He had never felt so uneasy before, not even when he was asking various departments in the capital for money, or even that old man in the inner city.
Slightly timid.
Luo Cuiwei tilted her head and thought for a moment. Without asking what he intended to use it for, she said with a serious expression, "Let's discuss some terms first."
Chapter 62
Although Yun Lie had been stammering earlier, and Luo Cuiwei had only heard the words "city defense," she could easily tell that Yun Lie needed the money for something important.
If it's for legitimate business, she'll naturally give the money; but first, she'll negotiate some conditions to secure some small "benefits" for herself, which aligns with her shrewd businessman nature of "preferring hardship to loss."
In any case, whether it's building her own house or the city, she won't have to spend all her money at once. She can figure out ways to increase income and reduce expenditure later, and she's confident that she can manage to do both without delay.
“…It’s…it’s about this,” Luo Cuiwei forced herself to ignore the sudden heat rising on her cheeks, and with a calm and composed look in her eyes, she looked down at Yun Lie, whose face looked like he was facing a formidable enemy. “If you agree, once you’ve calculated how much money you need in total, I can…I can give you 30% first.”
Yun Lie had already guessed from Luo Cuiwei's attitude that although the savings in his family's treasury were not yet enough to squander at will, there was still room for maneuver.
He felt somewhat relieved, and his entire demeanor screamed with unwavering refusal to accept her proposal: "No, no, I won't agree. There's no logic to it; it's utterly absurd."
His teeth were clenched so tightly that each word seemed to burst out from between them.
In truth, Luo Cuiwei knew that her request was somewhat absurd, but Yun Lie's firm refusal still left her feeling awkward.
Enraged and embarrassed, she blushed and slapped away the hands that were wrapped around her waist, then turned and left.
"If we can't reach an agreement, then forget it. I won't give you a single copper coin, hmph." The delicate voice was filled with embarrassment and anger as she walked away, muttering resentfully.
Seeing the negotiations break down instantly and his wife walk away, Yun Lie quickly stood up and chased after her, carefully grabbing her sleeve.
"Hey, you can ask for whatever price you want, but you have to let me negotiate on the spot, right? It's not right to just walk away without a word."
His remorseful attitude eased Luo Cuiwei's unease, and she stopped, turning to look at him. "Then, eight days?"
Yun Lie frowned, and said through gritted teeth, "Three days, is that alright?"
So, was he really that rough last night? That his wife made the absurd request that he "not touch her for ten days."
If he had known this would happen, he should have been more restrained last night... Alas, it's too late for regrets.
“In the past, with A-Ling around in the capital, I didn’t have to worry about many things myself; now I have to think about everything myself, it’s really tiring,” Luo Cuiwei said, her cheeks flushed, trying to appeal to her emotions, “I see, I see you’re not having an easy time either, so let’s make it five days, no less!”
The reason she didn't go out today was because she was tortured so badly by that beast last night that she was still in pain all over. If she didn't find a way to make that beast restrain himself, she was afraid she was doomed.
Since his beloved wife had already given him her "bottom price" with a resolute expression, Yun Lie didn't have the courage to be cheeky anymore. He could only swallow his inner thoughts, "What kind of inhumane and ridiculous conditions are these?" and reluctantly utter the words "Deal."
****
With the added expense of building city defenses, the savings accumulated during the previous six months in the capital were clearly insufficient.
In order to ensure that the construction of the city and the construction of her own house could proceed simultaneously, Luo Cuiwei racked her brains for half a day and then asked Tao Yin to invite Song Qiuqi over in the afternoon.
“You said before that you and Old Qi were the first to arrive here,” Luo Cuiwei said with a friendly smile, personally pouring a cup of plum juice for the little girl and handing it to her. “Then you must be quite the local bigwig in this village, someone who can command a lot of influence?”
After several interactions with Luo Cuiwei, Song Qiuqi realized that this princess was not an arrogant person, and now he felt quite at ease in front of her.
The little girl had just received the exquisite celadon cup with both hands when the perfectly balanced sweet and sour flavor, accompanied by a refreshing coolness, wafted up and made one's mouth water.
This sour plum drink is made with tribute plums brought from the capital, combined with roselle flowers transported from Hongyun Valley in the southeast by the Luo family. It was then steeped in a well in an earthenware jar for a day and a night. On a hot autumn afternoon in Linchuan, it is truly a rare and exquisite drink.
After downing the cool plum juice in one gulp without any hesitation, Song Qiuqi smacked her lips and laughed heartily and contentedly, "That's only natural."
"Then help me calculate, apart from the elderly who have difficulty moving around and the very young children, how many people in this village are capable of doing some light work?"
“That depends on the job,” Song Qiuqi said, biting her lip and looking up at the roof beams. She thought for a moment, “Adults and children who are able to jump and play, add them up, about forty or fifty.”
Luo Cuiwei lowered her eyes and quickly calculated for a moment.
“Last time I saw a lot of cardamom on the mountain. Tomorrow you should tell everyone to go up the mountain, pick the cardamom, and dry it. I will pay each family according to the weight.”
“That thing is everywhere on the mountain, it’s nothing rare,” Song Qiuqi scratched his head in confusion. “If it’s useful, I’ll just take some people to pick it. Why pay for it?”
Cardamom grows abundantly in the mountains of Linchuan, but it doesn't fill the stomach, and livestock don't like to eat it, so the locals have never paid much attention to it.
It was only after Luo Cuiwei picked some meat and added it to the seasoning to make dried meat that Song Qiuqi realized this unassuming little thing could actually be used for seasoning in the capital.
However strange it may be, the people here are busy all day long just to have enough to eat, and no one usually eats as finely and meticulously as Luo Cuiwei. In Song Qiuqi's eyes, this thing is still not very useful.
"Besides, that stuff is everywhere on the mountain, and a new crop will grow in two or three days; if all the idle people in the village go to pick it, the quantity will be considerable. Even if you cured the whole village into jerky, you still wouldn't be able to use it all!"
Luo Cuiwei covered her mouth and yawned, then said lazily, "I didn't go to all this trouble just for the sake of satisfying my appetite."
She was worried that it wouldn't be enough to earn.
****
Three days later, Xiong Xiaoyi returned from the defense zone to rest. After reporting the defense situation to Yun Lie, he had nothing to do and wandered around the courtyard aimlessly.
Luo Cuiwei hurried back from outside and saw Yun Lie, Song Jiuyuan, and Gao Zhan discussing matters at a table under a tree, while Xiong Xiaoyi was idly wandering around the yard. So she called him over.
"Brother Xiong," Luo Cuiwei said softly, not wanting to disturb the three people under the tree who were discussing serious matters, "Do you have any employees who want to earn money to eat more meat, and who just happen to be bored?"
Knowing that Luo Cuiwei was generous, Xiong Xiaoyi chuckled, straightened his back, and patted his chest. "Why give such a good thing to my subordinates? Take it, take it! Your Highness, if you need anything, just say the word, and I'll give you a discount!"
"It's just to deliver a message for me in Songyuan," Luo Cuiwei hesitated slightly, then whispered, "This round trip will take at least two or three days. Can you really leave?"
Originally, the Luo family had withdrawn from the dispute with the Huang family on the northern trade route. However, Songyuan was the closest major city to Linchuan. On the day Luo Cuiwei returned to her parents' home at the end of June, she made an agreement with Luo Fengming that the rice shop the Luo family had previously owned in Songyuan would not be closed. If she discovered any business opportunities in Linchuan, she could communicate with her family in a timely manner.