Chapter 58: A Sharp Rise

Pear Moon remained expressionless as she took out a bamboo sieve and strained the broth from the soup pot.

The steaming broth was milky white, infused with the rich essence of hen, ham, seafood, and mushrooms.

Unfortunately, it was topped with a layer of jade-colored oil, which did not meet Shen Shi’s requirement for a light and clear soup.

Pear Moon placed the pot of milky broth back on the stove and added a large handful of minced chicken breast to the boiling liquid.

In no time, the rich, creamy broth became filled with white froth.

She strained it once more through the bamboo sieve, and what flowed out was a golden, tea-colored clear broth.

“The broth looks just like weak tea?” Granny Fan exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Water shield and shredded spring bamboo shoots were blanched to remove their raw taste, then simmered in the clear broth with just a pinch of salt for seasoning.

Served in a celadon lotus-shaped soup bowl, it was a pristine and elegant jade belt soup.

The spring bamboo shoots were as white as jade, the water shield resembled ribbons, and the broth was as clear as tea.

“Good heavens! To make such a bowl of clear broth, it takes two hens, a whole ham, three catties of fresh meat, two taels of dried scallops, and two strings of cash worth of mushrooms…”

In the households of noble families, the emphasis was on refinement and meticulousness in food—they cared little about extravagance or waste.

No wonder Granny Fan could never cook well enough—she was too practical and didn’t understand this principle.

What Shen Shi meant by “light and clear” was only in appearance.

What she truly wanted were dishes that tasted light yet flavorful, allowing her to pride herself on her refined tastes.

If a truly plain broth with water shield were served to her, she would undoubtedly throw a fit.

When this soup was served, Shen Shi indeed praised it a few times.

“As daughters of a scholarly family, we have our own etiquette and integrity. We must reflect on our food, clothing, and daily expenses. A soup made with greens and bamboo shoots can also be delicious—why waste money on fish and meat? Families like the Tans, those upstarts, only know how to curry favor with noble households by sending expensive gifts. I look down on such people!”

Though these words were spoken in front of Granny Fan, they were meant for Granny Zhao, leaving the old woman fuming with anger.

When Granny Fan returned to the kitchen, she recounted the whole incident as a joke to everyone.

Pear Moon, eating her meal, showed a hint of disdain on her face.

If Shen Shi truly believed that plain greens and tofu were delicious, Granny Fan’s job would be much easier—boiled greens with saltwater was her specialty.

The servants in Phoenix Ripple Courtyard now ate from separate stoves.

Those who didn’t want to eat from the communal pot were given their share of rice, vegetables, and meat by Granny Fan to cook for themselves.

Pear Moon, who managed her own small stove, naturally preferred this arrangement.

She took Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance with her, claimed their three portions, and cooked for themselves, occasionally even indulging in some extra treats.

Huan Huan could also stir-fry a couple of dishes, but Autumn Abundance disliked cooking and preferred to wait for ready-made meals.

Today, they were having sour bamboo shoots stir-fried with chicken skin, ham in fermented black bean sauce, and pickled cucumbers and eggplants that Pear Moon had prepared earlier.

Now that the weather was warm, they left the doors and windows open and ate outside the small room.

Autumn Abundance, however, refused to do so. She carried her bowl inside, squatted by the kang stove, and ate while blocking the stove opening.

She was afraid others would smell the pepper inside.

Pepper had a pungent, spicy aroma, but fortunately, their courtyard was close to the kitchen, so no one would suspect anything if they caught a whiff of spices.

After dinner, the sky was not yet dark, so Pear Moon went out through the side gate alone.

It was already too late, so she could only inquire at the grocery store on the back street.

In less than half a day, the price of pepper at the grocery store had risen from eight qian to one tael and two qian!

The young shop assistant even snapped impatiently, “Are you buying or not? If not, the price will go up again tomorrow morning!”

The spice shop next door was even stranger. When she asked for the price, they said all the pepper was sold out and they weren’t sure if there would be any tomorrow.

Pear Moon walked out of the shop, her mouth agape in shock.

If the retail price rises to one tael and two mace, the wholesale price for teahouses will surely exceed one tael.

The increase is truly too rapid!

Early the next morning, Pear Moon rose at dawn, prepared the Refined Congee for the main household’s breakfast, and assigned Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance to work in the Small Tea Room.

Carrying a basket herself, she told Granny Zhao she was going to Imperial Street to buy sweets and then dashed like the wind to Fortune and Prosperity Teahouse.

Having left so early, she worried the teahouse might not yet be open and thought to wait for a while under the eaves across the street.

But who would have thought that beneath the teahouse’s sign, a noisy crowd had gathered, and several brokers were already hoarse from shouting.

