The Lady Butcher and the Delicate Bride - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

In the blink of an eye, autumn was approaching. The crops in other people’s fields had entered their ripening stage, but in the Chu family’s fields, the fruit was so heavy it bent the backs of the plants. It was long past time to harvest. Mu Dingxiang and Chu Yu knew that all of this was thanks to that magical little bamboo sprite in their home.

However, the biggest problem at hand was that the house had not yet been built. There was no place to store the rice and corn once they were harvested. Furthermore, thanks to the silt from the upper reaches of the river valley, the nutrients were abundant, and the harvest was exceptionally bountiful nearly double that of other farmers.

Yet it wasn’t so outrageous as to attract unwanted attention from others.

For the first time, Mu Dingxiang felt a bit of a headache over such a bountiful harvest.

Before going to sleep that night, Mu Dingxiang asked if Chu Yu could find anyone in the county willing to purchase grain that hadn’t been dried yet. There was simply no place at home to spread it out for drying, so they were willing to lower the price slightly.

The next day, after selling her meat, Chu Yu went into the county to inquire. She mainly looked at the large grain merchants, but their prices were bound to be much lower than those of other shops.

Having farmed for many years, Mu Dingxiang knew this round of harvest was of exceptional quality and appearance, so she had prepared some samples for Chu Yu to take along.

Chu Yu asked at several shops. Looking at the samples, they all thought the quality was excellent, but as soon as they heard they would have to dry it themselves, they all refused to buy. Two shops were willing to take it, but the price they offered was exceptionally low.

Chu Yu thought of Mu Dingxiang’s hard work in the fields every day; if it were sold at a pittance, the girl would surely be heartbroken.

Just as she was wandering in front of several grain shops, she happened to run into Ji Yunniang and her husband, who were there to stock up for their restaurant.

After greeting them, Chu Yu asked, “Is Sister Ji here to restock?”

Master Liu frequently purchased meat from Chu Yu’s butcher shop, and the couple was quite familiar with her.

Ji Yunniang couldn’t help but complain to her, “We’re here to get some grain. The restaurant has had a lot of customers lately, so we’re stocking up more. But the rice, flour, and vegetables in these shops change every day, and the quality is inconsistent. It makes the food at the restaurant taste different from day to day, and the diners have mentioned it several times.”

Master Liu was a merchant, but he had a fairly honest and kind disposition. He followed his wife’s lead in complaining, “The prices are also rising day by day; those of us running shops can hardly bear it.”

Hearing this, Chu Yu’s eyes darted around. She looked at the samples in her small basket, quickly took them out, and held them to her chest, saying to the couple, “Master Liu, take a look at my grain and see what you think.”

Hearing this, Master Liu looked into the basket. There was a small bundle of rice ears. He broke one open to see grains that were crystal clear, bright in color, and emitted a pleasant rice fragrance.

Having been in the food business for decades, Master Liu saw at first glance that this was top-quality rice. He hurriedly asked, “Whose rice is this? It is truly superior-grade rice!”

Chu Yu smiled without speaking and handed him the other items: sweet and soft corn and golden beans, every single one of them plump and pleasing to the eye.

Master Liu could no longer hide the surprise and joy on his face. “Boss Chu, we’ve had a friendship for so many years; how could you keep such good goods hidden from me?”

Ji Yunniang, however, saw through it and laughed, “Chu Yu, is this the grain San-ya grew at home?”

Chu Yu squinted, her eyes full of smiles. “Sister Ji really has sharp eyes; you saw at a glance that these are plants grown by Xiangxiang.”

Ji Yunniang said, “I’m not that divine; I just guessed from your mysterious acting. But truthfully, this grain has the best appearance I’ve ever seen. Even the few mu of land at my parents’ house, though tended very diligently, can’t produce such good goods. It seems the feng shui at your Chu family’s place is quite good, and the food grown there is better than elsewhere.”

“It’s just so-so. It’s mainly that Xiangxiang is hardworking; if she has nothing to do, she buries her head in the fields weeding and fertilizing. It would be hard for it not to grow well.”

Ji Yunniang was instantly distracted again. “That child San-ya is truly piteous, but it’s rare that she didn’t grow up ‘crooked.’ She’s so diligent; I truly like that girl. Chu Yu, you’ve picked up a treasure.”

Master Liu hurriedly interrupted them, “Boss Chu, after talking for so long, you grew this grain yourself? If you have a lot, why not just send it to my restaurant? We all know each other; there’s no need to wait for those merchants to buy it and then for me to buy it from them—I’d have to pay an extra layer of money then.”

Chu Yu acted troubled and said, “Ten mu of land isn’t much, but altogether it’s about ten thousand catties. The two of us don’t eat much, so after leaving enough for our own rations, we’re selling the rest. But there is a problem: we haven’t built our house yet and have no place to dry it. Master Liu, if you have a place for drying, we can send it over. Of course, the price will be a bit cheaper than elsewhere.”

Hearing that it hadn’t been dried, Master Liu showed a look of hesitation, but he squeezed the rice ears in his hand, feeling quite reluctant to let them go.

However, once Ji Yunniang knew the grain belonged to the Chu family, her feminine sensibility immediately tipped the scales in their favor. She tugged on Master Liu’s sleeve and said, “Husband, our courtyard is large enough. This grain is so good that you couldn’t buy it elsewhere. The servants at home haven’t been very busy lately, so let’s just bring it to the house to dry. I’ve been idle lately too, so I can help keep an eye on it.”

