Chapter 276: Inquiring
Editor: Atlas Studios
Xingyuan Prefecture was the capital of the entire Lizhou Circuit. It controlled 17 prefectures, such as Xingzhou Prefecture. Therefore, although it was located in the bitterly cold north, this large city was also extremely prosperous.
The city wall was tall, and the city gate was about 50 meters long. There was a 30-meter gap in the middle for carriages and people to enter and exit. On both sides, there were other checkpoints where goods and strangers had to enter through. Seeing that the items of some small vendors had been detained, Mu Yangling knew that she would be extorted if she herded this batch of sheep in.
Stunned by the gates of Xingyuan Prefecture, the four people by her side could not recover for a moment.
After a long while, Zhang Wu smacked his lips and sighed. “So this is Xingyuan Prefecture.”
“Alright, we can’t enter the city today. Let’s find a place to stay nearby and rest for the night. We’ll enter the city tomorrow.”
Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu hurriedly helped to herd the sheep in another direction and found a small village nearby.
Because the city gate was still open, there were not many people who needed to stay outside. Therefore, the new landlord did not charge them a lot of money. At least, it was much cheaper than staying in the city. After all, they still had a large flock of sheep, and ordinary inns would not accept this.
Zhang Wu had just moved the things on the carriage into the house when he saw that Xiuhong wanted to measure the rice and cook. He quickly went forward to help, but Xiuhong stopped him and asked, “Do you know how to cook?”
Zhang Wu scratched his head and chuckled. “My cooking is edible.”
“Then let me do it. Help me buy some vegetables. We have meat here.” As she spoke, she took out ten copper coins and handed it to him.
Mu Yangling was asking the landlord about the situation in Xingyuan Prefecture and the taxes levied on goods in order to bring them into the city.
The landlord took a look at their sheep. Mu Yangling cleverly stuffed ten copper coins into his hand. Smiling, the landlord said, “Miss, the Governor of Xingyuan Prefecture is kind-hearted. For farm products like cows, sheep, and vegetables, we just need to give them a small token when we enter the city. However, considering you have a lot of sheep, I’m afraid…”
Mu Yangling hurriedly said, “Uncle, these sheep don’t all belong to my family, but to the various families in the village. Didn’t the Hus get chased away by General Qi? No one will keep these sheep now. There’s a drought this year, and crop harvest is poor. My village had no choice but to let me herd the flock of sheep here to try my luck.”
“Well, you should be able to pay less tax if you secretly give some money to the soldiers guarding the gate.”
“…” In that case, she’d better pay the taxes. It was precisely the additional money that she needed to give the soldiers that she was afraid of paying.
If she wanted to herd her entire flock of sheep into the city, it would at most cost four to five taels of silver. However, if the guards wanted to take away two sheep, should she resist or pretend not to see them?
Bribing soldiers was more expensive than paying taxes.
Mu Yangling was troubled. “How are we going to herd such a large flock of sheep in?”
Bowen scooped a bowl of rice for his sister and said, “Why must we herd all of them in? Sister, we can invite the buyers out of the city like we did with Landlord Bai and the others. Let them choose for ourselves. Those soldiers guarding the door only dare to ask for bribes because we’re foreigners. If we were locals, we wouldn’t encounter such trouble. If we don’t manage to sell everything, we can then herd the sheep into the city and try again.”
Overjoyed, Mu Yangling ruffled Bowen’s hair and said, “Clever kid. I didn’t think of this. Then let’s eat, shower, and have a good sleep first. We’ll enter the city tomorrow.”
Mu Yangling left Zhang Wu to look after the flock of sheep and brought Zhang Liu, Xiuhong, and Bowen into the city.
Following the crowd into the city and passing through the city gate, the streets inside were suddenly revealed in front of everyone. The streets were twice as wide as Xingzhou Prefecture. The sun had just risen but already, there were many people on the streets.
Mu Yangling stood there for a while before saying, “Let’s go to the teahouse to eat breakfast and ask around.”
