I played as an assistant in ancient times

"Xiao Ye, isn't this just a matter of words? I think the most important thing is to get a few supports to build a pergola, otherwise it will be hot everywhere after the sun rises higher." Shen Cungeng pushed away the little black cat that was jumping on his belly.

Shen Ye nodded: "What my cousin said makes sense. It just so happens that last time my family collected a piece of worm-eaten linen cloth that can be used to brush the tung oil."

"That piece of cloth, grandma has already burned it. It's better to borrow the tent cloth from my great-grandfather's house." Shen Cungeng made a suggestion and ignored it. He climbed a little closer to the shaft of the cart, patted his saddlebag and asked:

"We've collected a lot of money this time, so it can be distributed as dividends, right? How much of my 14% can I get?" After his mother confiscated his New Year's money, he had only one copper coin left in his small treasury, not a single coin more.

Shen Cungeng suspected that he was the poorest in the family. He had seen his mother and grandmother giving Xiaoye pocket money several times.

"Uh..." Shen Xiaoye hesitated for a moment and subconsciously turned his gaze to his fourth uncle who was driving the carriage.

Shen Changsui seemed to have eyes on the back of his head and saw her embarrassment, so he said, "Keep your voice down. She may not even be able to earn back the money she put in."

"Ah?!" Shen Cungeng was stunned. He sat up and looked at his grandfather and father who were not far behind the car. Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Except for the thirty taels of sumac, how much money did you invest? Didn't you calculate that you would make a lot?"

Shen Xiaoye reported to him one by one: "The woad is 7 cents for the car fare, one load of lime is 1.28 cents, 20 jars and 10 urns are 2.8 taels, alum... 50 catties of gallnut and black plum each, Taoist Master Hengxi gave him a discount... three bags of rags are 1 tael, and the labor is 4.8 taels.

Not counting the carriages, horses and food, the total is thirty-six taels, three qian and three fen.

"You can dye cloth and sell flowers, and with your pigments and indigo flowers, I have made more than forty taels of money after adding it all up." Shen Cungeng suddenly became a little uncertain. Forty minus thirty-six, he only earned four taels after working hard for half a month.

Shen Ye gave a more accurate report: "The total amount sold was 40 taels, 3 qian and 8 fen.

But the cost of collecting the cloth was ten taels and three cents and eight cents, plus the cloth bought by my grandfather, the total cost was forty-seven taels, two cents and eight cents.

There is still 6 taels, 8 qian, 2 fen and 8 li missing from the account book."

She patted the cloth beside her and said, "But if we sell all these and the ones I dyed at home, we can get 26 taels, 8 qian, 5 fen and 2 li."

"Only twenty taels, Xiaoye, this is quite different from what you said in front of everyone the other day, and it takes more time and manpower.

Collecting more cloth in the middle will increase the cost, hiss... After my mother figures out the account, she must be disappointed." Shen Cungeng thought about the fact that his father only asked for leave from the escort agency, so he said: "Could it be that everyone in the family knows that they can't earn 30 taels a month?

Oh, I see. That day you were just making big promises to everyone so that they would support you to continue collecting and selling cloth."

Shen Changsui turned around and said, "My family naturally estimated that Xiaoye could make a lot of money this time, so the whole family invested in it.

After stabilizing, she can maintain a monthly output of 100 horses, which is three times higher than what many people earn. "

Shen Xiaoye sighed, "Only twenty taels? Cousin Geng, do you know that a shop with good business in the county town only earns fifty or sixty taels a month?

Small shops like grocery stores make even less money. Those that make more than 100 taels a month are all established brands with backing.”

After a pause, she added, "Another way is to travel to the north to buy goods from the south and sell them in the north. You can earn a thousand taels of silver by buying more than a thousand taels of silver at a time.

Or they could sell the cloth to the border areas and earn four or five cents per horse. They could earn even more by selling the cloth to foreign countries, exchanging one horse for one piece of cloth. How envious!

And twenty taels can only hire a master who specializes in making crafts to teach for a year."

