Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 478 - 255 Long united, must divide Part 1

Chapter 478: Chapter 255 Long united, must divide Part 1

When the mountain flowers were blooming and the scent of lotuses wafted through the air, Huaxi Jetty officially opened for business. Surprisingly, it turned out to be quite bustling, with a significant number of boats entering and leaving the port every day. People from the nearby towns would come here to catch a boat or transport goods, some even from the neighboring counties. The key was that there was a large kiln yard in the neighboring town, and the jetty solved their major transportation issue.

The Hong River was merely a tributary of the Green Spring River, capable of accommodating only medium-sized or small boats. Qian’s third wife had purchased two medium-sized boats that not only transported their own goods but also occasionally took on business from other families. These boats could go directly to Capital City or down to Jiangnan. But some small boats could only take people or goods to Wen County Port, where they would transfer to larger boats to enter the Green Spring River.

Despite its name, Huaxi Jetty was actually a fair distance from Huaxi Village—three li away. Since a stone bridge had been constructed next to the jetty, the port was much closer to Shili Town on the opposite bank of the river. To express their gratitude to the Qian family for building the bridge, which facilitated the lives of the common people, they named it Qian’s Bridge.

Since the jetty was built by the Qian family, they appointed someone to manage it and charged a certain management fee.

And because of this jetty, Shili Town suddenly became lively, and businesses there flourished.

Qian Manhe spotted this business opportunity first. At the start of the jetty’s construction, he borrowed two hundred taels of silver from Qian Sangui and bought two two-story shop fronts in the town. Once the jetty was completed and the town became lively, he sold them for three hundred and sixty taels of silver. After repaying Qian Sangui’s two hundred taels and spending ten taels on a thank-you gift, he netted a profit of one hundred and fifty taels. He then used this money to buy a larger courtyard in Xishan County Town than the one Qian Manchuan had bought. But he didn’t live there; he rented it out instead.

Qian Yixiu thought to herself that real estate is a lucrative business, no matter the era or dynasty.

At the same time, the Qian family’s Mountain of Flowers and Fruits produced a large amount of a new variety—the Golden honey peach. When the golden color was only as wide as a band around the base of the peaches, they were picked and shipped directly. Due to the limited quantity, they were only sent to Capital City Splendid Shop. By the time they arrived in Capital City, twenty days later, the peaches were just ripe.

The Golden honey peach hit the market and became a sought-after item, selling for forty-five wen per jin. Commoners couldn’t afford nor access this fruit; it was mostly purchased by powerful and influential families. Wealthy merchants who wanted to buy them had to pull strings through acquaintances.

Even Fourth Master Song, envious as he was, dared not compete for this business and could only find a backdoor way to buy more for his personal consumption.

When the cool autumn breeze brought the fragrance of osmanthus, the gold lotus roots were harvested, and the different branches of the Qian family, along with the Wan family, transported the lotus roots to the jetty as soon as they were out of the water. The harvest of the Number Three Gold Lotus Seeds was also sold all over the country. Together with the regular selling of fish, the business of Qian’s third wife along with the other branches was thriving joyfully.

That day, Prince Consort Pan visited again, unexpectedly bringing with him his grandson Brother Jie. In the Suburb of Capital, they chartered a flashy medium-sized pleasure boat which carried their group of more than twenty people directly from Nan County Port to Huaxi Jetty. After disembarking at Huaxi Jetty, they hired a carriage to Guiyuan.

At the beginning of the year, as soon as Prince Consort Pan returned to the residence, he rushed to see Old Madam’s Crane Year Hall. As it turned out, the Old Madam was sitting on a Luohan bed, holding her little great-grandson, Yi Gege, in one arm and embracing her just-returned-from-school older great-grandson, Brother Jie, with the other arm, while chatting and laughing with two daughters-in-law, four granddaughters-in-law, and two granddaughters. She was in great spirits.

The Old Madam was sixty-two this year but still robust in health. She didn’t suffer from any serious illnesses; it was mostly that she missed her eldest son, who had not been home for most of the year. On a day when she felt a chill, she cried and made her grandson Pan Yang write a letter urging him to come home sooner.

Upon his return, Prince Consort Pan cried with the Old Madam for a while.

Six-year-old Brother Jie led his two-year-old brother Yi Gege to kowtow to their grandfather, but Yi Gege was reluctant. Pouting, he said, "Brother is silly, that’s not Grandfather. Grandfather has big pearls on his head, but he has none."

Touching the jade hairpin on his head, Prince Consort Pan laughed and said, "Grandfather is old now and won’t wear the big pearls anymore."

Not wearing his signature Purple Gold Crown, Prince Consort Pan had already shocked the female members of the household; when they heard him saying he was old, they were even more startled. That wasn’t like him at all. Even the Old Madam looked curiously at her always meticulous eldest son, wondering if he had been through some kind of shock.

Seeing the expression on everyone’s faces, Prince Consort Pan felt somewhat embarrassed but said helplessly, "As one ages, one’s thinking is bound to change, there’s nothing strange about that."