A Timely Rain

Did she deserve it?

"Make it cheaper." She wanted it so badly that she lowered her voice and said, "Give me a fair price."

The shop assistant was a professional, after all. He showed no trace of contempt, but stood firm. "Well, our shop really does have a fixed price. There's no bargaining."

Gu Wanning felt a breath stuck in her chest, unable to go up or down.

"Then can you cut it open and sell me part of it?"

By her calculation, she could afford thirty percent of the seeds. That should be dozens of them at least, enough for her needs.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, madam. Why don't you try another shop?" the assistant said awkwardly.

"Then does anyone else sell this besides your shop?"

Yes, rare things were valuable, but the price their proprietor had set was so wicked it practically smoked!

It was enough to kill her!

"I'm afraid not."

"Then is this the only one you have?"

If she went back and saved up, would she make it in time?

"This is the only one. They sell very quickly, so if you've taken a liking to it, madam, you should decide soon."

Gu Wanning was so angry her liver ached, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't force them to sell it to her.

She wanted to leave a deposit, but if she only came back to buy it a year later, they probably wouldn't agree. Besides, the longer seeds were kept, the lower their germination rate.

Finally, she steeled herself and decided to go back and pawn the bird's nest and caterpillar fungus!

A hundred taels it was!

With raising money on her mind, Gu Wanning even resisted the aroma of roasting meat outside.

Now she had to split every coin in two before spending it. After seeing the corn, her goal had changed from plugging holes to building a career!

For her career to get off the ground smoothly, she had to hold back now.

Women shouldn't make trouble—they should make careers!

Building a career meant more than just making money.

Even when choosing a partner, if you had no career, a man could casually accuse you of having a woman's narrow views and use the three obediences, four virtues, and all those rules and restrictions to oppress you.

But if you had a career and outcompeted him until he was half dead, the most he could say was that you weren't like a woman. You wouldn't have to bear all the other accusations leveled at women.

Gu Wanning had seen this clearly in her previous life.

If there was one way women fell short of men, it was probably that they were driven by emotion, weren't as calculating as men, and weren't as practical.

Family was much the same. You had to be capable before they would look at you with greater respect.

After getting the silver from the pawnshop, she hurried back to buy the corn.

But as she passed a pleasure house, a young attendant soliciting customers stopped her.

"Madam, Young Master Jiang is performing today, and we still have the best seats available. Would you like to come in and listen?"

"No."

She had no money!

Don't come to her with anything that cost more than a single copper coin.

The attendant froze for a moment, then said, "Young Master Jiang rarely performs..."

"I rarely enter pleasure houses, too," Gu Wanning said expressionlessly. "I pay to see him, and he gets to see me for free?"

The attendant had never expected her to say that and stood there in a daze.

Gu Wanning had already walked away with Er Ya.

Er Ya said in a low voice, "Madam, you don't even support Young Master Jiang's performances anymore. He used to be your favorite."

"I don't like anyone who takes money out of my pocket."

Nobody had better get in her way as she made money to buy corn.

If the corn experiment succeeded, she could sell it at a high price this year and harvest a crop of rich people.

Not a hundred taels, not eighty—she'd sell each one for just fifty taels!

It was high-yielding, too. Later, she could present it as an offering and have it promoted far and wide, gaining both fame and fortune. She might even be summoned by the emperor...

If the emperor asked what she wanted, she might even succeed in getting an amicable divorce.

Just thinking about it made Gu Wanning want to laugh out loud.

"Gurgle, gurgle..." Her stomach began to growl.

Er Ya heard it too. "Madam, how about a bowl of noodles before we go back?"

"No. I'll wait and eat at the household's expense!"

Er Ya: "..."

Madam really might have gone mad. She had spent so much money on something useless, yet couldn't bear to buy herself a bowl of noodles.

Gu Wanning's response was: save where you should, spend where you should, and ride a bicycle to the bar.

That wasn't corn. It was shining silver, her career!

Gu Wanning got her precious corn as she had wished. Hugging the brocade box containing it tightly to her chest, she grinned from ear to ear, utterly lacking in dignity.

Her treasure, her great treasure!

Er Ya: She's really gone mad.

Meanwhile, Gao Lan was reporting the day's events to Xu Weibei with his head lowered.

"Madam pawned the tonics the grand princess had bestowed on the household, then bought something..."

He had so much to complain about that he didn't know where to begin.

Xu Weibei ground his teeth in anger.

Grandmother had treated her so well, but she had taken that kindness for a donkey's liver and lungs!

"What did she buy?"

"Corn."

Xu Weibei: "..."

It was merely a plant that had come from the Western Regions.

A mandarin grown south of the Huai River was a mandarin; grown north of it, it became a bitter orange.

Once it reached the Central Plains, corn had no value, so it could only be used as a warding decoration. They limited the supply and hoodwinked as many fools as they could.

After Xu Weibei returned, the manager of the shop selling goods from north and south had come to report the accounts. Xu Weibei had glanced at the inventory and clearly remembered that there were several sacks of corn left.

If they sold it in limited quantities, much of it would probably end up as a cheap meal for the mice.

Yet Gu Wanning had spent a great deal of money to buy the thing.

Wickedness, Xu Weibei could not tolerate;

Stupidity, he could tolerate even less.

So now he utterly loathed Gu Wanning, who was both wicked and stupid, and wished he could kick her out of the residence at once.

Chapter 9: A Timely Rain

"Marquis, this is good news," Gao Lan said excitedly. "Weren't you worried you couldn't find anything to use against madam? She pawned all the tonics the grand princess bestowed on her. The princess will surely be furious when she finds out and won't support her anymore."

"Let's hope so."

Xu Weibei was not so optimistic.