roccoschili Chapter 287 Return to Xingzhou City
Chapter 287 Return to Xingzhou City
The women and children waved goodbye to Gu Wenxuan reluctantly, while the men followed the team silently until Gu Wenxuan and her companions' carriage disappeared from everyone's sight. Only then did they talk to each other and go home in groups of three or five.
The Lin family didn't expect that Gu Wenxuan and her family were so popular. Father Lin felt deeply moved and went home with his wife.
They had already decided that Big Brother Lin and his two cousins would take Gu Wenxuan and the others to the county town and watch them meet up with the caravan before returning. For this purpose, the Lin family also prepared some dry food, eggs, dried meat, snacks, etc. for the caravan members to eat on the road.
Gu Wenxuan and his companions had a caravan companion leading the way, and had no intention of trouble the Lin family. However, the Lin family insisted on not watching Gu Wenxuan and the others meet up with the caravan, and they really couldn't feel at ease. Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou had no choice but to let them send some people to go to Huairen County.
After successfully meeting up with the caravan, they watched Brother Lin and his two companions leave. Then Gu Wenxuan and the others embarked on the long journey back to Xingzhou with Mu Jinyang's caravan.
This time they did not encounter abnormal weather like when they came here, and everyone returned to the familiar Xingzhou city smoothly.
Gu Wenxuan led people to send the things back to the mansion, while Bai Jingzhou, accompanied by Fang Youfu and Bai Jingshan, went to the inn where the caravan members were staying, ordered a few tables for them, and thanked them for their care along the way.
After offering everyone a glass of tea instead of wine, Bai Jingzhou smiled and said goodbye to everyone, "We still have to go back to pack up and send someone to deliver a letter to our family, so we won't stay any longer."
After that, Bai Jingzhou told Mu Jinyang where they lived in the state capital and the approximate route from the state capital to Baijia Village. "Uncle Yang, when you are free, you must come to our Baijia Village as a guest."
Mu Jinyang smiled and nodded, and together with the other members of the caravan, he watched them walk out of the inn lobby.
Bai Jingzhou bowed to them from a distance, then turned around and went back with Fang Youfu and Bai Jingshan to the house that the emperor had rewarded Bai Jingzhou.
In the house, Gu Wenxuan and others were busy unloading the car, feeding the horses, arranging people to prepare hot water and packing meals from the nearby restaurant.
Seeing that he was not needed, Bai Jingzhou asked someone to find the earthenware they had prepared for the Mu family. "The master of the Mu family is not here anyway. I will go and deliver the things and come back immediately."
Not long after they set out, Mu Hanzhi followed the Crown Prince back to the capital to the capital. Mu Jingzhi also entered the Imperial Academy to study thanks to his brother.
Gu Wenxuan nodded at Bai Jingzhou while moving things, "I've asked someone to go to Zhiweizhai to buy food, the sooner you go, the sooner you can come back."
It's good to have someone to help you around. The complicated things can be assigned little by little, making everything very organized.
Bai Jingzhou nodded, "Okay."
It was still Fang Youfu and Bai Jingshan who accompanied him out. After the three of them presented the local rituals they brought back to the Mu Mansion, Bai Jingzhou politely declined the housekeeper's enthusiastic invitation to dinner and went straight back to the mansion that the emperor had rewarded Bai Jingzhou with Fang Youfu and Bai Jingshan.
When they rushed back, the table that Gu Wenxuan had ordered had just arrived, so everyone sat down to eat together.
Gu Wenxuan and his friends' table had roast chicken, pork elbow in braised sauce, six small stir-fried dishes with both meat and vegetables, as well as white flour buns and mutton offal soup. The two coachmen who lived and ate alone in the gatehouse in the front yard, and Yang Wandong, who always regarded himself as a subordinate, ate together, which included stir-fried pork belly with green onions, stewed cabbage with tofu, white flour buns and mutton offal soup.
After everyone had their fill and a good night's rest, Bai Jingzhou began to process the medicinal herbs and silks they had brought back.
Two carts of silk with the latest patterns and the best quality and one cart of medicinal materials with larger profit margins that Bai Jingzhou had taken the time to personally select were sold by Bai Jingzhou to Pengji Silk and Satin Shop and Jishi Medical Clinic in the provincial capital, earning a total gross profit of a little over 300 taels.
Mu Hanzhi asked Mu Jinyang to pay for Gu Wenxuan and her companions' accommodation, transportation, and boat expenses on their journey to and from Haizhou. They even only paid about half of the cost of meals and tea on the way.
The bulk of their spending money came from the three truckloads of goods that they would sell to make a profit, a truckload of local gifts that they bought for their own use and to give to others, and various books that they bought.
After selling these three carts of silk and medicinal herbs, their round trip expenses and shopping expenses were basically recovered.
Of course I didn't make any money, but I was already satisfied to be able to tie with Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou.
Everyone had been away from home for a long time and was eager to return home. After receiving the payment for the goods, Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan took everyone directly back to Baijia Village.
Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou did not ask the two rickshaw drivers they found from the farm to go to Baijia Village with them. Instead, they directly took out the local gifts prepared for them and distributed them to them. They also settled their wages for the period and sent them back to their homes.
The gifts that Gu Wenxuan prepared for the drivers included a bag of salt weighing about two kilograms, a bag of dried hairtail weighing about two kilograms, ten kilograms of rice, and a box of not-so-valuable trinkets, such as small embroidery items, bamboo weavings, beautiful shells, etc.
The local gifts prepared for Jia Yuelan, Bai Jingshan and others included two rolls of silk, two rolls of fine cloth, two cans of tea, five catties of salt, ten catties of rice, a full basket of various dried seafood, and a box of not-so-valuable trinkets, such as small embroidery items, bamboo weavings, beautiful shells, etc.
Yang Wandong's portion was different from others', because he was going to give it to orphans, so his portion contained all kinds of dried seafood and various fresh gadgets with Haizhou characteristics.
Before settling the wages for the rickshaw drivers, Gu Wenxuan also settled the wages that others deserved.
Their group had been away for less than three months, and because there was only a few days difference, Gu Wenxuan simply settled the bill based on three months.
It is worth mentioning that because Gu Wenhai and Gu Wenche also played a lot of roles, Gu Wenxuan even paid them a salary.
As for whether they keep the money for themselves or hand it over to their family, Gu Wenxuan doesn't care.
Gu Wenxuan also let them take away the water bags they bought for everyone before they set out, "Take them back and keep them for yourself. You will definitely need them when you go out next time."
Anyway, she and Bai Jingzhou didn't need so many water bags, so instead of leaving them there to gather dust, they might as well give them to their original users so that they can continue to play their role.
Gu Wenxuan also divided the local gifts prepared by the Lin family for them in advance according to the gift list prepared by the Lin family, and let Fang Youfu and others take their own portion.
As for the various seeds, strawberry seedlings, various saplings, two carefully preserved boxes of silkworms, and the twelve boxes of books and booklets that they exchanged with others, Gu Wenxuan planned to keep them all with her and Bai Jingzhou for the time being.