Chapter Seventy-Four: The Art of Commerce

“Heh, so it’s Brother Fan. Are you here with nothing to do but to pass the time with me?” Zhou Zhi looked up and saw that it was indeed Fan Jin, craning his neck to peer inside. Quickly, Zhou Zhi greeted him with a laugh.

After speaking, Fan Jin squeezed through the crowd and stood beside Zhou Zhi. Behind him followed a man in his thirties, with a dark, rugged face and a robust physique. He wore a scholar’s robe and a square cap, attire reserved for those who had passed the initial imperial exams.

As expected, Fan Jin cheerily introduced, “Zhou Zhi, this is my good friend Wei Haogu, who became a scholar several years ago.”

Zhou Zhi hastily cupped his hands in greeting to Wei Haogu. Wei Haogu, smiling amiably, returned the gesture. Fan Jin then introduced Zhou Zhi to him as well. Wei Haogu’s expression remained calm, clearly not looking down on Zhou Zhi for being a poor farmer.

Fan Jin and Wei Haogu were both scholars, yet they treated someone of Zhou Zhi’s background with such warmth; Zhou Zhi couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.

Wei Haogu glanced down at the three bundles of vegetables and remarked, “Brother Zhou, to grow fresh leafy greens in the harsh winter—quite impressive!”

Fan Jin, ever fond of jesting, chimed in, “My dear Zhou is capable in all things, and diligent in his studies too. Don’t mind that he’s a commoner now—he puts real effort into his reading. Haogu, have you ever heard the saying, ‘In the morning, a farmer’s son; by evening, in the emperor’s hall’? This may very well describe our Zhou here!”

Zhou Zhi hastily replied, “Brother Fan, that’s too much praise. How could I have such ability? I merely read a little in my spare time—please, don’t mock me.”

Fan Jin had meant to mention the day at the Lü family’s house when Zhou Zhi had declared he’d sit for the scholar’s exam in two years, but seeing Zhou Zhi’s embarrassment, he let the matter drop.

He changed the subject, saying, “Zhou Zhi, it’s impressive to grow fresh vegetables in winter, but your prices are too high. Who will buy them? Do you think the households in Gaochang Town all own silver foundries?”

Zhou Zhi smiled mildly. “Brother Fan, don’t say that. For every product, there is a buyer. Just watch—at these prices, I may not have enough vegetables to sell.”

With knowledge from later times, Zhou Zhi understood precisely who his customers were: he had a clear target market. The ordinary folk in Gaochang Town wouldn’t buy vegetables at ten copper coins a pound—they could survive the winter without such greens.

But for the wealthy families, it was different. They sought novelty and would certainly buy. For them, a few dozen coins were of no consequence.

These vegetables were meant for the well-to-do.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Zhi finished speaking, someone called out, “Is the spinach fifty coins a bundle? I’ll take two.”

The speaker was an elderly woman of about fifty. Though dressed as a servant, her outfit was neat and bright, clearly marking her as a trusted housekeeper in a wealthy household.

Zhou Zhi cheerfully fetched two bundles of fresh spinach from under the quilt and handed them to her. She deftly paid one hundred coins.

“Tsk, tsk! He’s really done it,” Fan Jin exclaimed, watching Zhou Zhi make the sale.

Wei Haogu, meanwhile, felt the bundle of chives, took out thirty coins, handed them to Zhou Zhi, and said, “Brother Zhou, I’ll buy a bundle. My wife loves chive dumplings—she can make plenty today.”

Zhou Zhi quickly protested, “Brother Haogu, what are you doing? Take them, there’s no need to pay! You too, Brother Fan—help yourself. These vegetables are worth little enough. If I really took your money, how could I face you in the future?”

Zhou Zhi spoke with earnest sincerity.

But Wei Haogu, a man of integrity who hated to take advantage of anyone, frowned and said, “Brother Zhou, you worked hard to grow these. How could I take them for free? If you won’t take my money, I won’t buy them.”

With that, he placed the chives back on the cart.

An awkward silence fell between Zhou Zhi and Wei Haogu. Fortunately, Fan Jin was there to smooth things over, laughing, “Haogu’s right—take the money. Even brothers must keep accounts clear.”

Wei Haogu echoed, “Exactly, even brothers must settle accounts.”

Zhou Zhi gave a wry smile and finally accepted the thirty coins.

After taking the chives, Wei Haogu bid farewell, eager to have his wife steam dumplings.

Fan Jin laughed, “To be honest, I don’t care for these vegetables. I only like meat—otherwise, I’d buy a few bundles myself.”

He spoke the truth—Zhou Zhi had seen him pick out only the fatty meat at the Lü house.

Fan Jin stayed by Zhou Zhi’s side, however, watching the sales with great interest.

“Young man, how much for the celery?” asked a middle-aged man on the edge of the crowd.

“Eighty coins a bundle. If you take two, I’ll give you both for one hundred fifty,” Zhou Zhi replied with a smile.

Fan Jin was startled. “Zhou Zhi, didn’t you just say fifty a bundle? Did you make a mistake?”

The bystanders also clamored, “It was fifty a bundle just now—has the price gone up?”

“It was fifty before, but I’ve just raised the price,” Zhou Zhi replied calmly.

Fan Jin was annoyed. “Zhou Zhi, that’s not very fair of you!”

“Just watch, Brother Fan—this is my way of doing business.” Zhou Zhi spoke softly, then leaned close to Fan Jin’s ear and whispered, “Brother Fan, the prices will go up again soon. I’m just trying to earn a little silver—my family is poor. If I were too soft, we couldn’t survive.”

“Hmph! You rascal,” Fan Jin grumbled, though worry crept into his face. He thought, The vegetables were hard to sell to begin with—how could he sell them now at an even higher price?

The middle-aged man hesitated, then said, “I’ll take two bundles of celery. Here’s one hundred fifty coins.”

Zhou Zhi took the money with a smile and handed over the celery.

Soon after, someone wanted chives. Zhou Zhi raised the price again—now fifty coins a bundle. Yet someone still bought one.

In fact, the chives sold surprisingly well. As Zhou Zhi kept raising prices, the crowd grew impatient and began to buy in a rush.

All twenty bundles of chives were eventually sold for eighty coins a bundle, and still sold out quickly.

Fan Jin was dumbfounded. How could this be? When the price was low, people hesitated, but when it was high, they rushed to buy. It made no sense to him.

Now, only the celery and spinach were left. Zhou Zhi felt quite pleased. His plan had worked—since celery and spinach were harder to sell, he’d planted less of them than chives.

But now, with the chives gone, the crowd thinned, and Zhou Zhi grew anxious. In small business, popularity mattered most—without it, the celery and spinach might not sell.

Just then, an elderly man of about fifty, with a neat appearance, a small cap, a black jacket, and a pointy goatee, stopped before the stand. He felt the celery and spinach and muttered, “Hmm, these are very fresh. Eighty coins a bundle, is it? How many do you have left? I’ll take them all.”

Fan Jin glanced at the man, started, and then broke into a broad grin. He thought to himself, Zhou Zhi is truly lucky—just as he was fretting about unsold vegetables, along comes a generous patron.