bayedsolid Chapter 18 Big Purchase
Chapter 18 Big Purchase
"Auntie, could you please ask Manager He if he wants any sika deer?" Wen Yuxia said crisply to the woman washing vegetables in the yard.
The woman looked up and smiled, "Little girl, it's you again. Wait here, I'll go ask for you right away." She then walked to the courtyard gate, gesturing for Wen Yuxia to wait outside, and gently closed the gate.
Two days ago, when Wen Yuxia came to sell wild goats, this same woman was washing vegetables in the yard. Manager He told Wen Yuxia that she could bring any game she had to the restaurant in the future, and the woman overheard that.
Upon hearing from Wen Yuxia that a sika deer had been delivered, and fearing that it would disturb the people in the kitchen and she wouldn't get anything in return, the woman quickly took on the task of delivering the message.
These past two days, the owner and his friends have been staying at the restaurant. Whenever they find prey that suits their tastes, whoever reports it to the manager receives a reward. Yesterday, Little Li received a reward of two taels of silver for a silly roe deer.
The woman ran inside happily and soon led Manager He to the backyard. Opening the gate, she said with an embarrassed smile, "Little girl, the manager is here! Please come in."
Manager He glanced at the woman with displeasure, inwardly blaming his employer. It was because of the employer's reward that these workers had all become scheming. It seemed he would have to set some rules for these people in the backyard later.
Wen Yuxia entered the courtyard first, followed by the Wang brothers pushing a cart. Wen Yuxia then uncovered the oilcloth covering the sika deer.
Manager He asked in surprise, "A sika deer, alive? Girl, how did you hunt it?"
He had collected dead sika deer several times, but this was the first time he had seen a live one.
Wen Yuxia said casually, "They just lasso the deer's antlers with a rope, that's how they hunt them."
Both deer antlers and deer velvet are valuable items. Manager He didn't see any deer antlers, so he asked, "Deer antlers, have you sold any deer antlers?"
"Not yet," Wen Yuxia put down her basket, took out the deer antlers to show off, and said, "I'll go to Renhetang to ask later."
"Girl, I want both the deer and its antlers, three hundred taels a day," Manager He said excitedly.
A live deer weighing around 200 jin (approximately 100 kg) would cost at least 60 taels (approximately 300 grams). Deer antlers are very valuable; this set of antlers could fetch at least 450 taels in the prefectural city.
Next month is my old employer's birthday. If I give him a perfectly intact set of deer antlers as a birthday gift, he might be so pleased that he can transfer me from the town to the county seat to be a manager.
Three hundred taels was indeed within Wen Yuxia's expectations. However, Manager He's excitement gave Wen Yuxia a feeling that three hundred taels was too little.
"Manager He, name your price for the sika deer. If it's reasonable, I'll sell it to you. I don't plan to sell the antlers. I only went to Renhetang to inquire about prices. I still need to go to the county town and the prefectural city to sell it wherever the price is highest," Wen Yuxia said calmly.
Manager He glanced at the composed Wen Yuxia, then at the Wang brothers standing by the cart with their mouths agape, and inwardly complained that Wen Yuxia was more difficult to deal with than those two big, simple-minded guys.
With a smile, he said, "Sika deer, 200 coins per catty. This deer is alive, so I'll give you 300 coins per catty, how about that?"
“Alright,” Wen Yuxia waved her hand decisively, instructing Wang Dazhu to unload the sika deer from the cart. Manager He had it carried to the kitchen to be weighed: 225 jin (approximately 112.5 catties), 67 taels of silver, plus 500 copper coins.
As he handed over the silver, Manager He said, "Girl, to tell you the truth, deer antlers can sell for 4 taels in the prefectural city, but Renhetang next door can only give you 2 taels at most... How about I give you 3 taels?"
Actually, Wen Yuxia's plan was to go to the county town to take a look. The prefectural city was too far away from them, and she had no intention of going there to sell deer antlers. The reason she said that was just to get Manager He to add some more money.
"Manager He, I'll sell you the deer antlers, and you can also buy any game my uncle and his family hunt in the future, okay?" Wen Yuxia said seriously.
Manager He smiled and said, "No problem," then took out three one-hundred-tael silver notes from his pocket and handed them to Wen Yuxia.
Wen Yuxia said with a faint smile, "Manager He, please exchange 1 taels of silver."
Holding two silver notes and ten silver ingots, Wen Yuxia introduced herself to Manager He and the Wang brothers, and then led them out of the restaurant.
"Uncle, I need to go to the fabric store. Is there anything you need to buy?" Wen Yuxia wanted to buy some fabric or ready-made clothes; both she and Wen Yunhong's clothes were patched and repatched.
Wang Dazhu was calculating in his mind. Wen Yuxia had contributed the most to the deer hunt, so surely 5 taels of silver each for the eight brothers as a reward for their hard work wouldn't be much?
If they really get 30 taels, my second, third, fourth, and fifth brothers will have enough money to get married.
Hehe, thinking of something funny, Wang Dazhu actually chuckled. Wang Erzhu, who was standing next to him, said anxiously, "Big brother, Da Ya is asking you a question! What are you laughing at?"
Wang Dazhu said embarrassedly, "Da Ya, what did you just say? I was distracted and didn't hear you. Could you repeat it?"
"Uncle, I just asked you if you needed to buy anything to take back," Wen Yuxia said with a smile.
She could completely understand Wang Dazhu's distraction. Suddenly receiving more than 3 taels of silver would make even the impoverished Wang Dazhu a little excited, let alone Wen Yuxia herself.
Wang Dazhu quickly shook his head, "No, we have everything at home." The money his brothers had earned from their arduous journey into the mountains was still needed; buying things was out of the question.
“Fine, if you’re not going to buy anything, then come with me to the clothing store,” Wen Yuxia said, heading towards North Street first. There was a fabric store on North Street with reasonable prices, and everyone in the village loved to buy fabric there.
Stepping into the fabric shop, the counters are piled high with fabrics, handkerchiefs, and shoes, while the walls are covered with ready-made garments in every size imaginable for men, women, and children.
Wen Yuxia smiled. She didn't know how to sew, and had originally planned to buy fabric and have her grandmother and aunt make clothes for her. Buying ready-made clothes would have been much more convenient.
The proprietress, idly fiddling with the abacus beads behind the counter, had a sharp eye and immediately recognized that among the three people who came in, the young girl Wen Yuxia was in charge.
He didn't look down on Wen Yuxia because of her patched clothes. He stood up, greeted her with a smile, and asked softly, "What would you like, young lady?"
Looking at the ready-made clothes on the wall, Wen Yuxia estimated the sizes of her maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents, and picked out two sets of cotton clothes for each of them.
Then he pointed to Wang Dazhu and told the proprietress to take eight sets of cotton clothes and eight sets of coarse cloth clothes, based on Wang Dazhu's height.
All eight of Wang's uncles were roughly the same size. If clothes were bought based on Wang Dazhu's measurements, the other uncles could wear them too.
Next, I chose two sets of cotton clothes for my aunt, Hong'er, and my cousin. Finally, I chose three sets for myself: two cotton clothes and one coarse cloth clothes.
Then, he also asked for three bolts of light blue cotton cloth, two bolts of dark blue cotton cloth, and two hundred catties of cotton. Finally, he said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, can you give me a discount for buying so much?"
"Don't worry, young lady, my prices are the fairest. It's forty-three taels in total, but I'll only charge you forty taels, and I'll also give you two bundles of scraps of cloth as a bonus. Are you satisfied now?" The proprietress quickly finished dialing and calculating before speaking.