My father Yongle, building a five-good family

Chapter 88 Duck Down Coat and Bean Sprouts
Xu Yuan was a little slow to react.

He still had a smile on his face, but after seeing the appearance of King Dai, for some reason, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

He stuttered and then spoke:
"No, no more, no less...exactly thirty thousand taels."

Zhu Gui's eyelids twitched.

Then, he turned around and looked at Zhu Gaoyu, with a final glimmer of hope in his eyes:

"My little nephew, how much did that sucker you mentioned make you earn?"

Zhu Gaoyu blinked his eyes and spoke clearly:
"No more, no less, exactly thirty thousand taels."

Zhu Gui only felt that his fists were hardened.

On the other side, Xu Yuan saw the look in King Dai's eyes. For some reason, although he didn't know what had happened, he already had a bad feeling in his heart.

This...can't be done, right?

Xu Yuan still couldn't believe it.

He held a fashionable duck down coat and placed it in front of Zhu Gui as if he was offering a treasure, hoping to calm his unreasonable anger.

Xu Yuan, who was so majestic outside, now showed a flattering smile:
"Your Highness, this duck down coat is a real good thing! The nobles in Datong City are all scrambling for it recently! Why don't you try it?"

Zhu Gui gritted his teeth, feeling an impulse rising in his heart - to slap Xu Yuan on that round face.

But on second thought, he had already bought the jacket, and the seller was still Zhu Gaoyu, so there was no way to force a refund. Zhu Gui pinched his nose, looked sour, and just kept finding fault with the down jacket.

Zhu Gui looked suspicious and pointed:

"It's such a thin coat, it feels light in my hand, but if I wear it on my body, I'm afraid it will be blown away by the north wind."

Xu Yuan smiled awkwardly and didn't dare to speak.

How could he not know that Zhu Gui was not expressing dissatisfaction with the down jacket?
It's clearly an expression of dissatisfaction with him.

Xu Yuan didn't dare to say a word.

Zhu Gui on the other end said with disgust, but his body was honest enough to pick up a down coat and put it on himself.

At first, the coat seemed light and fluttering, and seemed no different from an ordinary cotton coat.

In fact, due to the crude embroidery, the King of Dai deliberately found fault with it and it was not as good as the padded jacket made stitch by stitch by the embroiderer in the palace.

But soon, King Dai felt something different.

Duck down is very light and does not feel too heavy when worn. It also does not feel thick, heavy, and difficult to move in like wearing a padded jacket.

The most important thing is that in just a short period of time, Zhu Gui's forehead was already sweating slightly.

This is certainly because he was wearing too many clothes underneath, but it is enough to show that this duck down coat has its merits.

No wonder he is sought after by dignitaries in Datong City who have some spare money.

Apart from anything else, if Zhu Gui was not the one who was cheated, he would probably buy a few pieces to wear.

only……

Zhu Gui suddenly turned around and looked at Xu Yuan with a puzzled look:
"You bought so many pieces... because I have too much money and nowhere to spend it, right?"

Xu Yuan shuddered again, and said with tears in his eyes:

"Your Highness! Heaven and earth can bear witness to my evil intentions! Since these down coats are so popular, let's buy them all now. When the weather gets colder, we can sell them at a higher price. This deal... can be said to be foolproof!"

After hearing Xu Yuan's words, Zhu Gui seemed to fall into deep thought, and for a moment, he did not even curse at anyone.

On the contrary, after hearing this, Zhu Gaoyu quietly pulled off his father's clothes and complained in a low voice:

"Rare goods are worth keeping... It seems that Uncle Thirteen and this Xu Yuan have done this kind of thing a lot."

Zhu Di rarely refuted his son's words, but silently kept the matter in mind.

Just as he was thinking about it, his son's voice drifted into his ears again:

"Uncle Thirteen is finally happy. I'd better not tell him that I have a lot of duck down in stock. I'll sell the thicker version when the weather gets cold."

"Speaking of which, I still have to thank Uncle Thirteen and the manager of his farm for raising so many sick ducks, which allowed me to collect so much duck down..."

"Uncle Thirteen can be considered a good man sometimes. Dad, don't you think so?"

Zhu Di looked at the boy for a long time. For a moment, it was hard for him to judge whether the boy was being sarcastic or praising him sincerely.

But... no matter what, for the sake of Zhu Gaoyu's buttocks, Zhu Di was kind enough to remind him:

"Xiao Si, it's fine if you say this to me, but in front of your Thirteenth Uncle...it's better not to say this."

Zhu Gui had not had time to think about this at the moment.

When he heard Xu Yuan's words, he finally felt his aching heart relieved a little.

At the same time, Zhu Gui also changed from his original disdain to a little curiosity about Zhuangzi, a subordinate of Zhu Gaoyu.

Then I heard Zhu Gui speak:
"What on earth is this duck down made of? Weird..."

"Gao Yu...you have to take me to the manor to have a good look. How come I didn't know that there was such a treasure in your manor?"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoyu's originally young face showed a complex expression that was inconsistent with his appearance.

