The sugar towers were priced nowhere near as cheaply as granulated sugar. Granulated sugar, Zhù Ying had deliberately kept at a low price and strictly forbidden anyone from raising it. The sugar towers, she had said nothing about.
Xiang Da-lang had people planted in the crowd to gush: “A single sugar tower costs five strings of cash, mind you! Count them — look at how many were offered to the gods and Buddhas! Now that’s true devotion; that’s doing it in grand style.”
Quite the sales pitch.
The abbot had first received one hundred strings of incense money from Zhù Ying, then a large quantity of sugar towers. He neither exposed anything nor knew what the actual production cost of the sugar towers was. When offered a gift, he accepted it. Sugar wasn’t cheap — ever since the Southern Prefecture’s “Prefect’s sugar” arrived and brought prices down, it still wasn’t something ordinary people could afford every day. It was still somewhat dearer than salt.
Hearing that it could be sold so expensively, the county magistrates’ eyes burned with envy. They all stared at Zhù Ying.
Zhù Ying said, “Even if I opened it up to all of you, you wouldn’t necessarily earn that much. Build your mills first — when I return from my retreat estate, we can discuss the wheat planting and settle the pricing at the same time.” To completely drive down the price of sugar, at the very least the entire Southern Prefecture would need to be producing large quantities. Otherwise, only the Southern Prefecture cutting prices would just mean earning less themselves, while sugar prices overall remained unchanged. A drop in the bucket.
The county magistrates all answered: “Yes!”
Zhù Ying did her usual rounds of the market, bought a batch of treasures and southern goods, then led a group of people who were eager to get home back to the Southern Prefecture. After entering the Southern Prefecture, she arranged the production of sugar mills in each county — the techniques were in her hands, one copy per household, and she had no fear of teaching them how to make sugar.
The whole secret of the sugar mill, as far as she was concerned, came down to three things: “refinement, speed, and scale.” With the same technique in different hands, the output and profit would vary enormously. Given the efficiency of the various counties, they would inevitably fall short of what she could achieve. Private mills were more flexible and less plagued by bureaucratic bickering, but had less capital and less experience.
Even in the official sugar mills, there would inevitably be some pilfering and side-pocketing of goods. The work atmosphere in the Southern Prefecture’s various yamens had been cleaned up fairly well, but losses couldn’t be said to be entirely nonexistent.
Even so, their profits would still be quite respectable, because the techniques Master Tang had improved genuinely had some distinctive advantages.
Before Zhù Ying now lay several freshly copied-out technique sheets, with the county magistrates and the craftsmen and merchants they had selected seated below. The county magistrates had one very simple idea: follow the example, copy what my lord has done.
Zhù Ying said, “Xiang Le — since your brother is away, sit in his place.”
She was going to set uniform pricing.
Magistrates like Guo had decided in their minds that as long as they could get the formula first, they would agree to any conditions. But one experienced elder merchant in the group held a different view: a newcomer, with the same price point, would have a harder time making a profit than an established operator.
This elder rose carefully and said, “My lord, when the crop is cheap it harms the farmer — if prices are too low, people will stop doing this business… If granulated sugar is priced too low, no one will want to bother…”
Zhù Ying raised an eyebrow. “You’re free to sell at a higher price.”
A flicker of pleasure crossed the elder’s face, followed by some confusion. Magistrate Guo quickly said, “Impertinent! How dare you haggle with my lord?”
Zhù Ying let out a sigh. “Can someone tell me — if you can produce sugar worth a higher price, why come to me? Go sell it on your own.”
The elder was confused. He glanced at Magistrate Guo. Was it not said that there were very expensive sugar towers?
Magistrate Guo’s face went a sickly green. Zhù Ying also said, “If you find working with me leaves too little profit, find someone else. Escort him out.”
One gesture, and two yamen runners came to “escort” the elder out.
Zhù Ying glanced at Magistrate Guo, who trembled so hard his legs weakened. Zhù Ying said, “Anyone else have an objection?”
Deputy County Magistrate Mo immediately said, “None at all! We all defer to my lord! Working under my lord’s guidance has never done us wrong, has it? Brother Guan?”
Magistrate Guan also quickly said, “That’s right!”
Zhù Ying said, “Then let’s begin.” In her heart she was perfectly clear: even with the various counties’ level of efficiency, and even at her current pricing, the profits on this sugar would be very handsome indeed. To raise prices further would be to undermine her own work.
She called a name and handed out a sheet of paper; in total she distributed seven sheets. Magistrate Guo watched the eighth sheet and was inwardly furious at the elder for saying all the wrong things — conveniently forgetting entirely that it was he who had sent the elder to speak up, on the theory that Zhù Ying tended to be more lenient with the elderly and the weak. Looking at the situation now, lenient she certainly was — no beating, no scolding, just leaving him without his allotted share.
