Chapter 276: Heavens, How Can It Be This Cheap?
In the past, Zhang Hu thought that becoming Yu Luo’s guard only meant handling trivial tasks in the wilderness. He never expected Yu Luo to be a woman with such ambition—not only daring to venture into Feng City but also possessing grand aspirations.
At this moment, Zhang Hu was filled with hope for the future. He believed that even if he never set foot in his homeland again, Yu Luo’s leadership would one day allow him to reunite with his wife and children.
That night, the group of men, undeterred by exhaustion, lit torches and continued along the official road.
With limited visibility at night and their horses growing weary, a journey that would usually take half a day stretched until late morning. It wasn’t until the Si hour (9AM-11AM) the next day that they finally caught sight of Yueyang City’s gates in the distance.
Along the way, they encountered two groups of bandits. Fortunately, most of them were skilled fighters, and they also had the crossbows provided by Yu Luo. When the bandits attacked, Zhang Hu and his men caught them off guard with these unfamiliar weapons, swiftly dealing with the threat before pressing on without delay.
“Finally, we’ve reached the city! Yueyang City is so big—there must be plenty of brothels here. After selling our goods today, we should go have some fun!”
Smack!
Before Wu Er could finish his sentence, laughter erupted among the group, their eyes filled with anticipation. But just as the laughter began, Zhang Hu’s face darkened, and he landed a heavy slap on the back of Wu Er’s head.
“We’re here for business. If any of you don’t want to return, you’re free to stay in Yueyang City. It’s just that registering as a citizen of Dongfeng Kingdom will be troublesome. But at least you won’t have to go back to the wilderness, where there are no women.”
Yu Luo had anticipated this situation and had instructed the managers before their departure: If anyone wanted to stay, they could, but they were not to cause trouble. Anyone who stirred up problems would not be welcomed back.
Hearing Zhang Hu’s reprimand, Wu Er quickly forced a smile and waved his hands. “No, we’ll return! We’ll definitely go back! Staying here might sound nice, but without official papers, if the authorities catch us, they’ll treat us as spies. Besides, the young lady and the master trust us so much and allowed us to come out—how could we not return? Of course, we’ll go back!”
“You don’t have to force yourself. The young lady has made it clear that you’re all free to leave at any time. But if you choose to leave, don’t expect her to take you back later. Also, she instructed that if our business here is successful, we can buy fifty women to bring back. However, whether those women willingly become anyone’s wife is up to them. You’d better forget about visiting the brothels—those places are filled with filth and trouble. Given our unique situation, we can’t afford to draw unnecessary attention and risk ruining our business before even making a sale.”
“Understood, Guard Zhang! We won’t go—we won’t go anywhere except back home. But did you really say we could buy fifty women?”
Wu Er repeatedly assured Zhang Hu, but upon hearing about the women, his face lit up with excitement.
“Of course.”
With that, Zhang Hu signaled for the convoy to continue forward.
To enter Yueyang City, people had to queue and pay an entry fee—one copper coin per person, and five copper coins per cart.
Compared to the exorbitant entry fees in Feng City, this was practically nothing.
By midday, the line to enter the city had grown long. Not only did people have to pay the fee, but carts were also inspected, and those who seemed suspicious had their household registrations or travel permits checked.
Watching the strict procedures at the city gate, the group began to feel uneasy.
“What should we do? There are dozens of guards at the gate. If they realize we aren’t from Dongfeng Kingdom and ask for our travel permits, we won’t have anything to show. And in broad daylight, bribing them won’t be easy either,” Hu Liu said anxiously. Zhang Hu was already aware of these issues without needing to be reminded.
“I overlooked this. If we can’t get in, we’ll have to set up shop outside. There are plenty of vendors around—we’ll park the carts next to them and start selling right here.”
Hearing this, Hu Liu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“What?! Brother Zhang, are you sure? Most of the people entering the city are country folk—do you think they’ll be willing to spend money on our fruit? And the young lady set the prices so high—they definitely won’t buy! Besides, even if a few wealthy travelers pass through, those aren’t the repeat customers we’re looking for. We need long-term buyers!”
“We don’t have time to worry about that. These fruits were picked four days ago—if we don’t sell them soon, they’ll start spoiling. We’ll put them on display first, and if necessary, I’ll find a way into the city and bring buyers out to us.”
The weather in Dongfeng Kingdom was still quite warm at this time of year.
Watching the sun rise higher in the sky, Zhang Hu knew that by noon, the number of people entering the city would dwindle. With the heat in Dongfeng Kingdom being more intense than in other places, they couldn’t afford any further delays.
Seeing his determination, the group had no choice but to follow his lead, pulling their carts out of the line and setting up shop beside the local vendors.
Setting up was simple—they just removed the oilcloth covering the carts, revealing vividly red tomatoes. As for the two carts of watermelons, Zhang Hu had his men slice one open under a shady tree before calling out to potential buyers.
The sight of the bright red tomatoes and the watermelons—a luxury usually reserved for nobles—quickly drew a crowd of curious onlookers.
“How much for this cooling melon?”
An older man, dressed in relatively fine clothes, pointed at the sliced watermelon and asked.
Hu Liu was momentarily confused—cooling melon? Then he realized that while their young lady called it watermelon, the people here had a different name for it.
Putting on his best smile, Hu Liu stepped forward. “Uncle, this cooling melon is two taels of silver per jin. Would you like to buy one?”
“Heavens! How can it be this cheap?”
The old man gasped in astonishment.
“Last time, my master brought one back from the capital as a royal reward. In the capital, they sell for five taels per jin!”
Hu Liu…
They had originally worried that the young lady’s price was too high. Who would have thought she had actually set it too low?!