“Buying pepper regardless of grade, one tael and five mace per catty!”

“One tael and five mace per catty, we’ll take as much as you have!”

“Full payment in silver, no credit!”

“If anyone has pepper, I’ll buy it at a high price!”

“…”

Before long, the teahouse opened its shutters, and these brokers each carried out a plank, writing the purchase price and their own surnames with white chalk.

“Broker Wang, buying pepper, one tael, six mace, and five candareens!”

“Broker Zhang, pepper, one tael and seven mace!”

Pear Moon stood holding her small basket, staring in astonishment.

She had been here before but had never seen brokers conducting business like this.

The price was changing almost by the minute.

After half a day of shouting in front of the teahouse, only a few people in coarse cloth sold three or five catties each.

These were ordinary townsfolk who had kept some pepper for their own use and, seeing the price rise, sold a bit to supplement their household expenses.

Pear Moon watched from across the street for a while, seeing the offered price reach two taels.

Two taels of silver per catty—the pepper hidden in her kang’s hollow was already worth one hundred taels of silver!

In her twelve years of life, she had never seen one hundred taels of silver.

Though the offered price was high, unfortunately, no one came to sell, making it a price without a market.

Pear Moon told herself to stay calm and first went to the shops on Imperial Street to buy salted and sour preserved fruits and sugar-dusted pastries.

When she returned, she heard that someone had just sold ten catties for two taels and one mace per catty, bought by Broker Li.

“The official merchants from the Northern Pass have come to the capital to buy pepper—they want thirty thousand catties!”

“No wonder the price is rising so sharply!”

“Once this pepper is transported from the capital to the Northern Pass, it’ll be worth ten taels of silver per catty!”

“Really?”

Listening to the chatter on the street, Pear Moon hugged her bamboo basket, lowered her head, and squeezed her way out of the crowd.

Back in the mansion’s tea room, Autumn Abundance grew anxious as soon as she heard.

“What are you grinning about? Let Huan Huan watch the stove here. The two of us should grab baskets and hurry out to sell!”

“Don’t rush!” Pear Moon hushed her. “We need to stay calm. Acting in a panic won’t earn us money! We mustn’t let anyone know we have pepper stored away. When we take it out to sell, it has to be in the evening when people aren’t paying attention.”

“Right, right, right! You’re absolutely right about that!” It was rare for Autumn Abundance to agree with her.

“This afternoon, Autumn Abundance, go check the price again. If it rises to two taels and five mace, we’ll sell twenty catties first. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival; every household will be celebrating, and the brokers won’t be out. We’ll wait until after the festival to decide what to do with the remaining thirty catties.”

Pear Moon gently bit her lip, her heart pounding—after all, she had never dealt with so much money before.

“What? You think the price will still rise after the festival?”

Autumn Abundance’s eyes widened, shining like two gilded copper coins.

“It might rise.”

Pear Moon was only guessing, but she felt about eighty percent confident.

The news that the Qin family’s official merchants had come to the capital to buy thirty thousand catties of pepper was absolutely true.

Even if thirty thousand catties didn’t buy out the capital’s entire stock, it likely absorbed a significant portion, making a price increase inevitable.

But that it would rise so quickly—Pear Moon hadn’t expected that.

Two and a half taels per catty, first sell twenty catties, fifty taels of silver safely in the bag.

The remaining thirty catties can be used to take a gamble, anyway they won’t lose out.

“If it can still rise, we won’t sell any, we’ll keep it until after the festival…”

Autumn Abundance’s eyes were practically sparkling with coins, Pear Moon reached out and pinched her lips.

“Shut up! Listen to me!”

The three of them didn’t even eat their lunch properly, Autumn Abundance dropped her bowl and ran out.

Granny Zhao asked from behind, Pear Moon made an excuse for her, saying she wanted to go eat a red bean honey Su Shan.

Restlessly waiting until dinner time, just as Pear Moon had finished stewing two kinds of soup, Autumn Abundance came back carrying half a catty of jade bees.

Rarely so generous, she bribed Granny Zhao with the pastries.

“Good Granny, don’t mind me slacking off, this pack of pastries is for you to sweeten your mouth! There’s Bing Su Shan being sold outside, I want to take Xiao Yue and Huan Huan to have some!”

Granny Zhao had been feeling stifled with anger lately, seeing her suddenly offer sweets, she couldn’t be bothered to interfere much, waving them off.

“What happened? Did it really rise to two and a half taels?”

The three of them holding hands returned to the room, only then did Pear Moon lower her voice to ask.

“Heavens, heavens! What two and a half taels, it’s risen to three taels! Xiao Yue, we’ve struck it rich!”