Magistrate Guo’s regret was something fierce.
Zhù Ying waited until they had all received their papers, then spoke slowly: “The profit here is already not inconsiderable. Think about how many people there are in the whole country, and yet how few people are making sugar. Sell at a fair price and the money in your hands can turn over, allowing you to expand the mills further. Money is like water — it only stays fresh when it flows.”
She further ordered that all sugar mills, whether official or private, were also to agree on a price when purchasing sugarcane. Neither price gouging nor conspiring to suppress the sugarcane price excessively was permitted: “If there’s no profit in it, no one will bother growing sugarcane. And if sugarcane prices are inflated, production costs rise, and profits shrink.”
Magistrate Guan said, “Like Fulu’s orange pricing — everyone reaches a public agreement?”
Zhù Ying smiled. “Naturally. It’s just us here right now — let’s set a price.”
She then agreed upon the price of sugarcane with these people, and then the price of granulated sugar, both with a floating range. All prices were pegged to that year’s grain price: one catty of raw granulated sugar was worth such-and-such catties of grain; one stone of sugarcane was worth a corresponding amount.
The middle-aged man accompanying Hedong County was the first to express agreement: “My lord is wise. These past twenty years, grain prices have always fluctuated — a bountiful year versus a disaster year can differ by several times. Setting a single fixed price would mean suffering in both extremes!”
Magistrate Guo thought to himself that the old man who had spoken up before had wasted his moment — Zhù Ying had thought everything through far more carefully than any of them.
Zhù Ying then said, “Also — you can operate for a few years first. I’m giving you a head start. After five years, I’ll release the technique to others.” Everyone tensed up.
Zhù Ying laughed. “I’m letting you run ahead — and you’re still afraid someone will take your share? Start now! Xiang Da has already put out the signboards for you. If you still can’t make anything of it, better hand over the work to someone capable. As for the techniques — if I refused to share them with anyone, Xiang Da could run this for ten years alone before letting anyone else in. Anyone else have an objection? Then Xiang Da runs it alone for ten years first.”
Everyone hastily agreed.
Zhù Ying said, “Good — then let’s break up.”
She had originally intended for this to be a discussion. But the moment the elder opened his mouth, she identified the problem — merchants pursue profit. With sugar still scarce on the market, they only needed to undercut others by ten to twenty percent to sell extremely well. Why would they slash the price in half? They had put in the work; they also had to deal with the yamen. They had the chance to make a windfall — why not take more?
This ran contrary to her thinking. So she simply stopped discussing it. National economy and the people’s livelihood — these things were not to be deliberated with others.
After setting the pricing, Zhù Ying said, “Let’s break up.”
Magistrate Guo deliberately waited until last. When the others had all left and Gu Tong and Xiang Le remained, he swallowed his pride and said tentatively, “My lord…”
Zhù Ying said without warmth, “Is that the straightforward person you found?”
Magistrate Guo managed a rueful smile. Zhù Ying said, “Is there truly no one left in Nanping County? You brought someone with no sense? Replace him.”
Magistrate Guo immediately agreed: “Yes! This official will go select someone immediately.”
Zhù Ying said, “No need to bring the new person to see me.”
“Yes.”
“Go attend to your affairs.”
Gu Tong bowed and extended a hand: “This way, please, Magistrate Guo.”
……
Magistrate Guo walked out with Gu Tong, all the while asking him to put in a good word.
Gu Tong said, “Surely you know my teacher’s temperament, sir? As long as things are done properly, nothing stays in my teacher’s mind past sundown. But drag it out, and my teacher’s memory is excellent. My teacher’s heart is with the common people. When the children on the street happily eat their sugar — if prices were doubled, how many could still afford it?”
Magistrate Guo had been lectured by someone twenty years his junior. He couldn’t call Gu Tong impertinent, but he did feel rather unlucky. He murmured a vague agreement.
Gu Tong could see he was displeased, so he simply said outright, “Alas, sir — just think. If my teacher didn’t care about you all, couldn’t she enjoy this profit alone? Why share it with everyone?”
Magistrate Guo was mildly startled, thinking to himself: Is this a warning? Is it my lord’s meaning, or is this young man acting on his own?
He returned to his county yamen full of suspicion.
Gu Tong found the whole exchange dull. He had a mild streak of a pampered young gentleman’s temperament, but he was no fool — Magistrate Guo couldn’t even be bothered to pretend he had been persuaded. But…
He let out a couple of quiet snorts, ran back to the study, and found Zhù Ying reading through a merchant’s list and arranging things with Xiang Le. Xiang Da-lang was still in the prefectural city making a handsome profit; Xiang Le was his younger brother, and this time organising the merchants heading into the mountains would fall to Xiang Le as the go-between.
