No, they don't know, but they will learn.
The whole family is very united, doing laundry, cooking, gathering firewood, and digging wild vegetables. Everyone competes to work.
Chun Nuan thought about finding work in gathering and processing medicinal herbs.
There are mulberry leaves on both sides of the ditch, some still very tender, which are no good for processing herbs. Only frost mulberry leaves and those exposed to frost are suitable. Right now, grandmother has a bit of a scratchy throat and coughs occasionally. Chun Nuan picked a small basketful, separating the tender leaves to use as wild vegetables, and brewed tea with the older leaves for grandmother.
"Sister, weren't you planning to go check out the pier?" Chun Ning returned and said, "I asked the neighbor Luo Xiaogang. He said the pier is three miles from here, sister, the pier is..."
At this point, Chun Ning's voice became smaller.
"What is it?" Chun Nuan asked puzzled, "A man should speak clearly. Stand up straight and speak louder."
"Luo Xiaogang said the pier is managed by people from the Xiao family clan. It used to be called White Cloud Bay Pier but was later renamed Xiao Family Pier."
The Xiao family clan, without her great-grandfather who was an Imperial Physician, without her grandfather who was the head of the Imperial Hospital, couldn't even be considered a prominent family. And now, they actually have the management rights of a pier?
According to grandmother, when she married into Xiao Mansion and took over the housekeeping duties from great-grandmother, there was a rule: every year, send New Year's gifts to the clan in Shu City, and deliver ancestral rituals during Qingming—never missed in all these years.
According to the annual gifts and ritual fields grandmother mentioned, Xiao Mansion has spent no less than five thousand taels of silver on the Xiao family clan.
The Xiao family clan has three hills, over a thousand acres of fertile land, and dozens of shops in the ancestral hall, ranking among the top clans in Changzhou and even gaining cordial respect from the county magistrate.
The Clan Leader of the Xiao family leads a life more leisurely than grandfather, with one wife, three concubines, four legitimate, and four illegitimate children.
Both great-grandfather and grandfather once believed the clan would be a refuge for Xiao Mansion, even if unnecessary, it must be there.
Unexpectedly, when truly needed, they turned their backs, directly expelling this branch from the clan.
Would great-grandfather and grandfather, upon learning this in the afterlife, sue the Xiao family ancestors?
Chun Nuan initially wanted to investigate the pier to see if there was a livelihood opportunity, but the pier is managed by people from the Xiao family clan, so pursuing a livelihood there might just bring trouble!
"Sister, are we still going to the pier?"
Chun Ning, seeing her sister silent for a long time, felt nervous and uneasy.
"Yes," Chun Nuan replied, "Let's have Luo Xiaogang take us and tell outsiders that we are relatives of his family, not mentioning we are from the Xiao family."
"Alright."
Chun Ning cleverly suggested teaching Luo Xiaogang to read, thereby winning over the child.
Chun Nuan was traveling this far on foot for the first time, and Luo Xiaogang was hopping ahead, sometimes sharing anecdotes about the Xiao Family Pier.
"The main steward of the Xiao Family Pier is the Xiao Clan Leader's third son, born of the first concubine, he looks fierce, and they say he's the reincarnation of an evil spirit."
"The accountant is the Clan Leader's sixth son, born of the primary wife, he is gentle and scholarly, aiming to become a scholar."
"Ordinary families can also do business at the pier, but they must pay the main steward, otherwise, they might get thrown into the river with their goods."
"How much do they pay?" Chun Nuan thought, so much for blessings in a family that cultivates virtue, the Xiao family clan really are heartless despite their wealth.
"I don't know how much," Luo Xiaogang said, "Our village doesn't have anyone doing business at the pier. Chun Nuan sister, do you want to do business?"
"No, I was just asking." Chun Nuan knew children can't keep secrets, she had plans but couldn't reveal them casually lest they be aborted.
Especially since the place to do business is on the Xiao family clan's territory, they may not be happy to see her family prosper.
"Chun Nuan sister, you don't know, actually, there is internal strife in the Xiao family clan too. My father says they are fighting among themselves, all wanting to be the clan leader."
"Who is fighting with whom?"
"I don't know."
Chun Nuan... this child is so tantalizing, speaking without saying anything.
But thinking about it, it's normal for him not to know.
The Xiao Clan Leader lives in a three-tiered courtyard provided by the clan, with food and clothing supplied by the clan members. Of course, such treatment is desired for succession—a piece of fat meat everyone wants a bite of.
Those who can't reach can drop it. Naturally, some wish to tiptoe and touch it.
Knowing this, Chun Nuan paid more attention and noted these matters.
"This pier is quite lively."
This river is called the White Cloud River, the river is not wide, but the current is swift, and there are many ships constantly coming and going on the river.
"Xiao Gang, do you know where this river leads?"
"It flows into the Tuo River. Over on the Tuo River, there's a big pier, very big." Luo Xiaogang couldn't explain clearly, but that's what his grandfather and they always said, so he repeated it proudly to show he knew much, impressing Chun Nuan sister.
"The big ship is coming, the big ship is coming."
A group of people suddenly appeared on the pier, bare-chested, holding ropes, they jumped into the river and rushed towards a ship.
"What are they doing?"
Chun Nuan and Chun Ning spoke in unison.
"Towing the boat," Luo Gang said proudly, continuing to flaunt his knowledge: "In that spot, the ship can't move forward due to a shoal, so it needs people to pull it across. Usually, after pulling up to the pier, they have tea, take a short break, and then continue downstream on the ship."
"Towing?" Chun Ning pondered briefly, "Can they make money? How many taels of silver per person?"
Chun Nuan smiled bitterly at this: This child still isn't accustomed to the hardships of a poor family.
"If a laborer is diligent, earning two or three taels of silver a year is possible." Luo Xiaogang informed the Xiao siblings, "My dad tows here too, sometimes lucky enough to get a few extra pulls in a day, he brings home pea cakes when he finishes work."
"Then they..." Chun Nuan felt embarrassed looking at the men soaked in the river, none wore clothes, and some didn't even have pants, only a simple cover at the waist before jumping in.
"You mean why they don't wear clothes?" Luo Xiaogang explained, "Towing is a job of staying in the water all year, wet clothes stick and make walking impossible, so they don't wear pants. My dad also mentioned clothes and pants that are wet through can easily cause illness, we're all poor people, medicine is too expensive and not affordable, so they save as much as they can."
"Yes, indeed, medicine is quite expensive."
Xiao Chunning, grandchild of Doctor Xiao, realized this when buying a pregnancy-protecting herbal remedy for his sister-in-law at Hundred Herbs Hall yesterday. Previously, Xiao Mansion had a herbal warehouse stocked with all sorts of herbs. In the past, they never saw doctors or bought medicine outside when ill.
"Right, my grandmother and mother always say, as long as we don't get sick, it is earning money for the family. So, we don't let ourselves get sick. If feeling unwell, we'd brew some herbal drink and drink two big bowls..."
Luo Xiaogang and Chun Ning chatted about their survival ways, while Chun Nuan observed the pier's situation.
Indeed, once the towmen pull the ship to the pier, the passengers disembark, and in the hot weather, many buy tea, some buy mountain goods or other things. Every arriving ship briefly enlivens the pier until it leaves, and another arrives.
Counting time, Chun Nuan estimated around four ships per hour, each not too large, carrying about dozens to a hundred passengers each.
"Xiao Gang, are there that many ships at night too?"