Chapter 102
102 Chapter 100 : Rice Seeds
Li Yu and Zhou Jia went to the blacksmith shop where the spinning cart was custom-made last time. Zhou Jia handed the blueprint to the blacksmith. “Master Xu, can you forge this?”
Blacksmith Xu looked at the blueprint and pondered for a while. “Yes, but you have to give me some time to think about it. Also, Mr. Zhou, if you only make one such thing, the price will be a little expensive.”
“Just do it before the harvest. Make ten first. Calculate how much silver it costs,” said Zhou Jia.
Blacksmith Xu lowered his head and estimated for a moment. “I’ll charge you at least 340 taels for ten.”
Zhou Jia nodded. “Sure. Master Xu, it’s best if we sign a contract. You have to promise not to leak these things without our agreement.”
Blacksmith Xu patted his chest and promised, “Mr. Zhou, don’t worry. We have our rules. Anything that comes to us will not be leaked without the consent of the owner. If you’re worried, we’ll sign a contract.”
Zhou Jia smiled. “Let’s sign the contract.”
“Then please write the contract. I’ll sign it.” Blacksmith Xu smiled.
The two of them signed the contract and silver exchanged hands. They also customized the needle comb, frame, and cart. Blacksmith Xu happily sent Zhou Jia and Li Yu out of the blacksmith shop.
Zhang Defa walked past the Xu family’s blacksmith shop with a basket of goods on his shoulder. He put down the goods and came out with the copper coins. When he saw Li Yu and Zhou Jia coming out of the blacksmith shop, he hurriedly hid in a corner and stole a glance at the two of them. He saw Li Yu wearing a lotus-red collared dress and Zhou Jia wearing a dark long robe. The two of them chatted as they walked towards the mule cart at the door.
Zhang Defa looked at Li Yu and Zhou Jia with jealousy and thought to himself, They seem to be doing well in Tongzhou. Zhang Defa watched Li Yu and Zhou Jia get into the mule cart and drive away. He hurriedly came out from the corner and looked at the distant mule cart. He walked into the blacksmith shop and asked, “Boss, let me ask if those two people came from Qingzhou? Where are they staying now?”
Blacksmith Xu looked at Zhang Defa coldly. “Who are you? Why are you asking about them?”
Zhang Defa smiled and said, “I also escaped from the Qingzhou Prefecture. I saw that that girl seemed to be the daughter of one of my relatives, but I didn’t dare to rashly go forward to acknowledge her, so I came to ask you.”
Blacksmith Xu pondered for a moment. “I can only tell you that they did come from Qingzhou, but I can’t tell you where they live!”
Zhang Defa looked at the boss’s expression and knew that he could not find out anything. He could only leave resentfully.
Zhou Jia brought Li Yu to the seed shop and pointed at the shop in front. “Yu’er, this is the largest seed shop in Tongzhou. Let’s go in to take a look.”
Li Yu looked up and saw that the signboard said Wang Ji’s Seed Encyclopedia. She walked into the shop and saw that the wooden box in the middle of the shop was filled with all kinds of seeds.
The waiter greeted them politely and asked them with a smile, “What seeds do you need?”
Li Yu walked to the wooden boxes and pointed at a few seeds. “Valley seeds, bean seeds, and vegetable seeds.”
The shop assistant pointed at the rice seed and introduced it solicitously. “These are the seeds that have just arrived. Look, the granules must be full of seedlings.”
Seeing that there was only one type of rice seed, Li Yu asked in confusion, “Is this the only rice seed?”
The clerk smiled and nodded. “The rice seed has always been the same except for the glutinous rice grain. There are no other varieties.”
Li Yu grabbed a handful of grain seeds and looked at them for a while. “How much for a catty?”
“Fifteen cents a catty,” the clerk said with a smile.
Li Yu said to the shop assistant, “Go and ask your shopkeeper how much discount we will get for a bigger volume.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.” A moment later, the shop assistant followed a thin old man over. The old man glanced at Li Yu and asked with a smile, “May I ask how many seeds you need?”
