Chapter 59: Dividing the Money

She took out twenty catties of pepper from the kang compartment, divided it into two baskets, and covered them tightly with coarse cloth.

Pear Moon left Huan Huan to guard the tea room and went out with Autumn Abundance, each carrying a basket.

Normally, Autumn Abundance struggled to carry two catties of vegetables, but now, holding ten catties of pepper, she walked surprisingly fast.

Panting and out of breath, they arrived at Futai Teahouse. Pear Moon had thought it would be quiet so late in the day, but to her surprise, it was bustling.

Pepper prices had been rising for several days, and today, trading was finally booming. From morning till night, buyers and sellers crowded the place.

Many carried shoulder poles or pushed carts, dealing in thirty to fifty catties at a time.

Brokers held weighing scales for goods and small steelyards for silver, too busy to catch their breath.

The price tags on the shop boards were a mess: some read three taels and one mace, others three taels and two mace.

“It’s so chaotic with so many people. As young women, shouldn’t we avoid showing ourselves in public?”

This little minx Autumn Abundance had clamored loudly to sell the goods, but now that they were here, she was getting cold feet.

Pear Moon couldn’t stand her timid demeanor and told her to wait across the street while she squeezed through the crowd to negotiate prices.

Teahouses and taverns in the capital were often filled with entertainers, and respectable women rarely visited.

Today, the place was especially rowdy, so Pear Moon had no intention of going inside to find a buyer.

The brokers were gathered at the teahouse entrance. She found an elderly one and hurried over to greet him.

This old broker, surnamed Li, wore a bamboo-cloth robe and a square blue cloth headscarf.

Looking down, he saw a young girl with her hair in twin buns and didn’t believe she could have twenty catties of pepper.

“Little miss, don’t jest with me. Can’t you see I’m busy! If you want to do business, have your parents bring the twenty catties of pepper for me to see!”

Pear Moon lifted the cloth covering the bamboo basket, and Old Broker Li’s expression changed instantly.

Overjoyed, he grabbed a handful to check the quality, then pulled over a bamboo chair for Pear Moon to sit and wait.

“Little miss, don’t go far! Many buyers are waiting with silver ready. I’ll find a buyer for you!”

It turned out brokers didn’t buy goods themselves but acted as intermediaries between buyers and sellers.

With pepper prices rising these past two days, many had sought out brokers to make purchases.

Buyers waited inside the teahouse. As Old Broker Li entered, several people crowded around him.

Pear Moon turned and waved, signaling Autumn Abundance to bring her basket over.

The place was too crowded and lively. Autumn Abundance, frightened just standing there, set down the basket and retreated to a distance.

Truth be told, Pear Moon was also a little afraid. She had entered Ningguo Mansion at six and had never interacted with common folk.

These people shouted and argued loudly, their voices booming like thunderclaps.

It was already May, and with so many people, the air was thick with unpleasant smells.

Pear Moon, a fresh-faced young girl sitting there in an old silk dress, didn’t look like a fruit or snack vendor.

Many people came over to ask what she was selling in her basket, and two idlers even teased her with smirks.

Pear Moon kept a stern face and ignored them until she saw Old Broker Li approaching with two buyers.

Old Broker Li shooed away the idlers and showed the pepper in the baskets to the buyers.

At the time, there were many eager buyers but few sellers.

Both buyers inspected the goods and competed to purchase it, even arguing over the price.

Old Broker Li mediated between them, talking until his lips were parched, and finally settled on a price of three taels, one mace, and five candareens.

They weighed the twenty catties on the spot, exchanged sixty-three taels of silver, with three taels as Broker Li’s fee and sixty taels for Pear Moon.

Six small ingots of ten taels each, all stamped with decorative patterns, felt solid and of excellent quality.

Pear Moon wrapped them in a handkerchief, thanked the old broker, picked up the empty baskets, and prepared to leave.

Broker Li followed closely, giving repeated instructions: if there were still pepper to sell at home, she should come back here to find him.

The sky had already darkened, with the evening glow from the west just beginning to shine, dazzlingly golden and brilliant.

Pear Moon was filled with joy, the corners of her mouth uncontrollably lifting.

The heavy silver was cradled in her arms—if seen by evildoers who snatched it away, that would be disastrous.

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt her feet grow wings, flying off like a wisp of smoke.

Autumn Abundance watched from afar, thinking she had been possessed, chasing after her desperately.

