The Road to Glory

Chapter 7

"A Yu."

A slightly deep voice suddenly came from inside the house: "A Yu."

Wen Yu was momentarily stunned before realizing the rogue was calling her. This was the first time he had addressed her by name since she told him what to call her.

Thinking she had been caught eavesdropping, Wen Yu immediately pushed aside her discomfort and swept the broom a couple more times before turning around with an innocent expression. "I'm here."

The interior was too dark to clearly see the rogue's expression at that moment. He seemed to pause briefly before tossing her a string of copper coins. "Go buy some steamed buns from Xu's shop."

The coins landed near her feet, creating small indentations in the accumulated snow.

This was clearly an attempt to send her away so they could continue their conversation.

Wen Yu acknowledged and picked up the coins before heading out.

Only after stepping through the courtyard gate did her expression become thoughtful.

—The trouble Chen Lai Zi had stirred up must be more complicated than it appeared for the rogue to need to send her away before discussing it. Even if the gambling house proprietor demanded the rogue pay Chen Lai Zi's debt out of his own pocket, there would be no need to avoid speaking in front of her.

The intricacies of this matter shouldn't concern her in principle, but since she had become the catalyst for this incident, it would be difficult to remain uninvolved.

Unless... she could regain her freedom quickly and sever ties with this rogue's family.

However, relying on the hidden emblem on the embroidered handkerchief to contact her allies was ultimately a matter of chance—she couldn't pin all her hopes on it.

If she couldn't reach her allies, the only remaining way to regain her freedom would be to repay Chen Lai Zi's thirty tael gambling debt herself.

As Wen Yu pondered these matters, she unconsciously walked out of the alley. Few people ventured out early on such a snowy morning, making the argument at the street corner particularly clear to her ears.

"...When the Chen family's second son used to buy handkerchiefs, he always paid ten coppers each. Why are you only offering seven, young man?"

"If Chen's second son paid ten coppers for your handkerchiefs, then go sell them to him! Why come to me?"

In the distance, Xiao Huiniang coughed lightly a few times before continuing to address the fierce-looking peddler. "The Chen family has returned to their hometown for the New Year, so I have to trouble you, young man. Look carefully—these are Suzhou embroidery handkerchiefs. The needlework is exquisite and the patterns are new. Even at double the price, you'd still profit selling them at the market. Ordinary handkerchiefs are one thing, but how can these be priced the same as common embroidered ones?"

The peddler said impatiently, "Suzhou embroidery or not, they're just handkerchiefs! I only pay one price here. If you want to sell, be quick about it. If not, don't waste my time!"

Despite his words, his slanted eyes kept glancing at Xiao Huiniang, and he had already counted out a string of copper coins, clearly ready to pay if she agreed.

Unexpectedly, after looking at the exquisitely embroidered handkerchiefs in her basket for a moment, Xiao Huiniang shook her head. "Then I won't sell."

She picked up her basket and turned back, coughing incessantly when the cold wind blew.

The peddler, seeing her shabby clothing and hearing her constant coughs, had assumed she was sickly and desperate for money, hence his aggressive bargaining. He never expected her to refuse so decisively.

He called after her, "Alright, alright! I'll give you ten coppers each for the Suzhou embroidery ones!"He quickly caught up and forcibly stuffed a string of copper coins into Xiao Huiniang's hand, then reached for the basket she was carrying: "Times are hard during the New Year! If you sell these handkerchiefs, you can use the money to buy some New Year goods!"

Xiao Huiniang hurriedly blocked his hand from taking the basket and pushed back the copper coins he had forced upon her, exclaiming: "What's wrong with you? I said I'm not selling!"

Wen Yu, seeing that the situation seemed about to turn physical, quickly shouted: "What's going on here? In broad daylight, are you trying to force a sale?"

The peddler had only intended to pressure Xiao Huiniang into reluctantly agreeing and hadn't actually planned to force the sale.

Hearing this, he turned to look at the speaker.

Seeing it was a woman with a rash on her face, his expression soured further: "Force a sale? Which eye of yours saw me forcing a sale?"

"The lady already said she's not selling, yet you still reached for her things. If that's not forcing a sale, what is?"

"You!"