Li Yu calculated silently. “100 stones.”
The old man was stunned. “That many? Are you raising them in the wasteland?”
“Yes, if the price is right, I’ll buy the grains and other seeds from you,” Li Yu said with a smile.
The old man thought for a moment. “Miss, you know that the rice seeds are all carefully selected. The price is higher, but the amount you bought is large. It can’t be less than 13 copper coins per catty.”
“I’ll pay you the deposit first. Help me send the seeds to Phoenix Town and Phoenix Village. After checking the goods, we’ll pay the remaining money.”
“Alright, choose the other seeds first and I will send them to you.”
Li Yu bought all kinds of seeds. She paid 10 taels of silver, left the address, and took the receipt. The two of them walked out of the seed shop and into the shop.
Along the way, she saw some ragged children begging along the way with broken bowls. Li Yu asked Zhou Jia in a low voice, “Are there many children begging outside like this?”
Zhou Jia nodded. “Also, in front of the temple outside the city, the good-looking ones have been bought to be servants or something. These beggars are all controlled by the beggars. Yu’er, do you want to take these children in?”
Li Yu shook her head. “These people have mixed characters. If they attract trouble, we’ll be in trouble. Let’s go to the brokerage house and buy some old and weak people with clean backgrounds.”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu in admiration. “Alright, let’s go to the broker shop now.”
When the two of them arrived at the brokerage, the broker smiled when she saw Zhou Jia. “Aiyo! Young Master Zhou, please come in.”
The broker welcomed the two of them into the courtyard with a smile. “Young Master Zhou, what do you want to do this time?”
“We want to buy a few servants. It doesn’t matter how old they are. They have to be honest,” Zhou Jia said to the broker.
The broker couldn’t stop smiling. “Okay, let me call it out and show it to you two.”
The broker returned to the house and brought out more than ten people. Li Yu saw that all the men, women, and children looked pale and dazed. The potter shouted at them, “Stand properly and let Young Master take a look.”
At this moment, an old man pulled a stout girl to the ground and kowtowed to Zhou Jia. “Young Master, please do me a favor and buy my granddaughter! She’s strong and efficient. She doesn’t ask for anything else as long as she can eat.”
The girl retreated behind the old man. “I’m not going, Grandfather. I want to be with you.”
Li Yu walked forward and squatted down to look at her. “Follow me. I’ll give you a full meal.”
When the girl heard that there was a full meal, her eyes lit up as she looked at Li Yu. She still shook her head. “I’m not leaving. I want to be with Grandfather.”
When the broker heard this, she shouted, “Er Ya, it’s not easy to find someone who doesn’t mind you eating too much. If you’re still unwilling, I shall let you go. I can’t afford to raise you.”
Er Ya looked at the broker and begged, “Madam, Grandpa will starve to death without me.”
“It’s not up to you to choose. You and your grandfather have been here for more than two months, and no one wants you. I’m not running a charity.”
Li Yu stood up and said to the broker, “I want both of them.”
“Really, that’s good. Er Ya, hurry up and thank this girl.” The broker smiled happily.
Er Ya and her grandfather were so happy that they wanted to kowtow again. Li Yu reached out to stop them. “There’s no need to kowtow. Just do your best in the future.”
Li Yu chose a few healthy old and young people from those people. There were two skinny boys, three old women, and an old man. After calculating the money, the ten or so old and weak people only cost 40 to 50 taels of silver. Li Yu sighed in her heart. In this world, humans are not as valuable as a cow.
Zhou Jia and the midwife went to settle the contract. The two of them brought a few people back and bought cotton clothes and shoes for them on the way before bringing them back to Osmanthus Alley.
The cook made some food for them to eat. She brought them to the bathroom to wash up and change into cotton clothes. She brought them over and said to Li Yu, “Miss, let them change.”
More than ten people looked at Li Yu with tears in their eyes.
Li Yu nodded and looked at Zhou Jia. “Let’s go back now! The seed shop still has to send the seeds back.”
Zhou Jia nodded and went out to get the car. The two of them brought Er Ya and the others back to Phoenix Village.