Two more days had passed, and the bustling Ji family estate fell silent due to an unexpected downpour that morning.
Ji Wei sat cross-legged on the floor, with two jars in front of him—one filled with copper coins and the other empty.
He was counting money.
Because the cookies were sold individually, many people paid in copper coins. Over time, the amount accumulated to a considerable sum.
After counting, Ji Wei realized that although it looked like a lot, it wasn’t much. It totaled just over 2,000 wen, which, when strung together, would be two strings of coins—equivalent to about two taels of silver.
However, what truly excited Ji Wei was the order Wen Xuan had brought back from the county school that day.
A thick stack of paper—easily a ten-tael profit.
Indeed, the county school was a place full of hidden talents.
Though they were merely students, they seemed to have a surprising amount of spare money.
While there was still a batch of cookies left at home, it was far from enough.
Once the rain stopped, Ji Wei would need to recruit more help to produce butter and cheese, aiming to deliver the cookies to the county students within five days.
With his plan in mind, he closed the lid of the money jar and stowed it under the bed.
“Brother Ji, have you finished counting?” Liu Yimian, sitting on the bed, gave Ji Wei a shy smile. “Don’t leave just yet.”
“Hm? Why?” Ji Wei dusted off his pants and pulled up a chair, obediently staying as asked.
“I made some clothes for you. See if they fit?” Liu Yimian cut the final thread and shook out the garment, revealing a soft white inner robe.
The fabric looked like the cotton cloth they had bought earlier to make shorts.
It felt soft and light, with a texture that was quite comfortable to the touch.
“How are the shorts I asked you to make?” Ji Wei took the inner robe and draped it over his body.
Though still wearing his outer clothes, the inner robe felt a little snug, but it fit well overall.
Ji Wei took off the robe, praising, “Your stitching is impressive—almost as good as what’s sold in the shops.”
“Oh, it’s not that good. Brother Ji, you’re flattering me.”
Liu Yimian climbed off the bed, running to the cabinet to fetch the shorts he had made in his spare time.
Though they were different from modern elastic shorts, they still resembled what they were supposed to.
Just as Ji Wei’s hands moved to untie his waistband, Liu Yimian let out a startled cry, stammering, “Brother Ji, what—what are you doing?”
“I need to see if the shorts fit, don’t I?” Ji Wei replied without thinking too much, quickly pulling off his belt and outer clothes.
Liu Yimian’s face turned bright red as he sat on the bed, looking uncomfortable. His fingers clutched the edge of the blanket, his eyes wandering as if the ceiling had suddenly become fascinating.
“Brother Ji, do they fit?” Liu Yimian asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Pretty good, they fit well. Make a couple more when you have time,” Ji Wei replied, clearly satisfied.
Seeing that Ji Wei liked the clothes he made, Liu Yimian was delighted and looked down to speak. However, when he glanced up, he was shocked to see Ji Wei standing there, legs bare, wearing nothing but shorts. His eyes went wide in disbelief.
“This…”
“What?” Ji Wei casually pulled on a pair of wide, loose undergarments over the shorts, making his appearance more modest.
Seeing that Liu Yimian still hadn’t said anything, Ji Wei asked again. Blushing, Liu Yimian shook his head, saying it was nothing.
Realizing what had happened, Ji Wei chuckled and explained, “Mianmian, don’t underestimate these shorts—they’re a type of undergarment too.”
“Ah?” Liu Yimian stared blankly at him.
“You see, these wide undergarments are cumbersome when working. In hot weather, when you sweat, they stick to your legs—so uncomfortable.” Liu Yimian nodded in agreement, as the loose undergarments were something everyone wore.
“But shorts are different. They’re short, use less fabric, and are much more comfortable for working,” Ji Wei explained as he gestured, smiling. “I’d say you should make a pair for yourself too—you might fall in love with them.”
“Sounds nice.” Liu Yimian imagined how refreshing it would feel to wear them in the summer heat.
“You can wear them underneath your inner and outer robes, and even if you only wear the shorts, no one will notice.”
Unless someone lifted their clothes, how would anyone know they were wearing shorts?
“Brother Ji, you always come up with so many unique ideas. I bet the farmers working the fields would love these shorts,” Liu Yimian commented offhandedly.
