/
Ch41 - Earnings
Jiang Ni passed through the bustling horse market, wound his past two grain sellers, and made his way to a small shop at the end of the alley. Unlike other stores, they didn’t pile their wares all over the floor. Instead, they had two rows of shelves with earthenware of various colors on display. It looked clean, tidy, and pleasing to the eye. Though their business was small, it was well managed.
The Xiongnu proprietor sat on his bamboo mat, wiping down his wares. He didn’t look up at the customer’s arrival as he said, “Ah-Ni, what did I tell you last time? We’re not taking any earthenware.”
Jiang Ni didn’t react to being given the cold shoulder. He smiled as he walked up to him, “Who said I’m selling earthenware? Is this good enough for you?”
He carefully placed a wooden box in front of him. The proprietor paused his polishing and opened the box. His eyes shone once he saw what was inside, “Porcelain? Just where’d you get porcelain from?”
Jiang Ni was actually rather anxious. The master had appraised their works and deemed it worthless; and he worried that, due to his lowly status, he had overestimated its value. Now he realized, it wasn’t that his knowledge was too shallow, it was that his master’s standards were too high. As long as someone was willing to buy it, everything was good.
Jiang Ni smilingly sat down before the proprietor, “You don’t need to worry about where it came from. I just want to know whether you’ll take it or not.”
“Yes!” Tahei instantly replied. This was porcelain! It was always in demand! The nobles in the big tents all liked using things that Han people made, especially porcelain. And it was far more sought after than other luxury goods!
His fears settled, Jiang Ni calmed down and grinned, “I’ve got nine-item set on me, plates, bowls, vases, and a porcelain teapot. Can’t sell them separately.”
Tahei didn’t mind in the slightest. In truth, he was hoping to nab the whole set! He smiled immediately and declared, “But of course, we’ve known each other for years! I’ll give you twenty thousand for all nine, how’s that?”
Jiang Ni shook his head, “I don’t want coins, I only need grain. Thirty stones of wheat will do!”
“What?! Wheat’s already over nine hundred a stone now! Too expensive, too expensive! I definitely can’t afford that price!”
Jiang Ni put down the lid of the wooden box without another word as he prepared to take back the items. Tahei panicked and slapped his hand down over Jiang Ni’s. He chuckled difficultly, “Ah-Ni, really, we’re old buddies – your porcelain’s good, but the design’s too simple. In the commandery city, noone’ll even take a second look at it. It really won’t sell for all that much. I’ll be making a loss for thirty stones of wheat! At most I can give you twenty
 no twenty-two stone!”
“At that much, what’s the difference from giving money?” Jiang Ni didn’t back down, “I came here first on account of us being acquaintances already. Any store could sell it at this price. I’ll have you know, this is new porcelain!”
Tahei wavered. He knew better than most how hard it was to find porcelain. Who knew whether Jiang Ni could acquire even more good stuff in the future. If he missed this chance, he’d regret letting such a fat fish slip out of his grasp. He thought for a while, then gritted out, “Twenty-five stone! That’s really the most I can do!”
Jiang Ni saw how the Xiongnu man’s eyes bulged and beard bristled. He took a few seconds to mull it over, then slowly replied, “I’ll take twenty stone of grain if you can get me five horses for the remaining five stone.”
“You
.” Tahei looked like he was on the verge of hopping to his feet, “Five horses are worth about ten thousand coins, no? How can this do!”
Jiang Ni ignored his agitation as he blandly replied, “I know you’ve got connections with the nobles. How much can five horses cost over there? Besides, with the drought going on, it can’t be easy raising all those horses. Why not give me a discount.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Tahei regained his composure at once, and a while later, said, “I want to see a few more items first!”
Aljcu Rl gjlrfv tlr nblmf, “Tlsjc!”
Ktf rabgf’r megajlc oijqqfv bqfc jr j sbecu wjc kjixfv lc ogbw bearlvf. Fqbc tlr fcagjcmf, Kjtfl mbeivc’a tfiq yea tbiv tlr ygfjat. Ktlr kjr j kjgglbg! Lf kjr j wfwyfg bo atf Wlbcuce aglyf; tlr fsfr kfgf fzmfqalbcjiis xffc. Crlvf ogbw atbrf filaf kjgglbgr rfgnlcu ecvfg atf cbyifr, ktb firf tjv remt ragjluta-yjmxfv qbraegf, remt qlfgmlcu fsfr? Rba ab wfcalbc tbk sbecu tf kjr!
The young man paid no mind to Tahei’s gaze as he walked over to his mat and set down the boxes on his back. Seeing the boxes, Tahei instantly tossed everything else to the back of his mind and hastily opened them up. He began examining the porcelain wares. It was as Jiang Ni had said, these items were a set. Their colors were matched and their shapes were elegant and simple. If he could present them all to a noble, he’d gain more than just tens of thousands in reward!
