kingnovel Chapter 177 Treading on Snow
Chapter 177 Treading on Snow
Shang Xiaoxiao went downstairs after receiving Song Jiaojiao's order. Seeing that everything was arranged, Song Jiaojiao returned to her room.
Song Jiaojiao wanted to check out the space, but found that she couldn't get in at all.
"Host, the space is still being upgraded and cannot be entered for the time being," came Flying Tiger's voice.
"It's not over yet? How long will this upgrade take?" Song Jiaojiao asked in surprise, not expecting that it had been almost a day and it was still not over.
"It will take a day, please be patient, host."
Well, it seems we can only go in at night. Thinking of the streets in the east of the city that Mu Xue mentioned yesterday, Song Jiaojiao happens to have some things she needs to buy.
As I left the room, I saw Zhou Dayong and his brother in the courtyard.
"Madam." The two were sitting idly in the courtyard when they saw Song Jiaojiao coming over and quickly got up.
"Perfect timing, are you in time for the journey?" Song Jiaojiao asked.
"Yes, madam. Not to mention driving horses, riding one is no problem for us either." Both of them had retired from the army, so riding horses was a piece of cake for them.
“Then choosing a horse is no problem. You’re familiar with the prefectural government, so let’s go pick one first, and then go to the east of the city to buy some things.” Song Jiaojiao thought it best to buy a separate horse so that the two of them could take turns going to the front to scout out information and detect anything amiss in time.
“Okay, picking horses is my brother’s forte. The place that sells livestock in the city is in the west. Madam, are you going now?” Zhou Dayong asked excitedly. Both of them were restless people, and it was rare for Madam to think of them.
"Well, let's go!"
After seeing that Song Jiaojiao agreed, Zhou Dayong hurriedly drove out the carriage. With one carriage on each side, one on the east and one on the west, it would be too late without the carriage.
The group went to the west of the city first. Zhou Dayong and his companion, having lived in the prefectural government for many years, knew exactly where and what was sold. They even knew which shops were dishonest and which had good products.
Zhou Dayong took Song Jiaojiao straight to the place where the horses were being sold.
"Brother Dayong, Brother Dandan, it's been a long time since I've seen you!" The shopkeeper greeted Zhou Dayong with a smile as he arrived.
Judging from their practiced tone, you could tell these two had been here quite a few times.
"Bamboo looks radiant with spring, so business must be booming lately."
Zhou Dayong said jokingly.
"It's all thanks to Brother Yong. If it weren't for you, I would be dead by now." The Zhou brothers knew the shopkeeper mainly because they rescued him outside the city.
At that time, Zhu Zi bought a lot of cattle and horses in other counties. This time, he bought too many and was spotted by bandits on the way. Fortunately, he met Zhou Dayong and his men who were escorting the goods back. Otherwise, he would have been in grave danger. They became acquainted after that.
"Haha, enough talk. My young master is here to buy horses today. Let me introduce you to any good ones you have recently." Zhou Dayong slapped Zhu Zi on the shoulder.
He stumbled while patting the bamboo and almost fell to the ground.
Bamboo gave Zhou Dayong a resentful look. Did this roughneck not know how strong he was?
While rubbing his shoulders, he said, "I just acquired a few horses a couple of days ago, let me take you to see them."
Song Jiaojiao and the others followed Zhu Zi to the place where the horses were kept. Zhou Dadan then stepped forward, looking at this horse and touching that one.
After a few minutes, he said, "Young master, the second horse, which is all black with white hooves, is fine. Although it is a mare, it is definitely no worse than a stallion."
Song Jiaojiao looked at the horse. Although she didn't know much about horses, this horse was clearly different from the others, with sharper eyes.
She went up and touched the horse's head. Seeing that the horse did not resist, Song Jiaojiao immediately decided that this was the one.
"Wow, Brother Dan still has such sharp eyes! He spotted all the good stuff in my shop at a glance," Bamboo said with a thumbs-up and a smile.
"Young master and this horse are truly destined to be together. To be honest, several others have taken a liking to this horse before, but it completely ignored them, let alone let them handle it."
"How much? Give me a price?" Song Jiaojiao really liked the horse and asked with a smile.
Zhu Zi's eyes darted around, glancing at Zhou Dayong and the others. "This horse is a fine steed that can travel a thousand miles a day. The previous bidders all offered 280 taels. For Brother Yong's sake, how about this, young master, give us 260 taels!"
The price was indeed higher than the horses they had bought before. Zhou Dayong was about to say something when he heard Zhu Zi's words, but Song Jiaojiao interrupted him.
"Okay, since I like it, Ta Xue is worth the price." Song Jiaojiao patted Ta Xue's head and didn't haggle with the shopkeeper.
"Go and get the paperwork done first." Song Jiaojiao handed the money to the shopkeeper.
"Alright. I'll go right away." Zhu Zi grabbed the money and hurried out.
"Young master, this kid is asking for too much." Zhou Dayong said hurriedly. Why should a horse cost so much? 200 taels would be more appropriate.
"It's okay, I really enjoy walking in the snow," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.
Seeing Song Jiaojiao's words, Zhou Dayong didn't say anything more, but glared at Zhu Zi as he left, and the two buddies patted Zhu Zi on the shoulder twice.
These two blows were clearly delivered with full force, slamming Zhu Zi to the ground. Zhu Zi smiled wryly; he really hadn't charged a high price for this horse.
Just as the shopkeeper said, Ta Xue was only allowed to be ridden by Song Jiaojiao; the Zhou brothers couldn't ride on it at all and had to lead it around.
"Dayong, you take the horse back to the inn first. Dadan, come with me to the east of the city." Seeing Ta Xue's reaction, Song Jiaojiao had no choice but to let Zhou Dayong go back first.
The two quickly arrived at the east side of the city, which was mostly comprised of academies, so the streets were filled with shops selling academic-related items.
Song Jiaojiao came here this time intending to buy some travelogues and the maps she couldn't buy last time.
The stalls might not have what Song Jiaojiao needed, so she went straight into the largest bookstore.
First, I wandered around by myself and picked up quite a few travelogues that weren't available in town.
Everyone in the shop stared at Song Jiaojiao. Books are very precious, and no one would dare to buy them by the stack like Song Jiaojiao.
The shopkeeper smiled obsequiously as he looked at Song Jiaojiao, who was carrying books.
"Sir, do you want all these books?" He glanced at the books Song Jiaojiao had chosen and noticed that they were all travelogues and historical records. These were the hardest books to sell; it would take ten days to half a month to sell a single copy. Song Jiaojiao had bought half a year's worth of his books in one go.
“Yes, you calculate the price,” Song Jiaojiao said, rubbing her arm.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper laughed even harder, his mouth practically stretching to his ears.
"By the way, shopkeeper, do you have a map showing the distribution of the various states of the Great Jin Kingdom?" Song Jiaojiao looked around inside but didn't see a map, so she thought it would be faster to just ask the shopkeeper.
"Yes, yes." After saying this, the shopkeeper crawled under the counter and took out a thick stack of papers, covered with a thick layer of dust, which was flying up with his movements.
Song Jiaojiao hurriedly took two steps back. "Ahem, sir, do you see anything you'd like?"
The shopkeeper, choked by the dust, said that he had already shaken off the dust. Song Jiaojiao looked at the dust in the air and did not want to go forward.
He covered his mouth and nose and said in a muffled voice, "No need to look, just wrap it up and take it to the carriage outside."
"Alright, sir, this totals 348 taels and 4 mace. Just give me 348 taels." The shopkeeper said with a smile after calculating the money, and as he smiled, the dust on his face fell off in a flash.