Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 30

“It’s no trouble,” Lu Sheng said with a smile, opening the courtyard gate and inviting her in. “Wait a moment; I’ll wash my hands and then go to the winery with you.”

“Mhm,” Lin Shuqing replied gently.

Lu Sheng quickly gave some instructions to Qi Nan and then left with Lin Shuqing.

After inspecting the five-grain liquor, Lin Shuqing was very satisfied and immediately placed an order for a thousand jin (catties) of the new liquor.

After signing the contract, Lu Sheng walked Lin Shuqing out and took the opportunity to ask her about the sales of alcohol in her restaurant.

“The best seller is rice wine. During the flower seasons, we also have some floral wines, such as peach blossom wine, osmanthus wine, and chrysanthemum wine,” Lin Shuqing explained in detail to Lu Sheng. “Floral wines are most popular among literati.”

Lu Sheng knew about the floral wines Lin Shuqing mentioned. They are flower-scented rice wines made with rice wine as the base, with flower petals added during the brewing process.

The characteristic, or rather, the shortcoming of rice wine is its short shelf life; even after high-temperature sterilization, it can only be stored for two to three months. Therefore, floral wines are strictly seasonal, and they can’t be enjoyed for long once the flower season has passed.

However, if the alcohol base were switched to white liquor (baijiu), the finished product could be stored for a long time.

This way, floral and fruit wines would not be limited by the flower and fruit seasons.

“Are there any fruit wines that are particularly well-liked?” Lu Sheng asked again.

According to Lu Sheng’s memory, there were no fruit wine makers in Binhe County, but she didn’t know if there would be any in a prefecture like Qingzhou.

“Fruit wine? Wine made from fruit?” Lin Shuqing asked, puzzled. She thought for a moment and said, “I did once taste a grape wine from the Xijue Kingdom. It was clear and sweet, with a fruity aroma.”

Qingzhou Prefecture was the most prosperous city in the Xiliang Kingdom besides the capital. If there was no fruit wine in Qingzhou Prefecture, it meant that no one in the Liang Kingdom produced fruit wine.

It seemed that making fruit wine was a good choice.

And floral wine—since the Xiliang people were accustomed to drinking chrysanthemum wine, she would start with that, especially since it was still the chrysanthemum season.

Xiliang people love to drink chrysanthemum tea, and the southern Qinzhou is even famous for producing chrysanthemums.

Lu Sheng thought about checking the county’s tea shops tomorrow if she had time.

“Is Xiao Sheng planning to brew floral and fruit wines?” Lin Shuqing asked with a gentle smile.

“Yes, I’m preparing to try brewing some fruit wine and chrysanthemum wine,” Lu Sheng replied.

“Well, once you’ve brewed the fruit wine, you must tell me immediately, so I can try what it tastes like,” Lin Shuqing said with a laugh.

Lu Sheng smiled and said, “That is a certainty.”

“The yellow chrysanthemums of Qinzhou are the most famous. Will the winery have to go to Qinzhou to purchase them for making chrysanthemum wine?” Lin Shuqing asked.

“Go to Qinzhou to buy?” Lu Sheng was confused.

Lin Shuqing smiled and explained, “If the winery intends to produce chrysanthemum wine, it will certainly need to purchase a large quantity. In that case, the price will definitely be cheapest by buying directly in Qinzhou.”

“Could it be that Xiao Sheng is considering purchasing at double the price from a tea merchant?”

“Double the price?” Lu Sheng was shocked. “Qinzhou is less than three hundred li from Binhe County. Why would the price of chrysanthemums differ so much?”

“Has Xiao Sheng heard of the Hengchanglong Business Association?” Lin Shuqing asked.

“Hengchanglong Business Association?” Lu Sheng shook her head. She had not heard of it.

“In the twelfth year of Shengqing, Qingzhou was frequently hit by disasters, and the people suffered greatly. The Qingzhou Prefecture, in collaboration with the owners of the six largest commercial firms, jointly founded the Qingzhou Business Association for mutual disaster relief and aid to the populace.”

“During the disaster relief period, many smaller merchants also joined. After the disaster, the Qingzhou Business Association did not disband but was renamed the Hengchanglong Business Association. It slowly transitioned from initial mutual help to a society for merchant management, industry rule-making, dispute resolution, and price stabilization.”