He frowned, and there was no smile on his face:

"Uncle Thirteen, do you really want to see it that much?"

Zhu Gui was immediately delighted.

Brat, are you afraid that I will learn his secret recipe? But even if I really learn it, what can he do?
After all, he is Zhu Gaoyu's uncle!
That farm was given to Zhu Gaoyu by him!
Thinking of this, Zhu Gui’s teeth were about to show with pride.

Zhu Gaoyu seemed a little embarrassed to face Zhu Gui's request. He finally sighed softly and frowned:

"Okay, then Uncle Thirteen, don't be unhappy when you go there."

Zhu Gui almost laughed out loud.

Not happy?
How could I not be happy?!
By then, it would only take Zhu Gui a thought to secretly learn how to make duck down.

Even if Fourth Brother is unhappy, he can't possibly be against him because of these little things, right?
Seeing Zhu Gui's silly smile, Zhu Gaoyu couldn't help but tug at his father's clothes:
"Uncle Thirteen doesn't seem very smart..."

Zhu Di also sighed, and rubbed Zhu Gaoyu's head lovingly, which was rare:

"For the sake of him being your father's and my useless younger brother, please be patient for a while."

Zhu Gaoyu glanced at Zhu Gui with a look of slight disgust, but still walked out.

Zhu Di thought about it and surprisingly did not go to the city wall to check the construction progress. Instead, he followed Zhu Gaoyu and got into the carriage.

Come to think of it, he had never been to the farm under Zhu Gaoyu's command.

Zhu Di couldn't help but feel curious.

What on earth has this kid come up with?

Could it be possible... that he really has this ability?

……

The clatter of horse hooves rang out on the bluestone brick road.

Listening to the lively shouting outside the carriage, not to mention Zhu Di, even Zhu Gui, the feudal lord, found it a bit novel.

He opened the curtain, looked out, and saw vegetable farmers lining the official road.

When Zhu Gui saw the vegetable farmers, he couldn't believe it:

"Where can we get vegetables to sell in the middle of winter? And they're... bean sprouts?!"

You should know that in the early Ming Dynasty, bean sprouts were generally only available in spring and autumn.

Especially in the northern city of Datong, the winter is long and cold, and the winter vegetables of every household are rarely so juicy and tender, like freshly picked bean sprouts.

Most of the food people eat on a daily basis is cabbage, radishes and sauerkraut that have been stored long ago.

Of course, these vegetables were obviously not enough for princes and nobles like Zhu Gui.

If you eat cabbage and carrots every day, even if you don't fart, won't your mouth become dull?

Fortunately, there are things like earth cellars at this time, which can be regarded as an alternative greenhouse.

It’s just that due to the low yield and high waste, only a small number of people can enjoy fresh vegetables in winter.

It's no wonder that Zhu Guizhen became interested when she saw the handful of tender bean sprouts.

It was at this time that Zhu Gaoyu began to chant and announce the names of the dishes as if he were singing an opera:
“Meat with bean sprouts, bean sprouts stewed with vermicelli, bean sprouts mixed with salad…”

Zhu Gui turned his head suddenly.

Zhu Gaoyu smiled and said:

"Uncle Thirteen, do you want to buy some bean sprouts?"

Zhu Gui snorted, "It's dusty on the roadside, and selling bean sprouts here is really dirty."

Zhu Gaoyu said sarcastically: "Uncle Thirteen, you can't afford it, right? It's okay if you can't afford it. Although Xu Yuan spent 30,000 taels at one time, you can't even afford a handful of bean sprouts. But this just shows that Uncle Thirteen is honest and dedicated to his work..."

This little brat never stops chattering!

The key words... are really heartbreaking!
Zhu Gui was so angry that he immediately took out a silver ingot and threw it to Xu Yuan outside, saying coldly:
"I've got it all."

Xu Yuan went downstairs happily and came back with a bunch of bean sprouts. As soon as he opened the curtain of the carriage, he saw Zhu Gaoyu lifting the curtain and greeting the vendors outside:

"Okay, let's go back after we've sold out. It's so cold out here, it's really painful!"

Those vendors are also smart.

Seeing the situation before and after, I immediately understood that it must be Zhu Gaoyu who interfered, so a nobleman paid for today's bean sprouts.

They laughed and thanked.

When Zhu Gaoyu heard the words "benefactor" over and over again, he felt like he was about to swell up.

He just swelled up.

Zhu Gui's face behind him turned green.

Zhu Di looked at this scene, stroking his chin with a thoughtful expression.

Old Thirteen is so generous?
This is because I have too much money...

It just so happens that we are building a city wall recently, and we are short of the money we need. Perhaps we can find a way from Old Thirteen...

For an instant.

Zhu Gui, who was still arguing with Zhu Gaoyu, suddenly felt a chill on his back and inexplicably felt as if he was being plotted against.

He suddenly looked away and saw Zhu Di and his son Zhu Gaoyu, both smiling brilliantly.

For some reason, Zhu Gui's eyelids twitched when he saw their smiling faces.

First update today!


(End of this chapter)