Chapter 353: Scratching the Surface

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Scratching the Surface

After Ji Xuelan left with a few packets of seasoning, Ji Huan finished tidying up. She tiptoed over to Dabao, about to bend down and carry him back to bed.

Guan Shan beat her to it, picking Dabao up. When Ji Huan reached out to take him, he avoided her hands and said, "He’s heavy."

Dabao had grown much taller and put on some weight, so it was indeed a bit of a struggle for Ji Huan to carry him.

"Be careful, then. He’s a light sleeper, so don’t wake him."

Guan Shan grunted in affirmation and ducked out the door.

Ji Huan turned to pick up the oil lamp, locked the door, and followed to light his way.

When they placed Dabao on the kang bed, the little one was sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking.

The two of them came out of the west room and spoke for a while in the main hall.

It was mainly Ji Huan who had something to say to Guan Shan.

"I’m going to the county seat tomorrow. You’ll be home alone..."

"I’ll go with you."

"What are you going to do..."

"Aren’t you planning to buy a horse-drawn carriage? I know how to inspect horses."

Ji Huan froze.

She had indeed been subtly probing Guan Shan about horse-related matters over the past two days, but she hadn’t mentioned a thing about buying a carriage...

’He’s too good at reading people.’

’It’s a good thing he’s just a passerby. If I had to spend a lifetime with someone like him, I wouldn’t be able to hide a single one of my little schemes. Wouldn’t life be a tragedy?’

"You guessed right. I do plan to buy a carriage..."

Ji Huan had made this decision after calculating her finances.

Although preparing for a wedding involved many expenses, she was keeping it simple, so the miscellaneous costs didn’t add up to a huge amount.

Widow Xie had paid for the fabric for the wedding attire, and even the cotton batting was from her own home. She wouldn’t let Ji Huan reimburse her; in fact, when Ji Huan tried to settle the account, she got a scolding.

Additionally, the tables, chairs, stools, pots, bowls, and ladles were all borrowed. They would be returned after use without even a rental fee; that was the custom in the countryside.

The only remaining expenses were for buying ingredients and snacks, hiring a head cook, paying the matchmaker, and giving a red envelope to the woman who prepared the wedding bed.

After deducting all these, not much was left in her little piggy bank, but she still had a few taels.

The fifty-tael franchise fee, however, remained untouched, not to mention the sudden windfall she had received on the eve of her wedding.

The saying, "Money in your pocket, no panic in your heart," couldn’t be a more perfect description of Ji Huan at this moment.

With the savings she had, she could live comfortably in the countryside for the better part of her life without doing a thing. If she was a bit frugal, she could even make it last a lifetime.

’Dehydrated vegetables, Baiwei Square... I could just drop all these troublesome, mentally draining projects.’

’But I’m a person of contradictions.’

’In my last life, I worked myself to death. In this one, I just want to live a leisurely and carefree life. But when I’m truly idle and do nothing, I feel empty inside.’

’A woman can lack anything, but she must have her own little career. Only a career will never let you down—this was the mindset of most career women in later generations.’

Ji Huan couldn’t deny that she was also a proponent of this view.

’Whether one’s attitude toward life is ambitious or placid, whether one’s steps forward are hurried or slow, it’s always better than standing still. Better than being caught defenseless when the storms of life hit years later.’

So, even though she was now a little rich lady, she had to be a hardworking little rich lady.

’Besides, one person’s sudden wealth can’t save everyone. I still have to be responsible for my core employees.’

’By now, Baiwei Square isn’t just my own personal wish anymore. It represents everyone’s hard work and carries their hopes. I have to see it through, no matter what.’

Ji Huan’s original plan was to set up a stall in town or rent a small shop to test the waters.

But deep down, she knew the outlook wasn’t necessarily optimistic. It was most likely that she’d be met with a cold reception.

The town didn’t have many decent restaurants or inns. The people coming and going were mostly folks from the surrounding villages, who were reluctant to even buy meat, let alone "impractical" things like spices.

The best place to go was the county seat.

After all, the spending power and open-mindedness of the people in the county seat were much higher, and the market potential was on a completely different level.

Unfortunately, with only fifty taels of startup capital at the time, she could only settle for the next best thing: a strategy of encircling the city from the countryside.

Now, things were different. She had an extra 300 taels.

