Chapter 74: Quite The Background
“Isn’t this ox a sick ox?” Shi Tou circled the ox lying on the ground once, pretending to be experienced, “My ancestors were veterinarians, you can’t fool me.”
He’d seen plenty of these middle-aged men who pretended to be experienced buyers, and he could tell at a glance that Shi Tou lacked confidence.
“Customer, don’t say that carelessly. This ox of mine is fine.” The middle-aged man explained, “Yesterday it pulled heavy cargo, and its leg got accidentally strained. I just had the doctor check it; it’ll recover in a couple of days.”
Shi Tou pursed his lips to show disbelief, “Where’s the injury? Why didn’t I see it?”
The middle-aged man pointed at the ox’s leg, “The doctor said the injury is inside the flesh; you can’t see it from the outside.”
Shi Tou leaned in suspiciously for a close look, even touched it with his hand, then nodded solemnly, “Indeed, the injury is inside the skin and flesh. I can feel this kind of injury with one touch.”
The shop assistant’s eye twitched. If you don’t know, don’t pretend to know. Echoing the owner’s words like that—won’t that get them in trouble?
The middle-aged man became even more convinced that Shi Tou was just pretending to be experienced; he was actually a little kid who knew nothing.
He cleared his throat, “I bought this ox for ten taels. If you’re sincerely buying, add three more taels, and I’ll half-sell half-give you the matching ox cart.”
Shop assistant: Good grief, the owner has no intention of losing money at all.
“Are you trying to fool us?” Xiao Huan glared at the middle-aged man and said to Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing, “Young Master, Young Madam, an ox in the East Market only sells for six taels, and with the ox cart it’s no more than eight taels. He’s treating us like suckers. Let’s go buy in the East Market instead.”
“I hate liars.” Shang Wan looked at Lu Chengjing and said coquettishly, “Husband, in the future, don’t come here to rent carriages for the family either.”
Lu Chengjing glanced at the middle-aged man, nodded to Shang Wan with a doting smile, “Whatever Niangzi says.”
Shang Wan smiled coquettishly on the surface, but in her heart she thought that when they got back, she had to make her family fox smile like this more often.
Xiao Huan immediately called to Shi Tou, “What are you standing there for? Let’s go!”
“Coming.” Shi Tou walked over right away.
Seeing the duck with its mouth about to fly away, the middle-aged man hurriedly called out to them, “Wait! Young Master, what I said earlier was the price I bought it for. If you’re sincerely buying, I can give you a discount.”
Lu Chengjing did not turn back.
The middle-aged man gave the shop assistant an eye signal, and the shop assistant immediately ran over and spread his arms to block the four of them.
“Do you want to force a sale?” Shi Tou stepped forward, glaring at the shop assistant with full momentum, “Don’t you even ask who my family’s Young Master is? If you dare touch a single hair on my family’s Young Master, tomorrow the government will come raid the carriage and horse shop.”
The shop assistant thought this background was impressive. He secretly sized up Lu Chengjing; this one looked like he had an immortal aura about him, and the Young Madam beside him had an outstanding appearance and temperament—definitely not from an ordinary family.
He looked at his own owner: should they still block them or not?
The middle-aged man felt a bit uneasy too; this involved the government. Could they be relatives of the Prefect?
Shi Tou shouted at the shop assistant: “Get out of the way!”
“Little brother, calm down. Let’s talk nicely.” After weighing the options, the middle-aged man ran forward and cupped his hands toward Lu Chengjing, “Earlier, this lowly one failed to recognize Mount Tai and slighted the Young Master. Young Master and Madam, don’t be angry. The price of the ox cart is negotiable, negotiable.”
“Husband, let’s just go.” Shang Wan gave the middle-aged man a sideways glance, deliberately picking fault, “He doesn’t look like a good person at first sight.”
Lu Chengjing: “Whatever Niangzi says.”
Looking completely bewitched by love.
The middle-aged man secretly spat several times in his mind. Listening to his wife on everything—he’s no real man!
But on the surface, he smiled apologetically, “Madam is joking. This lowly one is the most honest and dutiful; all the neighbors know it. May I ask what Madam plans to use this ox for?”
“Isn’t it to buy it for eating…” Halfway through, Shang Wan hurriedly covered her mouth, annoyance showing between her brows.
The middle-aged man was sharp; so they were buying the ox to eat it. They indeed needed a grand excuse for that.
The current dynasty punishes private slaughter of oxen extremely severely.
According to the law, intentionally killing others’ horses or oxen is punished by 70 strokes of the staff and one and a half years of penal servitude; privately slaughtering one’s own horses or oxen is punished by 100 strokes of the staff; for diseased or dead oxen not reported to the government and privately skinned, 40 strokes of the light bamboo.
The middle-aged man guessed that Shang Wan was craving beef and couldn’t openly buy it to slaughter, so she used this roundabout way of buying an ox cart.
He had originally worried that selling the sick ox to Shang Wan and the others would bring trouble, but now knowing they were buying it to eat, he felt relieved.
He took another close look at Lu Chengjing’s appearance; indeed, an unfamiliar face. That wheelchair was made of top-quality materials; in a wood workshop, it would sell for at least three or four hundred taels of silver.
The sleeping doll was adorably fair and cute, dressed in satin—clearly from a wealthy family.
After thinking it over, the middle-aged man showed a fawning smile on his face, “If Young Master and Madam are sincerely buying, this lowly one will give you a price: how about six taels?”
Xiao Huan pursed her lips, “The East Market also sells for six taels, and they’re healthy oxen.”
“Young Lady, the East Market is crowded and gossipy; how is it as convenient as my carriage and horse shop?” The middle-aged man smiled meaningfully, “My mouth is the tightest.”
Shang Wan glanced at him, leaned down close to Lu Chengjing’s ear, and whispered a couple of sentences.
Lu Chengjing nodded, took her hand and played with it carefully, looking like he wouldn’t interfere in anything.
The middle-aged man felt increasing contempt in his heart, but looking at Shang Wan’s appearance, he thought that if he had married such a fairy-like wife, he might also pamper and dote on her.
His own wife at home was fiercely shrewish; how could she compare to this madam who spoke softly and clung like a bird to a person?
Shang Wan said: “You know full well if this ox is sick or not. Including the cart frame, total five taels of silver. If you’re willing to sell, in two days we’ll return to the prefectural city; we have a lot of things and need to rent several carriages, all from your carriage and horse shop at that time.”
The middle-aged man calculated silently in his mind; renting ox carts this month had already earned some back for him, and with the five taels from Shang Wan, it would about break even.
If they could really do this carriage rental business, selling for five taels wouldn’t be a loss.
Having made up his mind, the middle-aged man sighed instead, “Alas, five taels of silver is really a loss. My carriage and horse shop is a small business, and business is hard these days…”
Shang Wan interrupted him, “I can sign a contract with you; in two days, I’ll definitely send someone to the carriage and horse shop to rent carriages.”
The middle-aged man had been waiting for these words. He said a couple of polite phrases and agreed, drafted the contract, and both sides signed.
Lu Chengjing looked over the contract; the gist of the terms was that on the appointed day, whether people came to the carriage and horse shop to rent carriages or not, the rental money must still be paid, or the government would enforce it.
His eyes darkened slightly as he watched Shang Wan take out a square seal, stamp it on the contract, and hand it to the middle-aged man, “At that time, go to the Lu Family north of the city to collect the money.”
