"What? Do you need me to make you?"
Han Mo looked at Cai Shu with malicious intent, as if an unspoken message saying "If you don't write it, I'll beat you" was written on his forehead.
"You, you..."
Seeing Han Mo advancing, Cai Shu could only retreat step by step.
In just a few breaths, Han Mo had cornered Cai Shu to the edge of the Bian River.
"I'll write it!"
With a few more steps back, he would be forced to jump into the river. Cai Shu could only grit his teeth and agree.
This man was truly disgraced. Seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, Cai Shu could only follow Han Mo into the nearby Tang Family Gold and Silver Shop.
A moment later, after the two emerged from the shop, Cai Shu's face was filled with the expression of having lost his parents.
"A gentleman does not speak of the faults of others. Since we have the 'Fu Bian' (服辩), Brother Cai, I think we shall part ways here!"
Han Mo, beaming with pride, cupped his hands towards Cai Shu. His smug demeanor made Cai Shu wish he could stab him, if only he were capable of it.
"Hmph!"
Cai Shu snorted coldly and then led his group of lackeys into the crowd.
"Second Brother, you might have brought great disaster upon us this time. Will this bring trouble to the master?"
As the crowd slowly dispersed, the three, master and servants, headed towards the Grand Xiangguo Temple. Chun Tao mumbled softly.
"Don't worry, this is nothing. Let's find a place first and see how much this jade pendant is worth!"
Han Mo's lips curved into a proud smile. With this item, his initial capital should be enough.
"Second Brother, this might not be appropriate..."
Not only Chun Tao, but Han Yan also looked at Han Mo with some concern.
"Don't worry, I only fear he won't make a fuss. The bigger this matter becomes, the safer we will be!"
"What are you worried about? The Cai family is not easy to deal with, but is our Xiangzhou Han family a pushover? Besides, we have justice on our side in this matter!"
As Han Mo spoke, he waved the 'Fu Bian' document in his hand.
Cai Shu had signed and thumb-printed it. With this in his possession, even if the matter reached the imperial court, he would have the upper hand.
After all, with his background from the Xiangzhou Han family, if Cai Jing himself were to deal with him.
Han Mo would be grateful, as it would be a direct opportunity for him to gain experience.
He thought of his cheap great-grandfather, Han Qi, who was a nobody back then. His famous feat of submitting a document that led to the dismissal of four Grand Councilors.
Although he didn't have that kind of ability, perhaps he could try to get rid of a Cai Jing?
The two young maids were still young. Seeing his confident demeanor, they soon forgot about the matter.
"This thing is actually so valuable?"
After emerging from the pawnshop, Han Mo was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that this jade pendant would be worth so much, far exceeding his expectations.
This small jade pendant was valued at three hundred and eighty strings of cash!
Even in a place like Tokyo Bianliang, the annual living expenses for an ordinary family of three in the city were only thirty strings of cash.
As for farming families outside the city, their total annual expenses would not exceed ten strings of cash.
Truly, "In the city gates, wine and meat go sour; out on the roads, people starve with frozen bones."
Although the item was a bit hot to handle, Han Mo still had no intention of returning it to Cai Shu.
With this item, his livelihood could be secured.
However, he was not in a hurry to exchange it for cash. After all, in these times, carrying copper coins or gold and silver was very inconvenient.
As for Jiaozhi, it would have been fine during the reign of Emperor Renzong. But after Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, that thing had become almost as worthless as toilet paper. Han Mo was not that foolish.
With the gold leaf from Cai Shu's money pouch, it was enough for them to have a good time in Bianliang City.
Tucking the jade pendant into his inner pocket, Han Mo took the two maids for a stroll in Bianliang City.
After their walk, Han Mo gained a general understanding of the currency system of the Great Song Dynasty.
Because the court had issued many 'Jia Xi Qian' (夹锡钱) and 'Zhe Wu Qian' (折五钱) and 'Zhe Shi Qian' (折十钱), these unfavorable policies had basically shaken the foundation of the copper standard currency.
