Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 168 Inspection

On the 27th of the eleventh lunar month, the north wind howled, and fine snowflakes fell on the tiles, making a slight, crisp sound.

Yu Yuan, accompanied by the brothers Liu Bao and Liu Gen, walked along the long bluestone street, carrying two large bundles on their backs.

"This is the place." Yu Yuan stopped in his tracks.

Liu Bao looked up and saw a black lacquered plaque hanging on the facade of the three-bay shop, with freshly written characters that read "Huai De Xuan".

The smell in the shop was complex.

The salty and fishy smell of seafood, the stiffness of the homespun cloth, the smoky aroma of pine torches, and the faint stench of Shaoxing wine jar wafting from the corner—all these elements combine to create the unique flavor of this shop.

Two benches were placed facing the street, on which were stacks of Songjiang cotton cloth and locally produced twill fabric. The cloth was neatly stacked, but the top piece was covered with a layer of dust, clearly an "old actor" that was often displayed at the door as a sample. Because of the light snowfall, some shop assistants had already gone out with oilcloth umbrellas to provide some shelter from the wind and snow.

Against the east wall was a row of rough earthenware jars, containing dried scallops, dried shrimp, kelp knots, and thin sheets of what the locals called "seaweed." When Yu Yuan and his companions entered the shop, a customer was buying dried scallops. The shopkeeper carefully untied the thin hemp rope from the mouth of the jar, removed the coarse hemp cloth covering it, and then used a bamboo measuring tube to scoop them out, shaking them a couple of times after finishing.

The shelves on the west side are more miscellaneous.

Rush pith, flint and steel, pine torches, coarse porcelain bowls, bamboo fences, iron lampposts, and several wooden combs brought from Hangzhou—shippers loved to buy these because their teeth were so fine they could comb out lice.

Underneath the cabinet were bags of salt. Not the kind of official salt mixed with mud and sand found in most parts of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, but the kind that was traded and sold throughout Pingjiang Road. This was good salt, though it was unclear how much of it was bought from salt merchants and how much from smugglers—Yu Yuan couldn't help but think in that direction whenever he saw salt, even though he knew that Huai De Xuan most likely bought legitimate salt from salt merchants.

After weighing the dried scallops for the customer and collecting the money, the waiter, A-Gui, called out to Yu Yuan, "What would you like to buy, sir?" Yu Yuan replied, "I made an appointment with Manager Mo yesterday."

Ah Gui understood immediately.

He placed the sixteen-ounce old scale, engraved with the words "First Year of Dade," under the counter and said, "Please follow me." Yu Yuan and the other two followed closely behind to the back of the shop.

This is a small courtyard; the space is not large and is rather compact.

Some flowers and plants were planted against the wall, but now they have all withered. The most conspicuous things are the two large vats, one used to collect rainwater, but now it is frozen, and the other used to pickle vegetables, with several heavy stone slabs weighing down the wooden lids.

Manager Mo was sitting in a greenhouse on the west side of the courtyard, calculating with an abacus. When he saw Yu Yuan, he smiled and waved.

Yu Yuan bowed to A Gui and then went into the warm room.

The so-called "warm room" isn't actually very warm; it's just a small space that gets a little warmer after a stove is placed inside.

"Did you bring the items?" Manager Mo asked, putting the abacus aside.

"I brought them here, and I was just about to ask Master Mo to take a look." Yu Yuan had Liu Bao and Liu Gen open their bundles, take out the samples, and place them on the table one by one.

Shopkeeper Mo stood up, picked up a corner of a plain white cotton cloth, and looked at it towards the door.

Unfortunately, it was snowing today, so the light wasn't very good. So he held it under his nose and sniffed it again, and finally, holding the edges of the cloth with both hands, he gently pulled it at both ends to test the tension.

After doing all this, simply release one hand and let the fabric hang naturally to check its drape.

"Is this homespun cloth from Gushan in Jiangyin?" Shopkeeper Mo said unhurriedly. "It's woven quite tightly, especially the warp threads, which are made of eight-ply yarn. I haven't seen that in many years. It's very solid, too solid."

Yu Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

Shopkeeper Mo smiled and explained, "Actually, this kind of homespun cloth sells better in the north because it's thick and durable. People in the south prefer lighter and more breathable cloth, which is one of the reasons why Jiangyin homespun cloth, despite its sturdy materials, doesn't sell well in Liujiagang. Meanwhile, foreign merchants and seafarers need lighter cotton cloth, which they often transport to Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Shenglong Prefecture, or even further south. Making such thick cloth is a thankless task."

Yu Yuan suddenly realized.

It turned out that Huang's Cloth Shop wasn't being targeted; it was simply that their cloth wasn't to the liking of foreign merchants and travelers. They hadn't figured out what kind of merchants they actually wanted. After saying this, Manager Mo put the cloth aside and reached for the second item.

This was a bundle of raw silk, slightly yellowish in color, clearly homemade farm silk. He untied the straw rope binding the silk, took out a single strand, first examining its luster, then pinching it between two fingers to check the evenness of its thickness. Next, he wrapped the silk around his fingers twice, gently pulling to test its strength and elasticity. Finally, he moistened one end of the silk on the tip of his tongue, and with a scratch of his fingernail, the silk unraveled.

"The sericin wasn't cooked through, it's a bit rough." Manager Mo spat out the silk. "The reeling temperature is alright, unlike some inferior raw silk that easily pills. It's barely enough to weave some handkerchiefs and ribbons. But it has to be 10% cheaper than raw silk from Suzhou and Huzhou, otherwise forget it."

Yu Yuan had already sat down, borrowed paper and pen from Mo Bei, and wrote fluently and quickly.

