Chapter 168

Transportation is a tough business. The distance between cities makes it difficult for goods, especially perishable food, to circulate.

But the rarer an item, the more precious it is. The harder it is to transport something, the higher the price and the more tempting the profit.

If Zheng Ruqian could make the ice last a little longer and travel a little faster, enabling the circulation of goods between cities, wouldn't he earn huge profits?

Of course there were downsides too, like not enough manpower. Hastily hired helpers might not be trustworthy enough. And whether or not the transported goods would have buyers was also an issue.

Zheng Ruqian clenched his fists as he watched Shopkeeper Hao take out two hundred taels worth of silver notes. He reached out to take them and carefully inspected them before handing them to Jiang Sheng.

Jiang Sheng solemnly put them in her purse, smiling so wide her eyes curved into crescents. She looked about ready to give Zheng Ruqian a kiss.

Watching this, Jiang Chengyuan again did not understand. It was just two hundred taels. Was it worth being so happy about?

Shopkeeper Hao was worldly-wise. He understood the crux of the matter. "For this brother and sister pair, the brother always gives all the money he earns to his sister. At first it was just a few copper coins, then a few taels of silver, and a few hundred later on. I believe when he earns tens of thousands in the future, he will still give it all to his sister."

The amount of money was unimportant. What mattered was the proportion.

What Zheng Ruqian gave to Jiang Sheng was everything he had. At first it was two gold beans, then a few copper coins, and now two hundred taels. But it was still all he had.

"Brother earned money again today. I'll tell Auntie to make extra dishes for dinner," Jiang Sheng said excitedly. "How about pork elbows?"

"Anything you want," Zheng Ruqian said with a smile as he bid Shopkeeper Hao farewell and confirmed another shipment of roast duck soon.

Xu Mo was still at the Examinations Institute, which would continue for nine days.

After having run back and forth once, Zheng Ruqian was too thin and weak to make the trip again.

Luckily Jiang San and Jiang Si volunteered, noting down the address before rushing straight to Danyang Prefecture by carriage.

But this was not a permanent solution.

Jiang San and Jiang Si could make the trip this time, but what about next time, and the time after that? The truth was he needed to hire people.

No boss could do everything themselves. Truly smart people knew to manage subordinates, hire helpers, and give orders.

One person's capabilities were limited, but one mouth could give endless commands.

Just like Wen Zhiyun's medical hall. After hiring ten medical girls, he didn't even need to personally dry the medicinal herbs anymore. He just diagnosed the pulse and prescribed formulas while the chattering girls handled the rest.

They learned to identify medicinal plants from Wen Zhiyun and acupressure points and muscles from Xiao Zhu. In just over a month they could competently massage, though not as well as Xiao Zhu, but already noble ladies were requesting them by name.

On the surface, it looked like Wen's medical hall's expenses had increased a lot.

Paying the medical girls about two taels of silver each month meant nearly twenty taels for ten of them. It seemed like a lot, but the profits the medical girls brought in from their massages far exceeded twenty taels. The reputation they generated for Wen's medical hall was beyond measure by money.

Zheng Ruqian firmly believed this to be true.

He had always known he needed to hire people, not just Wang Xiaosong and Pang Dashan, but more capable helpers to enable transportation between cities.

But the profits from delivering roast duck were just too great.

Four taels of silver, a bit of suffering for half a month became two hundred taels of silver.

What if he told Shopkeeper Hao he didn't want two hundred taels, but only one hundred and fifty, then he could deliver over a hundred roast duck. Would Shopkeeper Hao agree or not?

The old Zheng Ruqian might have naively believed in friendship and affection built over long acquaintance.

But thirteen-year-old Zheng Ruqian profoundly understood that in the face of profits, there were no absolute friends.

Today Shopkeeper Hao paid two hundred taels for his roast duck because no one else could deliver it. Tomorrow if someone was willing to take lower profits, Shopkeeper Hao would abandon him for cheaper duck.

Plainly speaking, Zheng Ruqian wanted to monopolize this profit channel, afraid of losing business.

After much hesitation Chang Yan came to find him. "Brother, have you considered that ice is the key to this transportation?"

Zheng Ruqian was stunned.

That's right, anyone could transport roast duck, but in hot weather everything would rot. Ice was the crucial factor enabling this transportation.

"Ice is expensive, but ten taels of silver can still buy a cart full." Zheng Ruqian worried, "But ice can't stop people from stealing business."

"Brother, ten taels is the winter price for ice. What about summer?" Chang Yan asked slowly. If ten taels of ice rose to fifty or a hundred taels and still might not be available, the profits from roast duck could vanish entirely.

"Also, Brother's advantage isn't just transportation between one city. Shopkeeper Hao might not want your roast duck from Danyang, but would he give up the cured meats and fish from your workshop? The dried fava beans from Xieyang County, the lotus roots and burdocks from Yunshui County?" When Zheng Ruqian expanded his business territory further, reaching Yuhang Prefecture, then Yongjia Prefecture, or even Langya and Fengjing, his transportation network would be everywhere.

Even if someone wanted to steal one of the profit channels, no one would dare accept those low-profit goods.

The more Zheng Ruqian thought about it, the clearer it became. Pushing aside the clouds to see the blue sky, he said excitedly, "Brilliant, Little Five, you're absolutely right. Rather than panic here, worrying about people stealing business, I should build transportation lines across the entire Dayu Dynasty and fill it with my people and carriages!"

He was thrilled and rushed out to hire people immediately.

Jiang Sheng listened to the whole discussion with blinking eyes and murmured, "Ice is so expensive. It'd be great if we could make our own."

That was also a thought.

So this was the power of many people.

Zheng Ruqian nearly cried. He turned back and gave Jiang Sheng and Chang Yan a hug each, thanking them as he ran off, "Perfect, just perfect. I'll stockpile ice in cities across the Dayu Dynasty and squeeze profits to the maximum."

But it was easier said than done. Zheng Ruqian's path was destined to be arduous, but after truly expanding, it would be a different grand vision.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Mo's first three days of exams ended.

Jiang Sheng waited outside the Examinations Institute with her brothers, a meal tucked in her arms and drinks at her waist. Wen Zhiyun even brought a bowl of nutritional medicine to strengthen the weakened eldest brother.

With the institute gates opening and the exams officially over, students of all ages streamed out.

Some were dejected, some dazed, some hunchbacked, some pale and frail. Clearly the last three days had not gone smoothly.

It was at this time Xu Mo calmly walked out of the crowd.

The fourteen-year-old had distinguished brows and eyes, an upright posture, and wore a green robe. His expression was tranquil and composed among the students.

Though he also carried an exam basket with a chamber pot inside, just like everyone else's heavy load.

But he was so different from the others.

Jiang Sheng happily went to greet him, flailing to jump into Xu Mo's arms before Zheng Ruqian grabbed her.

"Careful, don't knock over the chamber pot. Big brother's elegance won't remain," he hissed under his breath.

But Xu Mo still heard it and looked back at his gradually strengthening younger brother, raising his brows.

"Oh?"