Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Cook Chen took her by the hand and led her toward the market.

“The market here is quite large because many merchants from the Liang Kingdom transport porcelain, tea bricks, salt, and other goods to Mobei.”

“Merchants from the grasslands and deserts are particularly fond of our goods, so the prices are naturally high. Even though the journey from other regions to Mobei is long and fraught with danger, many caravans are still willing to take the risk. After all, as the saying goes, wealth is found within danger.”

“To ensure safety and ease of management, Old General Ji established this market specifically for these merchants to trade their goods.”

Jiang Yunsui nodded. “Then let’s go take a look!”

Heiwa followed beside them. He seemed relaxed, but he was actually very alert, keeping a close watch on their surroundings.

Soon, the two women and the dog arrived at the market.

Many people here set up stalls directly on the ground, while others had erected tents.

There were many animals like horses and camels, all used by the caravans to transport goods.

There was also a dedicated area for selling horses, where the smell was quite unpleasant.

With so many horses, mules, and oxen gathered together, a layer of manure had accumulated on the ground. Combined with the heat of the day, the stench was truly overwhelming.

Jiang Yunsui had seen many animals before, but she was still very curious about the horses and oxen.

Cook Chen said to her, “Those horses aren’t of very good quality. Whenever a fine horse appears on the market, it’s immediately bought up by the Ji Family Army.”

“Those horses over there are only sold to commoners.”

The oxen and mules were similar, used mostly for plowing fields or transporting goods.

However, the oxen and mules here were better than those in other parts of the Liang Kingdom.

Because of the environment, there were many people here skilled at raising livestock. By crossbreeding them with the cattle and horses from the grasslands, some of the breeds had become much superior.

“Steamed cakes! Get your steamed cakes here! Buns, piping hot mutton buns…”

Jiang Yunsui was immediately drawn to the food stalls.

She looked at them several times with greedy eyes.

Then she glanced at the basket she was carrying, which was filled with Delicious Mushrooms.

“Aunt Chen, let’s go sell the Delicious Mushrooms quickly.”

Once she sold them for money, she could buy something to eat.

Cook Chen was looking at some fabrics, but she withdrew her gaze upon hearing this.

“Alright, there’s a restaurant up ahead. Let’s go ask there.”

When they reached the restaurant, the two of them went inside to inquire.

The shopkeeper was busy going over his accounts. Seeing people enter, he was about to call for a waiter.

“Shopkeeper, do you buy Delicious Mushrooms here?”

So they were here to sell goods.

The shopkeeper grew interested when he heard the name. “You found Delicious Mushrooms? Let me see the quality first. I won’t take them if they’re too poor.”

Cook Chen handed him the basket containing the Delicious Mushrooms for inspection.

“Ho, these must have just been dug up.”

The Delicious Mushrooms still carried a hint of moisture, proving they were fresh enough. More importantly, they were quite large.

The shopkeeper was very satisfied.

“I’ll take these Delicious Mushrooms. I’ll give you twenty-five wen per catty.”

Cook Chen pulled the basket back. “Shopkeeper, that’s not very fair. These Delicious Mushrooms are so hard to find; it took us a long time just to find these few. Besides, they’re so fresh. Give us a more honest price, and if we find more in the future, we’ll bring them straight back to your restaurant.”

Jiang Yunsui watched Aunt Chen and the shopkeeper go back and forth negotiating the price. She stood obediently to the side, not daring to speak.

The Little Mushroom had to work hard to learn how to be a proper human.

Her large eyes were filled with the wonder of ‘so that’s how it works.’

You actually had to haggle over the price of mushrooms!
She counted on her fingers-one copper coin, two copper coins…

She ran out of fingers.

Wow, these mushrooms were worth so many copper coins that she couldn’t count them all on her two hands.

Did that mean she was even more valuable?

In the end, the shopkeeper bought them at a price of thirty wen per catty.

The batch of Delicious Mushrooms weighed eighteen catties in total, so they sold them for 540 wen.

That was over half a string of coins.

The shopkeeper gave them five strings of a hundred coins each, plus forty loose coins.

“Is it alright if I count them here?” Cook Chen asked.

The shopkeeper waved his hand dismissively. This was standard practice; after all, who could be sure there wasn’t any foul play involved?

Jiang Yunsui began counting the money alongside Cook Chen.

However, the Little Mushroom didn’t know how to do math yet. Counting was a bit difficult for her, let alone counting this much.

Just those forty loose copper coins alone were enough to make her eyes go dizzy.

“Twenty-nine… what comes after twenty-nine?”

Oh no, Ji Yan’an was right-she really was a big dummy.

Cook Chen said, “Let me do it. You’ve only just started learning how to count; being able to reach twenty is already very good.”

The Little Mushroom counted very slowly, but she didn’t make any mistakes.

It was just that by the time Cook Chen had finished an entire string, she had only reached twenty-nine.

Jiang Yunsui let out an “oh” and made up her mind to learn how to count properly!

Watching Cook Chen count copper coins was boring, so Jiang Yunsui rested her chin on her small hands and turned her gaze toward the other people in the tavern.

She faintly heard someone mentioning Ji Yan’an.

Jiang Yunsui knew the name Ji Yan’an; he was her current benefactor.

But the distance was a bit far. The Little Mushroom listened intently for a while but couldn’t hear clearly.

The Little Mushroom was curious.

So, she lowered her presence and, looking quite sneaky, tiptoed over with tiny steps.

Her target was a private room on the second floor.

Before leaving, however, she grabbed Heiwa’s ear and told him to stay and watch over Cook Chen.

As she got closer, the little gluttonous mushroom couldn’t help but steal a glance at the dishes on their table.

So many! It was such a feast!

But they weren’t Ji Yan’an, so she couldn’t eat any of it.

Jiang Yunsui found a corner where she could hear their conversation and crouched down.

“Is it really necessary to go to such lengths? He’s just a green youth, yet we have to prepare a special banquet to host him.”

“What do you know? Ji Yan’an himself might be nothing, but the people around him were all left behind by Old General Ji. You think no one in the Capital City has tried to assassinate him?”

“If it’s as you say, then Commander Wang can kill him just by throwing a banquet.”

“Heh, Commander Wang said there’s no need to kill him. Killing him at his own banquet would cause trouble later. He only needs to ruin his reputation and make those who follow the Ji Family lose hope in him.”

“It would be best if we could provoke him to death.”

The people inside had likely been drinking, so no one noticed that the door had been pushed open a crack. They clearly didn’t think much of Ji Yan’an, and their voices were so loud they didn’t seem to fear the words reaching his ears at all.

“Commander Wang has it all planned out. When the time comes, he’ll drug Ji Yan’an’s wine and have someone lead him to the backyard. Then, he’ll arrange for one of his concubines to go in. You understand…”

The Little Mushroom listened with a look of confusion, but she knew one thing: these people were going to hurt Ji Yan’an!

She tried her best to remember everything so she could tell Ji Yan’an when she got back!

If… if he was happy, maybe he would give her another golden little stone.

The Little Mushroom thought happily to herself. Inside, the conversation shifted to which girl in the brothel was the prettiest and most spirited.

The Little Mushroom couldn’t understand that part, so she slowly wandered back to find Cook Chen.