’When you’re poor, you do things the poor way. When you’re rich, you naturally do them the rich way.’ She decided to go to Yeyang, rent a shop, and open for business!

The first order of business, then, was to buy a mode of transportation.

Otherwise, she’d have to wait for a cart to go and wait for one to return every time. The cost was secondary; the main issue was the waste of time.

The public carts that ferried passengers wouldn’t cater specifically to them. If one day the driver had other business and decided not to go to the county seat, wouldn’t she be left high and dry?

’This follows the same logic as "a craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do his work well," and also "to get rich, first build a road."’

’Although the money was from Zhen Jili, since he had given it to her, it should be fine to use a little of it when necessary.’

’It wasn’t that I feel completely entitled, but I believe that 300 taels just sitting there will always be 300 taels. If I use it for business, I might be able to make that money grow.’

’If I make a profit, I can pay Zhen Jili back several times over when he returns.’

’Who knows if he’ll return in glory or in destitute rags? Maybe the money I pay him back will be just what he needs for his retirement.’

’And if I lose it all... AHEM, I can’t be that unlucky, can I?’

’But even if I incur a loss, I won’t shortchange Zhen Jili. I still have my dividends from Xin Ziqi’s side.’

"Even though I’ve decided to buy a cart, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a horse-drawn one. An ox-cart, a donkey-cart, a mule-cart..."

Guan Shan’s gaze was fixed on her, not fooled by her words in the slightest.

"You want to open a shop in Yeyang. You’ll be leaving early and returning late. A horse-drawn carriage is your best choice."

He was right. Ji Huan had considered all the options. Oxen were too slow. Donkeys weren’t as strong or as good-tempered as mules, but mules couldn’t match the speed of a horse.

As for the price, an ox cost around five taels, a donkey seven or eight, and a mule an average of twelve taels. A hinny would be even more expensive.

Horses were the most expensive, but because the Northern Pass had many horse farms, they weren’t as rare as in the Southern regions. The price wasn’t outrageously high, ranging from about twenty to forty taels.

This price was within Ji Huan’s budget, so a horse-drawn carriage was the optimal choice no matter how she looked at it.

But even so, she didn’t want Guan Shan to go with her.

’He’s a deserter. Hiding out in the village is relatively safe, but running off to the county seat, where the county government is located? Isn’t that just walking into a trap?’

’If he had an ordinary face, it might be fine. But his facial features are too conspicuous. He’s liable to scare people, which would make them even more guarded.’

While Ji Huan was full of worries, Guan Shan showed no awareness of his status as a deserter. He insisted on going with her, and his reason was quite compelling—he knew how to inspect horses.

’You were a soldier,’ Ji Huan thought. ’On and off horseback, amidst the clash of swords and the flight of arrows... it’s not surprising you know horses. But you’re not the only one who does.’

"They have professional horse judges at the Horse Market."

A horse judge usually referred to a horse breeder with many years of experience or knowledge passed down through generations. Most of them ended up working at horse farms or in the army, but a small number eked out a living in the city markets.

For someone who knew nothing about horses, going to the Horse Market would be like flying blind. But that wasn’t a problem. You just had to spend a little money to hire a horse judge, and he would handle the rest.

A horse judge could tell a horse’s quality by observing its different parts: its cheeks, its eyes, its whiskers, its mouth and teeth, its chest and flanks, or its hindquarters and legs. In short, each had their own special techniques and could guarantee you’d find a satisfactory horse.

Guan Shan had primarily dealt with warhorses in the army. His knowledge of ordinary horses wasn’t necessarily better than that of those professional horse judges.

But Guan Shan countered, "How can you be sure the horse judge and the horse seller won’t make a deal behind your back?"

Was he implying she’d be swindled by a conspiracy?

Ji Huan pointed at herself. "Do you think I’m a fool? That I’ll believe whatever the horse judge says without making my own judgment? I know a thing or two about horses now, you know."

Guan Shan mercilessly shot her down. "What I taught you was just the basics."

"..."

Ji Huan waved a hand listlessly. "Fine, let’s go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Early the next morning, Ji Huan and Guan Shan took Dabao to the village entrance to wait for a cart. The ox-cart swayed and lurched, making frequent stops, and it took over an hour to reach Yeyang County.