Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Zhong Yizhu, after confirming that Yao Le could manage the shop well, rearranged his own schedule—spending one day at home making incense and one day tending the shop. With trustworthy helpers on both sides, he finally felt somewhat at ease, and the shop's inventory turnover wasn't as tight as before.

Pei Mu continued to set up his stall at Spice Street as usual, and Zhong Yizhu also told Kong He and Yao Le to go to Spice Street to find Pei Mu if anything came up they couldn't handle.

While Pei Mu waited for replies from the two households in the village, people from neighboring villages caught wind of it and wanted to join the caravan. Pei Mu still needed more hands, so he didn't turn them away outright, but this made the vetting more difficult. Unlike in his own village, where Liu Mingfeng knew everyone's background, with outsiders it came down to Pei Mu's own ability to read people.

In the end, the two households from Liushan Village decided to go, and Pei Mu also picked two households from other villages. They weren't from the same village, but they shared a common trait: they weren't from prominent clans, and their connections to relatives and in-laws in the village were weak.

Once he'd picked his people, Pei Mu prepared to begin training. There weren't any dangerous bandits along the route—the largest bandit den had already been wiped out—but caution was still paramount.

He'd spent four years in the army, so he could simplify the training drills and use them directly.

Pei Mu sat behind his spice stall. After noon, the crowd thinned, and he put up his umbrella, staring absently at the spices before him while mulling over the plan for later.

Today was the first day of training they'd agreed on, so he needed to pack up early and head back.

The afternoon sun was high, making everyone sluggish, so the sound of someone running fast seemed unusual.

People looked up and saw a tall young man with a worried look striding quickly toward Pei Mu's stall.

·

Bamboo Fragrance Shop.

Zhong Yizhu wasn't at the shop today. Yao Le had gotten a lot more comfortable with the incense business over the past few days. He was excellent at dealing with people—though he didn't have Zhong Yizhu's remarkable memory for every customer and their preferences, his sharp observation skills made him a natural at business.

He cherished this opportunity. If he could stay on, his family would bring in more money each month. Every night, he went over what Zhong Yizhu had taught him, recalling the customers who had come and the sales he'd made. Knowing he wasn't as quick-witted as Zhong Yizhu, he worked harder at remembering and thinking about how to do better.

He had never used incense before, but now he tried each one, sampling and sniffing them one by one. Whenever he had questions, he jotted them down to ask Zhong Yizhu when he came to the shop, so he wouldn't appear ignorant in front of customers.

That day, as usual, he tidied up the samples after customers left—tossing used bamboo sticks and rearranging items that had been moved out of place. He was a stickler for cleanliness, keeping himself neat and presentable, and putting great care into maintaining the shop.

Kong He was wiping down the shelves on the other side with a cloth. He was naturally quiet and rarely waited on customers, mostly handling chores like organizing and carrying goods. But he was diligent and strong, so he was a solid worker.

After learning about Kong He's father, Yao Le felt a sense of kinship. When there were no customers, he would teach Kong He about incense and how to sample it. Though Zhong Yizhu hadn't asked Kong He to learn these things yet, Yao Le believed there was no harm in learning more—what if it became useful later?

Even though Kong He was an indentured servant, Yao Le didn't look down on him, nor did he worry that teaching Kong He would get him fired. He was confident in his own abilities. Teaching Kong He was good for Kong He and good for the shop. Zhong Yizhu trusted him, so he did his best to have Zhong Yizhu's back.

After tidying the counter, Yao Le went back to the desk and opened the ledger to record accounts. He picked up the brush, more careful and tense in how he sat and moved than before.

Before this, Yao Le had never used paper or a brush—those were things only scholars could use. As a young man, he'd never imagined he'd have the chance.

Though he wasn't writing proper characters, he made his marks as neatly as possible so Zhong Yizhu could easily recognize them. Looking at his work, he felt an inexplicable sense of pride. Even the village's bookkeepers had to be young scholars or degree holders—and here he was, keeping accounts too, just as good as anyone.

But this method was convenient for him at the cost of extra work for Zhong Yizhu. Yao Le knew this wasn't a long-term solution, and a bold idea popped into his head: maybe he could learn to read?

Zhong Yizhu was too busy, so Yao Le naturally couldn't ask him to teach—and besides, Zhong Yizhu was the boss; that wasn't his job. Yao Le figured that if he could keep this job long-term, he'd ask the scholar in the neighboring alley if he'd be willing to teach him how to read and write. There were no schools for men or women in the city, but Zhong Yizhu had shown him a different path.

But that was for later. After finishing his accounts, Yao Le carefully put down the brush and picked up the ledger, leaning in to blow the ink dry. Just then, a new customer came into the shop.

Yao Le quickly put down the ledger and went to greet her. A beautiful young woman stood before him, richly dressed, with two servants behind her. Recognizing her as a new customer, he introduced himself with a smile: "What does the young lady need? Our shop has a wide selection of incense products. Our new perfume and scented oils are very popular—would you like to take a look?"