Hearing his footsteps grow heavier, Zhù Ying ignored it at first, waiting until she had finished one item of business with Xiang Le before saying, “Who has managed to offend our young gentleman now?”
Gu Tong said, “Teacher! Teacher, why can’t these people be reasoned with?”
Zhù Ying raised an eyebrow. “You think they don’t understand? They understand perfectly well.”
“They have no conscience at all.”
“If they wanted to accumulate merit, why wouldn’t they donate incense money in their own name and have it properly recorded? Why do it so quietly with no one knowing their name? You think the five-string sugar towers were paid for with money from the poor? The poor couldn’t save up enough in a lifetime to donate even one. Those who give freely with a generous hand are definitely these wealthy householders.”
Gu Tong fumed and gasped. Zhù Ying said to Xiang Le, “Remember to remind Xiang An — the official sugar mill must be run well.”
Xiang Le said, “She’s always taken it to heart.”
Zhù Ying nodded.
She was increasingly certain of one thing: the official sugar mill in her hands had to be run well — output had to be high — only then would she be better placed to stabilise prices. The sugarcane the prefecture had planted in the spring was now ready for harvest, and the official sugar mill could use it. Deducting wages and other costs, the profits were rightfully hers. She could use these to accurately assess the profit situation of the various sugar mills while simultaneously sensing price fluctuations — rather than passively waiting until market prices had already shot up before thinking to intervene.
Zhù Ying said, “Call Little Wu over.”
Little Wu had been waiting for exactly this. He had not been brought to the prefectural city on this trip, and had spent the whole time guessing what task might be waiting for him. He lived in the yamen, so he came trotting out in his shoes — and was still hopping on one foot as he ran, using a heel to pull the back of his shoe up.
He entered the study and asked, “My lord, my lord, you have something for me to do?”
Zhù Ying said, “Take Fan and Zhang to the prefectural city. They’re going to the capital with the Administrator. Day after tomorrow — three, six, nine, set out. Prepare the travel money the prefecture is providing for them. Nothing else to manage.”
“Yes.”
“When you get to the prefectural city, whatever you hear or see, don’t speak carelessly. Once the errand is done, come back — you’re the Granary Official; the winter wheat planting can’t do without you. When you’re back, keep watch over the wheat with the others. Also — if any county neglects the wheat planting in favour of growing sugarcane, note it down and report to Chief Administrator Zhang first. If it happens again, come and tell me.”
“Yes.”
“If Administrator Leng asks about me, tell him I miss him very much and ask him to take good care of himself on the road.”
“Yes.”
With Little Wu’s instructions complete, Zhù Ying had Xiang Le continue contacting merchants. The list of merchants heading into the mountains was essentially confirmed; now she needed to set pricing.
Going into the mountains was admittedly not easy on one’s own. But with her leading a large group, the safety situation was entirely different — protection from wild beasts on the road, from mountain bandits, and from disputes with the various tribes after arrival; a merchant’s chances of survival improved enormously. Second, there was the question of credibility: travelling with an official was all but equivalent to having official backing, which would make business considerably smoother. Third were savings on the cost of pathfinding.
For Zhù Ying’s part, she could certainly issue a government order forcing merchants to accept losses to exchange for her favour — but she had no intention of doing that. Everyone making a little money was the truly profitable outcome.
She calculated the costs herself, then consulted Xiang Le and Chou Wen, and combined this with time she had spent observing in the markets and chatting idly on the streets. She had a fairly thorough understanding of prices. She also didn’t bother negotiating at length with these people — she simply called them together and set a price. If they found it unworkable, they could withdraw; she would only bring those who agreed.
She did something that officials at this time almost never did — she held a meeting with merchants.
After pricing was set, she also had a complete set of standard measures brought out. Among the many symbols by which the court established its rule was the promulgation of standard weights and measures. Every market in every prefecture and county had a standardised set: rulers, scales, dou measures, and so on. If one felt the other party’s scales were inaccurate during a transaction, one could have them checked against the standard.
Zhù Ying wanted to do this properly. Best of all was to set a standard and settle all arguments once and for all — like the sealed-name examination, where Zou Jinxian could be as active and famous as he liked, but if he scored third, the direct placement spot wasn’t his. The examiner’s competence might be questioned, but not cheating.
Then came planning the route. This trip would again take around twenty days. Setting out from Nanping County, passing through a corner of Sicheng County, entering Talang County. Talang County had a trading post, so there was no need for a long stop there — they would spend one night at the “county seat,” meaning the Talang family’s main stockade. From there, they would pass through the Mountain Sparrow father-in-law’s territory, staying one day and one night at his main stockade. Then on to Xi Jin’s home, and finally, rather than using the mountain pass at the front, they would go through Xi Jin’s territory and arrive directly at the campsite near the Yigan family.
