Chapter 268 - Chapter 268: Chapter 276: Arrogant because of Wealth (2/2)
Madam Liu Zhao thought Su Wenyue was really extravagant. They, too, would visit the silver store to get jewelry made, but inviting someone to come over like this was surely costly, a luxury only the wives of wealthy families could afford.
“It’s not that difficult, really. The silver stores aren’t doing as well as before; it’s just a matter of spending some grain. With the currency reform, private minting of silver currency is prohibited, and gold and silver have lost their value. On the other hand, the price of food keeps rising every day—it has become somewhat outrageous.”
“That’s true. I’ve already exchanged all the silver at home for food, fearing that keeping money will only devalue it in-hand. Not just our local silver stores, but even those in Chang’an City are not doing well. And it’s not just silver stores, other industries are struggling too. I heard from a lady that nowadays, the prices at the tooth shops for picking servants are ridiculously cheap. An average servant can be bought for one or two silver coins, and those with some skills often don’t cost more than five. Nowadays, having one more person in the house is a burden. I originally wanted to pick up an embroiderer, but after giving it some thought, I decided against it.”
As Madam Liu Zhao said this, an idea sparked in Su Wenyue’s mind. She hadn’t thought of it before—it was the perfect opportunity to buy several skilled servants. Normally, opportunities like this were hard to find. In any case, she could afford to feed any number of servants, and she could just settle them in the Zhuangzi. If she could find some gold and silver craftsmen, that would be even better.
Daring to act on her ideas, Su Wenyue called Aunt Li in for a discussion as soon as Madam Liu Zhao left.
“Aunt Li, what do you think of my idea? We’re not short on food anyway. I’m going to send someone to the county town to speak with the tooth shop, so they send all suitable candidates over. As for the prefecture, it’s too far to handle casually, so you should go in person to pick. We’re not limited to any specific trade, but we must buy anyone with a skill and good character. However, we should buy those who’ve signed a death contract, so we hold their life and property in our hands and don’t have to fear their betrayal. Of course, if someone is exceptionally skilled, that’s different. Anyway, I’ll leave this to you. Handle it as you see fit,” she directed.
Su Wenyue couldn’t attend to this personally. She trusted Aunt Li to handle it properly, as Aunt Li was experienced and had a sharp eye. Even Madam Su often left the selection of servants to Aunt Li.
“Yes, I will get on it immediately,” Aunt Li acknowledged. She knew her mistress was no ordinary woman; everything she stirred up was beneficial. Without any delay, Aunt Li promptly took several servants and set off for the prefecture, hoping to complete the task for her mistress soon.
That evening, when Han Yu came back, he found Aunt Li missing and was a bit puzzled. Only after asking did he learn that Aunt Li had been sent by Su Wenyue on an errand to the prefecture. It looked like his daughter-in-law had some new ideas brewing.
“Aunt Li is indeed more suited to this task, which is why I sent her. Usually, such talents would have long been snatched up. I don’t want to miss this rare opportunity. Finding common talents is easy, but those like gold and silver craftsmen are hard to come by. They generally wouldn’t sell themselves,” Su Wenyue mulled over her plans.
She considered that in the upcoming period, the value of gold and silver would plummet. When it hit rock bottom, she would use grain to exchange and hoard it. When peace returned, it would become a vast fortune. She knew from her previous life that gold and silver wouldn’t always be cheap; it was because of Wang Mang’s currency reform that circumstances were as they were. Once a new emperor ascended, everything would stabilize again.