The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 79: Qiuji Liuchen

As the red silk fell, the gold-painted characters on the black lacquered solid wood signboard became clearly visible in the sunlight.

—“Qiuji Liuchen”.

A “Liuchen” shop meant a grain store, but by extension, it could also mean a general store, selling everything from firewood, rice, oil, salt, snacks, condiments, to daily necessities.

Qiu Huanian named his shop this because he didn’t plan to sell only oyster sauce.

Qiuji Liuchen was a general name. In the future, he intended to add new products and open more branches.

Currently, besides the biggest attraction, the oyster sauce, the Liuchen shop also sold sorghum candy, popcorn, premium roast duck spicy strips, and red fermented bean curd sourced from the red fermented bean curd workshop managed by Zhu Jingwei.

The shop was neatly arranged, with the counter specially custom-made in the style often seen in modern cake shops. Instead of glass, thin gauze was pasted onto sliding cabinet doors, intuitively displaying the delicacies to customers.

Everything in the provincial capital was more expensive than in counties and villages. Qiu Huanian raised the prices for sorghum candy and popcorn—sorghum candy retailed at two wen per stick, fifteen wen for a pack of eight, popcorn at fifteen wen per bag, and premium roast duck at fifteen wen per pack.

He specially ordered oil paper printed with the Qiuji Liuchen logo for uniform packaging.

Originally, people who had rushed in impatiently for the oyster sauce found themselves pausing involuntarily when they saw these novel, colorful, and fragrant snacks, asking about the prices.

Sorghum candy and popcorn had been sold for a long time in Zhang County. In Xiangping Prefecture, there were imitations, but neither their appearance nor their aroma could compare to those from Qiuji Liuchen.

As for the premium roast duck, Qiu Huanian had only made it at home before. Now, with the shop’s opening, he offered free samples. The irresistible appeal of the spicy strips easily won over a large crowd.

In the end, before even seeing the oyster sauce, everyone was already carrying large bags of snacks.

Qiu Huanian hired experienced shop assistants to help, working alongside Meng Yuanling. However, as he was now a titled “Xiangjun” (County Lord), he was not required to greet or serve customers, and no one dared ask him to. His role was simply to sit inside the shop and oversee the big picture.

On the shop’s opening day, Qiu Huanian did not sell the oyster sauce.

Oyster sauce had a very low yield: about one jin (500g) of oyster sauce from one hundred jin of shelled oysters. The production cost was extremely high and labor-intensive, making large-scale production impossible for now.

The rarer a thing, the more precious it was; Qiu Huanian intended to push this principle to the extreme.

He told everyone who inquired about the oyster sauce, “The oyster sauce is still being made. A batch should be ready in about three days, only about twenty or thirty bottles.”

“It really is a laborious and costly thing to make, extremely precious. In the future, the shop will only sell oyster sauce twice a month, on the fifth and tenth day. Only twenty bottles will be available each time. If you want to buy it, you must come early, or it will be gone.”

Scheduled and limited sales—better line up to buy it.

The people sent to buy oyster sauce were mostly servants of powerful and noble families. Hearing this, they were not displeased; instead, they felt it was as it should be.

If it weren’t so precious, why would their masters care? The harder it was to obtain, the more efficient it made them look for securing it.

As for the price—one tael of silver for a small bottle—that was no big deal. Who among them couldn’t afford that to taste oyster sauce?

Qiu Huanian had already custom-ordered small porcelain bottles with the Qiuji Liuchen logo on them. Each bottle could hold about two taels of oyster sauce, consuming roughly twenty jin of raw oysters.

In coastal areas, oysters weren’t very expensive. Qiu Huanian made a bulk purchase from a merchant with large fishing boats, forcing down the price: ten wen per jin, so twenty jin cost two hundred wen.

Adding labor costs, seasoning costs, packaging expenses, and various miscellaneous fees, the average cost per bottle was about one hundred wen.

All calculated, with a selling price of one tael per bottle and a cost of three qian silver, if all twenty bottles sold out each sale day, selling six times a month, totaling 120 bottles, the net profit would be eighty-four taels.

After listing out this account, Qiu Huanian couldn’t help but gasp. Just the profit from oyster sauce alone in one month would match a small farm’s annual income.

Indeed, making money from the wealthy was the easiest.