This was framed as a “autumn outing.” The merchants were said to be following along of their own accord, so she would not be making very long stops on the road. If merchants wanted to conduct some small trade during the brief rest periods, she would not stop them — but they were required to make it to the campsite with her and keep back enough goods. Whatever remained unsold at the campsite could be sold on the return journey.
She herself was bringing along quite a few things, including sugar as an indispensable item. She herself also planned to do some trading — building a city required a great deal of money! Opening up land and recruiting people were all money-spending operations. It would be rather underhanded to hollow out the Southern Prefecture to build her own estate, but using the Southern Prefecture as a hen to lay eggs for the new city was the ideal approach.
All official public-field revenues naturally went to her. Using these as start-up capital was about right for her purposes. What she lacked most right now was time. The first term of the Southern Prefecture Prefect was coming to an end. Whether she could remain afterwards was uncertain. She had been directly promoted from Fulu County Magistrate to this Prefect — which was already uncommon — and time was pressing.
Zhù Ying first personally saw off Fan and Zhang along with Little Wu. She went to the prefecture gate herself to see them off. Yamen runners stood on each side holding large trays, which bore very thick winter cloaks and a heap of silver ingots.
Zhù Ying said, “The capital’s climate is quite different from the Southern Prefecture’s — take great care and be cautious at every turn. When you arrive in the capital, study diligently and don’t let the splendour distract you.” She also reminded them that although they were direct placement students, the National Academy still held examinations. If results were far too poor, one could be expelled. The National Academy dismissed inadequate students every year.
Of course, Zhù Ying didn’t tell them that under ordinary circumstances those with hereditary privilege were not expelled — but Fan and Zhang had no such privilege.
She left all of that for them to discover on their own.
The two students bid farewell to Zhù Ying, parted tearfully from their families, boarded the carriage the Southern Prefecture had prepared, and set off with Little Wu riding alongside, their luggage packed and sent along to the prefectural city.
On Zhù Ying’s side, she also set out with her prepared party.
……——
Zhù Ying’s retinue this trip was unusually long. She had brought the wheat seed promised to Lang Kunwu and other items, as well as her own guards; she had also borrowed a hundred soldiers from Commandant Mei. She further needed to prepare provisions for all these people. The merchant group went without saying — the merchants also had their own goods. Their initial loads were not very large; most used pack horses rather than carts. Zhù Ying understood this perfectly — she had used carts on her last trip and suffered quite a bit going through the mountain roads. Here, horses — or in some places oxen — were far better. Roads that were passable, with loads that were not too small. Some merchants also used a type of one-wheeled barrow, pushed by a helper, carrying goods the mountains were short of in, and carrying mountain products back out — a decent profit for quite a bit of hard work.
Zhù Ying did the same: a few pack horses, mules, and donkeys, along with a few light small carts without heavy loads. She also had several dogs brought along, to serve as lookouts on the road.
Peng Sishi had privately muttered to Zhang Sibing that the Prefect’s intention was clear as a bald man’s lice — she wanted a track record of pacifying the mountain people under indirect control.
Since that was what their superior wanted — and this superior had also been quite decent to them — Peng Sishi also arranged craftsmen for Zhù Ying and organised a group of corvée workers carrying their own rations and pushing one-wheeled barrows into the mountains with her.
Zhù Ying accepted it graciously.
Commandant Mei had formerly cursed her for a pretty boy; now he was firmly supportive. Zhù Ying had asked for a hundred soldiers, and he provided a hundred, and even came to see her off, saying: “My lord has always been unfathomable. This trip must have its reasons. I’ll simply wait for my lord’s safe return!”
Zhù Ying said, “You’re too kind.”
Commandant Mei gave a look to one of his trusted personal guards, who nodded in understanding. Commandant Mei had given the man a task: go see what the trade with the mountain people is like — is it profitable or not, and is it easy? Before, he had not dared to involve himself in such affairs; he was stationed here specifically to guard against these “mountain people.” Now things were different. The people in question were already court-recognised chiefs of tributary counties. How could there not be trade?
With the Prefect in front as a shield, if the sky fell, a taller person would hold it up. If anything went wrong, it could be pushed onto the Prefect’s head. Clean hands all round.
If the trade was worth doing, Commandant Mei wasn’t one to turn down money.
With a hundred soldiers in hand, Zhù Ying’s confidence was considerably greater. She did not rush into the march. Instead she called Xiang Le and Chou Wen: “Pass the order down — five merchants to a small group, forming their own units.”
She organised the merchants into a formation like an army squad system. There were thirty-one merchants on this trip total, their goods a mix of similar and different items. She grouped them by the size and closeness of their goods, forming units. The one extra person was grouped into the last unit. Six groups in total, each with one squad of five soldiers accompanying them with a dog, ensuring safety.
