With the spice-laden mutton entering his mouth, Elder Lei Wuâs eyes immediately lit up.
"Master Wu, this is roasted with Liu Fu Spices," Ah Chuan mentioned beside him.
Elder Lei Wu took note, and also ate rabbit meat roasted with Wufu Spices, horse meat, and beef roasted with Ba Fu Spices, continually nodding his head, saying to County Captain Jiang, "Third Brother, youâve found quite a treasure for your younger brother."
These three types of spices could make a huge profit if sold outside the Longshan Mountains.
Hearing Elder Lei Wuâs words, Third Grandpa and the others breathed a sigh of relief, and everyone joyfully enjoyed the meal.
Elder Lei Wu and County Captain Jiang, both straightforward people, didnât delay. After eating, he immediately asked Gu Jinli, "Xiao Yu, how much are your familyâs three types of spices going for?"
Gu Jinli, aware he was dealing with a significant customer, earnestly replied, "Wufu Spices are five hundred cents per pound, Liu Fu Spices are six hundred cents per pound, and Ba Fu Spices are eight hundred cents per pound."
Elder Lei Wu laughed hearing this, "Does your pricing also match the names of the spices? Youâre not trying to trick Master Wu, are you?"
Gu Jinli smiled and said, "Youâre our workshopâs major customer, I wouldnât dare to deceive you, sir."
Elder Lei Wu already knew from County Captain Jiang about the prices of Gu Jinliâs house spices; Wufu Spices were always five hundred cents per pound, and as for Liu Fu and Ba Fu Spices, they tasted significantly better than Wufu Spices and were worth the price.
Moreover, he didnât think the prices were too high; outside of Great Chu, he could sell these three spices for at least five taels of silver per pound. The prices Gu Jinli offered were basically nothing for their trading caravan.
Elder Lei Wu declared: "Alright, the prices are fair. Weâll take your spices. We want all three types, starting with eight hundred pounds of each."
The statement that each type should be eight hundred pounds shocked everyone present.
"Lei, Lei Wu Brother, how much did he say? Eight hundred pounds of each spice?" Third Grandpaâs voice quivered, eight hundred pounds of each meant over two thousand pounds of spices; they could make so much money from this! He was no longer able to do the math.
Elder Lei Wu smiled and said, "Old Gu heard right, we want eight hundred pounds of each type of spice."
If it wasnât for the inconvenient timing, worried Guâs Workshop might not be able to produce so much spice, he would have liked a thousand pounds of each type.
Gu Jinliâs eyes gleamed; indeed, a major customer, so boldly generous right out of the gate.
"Grandpa Wu, when will you pick up the goods?" Gu Jinli asked, as this was crucial.
Elder Lei Wu replied, "We must leave before May, at the latest by the 26th of April, and you should prepare the goods for us. Our men will need a few days to inspect them."
Although Ah Ji mentioned that the spices wonât clash and they have tried eating them with no discomfort today, who knows what the next batch of spices might be like? So they had to carefully inspect the goods.
"This is proper," Gu Jinli calculated the timing, confirming their workshop could produce this batch of spices, and then declared, "We accept this deal, our workshop will definitely make the goods available for you by April 26."
Seeing her agreement, Elder Lei Wu smiled and said, "Good, then letâs sign the contract now."
Ah Ji was the one to write the contract, as he was experienced with these mattersâit took him just a short while to write two copies, which he placed on the table for Elder Lei Wu and Guâs Workshop representatives to review.
Gu Jinâan reviewed both contracts, seeing the content was identical on both and the terms were not harsh, he nodded to the families, "The contract is fine. Master Wu and his men will first provide us with a thirty percent deposit, and on the day of the goods collection, will pay the remaining seventy percent. If we fail to deliver on time, or if inspecting the spices reveals issues, the principal amount will be refunded without needing additional compensation."
This contract was almost entirely favorable to Guâs Workshop, it seems Elder Lei Wu and County Captain Jiang have a strong relationship, otherwise, he wouldnât have offered such favorable terms to save face for County Captain Jiang.
"Eh yo, letâs sign the contract quickly." Mrs. Chen, who could not wait any longer, cried out, only to be fiercely glared at by Third Grandma and hurriedly shut her mouth.
Elder Lei Wu chuckled and said, "Alright, letâs sign the contract."
Ah Ji brought out the seal paste and placed it on the table, saying, "Master Wu is the buyer, Guâs Workshop and all the owners from the East are the sellers, Brother Shang and Uncle Jiang are guarantors. Everyone needs to sign and put their fingerprints on two copies of the contract."
Elder Lei Wu was the first to sign and stamp both copies of the contract. Gu Jinâan, who could read, wrote down the names of the male heads from seven families of Qin, Gu, and Luotian on the contract, then had them place their fingerprints.
Next were Scholar Shang and County Captain Jiang placing their names and fingerprints next to the guarantorâs section.
With that, the contracts were duly signed.
Ah Ji handed one copy of the contract to Third Grandpa, saying, "Please keep this safe."
He himself kept the other copy, looking at the name Qin Longzi on the contract and silently chuckled.
After securing the contracts, Ah Ji took out five silver notes and handed them to Third Grandpa, "Here is a thirty percent deposit, totalling five hundred taels in silver notes. Please take care. The remaining one thousand and twenty-two taels will be paid when the goods are collected."
Third Grandpa, looking at the five silver notes and listening to Ah Jiâs words, felt his head buzzing and almost fainted.
Mrs. Chen, who was worse off than Third Grandpa, couldnât handle the shock, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Gu Dagui was bewildered to see her falling backward, hurriedly catching her while muttering under his breath, "You woman, thatâs all the mettle you have."
Gu Dagui, afraid of her causing shame, quickly helped her back to the main house to faint in there.
Gu Jinli looked at the fainted Mrs. Chen helplessly, wishing to tell her that she had fainted too early. The amount of silver seemed large, but after deducting the cost and labor, only about a thousand taels were left to be divided among seven families, and each family did not get much.
Not just Mrs. Chen, almost everyone present was dizzy, and even the village chiefâs legs were wobbling.
What did he just hear?
The workshops of the families from Qin, Gu, and Luotian had just started and already landed a deal of over a thousand taels, more than a thousand taels! Selling every single person in Da Feng Village by weight wouldnât make as much money.
Village Chief He felt like he was going to faint.
But after all, he was an experienced elder, and after a moment of dizziness, he came to his senses and quickly said to Third Grandpa, "Brother Gu, your family is still busy, we wonât disturb any further and will head back."
This was Guâs Workshopâs business deal, and although he was the village chief, it was inappropriate to stay longer. Best to leave quickly.
He also assured, "Brother Gu, rest assured, we have signed the contract and we will not speak of matters that should not be disclosed."
They still needed to rely on the Gu Family for tofu and spice businesses, and with County Captain Jiang backing the Gu Family, he definitely wouldnât dare to reveal any affairs about Guâs Workshop making a large amount of money.
Third Grandpa gratefully said to Village Chief He, "Let me see you out."
"No need, no need, we are from the same village, no need for such formalities, Brother Gu stay with Lord County Captain. Our grandfather-grandson trio will head back by ourselves." Saying this, Village Chief He, alongside He Dacang and He Jinseng, bowed to County Captain Jiang and helped each other out of the Gu Familyâs courtyard.