Chapter 87: The Crime of Gender 87
Fang Zhongyi said, if you go out later and make your mother angry and I don’t help placate you, just keep going like this! Qin Shuangshuang, who was hit in her weak spot, was forced to retreat, and could only secretly bite the handkerchief and curse her master to eat without salt! Bathe without water!
Actually, even if Fang Zhongyi didn’t find her, Qin Shuangshuang wouldn’t have much time to cling to her mother, Mrs. Bai, acting as their little sun, as her thoughts lately have been constantly focused on Huyan Babur.
It’s not easy to cultivate a Great Hu Merchant. Firstly, the salt and tea, which are welcomed by the barbarians, must not be sold to them, as these are strictly controlled by the court and cannot be sold to barbarians.
But besides these, the barbarians are only interested in Da Ran’s fine wine. However, wine consumes too much grain, and the court has also firmly prohibited the common people from opening distilleries, only allowing state officials to brew.
This isn’t about competing with the people for profit, but out of fear that the common people, lured by the high profits of wine, would brew all the grain into wine, leading to no grain left for eating and eventually starvation! So even though the court doesn’t control the selling of wine to barbarians, there might not be much wine reaching them.
Qin Shuangshuang has been perplexed lately about what Da Ran doesn’t control that can be sold to barbarians and would be liked by them. It finally dawned on her when she saw her family’s dried vegetables!
The Qin family has two hundred acres of land, producing a large number of fast-growing leafy greens. Qin Shuangshuang originally planned to dry them into preserved vegetables, storing them until the Mutual Market opens to sell to the visiting barbarians at high prices, ensuring a supply shortage.
The barbarians live on the grasslands, relying solely on livestock instead of farming. Their long-term diet consists mainly of dairy products; those who think barbarians only eat meat are mistaken.