Chapter 274: Song Hong
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The Second Prince was already curious, and his interest was piqued when he heard Qin Xiaoyao’s words.
“Please lead the way, Teacher!” he immediately said.
When Song Que heard the Second Prince address Qin Xiaoyao as “Teacher,” he glanced at his wife.
However, he quickly looked away and didn’t say anything.
After that, he accompanied the few of them to the shed closest to them.
When they arrived at the shed, they figured that the shed wasn’t big enough, and eventually, only Qin Xiaoyao, Song Que, and the Second Prince entered the shed. The rest of the group stood guard outside.
When the Second Prince saw the many trays of luxuriant bean sprouts, he was greatly surprised.
“They are growing so well!” he exclaimed.
He had seen vegetables in the greenhouse before. However, he had never seen vegetables that were so luxuriant and fresh.
When he saw there was no sign of a fire in the shed, the Second Prince couldn’t resist squatting down to check the bean sprouts on the ground.
When he touched the bean sprouts, he found that there were still water droplets on them, and the sprout stems were so pleasingly tender that he could not resist pulling one out.
Then, with a light pinch of his fingers, the sprout stem broke.
“This vegetable is so tender!” the Second Prince said with a hint of joy on his face.
Qin Xiaoyao nodded with a smile.
“Crunchy and tender are the characteristics of bean sprouts. You can try them later, Your Highness.”
The Second Prince immediately looked at Qin Xiaoyao.
“That would be great!” he responded.
Fresh vegetables were rare in winter.
This was especially true now in Mountain Spring Town, where all kinds of resources were in short supply.
Even the Second Prince himself hadn’t been able to eat well these days.
When he saw these bean sprouts today, he began looking forward to tasting them.
After looking around in the shed for a while, Qin Xiaoyao invited the Second Prince out of the shed because the air circulation inside wasn’t very good.
However, the Second Prince didn’t lose interest in the bean sprouts. Instead, he asked Qin Xiaoyao more questions about it.
“Just now I thought that this shed in your house was built like a greenhouse but I did not see any sign of a fire inside.”
“Don’t bean sprouts need to be grown in a warm indoor environment?”
Qin Xiaoyao smiled.
“It definitely needs such an environment, but it’s different from the greenhouse vegetables.
“Bean sprouts only need to grow in a shady place protected from the sun.
“Also, because bean sprouts are considered sprouts, their growth cycle is particularly fast. From the start of seed preparation to that stage of growth shown just now, if the plants are taken care of properly, the whole process only takes three to four days.”
The Second Prince was astounded.
“So fast?” He quickly did some calculations in his mind.
“Mm-hmm!” Qin Xiaoyao nodded with a smile.
“Otherwise, how could our family distribute enough bean sprouts to supply the entire town?”
Her words were somewhat exaggerated, but with the help of Daniu and his gang as well as her maiden family, her family’s bean sprouts were indeed being sold all over the town.
The Second Prince was astonished again.
He didn’t expect the Song family to be so capable.
Therefore, he asked Qin Xiaoyao, “How much do you sell these bean sprouts for?”
“The current wholesale price is 6 copper coins per catty, and the retail price is 8 copper coins. This is the latest price,” Qin Xiaoyao said.
“It’s not that expensive.” The Second Prince paused for a while before muttering to himself.
If this was the price under normal circumstances, it was definitely considered high.
However, now, Mountain Spring Town was short of food, and winter vegetables had always been more expensive than vegetables in other seasons, so the Song family’s price was indeed not high.
Qin Xiaoyao smiled but didn’t say anything.
“According to your family’s current situation, if you plant more bean sprouts, how much more can you increase your daily production?” the Second Prince quickly asked.
Since the price of the Song family’s bean sprouts was reasonable, and the soldiers in the army were facing a shortage of vegetables, he might as well buy vegetables from the Song family. It would be good to improve the food quality of the troops.
Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes flickered. She knew a business deal was imminent.
“If we use all of these sheds, it won’t be a problem to have an extra 300 catties of bean sprouts every day,” she quickly said.
The Second Prince nodded.
“300 catties. That’s not a small amount.
“In that case, my army also needs vegetables. If Teacher is willing, how about sending 300 catties of bean sprouts to the camp in the east of town every day?
“This will last until the Lantern Festival. As for the price… I can give 5 copper coins.” The Second Prince had wanted to say that he would offer 6 copper coins, which was the wholesale price.
However, when he saw the glint in Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes, he reduced the price by 1 copper coin at the last minute.
Although he wasn’t short of military funds, he still had to conserve his resources when it was necessary.
Qin Xiaoyao noticed the Second Prince’s hesitation, but she didn’t mind. This was because the price in her mind was 5 copper coins as well.
300 catties of bean sprouts a day would bring her one tael and five silver coins.
There was still more than a month until the Lantern Festival, so this business deal would bring in a lot of money.
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Hence, Qin Xiaoyao cupped her fists and expressed her thanks.
“Haha!” The Second Prince laughed out loud. He was very pleased with Qin Xiaoyao’s response.
He then strode towards the hall.
Qin Xiaoyao and Song Que looked at each other and followed.
In the hall, Song Que kept the Second Prince company while Qin Xiaoyao went to make tea personally.
The Second Prince finally had the time to turn his attention to Song Que.
The more he looked at him, the more he felt that Song Que’s bearing was extraordinary and that he was indeed very attractive to women.
Suddenly, the Second Prince spoke up, “I heard that you followed your father to take refuge in Zhao County?”
Song Que was astonished.
A thought popped into his mind.
Then, he turned around calmly and cupped his hands respectfully at the Second Prince.
“It is indeed so.”
“So you were originally from the capital?” the Second Prince asked again. His eyes were staring straight at Song Que.
Song Que was astounded again.
“Yes.” He responded again.
Song Que guessed that the Second Prince had probably already investigated his background thoroughly.
The Second Prince’s eyes flickered.
“Song Hong…” he continued.
The moment he dropped this name, Song Que’s expression changed slightly.
The Second Prince’s eyes flickered again. “What is the relationship between the former Prime Minister, Song Hong, and you?” he asked in a low voice.
Song Que appeared to be shocked. He quickly stood up and bowed to the Second Prince.
A faint smile appeared in the eyes of the Second Prince.
He thought to himself, “So it is indeed true.”
When he saw that Song Que only bowed and did not speak, the Second Prince continued, “The former Prime Minister Song Hong is extremely talented and capable. Unfortunately…” The Second Prince did not continue his sentence.
Unfortunately, he was too upright and offended Empress Jia’s faction, and was persecuted to death.
He even implicated his family and brought retaliation upon the whole Song family, resulting in the annihilation of almost the whole clan.
More than ten years had passed, and Empress Jia’s power had declined. The situation at the Imperial Court had changed.
It could be said that now was the Song family’s opportunity.
In reality, it was a coincidence. He had only sent people to investigate Qin Sanya.
To his surprise, he did not uncover anything unusual with Qin Sanya. Instead, he found out her husband’s identity.
This guy Song Que had inherited his grandfather’s talent and looks.
He had caught his wife’s eye and even caused his wife to want to marry him at all costs.
The Second Prince couldn’t help but smile when he recalled the things his subordinates had found out.
No wonder Teacher Qin had charged into the bandits’ lair alone for this person and then did those things to the bandit leader and his second-in-command.
This guy Song Que was really Teacher Qin’s most beloved.
When he saw Song Que looking at him, the smile on the Second Prince’s lips disappeared.
“The influence of Empress Jia’s faction on the court is weakening day by day..”