Tribute : some things they give to the king / emperor in acknowledgment of submission or as the price of protection.So that thing becomes the emperor’s, really precious.
“Oh my goodness, wasn’t Yang Dalang supposed to be doing business in Suocheng? How did he end up in the capital?”
Not to mention, it needed cold transport! Miao He knew that after selling the ice recipe, the Liang family’s fleet had recently introduced a few ships with cold storage. Though not quite refrigeration, the ship holds were exceptionally cool. However, how much more would the shipping cost be!? He quickly grabbed the young messenger and asked for more details. The boy said he didn’t know much, only that the boss had been very serious and insistent on speed.
Miao He took a deep breath, deciding to prepare thoroughly.
He had long explained the concept of first-in-first-out inventory management to Yang Dalang. He even used Arabic numerals to label each box, teaching Yang Dalang to recognize which boxes should be sold first and which should be sold later.
Now this order required cold transport and the freshest goods. Yang Dalang’s business must have reached some important customers!
Oh my, how impressive!
Miao He clenched his fists, determined not to hold back his hardworking Dalang.
He immediately contacted Liang Yuanwai to arrange the shipping schedule. On the other hand, he had the women work overtime to gather the latest picked fruits to replace some of the older ones in storage. After much effort, within two days, he finally sent all the fruits in batches onto the ship!
After this intense period, Miao He and the entire group of women were exhausted.
Looking at the little money left in hand, Miao He, with a trembling heart, still decided to call someone from the teahouse to cook a big pot of meat stew to reward everyone. Even Second Aunt Yang was too tired to cook for herself.
Who would have thought that after sending off what he believed to be the biggest batch of fruits, thinking there would be some leisure time, another messenger arrived the very next day, startling Miao He so much that he nearly dropped his child.
“Another two hundred boxes of each?” Miao He was dumbfounded and immediately asked, “What did he say this time?”
The young boy, who was about the size of a middle schooler and an honest kid, shook his head and said nothing. Then, he quickly pulled out a fifty-tael silver note from his pocket, respectfully handing it to the mistress, saying it was what the boss had instructed to give.
Miao He nodded and accepted it, as it was mentioned in the letter. He assumed Yang Dalang knew the last rush had depleted his funds significantly, so he promptly sent some money back. Since there were no specific instructions this time, and considering the current stock in the cellar… Well, there was no need for overnight overtime, but he couldn’t just send the stored fruits either.
So, he decided to have the women work a little overtime and sent fifty extra boxes this time. Miao He was worried that the earlier harvested fruits might pose a problem upon arrival, even though they were all stored in the cellar’s cool storage. The solution was to send more. He trusted Yang Dalang would understand his intentions.
This time, Miao He also sent a letter back, detailing the current situation. Initially, he thought it wouldn’t be necessary, but now he had to inform Yang Dalang about the approximate remaining production, to ensure they had enough to meet the demand.
This chaotic and busy period lasted for over a month until the end of October when Yang Dalang finally returned home.
As soon as he entered, Miao He rushed to him without a word!
The two children crawling on the floor were a step behind and immediately started crawling over, making loud sounds.
At Yang Dalang’s feet, the four dogs were happily circling and rubbing against him. Da Bai the cat also came over and rubbed against his leg, indicating the king had acknowledged his presence.
Yang Dalang, without even taking off his shoes, hugged and kissed each one. Then he lay on the wooden floor of the main room, still pressed down by the four of them, with the two little ones climbing on his legs, the bigger one lying in his arms, and a furry one pressing on his ankle. This weight was just enough to relieve all his fatigue.
The first thing Miao He said was not about anything else but about how much the children missed their father.
Hearing this, Yang Dalang’s eyes softened, and he smiled, with fine lines appearing. He immediately took turns holding the two little ones, tossing them up a bit, making them giggle.
Miao He touched him lovingly, “You’ve lost weight. And you look more rugged.”
Yang Dalang’s smile didn’t fade as he leaned down to kiss him. “You worked hard too.”
“It’s not hard. I just missed you a bit.” After not seeing him for over a month, Miao He found he could say the cheesiest things without hesitation now!
“Me too.” Yang Dalang kissed the soft spot on Miao He’s neck.
Miao He hugged him, sighing contentedly. They spent a long time feeling each other’s presence, knowing that he was really back. Even after the two little ones had had enough playtime, they slowly started talking about what happened while they were apart.
First, of course, was the money.
Yang Dalang took out the silver notes, and Miao He’s eyes lit up at the sight of the lightweight papers. “Wow, three hundred taels!?”
“Altogether over four hundred taels, more than a hundred was used to buy a shop.”
“A shop!?”
“Yes. I bought it in Suocheng. Now that the fruits are tribute items, recommended by the Xu family in Suocheng, it should sell well there in the future.”
“Tri… Tribute!?” Miao He almost rolled out of his embrace, “What’s going on!?”
Yang Dalang rarely sighed, “It’s all a coincidence.”
