It was unknown whether it was unbearable from the fever, or it was time.
After being ill with high fever for two days and three nights, the Fifth Prince's fever finally receded, and it looked like his life was saved, leaving only an increasingly frail body.
The other palaces all expressed regret over this.
Some pretended to be worried but were actually disappointed that the little brat didn't die from the fever.
Some were very caring and really sent over many nice things.
Others were vigilant and suspected this was just a new scheme in the inner palace.
But none of that was important. The Fifth Prince only needed to close the palace gates and live in seclusion, which was enough to make the world forget about his existence.
Wen Zhiyun went back and forth between the medical hall and the Wu's residence every day, diligently learning medicine without saying.
Xu Mo was also gradually becoming familiar at the Imperial Academy. He would go to the Wenchang Pavilion two or three times occasionally, and the poems he left behind were passed down by word of mouth. The reputation of Young Master Qingzhu was increasingly firm, attracting countless admirers.
Everyone was doing quite well, except for the Zheng siblings who were busy with the lychee business at Jiuzhen Lane.
They had overestimated the influence of aristocratic families on business.
They had originally thought that by promptly delivering lychees to the imperial city, they could maintain high profits for the lychee business. But unexpectedly, the Fang family was so overbearing. The lychees they brought occupied half of the Fengjing aristocratic family market.
In fact, when thinking about it, it made sense.
Lychee transportation costs were expensive, with prices comparable to gold. Only the wealthy aristocratic families of Fengjing could afford them - the powerful, well-established families.
And the Fang family led nearly half of the Fengjing aristocratic families. Families like the Zhu's and Tao's would not buy lychees from Jiuzhen Lane instead of the Fang family's lychees.
As a result, the Lingnan lychee market was greatly reduced, leaving only purchases from friendly families like the Jiang's and Yao's.
Money could still be earned, but it couldn't compare to the monopolistic profits of the Liao family.
Zheng Ruqian pounded his chest in frustration. "Why did they target me? My older brother is at the Imperial Academy. If you want to make trouble, go bother him!"
Xu Mo: "..."
After venting his frustration, he still had to think of a way out.
Excellent businessmen would never tolerate profits slipping away before their eyes.
His eyes lit up as he thought of the lychee ice cream Master Kong had taught him to make last year. He immediately had people start freezing lychees, and once the hot July sun became scorching, he sold it at Jiuzhen Lane.
But unexpectedly, the Fang family had also experienced the popularity of lychee ice cream. They also started freezing lychees and rolled out sales.
This earned another barrage of curses from Zheng Er.
He was at a loss. He could only send people to Sichuan again to transport lychees and consolidate the mid-level market, earning money from smaller families.
The Fang family did not follow this time, probably because they looked down on such meager profits, or perhaps didn't want to lower the status of aristocratic families. This allowed Zheng Ruqian a chance to catch his breath.
In late August, he calculated accounts with Jiang Sheng.
"The Liao family monopolized the lychee business. From May to September, they could earn 15,000 taels of silver per month. For four months that's 60,000 taels of snowflake silver." Zheng Ruqian deftly manipulated the abacus. "This is just a rough estimate. If transportation and ice production were handled in-house, profits could be even higher."
It was no wonder he was anguished to have half of that snatched away by the Fang family.
Even though it was already comparable to his total profits over the years, ambitious people could never be satisfied.
Sometimes it was unclear whether ambition drove success, or success fueled ambition. Perhaps with the prerequisite of not going astray, the two should complement each other.
The only comforting thing was that the Fang family had only taken a share of the business, not vicious competition like the Liao family.
They weren't greedy for monopoly either, seeming more like they just needed money to spend.
"100,000 taels of snowflake silver," Jiang Sheng suddenly lifted her head as she thought of something. "The Fang family donated 100,000 taels of snowflake silver."
So they really were short on money.
For aristocratic families, 100,000 taels wouldn't require selling the family heirlooms, but it wasn't money that could be casually taken out either. They must have tapped into their liquid assets, and now needed the lychee business to fill the hole.
While they had earned handsomely, Zheng Ruqian who had profits snatched away was extremely resentful.
But he had to swallow his resentment, because they weren't strong enough to resist aristocratic families yet, much less a behemoth like the Crown Prince.