If it weren’t for the fortunate chance that earned him the County Lord title early, he wouldn’t have been able to undertake such a large business.

As for snacks like sorghum candy and popcorn, Qiu Huanian no longer made them himself. Their production was moved to a newly purchased small courtyard. He hired workers to handle the basic steps and only personally took part, or had Meng Yuanling assist, in the critical secret recipe stages.

Qiu Huanian wasn’t worried about his recipes being stolen now. Even if someone managed to perfectly replicate his snacks, without Qiuji Liuchen’s traffic and reputation, they couldn’t sell them at the same scale.

The noble servants queuing outside the shop every five days to buy oyster sauce were the best advertisement for Qiuji Liuchen.

Those who couldn’t afford the oyster sauce could at least buy some affordable, high-quality snacks and still be part of the trend.

That distinctive wrapping paper could even be displayed at home as a decoration, showing they used Qiuji’s products.

On the opening day, all the prepared snacks sold out. Qiu Huanian and Meng Yuanling returned home and calculated the day’s earnings.

“Sorghum candy was the slowest seller, but still sold quite a bit. The premium roast duck sold out early, and popcorn moved a bit slower. Costs in the provincial capital are higher than in the village, but today’s net profit was over two taels of silver.”

Under Qiu Huanian’s guidance, Meng Yuanling had already learned a simpler, more modern method of bookkeeping.

Qiu Huanian nodded while reviewing the account, “People here don’t crave sweets as much; heavier, saltier foods sell better. The shop’s business is hottest at the start. Once it stabilizes, sales will definitely drop a bit. Snacks alone might earn three to forty taels a month.”

“Plus the oyster sauce, wouldn’t that be over one hundred twenty taels a month!”

Meng Yuanling cried out excitedly, his eyes filled with joy, with not a trace of jealousy.

Qiu Huanian laughed, “I noticed how eloquent and capable you were in the shop today. How about I hire you as the shopkeeper?”

“Ah? Brother Hua, I can’t!” Meng Yuanling waved his hands repeatedly.

“Why not? You’re literate, know how to keep accounts, grew up helping run your family’s tofu shop, and are good at dealing with people and business. Many shopkeepers out there are not as good as you. Besides, compared to hiring someone from outside, I trust you more.”

As a hired shopkeeper with Jin San as the front, it didn’t count as engaging in commerce directly. Otherwise, many poor scholars and xiucai (licentiates) forced to become bookkeepers would be wiped out.

Meng Yuanling blushed deeply under Qiu Huanian’s praise. Admired by his idol, he felt as if he was floating.

“Then I’ll try. If I don’t understand something, Brother Hua, you must teach me.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave everything to you. I’m just afraid of not being able to handle it all.”

Besides Qiuji Liuchen, Qiu Huanian also had the cotton estate and the mathematics book to work on. He also needed to review drafts for Su Xinbai’s Qimin Publishing House and couldn’t supervise the shop and workshop full-time.

Basing the salary on the best shopkeeper wages in Xiangping Prefecture, Qiu Huanian set Meng Yuanling’s monthly pay at three taels of silver. Meng Yuanling was filled with determination to manage Qiuji Liuchen well.

After moving from Qingfu Town to the provincial capital, leaving his familiar environment and friends, and often separated from Yuncheng, without a proper occupation, Meng Yuanling had been feeling somewhat unsettled.

Qiu Huanian had noticed it all. Now, he finally found a place where Meng Yuanling could shine.

When Yuncheng returned home for his rest days, Meng Yuanling happily held his beloved’s hand, chirping like a golden oriole about managing the shop.

Yuncheng listened seriously with a stern face. In the end, he kissed the red mole on Meng Yuanling’s forehead. Meng Yuanling quickly covered his forehead with his hand, glanced around nervously, and only relaxed after confirming no one had seen. His round little face turned bright red with shyness.

…

Wei Li’s health improved after about ten days of recuperation.

Knowing that Zhao Tianyu’s household had been confiscated and that no one would threaten him anymore, he finally let go of his biggest worry.

But sometimes, in the middle of the night, he would still recall the painful memories of his wandering days, of the home he could never return to, and of his cruel parents.

While Qiu Huanian was organizing the nearly completed manuscript draft of his mathematics book in the study, Wei Li came to him proactively.

Qiu Huanian was surprised to see him come out of his room but quickly invited Wei Li to sit.

