Chapter 679: Taking Advantage
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At this point, Bai Ye’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red. “Eldest Niiss looks gentle and magnanimous, but she has a sharp personality. She suppresses Third Miss in every way. She was conferred the t.i.tle of County Head of Shaoyi herself and even instigated the Master to ask for a t.i.tle for her deceased mother. First Madam is sick, not dead. Even if Madam Xie was the first wife, she shouldn’t surpa.s.s the wife who is still alive. To ask for a t.i.tle for the dead first wife…
She knew that on the day that Master Yu had requested for a t.i.tle for Madam Xie, Eldest Miss had specially gone to the main study to look for him. Later, Master Yu went to Matriarch’s house.
It must be Eldest Miss who wanted Master Yu to ask for a t.i.tle for her biological mother. Master Yu couldn’t make up his mind, so he went to look for the Matriarch. However, Matriarch would have said the same thing as Eldest Miss. She must be biased towards Eldest Madam.
Old Madam Lai had worked in the Yu Residence in the past and had seen the infighting of wealthy families, but she firmly believed these words.
It’s not as if they were born from the same womb, how could they have the same mind?
As she spoke, Bai Ye couldn’t help but feel sorrow from the bottom of her heart. “Third Miss has been giving in to them in every way and even went to hide in the manor. What else is Eldest Miss dissatisfied with? If it weren’t for the fact that Third Miss is of age and it’s not good for her to continue living in the manor, Third Miss wouldn’t have been forced to return to the residence.
Ever since Third Miss returned to the residence, she’s been a little depressed. First Madam is still alive, but… If First Madam… how can Third Miss survive in this residence? Third Miss is such a good person. How can Eldest Miss be a b*tch…
Old Madam Lai thought that the Third Miss of the residence had done them a favor and was indeed a kind person. She was old, and her granddaughter had no other relatives. In the future, she could only rely on Third Miss to give her a meal. Only when Third Miss lives well could her granddaughter do the same.
At the thought of this, she asked about Madam Yang.
Bai Ye did not hide anything and chatted about First Madam’s situation. ‘ First Madam has been much more awake recently. The doctor requested for her to eat more ginseng. I’m afraid…”
Old Madam Lai’s eyes flashed when she heard this. She patted her granddaughter’s hand. “Let Third Miss know this another day. Back then, when I broke the contract with the residence, our family wasn’t doing well either. It was only because I was taken care of by Madam Yang that I had a way out. It’s rare for me to enter the residence, so I want to kowtow to Madam
Yang.”
This request was reasonable.
Old Madam Lai stayed obediently in the courtyard. Yu Jianjia also took Matriarch’s words to heart and visited Madam Yang every day.
The residence was also peaceful.
On this day, Yu Youyao received a reply from her cousin. In the letter, he only mentioned that he would return to the residence at the end of the month.
Yu Youyao was also used to it. Her cousin would not mention anything more sensitive in his letters. The information she wanted to know was all from Yin Qi, who had sent the letter.
The courier station was not safe. It was common for letters to be checked. Even if this letter did not go through the courier station, the letter itself was a weakness.
Once there were any changes in the Imperial Court, the first thing to be investigated would be the letters.
No matter how tightly they try to hide it, there will still be times when they miss out on something.
One can never be too careful.
Yin Qi had always told Yu Youyao everything he knew. “The North and the Northern Barbarians have already successfully reached a trade negotiation. At the price of 300 taels of silver per warhorse and 1,800 copper coins per bag of rice, both sides will trade horses for food. The first trade was completed at the end of July. The Northern Barbarians traded 100 warhorses and 100 sheeps.”
The first transaction could be considered a test of sincerity by both sides. The number of transactions was not high. Only when the first transaction was completed could the two sides establish a preliminary trust, which would lead to a second and third time…
“300 taels!” Yu Youyao instantly calculated in her heart, and her eyes lit up.
The most ordinary old horse in the Great Zhou Dynasty cost more than 30 taels of silver, and the better ones cost 60 to 70 taels of silver. A good warhorse cost more than 300 taels of silver.
Yu Youyao had come into contact with horse merchants and horse traders. A warhorse from the Northern Barbarians could be sold for seven to eight hundred taels of silver or even a thousand taels of silver in the hands of the Great Zhou Dynasty’s horse traders.
The ridiculous price was because on top of the warhorses of the Northern Barbarians being rare and valuable, the trade between the horse vendors and the Northern Barbarians was also a huge risk.
The price definitely couldn’t be calculated like this when dealing with the Northern Barbarians.
Even so, Yu Youyao still slapped the plate and sent a letter to her cousin. As long as the price of a warhorse did not exceed 500 taels, this deal would be worth it.
She did not expect her cousin to be so capable as to trade a warhorse of the
Northern Barbarians for the price of a warhorse of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
How could the warhorses of the Great Zhou Dynasty be compared to the warhorses of the Northern Barbarians?
Absolutely not!
The current price of a liter of rice in the Great Zhou Dynasty was 180 copper coins, and the price of a bag of rice was 1,800 copper coins. Her cousin did not take advantage of the situation. He was already very “sincere” to trade with the Northern Barbarians at the market price.
They bought and sold at the market price. When comparing them, neither side seemed to have suffered a loss.
That was not the way to settle the score.
How could the market price of a bowl of grain be compared to the market price of a warhorse?
The two were not on the same level at all.
Her cousin took a huge advantage.
However, food was also urgently needed in the Northern Barbarians. In short, both sides had achieved their goal at a “market price”. The first transaction could be considered satisfactory.
Her cousin was simply too impressive. He could lower the price of a warhorse to such a good deal.
Yu Youyao had an idea. “How many deals have both sides agreed on?”
Yin Qi said, “There would be a total of three times. The second trade will take place in early August. The Northern Barbarians will trade 100 warhorses, 100 cows, and 300 sheeps. The third trade will take place in the middle of the month. The Northern Barbarians will trade another 500 warhorses, 100 cows, and 1,000 sheeps.”
Harmon had originally only wanted to trade 500 warhorses at most, and a large number of cows and sheep.
The people of the Northern Barbarians did not even have enough food, so how could they afford to feed a large number of cows and sheep?
While the cows and sheep were still alive, he could quickly exchange meat for
grains.
700 warhorses was already the largest number that Harmon could trade after a long tug of war between the two sides. He couldn’t take out any more and wasn’t willing to.
After all, 500 warhorses could already form an elite cavalry.
If there were any more, it would be a terrifying threat to the Northern Barbarians.
Yu Youyao felt relieved and asked, “How’s Cousin’s health? What about the drought in the North?”
Yin Qi’s heart skipped a beat, but he was still the most outstanding secret guard by Young Master’s side after all. He panicked, but his expression was calm. “Young Master is fine.” The injury on his arm had almost recovered, and he was really fine. “The drought in the North is very serious. The Yue Fei Residence is taking the lead and encouraging the commoners to plant sweet potatoes. More than half of the commoners have vines planted in their houses. The people who planted them earlier can already harvest the sweet potato leaves to fill their stomachs. The situation is still manageable.”
In June, the sweet potatoes planted in the ground grew vines again. The stewards of the manor then arranged for the commoners to plant another batch..