The remaining seventy soldiers were split into a front and rear column: the front column on alert, the rear column as rearguard.
With this whole group in tow, they set out.
Three days were spent in the Southern Prefecture. Thanks to thorough preparation, the journey into Talang County was actually faster than her previous trip on this road. Lang Kunwu received them in the main stockade. Looking at this party of around two hundred people, Lang Kunwu did a rough calculation of their consumption and sighed.
Xiang Le stepped forward and said, “We’ve brought some of our own dry rations, but I’m afraid not quite enough — we’d like to buy some from you. Also, where can we find water?”
Lang Kunwu let out a sigh of relief and felt a small twinge of embarrassment. “Both are available.”
Zhù Ying did not move into Lang’s main house; she arranged the camp first. She divided the camp into sections — one section per merchant unit, each unit with its own goods, its own guard, everything orderly.
Then she handed over the wheat seed she had brought to Lang Kunwu: “Every one of those are experts at planting wheat. What I gave you, you give back in kind.”
Lang Kunwu said, “Of course! My lord keeps his word, and so do I.”
Lang Niangzi and the Old Lady封君 of the Lang family urged the slaughter of pigs, chickens, and roasting of sheep to entertain Zhù Ying. Zhù Ying gave them the pearls she had brought from the prefectural city and also presented them with some sugar. The Lang Old Lady wanted Zhù Ying to stay a couple more days: “The road ahead is even harder going. Better to rest a while here. We also like the things you’ve brought very much and would like to buy more.”
Zhù Ying said, “Those things aren’t mine. I’m going into the mountains for a leisure outing — they chose to come along and do a little business on the side.”
Lang Niangzi remembered that her father still had some unresolved business with Zhù Ying, and no word had yet come back from the court — Zhù Ying still needed to mediate. So she said, “My lord wants to go into the mountains for an outing? My brothers are all good at hunting. Please take them along — they can show off their skills. In autumn the birds and beasts of the mountains are all plump.”
The two women instinctively exchanged a glance. Lang Kunwu felt a sudden pain in the back of his neck.
Zhù Ying smiled, took a bamboo-skewer candy and dangled it in front of their children: “Be careful — don’t let the skewer poke your mouth. Wheat straws were fine enough, but bamboo works too.”
By this point, the bamboo-skewer candy had improved further from before — no longer the simple pressed block of brown sugar, but made from dissolved granulated sugar mixed with colouring, cast in a flower mould.
Lang Niangzi quickly went off to watch the children, and the Lang Old Lady said, “I’m staying home to mind the house. If my lord sees Xi Jin, look in on him for me.”
Zhù Ying said, “Will do.”
The merchants did some trade here as well. Since Talang County had a trading post, the exchange volume this time was small.
The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law’s territory was next, and he was far more eager to trade. The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law’s daughter had an open and generous personality; he himself also spoke plainly: “Precious Blade is closer to my lord than I am, and he can open a market there. I’m separated from my lord by mountains — to buy things the way I can here, I don’t know how much more effort it would take.”
Zhù Ying said, “Didn’t we agree that you can send people to the prefectural city to purchase goods, and that a market can also be set up in your area…”
“Ah, ah, that’s not how I like to do things. I know my lord also wants to bring the Yigan family into the fold. I always arrived first. Precious Blade arrived first too, and what you give him, you’ll give to us as well — I know my lord won’t shortchange me. The court hasn’t given a definitive reply yet either. My lord, I don’t treat you as an outsider, and you must be good to me as well!”
Zhù Ying listened to all of this and smiled. “I’m not only coming this once. As long as the court doesn’t explicitly forbid it, I’ll keep coming. You need to leave me some goods for my other guests too.”
The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law heard this and said readily, “Fine!”
Zhù Ying said, “I’ll pass through your territory on this trip. If any of my attendants break your rules and offend you, just tell me — I’ll punish them without fail. Along the route passing through your land, please ensure the road is safe and free from robbery.”
The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law said, “That goes without saying!”
Zhù Ying said, “Then that’s more than satisfactory.”
She stayed for one day at the Mountain Sparrow father-in-law’s territory as well, spending far less time inside the stockade than on the road. She then passed through Xi Jin’s family territory. Xi Jin was of the same mind as the Mountain Sparrow father-in-law — better to have what can be traded secured in hand first.
Zhù Ying got in first: “Your sister sends her regards.”
She first made small talk with Xi Jin about family matters, then steered the conversation and made the same agreement with him about road safety. Xi Jin agreed, then remembered: “Wait, my lord — we still haven’t discussed the trading arrangements.”
Zhù Ying said, “My retreat estate is just a little way ahead. Why not come along? I haven’t visited the Lu Guo family yet either.”
Xi Jin felt he had just gained a slight advantage. Lang Kunwu sighed again: “Uncle, I’ll come along with you.”