He didn’t give it much thought, but Ji Wei certainly did.
That’s right!
Though simple to make, these shorts were quite useful. Once people got used to them, they wouldn’t want to go without.
In his world, they were essential for everyone. But here, they were unique.
Why not use this to make a profit?
Excited, Ji Wei stood up and walked over to Liu Yimian, pulling him into a bear hug and giving his shoulders a hearty slap, praising his cleverness.
Liu Yimian was left thoroughly confused, having no idea what had just happened.
“When the rain stops this afternoon, let’s go to the fabric store,” Ji Wei said, still grinning.
“And redeem the Ji family bracelet while we’re at it.”
“To the fabric store? What are we buying?”
“We’re not buying this time—we’re selling.”
Ji Wei released Liu Yimian, glancing at the pile of inner clothes on the bed. “Mianmian, your sewing skills are good, but unless I ask you to make something, don’t waste your time making clothes for me.”
“Why not?” Liu Yimian looked at him nervously, worried that he didn’t like the clothes.
“You’re still young. It’s more important for you to focus on your studies. Leave these little things for later.”
Hearing this, Liu Yimian obediently nodded.
“So, anything difficult you’ve encountered with your studies lately?”
Liu Yimian hesitated, and Ji Wei playfully knocked him on the head.
“There’s nothing you can’t tell me.”
“I can recite this passage, but I’m struggling to understand its meaning,” Liu Yimian said, pulling out his copy of the Analects and opening to a specific chapter, pointing to a line for Ji Wei to see.
Ji Wei’s head instantly began to ache.
Books from ancient times didn’t have punctuation or clear sentence breaks.
This meant that students had to understand the text and interpret it themselves. If they divided the sentences incorrectly, the meaning could be completely wrong.
The line Liu Yimian pointed to was one that Ji Wei had heard before, but he couldn’t remember it clearly.
“‘The people may be made to follow, but may not be made to know.’ Brother Ji, I don’t know how to interpret this. Should it be ‘The people may be made to follow; they may not be made to know,’ or ‘The people may be made to follow, but not to follow knowingly’?”
Liu Yimian had been struggling with this line for three days, but with Ji Wei being so busy, he hadn’t wanted to bother him, and he didn’t know who else to ask.
“Well…” Ji Wei hesitated.
Based on his understanding, it should be “The people may be made to follow; they may not be made to know,” but Liu Yimian’s interpretation offered another possible meaning.
It seems to make sense.
For simpler things, Ji Wei could help. But in this case, he was completely helpless, and deeply realized how important a teacher could be in such a situation.
It was time to find Mian Mian a teacher.
However, in this town, you could count all the teachers on one hand. Every private school was full of young children. With Liu Yimian being fifteen, the best choice would’ve been the county school.
But he had never properly attended school or studied. How could the county school accept him?
He would probably fail the entrance exam and be sent right back.
Ji Wei was troubled over how to choose a teacher for him.
As he thought about it, suddenly the scholar Zhang, who lived just one alley over, came to mind. He was newly titled, having studied diligently since childhood. This should be easy for him.
If he could take Mian Mian as a student, wouldn’t that be better than a private school teacher?
But—
“Ji Ge?” Liu Yimian softly called out.
“These are the sacred words of Confucius, so you need to think deeply about them and connect with his philosophy. First, read the entire text, then come back and reflect on it.”
“Thank you for the lesson, Ji Ge. I understand now,” Liu Yimian said, thoughtful as he held his book and expressed his gratitude.
Ji Wei let out a long breath. He had barely managed to get by.
After waiting for the rain to stop, the two grabbed their oil-paper umbrellas and hurried to the cloth shop on South Street.
When the shopkeeper saw Ji Wei come in again, he immediately stepped out from behind the counter to greet him.
“Master Ji, you’re back again.”
“Not welcoming me?” Ji Wei asked with a smile.
“How could that be? We’ve been hoping for your return!”
Ji Wei laughed, “But this time, I’m not here to buy. I’m here to sell.”
The shopkeeper was stunned.
“Sell? This is a clothes shop, Master Ji. If you want to sell, shouldn’t you go to a pawn shop? Why come here?”
