The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 140 Acquiring Grapes (First Update)

Chapter 140: 140 Acquiring Grapes (First Update)

Li Xianyun led a group of people to set up tables, benches, baskets, scale beams, scale weights, and so on.

Then she assigned tasks to everyone.

She chose two strong and honest men to handle the weighing and another two men to inspect the quality of grapes. Zhuo Ma, who could read, was responsible for record-keeping, and Youlan was in charge of settling accounts with silver.

Li Xianyun had brought out a considerable amount of fragmented silver and copper coins from the palace, which she entrusted to Youlan.

As the village chief, Habu commanded respect and was well-regarded by the people, so he and another man were tasked with maintaining order.

Li Xianyun didn’t assign any task to Bater but had him follow her instead.

The villagers were a mixed bunch, with the good and the bad, and there might be some unreasonable ruffians, so it was good to have someone to protect her.

For the remaining seven or eight men, Li Xianyun instructed them to neatly arrange the grapes on the wooden racks inside the Drying Room.

Li Xianyun said to everyone, "Work hard and I will not treat you unfairly. If you do a good job and with no mistakes, each person will receive fifty wen as wages. If anyone cheats or does a poor job, a deduction will be made from your wages."

This wage was the highest she had learned about during her previous outings from the palace.

Upon hearing about the fifty wen, everyone smiled with glee.

The work was easy, and the pay was good, how could they not be happy?

Li Xianyun said to the several strong men working in the Drying Room, "You will be relatively more tired working in the Drying Room, so each person will receive an extra reward of ten wen."

The strong men were overjoyed upon hearing this and said with a laugh, "Thank you, young master."

"Follow me, and I will teach you how to arrange the grapes neatly and orderly on the wooden racks."

Li Xianyun, accompanied by Bater, led the strong men to the Drying Room.

She pointed to a wooden rack used for hanging grapes and said:

"When you arrange the grapes, start from the topmost layer. Make sure each bunch is secured tightly, not sparse, or they’ll fall down in a few days. Also, do not leave gaps between the bunches; they should be placed close together."

Because the payment was generous, the strong men listened carefully and worked with great enthusiasm.

Once Li Xianyun had everything organized, the villagers who had received the news started arriving one after another, pulling their carts.

Many of these villagers were family groups, both older and younger, and soon quite a number of people had gathered.

Adults and children alike chattered among themselves, and the open space quickly became lively.

However, with Habu’s high prestige and strong ability, he managed the queues efficiently, maintaining complete order without any chaos.

The first villager’s cart was loaded with five big baskets of grapes that were lush green and shiny, tantalizing to the eye.

Habu guided the person to the quality inspection station first for review.

The two strong men turned over the baskets and said, "The grapes are fresh, with no issues."

Then they moved on to the next step—weighing.

The total weight was one hundred fifty jin, minus the ten jin for the weight of the five baskets, leaving a net weight of one hundred forty jin. At three wen per jin, the total came to four hundred twenty wen. (Author’s note: The previous Chapter has been revised, changing the price from five wen per jin to three wen per jin.)

Upon hearing this, the villager immediately beamed with joy.

The purchasing price for these grapes was a whole wen higher than the market rate, and since grapes that weren’t sold would just rot on the vine, selling them now, and for a good sum, was extremely satisfying.

Zhuo Ma called out to the villager, "Come over here to settle the account."

The villager walked over with a smile.

After Zhuo Ma had finished recording, Youlan counted the money in front of the villager.

In Khitan, one hundred and sixty-two coins were strung into a string, and Youlan gave the villager two strings of coins and ninety-six copper plates.

Holding the heavy money, the villager was so excited that he couldn’t speak, his eyes turning red.

When Li Xianyun left the palace, she brought not only a large amount of silver but also many purses specifically for the villagers to use for their money.

If the villagers were to lose a few of the scattered coins and then claim that they had not received the full amount, it could lead to disputes, which would be undesirable.

The most critical issue was that it would take up a lot of time.

It wasn’t easy for her to leave the palace, and she couldn’t afford to spend her time dealing with lawsuits.

Li Xianyun considered every detail carefully in everything she did, thus avoiding many unnecessary troubles.

Youlan took a brand new white purse and said to the villager with a smile, "I counted this money in front of you; there’s no problem, right?"

The villager grinned and said, "No problem, no problem at all."

Youlan held the purse open and said, "You can put the money in this purse to make sure you don’t lose it."

The villager, having not expected such thorough preparedness on top of receiving money, laughed and said, "Thank you."

Saying this, he placed the two strings of coins and the copper plates into it.

Youlan handed the purse to him with a smile and said, "If you’re not at ease, you can count them again by the side. Once you leave this place and say the money is short, we will not acknowledge it."

The man laughed and said, "No need to count again. You’ve helped us solve the problem of unsold grapes, a great help. How could we possibly falsely accuse you of shortchanging us?"

With that said, the man walked away beaming with joy.

Li Xianyun stood by, watching each and every process, ready to correct any problems that might arise.

Once bitten, twice shy, soon everyone became more adept at their tasks, and the speed also increased significantly.

Bater, who stood one step behind Li Xianyun, looked at these honest villagers and couldn’t help but exclaim, "These villagers really are simple-hearted."

Li Xianyun smiled and said, "Most of the villagers are good, but there might be some with ill-intentions. It’s said that poor and harsh conditions tend to breed scoundrels. Some people have such hard lives that they develop crooked thoughts. Of course, there are also many who are inherently bad."

Bater, looking at the straightforward villagers in front of him, said with some disbelief, "That can’t be true."

Li Xianyun turned her head to glance at Bater and smiled, "Just watch. Soon the loafers and bullies in the village will catch wind and come here. We will have our hands full then."

Bater said, "Yes."

Although he said that, he still found it hard to believe.

Shart, who was taking a nap in the cool shade under the mulberry tree at the head of the village, saw two villagers passing by, joyfully carrying their purses.

The previously drowsy man suddenly became alert, sat up straight, and stared at the two bulging purses with gleaming eyes.

Seeing this, the two villagers concealed their joy, hid their purses behind them, and quickened their pace.

Shart sprang up from the ground and rushed in front of the two men.

The two villagers quickly stepped backward, avoiding him.

Shart was well-known within ten miles as a lazy good-for-nothing, a scrawny man who specialized in petty thievery.

One villager said unhappily, "You’re thinking of robbing us in broad daylight?"

Shart laughed and said, "Am I that kind of person? I just want to ask where you got this money from?"