Chapter 55

Chapter 55

This inn was right by the city gate, and the man who had just arrived was clearly a traveling merchant.

The innkeeper leaned out for a look and said, "Yes, we do have rooms, we do." Then he yelled for the waiter, "Quick, take these guests to the back courtyard to unload the goods."

Pei Mu peered through the lobby door at the scene outside. Two oxcarts were covered with waterproof tarps, and three men beside them were already pulling the oxcarts toward the back courtyard under the waiter's guidance.

Pei Mu stopped the waiter as he was heading upstairs and asked when their hot water would arrive. The waiter bowed slightly and said, "Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go and hurry them up."

When Pei Mu returned to the room, he cracked open the window and glanced out. From here, he could see the back courtyard. The rain had forced several merchant caravans to take shelter at this inn, no wonder the waiter was running around nonstop.

Zhong Yizhu was sitting by the table, sipping hot water to warm his hands. Seeing this, he asked, "What's wrong? It sounds noisy back there."

"A few merchant caravans are unloading their goods."

Pei Mu walked over, wrapped his arms around him, and felt that his hands were still ice cold. He simply took them into his own palms to warm them.

Zhong Yizhu looked toward the window with some worry. "The rain doesn't seem like it'll let up anytime soon. We won't be stuck here tomorrow, will we?"

"Don't worry," Pei Mu said with certainty. "It'll stop later tonight. Tomorrow the roads might be muddy, but we'll definitely be able to leave."

Zhong Yizhu knew that people like Pei Mu—hunters or skilled farmers—could read the weather. He couldn't read the weather himself, but Pei Mu's reassurance made him feel much better.

Every extra day here meant extra expenses, and his mother would be worried too. Since they hadn't solved anything and this path was a dead end, the sooner they returned, the sooner they could plan other ways.

Zhong Yizhu sneezed unexpectedly, making Pei Mu anxious again, afraid he might fall ill.

Fortunately, this time the hot water arrived soon after the waiter knocked. Pei Mu helped Zhong Yizhu wash his hair while he soaked in the bath to ward off the chill and avoid catching a cold.

After the bath, Pei Mu dressed him in his underclothes and tucked him into bed under the covers. Then he took Zhong Yizhu's rain-dampened outer robe and went out, intending to find a place to dry it by the fire.

It was just around noon, not quite meal time. The waiter managed to find him a spot in the kitchen to dry the clothes, but Pei Mu, still worried, gave three copper coins to a young servant who was picking vegetables nearby, asking him to prepare a bowl of ginger soup.

The rain fell in a steady drizzle as Pei Mu, carrying the dried clothes and the ginger soup, made his way back from the kitchen. He heard an argument coming from a side room.

The inn's main building had three floors: the first floor was the lobby, serving regular diners; the second and third floors had rooms for overnight guests. The side buildings in the back courtyard, which the waiter had directed the merchants to earlier, were clearly used for storing goods.

Pei Mu was never one to be interested in other people's business. He didn't even glance over and was about to walk away when a man's raised voice mentioned the word "spices," making him freeze in his tracks.

The next moment, a sturdy man burst out of the side room. It was the same man who had earlier called out for the waiter to guide them to unload the goods.

The man was clearly furious. His straw rain cape was still on, making him look disheveled. He kicked at a patch of withered grass on the ground, only to kick up a spray of muddy water.

Ignoring the curious looks, he turned around in frustration and headed for the livestock shed in the back. But then he heard someone call out behind him.

"Hold on, sir. Can we take a look at the spices you haven't managed to sell yet?"

Zhong Yizhu was sitting on the bed, wrapped in the quilt, spacing out. The bed was right by the door, so to keep anyone from accidentally entering, the bed curtain had been let down. It hid Zhong Yizhu from view but also blocked his line of sight. When the door opened, he called out nervously, "Pei Mu?"

"It's me."

Pei Mu came over and lifted the curtain, handing the ginger soup to Zhong Yizhu. He had just tested it; after carrying it all the way up, it was now at the perfect temperature to drink.

Zhong Yizhu wrinkled his nose at the smell of the ginger soup but obediently took it and drank it all.

The next moment, a small piece of sweet malt candy slipped into his mouth, quickly masking the unpleasant taste. Zhong Yizhu bit the candy and looked up at Pei Mu, who stroked his hair with a rare look of excitement.

"Zhu Ge'er, I'm taking you to see something."

·

Chen Fusheng had never imagined that a single trading trip would cause him to become estranged from his old friends.

They came from Quzhou Prefecture, a land rich in spices. Hearing that Rongyang Prefecture was wealthy and fond of fragrances, a group of friends had pooled their money to buy spices and headed there to trade.

But they lacked experience and had no connections. Full of ambition when they set out, they ended up not even recovering their costs. Not only did they have two carts of unsold spices left, but they also endured a lot of anger and frustration. Disheartened, the others started blaming him—the one who had first proposed the venture.

Chen Fusheng felt wronged himself. He had saved up some silver over the years working as a guard for a wealthy family. With both parents dead and being alone in the world, after leaving his employer, his relatives had all had their eyes on his money. Some had advised him to buy a few acres of good farmland and settle down, but he wanted to take a gamble while he was still young.

He had thought of this trade route because he had seen his former employer make money from trade, and he believed there was less competition since few people traveled this route.

He had originally planned to test the route himself, but when he casually mentioned his plan over a meal with childhood friends, several of them wanted in, forming a small caravan.

They had pooled together for four carts of spices, but in Rongyang Prefecture's city, they were repeatedly squeezed and underpriced, nearly tricked into signing a contract that would have given away the spices for nothing. Terrified by the experience, they hastily left Rongyang and decided to sell the remaining spices in the towns along the way, hoping to at least recover their capital and travel expenses without incurring a loss.

