For the past half month, during the day the Emperor and Prince Xian inspected the borderlands. Even when the envoys dispatched returned and reported the specific matters, the other party showed no unusual movements and genuinely wished to do business with the Yun Kingdom.
For this reason, Fan Zehao decided to open the market and continue trade with the Wei Kingdom.
After busy with external affairs during the day.
In the evening, returning to Prince Xian's manor, the manor was filled with women. They collectively strolled in the garden, and as soon as they saw Prince Xian appear, they would rush towards him like mice seeing a cat.
It was unclear whether it was because the flowers had bloomed or because of the perfume the beauties were wearing, but the entire garden was filled with fragrance, making Zhao Jiaqi sneeze.
Wherever there were flowers and Prince Xian's concubines, she would retreat three meters away.
Zhao Jiaqi was truly scared; these women were too crazy.
Entering June, after the market opened, Mingyuan Mansion clearly had more people than before. However, Zhao Jiaqi noticed while shopping that it was the season for fruits to be harvested, yet they were selling poorly.
Not only was it dismal, but it was also quite cheap.
Baskets of lychees were placed by the roadside. The vendors would call out a few times, but everyone would shake their heads and walk away after looking. Not to mention buying, no one even came forward to inquire.
Zhao Jiaqi stepped forward to ask, and was enthusiastically greeted by the vendor: "Madam, you've come to the right person to buy my lychees. To tell you the truth, my lychees are the best tasting and cheapest in the entire town, ten wen per jin!"
Ten wen?
But the person over there was calling out seven wen per jin. This old man was quite cunning.
"Madam, there's someone selling lychees over there for seven wen per jin. They're fresher and cheaper than these. Why don't you buy from there!"
Chun Fen had been with Zhao Jiaqi for a considerable time. She couldn't say she knew her mistress's thoughts perfectly, but at least she could guess about six parts.
Seeing the maid speak, the vendor became anxious: "Little girl, you are indeed impatient. When doing business, don't you have to bargain? Alright, let's not do seven wen. I'll give you six wen, one wen less than them. How about it?"
Chun Fen pouted, glanced at the lychees in the basket, estimated there were about thirty jin, and snorted softly: "You old man are not honest. But considering your age, forget it. I won't argue with you. Weigh these lychees and deliver them directly to Prince Xian's manor. Someone will settle the payment!"
The vendor was stunned.
Prince Xian's manor!
Even if Prince Xian's manor dared to give money, he wouldn't dare to accept it!
Wasn't this just teasing an old man? With a tearful face, he wanted to ask which madam from the manor these two were. Before he could speak, a hand appeared before his eyes, with five taels of silver placed in the palm.
Zhao Jiaqi deftly handed over the silver: "Is this enough to buy your lychees? If it is, please deliver the lychees to the manor!"
The old man clutched the silver awkwardly, even more embarrassed: "Madam, this is enough, but I don't have change!"
So that was the issue. She smiled and waved her hand: "Consider the rest as your delivery fee. No need to find change!"
This was like a pie from heaven falling and hitting the old man on the head. He was dazed, then grinned, missing a front tooth, with another still dangling in the wind.
"Good, good, good. Thank you, Madam. I'll deliver them to you right away." The old man grabbed the silver and busied himself.
Five taels of silver! That was enough for him to sell lychees for a month. Tonight, he would definitely buy a jin of fatty meat and stew it until it was soft, and eat his fill.
As he thought of eating meat, his emaciated body seemed to gain endless strength. Carrying the basket weighing dozens of jin on his back, he strode with vigor.
Chun Fen's eyes widened, she couldn't believe what she was seeing: "Madam, this person really has strength. My servant sees that the things in the basket weigh more than him."
Zhao Jiaqi glanced sideways, looking at the departing vendor, and smiled faintly: "Farm households, working in the fields all year round. Don't look at them being small and thin; some adult men can't compare."
For example, some scholars who couldn't carry anything on their shoulders or lift anything with their hands.
Chun Fen nodded hazily. Indeed, one shouldn't underestimate people from farming households.
After strolling around the streets with her mistress for a long time, she noticed that her mistress kept looking at fruits and never looked at anything else.
"Madam, your servant knows of a town nearby that sells all kinds of fruits. It's not far from Mingyuan Mansion, about half an hour by carriage!"
Zhao Jiaqi gave her a thumbs-up. Indeed, after following her for a while, her brain had become much sharper.
"No time to lose, let's go!"
Go?
Going should be back to the manor, why is Madam heading towards the city gate!
"Madam, you're going the wrong way. The carriage is at the manor!" Chun Fen called out behind Zhao Jiaqi.
Her voice was a little loud, for fear that the bustling crowd would drown out her voice. Zhao Jiaqi waved her arms a couple of times from a distance, without turning her head, and said, "Go to the city gate and hire a carriage. It'll be faster!"
Going back and forth would waste time. With that time, the two of them might have already walked halfway.
At the city gate, Chun Fen negotiated with the carriage driver, and for a round trip, it was one tael of silver. The mistress and servant got into the carriage and headed directly for the nearby Chang'an Town.
As the carriage driver drove, he chatted with the two people inside the carriage: "Chang'an Town is famous for its fruits. Every household has an orchard. The fruits are delicious, but unfortunately, they can't be sold. Especially lychees, they can't be kept for long, or the taste will change."
Zhao Jiaqi listened to the carriage driver's words and was puzzled. Since they were delicious, why couldn't they be sold?
Even if they were picked and transported to the nearby town on the same day, the fruits would still be fresh, and they wouldn't be so cheap.
"Do you eat lychees then? Or cherries, strawberries, mulberries, and the like!"
The carriage driver laughed and shook his head: "I have strawberries in my yard that are ripe now. Who would go out and buy fruits for no reason."
"Originally, there was a mulberry tree at home, but because planting such a tree at home was considered inauspicious, it was cut down. Now, every household with a yard plants some fruit trees, which is why fruit farmers can't get a good price!"
The carriage driver analyzed it thoroughly.
Clearly, it was one territory, yet it was polarized.
One was that the land couldn't grow anything, and the other was that the fruits in the orchards were in abundance. Both situations were troublesome.
As they chatted, they arrived at Chang'an Town. Following the small path leading to the village, they randomly found a village for their on-site investigation.
The carriage driver followed with the horse, becoming curious about them. Looking at their clothing, they didn't seem like people lacking money.
If they wanted to eat some fruit, they could just send someone to buy it, why would they come all the way here.
As soon as they entered the village, the scent of fruit wafted, a natural fragrance with a sweet taste, which was much more pleasant than perfume or rouge.
Under the large banyan tree, it was a good place to cool off, and also the most crowded place in the entire village.
Asking for information here would yield a precise answer.
Don't ask her how she knew; it was because she also came from a village, and every village had a few large trees.
"Sisters-in-law, hello."
Two outsiders had arrived in the village, a woman and a young girl. Looking at their attire, they didn't seem like they were from the countryside.
"Hello to you too, little sister."