“Lord Qiu, we’ve already troubled your noble household for many days. It’s truly hard to feel at ease. Tomorrow, my aunt and I will return to the farmstead.”

Because Wei Dexing had spent much effort grooming Wei Li to climb the social ladder, once his heart knot was untied, Wei Li’s upbringing naturally showed in his speech and manners.

Qiu Huanian set aside his drafts. “Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?”

Wei Li nodded. “Compared to being confined within deep courtyards, I prefer the free and grounded feeling of working on the farm. Though my aunt and I aren’t related by blood, we are already family. I will stay at the farmstead and take good care of her.”

“If it’s your farmstead, Lord Qiu, I’m not afraid of being bullied.”

After going through so much, Wei Li had grown stronger, no longer as timid and fragile.

Qiu Huanian was reassured. “It just so happens I’m going to the farmstead tomorrow to inspect the craftsmen. Ride with me in the carriage.”

The next day, Jiujiu and Chunsheng’s school also had a day off. The two children hadn’t gone anywhere for a long time and begged Qiu Huanian to take them along.

Thus, in the end, with Jiujiu’s maid Shanhu included, there were six people. Fortunately, the family carriage was wide enough and not crowded.

The two skilled craftsmen bestowed by the Emperor had arrived two days ago. Seeing them dusty and weary, Qiu Huanian had Jin San take them to the farmstead first to settle and rest before discussing anything else.

These two craftsmen were palace slaves with no freedom. If they hadn’t been bestowed out, they would have spent their lives in the palace’s Workshops.

Although they were bound to obey Qiu Huanian, being allowed to leave the palace was already a great fortune for them.

Upon reaching the farmstead, Qiu Huanian first arranged for Wei Li and Aunt Wei to rest and instructed them on safety. Then he let Jiujiu and Chunsheng go off to play and called the two craftsmen for a talk.

The two were brothers around thirty years old, surnamed Mu. Over a decade ago, their maternal grandfather and uncles were implicated and punished for military failure, and the brothers, being under twelve, were not exiled but instead enslaved into the palace.

Fortunately, they were clever and skillful from a young age, caught the attention of the Workshops, and avoided harsher fates.

Entering the palace meant losing their original names. They received new ones based on their apprenticeship ranking: one was called Mu Bingqi (Bing Seven) and the other Mu Bingba (Bing Eight).

Neither Bingqi nor Bingba spoke much about their family’s downfall, and Qiu Huanian didn’t pry into old wounds.

Both brothers were highly skilled, each with his strengths—Bingqi excelled at designing intricate mechanisms, while Bingba had outstanding hands-on skills in carving and drilling.

After a few questions, Qiu Huanian confirmed they had steady temperaments without craftiness.

“You two were bestowed by His Majesty. Barring any accidents, you will follow me for life. I won’t overly restrict you. As long as you complete your tasks well and don’t leak any blueprints or secrets, you can lease a few acres to farm and are free to marry and raise families.”

Bingqi and Bingba exchanged a look, seeing the joy and relief in each other’s eyes.

They both expressed their determination to fulfill Qiu Huanian’s orders diligently.

Qiu Huanian then produced his half-finished blueprint of a one-person push plow for the brothers to study.

Bingqi pondered for a while and came up with some ideas to solve a longstanding technical problem.

Qiu Huanian encouraged them to work hard, promising rewards if they succeeded.

After arranging for the craftsmen, Qiu Huanian went out to stroll leisurely among the fields.

More than half of the thirty acres of cotton had already been transplanted. The remaining areas were being hurried along, and the vibrant green cotton seedlings lined up neatly across the vast fields.

After the seedling recovery period, these cotton plants would grow strong and tall. After three seasons of watering, fertilizing, controlling overgrowth, and pest prevention, they would finally turn into clusters of pure white cotton.

Qiu Huanian walked for a while and suddenly saw Chunsheng running over from afar.

The little fellow, who had grown taller and sturdier, was pouting unhappily.

Qiu Huanian stopped him. “Weren’t you playing with your sister? What happened?”

Chunsheng had been too busy sulking to notice Qiu Huanian. Seeing him here, his expression changed immediately, and he stammered without speaking.

Qiu Huanian shook his head with a smile. “If you don’t tell me now, I’ll just ask Jiujiu later.”

“Come on, confessing leads to leniency, resisting leads to severity.”

