Chapter Thirty-One: Wealth Rolls In

  "Let me think," Zhao Che put on a thoughtful look, his mind racing as he recalled the unfinished "History of Song", "Oh, there are two things, one is that I was posthumously promoted to king next January, and the other is that the empress passed away in August!" He said, as if suddenly remembering.

  "What?! The king is still alive, how can it be a posthumous title?" Huang Jingchen had heard too many strange things today, his head was spinning.

  "Master Xian saved me and returned my soul, otherwise wouldn't I have been a fugitive?" Zhao Che said in an ill-tempered tone.

  "Oh dear, I've misspoken. Let's just wait till next year and see if these things will happen or not. By then, we'll know whether the things in our dreams are true or false." Huang Jingchen said with some trepidation.

  This old man is quite capable, but he doesn't know if his time-traveling will change the current history. Zhao didn't have any confidence in his heart either, but he wasn't worried about it. After all, he was just a kid, and even if he did change history, what could be done? Wasn't changing history exactly what he wanted to do?

  "Alright, it seems there's no other way for now. In the future, Huang Bo will have to take care of more things in the mansion!" Zhao Yi said with a bitter smile.

  "Your Highness, please don't play tricks on me!" Huang Jingchen stood up, bowed and said: "I have been a palace servant since I was a child, and it's considered a great achievement to become the deputy head of the Imperial Guard. However, I was defeated by Yang Jiaolong, if not for the rescue of the Empress Dowager, I would not be alive today. I had secretly made up my mind to repay this great kindness, now that the Empress Dowager has entrusted you to me, I will dedicate my life to Your Highness!" He said, kneeling down and paying his respects.

  "Huang Bo!" Zhao Yi hastily supported him, but the old man was determined to kowtow. He pulled him twice but couldn't pull him up, so Zhao Yi also knelt down. "Huang Bo, since we left the palace, you have been extremely kind to me. I appreciate it and remember it in my heart. I always regarded you as a senior, please don't do this!" He said anxiously, kneeling was an extremely unpleasant thing for a modern person.

  "Huang Jingchen still kowtowed and knocked his head on the ground, showing his loyalty and devotion. From now on, he could no longer treat Wang Ye like a child."

  Now that the conversation has opened up, the master and servant had a long talk in a friendly atmosphere, exchanged their hearts, discussed the future development of the Wang Fu, and discussed the current problems they encountered, unified their opinions and reached a consensus. Huang Jingchen gained the absolute trust of the king, and continued to preside over his work, as long as he did his best, his happiness for the rest of his life was assured. Zhao Zhan gained a capable assistant, Huang Jingchen's experience and insight were beyond what this modern person could compare with, nor could they be replaced by others, in the end forming a win-win situation, both master and servant were overjoyed.

  Zhao Che finally put down his worries, with Huang Jingchen in front of him to block the wind and rain, he didn't have to be the bird that sticks its head out to get shot, he could avoid the open and secret attacks from all sides, plan his own big things, and more beautifully, he could continue to pretend to be a fool and play the role of a young master, enjoying his "happy childhood".

  As the end of the year approaches, the weather is getting colder. The vegetables in the greenhouse have all matured and the first batch has been harvested, with a total of 500-600 catties. Except for the portion kept for use in the mansion, they were all sent to the capital city for sale, without selling even one leafy green vegetable locally or even within the prefectural city.

  "Big official, it's all over!" exclaimed Zheng Fuyi, the chief manager, as soon as he entered Huang Jingchen's door.

  "What's the panic? It's not a big deal, is the Yellow River bursting its banks?" Huang Jingchen frowned and said.

  "Hehe, it's a good thing you're an official, guess how much the dishes in the warm room were sold for?" Zheng Fu said with a smile.

  "Hmm, just by looking at you, I can tell you've sold a lot. You must have made around 500 taels!" Huang Jingchen said.

  "Haha, you're too conservative, boss! We sold just a few calabazas for over 500 yuan, and more than 2,000 yuan worth of vegetables. At first, we were selling cucumbers for 5 yuan per kilogram, but later when the crowd grew, we started selling them for 5 yuan each, and they were still snatched up!" Manager Zheng Fu was grinning from ear to ear.

  "Ah?!" Five hundred catties of vegetables could sell for five yuan in the summer, but now they've increased by more than a hundred times!

  "Prince Wang is really clever, he said these vegetables can sell for at least 2,000 guan in the capital, I didn't believe it at first, thinking it was just a joke, but it's true! Those who didn't get to buy them are now putting down deposits and fighting to get some!" Zheng Fu shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, my greenhouse still has several harvests left, if they all sell for this price, the income from Prince Wang's greenhouse will surpass our annual rent from 100 hectares of land!"

  "Alas, the king is no ordinary person!" Huang Jingchen sighed and said a sentence, and at this time he didn't doubt the king's encounter with the immortal.

  Being able to grow fresh vegetables in winter, if the people of Chaoli knew about it, they would definitely consider it a good omen. However, this is not the time for widespread publicity, so he had to remind Zheng Fu: "You just remember to follow Wang Ye and do as Wang Ye says, we will have good days ahead, but be sure to keep these things confidential, if someone asks, just say that the servants in the mansion happened to grow them, absolutely do not let outsiders know that it was done by Wang Ye!"

