The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 199 - 195 Too Expensive

Chapter 199: Chapter 195 Too Expensive

Liu Wenyao, after listening to her mother-in-law, also said, "That’s right, Xuanbao, you can tell your mother that you can bring any excess mushrooms, grains, and seeds over to our grocery store. We are family, so we don’t need to make a profit from selling them, it’s just taken care of in passing."

When it came to selling things for her own sister, Liu Wenyao didn’t think about making a profit.

Old Madam Zhang nodded, "Exactly, just a trivial matter, we don’t need to make a profit, but we should still help out."

Zhang Chengye sincerely said, "Xuanbao, go back and tell your mother that anything you want to sell can be placed in our grocery store. Your uncle will help you sell them, so there’s no need to sell them yourself at the market, we have a convenient setup here."

If it were other relatives, Zhang Chengye wouldn’t say such a thing, to avoid unnecessary trouble. After all, how could it not be a bother to sell things for someone else? He had tried this before, kindly helping a relative in the clan sell eggs, only to find that nearly half the eggs they gave him were rotten. He had to compensate the customers for some eggs, but the relatives claimed their eggs weren’t bad and accused him of intentionally saying they were spoiled to pocket their money, which was an impossible argument to clear up.

But the Ruo Family was different; he understood that. The people of the Ruo Family had impeccable character, with the Ruo brothers being extremely loyal. In times of wealth, they didn’t look down on anyone and would help when they could. In poverty, they never troubled their friends or relatives, were indomitable, and relied solely on their own abilities. They would rather suffer themselves than let others suffer, and such a family deserved help.

Ruo Xuan said sweetly, "Okay, once the rice is harvested, if there’s extra grain, I’ll have my father bring it to the grocery store to sell. Apart from the grain the Imperial Court buys, I’ll also sell only to my aunt’s grocery store. However, uncle, we all should make a profit together; we can’t just not make money. You also work hard to sell the goods. When the time comes, I’ll only charge as much per pound as I sell them for, not caring about how much you sell them for. We must always make a profit, no matter how much."

Ruo Xuan knew that when the time came, many people would be scrambling to buy the seeds. Of course, good goods shouldn’t be sold cheaply!

To ensure that her aunt and three cousins had a stronger footing in the Zhang Family, she must save the seeds for her aunt to sell.

Her mother said that a woman could have confidence in her husband’s family for two reasons: one, if her own family had a good background, so the husband’s family wouldn’t dare to mistreat her. Two, if she was capable and could help the husband’s family prosper, the best being if she was capable herself.

A capable woman carries confidence wherever she goes!

When Old Madam Zhang heard Ruo Xuan’s words, she smiled so much that the wrinkles on her face blossomed like a chrysanthemum flower. This girl Xuanbao is truly smart, she thought, knowing how to handle things and understanding the importance of making a profit together.

Though she was willing to help the Ruo Family sell for free, it would obviously be better if they could make a profit.

Mutual benefit brought joy to everyone.

Aiyo! If only her two grandsons could be as clever as Xuanbao.

She was growing increasingly fond of Xuanbao.

As they spoke happily, time flew by unnoticed, and Ruo Chuan returned with Jia Shijie.

Ruo Chuan conveniently brought in two basket loads of mushrooms carried on a shoulder pole.

Old Madam Zhang’s eyes lit up upon seeing the mushrooms, and she praised them, "Are these the mushrooms Xuanbao grew? They look excellent! They will definitely fetch a good price."

Hearing Old Madam Zhang praise the mushrooms she had grown, Ruo Xuan smiled with eyes curving into crescents and said, "Mm, we picked only the plumpest and best. These mushrooms are for you Mother-in-law, Aunt, and Uncle to try, they’re not for sale."

"How could we accept that? There’s no need for so many, with so many, you could sell them for a good amount of silver. Xuanbao, your family is really too kind. Just one basket is enough for our consumption," Old Madam Zhang said with a laugh.