Qiu Huanian pulled Chunsheng to the big banyan tree by the roadside, picked a clean stone to sit on, and assumed a posture ready for a heart-to-heart talk.

Of the two children in the family, Jiujiu had always been worry-free, and Chunsheng had grown a lot since he started attending private school. It had been a while since Qiu Huanian encountered such small growing pains with the children, and he even found it somewhat nostalgic.

Chunsheng sat at Qiu Huanian’s feet, cupping his chin with both hands. His cute little face was scrunched into a ball, and he let out a sigh with an adult-like air.

“Hua-gege, do you think I’ll never be able to make friends in the future?”

“Hmm? Why would you say that?”

“Just now we ran into some kids from the manor playing with spinning tops. I wanted to play too, so I joined them.”

“They gave me the best spinning top to play with and kept letting me win on purpose. I could tell. But I didn’t want that—I just wanted to play properly—I—”

Chunsheng lowered his head dejectedly.

“My sister told me it’s because Hua-gege is the master of the manor, and I’m Hua-gege’s younger brother. So they’re all afraid of upsetting me and causing trouble for their families.”

“At private school, I can only focus on studying; I have no friends to play with. Now even at the manor, I don’t have any friends to play with.”

“I want to go back to our Du family village. I miss Yunkang.”

As he spoke, tears welled up and spilled from his eyes. He raised his sleeve and wiped his face hard, covering it so that Qiu Huanian wouldn’t see.

Chunsheng had just turned seven this year—the age of a first grader in modern times—still just a little kid.

Qiu Huanian rubbed his round, sturdy little head.

“What kind of friends does Chunsheng want?”

“Friends who can really play with me, who won’t let me win on purpose, friends I can see often and play with.”

Qiu Huanian asked gently, “Before, Chunsheng had a good friend like Yunkang, but now Yunkang is too far away, so Chunsheng feels lonely, right?”

Chunsheng sniffled and nodded repeatedly.

“But people have to grow up. Every stage of life comes with different friends. Only by learning to say goodbye can you meet new friends.”

“Look at your sister: when she was in the village, she played best with Cunlan. After moving to the city, she made a new good friend like Zhu Xian. Chunsheng can make new friends too.”

“But, but… where do I find them?”

“When Chunsheng is at private school, have you met any classmates you like?”

Chunsheng shook his head.

“Then anyone special?”

Chunsheng thought hard, then hesitated. “There’s one classmate who is really annoying. Every time I don’t do my homework properly, he tattles on me. But last time, when I accidentally dirtied my handout, he lent me his so I could copy it.”

Qiu Huanian laughed. “Do you really find him annoying?”

Chunsheng pouted and kicked a small stone on the ground, saying nothing.

“How about this—next time your private school has a holiday, I’ll give you a few blank invitations. You can invite some classmates over to our home.”

Qiu Huanian teased with a smile, “Let me take a good look at what your ‘annoying’ classmate is like.”

Chunsheng opened his mouth several times but couldn’t escape Qiu Huanian’s insistence, so he could only agree.

…

At lunchtime, Jiujiu returned with Shanhu, carrying a basket full of fresh wild vegetables.

Qiu Huanian’s eyes lit up when he saw it. “Where did you find these?”

“There are lots on the mountain next to the manor. We didn’t dare go too deep, just picked some at the foot of the slope. Shanhu can climb trees too—she even picked some Chinese toon. I knew Hua-gege would want to eat them.”

Last spring, when the family was dirt-poor, they survived a long time by eating tender wild vegetables.

It had been a while since they had them, and Qiu Huanian was genuinely craving them.

He asked the people from the manor to take the wild vegetables, stir-fry the Chinese toon with eggs, blanch the other wild vegetables in water, chop them finely, then mix with vinegar, salt, and chili to make a cold dish. For lunch, they would also make a pot of preserved meat porridge.

The manor was a fully self-sufficient agricultural base, and as the master of the manor, Qiu Huanian could have anything he wanted.

After getting used to refined dishes, occasionally having a simple meal of wild vegetables actually tasted even better. A big plate of Chinese toon scrambled eggs was quickly devoured, and the cold wild vegetable salad also disappeared rapidly as everyone kept reaching for it.

The steward who came to refill the dishes saw how much they were enjoying the wild vegetables and couldn’t help but shake his head secretly.