“The tea leaves in Binhe County and even Qingzhou Prefecture are controlled by the Hengchanglong Business Association. How tea is sold, where which type of tea is sold, and the selling price of the tea are all determined by them.”

“Tea has always been highly profitable and is the main commodity controlled by the association,” Lin Shuqing said. “Apart from a small portion sold at herbal medicine shops, the remaining large quantities of chrysanthemums are in the hands of the tea merchants. The market price of chrysanthemums in Binhe County is nearly double the price if purchased directly from the flower farmers in Qinzhou.”

“The price of chrysanthemums isn’t high, so if you’re just buying it to drink, it’s acceptable. But if the winery is going to make chrysanthemum wine, it’s most suitable to buy in Qinzhou.”

“So that’s how it is.” Lu Sheng nodded in realization. “I truly didn’t know there was such a mechanism. Thank you, Shuqing, for informing me.”

“It’s nothing,” Lin Shuqing replied with a gentle smile. “If you decide to go to Qinzhou to buy tea, I know a tea household with whom I am acquainted, which owns a hundred mu of chrysanthemum fields. I can introduce you to them.”

“I need to discuss this with my uncle first before making a decision.” Lu Sheng cupped her hands and smiled, “If we do go to buy chrysanthemums, I will have to trouble Sister Lin to introduce us then.”

Hearing her form of address, Lin Shuqing was slightly startled, then her eyes sparkled, and she said softly, “Alright, Xiao Sheng can come to find me anytime.”

The two walked and chatted, and had already returned to the entrance of the Lu family home.

“In a few more days, it will be Qinzhou’s Grand Chrysanthemum Festival.”

“The Grand Chrysanthemum Festival? Is it a festival dedicated to admiring chrysanthemums?”

“Exactly,” Lin Shuqing said with emotion. “I went once a few years ago. Chrysanthemums bloomed all over the city; the spectacle was magnificent and beautiful, leaving a lasting memory.”

“Sounds nice.”

Lu Sheng hadn’t celebrated a festival in many years and was quite interested in the Grand Chrysanthemum Festival Lin Shuqing mentioned.

She wondered what a city full of blooming flowers would look like during the Grand Chrysanthemum Festival.

“Sister!”

Yu Ling heard Lu Sheng’s voice from inside the house and shot out like an arrow released from a bow.

“Sister, did you go to pick fruit?”

“Where’s the fruit? Where’s the fruit?”

“Where’s the fruit?”

Yu Ling flew up and down around Lu Sheng’s hands, but couldn’t see the fruit it wanted.

When Lin Shuqing saw it, she asked doubtfully, “Yu Ling?”

Yu Ling quickly landed behind Lu Sheng’s collar, then carefully peeked out its bird head. Upon recognizing Lin Shuqing, it called out, “Aunt!”

“Aunt?” Lu Sheng was bewildered by the call.

“This parrot was gifted to me by a friend. I’m not good at raising birds, so I gave it to my niece. That ‘Aunt’ must be what it learned from her.”

“So this parrot can actually speak human language,” Lin Shuqing chuckled softly. “When my friend told me it could talk, I didn’t believe it and had never heard it speak. Today, I’ve heard it clearly.”

“I see it not only speaks human language, but it seems to be able to converse with people, too?” Lin Shuqing asked.

“It can understand and speak,” Lu Sheng nodded. “So, Yu Ling, you were raised by someone? Then how did you end up in Lu’er Village?”

After asking, Lu Sheng looked at Yu Ling, “How did you get here?”

“Carriage,” Yu Ling sputtered out two words, still hiding behind Lu Sheng and refusing to come out.

Lu Sheng suddenly remembered that on the first day she transmigrated, she ran into Lin Shuqing’s carriage at the village entrance, and Yu Ling had flown to her house that same day.

Remembering that day’s events, Lu Sheng narrowed her eyes, pulled the bird out from behind her neck, and spoke in a less-than-kind tone.

“Starved for three days?”

“Homeless?”

Seeing the parrot’s reaction to Lin Shuqing, Lu Sheng highly suspected that a certain bird had deliberately run away from home.

“Sister~” Yu Ling whined, rubbing its crest against her hand.

