Mo Sang – CH 265

Chapter 265. Mutual Dislike

Li Sangrou returned to her home in Yudai Lane. Blind Mi was sitting on the porch, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and sipping tea. Hei Ma, Xiao Lu, and the others squatted on either side of him, excitedly chatting.

Da Chang was standing in the courtyard, fetching water to wash the floor.

Seeing Li Sangrou enter, Hei Ma jumped up. “Boss’s back!”

Li Sangrou walked up to Blind Mi, looking him up and down. “You found me so quickly? Your nose’s got a good sense of smell?”

“Old Dong and the others went to buy ice and ran into Uncle Blind. He was standing in front of the ice shop, enjoying the cool air while they were breaking up the ice, so he came back with Old Dong,” Hei Ma quickly chimed in, answering for Blind Mi.

“This awful weather! It is already the seventh month, and it is still this hot!

Why are you in Yangzhou now? I thought you’d only remember Yangzhou after you’d conquered the world and everything was at peace!

They say they are almost at Hangzhou. ” Blind Mi slapped his palm-leaf fan, looking annoyed.

“I sent some things to Madam Meng. She said she’s going to auction off your mountain goods; the highest bidder wins?” Li Sangrou sat down next to Blind Mi.

“I said we should make it into shares, with annual dividends; it is a long-term plan, but she finds it too much trouble.” Blind Mi slapped his fan forcefully.

“What things did you bring? Where are they?” Li Sangrou did not answer Blind Mi’s question.

“They are with Senior Sister Qiao, just outside the city. Do you have anything planned for tomorrow? If not, go check on them.

I’ve been here for over half a year, and I have not seen a single penny yet, sigh.” Blind Mi looked troubled.

“Hmm, why are you staying outside the city? There are so many empty houses in the city,” Li Sangrou hummed in agreement, asking casually.

“It’s the sect’s rule.”

“Hmm, how about we invite them over tomorrow, along with Madam Meng? We can discuss it face-to-face,” Li Sangrou suggested. Seeing Blind Mi nod, she looked at Hei Ma and the others and asked, “Does anyone know about the house Madam Meng chose?”

“Me! Me! Me! I know best! I was the one who went there to inspect and take over that house!” Mazha quickly raised his hand.

“Then go and tell Madam Meng that I’ve invited Master Mi and Master Qiao over tomorrow. Ask her if that’s alright,” Li Sangrou instructed.

Mazha responded crisply and jumped up to run outside.

“That Madam Meng is too shrewd!” Blind Mi slapped his palm-leaf fan vigorously.

Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow and smiled.

……………………

The next day, a light drizzle began to fall in the middle of the night.

When Li Sangrou and Blind Mi left, Da Chang and Meng Yanqing had already gone out to buy supplies.

Their group of nearly a hundred people had only arrived in Yangzhou before the city gates closed the previous day. They had absolutely nothing—no firewood, oil, salt, pots and pans, bedding, washbasins, and so on.

Fortunately, the weather was hot, so they could easily make do for the night.

The next morning, of course, they had to hurry to buy supplies.

Li Sangrou and Blind Mi went out, found a place to eat breakfast, and when they arrived at the dock outside the city, Madam Meng’s large boat, which did not look particularly conspicuous from the outside, was already waiting at the dock.

Master Qiao, along with Song Qiming and Li Qi’an, had also arrived.

Song Qiming stood respectfully behind her master, Master Qiao, and quietly waved to Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou greeted Song Qiming and Li Qi’an, then bowed to Master Qiao, and let the three of them board the boat first.

A tarpaulin canopy had already been erected on the boat, covering the entire vessel.

Madam Meng and Aunt Wu greeted them in the cabin. Madam Meng warmly greeted Master Qiao, exchanged a few words of concern with Song Qiming and Li Qi’an, but ignored Blind Mi.

Aunt Wu greeted Master Qiao first, then Blind Mi, and then greeted Song Qiming and the others.

Blind Mi, head held high, perfunctorily returned Aunt Wu’s greeting, like a blind man who could not see, and arrogantly ignored Madam Meng, who was ignoring him as well.

Li Sangrou pretended not to notice them. Madam Meng made way for her, and she made way for Master Qiao before taking a seat in the open cabin.

Aunt Wu watched as tea was served, then pointed to a plate of delicate dried fruit and candied fruit placed in front of Song Qiming. “These are all your favorites. You said last time they were not sweet enough, so this time I had them add more honey. Try them again.”

After speaking, she pointed to the dried meat in front of Li Qi’an. “This was made using a Sichuan method; the flavor is much stronger. Try it and see if you like it.”

Li Sangrou’s gaze shifted from the enjoying Song Qiming and Li Qi’an to Master Qiao, who was sitting and sipping tea.

No wonder Madam Meng liked Blind Mi’s fellow disciple; she was so easy to get along with, it was obvious!

