Chapter 280: Inviting Someone
Editor: Atlas Studios
“They do, but they definitely didn’t guess that my cousin would buy so much. We didn’t expect a book to cost 12 taels. This is enough for our family to feed on for a year.” Xiuhong looked at him eagerly and said, “I have another younger brother and two younger sisters at home. They’re also learning how to read, so these papers are for them to practice their calligraphy. I saw that you placed these papers at the door and they were a little yellow. It doesn’t seem like they can be sold. Why don’t you give me a few dozen of them?”
“A few dozen won’t do. At most, I’ll give you one dozen.” The shopkeeper gritted his teeth and could only whisper.
Xiuhong beamed with joy and took the opportunity to carry another dozen over. “Two dozen, two dozen. We can carry them.”
No matter how bad the quality of these papers were, a dozen of them were so thick that they could be sold for 300 copper coins. Two dozen of them would be 600 copper coins.
The shopkeeper said angrily, “Can you children carry so many things?”
“Of course! Of course! We can carry it even if there are a few more dozens.”
The shopkeeper hurriedly said, “Alright, alright, but certainly no more than that. Miss, hurry up and pay the bill.”
Only then did Mu Yangling take out 52 taels of silver from the pouch and give it to him. The shopkeeper watched as their backs disappeared, and the anger on his face immediately disappeared. He shook his head and laughed as he said, “These children are quite smart.”
The books were wrapped in oil paper and Mu Yangling carried them in her arms. When the three of them returned to the agreed place, Zhang Liu was already waiting there.
According to his sources, the mutton restaurants and eateries in the west of the city imported all their mutton from three butchers.
This was good news. There were few people, so it was easy to invite them.
Zhang Liu said, “The biggest supplier is a butcher surnamed Qin. You can find him in the market.”
Mu Yangling looked up at the sky and decided to have lunch first before inviting them over.
After lunch, there were not many people in the market. Most of the stalls were empty, so Butcher Qin leaned back in his chair and slept.
Mu Yangling and the others had found their way here by asking people along the way. The moment the tall, strong, and fierce-looking man lying on a chair with his feet on another chair came into view, the three of them knew that he was Butcher Qin. It couldn’t be helped, for he looked too iconic.
The three of them walked up to him. Mu Yangling looked at the meat on his chopping board and felt that since he didn’t pack up and go home, he must still be in business. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a problem for her to wake him up… right?
Just as Mu Yangling was about to reach out to call for help, Butcher Qin’s fierce eyes opened. When he saw the three kids standing in front of him, he asked with a grin, “Are you buying meat?”
Mu Yangling looked at Butcher Qin, whose smile was rather terrifying, and silently retracted her hand. She shook her head and said, “Uncle Qin, I have a business to discuss with you.”
Butcher Qin frowned at them.
Mm, his frown was even fiercer than his smile, but the three of them were successfully not frightened. Instead, Xiuhong and Bowen sized him up curiously.
When the person beside him heard this, he laughed and said, “Old Qin, don’t scare the child. Discuss nicely with them, ah!”
Mu Yangling was sure that she saw embarrassment on Butcher Qin’s face. She was definitely not wrong, although he was still fierce when he was embarrassed.
“What business do you want to discuss?” Butcher Qin asked in a loud voice. Seeing that the three people in front of him didn’t seem to be frightened by him, he had a good impression of them.
The market was not a place to discuss business. Mu Yangling looked around, and Butcher Qin understood at a glance. He handed the stall to someone beside him to help take care of it and took the initiative to find a place.
Hence, the four of them stood in the cold wind as they discussed business. Mu Yangling quickly motioned for Bowen and Xiuhong to go to the corner to stay away from the wind. Seeing Butcher Qin’s expression change, she said with a smile, “This place is not bad. The air is good, and there’s no one here.”
Butcher Qin looked even more embarrassed and hurriedly explained, “This street is filled with market stalls and there’s no teahouse to rest at all. This place is the quietest and doesn’t smell…”
Mu Yangling nodded. “Uncle Qin, I have a batch of grassland sheep, so I want to ask if you want them?”
Stunned, Butcher Qin sized up Mu Yangling and asked, “You’re not from Xingyuan Prefecture?”
Xingzhou Prefecture wasn’t far from Xingyuan Prefecture, and Xingzhou Prefecture was a prefecture under Xingyuan Prefecture, so Mu Yangling didn’t have an accent problem.
“I’m from Xingzhou Prefecture, but I’m from Xingzhou Prefecture. My sheep came from Hanzhong Prefecture.”
He had heard that the people in Hanzhong Prefecture had been forced by the Hu people to raise sheep in the fields. At that time, he had even scolded the Hu people for being perverted. Instead of planting grains on perfectly fertile land, the Hus were forcing people to grow pasture and raise sheep. Wasn’t that asking for trouble?
He perked up and believed most of Mu Yangling’s words. After sizing her up, he asked hesitantly, “Young lady, you’re only 12 years old, right? Why did the adults in your family send you to discuss this business?”
After the new year, she would indeed turn 12. Smiling, Mu Yangling said, “My parents didn’t come. Only my younger siblings and I came.”
Knowing Xingyuan Prefecture was quite some distance from here, Butcher Qin’s mouth fell open. At the very least, he had never been there.
He glared at her fiercely. But not to mention the little girl in front of him, the two children beside him also looked at him calmly, not afraid at all. The boy even yawned and leaned against the wall, wanting to sleep.
Judging from their calm dispositions, it did seem like they were capable of serious business.
However, even if Xingzhou Prefecture was at the border, the children there shouldn’t be so mature and capable. To think that at only 12 years old, she dared to venture out with her younger siblings.
Butcher Qin thought for a moment and felt that there was nothing the children could gain from him, so he nodded and said, “Then wait for me. I’ll go and close the stall, then follow you to take a look at the sheep later.”
Butcher Qin carried all the meat on the chopping board to another butcher and patted his shoulder before leaving.
Seeing that Bowen had been dozing off the entire way, Mu Yangling knew that it was time for this child to take an afternoon nap. Because he was weak, his schedule had always been very routine. Afternoon naps were non-negotiable for him.
Although he had been traveling for the past two days, as soon as it was time for his afternoon nap, he would climb into the carriage and lie on the thick quilt. After covering himself with another quilt and curling up slightly, he would fall asleep in no time.
Zhang Liu, who had returned early with his things, was already looking around the village entrance. When he saw Mu Yangling return, he hurriedly ran over and said, “Miss, a rich family in the village wants to buy sheep from us. We didn’t dare to make the decision and are waiting for you to come back.”
Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows in surprise, not expecting business to show up by itself. Smiling, she asked, “How much does he want to buy?”
“Everything.” There was a faint anger on Zhang Liu’s face. “Miss, he’s very arrogant. That’s not all, but he offered a price the moment he arrived. He said that he would buy them all for two taels each. He even brought many people to surround the fence.”
The smile on Mu Yangling’s face disappeared. Not minding that Butcher Qin was present, she asked Zhang Liu, “A rich family in the village? Very rich?”
Zhang Liu immediately told them everything about this family. From this, it could be seen how powerful they were. Zhang Liu had only been back for a short while, but he could already find out about these secrets from the villagers.