  "Don't worry, young master, I know what to do. This time in the capital, following Master Wang's instructions, I rented a shop on Ma Xiang Street in Beijing to sell vegetables. The apprentices I hired are all from outside, even if they want to ask, they won't be able to find out where the goods come from!" Zheng Fu said with a smile.

  "Ah, still be careful!" Huang Jingchen nodded and said, "The next batch of goods has been prepared by the prince, you immediately send someone to load the car in the warm room, set off overnight, don't delay!"

  "Yes, I'll go myself. The king's vegetables are a gold mine, and I must keep an eye on them to prevent them from being wasted!" Zheng Fu muttered to himself as he retreated, leading the men to load the carts.

  Zheng Fuxing arrived at the garden with two servants, and from a distance, he smelled the fragrance of roasted meat. As they approached, the king was roasting a whole sheep on the charcoal fire in the pavilion, while a servant kept stirring the iron skewer. The king was sprinkling seasonings non-stop, and the others were drooling around him.

  "Second Master, we're back! All the dishes have been sold out. Let's load up the second cart!" Zheng Fu stepped forward and greeted him with a bow.

  "How much did it sell for?" Zhao asked without lifting his head.

  "Second Master, we've made a big profit! One truck of vegetables sold for over 2,300 yuan. Our vegetables are in short supply!" Zheng Fu said with a smile all over his face, but Wang Ye's words gave him another shock.

  "Damn it, I've sold at a loss. If only I had known, I should have set the price higher. Next batch of vegetables will be 10% more expensive!" Zhao said.

  "Second Master, but I've already received the deposit, it's not good to raise the price!" Zheng Fu hastily said, selling so much money and still saying they're losing out, how much does the king want to make?

  "Alas, you're an old hand at this business, how can you be so muddled? With goods being scarce and valuable, it's a seller's market now. Our goods are one-of-a-kind, all you can say is that they're in short supply, but don't dare guarantee the next batch will have any left. Let them think that no matter how much money they spend, they still can't get their hands on it, and then we can raise the price. Not only did you collect the deposit, which means we can't raise the price now, but also gave them the impression that there's plenty of goods to go around! You've botched this deal!" Zhao Zhan handed over the seasoning container to Zhao Xin, patting off the seasoning stuck on his hand.

  "What can be done about it, Second Master?"

  "What to do, just cool it. As a person, you can't not keep your credit. You've paid the deposit, give it back. Don't even sell the remaining vegetable leaves. Tell others that the goods are cut off and those who want them have to wait for a few more days!" Zhao Ye thought for a moment before saying.

  "Then let them wait for a few days?" Zheng Fu was indeed a straightforward person and asked again.

  "Tell them it's not ready, then when the next dish arrives, raise the price!"

  "Second Master, the price of dishes has already been sold high enough, can anyone still want it if the price is raised again?"

  "Fool, someone who can eat four or five catties of vegetables for one yuan, is he an ordinary person? What they want is face, the more expensive you sell it, the more face the buyer will have. The higher the price, the more they'll buy. You don't need to worry about this!" Zhao taught him, saying that in his past life, he had seen many such big fools who would rather suffer for the sake of saving face.

  "Yes, yes, I've learned something new. So that's how you can make money!" Zheng Fu was lectured by Young Master Wang for two sentences, but instead of feeling embarrassed, he felt like he had learned a new trick and was quite pleased with himself.

  "Old Zheng, this time the money earned from selling vegetables, arrange it so that for New Year's everyone in the mansion gets a new set of clothes made with good fabric!" Zhao Yi thought for a moment and then said, "Also give everyone an extra month's wages, send out some welfare benefits, let everyone have a good New Year's. For us vegetable farmers, each person will be specially rewarded twenty guan!"

  "I'll thank Second Master on everyone's behalf!" Zheng Fu said with a bow, "Second Master, what is the welfare? You still need to make it clear, so I can arrange for someone to buy it!"

  "Alas, welfare is not a thing, yet it is a thing." Zhao Yi was confused by Zheng Fu's words, as the term "welfare" did not exist in this era. "It means buying some meat, rice and flour, distributing them to everyone, each person getting an equal share. As long as you're a member of the household, no one will be left out, got it?"

  "I understand, I understand. I'll definitely do a good job and let everyone know of Master Er's kindness!" Zheng Fu spoke from the heart, as in all his years of service, this was the first time he had seen the master's family celebrate the new year by not only making new clothes for the servants but also giving them extra money and gifts.

  Don't look down on the Song Dynasty's copper cash. In the Daguan era, one string of copper cash could buy a live pig or a stone of white rice. In remote areas, it could even buy an acre of inferior land. Twenty strings were considered a large sum of money, but of course, you can't compare with Cai Jing - that was just the cost of his few crab roe buns.

  "Second Master, are you really giving us money?" The surrounding servants heard that they were going to be given bonuses and gathered around, Zhao Ren asked disbelievingly. They were all sold into the mansion, only responsible for eating and dressing, without wages.

  "Of course, the vegetables are yours to grow and also the most tiring. After selling them for money, you should naturally have a share. Are you afraid that the money will bite your hands?" Zhao Chu smiled and said, "Old Zheng, give them the money first, lest they worry that I, the second master, will cheat them and they won't be able to sleep at night!"