Lu Sheng ignored it and ruthlessly handed it to Lin Shuqing, “Since this bird is Shuqing’s, let it be returned to its rightful owner.”

“No~ No~”

As soon as she slightly loosened her grip, Yu Ling swiftly flew up, dashed through the courtyard gate, and disappeared.

“I’ll catch it when I go back and send it over to you,” Lu Sheng said, raising her hands helplessly.

“It’s alright. I can see it genuinely likes being with Xiao Sheng,” Lin Shuqing smiled gracefully. “Then I will give it to you.”

“There’s no need to give it away. How much did you buy this bird for? I’ll give you the money.”

Lu Sheng had been with the greedy parrot for nearly a month and had developed some affection for it. She thought that since Lu Guangzhi’s thrush cost twenty liang (taels) of silver, the parrot would probably be worth about the same.

She remembered that in her original world, a thrush should have been more expensive than a parrot. She wondered if the same was true in the Xiliang Kingdom.

She planned to reimburse Lin Shuqing, effectively buying the parrot.

“It was also a gift from a friend, so I don’t know how much silver she spent,” Lin Shuqing thought for a moment and said, “It likes it here, so let it stay. Just think of it as Xiao Sheng looking after it for me for now.”

“Alright then.”

The two exchanged a few more words, and then Lin Shuqing took her leave.

Lu Sheng entered the courtyard. The herbal medicines were neatly stacked, but she didn’t see Qi Nan, so Lu Sheng guessed she must have already gone home.

After dinner, Lu Sheng spoke with Qiang Zhishu about the chrysanthemums. Qi Zhishu knew a little more than she did.

She had heard of the Hengchanglong Business Association and was aware of the tea monopoly in Qingzhou and Binjiang County. Regarding whether or not to go to Qinzhou to buy chrysanthemums, Qi Zhishu also suggested consulting with Lu Hualin and Village Head Lu before making a decision.

Afterward, Lu Sheng brought up the matter of Yu Ling. Qi Zhishu’s expression sank slightly, and she frowned as she asked Lu Sheng, “Do you know the value of Yu Ling?”

“How much money?”

Hearing her ask that, Lu Sheng suddenly felt that a cockatiel must not be cheap in the Liang Kingdom.

“A hundred jin,” Qi Zhishu uttered softly.

“What?!” Lu Sheng repeated in surprise. “A hundred liang of gold?”

“Mhm,” Qi Zhishu nodded. “Moreover, this bird has gained intelligence and can speak human language, so the price might be even higher.”

That meant it was even more than a hundred liang of gold?!

Converted to silver, that would be over a thousand liang of silver!!

“It’s worth that much?!”

Lu Sheng was truly shocked.

She had honestly never expected that this greedy, dramatic little fat bird could be worth so much silver.

Lu Sheng clicked her tongue, “A single cockatiel can be exchanged for two shops.”

Qi Zhishu saw that Lu Sheng had missed the implication in her words and slightly furrowed her brow, saying, “Such an expensive parrot. She says she’ll give it away. Don’t you find anything improper about that?”

Lu Sheng hadn’t known a parrot could be this expensive, and she was embarrassed that she had just offered to give Lin Shuqing money to buy the bird.

She couldn’t afford it at all!

Fortunately, Lin Shuqing was thoughtful enough not to say how much the bird was worth, or it would have been truly awkward.

“I thought it was similar to my second uncle’s thrush, only worth ten or twenty liang. But she didn’t exactly give it away,” Lu Sheng said. “I said I would return it to her, but Yu Ling flew back by itself and didn’t want to leave, so Shuqing said to keep it here for the time being and help her look after it.”

Qi Zhishu looked at her but did not speak, as if she didn’t agree with what she said.

“Besides, Yu Ling has its own wings, and I didn’t lock it up. Where it wants to go is its freedom. It’s not like she gave the parrot to me,” Lu Sheng continued to explain.

She had never regarded Yu Ling as a caged pet. When she offered to buy it, it was because Yu Ling didn’t want to go back, and she just wanted to let it be free.

“The key point is not Yu Ling,” Qi Zhishu sighed.

“Hmm?” Lu Sheng asked, confused.

“You’ve only met her a few times, and Lin Shuqing is willing to give you such a valuable bird. Don’t you think it’s a little too familiar?” Qi Zhishu stated her concern.

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