’t visit here; they would go straight to the East Market.

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "Exactly! With a shop in such a location, even if we don’t make a big profit from the cloth trade, we won’t lose money."

Old Master Song really favored his eldest grandson, Song Shian, giving him eight shops. Three were in the East Market and five in the West Market, all in prime locations.

As for Song Shirui and Song Shiqian, they didn’t get a single thing.

If not for that, Zhong Wenjin wouldn’t have to hustle for money.

Jiang Chun had only asked for the keys to the East Market shops last night, and early this morning, she heard that she had left the mansion.

She was even busier than this person who was always dealing with daily affairs!

But it’s good to be busy. As her investor, the busier she was, the more money she could earn.

*

Jiang Chun had been busy recently and rarely returned to her parents' home, but when Jiang He insisted she stay for lunch, she agreed.

Jiang He wasn’t good at cooking, and while Zheng Kun could cook, his skills were only adequate, just enough to be passable.

Usually, they purchased meals from the West Market to eat at home.

Jiang Chun personally cooked two dishes, and then sent someone to Liao Ji Restaurant for some good dishes and a jar of wine. The three of them had a great meal.

As the saying goes, after drinking wine, one speaks the truth. After drinking too much, Jiang He, with slurred speech, said, "Kun is managing the shop for you, while I, your father, am left idle at home, like a good-for-nothing who eats without doing anything."

Hearing his tone, did he want something to do?

Jiang He picked up the wine cup and drank it in one go.

After a moment, he spoke with a lack of confidence, "Dad wants to continue the business of slaughtering pigs and selling meat. What do you think? Is it feasible?"

Jiang Chun replied without hesitation, "Why wouldn't that be feasible? If you want to do it, then do it."

Jiang He was only thirty-seven this year. Even in ancient times, when lifespans were shorter, this was still considered the prime of life.

A man in his prime, accustomed to hard work, would find it unbearable to be idle for long.

Jiang He said with difficulty, "But I'm worried about bringing shame to you. Now that you are the young mistress of the Song family, if I go around slaughtering pigs and selling meat, people might laugh at you if they find out."

Jiang Chun's willow-like eyebrows immediately stood on end, and she snorted coldly, "I'd like to see who dares! Anyone who dares to laugh at me will get a beating from me. Let's see if their mouths are harder or my fists are."

Jiang He gave her a sideways glance and scolded, "Don’t act rashly! We are now in the capital, not some remote village like Daliushu.

In the capital, if you throw a stone, three out of the five people it hits are likely to be of noble birth. Don’t act on a whim.

If you offend someone you shouldn’t, you’ll suffer, and your husband will be embarrassed."

Jiang Chun first seriously pondered the problem of how a stone could kill five people. Could it be that the stone was a bowling ball come to life?

Then she said with a grin, "Don’t worry, Dad. I know what I’m doing."

It’s impossible for her not to hit people; when the time comes, she will still hit them.

Fearing that her father, who had drunk too much, would continue to ramble, she quickly changed the subject, "Dad, where do you plan to open the shop? West Market? Have you found any good vacant shops?

If you have your eye on one, I can send someone to ask the informant if he can help rent it."

She didn’t mention using one of her own shops for Jiang He.

Although she often said that what belonged to Song Shian was also hers, it was fundamentally different.

Using her in-laws’ shop for her father’s use wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny.

Jiang Chun had a thick skin and didn’t care about such things. Let people laugh if they wanted to, as long as she got the real benefits. But Jiang He cared about face.

Even if she brought it up, he wouldn’t agree.

Hearing this, Jiang He said with a mock scolding tone, "Rent a shop? You really know how to dream. Even if we work hard to slaughter a pig, we only make a little over a hundred wen.

Even the shop at the farthest corner of the West Market, where the previous tenant died suddenly, still costs eighty-four taels of silver a year after the owner lowered the rent.

Our small business can’t afford such rent."

Finding his words reasonable, Jiang Chun couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Then she asked, "Dad, do you plan to set up a stall in the West Market?"

Setting up stalls on either side of the central stone road in the West Market was allowed, but a daily stall fee of twenty wen was required.

Jiang He nodded, "Yes, setting up a stall is fine. We can afford the twenty-wen stall fee each day."

His answer was so straightforward that it was clear he had already thoroughly inquired about it.

He had probably been considering this matter for a long time but hadn’t brought it up because he was afraid of embarrassing his daughter.

Jiang Chun said straightforwardly, "Setting up a stall works too. You can set up a stall in front of our Fabric Store. That way, you and my cousin can support each other."

Zheng Kun immediately said, "Cousin's idea is great, Uncle. You should set up a stall in front of the Fabric Store. If anything happens, I can lend a hand."

Not wanting to refuse his daughter and nephew’s kindness, Jiang He smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll set up a stall in front of the Fabric Store."

As for a place to slaughter the pigs...

This courtyard won’t work. The neighbors were all merchants doing business in the West Market. Even if they get up early, they wouldn’t start before 3 a.m.

The neighbors would surely be annoyed by the pigs’ squeals every morning, and they would likely have complaints about the Jiang family.

Jiang Chun had a solution but feigned trouble, saying, "Father, if we don't rent a house, where can we slaughter the pigs?"

