Chapter 9: "Snow Sugar"

“Brother, are you… unhappy with me?”
Yuniang saw the change in Li Yuanjing’s expression and instantly felt disappointed, but soon she realized she had gone too far.
After all, two catties of grain was no small amount in this age—a frugal family could stretch it to survive ten days or half a month.
Their days as a couple had only just begun to improve, and for her to squander their resources so carelessly was hardly the behavior of a virtuous wife.
“You silly girl, what are you worrying about? It’s just two catties of grain. If you want to visit Aunt Zhang, then go ahead. The Zhang family has looked after us plenty these past years.”
Li Yuanjing finally returned from his thoughts, smiling as he gently ruffled Yuniang’s hair.
“Ah.”
“Brother, you’re really not angry?”
Yuniang was overjoyed, her bright eyes shining like the stars in the sky.
Li Yuanjing laughed,
“How could I be angry over such an essential gesture of kindness? By the way, Yuniang, what is this ‘Snow Sugar’ you mentioned?”
The reason he’d been lost in thought earlier was not solely because of the Zhang family; more importantly, it was this ‘Snow Sugar’.
As a seasoned merchant, he was particularly sensitive to matters of business.
“Brother, you don’t know Snow Sugar? Snow Sugar is…”
Yuniang was surprised that Li Yuanjing didn’t know about Snow Sugar and hurried to explain it in detail.
Through her explanation, he confirmed that this so-called ‘Snow Sugar’ was the refined white sugar of later generations, a luxury so precious in this era that only nobles and officials could afford it. Li Yuanjing’s fists clenched with excitement!
He’d been vexed about making money to repay the old debt to the benevolent Xue, but now, unexpectedly, a far better opportunity than hunting wolf pelts had appeared!
Having weathered many storms in his previous life, the process of extracting white sugar from brown was child’s play for him.
Unfortunately,
When he last visited the county town, he hadn’t considered this possibility at all and had bought too little brown sugar.
…
Yuniang soon happily carried two catties of rice and two large fish, along with several smaller ones, to visit Aunt Zhang.
Li Yuanjing, left at home, wasn’t in a hurry to refine the white sugar. He whistled softly as he prepared dinner, patiently.
Such a secret and important matter was best handled at night.
Another thing,
Li Yuanjing needed to prepare the sales channels in advance—better to be safe than sorry.
…
“Aunt Zhang, are you busy?”
Aunt Zhang’s home was quite close to Li Yuanjing’s. Yuniang soon pushed open the dilapidated gate of the Zhang family.
Sadly,
The Zhang household was no longer as peaceful as usual…
Although the creditor, Zhang Er’s employer, had left, the chaos in the house and yard had not yet been tidied.
Aunt Zhang seemed to have aged ten years overnight, trembling as she stirred a pot of watery vegetable soup.
Zhang Kun, too, appeared to have lost all hope, like a living corpse, leaning blankly against the earthen wall by the door. When Yuniang arrived, he barely had the strength to lift his eyelids.
Originally,
His father’s pension and his own compensation were just enough for him and his younger brother Zhang Liang to marry.
But with this sudden disaster, not only was that hard-earned money gone, they now owed a few taels of silver in debt.
Given the Zhang family’s income, with Zhang Liang still unconscious inside and uncertain to recover, how could they possibly repay such loans?
Was there any hope left in life?
“Yuniang, what brings you here, child? How come you’ve brought so many things…”
Aunt Zhang finally noticed her, quickly rising to greet Yuniang. The two Zhang daughters, who were caring for Zhang Liang inside, also came out.
Yet,
These two girls, who had always been close to Yuniang, were at a loss for words.
Yuniang was not adept at handling such situations. Blushing, she said,
“Aunt Zhang, I heard about what happened… ah… These two catties of rice and the fish, please use them to nourish yourself and the brothers…”
“Oh.”
“Yuniang, how can we accept this?”
“This rice and all these fish must have cost a lot. How can we accept them…”
Aunt Zhang could no longer hold back her tears, they poured down uncontrollably.
Though Yuniang was just a frail young girl, Aunt Zhang no longer needed to feign strength. At last, she could vent her grief.
Seeing Aunt Zhang’s anguish, Yuniang could only cry with her—what else could she do?
Such were the times.
It was said that in nearby villages, people had started selling their sons and daughters to survive. What could ordinary folk do?
Soon enough,
Aunt Zhang, Yuniang, and the two Zhang daughters were all weeping together, a cluster of sorrowful women.
Zhang Kun, like the living dead, dared not look at this scene, closing his eyes in pain, unable to shed a single tear.
After a long while,
Yuniang finally came to herself and quickly asked,
“Aunt Zhang, what… what will you do next?”
Aunt Zhang’s heart twisted as she wiped her tears,
“What else can we do? If there’s really no way, we’ll have to sell the eldest girl to the benevolent Xue, just to get through this hardship. Oh, my poor daughter…”
Aunt Zhang and her eldest embraced, crying as if their hearts would break.
“This…”
Yuniang was dumbfounded.
She knew that selling sons and daughters happened from time to time, but she had never seen it herself—never imagined such a horrific thing could happen to her close friend…
“Aunt Zhang, how can you sell the eldest girl? She’s even younger than me…”
“Maybe I should ask my brother for help. He’s a scholar; surely he’ll think of a way to solve this…”
…
“What?”
“Zhang Kun, big brother Zhang, is waiting outside for me?”

Li Family.
Li Yuanjing had already finished preparing dinner and was about to eat with Yuniang and rest before refining the sugar that night. But he noticed Yuniang standing awkwardly nearby, wanting to speak but afraid.
After Li Yuanjing asked her, he finally understood everything.
“Wuu…”
Yuniang couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears gushed from her eyes as she pleaded,
“Brother, it’s all my fault. You… you should punish me.”
Yuniang was at a loss, wiping her tears as she turned around, sticking out her petite, round bottom for Li Yuanjing to strike.
“I…”
Li Yuanjing raised his hand to slap her, but after some hesitation, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He had suddenly realized a crucial point.
Although he now possessed the vast experience and knowledge of future generations, able to create tools and invent as he pleased,
this era was fundamentally different. Productivity was so low, and people’s thinking so limited.
Thus,
If he wanted to achieve anything, he couldn’t do it alone; he needed to build his own force, or rather, a team.
Moreover,
Giving a man a fish is less effective than teaching him to fish.
The Zhang family’s problem couldn’t be solved simply by charity.
And although Zhang Kun was crippled, missing an arm, he was a veteran of the Liaodong battlefield.
Li Yuanjing knew him well—straightforward, hard-working, without any cunning.
Zhang Kun had also helped him before. If real work was to be done, he’d be a good ally…
Therefore, giving Zhang Kun a stable job would solve the Zhang family’s troubles better than handouts.
“Slap.”
After a moment, Li Yuanjing’s hand fell lightly on Yuniang’s round bottom, but he barely used any force—it was more like taking advantage of her…
He said,
“Naughty girl, be more careful in the future. Don’t make promises so lightly, understand?”
With that,
Li Yuanjing strode out the door.
“Ah.”
“Brother, you’re… not angry with me anymore?”
Yuniang stood stunned for a moment before she understood, then happily ran after Li Yuanjing.
…
Brothers, I beg for your support, many thanks for your help.