Zhang Chengye and Liu Wenyao also insisted it was too much.

"It’s fine, it’s good for Aunt to eat more."

Old Mrs. Zhang saw Jia Shijie carrying a packet of herbs come in and head straight for the kitchen, and she quickly said, "Have you picked up the medicine? Is it the best quality? I will go and decoct it right now."

After all, it was her own daughter who had experienced pregnancy complications, and even though she was talking with Ruo Xuan, her heart was still filled with worry.

Jia Shijie’s eyes flickered, and he said vaguely, "Hmm, I’ll do the decocting."

With that, he hurried off to the kitchen.

He was afraid Old Mrs. Zhang would decoct the medicine and realize that there were no top-grade, expensive herbs in the fetus-preserving medicine.

A serving of top-quality fetus-preserving medicine would cost a tael of silver, which he was reluctant to spend. The cheaper versions only needed a little over a hundred wen, and of course, there were even poorer quality ones, with some as low as thirty wen a packet. However, he was also afraid that too poor a quality might not be effective, since after all, the child Xiaoli was carrying was his. Naturally, he hoped his own child would be safe. Therefore, reluctantly, he had decided to get a packet that cost over a hundred wen.

Even for the medicine that cost a little over a hundred wen, he only bought one serving and thought about having his mother-in-law or elder cousin fetch more tomorrow.

It was too expensive! He certainly wasn’t willing to spend more.

Moreover, since Xiaoli had experienced the pregnancy complications at the Zhang Family residence, it was naturally up to the Zhangs to pay for the medicine.

Old Mrs. Zhang was also not at ease and quickly followed, saying, "Shijie, wait, let me do it! You don’t know how to decoct medicine."

Jia Shijie hurriedly replied, "Mother, don’t worry, I know how."

Although it was said that gentlemen stay away from the kitchen, Jia Shijie came from the countryside, where he didn’t have the fortunate upbringing of city kids. After leaving home to study, he didn’t have enough silver to eat at the Academy’s dining hall every day and had to cook his own meals.

It was only after marrying Xiaoli and settling down in the Zhang Family residence that he stopped entering the kitchen at all. At most, he lit his own stove to brew tea and began to live a life of luxury, even insisting on drinking Dragon Well tea picked before Qingming Festival.

Of course, his tea brewing beside the stove was merely to fit in with the sons of wealthy urban families, to learn from others’ pretense of elegance.

Old Mrs. Zhang was aware that Jia Shijie knew how to cook, as her daughter had talked about it admiringly before they married, praising him for his adaptability and ambition as a man.

Still, she was not reassured and followed him. If her son-in-law knew how to decoct the medicine, then he would do it; if not, she would teach him herself.

Old Mrs. Zhang had already decided to have her daughter’s family move out, and the sooner, the better, so as to avoid any conflicts between her grandchildren by marriage and her direct grandchildren.

So naturally, she needed to teach her son-in-law how to decoct medicine.

Ruo Xuan watched Jia Shijie’s evasive demeanor, and once they had left, she asked her younger uncle, "Little Uncle, how much does a serving of the fetus-preserving medicine cost? Why did he only pick up one serving?"

Ruo Chuan was also at the clinic talking with Ruo Shan and just happened to see Jia Shijie take out a string of coins and count several tens of wen, so he said, "A little over a hundred wen, I suppose! Brother Shijie said we needed to quickly pick up the medicine and decoct it, didn’t want to wait too long, so he only got one serving for now, with plans to fetch more tomorrow."

Since medicinal herbs were not cultivated on a large scale and were mostly acquired by herb collectors going into the mountains to gather them, especially the expensive ones, the quantity was scarce, hence the higher price.

Just as mushrooms are considered a delicacy and are priced higher than vegetables.

Thus, Ruo Xuan still knew the best fetus-preserving medicine would definitely cost more than just over a hundred wen; it should be over a tael of silver. After all, medicinal ingredients are graded by quality, age, region, and rarity.