The peddler was momentarily speechless. In their line of business, when haggling reached such a point, this was the usual way to handle it.

Now that he'd been called out, knowing he was in the wrong, he had no choice but to withdraw his hand.

Just as he was about to say more, Xiao Huiniang spoke first to Wen Yu: "Enough, enough. There's no need to argue with this man."

She then turned to the peddler and said: "I'm not pretending not to sell to haggle with you. These Suzhou embroidery handkerchiefs—if you don't recognize their value, others will. Since you can't offer a fair price, we have nothing more to discuss."

The peddler, feeling he had already compromised this much only to be rejected, grew displeased, thinking this woman simply didn't know what was good for her. He snorted coldly: "Fine! Keep treating those handkerchiefs like gold nuggets and try selling them yourself. Let's see who'll buy them!"

With that, he shouldered his carrying pole and strode away.

Wen Yu then stepped forward to support Xiao Huiniang: "Auntie, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Xiao Huiniang coughed and asked, "Why are you here?"

Wen Yu said: "We have guests at home. Second Master asked me to buy buns from Xu's Shop."

"Xu's Shop?" Xiao Huiniang frowned. "That's all the way in the east part of the city, nearly halfway across town. Why would he send you so far just for buns?"

Xiao Huiniang thought her son was still angry about the Chen Lai Zi incident and taking it out on Wen Yu by making her run such errands. She immediately cursed: "That wretched boy!"

She patted Wen Yu's hand and said: "Don't be afraid. When I get back, I'll give him a piece of my mind. Chen Lai Zi is Chen Lai Zi, and you are you. Even if he holds a grudge against Chen Lai Zi, he shouldn't take it out on you!"

Wen Yu knew Xiao Huiniang had misunderstood, but her protective attitude still touched her heart.

Thinking again about the trouble that rogue might encounter, she had originally planned to leave as soon as she repaid the thirty taels. But now, remembering Xiao Huiniang's care, if she could help in some way, she ought to repay this kindness.

She smiled and said: "Perhaps Second Master just likes the buns from Xu's Shop."

Then, glancing at the basket in Xiao Huiniang's hand, she asked: "Since you're not giving these embroidered handkerchiefs to that peddler, where do you plan to sell them?"

Xiao Huiniang sighed: "The Chen family's second son, who usually buys my handkerchiefs, has gone back to his hometown for the New Year. He always gives a fair price. I'll have to wait until after the New Year to give them to him."

Wen Yu thought for a moment: "Can't we take them to an embroidery shop or the market to sell ourselves?"Xiao Huiniang shook her head and said, "The embroidery workshops have their own embroiderers, and their stockpiled pieces remain unsold. Why would they buy from outsiders? As for the market... only those peddlers set up stalls, displaying various items and hawking them slowly. Selling by oneself isn’t so easily done..."

At this point, she suddenly paused, lowering her gaze to the few Suzhou embroidery handkerchiefs in the basket.

Ordinary handkerchiefs might not sell, but these were Suzhou embroidery, and their patterns were novel...

When she looked up at Wen Yu, Wen Yu was already watching her.

Xiao Huiniang couldn’t help but laugh. "Look at my memory! These handkerchiefs of yours rely on their exquisite embroidery and unique patterns to stand out. Let’s try our luck at the tile market!"

By the time the two arrived at the tile market, it had already been open for some time.

The snow on the ground had long been trampled into slush by the passing crowds. Hawking cries and haggling voices in various accents mingled together, creating a cacophony.

Divided by the Cheval de frise positioned at the center of the tile market, the eastern section sold cotton, linen, silk, and assorted goods, while the western section traded livestock and poultry.

Wen Yu and Xiao Huiniang wandered through the eastern section, observing how the vendors shouted and conducted their business.

She also took the opportunity to meticulously memorize the prices of all the items in the tile market.

The late emperor had no sons, so years earlier, he had selected her father from the imperial clan as the crown prince. The tutor her father hired for her elder brother was Yu Taifu, whose family had served as Imperial Tutors for three generations.

Yu Taifu once assigned her brother a task: to investigate the prices of goods among the common people. Her brother and his study companions spent over a month compiling a ledger of prices, but when they presented it to Yu Taifu, he didn’t even open it.