“It’s wonderful that the Boss could come,” Master Qiao could not help but speak first.

Madam Meng smiled at Master Qiao.

“The bidding is not bad, but firstly, Madam Meng says the price should follow market trends; setting the price too high means no one will buy, which is pointless.

But the prices Madam Meng has set are all too low.

Secondly, even if the final bid is good, it is still a one-off deal. This kind of thing cannot be available every year. The resources from the mountains are all here; there’s no guarantee there will be more next year, and even if there are, there certainly will not be as much as this year.

Even if we can get through next year, what about the year after? And the year after that?” Master Qiao frowned deeply, looking genuinely worried.

“That’s why I said we cannot make it a one-off deal.” Blind Mi glared at Madam Meng.

Li Sangrou ignored Blind Mi and looked at Master Qiao with slight surprise.

Her anxiety and urgency were unexpected.

They’d never sold these things before, and they’d been doing just fine in the mountains. Now, it seemed like they were relying entirely on this for a living?

What happened in the mountains?

Li Sangrou looked at Madam Meng, who raised an eyebrow but did not speak.

“How’s the cotton planting this year?” Li Sangrou turned to Blind Mi and asked.

Blind Mi was taken aback by her question, and Master Qiao was even more confused. Madam Meng turned her head and glanced at the rain outside the boat.

“It’s good. I just received a letter from Senior Sister Wang a while ago. She said the cotton harvest in the fields was good. Compared to last year’s intensive farming, there were fewer cotton bolls, but not by much. The yield is quite good.” Blind Mi, momentarily stunned, quickly replied.

“How many seeds did you collect? Is it enough for the surrounding prefectures and counties of Jianle City?” Li Sangrou continued to ask.

“Definitely enough,” Blind Mi nodded immediately. “Senior Sister Wang said there would be a surplus.”

“How did the cotton you received last year go in spinning and weaving?” Li Sangrou turned to Madam Meng.

Madam Meng looked at Li Sangrou with a half-smile, and after a moment, replied, “Very good.”

“Give them twenty percent of this cotton cloth business,” Li Sangrou said directly, meeting Madam Meng’s sidelong glance.

“Twenty percent what? Net profit?” Madam Meng raised an eyebrow.

“Twenty percent is not much,” Li Sangrou smiled at Madam Meng.

Madam Meng snorted.

“It’s just a little cotton, and cotton cloth is not silk; it will not fetch a good price, this little bit of money…” Before Blind Mi could finish speaking, Li Sangrou glanced at him sideways, and he quickly swallowed the rest of his words.

“From now on, this twenty percent profit will be enough for your daily expenses on the mountain,” Li Sangrou said irritably.

Madam Meng looked at Blind Mi, who was tightly pursing his lips, and laughed.

“This is for food!” Li Sangrou looked at Master Qiao, who was staring wide-eyed and still not quite understanding. “Go back and organize those pills on the mountain, bring them to me, and I will find you a reliable supplier to make them into pills for sale. However, medicine is a life-saving thing, so it is not good to keep taking a cut. Let’s set a ten-year limit.

Within ten years, you will definitely have new prescriptions. For each prescription, take a cut for ten years.

For this item, take half of the net profit.

This money is enough for you to tinker with this and that.

If you can come up with something good and sell it for a lot of money, that would be even better.” Li Sangrou could not help but sigh.

“Are you looking for the Ye family of Anqing?” Madam Meng asked knowingly.

“Yes, you know them?” Li Sangrou asked.

“The number one medicine merchant in the world; everyone knows them, but they are only famous. My family does not deal in medicinal herbs, nor do we own a pharmacy,” Madam Meng replied with a smile, looking Li Sangrou up and down, and sighed. “You should be in business. With that kind of vision, you’d definitely become the richest merchant in the world.”

“I am a merchant by nature,” Li Sangrou sighed.

She had originally intended to grab some capital and then do business properly.

……………………

The boat rocked gently into the area where the Daxiangguo Temple was to be built.

The land had just been leveled, with piles of stones and a group of stonemasons chiseling away.

Li Sangrou disembarked and looked around. The stonemasons told her that the monks had all gone out to beg for alms. After her initial look, she returned to the boat.

Madam Meng refused to disembark, finding the ground dirty due to the drizzle. Blind Mi was sulking, and Master Qiao was whispering and settling accounts with Aunt Wu. Only Song Qiming and Li Qi’an accompanied Li Sangrou ashore for a brief look around.

The three of them boarded the boat, which pulled away from the riverbank, heading towards Madam Meng’s estate.

The dock leading to the estate had been completed. It was not large, but it was constructed of uniform, large blue stone slabs, neatly and beautifully laid.

From the dock, ten-foot-high tiger-skin walls extended to both sides. Outside the tiger-skin walls, roses and other flowering plants had already covered them.

