Little Miss Fortune: I Will Bring Prosperity to My Tang Family!-Chapter 7: Selling Lingzhi Mushrooms

Chapter 6

Selling Lingzhi Mushrooms

After the grilled squid battle between the siblings, Xiaolin found herself seated on the cart once more, this time with a mat for added comfort. Besides purchasing rice today, her father was also bringing along the smallest two of the Lingzhi mushrooms in a bag to sell. Selling just a small quantity was safer if the mushrooms fetched a high price.

Tianchen stopped by to pick up Liu Hao from his small house, as it was on the way to the city. Liu Hao greeted them with a bag slung over his shoulder, bid his grandmother a quick goodbye, and joined the Tang family.

"You’re coming too, Xiaolin?" He asked, noting the little girl comfortably seated on the cart and couldn’t help but feel fondness for her bright, eager eyes.

"Yes, Uncle Hao," Xiaolin replied with a smile that squinted her eyes.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the four set off towards Jiangnan City, a major port city on the eastern coast with areas adjacent to the sea. It was a bustling trade center with foreigners and other provinces.

Xiaolin’s village, Shenlin, was only about five Li1 from Jiangnan City, a distance that could be covered in about half a shichen on foot at a leisurely pace, or even quicker if one hurried. But if we hurry a bit, it might only take two or three ke.

Xiaolin was amazed by the city gates made of stone and the bustling crowds inside. The diverse attire of the people, including those with black, brown, and blonde hair, indicated a thriving trade. She lamented not being more innovative or clever; otherwise, she might have established a significant business there.

As they passed through various shops and stalls, Xiaolin looked around with interest. There were fabric shops, eateries, taverns, seed stores, dried food shops, sweet shops, and many others she couldn’t recall all.

They stopped at a medium-sized medicine shop. Her father lifted her up and carried her in, with Uncle Hao following behind, while the young uncle decided to stay outside with the cart.

"Welcome, what are you looking to buy today?" A kindly old man greeted them as they entered the shop.

"Greetings, shopkeeper," Tianchen bowed in greeting, his arms occupied with his daughter. The elderly man smiled fondly at the sight of the cute little girl.

"Then let’s go inside and have a chat. A’Zhuan! Come out and mind the shop for me for a bit," the elderly man called out to his son who was measuring herbs inside.

"Yes, father. Is there anything?" The middle-aged man emerged from the back and asked his father.

"Just mind the shop for a moment. I’m going to check out the herbs these two young men have brought to sell."

"Got it."

Tianchen and Liu Hao followed the elderly man inside, where he gestured for them to sit and didn’t forget to serve them tea. They accepted the tea and sat up straight, following the polite norms. Xiaolin looked around with interest, admiring the beauty of the ancient architecture and dreamed of having such a beautiful house someday.

"What are you looking at, little miss? Would you like some sweets? I’ll go fetch some for you," Hong Zhuan asked the fidgeting girl who couldn’t stop turning her head in every direction.

"This shop is so beautiful. I got carried away because I’ve never seen anything like it before," Xiaolin responded, and the old man laughed joyfully.

"Is that so? You can walk around and look if you like. You have my permission."

"Er, it might be better not to trouble you, kind sir," Tianchen interjected politely.

"It’s no trouble at all. Just let her walk around in this room. There’s nothing valuable enough here to be broken or damaged," the shopkeeper reassured, waving his hand dismissively.

"Thank you, Grandfather," Xiaolin said as she slid off the chair and bowed her thanks, though she couldn’t bow too deeply due to her round belly. Then, she walked around the room, which was decorated with various tea sets and vases. The walls were adorned with several paintings.

"Alright, what have you brought for me to see?" the elderly man asked. Tianchen took out a cloth wrap from his bag and laid it on the table. Unwrapping it revealed two large Lingzhi mushrooms, each larger than a man’s hand.

"This! This is a Red Lingzhi mushroom!"

