Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 239 Zheng Yang_1

Chapter 239: Chapter 239 Zheng Yang_1

The "Old Master Zheng" that Zhou Elder Brother referred to is the father of the Zheng family, the second grandson of Old Master Zheng, and the second son of Big Brother Zheng. Zhulan had only seen the grandson of the Zheng family when seeing them off; the children of the Zheng family all took after Old Master Zheng and didn’t resemble a military general at all.

Zhulan asked, "You’re here, who’s hosting you?"

Zhou Elder Brother said, "Father also just returned and encountered them at the entrance, Father welcomed them to the front courtyard, and Father sent me to invite Mother over."

Zhulan was surprised. Zhou Shuren had returned, how coincidental. To invite her over, did it have something to do with her? She did not expect Elder Brother to have heard anything, so she sent Xue Mei to find Lady Zhao and Xue Han, while she followed Zhou Elder Brother to the front courtyard.

Ever since they had moved, the main and second wives started to live separately. Lady Li liked to linger around her, while Lady Zhao visited less often. Ming Rui had turned one year old, Yushuang could take care of him, so Lady Zhao could let go. Lady Zhao had learned to embroider screens and was trying to work on larger pieces; Xue Han was learning with her, spending each day close by Lady Zhao.

Zhulan arrived at the front courtyard and saw Old Master Zheng’s second grandson, who bore the single name Yang, Zheng Yang.

Zheng Yang stood up, "Auntie, hello."

Zhulan asked, "You’ve barely left for a month, surely you haven’t returned from the Northwest? What matter does Old Master Zheng have for sending you back?"

Zheng Yang thought to himself that it was no wonder his grandfather spoke highly of the Zhou family. Even their women had such reactions. Indeed, the Zhou family was extraordinary, "I came back also because of Auntie."

Zhulan sat down and glanced at Zhou Shuren. Without any hints from him, it looked like Zheng Yang had not mentioned the reason for his return before she arrived. They were waiting to discuss it upon her appearance. She did not feel there was anything about her that would draw Old Master Zheng’s attention. If it wasn’t about her, then it must be an external factor. She narrowed her eyes, "Is it for the dried vegetables or the medicinal ointment?"

Zheng Yang internally praised her, he tested again, and truly, Yang’s wife was no ordinary woman, "Auntie is wise. It’s both. The ointment Auntie provided for Brother Yang had remarkably good effects, and Grandfather sent me back to discuss with Dr. Lv. As for the dried vegetables, the Northwest frequently experiences wars with few farming households. Green vegetables are hard to come by in the summer, let alone winter."

Zheng Yang paused before continuing, "Grandfather saw the dried vegetables Auntie brought for Brother Yang and thought they were good, so he had me collect some dried vegetables and mountain produce to take back."

Zhulan was impressed again by Old Master Zheng’s shrewdness. Getting the medicinal ointment was a must; with weapons blind to loyalty, a good ointment could save lives. Keeping it for their own family would be beneficial, or offering it to the Zheng family could garner profits. The Northwest also lacked green vegetables, so it was a good opportunity to collect some to take back, whether for their own consumption or as gifts.

Of course, there were merchants who sold dried vegetables in the Northwest, but the variety she sent was greater, which naturally caught Old Master Zheng’s eye.

She had sent Wu Chun several types of mountain delicacies, such as wood ear mushrooms, common mushrooms, Hericium mushrooms, dried bracken fern, spinach, dried radishes, dried daylilies, and even dried dandelions for making tea or soup, all of which were effective in clearing heat and detoxifying.

These items were all collected in the summer, mostly wild mountain vegetables. Aside from mushrooms and wood ears which were sold in general stores, the other items were rarely available elsewhere.

Zhulan said, "Auntie will let you in on something; Hericium mushrooms and dried dandelions are only available with Auntie and my daughter’s family. If you go to collect them, at most, you will be able to get dried daylilies. The surrounding villages’ Hericium mushrooms have all been bought by Auntie."

Wild Hericium mushrooms were scarce in production, and if not prepared well, their dried version could make soup taste bitter, making them less popular than mushrooms. Zhulan did not collect much of them.

As for the dried dandelions, Zhulan liked to make tea with them. In Dongbei’s winter days, indoor heating made the air dry, easily causing internal heat, and dandelion tea was just the thing to counter that. Therefore, she dried quite a bit of it. Traditional Chinese medicine shops did carry dried dandelions, but not in large quantities.

Zheng Yang said, "I would ask Auntie to sell me some Hericium mushrooms and dried dandelions, I will collect the others from various villages."