From the dock, the bluestone path, paved with large blue flagstones, was wide enough for even the widest carriages to pass.

Several old women led the way. Madam Meng, holding a small oil-paper umbrella, walked alongside Li Sangrou at the head of the procession. Behind them, Aunt Wu accompanied Song Qiming and Li Qi’an, pointing out the flowers, plants, and trees along the way.

Blind Mi, without an umbrella, walked alongside Master Qiao, who carried one but did not open it, getting soaked in the drizzle and muttering to herself.

The old women led the group to a lake. Madam Meng handed her umbrella to one of the women and went into the warm pavilion.

Half of the pavilion was on the shore, the other half extending into the lake.

Madam Meng walked straight to the lakeside, pushed open the door, and stepped onto the waterfront platform, gesturing towards the opposite bank. “They are all working on the other side. Yangzhou gets a lot of rain, so I had someone set up a shed. They do not have to stop working even when it rains.”

“Is this the garden?” Li Sangrou turned back to look in the direction she had come from.

“Yes, the flowers and plants need time to grow. We will build the garden first, then the houses.

It’s almost noon. Let’s eat here. There’s a kitchen over there, built the way they do on the mountain. It is really nice.” Madam Meng gestured to a courtyard with blue tiles nestled among the green trees not far away.

Li Sangrou glanced back at Blind Mi and Master Qiao, who were still whispering to each other, then turned to Madam Meng. “You did not mention a word about the cotton cloth to them?”

“That blind man is really annoying. I do not want to talk to him.” Madam Meng unfolded her gold-flecked fan and waved it.

“You are quite annoying too,” Li Sangrou sized up Madam Meng and commented.

“He always thinks I am trying to trick him. He’s so worried about this and that. Other people keep their worries to themselves, but he wears it all on his sleeve. It is really annoying!” Madam Meng snorted.

Li Sangrou glanced at her sideways, snorted back, and did not reply.

Aunt Wu, seeing the cold dishes laid out, invited everyone to sit down and eat.

Song Qiming and Li Qi’an exchanged glances at Li Sangrou. Li Sangrou met Song Qiming’s eager gaze and beckoned her over. “You two little girls, come here; let’s sit together.”

Song Qiming and Li Qi’an immediately beamed with joy. They walked over quickly, Song Qiming next to Li Sangrou, and Li Qi’an next to Song Qiming.

“I think your grilled pork belly is still the best,” Song Qiming whispered to Li Sangrou. “Their dishes are good too, but there’s too little of anything. I do not dare eat any.

Look, there’s so little. Qi’an and I each only need a chopstick, and it will be gone.

Last time she treated us to dinner, I was not full; there was just too little,” Li Qi’an quickly chimed in.

She really was not full.

“If it is gone, tell them to bring more. They have to eat their fill,” Li Sangrou said, picking up a piece of crispy fish and gesturing to Song Qiming and Li Qi’an. “This fish is delicious. Tell them to bring another plate after you finish this.”

With Li Sangrou’s chopsticks at the table, Song Qiming and Li Qi’an did not stand on ceremony, and the three of them emptied four or five plates in one go.

Sure enough, Aunt Wu gently instructed, “The Boss and Miss Song like this dish, so bring another plate.”

Although each dish at Madam Meng’s family banquet was small, there were plenty of both cold and hot dishes. By the end, Song Qiming had put down her chopsticks with satisfaction.

Madam Meng’s family’s dishes were comparable to the Boss’s roasted pork belly!

“How’s that thing we talked about last time, the one about preventing pregnancy?” After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Sangrou asked Song Qiming in a low voice.

“After you left, Aunt Zhou brought back two corpses, but not long after, Uncle Yang would not let us cook with him.

Uncle Yang said that after years of war and desolation, this is the perfect time for population growth. He said that Aunt Zhou’s practice of making things that prevent pregnancy is against the will of Heaven and is inappropriate, so Aunt Zhou stopped doing it.”

“Your Uncle Yang is a bit shorter than you and very thin?” Li Sangrou thought of the group she had seen in the mountains that day.

“Yes. Uncle Yang manages everything inside the sect, while Grand Master Wu manages things outside. Grand Master Wu listens to Uncle Yang.”

“If Grand Master Wu does not allow it, you can talk to Uncle Yang. If Uncle Yang does not allow it, then there’s nothing you can do.” Song Qiming sighed.

“Where’s your Aunt Zhou? Has she arrived?”

“No, she’s the best at treating illnesses. Did you not just ask for a prescription? If someone’s going to deliver a prescription, it will definitely be Aunt Zhou. Some of the ingredients are very particular, and she oversaw the preparation,” Song Qiming and Li Sangrou whispered happily.

“When your Aunt Zhou arrives, we will keep her in Yangzhou to do this. Let me tell you, this is real good stuff; it can sell for a lot of money!” Li Sangrou chuckled.