Manbao hugged the bundle tightly, unwilling to give it up. Zhou Silang resolutely pulled it away from her, saying, "One fox fur is enough. Winter isn’t that long. It’ll be New Year soon, and after that, it won’t be as cold."
Manbao listened but didn’t insist on the fox fur. She couldn’t help saying, "Yizhou is much warr than the capital."
"But they’re also wealthier than our family."
Manbao sighed and stopped arguing. She glanced at the pile of things in the courtyard and curiously asked, "So, Fourth Brother, are you heading ho?"
"That’s right," Zhou Silang said matter-of-factly. "I was initially supposed to take over for Five, but since I’m bringing Sanzi and the others, I can’t just leave them in the capital. So I took on another job. Five seems to be managing the restaurant well, so I’ll take Sanzi and the others and pick up so other work outside."
"Besides, the dicinal herbs on the mountain back ho are increasing year by year. This year, we planted another twenty or so jujube trees. All these herbs need to be transported out and sold. I’ll need to travel back and forth between ho and the capital; managing the restaurant wouldn’t be convenient."
In short, Zhou Silang’s reasoning was compelling, and Manbao was convinced. But Zhou Wulang was not.
When he learned that Fourth Brother was going back ho while he had to stay in the capital, he was upset. "I need to go ho. My wife is still back there. We agreed that I would stay for six months, and you’d stay for six months. How can you go back on your word?"
Zhou Silang replied, "The journey from ho to the capital takes nine to ten days even if the roads are good. In this kind of weather, it might take half a month. Making two trips a year—don’t you think that’s a waste of ti?"
"My wife and kids are at ho. I haven’t seen them for half a year!"
Zhou Silang sighed in frustration, "Can you stop thinking about your wife and kids all the ti? Think more about earning money!"
Zhou Wulang disagreed. "It’s easy for you to say, since you just left ho. Earning money—what’s it for if not for the wife, kids... and parents?"
"Why don’t you try putting parents ahead of your wife and kids?"
Zhou Wulang turned to Manbao and complained, "Manbao, look at him being unreasonable."
Manbao also missed her parents, so she sympathized with Fifth Brother and comforted him, "Don’t worry, Fifth Brother. Once Bai Shan finishes his exams, we’ll go ho for New Year too."
Zhou Silang hesitated and asked, "Will the palace let you leave?"
Manbao said nonchalantly, "It’s fine. The Empress’s condition has stabilized, and the Crown Prince’s illness isn’t urgent. By then, I’ll issue prescriptions and have Ms. Doctor Liu take care of acupuncture regularly. It’ll be fine."
Zhou Silang believed her because she made it sound so easy.
Zhou Liulang, however, worriedly asked, "What about the shop?"
Zhou Wulang responded without hesitation, "We’ll close it. Let’s go ho and celebrate New Year first."
Zhou Liulang was reluctant, "The New Year season is great for business."
Zhou Silang remarked, "If you two brothers could balance each other out, that would be perfect."
One didn’t think only about his wife, while the other didn’t think as much about running around.
Manbao comnted, "Fourth Brother, if you were half as steady as Third Brother, that would be great."
Zhou Wulang chid in, "Exactly. And if Third Brother were half as clever as you, that’d be even better."
Zhou Lichong and the younger ones sat to the side, eating as they listened to their uncles and aunt bicker. They didn’t take it seriously.
But Manbao suddenly rembered sothing. "Fourth Brother, with so many furs, where did you get the money?"
"We sold two carts of dicinal herbs that we brought, plus the silver that parents asked to give you in the capital."
While Manbao was still calculating in her head, Zhou Lijun, who had been keeping the accounts, pulled out his abacus, clicked it a few tis, and then looked up at Manbao. "Auntie, there’s still a one-thousand-tael discrepancy."
Everyone imdiately turned to look at Zhou Silang.
His gaze shifted, and then he said, "The remaining furs are on credit."
Zhou Wulang clutched his chest, trembling as he asked, "Why would they extend you credit?"
"I signed a promissory note. They know our family runs a shop in the capital," Zhou Silang replied as he looked at Manbao. "So my idea was, since Liulang isn’t very eager to go back, he could stay behind to watch over the shop. If needed, we can hire more helpers."
Liulang imdiately turned to Manbao, "Manbao, see? Fourth Brother is trying to pawn off to the rchants."
The siblings all pressed Zhou Silang down, ready to teach him a lesson. Zhou Silang yelled, "Don’t worry, we can make money, trust ! These furs sell really well in Yizhou!"
Having done procurent before, Zhou Wulang understood the market well. He pressed Zhou Silang and asked, "Furs sell just fine in the capital too. Why would the rchants agree to extend you credit? What’s the interest rate you promised them?"
Even Zhou Lichong couldn’t help but add, "Fourth Uncle, winter roads are treacherous. If there’s a deadline, being late could lead to losses—or even worse, damage to our reputation."
"Oh co on, am I that stupid?" Zhou Silang pushed Zhou Wulang off him and said, "The thousand-tael credit isn’t just for the furs; it’s also their deposit for our tea."
He explained, "Those rchants really like tea. They know that we have tea in Mianzhou and Yizhou, so they’ve already commissioned so from . We’ve even negotiated the price."
Both Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang hesitantly released him. Zhou Silang, looking pleased with himself, said, "See? On this trip alone, I’ve completed two deals. It’s definitely worth it."
Zhou Liulang still had doubts. "What if you can’t get the tea next year?"
"Keep your pessimism to yourself!" Zhou Silang retorted. "When I was in Yizhou, I helped tea rchants carry their tea. I know exactly where they source their tea from. Next year, I’ll go earlier than them; I guarantee I’ll get it."
Manbao recalled reading in the encyclopedia so stories about the past. It ntioned how the people on the grasslands, relying primarily on at, lacked vegetables, which led to vitamin deficiencies and ailnts like bloating and indigestion. Tea could alleviate these problems significantly and even extend life.
Manbao asked, "Do they care about the type of tea?"
"No," Zhou Silang replied. "As long as it’s tea, they’re happy."
Manbao breathed a sigh of relief and assured Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang, "Don’t worry; even if Fourth Brother can’t get tea leaves, we can collect the tea drunk by Chief and the others. If we gather from a few nearby villages, it should be enough."
Thinking about the taste of that tea, Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang looked dismayed and unbelieving. "That bitter tea—who would like it?"
Zhou Silang was skeptical too.
Manbao, however, was confident. "Just like how Fourth Brother didn’t care about the condition of the rchants’ furs, they won’t care about the taste of Fourth Brother’s tea."
Zhou Silang disagreed, "Who says I didn’t care? I was very careful in picking the furs. I rejected many with bad quality."
anwhile, in a small courtyard not far from Zhou’s Restaurant, several rchants clad in furs were huddled around a firepot to keep warm. One of them said, "I can’t believe we actually sold our furs. That Zhou Si really isn’t picky—he even took the ones full of holes."
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