Qiu Huanian smiled when he noticed. “What’s wrong, Uncle?”

The steward replied, “Nobles are indeed different from us. We commoners always say meat is the best, but the nobles in the Xiangjun’s household actually love eating these wild vegetables that grow everywhere.”

“Wild vegetables have their own charm. Our family also used to scrape food from the earth—we’re not particular nobles.”

“When we come to the manor, everyone should act naturally. No need to make a big fuss, or else the children won’t feel at ease.”

Qiu Huanian lightly emphasized the point and said no more.

The steward understood Qiu Huanian’s meaning and, after leaving, gathered the manor children and instructed them accordingly.

Chunsheng felt reassured and happily took another big bite of wild vegetables.

…

Qiu Huanian’s family stayed and played until after dinner before heading back to the city. As night fell, the tenant farmers at the manor finished their work and returned home to rest.

In a corner of the tenant area, there was a three-room thatched house. Its windows and door had been replaced with new ones, the ground had been leveled, and the fence was halfway repaired, looking like it would be completed in a few days.

Bingba carried a bundle of firewood inside, and Bingqi handed him half a steamed bun. Bingba wolfed it down with water from a pottery bowl and wiped his mouth.

“Helping the manor fix a few carts earned us several days’ worth of food. After staying so long in the palace, I almost forgot how people survive outside.”

Bingqi laughed. “Before we entered the palace, we didn’t have to scrape for a living either.”

“…”

The two brothers fell silent, quietly sitting in the courtyard, gazing up at the moon.

After a long time, Bingqi sighed. “We were lucky with our fate. As soon as we entered the palace, we got chosen by the Instrument Workshop. Even though the Workshop is at the very edge of the Imperial City, with no access to the Inner Palace, no chance to meet nobles, and no real prospects, at least we didn’t end up as eunuchs or get ourselves killed through some careless mistake.”

Bingba scratched the back of his head. “It’s just that suddenly being out of the palace feels…”

“Don’t overthink it. Let’s each rent a piece of land, do the tasks Autumn Xiangjun assigned us properly, save money for a couple of years, and maybe even marry a wife someday.”

“But we used to make delicate curios in the palace. We’ve never made farming tools before, and we don’t know how to farm either. We’ll have to study hard.”

Bingba nodded absentmindedly, looking hesitant. “Big Brother, about Qiu Xiangjun…”

“I know what you’re thinking.” Bingqi shook his head. “In this world, there are millions of people. It’s not unusual for some to look alike. Like that noble in the palace—born in the countryside, with ancestors from hundreds of miles away, no real connection to the late Empress, yet she looks just like her and now stands one step away from the throne. It’s all fate.”

Even craftsmen from the Instrument Workshop had heard the legendary story of Noble Consort Kang.

“I know. Except for one, all of Grandfather’s family died out in Fengshan County. It’s just a thought.”

The two brothers fell silent again.

“Before we left the palace, that evening we caught a glimpse of someone outside the Instrument Workshop—it must have been Shu-ge’er.”

“…It should have been. He must have been taken into the palace too. It’s a shame we couldn’t find any news of him all these years.”

“If it really was Shu-ge’er, why didn’t he come to say hello? And we don’t even know what he’s called now…” Bingba’s voice choked with emotion.

Bingqi raised his head, looking at the moon, his strong, deep features bathed in a silver frost.

“From Shu-ge’er’s clothes and demeanor, he must have had a tough journey these years. Not acknowledging us probably has its reasons. Shu-ge’er arranged for us to be sent out of the palace; we should live well outside for his sake. Maybe one day, we’ll meet again.”

“What do you mean, Big Brother?”

Bingqi smacked the back of his brother’s neck. “If no one helped, do you think two poor, powerless descendants of a criminal family could be lucky enough to get released from the palace?”

“We caught a glimpse of Shu-ge’er at the Instrument Workshop gate, and then immediately after, the spots for leaving the palace fell to us. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

Bingba wiped his face, feeling more worry and heartache than gratitude.

“When Grandfather was still alive, Shu-ge’er was the most mischievous and beloved little grandson among all of us. Over the years, we still had each other, but he… Just thinking about how he must have lived, I…”

Bingba’s words got stuck in his throat, and he choked up silently. Bingqi patted his shoulder firmly and looked up at the sky.

In the boundless darkness, a full moon shone across the land, clear and bright for all.