When they entered the side gate of Ningguo Mansion, the sky was still at dusk; fortunately, no one paid them any mind.

“You dead Xiao Yue! Is there a wolf chasing you from behind, running so fast! Quick, take out the silver and let me see—don’t let it be fake tin, you with your poor eyesight might not tell!”

The two entered the small room, and before the door was even properly closed, Autumn Abundance eagerly snatched at the silver bundle.

“Shh, shh, shh! Keep your voice down! Who hasn’t seen silver before? Could I not recognize the color of silver? It’s a full sixty taels of fine silver!”

Pear Moon desperately protected the silver, fearing Autumn Abundance might get greedy and snatch it away.

By the time the lanterns were lit in the Main Chamber courtyard and the Small Tea Room was sealed and locked, Huan Huan had also returned.

The three of them bolted the door and climbed onto the kang to look at the silver.

“The three of us agreed: the silver came from exchanging pepper, the pepper came from exchanging white silk, and the white silk was stolen by me from the upper rooms!” Autumn Abundance hugged the silver ingots triumphantly.

“You filthy-hearted, rotten-lunged wench! Exchanging pepper for silver took Xiao Yue’s effort and care—are you trying to hog it all?”

Huan Huan gritted her teeth and pushed her, but Autumn Abundance’s mouth remained unforgiving.

“Who said I’m hogging it? I’m afraid Xiao Yue might hog it! Didn’t you see her acting like a broker selling goods, just like a shopkeeper’s wife! Huan Huan, you’re fair and plump—what if one day she turns bad and sells you off?”

“I’ll tear your mouth! Xiao Yue isn’t as wicked as you!”

Seeing the two of them arguing again, Pear Moon felt somewhat calmer inside.

When she had just gotten the sixty taels of silver, she felt she should take the larger share.

After all, the idea of exchanging pepper for silver was something she had figured out herself.

If they had relied solely on Autumn Abundance, they would have at most each made a small jacket to wear.

But now it seemed she shouldn’t let money cloud her judgment.

They lived in the same room; though they often bickered and quarreled, they were ultimately tied to the same vine.

“Let’s split this silver equally among the three of us, and when the remaining thirty catties of pepper are sold, we’ll split that money equally too. What do you two think?”

Huan Huan’s small face flushed red, unable to speak for a long time.

Autumn Abundance was stunned for a while: “Have you caught a chill? So generous?”

Pear Moon pursed her lips and smiled: “After the Dragon Boat Festival, we’ll check the prices again, sell the remaining thirty catties, and split that silver equally too.”

Judging by the situation, prices were sure to rise after the festival—then each would get at least another twenty taels.

The three of them were so excited they hardly slept all night, spending half the night just hiding the silver.

They rose at the fifth watch, each wearing their best clothes.

Autumn Abundance made three pairs of colored rope knots, tying them around each of their wrists.

This day was the main day of the Dragon Boat Festival, with Ningguo Mansion holding a family feast to unwrap zongzi.

Shen Shi no longer pretended to be ill, rising early to dress up: a flower-patterned silk jacket, a pomegranate-red skirt, and over it a bright red embroidered gauze gown with golden crabapple flower buttons at the collar. On her head, she wore a filigree gold phoenix, adorned with pearls and jade, her forehead decorated with a floral diadem, her makeup thick and heavily applied.

The maids of Phoenix Ripple Courtyard had also dressed in new clothes early, carrying incense burners and clothing bundles, crowding around her as they went to pay respects to Madam Ning at Brocade Prosperity Hall.

The third-rank maids did not all need to follow outside. Granny Zhao instructed Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance to guard the tea room, only asking Pear Moon to carry a pot of rich, vibrant spring tea along.

When the group arrived outside the gate of Brocade Prosperity Hall, they heard from the maids and matrons, “You’ve come late, Eldest Mistress. Madam Ning has already gone to Crane Longevity Hall to pay respects to the Old Matriarch, along with the Second Madam, Third Madam, and the young ladies—they are all there!”

Upon hearing this, Shen Shi frowned and pursed her lips in displeasure.

“Why didn’t anyone send word to my courtyard? The sun is scorching hot, making me walk all this way for nothing!”

A matron from Brocade Prosperity Hall glanced sideways at her without uttering a word.

Pear Moon and the others then gathered around Shen Shi again, escorting her through the covered walkway toward Crane Longevity Hall.