Chapter 35: Chapter 35

For many days, the Dafeng Grain Shop had been continuously harassed by several unidentified individuals. Various rumors were also spreading throughout the city. Seeing this, some businesses began to consider switching their grain suppliers. Wanchang and Longchang, the two major grain shops, seized these opportunities tightly, using every possible means to draw these businesses into their own camps.

Ye Qiuniang was somewhat anxious at first, but later she gradually showed little strong reaction.

Due to its superior geographical location, the grain from Paulownia Village was high-yielding and of excellent quality. Any business that had cooperated with them knew this well. Very few would stop business based solely on the one-sided words of that gang.

Only a few small businesses that were barely getting by, with narrow vision seeing no further than an inch past their feet, had wavering intentions.

Moreover, previous supply agreements included contracts. If the grain quality had no issues, arbitrarily switching suppliers required paying a certain penalty.

Ye Qiuniang noticed a small group of businesses were particularly eager in paying these penalties. Upon investigation, she found the trick: Wanchang and Longchang, to attract these new clients, were willing to help them pay the penalty in installments, promising to deduct the cost from future grain supplies later. Their goal was to use this opportunity to defeat Dafeng Grain Shop in one blow.

Ye Qiuniang sneered inwardly. The Du and Zhang families were willing to invest such a large sum just to squeeze out the Dafeng Granary.

Now, once the penalty was paid, the money ultimately ended up in Dafeng’s pocket.

For these businesses requesting to cancel contracts, Ye Qiuniang said nothing. She collected the penalty fees as due and let them run off to their new suppliers.

For some relatively stable long-term clients, when delivering goods, she personally accompanied the shipments. She directly sought out the person in charge and explained the recent situation of being targeted, promising that the grain quality would remain unchanged.

Since Dafeng Grain Shop’s reputation had been attacked, the Shopkeepers of these cooperating businesses had already been monitoring the situation closely. Several times now, the delivered rice and grain showed no problems. Now, with the Head of the Household herself coming to explain, their minds were steadied. Unwilling to go through the hassle of switching, they all chose a wait-and-see attitude.

Large clients were stabilized, medium clients were courted, and small clients were left to fate. Most merchants were managed smoothly. But there was one person Ye Qiuniang had to treat with extreme caution.

This person was the Imperial Court’s grain purchasing agent. This grain was needed not only for the daily use of the County Yamen but also for major court projects like constructing irrigation channels, roads, and walls—all requiring provisions. The daily grain consumption of several hundred or even a thousand people was not trivial. The county’s grain merchants watched this lucrative assignment very closely.

In past years, no single grain merchant in Pingle County had monopolized this desirable duty. The top three families rotated roughly every half year. Among these families, Paulownia Village couldn’t compete with the others on price, but its grain quality far exceeded theirs.

The meals at the County Yamen were relatively better, so Paulownia Village’s grain often qualified. But for outside projects, manned by exiled convicts and lower-class civilians, the Yamen was reluctant to use such good grain for these people. Inferior, aged rice would suffice, and it was much cheaper.

Previously, the grain from the Ming family’s Yang Manor had frequently qualified. But now, Yang Manor and Paulownia Village had been separated and changed owners. These structural changes naturally attracted the attention of other grain merchants, all eyeing this lucrative assignment for themselves.

After the Dafeng incident, Ye Qiuniang received word from the County Yamen: they intended to stop sourcing from Dafeng.

If it were any other client, Ye Qiuniang wouldn’t beg for their business. But previously, thirty percent of Paulownia Village’s grain was sold to the county government. After much consideration, she decided to go personally to the Yamen to find the person in charge of this account.

What Ye Qiuniang hadn’t expected was that the person in charge was actually a woman roughly her own age. When they met face to face, both were momentarily stunned.

“Dealing with Dafeng Grain Shop for so long, I never knew its Owner was such a beautiful lady.”

The woman in purple possessed a bright, striking beauty. When not smiling, her eyes held a hint of sharpness. When she smiled, her phoenix eyes made her appear extremely charming.

“Manager jests. Speaking of beauty, this Qiuniang far pales in comparison to your grace.”

“Ah, so the young lady is called Qiuniang. My surname is Fu, Fu Shuiyao.”

Hearing this, Ye Qiuniang was taken aback. “…Might I ask, is County Magistrate Fu Miss Fu’s…”

“He is my father.”

“I was blind, not recognizing the daughter of the County Magistrate. My apologies.”

“Qiuniang need not apologize. I rarely handle these matters personally. Today was just a whim. However, meeting such a refreshing young lady is indeed a pleasant surprise for me. It’s far more pleasing to the eyes than meeting those stinking men.”

Seeing her straightforward personality without affectation, Ye Qiuniang felt the atmosphere instantly relax a bit.

After exchanging pleasantries, they got down to business.

“I heard earlier from our manager that the county government intends to suspend Dafeng’s supply. Might this be a mistaken rumor spreading outside?”

Fu Shuiyao looked meaningfully at Ye Qiuniang. This young lady appeared gentle, but she was no simpleton.

Indeed, a messenger had previously been sent to Dafeng with the decision to temporarily halt orders. The county currently lacked funds. Dafeng’s grain quality was excellent, but its price was slightly higher than other grain merchants. In previous years, orders rotated among these top grain merchants, trying best to keep relations balanced. This time, the idea was simply to use this opportunity to pause cooperation with Dafeng, easing some pressure on the county budget.

But these matters were truly awkward to state directly to Ye Qiuniang’s face. Yet the young lady before her, clearly having already received the definite message, still acted as if unaware, wanting to hear the answer from her own lips.

“Indeed, due to Dafeng’s recent damaged reputation, we weighed the options and had to reluctantly make this painful decision. Sincerest apologies.”