The group found a teahouse that looked pretty good and sat down. The teahouse had two floors, and there was even a shed outside. There were four to five tables inside, and more than half of the first floor was occupied. However, there were few people on the second floor. Clearly, these people were here to eat breakfast and chat.
This was similar to Xingzhou Prefecture.
Mu Yangling found a table and sat down. A smiley waiter came forward to wipe the table. When he looked up and saw them, he was stunned. He had never seen them before. Although this was a teahouse, those who came to eat breakfast were all familiar faces. Few strangers appeared. It was not like they were drinking tea in the afternoon…
“Dear guests, what would you like to eat?” The waiter’s gaze hesitantly swept away from Zhang Liu and landed on Mu Yangling.
Mu Yangling glanced at the other tables and said, “Give me ten big meat buns, four bowls of mutton soup, and a plate of beef.” Mu Yangling asked after a pause, “Do you have beef?”
“Geez, Miss, you’re so lucky. Yesterday, our shopkeeper just managed to get his hands on dozens of catties of beef. He was about to add another dish to the lunch menu.”
“Alright, that’s all for now. Go ahead.”
When everyone heard what Mu Yangling ordered, they turned to look at them curiously. However, they only took a few glances before turning their heads away.
In this era, the meat buns were twice as big as the ones Mu Yangling had bought in her previous life. Although the skin was a little thick, they were equally delicious.
Mu Yangling ate four of them herself. Bowen and Xiuhong each ate one and a half. Zhang Liu also ate three. After sweeping the beef on the table clean, the four of them drank the hot mutton soup in satisfaction.
Seeing that the waiter was no longer so busy, Mu Yangling waved him over and asked, “Brother Waiter, where is the mutton seller in the city?”
“Miss, you want to buy mutton? Then you have to go to the East Market. There are the most mutton there, but you might not be able to buy it after noon.”
“Is mutton in such short supply?”
“Geez, other than pork which is constantly available, mutton and beef have to be bought as early as possible.”
“How can mutton be compared to beef? Cows can’t be slaughtered at will. But considering our Xingyuan Prefecture isn’t far from the border, how can there be no mutton?”
“Oh, you have no idea.” Seeing that she was younger than him, the waiter who was usually lectured by others and rarely had a chance to lecture someone, said excitedly, “Although our Xingyuan Prefecture is close to the border, don’t you see that the market here closed four to five years ago? Where can we buy sheep? We do have people raising sheep, but most people focus on farming. Not even one out of ten families raise sheep. Even then, they raise goats and not sheep. However, the taste of goats is simply not comparable to grassland sheep.”
Seeing Mu Yangling nod as she listened, the waiter became even more excited. He said, “It’s an old habit left behind by our ancestors. In the winter, we’ll eat mutton, drink mutton soup, warm our bodies, and build our foundation. Those with money might even buy a few catties of donkey meat to try. Everyone wants to buy it, so they’ll naturally fight over it. Usually, the mutton will be sold out after noon, so if you want to buy it, you should hurry after finishing your breakfast.”
“How much is mutton for a catty?”
“That depends on what kind of mutton. Goats are 50 copper coins a catty. As for authentic grassland sheep that doesn’t taste gamey, it costs 56 copper coins a catty.”
Alright, considering the huge difference in price, this trip was totally worth it.
Seeing that she was deep in thought, the waiter said, “Grassland sheep are easier to sell than goats, but there are also people who like the gamey smell of goats and like the kick of it.”
Mu Yangling took out two copper coins for him and asked with a smile, “Then if I wish to eat mutton, where should I go?”
Two copper coins was not much, but it was a surprise to the waiter, who rarely received tips. Hence, he became even more excited and said, “There are plenty of options. Guest, wait for me to slowly tell you about it.”
“What about? I want to hear it too.” A sinister voice sounded from behind.
The waiter was so frightened that he jumped forward. When he looked up, the shopkeeper was standing behind him and glaring at him.