Chapter 44: Camel Caravan
“Where are we going?”
Inside the Camel Caravan Post, the shopkeeper was counting on an abacus.
Qin Wanwan, holding the fat gosling, looked at the post’s plaque.
The two large characters “Shangyang” on the plaque represented the post’s identity.
That’s right, this Camel Caravan Post belonged to Shangyang City. Shangyang City’s merchant caravans were found almost everywhere in the Central Plains grasslands, and their camel caravans were famous far and wide in the desert.
“We’re going to Shangyang City.”
The shopkeeper glanced at them: “You’re going to gain some experience, aren’t you? If you’re going to Shangyang City, you’ve come to the right place to find our Shangyang Camel Caravan Post. I guarantee that no sand bandits or anything like that will dare to touch us along the way.”
His tone carried pride, which of course was well-founded.
If anyone dared to rob a Shangyang City camel caravan, they would absolutely face relentless revenge.
“In our Shangyang City, you can assassinate the City Lord, but you absolutely cannot rob a Shangyang City camel caravan!”
He said this with considerable pride.
Everyone: ………
What kind of topsy-turvy statement was that?
The City Lord of Shangyang City was truly a peculiar person.
The shopkeeper said, “However, the price will be twice as expensive as other camel posts. If you can accept that, I’ll show you the camels. If not, you can go see others.”
The shopkeeper had an air of relaxed indifference, as if he didn’t care whether they came or not.
This was probably because their business was doing well and they didn’t lack customers.
Yin Yuanli naturally chose the safer option; he wasn’t short on money.
“Take us to see the camels,”
Yin Yuanli took out two ten-tael silver ingots: “We need fifteen camels.”
One camel could carry one person. Besides Yin Yuanli and Qin Wanwan, everyone else could take turns riding the camels.
“Fifteen? That’s not enough. This is only enough for five.”
As expected of Shangyang City, they were spending so much before even arriving.
Yin Yuanli was about to ask Wang Dequan to get more silver when a fair, chubby little hand on the table placed a beautiful little silver ingot on it.
Qin Wanwan stood on tiptoe; she wasn’t as tall as the table yet.
“Is this enough? Wanwan also has pretty gold.”
Her pretty little face looked a bit conflicted as she reluctantly took out a gold peanut from her small pouch.
“For your uncle.”
Although the gold peanut was given away, her expression clearly showed “I feel so pained, so pained.”
The people nearby couldn’t help but laugh.
The shopkeeper stretched his neck to look, “Oh, there’s a pretty little short one here too.”
The little girl was indeed beautiful, with a pair of large, clean, clear eyes. Her small hands held the small pouch of money, and she looked at him eagerly.
Master Ma was a burly man. His wife had given birth to a son, and now she was pregnant again.
This little girl was so lovely. He wished the baby his wife was carrying would be such a beautiful little girl too.
However, this amount of gold was indeed still not enough.
“Cough…”
Yin Yuanli coughed and nodded at the shopkeeper, secretly gesturing for Wang Dequan to get the money without Qin Wanwan seeing.
The shopkeeper’s face immediately brightened.
The shopkeeper, who had seemed a bit fierce towards Qin Wanwan, smiled kindly: “It’s enough, it’s enough. Today, I, Master Ma, will take you to Shangyang City.”
As he spoke, he stood up and put away the fan in his hand.
Qin Wanwan trotted along with her short legs: “Uncle, can I choose the camel myself?”
The little chubby girl wiggled her little fat buttocks and toddled along by Qin Wanwan’s feet.
Master Ma watched, looking quite amused: “Of course you can.”
He found the little girl quite pleasing. It was rare for someone to bring such a young child, and a little girl at that, to Shangyang City.
The Shangyang Camel Post occupied a large area, with hundreds of camels eating grass, drinking water, or resting on the ground.
They were all kept in good spirits and health. Camels were much larger than horses, and they looked quite magnificent.
“All these camels are available for selection. Shall we choose for you, or will you choose yourselves?”
Yin Yuanli stared at the camels and said, “Please help us with your discerning eye, Shopkeeper Ma.”
Master Ma glanced at Yin Yuanli, somewhat surprised. This child was too intelligent. Despite being so young, his words and actions were quite mature, more so than many spoiled young masters.
“Alright. As long as you trust me, there are no bad camels at our Shangyang Camel Post. We wouldn’t bring out sick ones.”
Master Ma went to select camels, and Qin Wanwan followed him in, with Wolf Fang right behind her.
Seeing Wanwan go in, Yin Yuanli followed her.
“Little girl, stay close! These camels are quite tall, and I don’t want you to get stepped on if I can’t see you.”
Qin Wanwan replied softly, “I won’t get stepped on.”
“They are so tall, taller than horses.”
Master Ma said, “Of course. There’s a saying, ‘a lean camel is bigger than a horse.’ Although our camels aren’t as fast as horses, horses can’t compare to their physique. In the desert, it’s the camel’s world!”
While they were talking, Qin Wanwan had already walked up to a camel.
The camel was chewing something in its mouth. It lowered its head, sniffed Qin Wanwan, and then happily rubbed against her.
It almost knocked the squat Qin Wanwan flying, but luckily she reacted quickly and grabbed the camel’s ears with her two chubby hands.
In front of Qin Wanwan was a white camel, standing out among a herd of camels with brown fur.
“Oh, little one, you’re good. Bai Xue actually came to you proactively.”
Qin Wanwan stood firm, puffing out her chest proudly.
“Uncle, Wanwan wants…”
Before she could finish the last word, a large head poked out from Qin Wanwan’s side and nudged her too.
This time, Qin Wanwan was truly nudged onto her backside.
Qin Wanwan didn’t cry or fuss. She stood up and patted the skirt on her backside.
As soon as she was steady, another large head stretched out from the other side.
“Ah!”
This time it was lunging forward.
The little one quickly covered her face.
Yin Yuanli pulled her back.
Master Ma’s whip cracked: “Go on, go over there.”
He shooed away the camels that had gathered around and looked at Qin Wanwan, stroking his chin.
“The little girl has quite good luck with camels.”
Qin Wanwan squirmed in Yin Yuanli’s arms. After standing firm, she patted her little chest with lingering fear.
“I didn’t call them,” her milky little voice carried a hint of grievance.
Why had they all come over? They were so big, and she didn’t have any magic power now. Even a little bit of strength could knock down someone as small as her.
Qin Wanwan frowned, her expression very easy to understand. Everyone seemed to see a sentence on her face.
“Being too popular isn’t a good thing either.”
Everyone: ………
“Hahaha… Little girl, choose Bai Xue. Bai Xue is more steady.”
Qin Wanwan nodded her head like a pecking chicken.
Master Ma also helped select the other camels.