The whole party arrived near the old campsite. From two li out, they could already see people from the Yigan family coming out to look. Before reaching the campsite, the Yigan Cave Master came out in person to meet them.
He first did not speak to Lang Kunwu or the others but dipped his head slightly toward Zhù Ying and said, “My lord truly came.”
Dealing with the various tribes, the words Zhù Ying heard most often from them were “truly” this or “really” that. It was hard not to wonder how many times they had been deceived, or how many times they had been told by their ancestors to “beware of people from outside the mountains.” Nothing else would explain why their reaction to everything was always this way.
She said, “Indeed. Oh—?”
The Yigan Cave Master also smiled slightly. “My lord’s place is still here.”
The bamboo fence Zhù Ying had erected on her last visit was still standing. The Yigan Cave Master had not torn it down for firewood. It wasn’t that he had kept the fence out of any great belief that Zhù Ying would return — he had simply been using the area as a sheep pen. Fortunately someone on the mountain had spotted this large party approaching and given advance notice. Since it was daytime and the sheep had been let out to graze, he had urgently had people rush to tidy up the clutter as best they could, or else…
The Yigan Cave Master invited Zhù Ying to stay in his stockade. Zhù Ying said, “I’m perfectly comfortable in the camp. I still haven’t had you over for roasted meat.” She urged her horse forward toward the campsite as she spoke.
A wave of sheep dung smell hit them head on.
The Yigan Cave Master’s expression showed a hint of small embarrassment.
Lang Kunwu said, “How clever of you!”
Zhù Ying showed not the slightest annoyance. She said, “It looks like we can’t camp here anymore! My retreat estate — you haven’t taken it back too, have you, Cave Master?”
“Nothing of the sort! Never!” the Yigan Cave Master said hastily. “Stay in the stockade tonight!”
Zhù Ying said, “All these people of mine probably won’t fit. I’ll find another spot.” She pointed to a nearby open area. Fortunately the Yigan family’s territory sat on a mountain flatland, and there was no shortage of space.
The Yigan Cave Master had no good reason to refuse. He let her pick out another spot. She set up a fence and camp again, the same way she had arranged it on the road. Zhù Ying also had the goods carefully secured.
While they were busy, Su Mingluan and Lu Guo arrived as well, having received her notice and come at the agreed time.
The Yigan Cave Master was still hoping to invite her into the stockade. Zhù Ying said, “It should be me hosting you.”
This new campsite was considerably larger than the one she had originally staked out before. When she planned it out, she had divided it into a front and rear section — the rear was for residence, and the front had an area set aside as a simple trading ground. When the time came, everyone would set out their stalls.
Su Mingluan, with her usual largesse, moved into Zhù Ying’s campsite along with her uncle. She had also brought along some coarse tea. Her tea didn’t sell particularly well below the mountains, but among the various tribes it was quite popular — a small luxury item. The Yigan Cave Master saw that she had brought tea and said, “We agreed — no raising prices on me this time.”
Su Mingluan smiled. “Seeing Godfather has put me in a good mood. I’ll hold the price steady for now.”
Zhù Ying said, “Is it because of me that you’re losing money? That won’t do.”
The Yigan Cave Master quickly said, “My lord, I also have fine cloth and fine goods!”
Zhù Ying and Su Mingluan glanced at each other with a smile. Lang Kunwu thought: Are the two of you in league? Why are you teaming up with this bird and not with me? Hmm! Wait — this bird is really cunning! Wherever my lord goes, she just has to follow and eat along with her. Her family didn’t originally sell tea! It must be the same as the wheat — something my lord taught her!
With his father-in-law there, he refrained from talking about “this bird” and “that bird” — instead he said, “I may not have tea, but I have fine goods too!”
Su Mingluan silently cursed: you fool, copying others.
Zhù Ying didn’t expose anyone. She watched their squabbling the same way she watched Su Zhe and Zhù Lian — as long as they didn’t come to blows, a little mutual dislike was perfectly normal. Let them bicker.
Night fell. Torches were lit. No trading was done. Zhù Ying hosted the Yigan Cave Master in the open space.
Lu Guo and Xi Jin, both by nature combative, each put in a word for their own nephew, competing covertly while outwardly cheerful.
Zhù Ying chatted a while with the Yigan Cave Master and asked, “How is it that the Suoning Cave Master isn’t here?”
The Yigan Cave Master said, “His family’s territory isn’t here.”
Su Mingluan said, “Him? Hah! He probably doesn’t dare show his face!”
They all laughed. The Suoning Cave Master would certainly dare to come — only no one knew if he would get quite a shock when he did.
……
The next day, Zhù Ying opened the market. She first had people beat the gong.
The autumn harvest in the mountains was done, and there was more idle time now. Trading was a serious business. The Yigan Cave Master did not prohibit it; people from the stockade came out to watch the excitement.