The elderly man’s eyes widened in shock. Red lingzhi mushrooms are rare and not widely recognized except by those who have studied in academies or belong to the upper class. Having once been a physician, he was familiar with many herbs but had never encountered Red Lingzhi mushrooms of this size.

"Yes. Could we possibly sell these?"

"What are you saying? These are more than sellable. Do you only have two?"

"My brother has some too," Tianchen turned to Liu Hao, who also unfolded a cloth to reveal he only brought one mushroom to test the waters.

"Oh, that’s good then. Let me call my son to take a look first," the elderly man hurried out to call his son from outside since his son had once trained as a physician in the royal court and would be better at pricing than his father, a mere village doctor.

"Let me see," Hong Zhuan hurried in and sat down to inspect the mushrooms.

"No mistake, this is indeed a Red Lingzhi mushroom, father. The palace once purchased these from foreign lands at a hundred taels of gold per catty2."

"A hundred taels of gold!!" Tianchen and Liu Hao exclaimed in shock, even startling Xiaolin who was admiring a beautiful vase.

"Yes, but that was when I was still an apprentice, nearly twenty years ago. The price must have increased significantly since then. If I were to buy it at a hundred and fifty taels of gold per catty, would you sell them?"

Tianchen and Liu Hao were so stunned by the initial price of a hundred taels that they didn’t respond until Xiaolin nudged her father, still gaping in astonishment.

"Father? Uncle is asking you," Hong Zhuan looked at the little girl who was poking her father. Seeing no response, he started to shake his arm until the father was visibly shaken.

"Ye...yes, we’ll sell them," Tianchen nodded, his senses not fully returned yet.

"Then, I’ll fetch the scales here so you can see too," the elderly man said. The two young men nodded in agreement. Tianchen asked Liu Hao to help check to make sure they wouldn’t get cheated, as this was their first time selling something so valuable.

"Your two mushrooms weigh 1 jin and 2 liangs3, while your brother’s weigh 6 liangs."

The two young men nodded and sat down waiting their payment, their legs weak and hands shaking from never having handled so much money before. Even seeing a few silver coins was rare for ordinary villagers like them, let alone gold taels. The last time Tianchen even held ten silver coins was ten years ago when a generous benefactor gave it to them.

Tianchen received a total of 180 taels of gold, while Liu Hao got 90 taels. Tianchen clutched the bag of money so tightly he almost forgot to pick up his daughter. He walked out of the shop dazedly with Liu Hao, but Xiaolin didn’t call out to her father. She happily took a large bag of sweets from shopkeeper Hong and followed them out.

"How could you forget your own niece! If she were kidnapped, I’d beat you up!" Tianchen exclaimed loudly at his brother. Fortunately, he saw the little girl carrying a large paper-wrapped package and quickly placed her on the cart.

"I’m sorry, Xiaolin," Tianchen apologized as he sat down to talk with his daughter. Xiaolin giggled.

"It’s okay, Father. But don’t forget to buy rice, spices, and seasonings for Mother."

"Of course, let’s go," Tianchen said, pushing the cart with one hand while clutching the bag of money tightly with the other. Losing such a large sum would devastate him.

"Liu Hao, let’s go, what’s wrong with you?" Tianchen nudged the older man who stood dazed, forgetting to follow. Once nudged, he snapped back to reality.

"Sorry, A’Chen. Let’s head out," the young man hurried off, leaving Tianchen scratching his head in confusion since his brother hadn’t shared how much they earned from selling the mushrooms. He knew well enough that if he mentioned it now, his little brother would shout it out for the whole town to hear, so he planned to tell him once they got home.

Tianchen brought Xiaolin to a rice shop that also sold spices and seasonings. Xiaolin didn’t follow inside, fearing she might get in the way, so she stayed outside sharing snacks with Tianchen instead.

"These are delicious, Xiaolin. Did the herbal shop owner give them to you?" Tianchen enjoyed the baked sweets, having never tasted such expensive treats before. The most he had ever had was some molded sugar and a stick of Tanghulu4.

