Chapter 233: Selling the Glass Cup
They were going to meet Shaoyin.
Shaoyin was at the marketplace purchasing supplies.
She had redeemed Ruan Xiang this morning, and surprisingly, she still had some money left over.
She had originally thought she would have to sell the glass cup to afford it, but now she had a surplus.
Upon returning to her residence, more sisters from Feiyue Pavilion had come to seek her help one after another.
This was entirely because Manager Yue’s case had been tried in open court yesterday, making it known to the entire city.
The songstresses, dancing girls, dishwashers, and laborers of Feiyue Pavilion… had all been branded with the stigma of having “lost their virtue,” and they had no homes to return to.
Shaoyin was naturally filled with indignation—
The other citizens of Xiqiao County might have only found out yesterday, but their families had known all along that they were working at Feiyue Pavilion!
They were full of joy when they sent their daughters there, but now they claimed they didn’t know that place devoured people.
Shaoyin could only sigh at how fickle familial affection was when weighed against material interest. It was truly tragic.
Even so, she simply took Shishi, Huahua, Sister-in-law Cen, and the others to inquire around, asking about the situations of any girls who could no longer survive in their own homes.
After running around for a whole day, they found that some still had places to go or families willing to shelter them.
However, they managed to gather twelve or thirteen homeless girls, and three or four others were said to have not returned home since yesterday, their whereabouts unknown.
Shaoyin asked Sister-in-law Cen and the others to settle the newly arrived sisters in the residence and sweep the courtyard. She then went out, bringing a glass cup, intending to ask Madame Qin to buy it at a discount.
Madame Qin was naturally astonished when she saw the glass cup.
“The clearer the glass cup, the higher the price… but the clarity I speak of is nothing like this!”
Glass cups were considered elegant when they were transparent and subtly tinted. Madame Qin ran a cosmetics shop and had seen some fine things.
But the clearest glass Madame Qin had ever seen could not possibly be like the one before her now—entirely devoid of impurities, pristine and transparent throughout.
Madame Qin immediately stated, “I cannot afford to buy this here.”
Her cosmetics shop was not large; it was enough to keep her fed and clothed, but she had no contact with actual high-ranking officials and noble dignitaries.
A glass cup of this clarity could probably be used as a tribute to the imperial court.
Shaoyin pondered for a moment and asked Madame Qin, “If it were to be sold elsewhere, what price does Madame Qin think would be appropriate?”
Madame Qin reflected at length: “If we don’t factor in connections or status, and without artificially inflating the price, selling it for one hundred taels should be no problem.”
For this glass cup, the material itself was exceptionally rare to begin with.
But even if one obtained such a material, one would still have to find a master craftsman to carve and polish it into such a smooth, exquisite shape.
Glass was fragile. During this process, if a single mistake was made, the cup would be ruined.
Therefore, a cup had to be sold at ten times the cost of production to make a profit.
Based on the clarity and craftsmanship of the glass cup, Madame Qin gave a middle-of-the-road estimate: one hundred taels.
Shaoyin smiled faintly. “Very well, then I shall boldly ask: would Madame Qin be willing to purchase this glass cup for eighty taels?”
Madame Qin’s eyes suddenly widened.
She knew what Shaoyin meant.
The price she had estimated was the baseline value of the cup, but this cup was rare and unique; it could not be judged by mere production costs alone.
Rarity enhanced value. If someone hyped it up, the price of this cup could easily double, selling for more than two hundred taels.
Yet now, Shaoyin was asking if she would buy it for eighty taels.
Madame Qin looked at Shaoyin. “Have you thought this through? If I resell it, it will fetch more than twice that amount.”
Shaoyin smiled. “Since I have spoken, I have thought it through.”
The cup came from a complex origin, and it had required little effort on her part to obtain. If she could exchange it for eighty taels, it was already an immense profit.
She was currently sheltering many people at home, and food, clothing, housing, and transport were all expenses; she desperately needed a sum of money.
Moreover, Madame Qin was a kindred spirit who also sheltered some homeless women. Since Madame Qin helped her sell things on consignment without taking a profit, Shaoyin was willing to yield a margin to her.