Little did they know that even that plan would be no easy task. Traveling all the way from Rongyang to here, they had only sold a small portion of the two carts. And now, stopped by heavy rain, they had argued again. The other three blamed him entirely, as if that would give them an excuse to tell their families back home. One voice against three, he was naturally frustrated.

Chen Fusheng was holding in his anger, planning to set up a stall in Rongcheng County as soon as the rain stopped and sell off the remaining spices, then just go back and dissolve the group. But then, unexpectedly, someone at the inn expressed interest in buying the spices.

His companions had all gone to the dormitory to rest, so he waited alone in the storage room, half-doubting. Before long, the young man who had said he wanted to buy brought along a handsome young man.

Chen Fusheng was thoroughly surprised. When Pei Mu said he was going to find someone to take a look, he had assumed it would be an elder brother or a senior to make the decision. He never expected it to be a young man.

His heart immediately grew uneasy.

After exchanging greetings, Zhong Yizhu, who had heard the general idea from Pei Mu on the way down, stepped forward and opened the nearest crate to check the quality. His eyes lit up.

The wooden crates loaded on the carts had been stacked in a corner of the storeroom. With the sky dark outside, the storeroom was dim as well. Pei Mu fetched a lantern so Zhong Yizhu could examine them closely.

Zhong Yizhu kept his expression neutral and opened every single crate to examine the spices.

He hadn't expected much, but now he was genuinely pleasantly surprised. Although the spices didn't fill two full carts, they had a good variety of types. A few types he rarely used, but he could always experiment with them later and maybe find a use.

Chen Fusheng watched the young man sniffing and peering around, and grew more uncertain. He began to suspect it was just a young couple messing with him. Meanwhile, Zhong Yizhu grew more satisfied the more he saw.

Since Rongyang Prefecture had well-developed waterways, most spices came from Anchuan Prefecture, which was also rich in spices and connected by water routes. He hadn't realized that the spices from Quzhou Prefecture could be this good—mellow in scent, with a subtle fragrance that he liked even more than those from Anchuan!

Chen Fusheng had been worn down by all the people and troubles he had encountered on this trip. He simply decided to let the young man have his look; after all, it wouldn't cost him anything. So when Zhong Yizhu suddenly spoke to him, he didn't respond in time.

Zhong Yizhu looked at the somewhat dazed Chen Fusheng and repeated himself, "I'll take all these spices. Name your price, Boss Chen."

Chen Fusheng had never imagined that such a young man would really want to buy all their spices, and in one go—everything. A surreal feeling washed over him, and he feared he was being toyed with and would end up disappointed.

Steadying himself, he quoted the price they had been selling at earlier. In truth, it was lower than the price they had originally planned to sell for before setting out, but they couldn't sell at a higher price no matter what.

When Zhong Yizhu heard it, he realized it was even lower than the price he had paid when he bought in bulk from the Spice Street in Songyun County, and the quality was better. It was an incredibly good deal for him.

Seeing that the young man only pondered for a moment and agreed without even bargaining, and then motioned for him to weigh and tally the amount, Chen Fusheng's face lit up with barely contained happiness.

He had never expected that the smoothest transaction of the entire trip would happen under these circumstances. It saved them further hassle and eliminated the risk of losing money on unsold spices.

Thus, a deal was struck that left both parties extremely satisfied.

Chen Fusheng gave generous measures and voluntarily rounded down the total for Zhong Yizhu. When he learned that Zhong Yizhu and the others planned to find a cart to transport the spices tomorrow, he even offered to help store them properly.

Zhong Yizhu asked if they would come back to Rongyang Prefecture to sell spices again. Chen Fusheng shook his head dejectedly. The spice trade in Rongyang was something they couldn't figure out. This time, they had learned their lesson, and they wouldn't be coming back.

Zhong Yizhu didn't press the matter. The spices he had bought would be enough to stock his stall until after the New Year. And who knew what things would be like after the New Year? Besides, his stall didn't use enough to warrant a special trip from them. He couldn't offer them any guidance, only wished them a safe journey.

Once the goods were counted, the total came to eighty-six taels of silver. Zhong Yizhu had specifically brought a hundred-tael banknote this time, and Pei Mu braved the rain to go to the money exchange and convert it into a hundred taels of silver cash to pay for the goods.

Meanwhile, Chen Fusheng's friends might have been celebrating the sold-out goods in ways unknown, but in their room, Zhong Yizhu, his eyes sparkling with joy, hugged Pei Mu and refused to sleep for half the night.

After dinner, Pei Mu also called for water to bathe, and both of them smelled of the same soapberry fragrance.

Thinking about the unexpected turn of events that led to buying higher-quality and more cost-effective spices, Zhong Yizhu felt incredibly happy. Even as Pei Mu covered his eyes and held him down, he still didn't want to sleep.

He struggled a bit, grabbed Pei Mu's hand from his eyes and pulled it to his chest, leaned in to kiss it, and said in a sweet voice, "This time, it's all thanks to you. You're a lucky star."

Pei Mu, who had been called a jinx for half his life, heard for the first time that he was a lucky star.

Looking into Zhong Yizhu's sparkling eyes, he could feel the genuine joy radiating from him.

Thinking about the sneering looks of the stall owners in the Spice Street and Zhong Yizhu's plans to open a shop after the New Year, a vague idea began to take shape in Pei Mu's mind.

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Author's note: Thanks for the nutrient solution and thunder~~ Mwah mwah mwah mwah.