Grandfather was very fond of Hericium mushroom soup and when he was at Li Family Village, he would keep the mushrooms collected each year to eat slowly over time. When he returned, he specifically instructed him to collect more to bring back. Indeed, thinking back, the family was so focused on leaving quickly that they didn’t consider collecting them to take along.

Zhulan’s family was not short of money from selling lion’s mane mushrooms and dried dandelions, so when the time came, they would send some to the Zheng family. Zhulan asked about the prices for her daughter, "I wonder what the purchase prices for the other dried vegetables are?"

Her daughter’s family had also spent the whole summer drying quite a lot of vegetables, originally for their own consumption during winter. Little did they expect they could make a profit from it now.

Zheng Yang had returned yesterday and had already inquired about the prices at the grocery stores. Unfortunately, the grocery stores only had mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms, and not in particularly large quantities. After all, every farming household would keep some, and few people bought them.

The large households in the county would always purchase them directly, rarely buying from grocery stores.

Zheng Yang said, "Mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms are eight coins per jin, lion’s mane mushrooms are fifty coins, bracken is six coins, daylilies are ten coins, dandelions are ten coins, spinach is eight coins, and dried radish is four coins."

Zhulan nearly choked upon hearing these prices. Eight coins for mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms was the purchase price at the grocery store, and there wasn’t much controversy there, but it took several jins of fresh daylilies to make just one jin dry. The Zhulan family only had one bag, and although it looked like a lot, it wasn’t very heavy, amounting to just over three jins. Moreover, they gave quite a lot for Wu Chun to take with him.

The same went for dandelions and spinach. These things did not weigh much, and the prices were too low.

Zhulan shook her head, "Let’s not talk about the mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. The price for the others is too low; it takes several jins to make one jin dry. There’s even less weight after drying the lion’s mane mushrooms. Lion’s mane should be one hundred coins per jin, daylilies fifty coins per jin, bracken twenty coins per jin, dandelions thirty coins, spinach twenty coins, and dried radish five coins."

Zheng Yang intentionally estimated the prices of the other items based on the price of mushrooms because there was no market for them, and naturally, he wanted to test the waters. Although the Zheng family had money, he still wanted to lower the prices. After all, that was why his grandfather had sent him back to handle this, because he was unwilling to suffer losses and was always looking to get a better deal.

Zhulan’s demeanor suggested the conversation was over, and she stood up. "Since my respected nephew has returned, I’ll go prepare some food."

Saying this, Zhulan left. She knew clearly that if the Zheng family’s old master dared to send a grandson back, it meant Zheng Yang must be quite adept at calculating things.

Everyone knew that Dr. Lv was a sharp individual, not easy to deal with. Zheng Yang dared to come and negotiate for herbs on his own, which meant his abilities were notable. The rest would be left to Zhou Shuren.

Zheng Yang, "....."

Zhou Shuren received Zhulan’s hint and smiled as he said, "It’s not easy for the farmers all year round. In the past, no one bought wild vegetables. This year, it’s rare that they can add some silver coins to their households. Even if it’s not much, it can still afford some clothes for the children at home, making for a prosperous year. My nephew shouldn’t push the price too low. Offer a fair price for the first year, so that next year, when the old master comes to purchase, he can buy even more, isn’t it? Besides, the silver coins spent on buying these dried goods are negligible compared to the benefits they bring."

Although the wild products might seem ordinary, they were bound to reach their maximum value in the hands of the old master, otherwise, he wouldn’t have specially sent his grandson to collect them. Zhou Shuren didn’t believe it was just a convenient occasion.

Zheng Yang looked at Scholar Zhou. Indeed, as his grandfather had said, he was a tough fox to deal with. First, Zhou appealed to how hard life was for the farmers, and in the end, he even guessed the grandfather’s intentions. With pursed lips, Zheng Yang knew that Zhou’s price was reasonable.

Zheng Yang said, "Then we’ll go with the prices Auntie set. I’ll be imposing on my uncle’s family these days. Please help spread the word about the collection of the dried goods. I’ll need to use my uncle’s place to collect them. Sorry to trouble you, uncle."

Zhou Shuren smiled, "I will have your aunt clean up a room for you immediately."

Zheng Yang felt somewhat bitter inside. Once his own home, now upon his return, he was a guest and could no longer stay in his own room, "Thank you, uncle."

Zhulan had just sent Ming Teng to call Lady Li back when the eldest from the Zhou family came over, "Mother, Father said to tidy up a room for Zheng Yang to stay in. Also, Father told me to spread the word that Zheng Yang will be using our place to collect wild products tomorrow. Mother, the prices are set according to what you said."

Zhulan’s lips curled upward. She knew Zhou Shuren would be able to handle it.