She didn't respond to him, instead glancing between him and Kong He before asking, "Are you the shop's worker? Are your owners a Mr. Zhong and a Mr. Pei?"

Yao Le's heart skipped a beat, but he kept his composure and replied, "That's right. Does the young lady know the two owners? Should I pass along a message?"

The surnames of the shop's owners were easy to find out if you asked around, so there was no need to hide them. Yao Le knew that Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu had faced trouble since their street-stall days. Now, with someone like this appearing suddenly, he couldn't help but suspect trouble. His question was also a way to see what she was after.

The young woman nodded. "Then I've got the right place. No need to inform the owners. Just give me a run-down of your incense products—start with the perfume you mentioned. What scents do you have, and how many types in total?"

Yao Le grew more suspicious at her question. What normal customer asked how many types there were? This seemed like fishing for info about the shop. He quickly shot Kong He a glance and, while keeping her engaged, had her try some samples: "This way, miss. Many of our products can be sampled. Please see if anything catches your eye..."

Kong He caught Yao Le's signal and his heart skipped a beat. He slipped quietly out the back door, and as soon as it closed behind him, he took off running toward West Market. Fearing for the shop and for Yao Le, he ran as fast as he could, rushing to Pei Mu's stall in a blur and breathlessly explaining the situation.

Pei Mu listened to his urgent report, handed him the umbrella, and told him to pack up the stall and drive the cart back, while Pei Mu himself headed to the shop to handle things.

Aside from Liu's Fragrance Shop, the other incense shops in Songyun County had been reasonably cordial toward them. Pei Mu couldn't think of who might be trying to cause trouble. The new manager of Liu's Fragrance Shop was busy fighting over customers with the Spice Street vendors, so they probably didn't have time to bother them.

Pei Mu's mind raced as his feet moved swiftly—he was even faster than Kong He. The round trip took only about fifteen minutes.

But when he arrived at the shop, he found the situation different from what he'd imagined.

As he walked in, he heard an unfamiliar female voice: "Give me five boxes of each of the balms you just let me try—ten boxes each of the magnolia, crabapple, and plum blossom scents. Do you have any other products? Keep introducing them."

Yao Le stammered, "This... miss, are you sure you want all of these? We don't have that much stock on hand right now."

The young woman looked displeased. "I'm in charge of purchasing for my master's household. Just prepare what I asked for—are you afraid I can't pay?"

Just then, Yao Le spotted Pei Mu entering and immediately felt more confident. He'd initially worried she was there to probe the shop's secrets, then suspected she might be causing trouble. The wealthier families in Songyun County had all ordered incense from them, but none had ever made such a large purchase.

If she bought out their stock and then found an excuse to return everything—claiming defects or tampering—it would waste his time, hurt business with other customers, and damage the shop's reputation. Yao Le thought ahead and grew even more suspicious of her identity.

He deliberately introduced, "This is our shop's Boss Pei, the one you asked about earlier."

The young woman gave Pei Mu a respectful bow. "Greetings, Boss Pei. Please pass along my master's regards—Sixth Young Master sends his best to Boss Zhong."

Pei Mu understood immediately and replied, "He's well. Are you from Brother Yan's household?"

"Indeed. The incense Sixth Young Master brought back was shared among the other young masters and misses of the household. Our young miss was especially fond of it and sent me from the prefectural city to purchase more. Other masters also wanted some, so I was told to buy for them as well."

She was the head maid of the Yan household and didn't need to be so deferential to a small incense shop owner—usually it was the other way around. But since these were Sixth Young Master's friends, she made sure to observe proper courtesy.

Yao Le finally snapped back to reality. She was from the prefectural city, and even her maid dressed as well as some young ladies in town—what kind of wealthy household was this? And more importantly, such a wealthy family had come all this way to buy their incense. So what she'd ordered was real? Yao Le felt dizzy—this was a massive order!

He quickly apologized for his earlier rudeness.

"I didn't know who you were earlier and thought you might be a rival causing trouble. I'm really sorry. Let me offer you more samples."

Since it was a misunderstanding with prior context, she didn't hold it against him, only asking, "You said the stock isn't enough—is that true?"

Yao Le looked at Pei Mu, who said, "It's just that the stock in the shop isn't enough. Our incense-making site is elsewhere. If you need it urgently, miss, we can set the quantity and go fetch it—about two hours round trip."

Qinghe paused, then said, "Then I'll trouble you, Boss Pei. We're taking the boat back tomorrow morning, so it's best if it arrives today."

Soon, Kong He returned to the shop with the ox cart. Seeing the harmonious atmosphere inside, the worry that had gripped his heart finally eased.

By then, Qinghe had selected all the incense she needed. Pei Mu folded the list, blew it dry, and tucked it into his chest. Facing the midday sun, he drove the cart back toward the village.