Chapter 48 Pepper and the White Silk Jacket

Pepper originates from the land of Tianzhu and is a rare spice.

In the previous dynasty, it could sell for ten to twenty taels of silver per catty.

In this dynasty, with the lifting of the maritime ban, large quantities are imported from foreign lands like Java, mostly controlled by the government.

Because pepper is expensive and an imported spice, the court often uses it to pay military salaries at the border or as stipends for officials in the capital.

Capital officials receive their stipends twice a year, in spring and autumn, consisting of a portion of grain, a portion of silver, and a portion of pepper.

The market price of pepper fluctuates accordingly, cheaper in spring and autumn and higher in winter and summer.

Given this pattern, Pear Moon began to ponder.

Today, selling salted ducks already felt quite inconvenient.

For a maid from a wealthy and noble household, it was acceptable to wander around the back streets outside the side gate.

But she could not, like common girls, carry a basket and do business in the marketplace, as she might be summoned at any moment for duties within the mansion.

If she were to exclusively supply a single shop, it would be too rigid.

The pickled radishes she made earlier and the salted ducks she made today, though tastier than those from ordinary shops, could still be imitated by others and were not a long-term plan.

She recalled her godmother, Madam Liu, saying that in summer, pepper was expensive, costing over a tael of silver per catty and still hard to come by.

At this thought, she stopped eating her meat pie and hurried down the small street, looking for anyone selling pepper.

One general store had it for four qian of silver per catty, while another spice shop offered better quality for five qian.

Pear Moon had little silver on hand and still found the price too high, so she continued searching along the streets and alleys.

Suddenly, she saw a young servant boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, leaning against a corner with a stall. He had a pile of pepper, a few pieces of sappanwood, some dried fragrant leaves, and other items like clay pots and jars.

Pear Moon hurried over to take a look. She grabbed a small handful to smell—it was indeed high-quality pepper.

It was roasted to a pungent aroma, with plump grains and sifted free of debris. When she asked the price, it was only three qian of silver per catty.

Truly a bargain. If the stall hadn’t been tucked away in a corner, it would have been sold out long ago.

Pear Moon remained calm, pretending to be a serious little adult, hands on her hips, and asked, “Do you have more of this? If you do, I’ll buy several dozen catties.”

The servant boy looked astonished and stammered, “My master exchanged his stipend for this. We still have fifty catties at home.”

Pear Moon curled her lip and laughed, “Your master must be quite a high-ranking official! A fifth-rank official only gets fifteen catties of pepper. If your master gets fifty catties, isn’t he a first-rank grand academician?”

The servant boy, seeing Pear Moon well-dressed and speaking so knowledgeably, guessed she was from Ningguo Mansion and flushed red with embarrassment.

“Sister, you’re teasing me. My master is only a seventh-rank official. He received his stipend for both last year and this year and only now decided to exchange it for money. Because my mistress is visiting relatives and doesn’t have a nice white silk jacket to wear, she sent me out to sell the pepper.”

Pear Moon was overjoyed and thought to herself: How did I come across such a fortunate coincidence?

Keeping a straight face, she pretended to inspect the goods and said, “Go bring all fifty catties of pepper. I’ll go back and get the silver to buy it from you.”

The servant boy, seeing how young she was and that she wanted to buy fifty catties of pepper at once, didn’t believe her.

“Little miss, don’t make fun of me! I’m seriously selling these things so I can go to the pawnshop and find an old white silk jacket for my mistress to wear!”

Pear Moon pouted and said, “Who’s making fun of you? Do you know how much a bolt of Songjiang Narrow Loom White Silk, weighing thirty-five taels, sells for? Sold by the piece in a shop, it’s worth over twenty taels of silver. Bring the fifty catties of pepper, and I’ll find a bolt of plain white silk for you instead!”

A few words from her left the servant boy with no choice but to believe her. Hopping on one foot, he packed up his stall and called out, “Little miss, don’t go back on your word! I’ll go back and hitch up the Peace Cart to bring the pepper to you!”

Pear Moon hurriedly called after him, telling him to deliver it directly to the side gate of Ningguo Mansion.

The servant boy vanished like a wisp of smoke.

Pear Moon carried the meat pies back to her room, thankful that Autumn Abundance and Huan Huan were not there.

She rummaged frantically through the room and found that bolt of Songjiang white silk from under the bedding. Wrapping it in a piece of tattered cloth, she thought to herself:

This fine white silk—even if they made it into jackets, they’d have nowhere to wear them. Better to pawn it for money.