Jiang He burst into laughter, "Chunniang, you don't know about this, do you?

In Yanjing City, there are dedicated slaughterhouses.

You just pay a fee and can slaughter the livestock there. After you’re done, you take the meat and bones, and the waste is cleaned up by staff.

It’s incredibly convenient!"

This was part of the original setting in the novel, so Jiang Chun was aware of it, but she still said in surprise, "There’s actually such a place? That’s indeed much more convenient."

"There’s more," Jiang He said proudly, lifting his chin. "Even acquiring the pigs is handled by specialized agents. They deliver the pigs to the slaughterhouse each morning, and you only need to pay ten wen as a service fee per pig."

He then counted on his fingers for Jiang Chun, "Although you have to pay twenty wen per day for the stall fee and ten wen for the agent’s fee, the meat prices in the Imperial City are higher than in Hongye Town. Each pound of meat sells for at least twenty-two wen. That’s two wen more per pound. If a pig yields fifty pounds of meat, that’s an extra one hundred wen. After deducting the costs, I estimate we can earn at least two hundred wen daily.

Two hundred wen! Isn’t that better than being idle?"

Pausing, he glanced at Jiang Chun’s belly and said with a smile, "Besides, I need to save up for my grandson’s future."

Jiang Chun’s mouth twitched.

Relying on you to save up for your grandchild? That would take ages!

It’s better if I, as the mother, handle it myself.

As for what business to pursue, she would need to think more about it.

At dinner that evening, two additional dishes appeared on the table.

One was lotus root rib soup, and the other was stir-fried lotus roots with soybean oil.

*

Zhong Wenjin loved stir-fried lotus roots but detested soybean oil, finding the beany flavor repulsive.

She leaned over, bypassing Song Shiying, who was acting as a third wheel, and said to Jiang Chun, "Big Sister-in-law, I know of a vegetable oil from abroad called corn oil. It’s delicious for cooking and doesn’t have the beany flavor like soybean oil.

There are a few jars left with a foreign merchant. Big Sister-in-law, are you interested?"

Jiang Chun was speechless.

Why not just bring out the corn directly?

This way, my two estates will be able to plant high-yield corn next year, won’t they?

Although she grumbled inwardly, she immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes, with such good oil, I must buy it for my husband to try."

Pausing, she quickly added a line that fit her character, "Is it expensive? If it’s too expensive and I don’t have enough money, I’ll have to..."

She looked up at Madame Zhuang and said with a smile, "Borrow some from Mother."

Madame Zhuang was speechless.

She was buying the oil for her eldest son, not for herself, so Madame Zhuang really couldn’t say no to lending the money.

Pretending not to hear, she continued eating.

Zhong Wenjin smiled and said, "It’s not expensive, just 500 wen per jar."

Corn oil isn’t actually cheap, especially for Golden Embryo Corn Oil, which costs over 100 wen for five liters, comparable to ivory mahjong.

But while she could price mahjong at five taels of silver, she didn’t dare to overprice corn oil, a daily necessity, afraid her elder sister-in-law might refuse outright.

Since she would also eat the vegetables cooked with this oil, she decided not to make a profit and sell it at cost.

Jiang Chun’s eyes widened in surprise. "So cheap?"

Before Zhong Wenjin could respond, she quickly added, "Second sister-in-law, how many jars does that foreign merchant have? I want them all, please make sure to get them all for me!"

“Okay,” Zhong Wenjin agreed straightforwardly, then glanced at Song Shian and teased with a smile, "Elder sister-in-law really doesn’t spare any expense on Elder Brother."

Jiang Chun’s lips twitched.

Even for several jars, 500 wen per jar wouldn’t cost more than a few taels of silver. This wasn’t what she considered spending a lot of money.

Unexpectedly, Song Shian suddenly spoke. "My wife really does spare no expense on me. She stretches a single wen like it’s two, but never lets me go without, giving me the best food and drink."

Madame Li pouted and said sarcastically, "What good food could there be in her rural village?"

Song Shiying, displeased with the remark, retorted, "How about blood bird's nest? When Elder Brother was at Elder Sister-in-law’s home, he had a bowl of blood bird’s nest every day, a treatment even Grandmother didn’t have."

Jiang Chun was confused.

Blood bird's nest?

The bird's nest she got from the system warehouse was actually blood bird's nest?

She had never seen it in modern times but had heard of it.

She only remembered two words—extremely expensive.

And now, this precious item was right in front of her, and her ignorant self couldn’t even recognize it.

She blamed the cursed check-in system. Even if the quality differed, the name remained the same, how could anyone tell?

Wait a minute...

She suspiciously glanced at Song Shian.

If she couldn’t recognize blood bird's nest, it was somewhat understandable, but how could someone as nobly born as Song Shian not recognize it?

He didn’t ask anything or say anything.

Wasn’t that a bit unreasonable?

Song Shian calmly picked up the soup bowl in front of her and served her a bowl of pork rib and lotus root soup. He placed it in front of her, smiling. "My lady, please have some soup."

Jiang Chun shot him a glare. It wouldn’t be appropriate to ask too many questions in public, so she decided to grill him once they got back home.

She wanted to see what reason he could give to convince her.

If he couldn’t provide one, well, don’t blame her if she isn’t polite!