And besides, if Jiang Ni could obtain a set of such fine porcelain, then chances were that he might have more! If they could maintain a steady business partnership, he’d make no small profit in the future. He took a deep breath, then nodded, “Twenty stone of wheat and five horses. It’s a deal! Although, I’ve got a request. If you get anything else like this in the future, you’ve got to come to me first!”
Jiang Ni surreptitiously sighed with relief. Seemed like he’d picked the right person to do business with. A Han merchant would’ve likely haggled the price down further. But the Xiongnu people had plenty of horses. This price wasn’t unreasonable for them at all.
Smiling genially, Jiang Ni said, “We’re long-time friends, of course I’ll let you be the first to know. When can you deliver the grain and horses?”
“I can get it to you by this afternoon!” Tahei hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Are you gonna drag it back all by yourself?”
This was twenty stones of grain they were talking about! To the bandits, it a hefty pile of loot waiting to be robbed. Was he really going to brazenly ship it back just like that?
Jiang Ni chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. There’s an escort.”
Tahei glanced at the young man standing behind Jiang Ni and understood. Perhaps this was the person responsible for protecting the grain then? He wondered how Jiang Ni had found such a capable person, but he didn’t ask. He called a servant to serve them tea before quickly concluding their meeting.
Yiyan wasn’t too clear about what’d just gone on. He eyed the wooden box, “These things are really worth twenty stone of grain?”
“Why wouldn’t they be?” Jiang Ni whispered in reply, “When the clayworks makes even better stuff, it’ll be worth even more.”
Yiyan silently scanned the wares stacked on the shelves then exited the store. Now that the hair-raisingly chilly fellow was gone, Jiang Ni sagged as the tension left his shoulders. He leaned back and relaxed against a cushion.
It only took Tahei less than two hours to scrounge up twenty stone of grain and five horses. Yiyan took charge of the horses and nodded to Jiang Ni. These were all healthy steeds less than three years of age. Their bodies were well proportioned and their teeth were neat. It was obvious that they’d been laboriously cared for.
With Yiyan’s approval, Jiang Ni said, “You’re a man of your word after all, brother Tahei. The horses are excellent, I’ll be taking them away then.”
It was precisely because Jiang Ni had brought a Jie person along that Tahei hadn’t tried to cheat him on the horses. Seemed like he’d made the right decision. He chortled, “Ah-Ni, you’re making a fortune this time. Better not forget about me the next time you’ve got anything this good on your hands!”
“I’ll definitely keep you in mind!” Jiang Ni grinned. Without bothering to exchange any more needless pleasantries, he mounted the donkey he’d arrived on. The four Jie people that Yiyan had brought briskly loaded the grain onto their cart, hooked it up to their horses, and hurried out the city.
Unlike Lu City, Gaodu was a bit closer to the Liang Estate. Travel between the two locations only took the better part of a day, though it was already late by the time they set out. Luckily, because Jiang Ni was riding a donkey and the cart was being pulled by horses, they made decent speed. Sitting on the back of his donkey, Jiang Ni was still pondering how much profit they’d be able to make in the future, judging by the ceramic set that the clayworks had made in the last month or so. His pops was still figuring out how to make true porcelain. If they could make better, more beautiful pottery, could they sell them for ten thousand apiece?
While he was dazing out, Yiyan, who was trailing behind the cart, suddenly retrieved a bow and shot into the woods!
Jumping with fright, Jiang Ni looked over and saw a grimy man collapsed by the tree, dead.
“What, what’s going on?”
“Just a scout.” Yiyan slung the bow on his back and yelled, “Raise your spears!”
The men next to him instantly drew their weapons. Five spears, tied with red tassels, glistened in the dusk. The forest instantly quietened. Even the birds seemed to have stopped chirping.
Jiang Ni realized they must’ve been spotted by bandits. Thank goodness Yiyan had scared them off! If they got robbed, he might even lose his life! Although, the belated fear only lasted for an instant before Jiang Ni recalled the great battle outside the Liang Estate. Hah, they’d repelled about a hundred bandits. With the militia around, what had he to fear from those rangy mutts?
Jiang Ni unconsciously straightened his back and spurred his donkey, “Go! Let’s get back to the estate!”
※
“Nine pieces of crude porcelain were exchanged for twenty stone of wheat and five horses?” Liang Feng asked in shock upon seeing what Jiang Ni had brought back.
Was the porcelain that he considered unbearably shoddy actually worth so much? How extravagant. Things of Yue ware quality must sell for even more!