"Yes, Uncle. The shop elder gave us a lot," she munched happily. Since moving here, she hadn’t had the chance to enjoy any sweets.

"Were the Tanghulu tasty?"

"Of course, it is. Xiaolin, you should ask your father to buy some for you. A’Hao must have made a good amount from selling the Lingzhi mushrooms."

"Uh-huh, I’ll ask Father. I want to buy some for you too. How about we also buy some nice fabric for you to make a new dress?" Xiaolin noted their worn clothes, almost falling apart.

"That’s a great idea! My clothes are very old, and the pants I dried at home are almost torn."

Xiaolin giggled. “I will buy lots of fabric!" Tianchen affectionately ruffled her hair.

"Good girl, you’re the best," she smiled so widely that her eyes turned into slits, making Tianchen pinch her plump cheeks playfully.

"Xiao Chen, go hire a cart quickly!" Tianrong shouted from inside.

"Got it, Big Brother," Tianchen didn’t ask further, assuming his brother made a significant profit from the mushrooms to buy so much rice they couldn’t carry it back on their own.

The young man pushed the cart towards the city gate, where several carts for hire were parked. He hired one and told the driver he’d pay after the job was done. An uncle agreed to take the job, as others were hesitant, thinking they might not get paid given his appearance.

When they reached the rice shop, shop assistants delivered six sacks of rice, each weighing two hundred jin, four for the Tang family and two for the Liu family, along with some spices and seasonings.

"Uncle, please wait a moment, I need to buy some fabric from across the street," Tianrong told the middle-aged man he hired.

"Sure, no rush. I can wait."

The three men and a little girl entered the fabric shop, appearing somewhat clueless, especially when a female shop assistant approached to help, given they were men unfamiliar with choosing fabrics. The shop assistant smiled subtly at their confusion.

"What will it be?"

"We need five yards of men’s coarse cotton fabric in solid colors, three yards of women’s fabric, and three yards of men’s medium-quality cotton, two yards for women. Sister, please choose some pretty colors for us," Xiaolin chirped confidently, knowing if the men were left to decide, they might not leave until evening. The shop girl crouched down to Xiaolin’s level to chat, charmed by her adorable demeanor.

"Sure, would you like to pick them yourself, or shall I show you around?" She smiled and reached out a hand, which Xiaolin eagerly grabbed, nodding. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Let’s go, thank you, beautiful sister."

Giggling, the two girls went off to select fabrics, leaving the three befuddled men waiting outside.

"Uncle Hao, do you want me to pick some for you too?" Xiaolin called out, realizing she had forgotten to ask earlier.

"Ah, that would be kind of you, little Xiaolin."

Nodding vigorously, Xiaolin then turned to make her selections. She chose dark brown and navy fabrics for her father and uncle to wear for work, two yards of each should suffice, and picked light green and blue for another set.

For herself and her mother, she chose grey and light brown, while opting for pink and light purple cotton for comfort. For Uncle Hao, she selected grey and dark blue, and for Grandmother Liu, purple and pea green.

"These four yards are for that handsome uncle, and mine are in this big pile."

Xiaolin pointed to Liu Hao, causing the shop girl to glance at the striking man, blushing slightly, while he coughed and averted his gaze. Xiaolin squinted playfully before chuckling under her breath.

"The coarse cotton is priced at one hundred and fifty brass coins per yard, and the medium quality at two hundred and fifty brass coins per yard. Your total comes to one tang of silver and nine hundred brass coins, and for that gentleman..." She glanced briefly at Liu Hao before calculating his total.

"Eight hundred brass coins."

Xiaolin glanced at the young couple exchanging looks and sighed. Why hadn’t she experienced moments like these? She had already lived and died once, yet remained loveless and desolate. Oh well.

1’Li’ is known as a Chinese mile, usually one third of an English mile, or half a kilometer.

2’ jin’ is a weight unit equivalent to around 11⁄3 pound avoirdupois or 600 grams.

3’liang’ is a weight unit equivalent to one ounce of silver.

4’Tanghulu’, Chinese candied fruit snack.

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