PUFPF – Chapter 401

Chapter 401: A call for help

Raws: https:// book. qidian. com/info/3391187

All credit to original author: Yi Yi Lan Xi

Please read this at https://erzoohobbytranslating.wordpress.com. If you find this elsewhere, it has been stolen.

TN: Hi guys, these chapters have actually been done for a while but I got sick this week, not covid just a nasty flu bug, but now I finally have the energy to post!

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Some even stuffed the cotton into the quilt covers without removing the seeds. As a result, when the rainy days of spring arrived, brining humidity and moisture in the air, buds actually started to grow in the quilts!

In short, everything was a mess!

A few of these people dared to offer their quilts to the county magistrate but the county magistrate blasted them out of his house, cursing them angrily that they were trying to provoke him, causing countless people to laugh at them.

When the county magistrate saw these so-called ‘cotton quilts’, which were obviously of lower quality than the ones sent by Lian Fang Zhou by who knew how many grades, and thought that they thought they could fool him, how could he not be angry?

Some of the shrewder businessmen, who were the best at finding business opportunities, immediately saw the profit and started buying cotton on a grade scale.

Please read this at https://erzoohobbytranslating.wordpress.com. If you find this elsewhere, it has been stolen.

At first the price was not high. After all, most people felt that the villagers were easy to coax and under the direction of the county magistrate, many people had planted cotton. Although it was a new plant, it was not actually rare so what was the point of buying it at a high price?

Of course, the price of the quilts sold would definitely not be low!

Who would have guessed that most of the people who had planted cotton had been very reluctant and had no idea how to plant it. Crucially, none of them had know to top the cotton and their yields were naturally low. Additionally, the cotton puffs were very small.

In this way, the actual amount of cotton available was really not much.

And after the matter about the cotton quilts spread, who would be willing to sell their cotton?

What the poor were most afraid of was the cold. Many families couldn’t afford felt blanks or linen quilts and could only cover themselves with soft mats made of straw or animal leather, usually dog skin or cowhide.

Now that they had cotton, which they grew themselves and didn’t need to buy, why would they give it up? Looking at the number of people in their families, wouldn’t it be better to use it to make quilts for themselves?

Though the offered amount was very attractive, most people resisted the temptation to sell.

So after looking around, the businessmen had far less opportunity to buy than they had originally imagined and could only buy at a high price.

As soon as they started to compete with each other, the price became higher and higher. By the end of summer, it had reached the point of eight taels of silver per pound of cotton!

Lian Fang Zhou heard the news and sent a letter to Fang Qing Su Jing He, suggesting that the price of their quilts remain unchanged according to their previously agreed price.

Fang Qing and Su Jing He quickly replied to her letter, naturally expressing no objection.

Master Su and his wife couldn’t help but sigh, feeling more sincere towards her. After all, it was not easy to give up wealth in this world, especially for those who had been poor.

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Now that the autumn harvest had passed, the cotton harvest was very busy. To keep up with demand, Lian Fang Zhou had hired another twenty people to help remove the cotton seeds.

60,000 catties were sent to the Su family, all of which had been picked clean. They also sent over 3,000 quilts made by their own workers. The quilts were made in two sizes, one weighing seven catties and another weighing eight catties.

Because they were borrowing the business channels of the Su family, Lian Fang Zhou reduced the cost of each quilt by 5 taels of silver. Though Fang Qing and Su Jing He protested, in the end they had no choice but to accept it.

Even so, in just one month, Lian Fang Zhou made more than half a million taels of silver from her cotton and quilts!

In the face of this astronomical figure, the various costs incurred were basically negligible.

Fortunately, everyone in the village had seen the swaggering wagon convey transporting the cotton to the Su family and absolutely believed that the Su family had indeed only borrowed Lian Fang Zhou’s hands to plant their cotton. They had no idea she had made so much money, which saved her a lot of trouble.

After all, who would dare to attack the Su family’s business?

The night that the cotton had been sent off, Lian Hai was sitting to dinner with his parents. Speaking to Madam Qiao, he said: “Mother, let’s go and help pick cotton for Lian Fang Zhou tomorrow!”

“What are you saying!” Madam Qiao hissed, jumping up like a cat who’s tail had been stepped on. Angrily, she shouted: “You dare to ask me to pick cotton for her!?”

“I forbid you to go,” Lian Li ordered, “our family doesn’t lack those few wages. It’s important for you to work hard at home!”

The two looked at each other, feeling a little sour in their hearts.

Cotton could be said to be the most sensational and eye-catching topic of the year. Both of them were incredibly jealous and hateful towards Lian Fang Zhou in their hearts and were so envious that they had not been sleeping well the last few nights.

Although both of them believed that Lian Fang Zhou was only working for the Su family, they still felt that the big benefit of working under the Su family had leaked through their fingers. Just being in charge of such a big matter would have made them enough money for an ordinary family’s expenses for several years!

That damn girl was really lucky!

Madam Qiao’s heart was full of discomfort. She desperately wanted to know how much money the Su family had paid Lian Fang Zhou. She had even asked Qing’er but unfortunately, no one had told her what she wanted to know.

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She was unreconciled! How dare that Lian Fang Zhou be so lucky? So when her son asked them to go help her, it was like he was stabbing her in the heart and lungs with a knife!

Lian Hai frowned. “It’s not about the wages. Anyways, I have my own reasons for what I do and you’ll understand when the time comes. Mother, you don’t have to go. I’ll go on my own tomorrow.”

“You!” His mother was so angry, it felt like she was suffocating. Her voice trembled as she said: “You, are you still my son!? It’s bad enough that you don’t help me go teach that dead girl a lesson to vent my anger, but you want to force me to bow to her? Don’t go! You’re not allowed to go! If you dare to go, I, I—”

Madam Qiao was so angry, she spewed threats at her son for a long time.

Lian Li, who had been thinking about it while they argued, suddenly grabbed his wife. Nodding to his son, he said: “Go, let’s all go! We are a family, and we should help out. Can we not even compare to outsiders? Ah Hai, it’s fine for your mother to go pick cotton. Let’s go and ask if there is anything else you can do. After all, Fang Zhou has hired so many people, shouldn’t there be someone to observe them? What if they steal something? We should think of Fang Zhou!”

Furious, Madam Qiao was about to argue with her husband when his words finally hit her. Rolling her eyes, she went silent.

Back at the beginning, Madam Qiao had refused to sell her cotton to Lian Fang Zhou and sowed them in her own fields.

But she didn’t take care of them and just left them to fend for themselves.

When the cotton quilts became famous, the couple had rushed to the small corner to take a look. However, what they saw made them dumbfounded. Half the plants had died without them knowing when and the remaining half were barely surviving among the weeds. Nothing could be made into quilts!

The two were very disappointed and complained to each other about this for a long time, their jealousy of Lian Fang Zhou’s family growing stronger.

Now, listening to Lian Li, Madam Qiao heard the word ‘steal’ and her mind lit up.

TN: She really never gives up, this woman.

Chapter 400