He didn’t know whether to be amazed by the quality of the fruits grown with the magic soil or by Miao He’s luck. He recalled Xu Huan riding back to Suocheng, barely catching his breath as he recounted how their fruits were chosen as tribute. It was miraculous. A series of conspiracies and calculations had ended up with them gaining the most benefit coincidentally. And it was all thanks to the Xu family, which Miao He had drawn in.
Of course, the process was tense and full of twists and turns.
After passing the initial inspection, the first few hundred boxes ordered faced extremely stringent scrutiny from one of the inspectors. However, with their superior quality, robust packaging, and reliable transport, the fruits passed the final test without a hitch! Even Yang Dalang was called in to be questioned by the officials, which meant he had been inside the palace.
Hearing this, Miao He exclaimed repeatedly, “Wow—” “Wow—“
The two little ones adorably mimicked him, “Wow?” “Wow?” “Drawing!” “Flower flower flower!!”
The thrilling story had a somewhat mismatched background noise.
Naturally, after this news spread in Suocheng, how could there be any shortage of orders?
In addition to the rising fruit prices, the influx of orders led Yang Dalang to initiate a “limited purchase” campaign to balance supply and demand as much as possible.
“Oh, even using number tags?” Miao He smacked his lips.
Yang Dalang, being a good student, said, “You mentioned it, so I tried it.”
No matter what, a golden signboard of “tribute” had now been bestowed upon Miao He and Yang Dalang.
However, this did not mean they had become imperial merchants. Many businesses contributed to the palace, and only those with years of accumulated reputation and official recommendations could be honored as imperial merchants. For now, they were merely one of the suppliers to the emperor.
But even with that, their fruits would never worry about sales again. Everyone wanted to eat fruits from the same mountain as the emperor, even if they weren’t the same variety. It was good to bask in the dragon’s fortune. From now on, even if they didn’t actively sell, people would come to them.
Thus, it was foreseeable that transporting fruits to the capital and Suocheng would become routine.
Although opening a shop wasn’t in the immediate plan, when the opportunity came, it couldn’t be stopped. So, Yang Dalang directly bought a shop in Suocheng, arranged for permanent staff, and prepared for the upcoming busy season of honey mandarins in November. With their newfound fame, he even had some orders lined up.
Hearing this, Miao He’s shoulders drooped a bit, “Oh right. I forgot about the honey mandarins…”
Seeing his little face wrinkled, Yang Dalang hugged him, “Once the staff at the shop become more familiar with the work, I won’t have to run back and forth as much.” The shop didn’t have many procurement expenses, just needed a place to take orders and deliver goods, making management relatively simple.
Miao He could only nod, but he still praised Yang Dalang thoroughly.
Seeing how he had settled so quickly in a strange city, found useful people, and managed the sudden influx of orders efficiently, overcoming one challenge after another, Miao He realized how much harder it must have been compared to just picking fruits and packing boxes. Moreover, whenever he praised Yang Dalang, the occasional shy look on his face made Miao He find him adorable.
After that, Miao He detailed his own situation, like the specifics of scheduling shipping, the workforce and conditions for urgent orders, and the space planning in the cellar. They had not tightly controlled expenses this time, and some waste was inevitable. Miao He even ran out of cash at one point. There was still room for improvement.
The two of them summarized this experience thoroughly. After resting at home for a few days and eating several chicken stews specially made by Miao He, Yang Dalang took another batch of this season’s fruit jam and went to Suocheng.
Before leaving for Suocheng, the two did one more thing: they formally rented out half of their wasteland.
Although it was a bit late in the season, they could still barely plant a season of winter wheat. This time, the rent wasn’t as generous as the peanut fields, simply splitting the post-tax profits equally. If the profits couldn’t cover the taxes, the losses would also be shared equally. However, considering most landlords took sixty percent while tenants got forty, their fifty-fifty split was quite generous.
The seeds used were, of course, the high-quality wheat seeds improved by magic soil.
This was a result of a discussion they had back in June after the peanut harvest.
At that time, Miao He said, “Seeing how happy everyone was with the peanut harvest, I wondered if we should distribute the improved seeds from magic soil for others to plant. Crops like rice and wheat, to give everyone a better harvest?”
Yang Dalang looked at him for a long time without saying anything.
Miao He rubbed his nose, “I didn’t think like this before because I was afraid of arousing suspicion. Now that we are getting better off, if the whole village improves, Mantou and Wotou will have better food. I don’t know if I can keep magic soil for them. What do you think?”
Yang Dalang couldn’t help but hug him tightly.
Always cheerful, Miao He had already thought so far ahead.
Although it was for Mantou and Wotou, with the money and land they would leave behind, their sons wouldn’t have to worry about their livelihood. This was just an act of kindness from Miao He. He wasn’t seeking to sacrifice everything for others, just doing a little more within his capacity. And that little bit might change some things, or maybe a lot of things.
“Good. No rush, we’ll take it slowly.”
Now, the timing seemed right.
And if Yang Dalang had gone to the capital and returned with some precious seeds, it wouldn’t be surprising.
This news naturally left the village chief speechless with astonishment.
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He finally return! \(=^w^=)/ Congrats, bubus!
Thank You for the new chapter ???(?? ? ?? )