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Chapter 341

"There are more than a dozen little lambs on the border," Jiang Sheng started counting with her fingers, "If a lamb can be raised to two hundred catties, one and a half taels of silver per catty, that\'s..."

Ten thousand taels of silver!

The young girl who had never seen so much money almost fainted, money rained in her pupils, and she wished she could hug the dozen or so little lambs and kiss them twice first.

In stark contrast was Zheng Ruqian, who was grief-stricken and clenched his fists with tears in his eyes.

“Lambs, they are lambs, living creatures, how can I transport them! How can I take them away! Where can I raise them!” He hated that he couldn’t roar to the sky, “Little San, you really are my brother, really!”

Although they were under the same roof, one was clear skies, the other thunder and lightning.

The others couldn\'t hold back their laughter anymore.

Until the end of the meal, Zheng Ruqian still hadn\'t recovered, and there were wrinkles on his young forehead.

"Don\'t worry so much, if they can\'t be transported to Fengjing, they can be transported elsewhere," Xu Mo consoled him.

Zheng Ruqian immediately angrily said, "Where can they go? They are more than a dozen live sheep. Even if I can take them away, there is not enough grass and feed. If I transport them as meat, with the current weather, the cost would be more expensive than lychees. "

Mutton does have a selling price, up to five taels per catty at most, any more and no one will buy it.

Even in winter, without much use of ice, mutton that has been left for a whole month still has any freshness?

"Or I\'ll send Jiang Sheng over to eat her fill and come back," Zheng Er suggested sourly.

And got a bunch of white eyes in response.

Not to mention the possibility of the Tatars suddenly rioting at any time, just the long journey to the borderlands, plus Jiang Sheng also got dizzy on donkey carts and horse carts, who knows how many catties she would lose on the round trip.

Who would be willing to let their chubby little sister be tortured into a little bean sprout.

"Third brother said in his letter that they were lambs, meaning they need to eat grass and fatten up." Chang Yan’s left hand started tapping the back of his right hand again. "Anshui Prefecture and Fengjing are not suitable, but there should be no shortage of grass around the borderlands."

Xu Mo and Zheng Ruqian were both taken aback.

"Little San just sent a letter asking me to take the sheep away, meaning they can\'t keep raising sheep on the border," Zheng Er said, scratching his head. "From what Little San said, if they keep raising them there’ll only be sheepskins left."

The harsh cold borderlands lacked meat, and the soldiers saw live sheep and hated that they couldn’t skin and eat them raw. They were able to keep them until now thanks to Fang Heng’s immense prestige and authority.

"Who said Little San has to raise them." Xu Mo picked up on the key point. "As long as it’s suitable for the sheep herd\'s livelihood, as long as someone looks after them, what remains to be resolved is how to transport the sheep to Fengjing."

Clearly, although this was a bit difficult, it wasn’t too tricky.

Zheng Ruqian was stunned for three breaths before catching up with the two brothers\' train of thought, "You want me to raise sheep in Beijiang, no, or anywhere with grass, preferably not too far away."

When the lambs grow into sheep, go through some effort to transport them into Fengjing, then they can eat delicious mutton.

The ewes will give birth to lambs again, the flock will gradually expand, and they can even start a mutton business.

Zheng Ruqian\'s eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his original hesitation also turned into determination, "Then raise them!"

Where to raise them needed careful consideration.

He spread out his hand-drawn map, with Xu Mo and Chang Yan assisting on the sides, occasionally giving personal opinions.

"Fengjing is out, Beijiang is out. Considering the trouble of transporting the sheep, it’s best to be halfway between them." He moved his fingers and scratched over several prefecture cities north of Fengjing. "But I\'ve been to these places several times, there are simply no grasslands that can support a sheep herd."

That left only expanding outwards.

Chang Yan tilted his head and pointed west of Fengjing, "What about here?"

Anshui Prefecture was east of Fengjing. They had personally driven over and seen the mountains, plains, but never any grasslands.