“Dafeng’s recent reputational issue was deliberately caused by someone. This was also due to my own inadequate precautions, allowing an opening. Therefore, I dare not offer many excuses, nor brazenly request the county government change its directive. I only make one small request: it is currently the autumn harvest season. I would like to invite Miss Fu to visit our Dafeng farm to take a look. I wonder if Miss Fu would do me the honor.”

Fu Shuiyao hadn’t expected Ye Qiuniang to drop the topic of cooperation entirely and instead invite her to see the farm. Slightly taken aback, it nonetheless piqued her interest.

In today’s official and business circles, women who could rise to prominence were rare birds. Moreover, such a beautiful woman—woman to woman, there was natural empathy. After hesitating a moment, she agreed to her request.

The carriage was spacious enough for two without feeling cramped.

Though a wealthy family’s Eldest Miss, Fu Shuiyao lacked the typical refined lady’s demeanor, possessing instead an unrestrained air. Perhaps this was why Magistrate Fu allowed her to appear in public handling these matters.

While Ye Qiuniang observed Fu Shuiyao, the other was also discreetly evaluating her.

“Paulownia Village is Dafeng’s grain production base, is it not? I wonder, does Qiuniang make the decisions for both places, or do you merely occupy the front-facing managerial position for now?”

“For now, I manage both front and back temporarily. Our Little Master is still young. Once she grows up, the enterprise will naturally be returned to her hands.” Ye Qiuniang smiled gracefully.

Ye Qiuniang had her considerations. In the future, when Paulownia Village was handed over to Ming Rou, she would inevitably need to deal with this Miss Fu. The other party would find out these things sooner or later anyway. Being honest now might even curry some favor.

Fu Shuiyao was an astute person. Having dealt with Old Patriarch Ming a few times before and familiar with such tales from wealthy families, she quickly pieced it together.

She couldn’t help but ask, puzzled, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Proprietor Du?”

“Given Miss Fu’s current position, I imagine you’d be the last person wanting to see any single wealthy merchant monopolize the city.”

Hearing this, Fu Shuiyao’s face remained impassive, but inwardly she raised her estimation of this young lady another notch.

“If Old Patriarch Ming were still here, with his tolerance, a monopoly wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. But now, with the others dominating the grain market, it does cause some worry. Qiuniang indeed understands my mind very well.”

“It’s presumptuous speculation. I hope Miss Fu won’t take offense.”

“These are all facts. What offense is there?”

Chatting idly, they soon arrived at Paulownia Village.

The moment Fu Shuiyao stepped off the carriage, she was dazzled by the endless golden waves of grain before her. Standing on the ridge of the field, she couldn’t help closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The fragrance of wheat came from all directions, making one feel joyful.

“I’ve been to many wheat fields, but I’ve never seen one as vast and beautiful as yours. And the ears of rice are all heavy, clearly a high yield.”

Saying this, she bent down and plucked an ear of rice, rubbing it in her hands to shed the golden husk, revealing plump, uniform, translucent grains. She put one in her mouth and chewed. A sweet, sticky texture.

Dafeng’s rice was expensive for a reason, Fu Shuiyao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Just then, a clear voice suddenly came from behind: “Jiujiu—”

Ye Qiuniang turned to look. Ming Rou and A Tao were walking towards her, one after the other. A Tao’s arms were full of some unidentified flowering branches.

Seeing the young girl’s bright, radiant smile, Ye Qiuniang’s heart also filled with joy. She caught her as she rushed into her arms.

“Why are you running around here?”

“A Tao told me there’s a type of purple flower in Niujiao Village. I wanted to try making purple lip rouge, so he took me to see. We just passed by on the way back.” Ming Rou rarely ran into Ye Qiuniang outside during the day. She clung to her, acting spoiled.

“Little Sister can even make lip rouge now—”

As soon as Fu Shuiyao’s voice rang out, Ye Qiuniang realized she’d forgotten to introduce anyone.

She pulled Ming Rou over and faced Fu Shuiyao: “This is my sister, called Ming Rou. Rou’er, call her Sister Fu.”

Ming Rou looked at the strikingly beautiful young woman before her. Though unsure what they were doing here, she obediently called out, “Sister Fu.”

Hearing the girl was called Ming Rou, Fu Shuiyao immediately guessed her identity, but didn’t expose it. Instead, following the earlier thread, she said: “So the little one can make lip rouge too.”

Since the subject was her own venture, Ming Rou couldn’t be bothered about being called “little one.” Eagerly, she pulled out a box of lip rouge she always kept handy and said: “Sister Fu, this is lip rouge I blended. Would you like to try it?”

Fu Shuiyao took the box, opened it to glance, then looked at the lips of the two before her: “Is this what you’re both wearing? It looks good. I wanted to ask earlier but felt it might be too forward. I never imagined you made it yourself. So impressive.”

Seeing her product praised, Ming Rou swelled with pride, her small chest puffing out: “Of course! This lip rouge looks beautiful when applied. Everyone who’s used it says so. Sister Fu is so pretty; with this lip rouge on, even the fairies in heaven might pale in comparison.”

Due to her special status, Fu Shuiyao had heard plenty of flattery. Yet coming from this young girl, the flattery somehow didn’t feel greasy. She was beginning to take a liking to her. Before she could respond, the girl stretched out her fair little hand: “This one box is only three hundred wen, you know.”

Fu Shuiyao couldn’t help but laugh.

But then she saw Ye Qiuniang gently tap Ming Rou’s head, turning towards her and saying: “Miss Fu liking Rou’er’s rouge is an affirmation for her. It’s just a box of rouge; it’s not worth much.”