"You can just do business in the county and earn a lot of money." Shen Cungeng knew how to hear her sarcastic tone.

He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Please forgive me, cousin. I was just looking at the world from a narrow perspective."

As he spoke, he bowed repeatedly, causing the old man in the car behind him to wonder, "Brother Geng, did you offend Xiaoye again by being rude this time?"

"Hey, they have been like this since they were young, fighting and then making up in the blink of an eye." Uncle Shen Changshou didn't pay much attention to it. He was still thinking about other things, "Dad, since we have rented a house in the county, why don't I take the job of escorting the cargo ship at the ferry?

The boats sail along the North Canal, and the monthly salary is three taels of silver, but it is close to home."

When the old man came back this time, he didn't agree that he would go to the escort agency to run long journeys again. However, the escort agency only offered escorts who ran short journeys within 300 miles, and the monthly salary was only two and a half taels.

A few days ago, when he and his father went to the Inspection Office, they learned about such a job in river transportation.

"Things on the water are more complicated than those on land. You should stay with the escort agency for the time being. You won't mind spending that little bit of silver." The older the old man got, the less he wanted his son to be far away, especially since the escort encountered pirates this time.

Shen Xiaoye and the other two in the car in the front did not know that her uncle's current position was going to be adjusted. She had already made some calculations for her cousin, saying that the indigo mud and sumac at home could be used to dye more than 500 pieces of cloth, which would be a net profit.

In addition, she planned to get another 2,000 kilograms of woad from Lingshan Temple and make 600 kilograms of indigo to dye 1,200 pieces of cloth.

Shen Cungeng nodded yes repeatedly, but he had already collapsed in his heart and begged him to stop talking because his ears were full of "bubububu".

Xiaoye definitely did it on purpose!

The two siblings chatted all the way back home in this "pleasant" atmosphere.

So much so that when it came to washing the newly collected cloth in the evening, Shen Cungeng was determined not to join Shen Xiaoye.

This family also worked very hard, working non-stop for a whole day and two nights, and dyed more than 50 pieces of cloth that they had collected.

Early in the morning, at daybreak, Shen Xiaoye once again walked under the drying racks in the yard, carefully looking to see if there were any dried cloths.

However, her aunt Huang was already outside the door, urging her: "Xiao Ye, there are already 30 pieces of cloth in the cart, which is more than enough for us to sell today."

"Let's go, let's go. I got up at five in the morning and grabbed a good seat. You have to hurry up and take it. After you finish teaching Fourth Uncle Chinese, we will come to help you." Shen Cungeng pushed her onto the donkey cart.

"Grandpa has already set off. You won't be able to catch up if you're late." Now the donkey in my great-grandfather's family has almost become his family's exclusive vehicle.

"Is the tent cloth ready?" Shen Xiaoye got into the car and looked at the two baskets of hair flowers next to her aunt.

Huang pressed her husband to set off quickly, “Your two uncles prepared it last night, and the bracket is also on grandpa’s mule cart.

Come, have some millet soup, and here are some fried dough cakes."

"Has everyone eaten?" Shen Xiaoye had been waking up later than others for half a month, and she felt a little guilty about being too sleepy.

Huang rubbed her head. The child was so tired recently that even her hair was not smooth. "Eat it."

The donkey cart quickly left the village and picked up two villagers. On the way, torches could be seen constantly in the distance. These were the villagers who were going to the market early with their belongings to exchange for some things.

After finishing his meal, Shen Xiaoye said, "I'll go shopping and see how much the grain is worth. If anyone wants to exchange it for cloth, we can do the same."

"I heard from Mrs. Bian and the others that the price has increased a bit." Mrs. Huang didn't care. She had to buy the grain anyway, and exchanging it directly was just a matter of weighing it. It was not a hassle.

The two villages were only a few miles apart. When the donkey cart entered Tangjia Market, Shen Xiaoye was stunned. "No way? There are people vying for seats on the street even though it's not a festival or celebration."

I saw that Tangjiaji was already filled with stalls from the entrance to the main street.