The two did not haggle over the price. Within a few brief words, they understood each other’s intent.
Madame Qin smiled frankly. “Very well, then I shall buy it for eighty taels.”
One glass cup was exchanged for eighty taels.
Shaoyin returned to the residence cradling the money. She handed a portion to her wet nurse to keep safe, saving up to repay the debts.
She took some loose silver from the house and went out with Ningxiang and Helu to purchase supplies.
As it turned out, they bought too many things. Helu brought some items back first and called Shishi and Qin Hua to help.
Shishi and Qin Hua helped wash and strip the old bedding to be used that night, and only then did they hurry to the marketplace.
They hadn’t expected to bump into Ruan Xiang right outside the door.
The three of them arrived at the marketplace together and met up with Shaoyin and the others. All six of them were carrying items, and they had even borrowed a handcart to make it easier to push the heavy loads.
With bundles slung over their shoulders, the six of them pushed the cart together, making their way back to Shaoyin’s home.
Fan Shishi and Qin Hua were still discussing: “Counting Ruan Xiang, we now have fourteen sisters. The four rooms in the east side courtyard can fit three or four people per room.”
Ningxiang and Helu also nodded hurriedly, expressing their intentions to Shaoyin: “Shaoyin, you can go ahead and rent out the other courtyards. As for the rent for the east side courtyard, please give us some time. Once we find work, we will definitely pay you.”
Because they were sisters, Shaoyin wanted to rescue and shelter everyone.
But similarly, because they were sisters, no one wanted Shaoyin to suffer a financial loss.
Shaoyin smiled but said nothing.
Among the six of them, only Ruan Xiang remained silent.
But Shaoyin knew that Ruan Xiang definitely understood her heart.
Upon returning to Shaoyin’s home, the other sisters had already set to work together, cleaning the east side courtyard until it was spotless and orderly.
Sister-in-law Cen was leading some people to clean the main courtyard, while the wet nurse was busy in the kitchen with a few other girls.
With so many people suddenly arriving in the residence, feeding everyone was a challenge.
The wet nurse was too embarrassed to say it out loud—when she poured the rice just now, she had used up all the remaining rice in the residence in one go.
Sister-in-law Cen and the others even said, “Nurse, you don’t need to cook so much. We all eat very little. Cook less to save rice.”
The wet nurse replied, “It’s fine, it’s fine. The young miss told us to boil it. With so many people, it will be eaten.”
In truth, she was also frantic inside.
The rice was mostly gone by lunch; what they would eat for dinner was something they had to figure out on the spot.
The moment Shaoyin returned, the wet nurse stared intently at the handcart they had pulled back—wanting to see if the child had bought rice.
Fan Shishi and Qin Hua noticed this and couldn’t help but smile.
The two dashed over to the cart and hauled down a sack of rice. “Nurse! We bought rice!”
This sack weighed around eighty catties.
The wet nurse hurriedly cried out, “Oh my goodness! Put it down quickly, let me do it!”
She couldn’t help but add, “You two look so thin, yet you can haul such a large sack of rice.”
The girls smiled. “We are dancing girls; we have to practice dancing every day. When we dance while holding pottery jars and wine amphorae, we cannot let them tilt even a fraction. Our strength was built up long ago.”
After enduring many whips, one’s strength naturally grew.
Hearing this, the wet nurse felt another pang of sorrow. “Oh, my children! You have suffered so much.”
The sky gradually darkened, and everyone in the Xu residence gathered together. The fourteen girls, along with the wet nurse and Butler Chen, split across two tables to eat dinner.
That night, the homeless sisters finally had a peaceful place to sleep.
Yet, by tacit agreement, everyone suffered from insomnia.
Shaoyin had sheltered them, but where did their future path lie?
On the other side, Shaoyin invited Ruan Xiang to sleep in her room.
However, Ruan Xiang knew full well that neither of them would be sleeping tonight.
The miraculous encounters at the manor alone were enough for them to talk about all night.
They were desperate to exchange information, wanting to know what kind of place that manor actually was, and who the Manor Owner truly was.
Had they encountered the legendary Goddess of the River?