“I’m here because what I’m selling has to do with your shop.”
Hearing that he wasn’t buying anything, the smile on the shopkeeper’s face became noticeably smaller.
“I have some accounts I haven’t settled yet. Come in, don’t keep Master Ji waiting. I’ll go handle the books,” the shopkeeper said, wiping the sweat from his brow as he prepared to leave. But Ji Wei grabbed his arm.
“This can only be sold to you, not to him. He can’t afford it,” Ji Wei said as he dragged the shopkeeper into the cramped storage room at the back of the shop, which was piled high with fabric.
“What are you selling?” The shopkeeper’s sweat came back, and just as he was about to wipe it away, his hand brushed against Ji Wei’s. Quickly, he put his hand back down and looked at Ji Wei.
“This, it’s called shorts,” Ji Wei said, pulling a package from his coat. Inside was another pair of shorts made by Liu Yimian.
He took them out and unfolded them. The shopkeeper looked dumbfounded.
“What is this? Small and short? And this fabric—didn’t I sell it from this very shop?”
“These shorts are also underpants.”
“What?”
Ji Wei knew the shopkeeper wouldn’t understand, so he explained the benefits of the shorts in detail. Once the shopkeeper heard this, he became anxious.
Being in this business, he knew well that underpants required a lot of fabric. If these shorts were promoted, fewer people would come to buy fabric in the future. Wouldn’t that be a loss?
He immediately shook his head like a rattledrum, saying no.
“The shopkeeper is only thinking about the reduced profits from making these shorts. Why not think about the fact that Longliu Town only has two clothes shops? If you and the North Street shop work together and stop selling fabric for underpants, only selling finished shorts, imagine the profits—”
“What? What?”
The shopkeeper, forgetting Ji Wei’s notorious reputation, grabbed Ji Wei’s arm excitedly. “You can do that? Work with the shop on North Street? But we’ve always been rivals. How could we possibly work together?”
“With me, of course, it’s possible,” Ji Wei said, smiling.
The shopkeeper was tempted but still hesitated.
“What if that guy refuses?”
“Let me ask you, if there’s money to be made, would you turn it down?”
“Of course not. Making money is a businessman’s instinct.”
“Well, since he’s your rival, his thinking will naturally be the same.”
Ji Wei’s words convinced the shopkeeper.
After years of rivalry, he knew the other man well. If even he was tempted, that old guy would not be able to resist either.
“So, how are you going to sell this?” The shopkeeper thought Ji Wei would ask for a commission or something, considering how troublesome this deal was. But Ji Wei gave him an excellent suggestion that made him decide right then and there.
He would sell it outright.
Ji Wei would transfer the rights to the two shopkeepers, and from then on, the profit or loss from these shorts would no longer concern him. If the shopkeeper could negotiate with his rival, it would be a huge, long-term moneymaker.
The more he thought about it, the more excited the shopkeeper became. Rubbing his hands together, he asked Ji Wei for the price.
“Five taels of silver?” The shopkeeper’s eyes widened in shock.
His cloth shop only made seven or eight taels a month. If he bought this, he’d have no income for a month! That was too expensive.
“Are you so shortsighted? If you don’t want it, I’ll leave. But if I find out your shop starts selling these shorts, watch out—my fists don’t have eyes,” Ji Wei said, lowering his voice and delivering the threat coldly before striding out of the storage room.
He called out to Liu Yimian, ready to leave, while the shopkeeper followed behind, sweating profusely. Just as Ji Wei was about to leave the shop, the shopkeeper, voice trembling, called out to him and finally agreed.
Ji Wei took five taels from the shopkeeper and then led him to North Street to introduce him to his rival. He mediated between the two shopkeepers, helping them reach an agreement.
From that day forward, in Longliu Town, the cloth shops would only sell finished underpants. The fabric would no longer be sold.
There were two types of underpants: long and short, with both shops setting a unified price. Long underpants sell for 20 wen per pair, and short underpants for 10 wen per pair.
Though the price was half, the fabric used wasn’t nearly halved.
As they left the North Street cloth shop, everyone had a smile on their face.
Ji Wei said goodbye to the shopkeepers and led Liu Yimian to the pawn shop to redeem the jade bracelet.
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1