Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 163 The Mystery of the Tribute Silk
So the group returned to the tea room.

After all, he had just said a lot of bad things about her here, and now that she was sitting in front of him, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Tan Huaike, however, did not take it to heart. He knelt down beside the table, rolled up his sleeves, brewed four more cups of tea, and handed them to Yu Sufeng and the three bosses in turn, saying, "I am new to the Chamber of Commerce and have not yet figured out many of the rules. We are all of one mind and value harmony. If there is any negligence or inattention, please forgive me."

After some polite words and seeing her humble attitude, the others had no choice but to agree and drink the tea.

Yu Sufeng sat leisurely, seemingly focused on enjoying her tea.

Mr. Xu was the first to lose his composure, saying, "Mr. Tan, I heard that Princess Aisha granted you the secret recipe for rare spices and incense pills controlled by the Mohe noble family? Look at such a big order..."

"Such a large order, are you worried that I'll take it all for myself, Mr. Xu?" Tan Huai Ke laughed. "Mr. Xu, you can rest assured. His Highness the Crown Prince entrusted these to me because he values ​​my knowledge of incense and my understanding of the business practices in the Western Regions and Da Xuan. He wants me to oversee this business once the trade routes are officially opened. My incense shop alone cannot handle so many spices. I'll need Mr. Xu's help with transportation and distribution to earn more money."

"Mr. Tan, you can rest assured. Our Xu family has been in the spice business for so many years, we are absolutely confident in our abilities!" Mr. Xu asked tentatively, "I just wonder if Mr. Tan would be willing to share those secret recipes with us?"

"Well..." Tan Huaike deliberately kept everyone in suspense, "His Highness the Crown Prince said that everything given to me is to be handled by me. I will carefully consider which secret formulas are suitable for public release, or which companies should be involved in the incense making."

That alone was enough to get Mr. Xu under his thumb.

Mr. Xu smiled ingratiatingly: "Oh dear, Mr. Tan and I are both allies in the Chamber of Commerce, we should keep in touch more often in the future."

Tan Huaike turned to the silent Boss Zhou: "I only have a slight understanding of the silk business, and I am far less well-connected than Boss Zhou. Among the most precious silks and brocades of Da Xuan, apart from those that are presented as tribute to the palace, yours is probably the most exquisite."

Boss Zhou gave a faint snort.

Tan Huaike continued, "I've heard that Da Xuan has an old system of equal distribution. In principle, goods like cloth should be reported to the government by the merchants' association, and then the government should order the unified allocation. To prevent merchants from hoarding cloth in hopes of profiting from scarcity, it should be distributed to multiple merchants and sent to different prefectures and counties. Now, Boss Zhou monopolizes the cloth business west of Andu. Isn't he afraid of being investigated by the government?"

Mr. Zhou calmly replied, "Young lady, I have my own way of doing things."

“Boss Zhou dares to do this, so he must have some special skills. Others can’t even dream of doing it,” Tan Huaike said modestly. “However, recently the King of Qin has taken over the twelve prefectures, and there are rumors that he is going to reorganize the distribution of goods and tax collection. Boss Zhou should pay close attention.”

"What? I haven't heard of that."

"Perhaps the news hasn't reached your connections yet?"

At this point, Mr. Zhou became restless and left his seat before finishing his tea, apparently to inquire about the situation.

Mr. Zhang twirled a string of white jade beads and said in a sarcastic tone, "Mr. Tan is truly resourceful. How could a mere merchant like you know in advance what the King of Qin was planning to do?"

Tan Huaike smiled and said, "It's just that I have some private dealings with the King of Qin."

"Personal relationship..." Mr. Zhang snorted meaningfully, "I wonder what kind of personal relationship you mean?"

"I heard that Boss Tan once saved the Prince of Qin's life in Zhangye County?" Yu Sufeng interjected. "I wonder if this is true or not?"

"It's not a matter of saving a life; I merely served as a coachman for the injured King of Qin. However, the King of Qin is a prince of great loyalty and righteousness, and he has helped me a great deal in establishing myself in Andu."

“Hmm.” Boss Zhang pondered without speaking. “By the way, His Highness said that the old trade routes in the western border often encountered bandits, and the jewelers suffered the most. The new trade routes will be guarded by the Zhenxi Army. I am familiar with General Lingchuan of the Zhenxi Army. If Boss Zhang wants to transport gems and jewels from Khotan, I can contact him and ask him to take good care of you.”

They even managed to get the Zhenxi Army to come? Boss Zhang was completely impressed.

It's hard to say exactly what Tan Huaike's background is, but he's incredibly influential. If he really wanted to take over their business, it wouldn't take a single effort.

It's pathetic that they're still thinking about how to squeeze her out of the Chamber of Commerce... They're so short-sighted.

After this conversation, Tan Huaike was able to establish himself in the Guangli Chamber of Commerce.

Yu Sufeng readily agreed and entrusted her with all matters concerning the Chamber of Commerce's trade routes in the western border region.
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With the Chamber of Commerce as her backing, Tan Huaike quickly expanded her business. Within months, she had opened new shops in fabrics, spices, restaurants, and medicinal herbs.

When she touched the newly purchased Jiangnan silk, she couldn't help but be lost in memories.

She remembered her mother gently telling her that the silk of Daxuan was made from the silk spun by insects, and how amazed and incredible she had been as a child. She remembered asking herself if the silk threads used to make the fabric were also very, very long.
The mother, who was born in the Central Plains, smiled with a mixture of nostalgia and sorrow.

The old man had also promised that after they entered the pass, he would take her to touch the silk and see the silk-spinning insects of the south. The older brother even used fake insects to scare her and they played and frolicked in the valley.

Now, she finally touched the precious silk she had purchased and saw the insect called "silkworm," learning how it spins silk and makes cocoons, and how those cocoons are reeled into silk fabrics.

She had so much joy she wanted to share with them, but there were no more close relatives by her side.

Tan Huaike was lost in the past until Xu Guanbai woke her up: "Madam Shentu, what's wrong?"

She quickly wiped her face with a handkerchief and replied, "Nothing, what brings you here, Lady Bai?"

She had assumed Xu Guanbai had come to her newly opened Zhiyun Cloth Shop to buy fabric, but to her surprise, Xu Guanbai pulled her to a secluded spot and cautiously asked, "Do you still remember that piece of tribute satin?"

Tan Huaike didn't react for a moment: "What tribute satin?"

Xu Guanbai reminded her: "During the year-end sacrifice in Zhangye Prefecture, didn't we find out that the person who replaced the incense balls was my maid Lianqiu? At that time, Lianqiu confessed..."

Tan Huaike gestured for her not to say anything more: "I remember now."

Lianqiu confessed that the people who contacted her were all masked. They had given her a wooden hairpin stained with her mother's blood as a token. The silk wrapped around the hairpin was a finely patterned Jiangnan brocade, which was very rare even in Andu.

Xu Guanbai guessed that it was a piece of tribute satin, but he never had the chance to investigate it in detail.

"But have you found any new leads?" Tan Huaike asked.

"This year, the palace received that kind of tribute satin again. The Empress received the most, and the rest were distributed according to regulations. Minister Lu specially came to request this kind of tribute satin, saying that the women in his family especially preferred this indigo-colored, dark-patterned one."

"You suspect that Minister Lu is involved in disrupting the year-end sacrificial rites?"

"That assassination attempt was truly dangerous, as it concerned the life of the Third Prince. I imagine that Minister Lu wouldn't dare to act on his own, especially since he is the Grand Minister's most valued and prized student..."
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Next chapter: Renting a haunted house.