Chapter 344: Utter Ignorance

Gu Zhang said proudly, "Master Yu told me that once you’ve filled porcelain with tea leaves and sealed them, you place them in a wooden crate. You then fill the crate with soil or damp cotton, and sprinkle beans into the soil. With the humidity at sea, the beans will sprout in no time, filling all the gaps. It’s more secure than anything else."

"That crate is then placed inside a larger one, which is nailed fast to the ship. It won’t move an inch, no matter how much the ship tosses."

Gu Fei raised an eyebrow. ’That does sound very secure.’

Gu Zhang continued, "In short, there are a lot of tricks to sailing the high seas. A whole ship’s crew needs to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. We need to buy a lot of supplies, like live chickens and ducks, and even grow vegetables on board."

"But Master Yu also said that while sea voyages are risky and troublesome, the profits are enormous. Porcelain, tea, and silk all sell very well. They don’t even have to be top quality—mid or low-grade will do. Those barbarians can’t tell what good tea is anyway."

"The moment the ship docks, merchants are already waiting. They’ll snap everything up in an instant. You don’t have to worry about selling it at all."

Gu Zhang finished with a smug smile. "Little Fei, don’t even think about going to sea. Only I can go. Master Yu said that women aren’t allowed on ships. It’s bad luck."

Gu Fei pursed her lips. "Ignorant—"

Gu Zhang looked at her. "What’d you say?"

Gu Fei chuckled. "I said, you should hurry up and eat."

She quickly changed the subject. "Dad, when you go out this time, collect some seeds that the Da Ying Dynasty doesn’t have. We have so much land now, we need to plant something."

"You can also buy things like gems, ivory, rhino horns, spices, medicinal herbs, and dyes. Try to get different items from what Young Master Zhu and the others are bringing back, so they’ll be easier to sell. Oh, and if you find any jade, buy some of that too. I need raw, newly mined jade. I have a use for it."

Gu Zhang nodded. "Alright. Write up a list for me later. I was just planning to spend the next few days learning from Young Master Zhou; I can’t tell the quality of these things. As for purchasing food, daily necessities, and other supplies for the voyage, I’ll leave that to your uncle and Jin Sheng to handle."

He glanced at Housekeeper Qin. "Thankfully, Housekeeper Qin knows a fair bit."

Gu Fei nodded. ’An outer-courtyard housekeeper from the Salt Transport Officer’s household... Of course, he would have seen plenty of fine things.’

’You’re bound to learn a thing or two when you’ve seen that much.’

After her father finished eating and left, Gu Fei called Young Master Zhou over. Pointing to the pile of antiques and calligraphy in her room, she said, "I plan to pawn all of this."

Young Master Zhou’s mouth twitched as he looked at the pile. "Little Fei, did you go out and rob someone or what? This stuff has to be worth tens of thousands of silver!"

He shook his head as he looked at the antiques and calligraphy. "You won’t get a good price for these at a pawnshop. How about this: I’ll have the appraiser from my shop come over in a bit to inventory everything, and then we’ll move it to my father’s antique store."

"This all looks like quality stuff. It should fetch a good price."

"Don’t worry, I’ll talk to my dad. I won’t let him rip you off."

Gu Fei beamed. "That would be wonderful. Thank you so much, Brother Zhou."

Young Master Zhou grinned sheepishly. "What’s there to thank me for? We’re all in this together. If I weren’t working with you, this whole sea voyage would be a non-starter."

He lowered his voice. "Young Master Zhu said that just getting the permits from the Maritime Trade Office will save us twenty to thirty thousand silver. And that’s all thanks to you, Little Fei."

Gu Fei smiled. "Isn’t it thanks to the Young Master Heir?"

Young Master Zhou nodded repeatedly. "Right, right, right. It’s all thanks to the Young Master Heir."

Then he added quietly, "But I still consider this a personal favor from you, Little Fei."