Whereas they had never gone west of Fengjing before, nor investigated it.

"This..." Zheng Ruqian hesitated, unable to speak.

Xu Mo flipped through the miscellany in his hand in a timely manner and after studying it for a while, said, "According to the records of our ancestors and seniors, there is a grassland west of Fengjing, located in... Fufeng Commandery."

Mentioning this name, there was a slight pause in his tone, clearly recalling an acquaintance far away in Anshui Prefecture.

After being apart for two years, who knows if the young master of Fufeng was still safe and sound. Or plagued by old illnesses again, gazing afar.

"Even so, it’s a detour," Zheng Ruqian worried. "Little San is right north of us."

Whereas Fufeng Commandery was southwest of Fengjing, meaning the sheep would have to go through Fengjing, and then transported back after growing up, wasting manpower and resources.

Not only that.

Chang Yan, who had stood up from the map, said in a deep voice, "That pasture was a secret site of the Dayu Dynasty used for raising warhorses. Outsiders would find it hard to access."

That path was also blocked. Xu Mo sighed deeply, "Then only Longxi is left."

Longxi Commandery bordered Shang Commandery to the east, and a large swathe of the northern borderlands to the north. According to records of local conditions and customs, the number of grasslands was quite considerable. Although not directly north of Fengjing either, it was closer than Fufeng Commandery.

In terms of geographical location, Longxi was closer to the northern border than Fengjing, and would also be suitable for raising sheep from the northern borderlands.

"Most importantly, prices in Longxi are much cheaper than Fufeng Commandery," Zheng Ruqian also thought one step deeper.

He really lived up to being a shrewd businessman.

Jiang Sheng gave him a thumbs up from the side, "Second brother thinks thoroughly. Second brother is so awesome. Second brother will soon own a sheep herd, in the future he’ll be the richest under heaven, no one can rival him."

Although knowing she was so enthusiastic because she wanted to eat mutton, Zheng Ruqian still couldn\'t avoid feeling elated. It was as if the sheep had already turned into money.

The richest under heaven was his lifelong wish.

Just thinking about countless silver and unlimited pearls in the future, a sister decked in gold and silver, he could even collude with officials and merchants. Zheng Ruqian was delighted.

Putting away the map, he looked northwest, with bright eyes and ambition, "I\'m going to Longxi now."

Long journeys were unavoidable for merchants\' prospects.

Zheng Er Ye, who had just returned not long ago, had to leave again.

This time Jiang Sheng was not sad, didn’t even waste words, and neatly packed his luggage.

On the contrary, Zheng Ruqian whined, "Will I see you next time I come back? You won\'t have gone to the Jiangs again, right? The Jiangs aren\'t as good as our home. Wait for me to come back, don\'t run around."

"Ok, remember to bring a sheep back," Jiang Sheng readily agreed, not forgetting to remind him.

As expected, all this girl had on her mind was sheep.

Zheng Ruqian resentfully got into the carriage, rushing around with Wang Xiaosong.

Not until the carriage disappeared from view did Jiang Sheng softly sigh, "I hope second brother returns soon."

Sheep weren’t important. Brothers were.

Knowing that everyone had their own paths to follow was why she didn\'t try to stop him.

Without mentioning third brother guarding the borders, she had just seen off the wandering second brother. Big brother had gone by carriage to the Imperial College. Fourth brother went out on house calls. The only ones left in the small courtyard were Jiang Sheng and fifth brother grasping his little wooden stick.

Oh right, there was still Zhang Xianglian calculating business.

"Auntie, there shouldn\'t be much lychee ice left, right?" Jiang Sheng discussed with her, "Can you save some for third brother, will it still be edible frozen until next year?"

Zhang Xianglian was pondering when a carriage suddenly pulled up and Miao Zhaoying was half pulled, half supported by the servant girl as she hastily jumped down, "Mistress, mistress, there are people who want to buy our lychee ice."

She didn\'t dare say it outright, only blinking towards the east.

Which was the direction of the Imperial City.