Hearing the faint undertone of praise in the master’s voice, Jiang Ni couldn’t help smiling, “It’s all thanks to the drought that the Xiongnu are selling their horses cheaply, otherwise I couldn’t’ve gotten so many.”
“Are horses very cheap?” Liang Feng asked curiously, “Isn’t a single horse worth about three or four thousand coins?”
“That’s the price in places like Yan Province and Jing Province. There’s a lot of barbarians in You Province and Bing Province, and thus a lot of people selling horses. A healthy horse only costs about two thousand. Same with grain. Grain prices around Shangdang have always been high, but in Taiyuan, a stone of grain won’t even sell for seven hundred!”
“There’s that much difference?” Liang Feng’s interest was immediately piqued, “Then if you sold horses from Bing Province in Yan Province, wouldn’t you make a tidy profit?”
“That’s only possible in times of peace. I hear that the merchant caravans are all exchanging their horses in Jing Province for celadon and brocade, and then selling them in Bing Province. They can double their money several times over in a single trip. But because of all the unrest, even the number of merchants traveling between Shangdang and Taiyuan is decreasing. After all, they’ll incur huge losses if they happen to come across bandits,” Jiang Ni sighed as he shook his head.
That was the honest truth. Commerce and trade depended heavily on political stability. On the coasts, merchants could risk their lives and travel by sea, but they were too far inland here. It seemed that, in the short term, there wasn’t any hope for consistent commercial traffic.
Liang Feng nodded and continued questioning, “Then what kind of goods are produced in Shangdang?”
“Iron,” Jiang Da replied. “There’s a lot of iron merchants, not just in Shangdang, but in the surrounding commanderies as well. Though the iron trade is more or less monopolized by the noble families. If you want to open an iron mine, all you have to do is find a mountain and start digging.”
“


”
Liang Feng was speechless. Weren’t the rights to sell salt and iron exclusive to the court? Had things already fallen apart to this extent, that restricted goods could be openly traded? Well, no matter, it was good news for him. In the future, if he ever found an iron vein somewhere, he’d open up a mine to supply metal for his militia’s weapons.
Next, Liang Feng couldn’t help asking, “Then what about salt?”
“Salt’s in the Hedong Commandery. It’s a bit far from here, but I’m afraid selling salt won’t do. The salt market’s controlled by all the commandery princes.” Jiang Ni said honestly.
Whatever then, it wasn’t something he could stick his fingers into at the moment. Though, Liang Feng was rather satisfied with Jiang Ni’s wit and experience. This place really was the old home of the “Jin merchants.” The people here had good business sense bred into their bones.
“So it seems that it’d be most profitable to buy grain from Taiyuan and sell it here?” Liang Feng asked.
“If you can ship back safely, it’s more lucrative than trading with anywhere else nearby,” Jiang Ni nodded eagerly.
“Mhmm. After the plague situation in Jinyang ends, I want you to go over and take a look there,” Liang Feng stated.
Jiang Ni brimmed with excitement at his words. Was he entrusting the Liang Estate’s business dealings to him? It must be known that those who managed the enterprises of a noble estate were the most trusted of confidants. That kind of responsibility was far more important than running a single workshop!
Yet, Liang Feng still had more to say, “The clayworks can retrieve a tenth of the profits from this transaction. But I have to make it clear first that if you decide to take the ten percent, the Liang Estate will no longer subsidize the clayworks anymore. You must manage your own finances and live off your own dividends.”
Jiang Ni lurched. His face reddened, “The clayworks will take the ten percent share!”
The master had previously said that he’d give the clayworks a fraction of the profits, but Jiang Ni hadn’t taken it to heart. He’d probably give them bonuses for small dealings here and there, but there was no way he’d part with the money from huge sales, right? He hadn’t expected that he’d not only keep his word, but let the clayworks decide what to do with the money! This was wonderful as having money rain down from the skies!
They’d only just gotten a handle on firing porcelain and they’d made nine items in half a month. Once they picked up their production rate, they could make at least four or five hundred pieces of crude porcelain a year – that was the equivalent of a thousand stone of grain! Ten percent of that would be about a hundred stone. And if they could make it, fine pottery would net them several times more than that! This was something they couldn’t even dream of before!
Liang Feng nodded with satisfaction upon seeing that Jiang Ni understood what he had to gain and said, “In the future, you and your father will supervise the clayworks. However, the estate still has the final say on major decisions. The ledgers must also be reviewed by the accounts office. If you want to make any improvements or renovations, you must report to me first.”
“Can the clayworks recruit more workers?” Jiang Ni blurted, “I want to find a few skillet potterers! Ah, and we’ll take care of paying them of course!”
Liang Feng chuckled at the young man’s awkward flusteredness, “Of course you may.”