When enough people had gathered, Zhù Ying ordered a high platform to be erected and all the standard measures she had brought — rulers, dou measures, scales — to be placed on it, with Chou Wen going to announce the rules of trade. All the measures were present; fair and transparent trading.
The Yigan Cave Master looked on curiously and stood his ground, chatting with Xi Jin and Lu Guo as they watched to see how everyone would conduct themselves.
Su Mingluan was the most organised. She had brought tea, set up an enormous stall, and assigned several of her people to each section — deliberately buying up what others had brought to exchange. Lu Guo, guided by his niece, had brought a great deal of cinnabar — also a fairly in-demand commodity. He also set up a stall and, taking his cue from Su Mingluan, primarily intended to trade for the silver the Yigan Cave Master’s family produced. The Yigan Cave Master’s silversmithing produced all kinds of distinctive pieces, and some of the craftsmanship was genuinely fine — in-demand throughout the surrounding area.
Both Su Mingluan’s mother and Lang Kunwu’s wife and mother had plenty of beautiful silver ornaments, but Su Mingluan had increasingly taken to gold ornaments, so she traded for less silver. She more often exchanged for mountain goods. Her own area also produced mountain goods, but having Asu County serve as an intermediate point to sell them in the Southern Prefecture saved her considerable effort while earning an extra bit of profit — she was willing.
These people did not look down much on merchants; their attitude differed markedly from the court’s policy of elevating agriculture and suppressing commerce.
Lang Kunwu regretted not having prepared more — otherwise, gathering the distinctive products of several tribes together for trade at once would have been so much more convenient! He had missed out.
The various mountain tribes also traded among themselves. Where several families lived near one another and their territories bordered, they would sometimes gather and trade spontaneously. Most of it was self-organised. A market like this one — with goods from several families’ specialties alongside large quantities of popular goods from below the mountains and quality guarantees — had never existed before. Whether in terms of variety or quantity, it was incomparable to either of those previous types. And it was far more convenient than a single trading post.
On the other side, a merchant was saying to Lu Guo, “Your cinnabar is excellent. Can I place an order?”
An order could be placed?
Lang Kunwu began looking forward to the next time.
While trade was underway, a small dispute suddenly broke out.
Zhù Ying hurried over and found that a Southern Prefecture merchant had gotten into an argument with someone. The Yigan Cave Master also came over. Zhù Ying asked the Yigan Cave Master, “Is this person from your stockade too? She doesn’t quite look like it.”
The Yigan Cave Master said, “She’s from the Western Card family. Hey — who are you?” The second sentence came out in the Western Card language. Zhù Ying had only been learning it a short time and could understand but was not very fluent. She called over the interpreter who had come along; Chou Wen followed close behind.
After a series of inquiries, they found that both parties had miscounted. Ordinary farmers in Fulu County had to count for half a day just to tally their oranges. For ordinary people living deep in mountain stockades, arithmetic was also quite poor. Farmers could follow a literacy stele and count the characters; no one had taught arithmetic in the mountains. They could count numbers, but they couldn’t calculate.
The Western Card girl had come visiting relatives — her sister had married into the Yigan family’s stockade. While visiting, she had encountered the market and spotted needles for sale on a stall. Steel needles were fairly expensive and slightly rare. She wanted to buy some but had counted back and forth, and the merchant had given her one needle too few.
Zhù Ying and the Yigan Cave Master presided over the adjudication — the Western Card girl had miscounted.
The girl still refused to believe it.
Zhù Ying said, “A moment, please.” She had someone bring a plank, ruled into a grid of ten columns and ten rows. In the squares she wrote the characters for one, two, three, four, five, and so on, then held up her own two hands, curling one finger for each number counted.
Everyone has ten fingers — a built-in counting device.
Zhù Ying let the girl place the needles into the squares herself and count them.
After quite a while of counting, the girl finally counted correctly, left a small piece of alluvial gold, and walked off — without even asking about the price that had been set for the needles. Not a word about it.
Zhù Ying and Su Mingluan exchanged a look — both knew there was a fat sheep to be had here.
Zhù Ying continued walking among the stalls. Suddenly she reached down and drew the short knife from her waist, slid it toward the waist of a nearby young assistant. A soft sound. Zhù Ying said, “Take it out!”
Everyone looked on in surprise. The young assistant’s face went white. The merchant beside him understood what had happened. Xiang Le fixed him with cold eyes, stepped forward, gave the young assistant’s belt a pull and a flip, and drew out a dark, black object from inside. Zhù Ying pressed the flat of her blade against it, and the black object clung to the blade.
Su Mingluan asked, “Godfather, what is that?”
“A lodestone,” Zhù Ying said. “The scale pan is iron — putting a lodestone on it makes it read heavier.”
