Old Wu sighed, "Young brother, you're out of luck. Manager Cao has been buying vegetables every day recently, but I don't know why he's not here today..."
Chen Xiaobei felt even more dejected. Could it be that in this vast county town, besides Manager Cao, no one else knew quality? Did they not realize how rare a live pheasant was!
Just then, three women slowly approached from a distance.
The woman in the middle wore silk clothing, a lake-blue silk that gave her an ethereal aura.
The two by her side were likely maids, dressed in ordinary cloth. Their every move was respectful towards the woman in the middle.
The three chatted and laughed as they arrived at Old Wu's vegetable stall.
Old Wu obviously recognized her and greeted her warmly, "Ah, Miss Liu, you've come out to buy vegetables yourself today."
Miss Liu merely smiled faintly and nodded, "Yes, I happen to have some free time today and decided to stroll through the market."
Chen Xiaobei's heart stirred. She looked like she was from a wealthy family. Would she be interested in his pheasants?
Thinking this, he gently pinched the thigh of one of the pheasants.
The pheasant, having struggled since it was caught last night and then sunned for a morning, was exhausted and docile. When he pinched it, it was startled and flapped its wings again.
Indeed, the commotion here immediately attracted the attention of the mistress and her two servants. Miss Liu looked over, a hint of joy in her eyes.
"Oh, what a beautiful pheasant! Look at its tail, so colorful."
A long-haired maid stepped forward, "Young man, how much are you selling these pheasants for?"
With yesterday's experience, Chen Xiaobei unhesitatingly held up three fingers. "Three hundred wen."
Upon hearing the price, the maid stuck out her tongue.
She turned back to Miss Liu, "The price is outrageously high. A pheasant costs three hundred wen."
Miss Liu, however, knitted her brows slightly. "There's a reason for its price. This live pheasant is indeed a rare item. I'll send it to the Crown Prince's mansion later; it can be a small token of my regard."
With that said, she picked a few vegetables and then squatted down in front of Chen Xiaobei, carefully examining the five pheasants on the ground.
"I'll take them all. Can you deliver them to my manor?"
Of course he could. Why wouldn't he accept such a good opportunity?
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Miss Liu, please tell me where you live, and I'll deliver them."
The long-haired maid beside her couldn't help but pout, "You don't even know where the Liu family lives."
The maid's words were filled with pride, but Chen Xiaobei was a bit bewildered. Fortunately, Old Wu, who was buying vegetables, spoke up.
"Young brother, you really have no sense of observation. Who in this county doesn't know the Liu family? I'll take you there later."
Miss Liu nodded, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Wu." With that, she led her two maids away.
After they had gone far, Chen Xiaobei asked, still confused, "Brother Wu, who is this Miss Liu?"
"Miss Liu's name is Liu Rumeng. She's from a prominent family in the capital, just here to relax."
He gestured to the pile of vegetables on his stall. "Ah, these are all chosen by her. I have to deliver these vegetables later, and you can come with me then."
Hearing Old Wu say this, Chen Xiaobei felt a surge of emotion. The trust between people at this time was so simple.
Old Wu didn't worry at all about what would happen if they refused to pay after delivery.
The Liu family's mansion in the county town was indeed grand. The nearly ten-foot-high main gate alone was enough to overshadow most of the households in Qinggang County.
There were two guards at the entrance. Upon seeing Old Wu and Chen Xiaobei arrive, they stepped forward to inquire about their business.
"Wait here." One of the guards turned and entered the mansion. Soon after, two people emerged with the guard.
The one in front was a middle-aged man. His silk clothing was of a quality that was not as fine.
Behind the man followed a subordinate, carrying a cloth bag.
Seeing him emerge, Old Wu stepped forward with a smile, "Little Wu Zhong greets Manager Feng."
Chen Xiaobei also quickly followed suit, bowing to Manager Feng.
Manager Feng nodded with a smile, "Did my young lady buy all of these?"
"Yes, yes, my vegetables total thirty wen," Old Wu replied respectfully.
Manager Feng beckoned to the person behind him. The subordinate counted out thirty copper coins from the cloth bag and handed them to Old Wu.
Manager Feng then turned to Chen Xiaobei, "And how much for your pheasants?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled obsequiously, "As discussed with Miss Liu, three hundred wen each. For five, that's one thousand five hundred wen."
Upon hearing the price, Manager Feng frowned slightly, but still gestured for the silver to be given to Chen Xiaobei.
One thousand five hundred wen. One thousand wen could be exchanged for one tael of silver, and the remaining five hundred wen would have to be in copper coins.
Holding the heavy copper coins and silver, Chen Xiaobei felt a weight lift from his heart. He could finally settle his accounts with Chen Ermao.
As he turned to leave, Manager Feng's voice boomed, "Young brother, please stay a moment."
Chen Xiaobei turned back to face Manager Feng, asking curiously, "May I ask if the manager has any other instructions?"
Manager Feng got straight to the point, "Young brother, were these pheasants caught on Qingniu Mountain to the south?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Yes, my home is at the foot of Qingniu Mountain."
"Good. If you have any other live animals, feel free to bring them to me. Also, I heard there are wolves on your Qingniu Mountain. If you can bring me a live wolf, I'll give you at least a hundred taels of silver."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei was speechless. Wealth truly made people do strange things.
Buy a live wolf? I haven't even lived enough yet.
But this was his benefactor. Chen Xiaobei still managed a smile and agreed.
"Alright, please rest assured, if I catch a live wolf, I will definitely bring it to you."
After bidding farewell to Old Wu, Chen Xiaobei headed to the general store and bought a set of pots and pans.
In this era, iron pots and other ironware were very expensive, costing ten wen each.
A strong laborer would have to work for two days to buy a pot. It was hard to tell whether to be happy or not about such prices.
In addition to this, he specifically bought a pound of fatty pork.
The fatty pork wasn't for eating, but for rendering oil.
Animal fat like this was a good way to supplement physical strength.
He went around the village from the riverbank to avoid being seen by others in the village with so many new belongings.
Otherwise, he would have been the headline news in Hetou Village today.
This time, he still cut off some fatty meat and took it to Da Chun's house to pick up Chen Qiao'er.
His second aunt's eyes lit up at the sight of the fatty pork, almost grinning from ear to ear. "Xiaobei, you really don't need to be so polite with me."
"It's only right. Second Aunt, then I'll take Qiao'er home now."
Chen Qiao'er was overjoyed to see a new iron pot at home, bouncing and skipping in the yard. Sudan Novel Network.
Just then, Chen Ermao's voice was heard from the doorway again, "Brother Xiaobei, I heard you got some new furnishings."