Shopkeeper Mo then looked at a small bag of silkworm cocoons, about a hundred or so, yellowish-white, not small in size, but somewhat irregular in shape.

He picked up a cocoon, first examining its appearance, then holding it up to the light to see if it was a "double cocoon"—a cocoon made by two silkworms working together, with coarse silk that is difficult to reel.

After looking at it, I gently squeezed the cocoon shell to check its hardness, then shook it near my ear to listen to the sound of the pupa inside drying out.

Finally, he casually picked out three or five cocoons and tossed them into the teacup. The cocoons floated on the surface of the water, half-submerged and half-floating.

"Most of these cocoons are from healthy silkworms, not many are from dead silkworms," ​​Shopkeeper Mo said. "But the cocoons weren't picked properly; perhaps the pupae were injured. There are marks on the cocoon layers, making them prone to breaking during reeling. Besides, these cocoons have probably been stored for at least two years, haven't they? The color has changed. New cocoons should be pure white, but yours are yellowish, indicating they're old. The silk produced from them will have a poor luster and won't be able to be dyed with vibrant colors."

As far as I know, the silkworm cocoons from Jiangyin Prefecture are of excellent quality. Have you perhaps encountered a dishonest merchant? Have him bring over some new cocoons; if the quality is good, I'll buy them.

Yu Yuan nodded in agreement while taking notes, extremely busy.

Shopkeeper Mo's gaze fell on the last item.

It was a small piece of dyed cloth, indigo blue, folded to the size of a palm. Shopkeeper Mo unfolded it, first checking if the color was even and if there was any color difference between the edges and the center. Then he smoothed the cloth with his palm, folded it into a crease, and scratched the crease twice with his fingernail.

The area that was scraped became lighter in color, revealing the white core underneath.

He sighed.

"The dyeing is too superficial. The indigo didn't penetrate; it just coats the surface with a layer of color. This kind of cloth will look gaudy after just two or three washes." He pushed the cloth in front of Yu Yuan, pointing to a spot on the edge, and said, "Look here, the pleats are covered in white veins. This is because the cloth wasn't shaken out properly during dyeing; it was dyed by folding it together. The dyeing skills of the dye houses in Jiangyin are definitely not as good as those in Songjiang. If I accept this and sell it, it will ruin Madam's reputation; it's not worth it." Yu Yuan hesitated, wanting to say something but then stopping.

Mo Bei smiled and said, "Although I am on good terms with Shao She, I am also working for the lady, so I cannot be careless. These items, especially the cotton cloth, are actually of good quality. The weavers are quite skilled. Let them modify it to make it lighter and thinner, which will not only save on cotton but also make it easier to sell. If it is modified well, send it over again next time so I can take a look. If there are no problems, I will accept it."

The raw silk has some defects. Normally, Wuxi's raw silk is quite famous, but it seems Shaoshe didn't find good quality. If it's this kind, the price would have to be reduced by 10-20%, otherwise they can't buy it.

"The silkworm cocoons are good. If they're new, I'll buy them all, no bargaining. If they're old, well, I can still buy them, but they'll be discounted to the lowest quality. The dyed cloth is far inferior; it can't compare to Songjiang floral cloth. If I accept it, someone will surely accuse me of favoritism, and Madam will reprimand me." After saying this, Mo Bei sat back down, patiently waiting for Yu Yuan to finish recording, then smiled and said, "Is Shao She going to become a broker? He's brought in so much goods all at once. Actually, I'm quite happy. Last time Shao She said he'd suddenly realized something, and although I praised him verbally, I had my doubts. Seeing him today, it seems Shao She has indeed gone to do something important. Good, very good."

Yu Yuan was speechless.

Brother Shao has recently been threatening officials, recruiting hooligans, meeting with salt merchants in secret, and intimidating merchants—he's doing a pretty good job of "legitimate business."

It seems Manager Mo assumed Brother Shao wanted to act as a broker, selling goods from Jiangyin Prefecture to Liujiagang. However, Madam Shen had quality requirements; she would accept some goods but not others. She did offer suggestions for improvement, which was actually quite kind—or, to put it bluntly, albeit a form of charity. For cotton cloth, they could buy from Songjiang; although Jiangyin's was also very good, it didn't have a significant quality advantage.

The same applies to silkworm cocoons and raw silk. Can't we buy them in Suzhou or Huzhou? Their products are just as good.

Even for dyed cloths that they were unwilling to buy, they hoped you could improve your craftsmanship to meet their standards so they would purchase and stock them. Thinking of this, Yu Yuan stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Master Mo. I will definitely report to Brother Shao when I return and ask him to gather the merchants and improve as soon as possible."

Mo Bei nodded with a smile and said, "Yu She, go back and tell Shao She that he was lucky and caught a good time."

Yu Yuan was a little puzzled when he heard this, and blinked as he looked at Mo Bei.

Mo Bei said, "Do you still remember the matter of the foreign merchant Ali this year?"

"Remember."

"Shao She temporarily acted as a broker, selling quite a few goods for Madam," Mo Bei said. "Actually, that was Madam's first time supplying goods to foreign merchants. Since then, she's had the idea of ​​continuing in this line of work. Master Wan and Madam Zeng dote on their daughter and strongly support her doing business with foreign merchants in Liujiagang. So, you understand now?"

Yu Yuan suddenly realized that Madam Shen also needed someone to provide her with a stable supply of goods.

This is essentially a newly opened business for her. While she can leverage the connections of the Shen family in Suzhou to source goods, she can also cultivate her own suppliers. Once successfully established, she won't need to rely on her family's influence anymore, saving her a lot of trouble and avoiding the waste of favors. Brother Shao truly has keen insight.

He and Madam Shen were so close, he must have thought of this long ago, and he was single-mindedly focused on selling goods and making money.