Ji Yunniang had been the standout beauty of the villages around Furong Village back in the day, and Master Liu had put in a great deal of effort to marry her. Over the years, they had raised a daughter and a son, their business had prospered, and their relationship had grown even better. Seeing Ji Yunniang speak up to help, he wavered.

Chu Yu quickly added fuel to the fire, saying, “If Master Liu is free, he can go to my fields to take a look first. It won’t be too late to decide after you’ve seen it.”

Ji Yunniang followed up, “It just so happens I haven’t seen my mother in a long time; we can head back to visit her on the way. It’s only a two-hour round trip; it won’t delay much.”

Hearing this, Master Liu was moved and slapped his thigh, saying, “Fine, then let’s go have a look. We’ll decide after seeing it.”

So the three of them set off directly for Furong Village. Chu Yu rode her horse in front, while Ji Yunniang and her husband followed in their carriage.

In a short while, they arrived at Furong Village. Ji Yunniang and her husband decided to look at the grain first before going to the Ji house to see Old Lady Ji.

Mu Dingxiang was currently standing in the field talking to Zhu-er. Looking at the rows of corn so plump they seemed ready to burst through their husks, she felt both joy and worry. She was joyful because she had never raised such good grain—she had earlier snapped off several ears of corn to boil, and the taste was many times better than what she used to grow at the Mu house. The other beans and rice were also growing very impressively; this was undoubtedly a bumper year.

She was worried because she had no place to dry it and didn’t know what to do.

Hearing the sound of hooves in the distance, she knew Chu Yu was back, but hearing the sound of rolling wheels as well, she knew she wasn’t alone and hurriedly told Zhu-er to hide.

As soon as Master Liu crossed the stone bridge, he was stunned by the vast golden scene before him. Along the way here, the roadside fields were filled with uneven grain—some not yet ripe, appearing in patches of green and yellow that made one lose their appetite. This was especially true of the Mu family’s fields near the road; the crops were a mess, falling over in the fields, with weeds taking the opportunity to grow among them. It would be hard to even know where to start harvesting.

Now, separated by a river, the distinction was crystal clear.

Master Liu hurriedly found a place to stop the carriage, helped his wife down, and crouched by the edge of the field to pull at the crops.

Mu Dingxiang just happened to emerge from a large patch of corn. Seeing Ji Yunniang, she gave her a sweet smile: “Auntie Ji.”

Since Old Lady Ji’s birthday feast, Ji Yunniang hadn’t seen Mu Dingxiang. Seeing her this time, she felt the child had grown a bit taller again. Although her small face and arms were tanned from the sun, it was clear she had been well-fed lately; the places that should have flesh were starting to fill out. The appearance of a beauty was beginning to show, making one feel a sense of pity and affection.

Ji Yunniang pulled her over and reached out to touch her hair. It felt hot to the touch, and she scolded gently, “This child, not even wearing a hat in this heat; aren’t you afraid of being baked silly?”

“It doesn’t matter. I wear a hat when I’m working; the sun can’t get to me.” After saying that, she put her hat back on, shading more than half of her face.

On the other side, Master Liu finished checking the rice ears in the paddy and went to look at the beans and corn. His face was full of joy as he ran excitedly to Ji Yunniang’s side. “Wife, everything produced in this Chu family field is a treasure! To be perfectly blunt, this grain is better than the tributes sent to the Imperial Palace.”

Hearing him say this, Ji Yunniang couldn’t help but glare at him. “If it’s good, it’s good. Why bring up tributes or no tributes?”

The grain was excellent; if the restaurant used such good ingredients, business would surely boom.

Currently, competition between Wuwei Shiju and Tianxiang Manor was quite fierce. Seeing the flow of customers wavering between the two establishments was truly anxiety-inducing.

Chu Yu took the opportunity to say, “This is the only year we won’t be able to dry the grain. We plan to build a house after the autumn harvest, so next year we’ll have a place to dry and store it; it won’t be so troublesome then.”

Hearing this, Master Liu immediately made a decision. He looked at Chu Yu and said, “Then this year, we’ll transport it to my residence for drying. However, as for the price…”

Ji Yunniang slapped his hand and said, “Chu Yu and her family are still living in a cave; you still want to squeeze her on the price? If you don’t perform well this year, next year when she can dry it herself, there will be plenty of people wanting to buy her grain—how could it still be your turn then?”

Prompted by his wife, Master Liu gave a somewhat sheepish smile and said, “It’s a habit to save money for the restaurant; forgive me, forgive me.”

As soon as Mu Dingxiang saw that there was hope of selling the grain and that it was Auntie Ji’s restaurant buying it, she knew she didn’t have to worry about the price. She couldn’t help but be happy, her eyes sparkling.

Seeing the two of them hand-in-hand with looks of surprise and joy, Ji Yunniang couldn’t help but feel a surge of happiness as well.

In the end, they set the price at the normal market purchase price, which meant Master Liu was effectively providing labor to help with processing and drying for free. However, his inner calculations were also clear: once next year came, the price for Chu Yu’s grain would certainly rise. By gaining the advantage now, he wouldn’t have to compete with other large grain buyers later. Furthermore, by buying grain directly from the farmer, he saved on intermediary fees. Overall, it was quite a bit cheaper, and in the end, the bulk of the profit would still be his.

With such a calculation, his heart was even more joyful, and his attitude toward the two of them was several degrees better than at the start. They agreed to come collect the grain in three days. Chu Yu and Mu Dingxiang had finally solved a major concern, and they instantly felt much lighter.

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