When the ten-jin Tai Sui was placed on the table, Madam Shen, disregarding her own lingering weakness, had herself helped out of bed. She walked to the table and began to examine it carefully.
The maids and old women in the room were also extremely curious, their eyes wide as they stared at the large, white mass. Some bolder ones even poked it with their fingers.
Fearing Madam Shen might not recognize it, Chen Yuezhi said, "Madam, you could have someone fetch a physician from the city."
Madam Shen waved her hand, "No need. The physicians in this city might not be as knowledgeable as I am."
She then smiled and added, "My father was an imperial physician. I have seen all sorts of rare medicinal ingredients in this world, as long as they truly exist."
Chen Yuezhi felt a little uneasy, not expecting to have encountered the daughter of an imperial physician.
If her own medical skills were exposed, it would be truly embarrassing.
After studying the Tai Sui for a long while, Madam Shen stood up and declared, "This is indeed Tai Sui, and its quality is excellent. It's just a bit small. If it were any larger, it could fetch an astronomical price."
Jiang Wan felt a pang of regret. She had been channeling her abilities into it for the past two days, but the thing barely grew. Even after two days of continuous infusion of her abilities, it had only gained about a jin.
Could it be that such rare treasures of heaven and earth, being so easily obtained, inherently grew at an extremely slow pace, so that even using her abilities to accelerate its growth showed no significant results?
For instance, that wild ginseng, she had poured all her abilities into it back then, and it had only grown a tiny bit.
Currently, this was the most plausible explanation.
Madam Shen was a straightforward person and directly asked, "This Tai Sui, how much silver do you wish to sell it for?"
This question truly stumped Chen Yuezhi. She had never dreamed of digging up such a treasure, so she had no idea about its price.
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and replied, "Madam, to be honest, we have no idea. Since Madam is knowledgeable, please name your price."
Madam Shen smiled and said, "I intend to buy it myself. Aren't you afraid I'll offer a low price?"
Jiang Wan responded, "We found this item by chance, so it's essentially a windfall. No matter how much we sell it for, we won't lose out."
Madam Shen found the young girl to be remarkably astute. She chuckled, "You child, you are truly rare in your clarity."
Then, she turned to Chen Yuezhi again, "Doctor, I will be honest with you as well. In previous years, this Tai Sui would have certainly sold for a very high price. But in the current times... I can only offer you half the price. Although it's a bit low, it's definitely more worthwhile than trying to sell it yourselves."
"One thousand taels, what do you say?"
Chen Yuezhi felt the price was acceptable and was about to nod when she heard Jiang Wan say, "One thousand taels, plus the travel permits for our family of seven!"
Madam Shen was taken aback, "Travel permits?"
Jiang Wan nodded, "Yes, travel permits. Our county magistrate fled with his family long ago, so our family of seven never obtained travel permits. Yesterday, we couldn't enter the city because of this. We are all law-abiding citizens. Without travel permits, if we reach Jiangnan, we might face continuous trouble, or even be expelled as refugees. So, could Madam trouble herself to help us resolve the issue of travel permits?"
The matter of travel permits was not a big deal for those with power and influence. However, for ordinary folk like them, it was of great importance. Without travel permits, settling down in the future would be a significant problem for their family.
She wasn't sure if a thousand taels for the Tai Sui was a good deal or not, but with this additional condition, she believed Madam Shen was still getting a bargain.
Madam Shen thought for a moment and said, "Agreed. I will handle this matter. It will be done within two days at most."
Her husband's family was no ordinary one; getting a few travel permits was merely a matter of making a phone call to the local authorities.
Afterward, she asked again, "For the thousand taels, do you want it in cash or silver notes?"
Jiang Wan considered, "Could it be exchanged for fifty taels in cash, and the remaining nine hundred and fifty taels converted into gold?"
The Great Liang Dynasty might collapse any day now, so silver notes were not very secure. However, carrying a thousand taels in cash was indeed inconvenient. Converting it into gold would make it less conspicuous.
Madam Shen smiled and looked at her closely, "Who taught you this method?"
"I thought of it myself, of course."
"You are truly intelligent."
Jiang Wan smiled, "Thank you for the compliment, Madam."
Soon, the fifty taels of cash and the gold equivalent to nine hundred and fifty taels, as Jiang Wan requested, were delivered to Chen Yuezhi.
Madam Shen then had five ingots of silver, prepared earlier, sent over. Chen Yuezhi quickly declined.
Madam Shen said, "One thing is separate from another. Those thousand taels are for your Tai Sui. This fifty taels is for your hard work in saving my son and me yesterday. If the doctor doesn't accept it, I will feel even more uneasy. I dislike owing favors."
If a matter could be resolved with money, who would want to owe a favor?
Chen Yuezhi understood her meaning and no longer refused, accepting the five ingots of silver.
Returning to her room, Chen Yuezhi looked at the gold and silver, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
With this money, their family would have no worries wherever they went.
Jiang Pan was also overjoyed. He scooped Jiang Wan up and tossed her high into the air, catching her steadily. "My daughter, you are truly our family's lucky star!"
Jiang Wan screamed in fright, then exclaimed excitedly, "Dad, throw me again, it's so fun!"
Jiang Pan immediately tossed Jiang Wan high into the air again.
Laughter and joy filled the room.
With the money, Jiang Pan and Chen Yuezhi began to make plans. Although they had two carriages, with seven people, one carriage would have to be used for carrying goods, which was still quite inconvenient. Especially since Su Shi was pregnant, Chen Yuezhi felt that, from a woman's perspective, Su Shi would likely prefer to stay with her husband.
So, she decided to buy another carriage to carry goods, while the two existing carriages would be used solely for transporting people.
Furthermore, winter was approaching, and their cotton quilts and clothes were all old ones from previous years, too thin. Although they shouldn't flaunt their wealth, they couldn't let the family suffer because of it, so they needed to prepare ample cotton quilts and clothes.
They needed to buy more grain, and also some other items, such as water skins, which also needed to be prepared.
After making a list, the family of three tidied up and headed out.
Tongzhou City, being a strategic location, was once a very prosperous place. However, due to the current times, the prefectural city of Tongzhou also showed signs of decline, with many shops closed and displaying "For Sale" signs.
There were few pedestrians on the street, and everyone hurried along. The shops that were open were very vigilant; as soon as there was any commotion on the street, they would immediately close their doors and refuse customers.
The family of three spent most of the day shopping and managed to buy everything they needed, leaving only twenty taels from the hundred taels of cash.
Of the eighty taels of silver, fifty taels were spent on buying a carriage, thirty jin of cotton cost five taels of silver. Two shi of grain cost fifteen taels. The remaining ten taels were used to purchase other miscellaneous items.
Returning to the inn with their purchases, Chen Yuezhi winced in pain, "Never mind the carriage, but all these other things, which would have cost at most six or seven taels before, now cost thirty taels! These profiteers!"
Thirty taels of silver was an amount a farming family might not save in two or three years. And the carriage, in the past, would have cost at most thirty to forty taels.
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door.
Jiang Pan got up to open it and saw Madam Shen's guard standing outside. "Here are your family's travel permits, they have been processed. Be sure to keep them safe."
"Also, our Madam has decided to depart tomorrow morning. We heard you are also heading to Jiangnan, so she asked me to inquire if you would like to travel with us?"