That day, she happened to be looking for her brother and hid behind the door, overhearing Yu Taifu sigh and ask him, "May I ask if everything recorded in this ledger was personally witnessed by the young master?"

A look of shame crossed her brother’s handsome face as he bowed deeply to Yu Taifu. "I understand my teacher’s intention."

It took Wen Yu a long time to fully grasp the meaning of Yu Taifu’s conversation with her brother that day.

Behind the goods and prices in the marketplace lay the livelihoods of the people.

The last time, she had been brought to this tile market like an object by Chen Lai Zi. This time, she wanted to remember all the "goods" and scars that did not belong here.

Only by remembering could she bring about change in the future.

After their round of exploration, Wen Yu and Xiao Huiniang had gathered a clear idea of the price of embroidered handkerchiefs. Vendors uniformly priced them at twenty-five coins each.

But that was only for ordinary embroidered handkerchiefs. They had scoured the entire tile market without spotting any Suzhou embroidery silk handkerchiefs for sale.

After discussing it with Xiao Huiniang, Wen Yu conservatively set the price of the Suzhou embroidery handkerchiefs at fifty coins each.

Unexpectedly, however, the tile market was also filled with elderly women and young ladies carrying baskets and hawking various embroidered goods. Thanks to their efforts, Wen Yu and Xiao Huiniang, with their baskets tucked under their arms, didn’t need to raise their voices—passersby already knew what they were selling.

But with so many sellers, attracting customers was no easy task.

Xiao Huiniang called out the Suzhou embroidery brand, which drew a few women over to examine the handkerchiefs. Yet, upon hearing the price of fifty coins each, they all shook their heads and left.

After several such attempts, Xiao Huiniang grew uncertain and suggested to Wen Yu, "No one’s buying at this price. Should we lower it to thirty coins each?"

Recalling the vendor stalls she had observed along the way, Wen Yu suddenly said, "Let’s take a look around the cloth merchant stalls."Xiao Huiniang hesitated, "Is... this feasible? I'm afraid the stall owner might chase us away..."

Vendors selling various small embroidered items all gathered in this area, not daring to venture near the cloth merchants' stalls for fear of being shooed away.

Wen Yu whispered something into Xiao Huiniang's ear. After her expression shifted several times, Xiao Huiniang finally followed along.

When the two reappeared before the cloth stall, Wen Yu used a Suzhou embroidery handkerchief with an orchid pattern from her basket as a veil, covering the lower half of her face where the rash was most severe.

Pretending to select fabrics, her graceful figure and refined demeanor still drew frequent glances from women and young girls choosing cloth, even with her face covered.

The cloth merchant initially thought they were there to solicit business and was about to drive them away when the veiled woman calmly said, "Shopkeeper, do you have this silk in other colors? Show them to me—I want to see which would suit making handkerchiefs."

Instantly transformed from potential nuisances to customers, the merchant's cold expression warmed immediately, and he no longer dared to shoo them from his stall.

Under the guise of selecting fabrics, Wen Yu took out the embroidered handkerchiefs with novel and attractive patterns, comparing which designs looked best with which colored cloth.

This way, even those browsing fabrics without initial intention to buy handkerchiefs would catch glimpses of the unique patterns and exquisite embroidery, sparking interest.

Having already spent hundreds or thousands of wen on silk, buying a handkerchief for a few dozen wen became an effortless addition, and payments were made readily.

In less than half an hour, all the embroidered handkerchiefs in Wen Yu's basket were sold out. Several who missed out on the trendy patterns asked if they would return to sell at the next market.

Wen Yu estimated that the embroidery patterns sold today would soon be copied—an outcome she welcomed. Still, to retain some customer base, she smiled and promised to bring new designs next time.

When she handed the selected silk to the merchant to cut a few feet for her, he clearly recognized the business opportunity and beamed warmly at her, "Miss, would you like to establish a long-term trade?"

Wen Yu slightly lifted her eyelashes, her lower face obscured by the veil, a faint, almost imperceptible smile in her eyes. "We can discuss it."

Author's Note:

Yu Bao: Make money, make money!

Sending red packets to dear readers in this chapter's comment section~