She ran out to the side gate and stood waiting on the steps below, her eyes straining with anticipation.

The old servant at the side gate grinned at her and said, “Are you waiting for the sugar-figure seller or the hot cake vendor? It’s so lively inside the mansion—why aren’t you scrambling for the treats?”

Pear Moon was busy calculating in her mind and paid no heed to their teasing.

Before long, a single-wheeled Peace Cart came rolling over. The servant boy had a tow rope slung over his shoulder, sweating profusely as he wobbled along.

Pear Moon rushed forward to steady him and helped push the cart all the way to the gate.

She pulled out five burlap sacks, each tied with thin hemp rope.

Pear Moon was meticulous. Rolling her sleeves up to her shoulders, she buried her head in the sacks, scooping from the bottom to inspect the quality.

After untying and examining each one, she confirmed they were all truly high-grade pepper.

Fearing the watchful eyes at the side gate, Pear Moon leaned the Peace Cart against the entrance and led the servant boy to a mutton soup stall.

She paid out of her own pocket for two meat pies and a bowl of mutton soup, treating him to the meal.

The servant boy thanked her profusely, calling her “sister” thirty or fifty times.

Seeing that he was several years older yet so deferential to her, Pear Moon felt a small swell of pride and added another bowl of offal for him.

Only then did she quietly open the cloth bundle to show him the white silk.

Although the wooden core inside had been removed, the label with its serial number was still attached.

When the servant boy saw the line that read, “Songjiang Prefecture Narrow Loom Pointed Plain White Silk, weight thirty-five taels,” he was overjoyed.

Pear Moon seized the opportunity and said, “To make it easier to wrap, I folded it twice, but the inside is brand new. I won’t haggle over the price for fifty catties of pepper—let’s call it fifteen taels of silver. If you sell this whole bolt of white silk, it’s worth at least twenty taels. You’re not losing out, little brother!”

Once the deal was settled, they walked together to the side gate, and Pear Moon sent the servant boy on his way.

Pear Moon exerted all her strength, making four or five trips back and forth to carry all fifty catties of pepper into her small room.

She then went to the outer courtyard to find a plasterer, begged for several dustpans of white lime, wrapped a good amount in straw paper, and placed it inside the burlap sacks, fearing that moisture would ruin the pepper and make it hard to sell in the summer.

She stuffed all five sacks into the kang cavity, scattering lime around them to ward off insects and rats.

By the time everything was tidied up, it was already afternoon, and she was exhausted, her back and waist aching.

Pear Moon took off her outer clothes, fetched water to wash her face thoroughly, and lay flat on the kang.

Just as she was drifting into a daze, Autumn Abundance and Huan Huan returned, carrying an abundance of candies and pastries, along with three strings of cash.

“You usually pretend to be diligent, but on a day like this, you slack off! Everyone was scrambling for the treats and pastries up front—they nearly knocked my hairpin off—and here you are lying around, enjoying the fruits of our labor!”

Autumn Abundance climbed onto the kang to set up a table for the pastries, annoyed that Pear Moon was lying in the way, and kicked her aside with both feet.

Huan Huan, however, noticed that the room seemed emptier—the salted duck jar was gone—and hurriedly nudged Autumn Abundance with her chin.

Only then did Autumn Abundance see the packet of meat pies and three taels of broken silver on the table.

A child’s mood changes in an instant, and she couldn’t help but turn her displeasure into delight.

“Xiao Yue is so diligent! She sells salted ducks and buys meat pies to treat us both. How can we take her silver? Let’s take five mace and leave her two taels!”

Pear Moon said nothing, jumped off the bed to fetch the silver, and divided it into one tael each.

Huan Huan said with great joy, “Keep more for yourself!”

Autumn Abundance also blushed and smiled, “Good Xiao Yue, don’t let yourself suffer! Let me take that bolt of white damask and first make you a jacket, then a skirt to match your red dress!”

After saying this, she went to feel under the bedding, searching inside and out for a long time—it was gone!

“Which damned thief stole it? I’ll beat their brains out!”

She searched frantically all over the floor before finally seeing the kang vent stuffed full of strangely fragrant pepper.

“Who has spare money to buy dozens of catties of pepper?”

Pear Moon grinned, about to explain.

Autumn Abundance stumbled and fell, slapping the ground as she cried out, “Damn you, Xiao Yue! Pay me back for my white damask jacket!”