“A lodestone?” Su Mingluan asked curiously. “May I have a look?”
Zhù Ying nodded. “You may.” She then pointed to the young assistant and had him seized along with his employer. Such things were unavoidable at a market; they just had to be caught. It was rather convenient — besides being useful for doctoring scales, a lodestone could also be used to play tricks that passed for supernatural. That had been Zhù Ying’s livelihood as a child.
Zhù Ying said, “This won’t do! Come — verify the scales!” They re-weighed the accurate weight against what the assistant had measured, calculated the discrepancy, and awarded the cheated Yigan family member three times the difference.
The Yigan Cave Master said, “My lord is a fair person! Will you come again next month?”
Zhù Ying said, “Of course. But my campsite…”
“By next month it will be even colder in the mountains. You’ll freeze if you stay here. Please stay in my home.”
Zhù Ying said, “All my people would probably be too many, and we’re not familiar enough with your tribespeople — if a fight breaks out it would be bad. Better to wait until we’ve gotten to know each other before I visit your home as a guest. When the weather gets cold, getting sick is genuinely bad. I was thinking of building a room — so next time when I come, they can also do their trading inside.”
Su Mingluan had been playing the “follow close” strategy — moving in the wake of Zhù Ying’s momentum to act with less effort. Zhù Ying’s words had barely fallen before she saw the advantage of a “trading centre” and said, “This place is so far from my home. We have to walk a very long way to get here from my side. Back in my place, I could build any kind of room I liked!”
Xi Jin quickly said, “My place is far too. When you pass my home you don’t want to stop for long. I’ve also come to an agreement with the court and will be paying taxes too. It should be closer to my home as well!”
The Mountain Sparrow father-in-law also joined the dispute; he could see a thing or two — having a market meant more people! And more people was always a good thing.
A contested meal is tastier. They all started squabbling. The Yigan Cave Master also said, “We’re already here. This is the largest flat area! It can accommodate all these people.”
Zhù Ying had not expected the plan to go so smoothly. Not taking advantage of this opportunity would be an insult to her good form — she let them argue for a while, then said, “I think you’re all the same. Let’s find a new location, away from all of your current stockades. If you trust me and think of me as fair, let me build a retreat estate here. You don’t need to manage anything else.”
Su Mingluan thought: as expected! But this way also works.
She was the first to agree. Lang Kunwu followed immediately. They both saw things with some clarity — Zhù Ying was after them. But this particular way of being after them was something that, compared to what they had encountered before, was so much better. The ways people had been after them in the past had cost people their lives. Now the way someone was after them meant giving them official posts.
When all the families had agreed, Zhù Ying said, “Then let’s decide on a location.”
She could not take up arms, since the court would not permit it. So she could only work through intimidation by proxy — borrowing the court’s army that would never actually be deployed, borrowing the history of the court’s forces truly surrounding and suppressing them in the past and the considerable losses it had inflicted on the tribes — and using the competitive relationships among the tribes to plant her own influence here.
The topographic maps each family had were very rough, and the Yigan Cave Master’s was no exception. Zhù Ying extended a finger and pointed to several spots — those all belonged to the various families; she wanted none of those. In between the families’ territories she pointed and said, “Right here — not bordering any of the main stockades, but connected by mountain paths and easy to access.”
This location, as always, sat beside a mountain and near water, with somewhat gentler terrain. The surrounding flatlands had a few scattered households here and there — nothing like the small plain near the Yigan Cave Master’s home. It was also farther from the Southern Prefecture than Asu County or Talang County.
The Yigan Cave Master said, “They burned the mountainside there a few years back — it won’t be hard to clear.”
“Burned the mountain?”
The Yigan Cave Master nodded. “Yes! For farming. They farmed it two years, then left.”
Slash-and-burn agriculture? Not even as developed as the Asu or Talang families’ farmland. Zhù Ying felt even less hesitation. In her heart she had already claimed the entire surrounding area for herself — but she wouldn’t say that aloud for now.
With the neighbouring Cave Masters all present, Zhù Ying staked out her “warehouse” territory. Lang Kunwu had come insufficiently prepared this time and was eager for the next opportunity. He steeled himself and said he could help with the construction — so that next time Zhù Ying came for her outing they could trade directly.
Seeing them start to argue again, Zhù Ying said, “How about this: I’ll make a trade with you. I’ll use your materials and repay you with equivalent goods from below the mountains. Whatever you use here, I’ll pay you back in kind when I go back. I’ll leave craftsmen behind to supervise the construction. The building will be done to my specifications. Any labour of yours that’s used will also be converted and credited to you; the daily food for the labourers will be offset from next year’s autumn taxes.”
Lang Kunwu immediately agreed. Su Mingluan slapped her hands in frustration — she had missed her chance!
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