Chapter 114: Yu Second Master, How About Lending Us Some Money?
As soon as Yu Haojie spoke, the man was clearly tempted!
Seeing the hesitation in the man’s eyes, Liu Mingxia quickly encouraged him further, “Exactly! With silver, not only can you buy women from the government officers, but if you travel in a group and cross Jiuzhong Mountain, Pingyang City has countless women—of all kinds! You could choose as you please.”
“That’s right, big brother, you need to broaden your horizons. Why worry about not having women? Think about it—with silver, you could even take your family and leave this bitter cold place, settle somewhere else, have land to farm, and build a family. Wouldn’t that be a much better life? And let’s be real, you survive here by hunting. Making money should be easy for you.”
The man seemed increasingly interested.
Their ancestors had lived here for generations, and they had long accepted the hardships of this land. But because of the bandits in Jiuzhong Mountain, their population kept dwindling. They feared that one day, they would be completely wiped out.
This land was their home, and they didn’t want to leave. However, if they could use silver to buy women and supplies from the outside, their community might finally thrive again.
Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly regained his senses and looked at Yu Zhengqing and the others with suspicion.
“You’re not trying to trick me, are you? Everyone knows that Jiuzhong Mountain is dangerous. Sure, there are women beyond the mountains, but there are also thousands of bandits! Even if we manage to cross the mountains, how would we bring the women back? Those bandits would snatch them right from under us! We’d be lucky to escape with our lives!”
Seeing the man’s hesitation, Liu Mingxia grew anxious and struggled to find a counterargument. But before he could say anything, Yu Haojie spoke again in a calm, persuasive tone.
“That’s easy—bribe the government officers who escort prisoners. Have them bring the women for you. They could also help sell your goods outside in exchange for silver. Or, better yet, sell your goods directly to the officers and let them profit from the trade.”
“The government officers escorting prisoners have arrangements with the bandits—they don’t get attacked. So, sometimes, you need to think outside the box.”
Hearing this, the man’s eyes brightened, and his rigid thinking finally started to shift.
“That’s… actually a good idea. Alright, I’ll sell you the salt. Give me 300 taels of silver.”
“Three hundred taels?!”
Bai You couldn’t hold back his shock and blurted out, “Are you joking? Do you even know how much a woman is worth outside Jiuzhong Mountain?”
The vendor, now curious, asked, “How much?”
Clearly, he had no idea about market prices beyond this wasteland.
“A woman costs, at most, five taels of silver. Do you think they’re worth more than that?”
The vendor’s eyes lit up in disbelief.
He had noticed earlier that the fur coats being sold to these outsiders fetched three taels each. That meant if he took a load of fur coats to the Central Plains, he could trade them for even more women!
Even if each woman had to be shared by three brothers, it was still better than living without a wife for 30 or 40 years.
“Alright, then I’ll sell you the salt for 50 taels—no less!”
Fifty taels was still a steep price, and Liu Mingxia and Bai You both looked troubled.
Seeing their hesitation, Yu Haojie frowned. “Don’t tell me you two don’t even have 50 taels left?”
“That’s right, we don’t!” Bai You admitted, embarrassed. “We just bought some fur boots. How about… how about you lend us the money, Yu Second Master? When we get to the frontier, we’ll repay you with labor—we’ll build houses, clear land, anything you need!”
If Bai You had simply promised to repay the money later, Yu Haojie wouldn’t have agreed.
Who knew if they’d ever have silver to repay him? That was unrealistic.
But repaying the debt with labor? Now that was a deal he could get behind.
“Alright. But you two better remember this—when I start building houses, you’ll be working. And when it’s time to clear land, you’ll be handling it. No excuses.”
He wasn’t about to let them become freeloaders like Zhang Yuan’s family. It was better to set the terms now than argue later.
Seeing how readily Yu Haojie agreed, the two men excitedly nodded in agreement.
“Here’s 50 taels. Keep it safe. When you see government officers, ask them to bring you women or other goods. Women in Pingyang City sell for five taels each. Offer the officers ten or fifteen taels, and I guarantee they’ll take the deal.”
The vendor took the silver ingots. He had no way of verifying the amount but chose to trust them.
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he hesitated before speaking again.
“You’ve given me such good advice, so let me return the favor.”
Yu Haojie and the others tensed slightly.
“What is it?” Liu Mingxia asked cautiously.
The vendor glanced around at the other traders packing up their stalls, then leaned in and lowered his voice.
“People here are desperate for women. And you… you’ve got a whole group of them traveling through the frontier. You should be very careful in the coming days. While the locals may be few, when we encounter outsiders, we stick together. If they see so many women with you, they won’t let you go so easily.”
After delivering his warning, the vendor stuffed the sack of salt into Yu Haojie’s arms and quickly walked away.
Watching the man disappear into the snowy distance, Yu Haojie, Bai You, and Liu Mingxia all exchanged grim looks.
“This isn’t good,” Liu Mingxia muttered. “We need to tell your brother. I think we should cover as much ground as possible tonight. Even if we stop to rest, we’ll need extra guards.”
Yu Haojie nodded, clutching the sack of salt as he headed toward their sled carts.
Bai You, however, was already panicking.
“I can’t believe this. We barely escaped the bandits, and now we have to worry about frontier raiders? How many more times can we dodge death? I feel like I should have died ten times over by now!”
“Enough whining,” Liu Mingxia snapped. “We’re exiles. Staying alive was never going to be easy. What’s the point of complaining now?”