Lychee season ended in late August, and the Fang family neatly withdrew as expected.
Zheng Ruqian didn't know whether he was numb from the pain, or realized there were gains and losses. He actually became acquainted with Gou the lychee deliveryman and coincidentally learned that the imperial family's birthday was at the end of the year. The Court of Imperial Entertainments was looking for fresh and unique ingredients.
He had a flash of inspiration and thought of the sheep herd he owned in Shangjun.
The lambs he had raised for his sister's gluttonous desires had grown fat and strong now, and some of the ewes had given birth to lambs. The dozen or so sheep had expanded into dozens after half a year.
The breeds unique to the grasslands, raised with ample exercise, were exceptionally fragrant and delicious. Jiang Sheng still savored them endlessly to this day.
They had joked about bringing them to Fengjing for sale when the sheep were small, but it had faded from mind because they were still young.
Now was the time to transport them here.
"Jiang Sheng," Zheng Ruqian deliberately tempted his sister. "Want to eat lamb from the borderlands?"
That unique deliciousness, the firm texture, the elastic tendons, the rich bone marrow.
Jiang Sheng hurriedly covered her drooling mouth, eagerly anticipating, "Big brother is bringing all the little lambs back?"
"That's right," Zheng Ruqian nodded. "I'm going to Shangjun right now to bring all the sheep back. Lend me some money to use first."
"Okay!" Jiang Sheng sweetly agreed and fumbled to take out banknotes. "How much do you need?"
"I need 50,000 taels."
...
The wind blew past the cake shop. The sweet little girl was petrified on the spot, unable to recover for a long time.
When they had originally purchased the small plot of grassland and hired people to raise the sheep, it didn't even cost 5,000 taels. How did it suddenly need 50,000 taels just to transport the sheep this time?
Their entire lychee season had only earned 50,000 taels!
While it was a lot, spending it all was still heartbreaking.
Jiang Sheng glared with round eyes but didn't say a word. Her face was full of "spendthrift."
"I'm not a spendthrift, nor do I insist on spending everything I earn," Zheng Ruqian explained earnestly. "In the past when I was a vegetable vendor, I thought transporting goods everywhere was profitable. But after truly engaging in the lychee business, I realized that was just laying the foundation. The real profits come from unique things that others can't easily imitate."
Like lychees that needed ice, and lamb meat from the borderlands.
Transporting vegetables for three years was not as profitable as one lychee season.
If not for the Fang family's meddling, the siblings could have earned 100,000 taels of snowflake silver this season.
100,000 taels - what concept was that?
But it obviously wouldn't work to focus all business on lychees. The Fang family lacked money this year so they snatched the business. What if they still lacked money next year and kept snatching?
Or some other aristocratic family became inspired and decided to imitate.
"We're not the Liao family. We don't want to use so many dirty tricks to seize business. Ordinary small businesses earning big money will inevitably attract coveting," Zheng Ruqian said seriously. "Maybe it was because the Fang family interfered this year that other small families didn't dare grab the lychee business."
Blessing lies within disaster, disaster lurks within blessing.
Looking at things from multiple angles, perhaps Zheng Ruqian should even be grateful to the Fang family.
"The lychee business might get snatched. Everyone knows the high profits, so it's likely to get disrupted. But lamb is different. Borderland lamb has a uniquely delicious flavor rarely found, and perhaps could become the next lychee."
But this time, only they could earn the profits.
The 50,000 taels was not only to transport live sheep, but also to expand the grasslands and hire more hands, thoroughly building up the ranch.
"Jiang Sheng, I've only just realized, the most difficult thing about doing business is going from nothing, from being penniless to having a dime." Zheng Ruqian's tone was unhurried. "Once you have a dime, you can earn a dollar. Once you have a dollar, you can earn a tael."
And going from one tael to 100 taels, from 100 taels to 1,000 taels, would only get easier and easier.
Money breeds money.
"Your brother has worked so hard for so many years. Just give me a bit more time, and I'll let you wear the finest clothes in Fengjing, adorn yourself with the roundest pearls in Fengjing," Zheng Ruqian reached out and grasped his teary-eyed sister's hands. "So the 50,000 taels, will you give it or not?"