To this day, the exchange rate between gold and silver for copper coins remained relatively stable. One liang of gold could be exchanged for ten liang of silver, and one liang of silver could be exchanged for one string of common copper coins.
But the reverse was truly unpredictable.
For the entire afternoon, Han Mo and the two maids visited almost all the shops near the Grand Xiangguo Temple.
It wasn't until evening when the lamps were lit that they bought their fill at the night market, spending all the gold leaves they had. Only then did they return home, their bodies weary.
After sending the young maid Han Yan to sleep, Han Mo and Chun Tao began to tinker with the miscellaneous items he had brought back.
This was the most important business opportunity he had discovered after his day of wandering.
"Young Master, why did you buy so much sugar frost? Although this thing is delicious, it cannot be stored for too long. With so much sugar frost, the three of us will have to eat it until next year..."
Looking at the two large wooden barrels of brown sugar frost, Chun Tao looked at Han Mo with confusion.
She really couldn't understand why Han Mo insisted on buying so much of this.
Despite its unappealing greenish appearance, which could even be nauseating, this thing was not cheap at all.
These two large barrels of sugar frost alone cost a full eighty strings of cash!
If Han Mo hadn't insisted, the young maid would never have bought these items.
"Whether we can get rich this time depends on this! Just wait and see me perform a magic trick!"
Han Mo smiled and led Chun Tao to the kitchen in his courtyard, then began his intensive work.
This so-called sugar frost was merely slightly viscous sugarcane juice. Although it already had a strong sweetness, there were still many impurities within it.
Its deep brown color was truly unappetizing.
In his previous life, besides practicing archery every day, Han Mo also enjoyed spending time online.
He had paid special attention to the sugar-making process, and now he felt a little excited to operate it himself.
After washing the large pot used for cooking in the kitchen, Han Mo directly poured in more than half a barrel of sugar frost.
Under the maid's astonished gaze, he added more than half a barrel of clear water and began to stir.
Although Chun Tao didn't know what he was doing, she curiously followed Han Mo and helped.
There was no filter, so she used a clean hemp cloth instead. Fortunately, Han Mo had managed to buy a finished product of 'Wa Liu' (瓦遛), which saved him a lot of effort.
After a simple filtration, it was added back to the pot, stirred, and boiled. A large amount of ginger juice was added again. He toiled for nearly two hours.
Under the maid's puzzled gaze, Han Mo finally poured all the sugar frost in the pot into a large wooden barrel beside them.
A moment later, the viscous liquid gradually cooled down from its high temperature. It transformed from a brown, viscous liquid into a light brown, sand-like substance.
"It's done!"
Reaching out, he broke off a small piece and put it into the maid's mouth. Han Mo then looked at her face with great anticipation.
This was truly the first batch of brown sugar in the Great Song Dynasty!
"This, this..."
The little maid was so excited that she was speechless.
"Tell me, what price should we ask for this thing?"
After breaking off a small piece from the edge and tasting it, Han Mo's face was filled with smug satisfaction.
"You country bumpkins of the Great Song Dynasty, I, your young master, am here to harvest your money bags!"
ps: Common copper coins: refers to the most ordinary copper coins, each worth one Wen.
Zhe Wu Qian: This is relative to common copper coins, like a five-yuan banknote today, one coin is equivalent to five common copper coins.
"A piece of paper that led to the dismissal of four Grand Councilors": refers to Han Qi's memorial in the first year of Baoyuan, titled "Memorial on the Lack of Qualified Officials in the Chancellery and Ministry." He criticized the current Grand Councilors Wang Sui, Chen Yaozuo, and the Deputy Grand Councilors Han Yi, and Shi Zhongli for their ineffective response to disasters and their helplessness in dealing with the northwest border issues. He denounced them for "sitting idly by while the entrusted officials destroyed everything," after which all four were dismissed.