Old Wu sighed. "Young brother, you've had some bad luck. For the past few days, Steward Cao has been coming to buy vegetables every day, but today... for some reason, he didn't show up."
Chen Xiaobei felt even more frustrated. Could it be that in this entire county, only Steward Cao knows the value of things? Doesn't anyone else recognize how rare and precious these lively wild chickens are?
Just then, three women slowly approached from the distance.
Among them, one was wearing a real silk dress, a lake blue silk that made her look ethereal, almost as if she were floating.
The other two appeared to be maids, dressed in plain fabric. Their mannerisms showed great respect toward the woman in the center.
The three women chatted and laughed as they approached Old Wu's vegetable stall.
Old Wu clearly knew her and greeted her warmly. "Ah, Miss Liu, you're personally out to buy vegetables today?"
Miss Liu merely smiled faintly and nodded. "Yes, I happened to have some free time today and thought I'd come out for a stroll."
Chen Xiaobei's mind stirred. She looked like she came from a wealthy family—would she be interested in his wild chickens?
With that thought, he gently squeezed the thigh of one of the wild chickens.
After being caught last night, the wild chicken had been fluttering all night, and after being out in the sun all morning, it was completely exhausted. So, when he squeezed it, the chicken startled and began flapping again.
Sure enough, the commotion immediately caught the attention of the three women. Miss Liu looked over, her eyes lighting up with interest.
"Ah, this wild chicken is beautiful. Look at that tail, so colorful."
One of the long-haired maids stepped forward. "Little brother, how much are you selling these wild chickens for?"
With the experience from yesterday, Chen Xiaobei didn't hesitate and held up three fingers. "Three hundred wen."
When the maid heard this price, she stuck out her tongue.
Turning back to Miss Liu, she said, "The price is outrageous, three hundred wen for one wild chicken."
Miss Liu furrowed her brows slightly. "There's a reason for the high price. These live wild chickens are truly rare. I'll send them to the Prince's residence as a small token of my appreciation."
As she spoke, she casually picked a few vegetables, then squatted down in front of Chen Xiaobei, carefully inspecting the five wild chickens on the ground.
"I'll take them all. Can you deliver them to my house?"
Of course, if this was a good opportunity, why not take it?
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "Miss Liu, just tell me where you live, and I'll bring them to you."
The long-haired maid, still standing beside them, couldn't help but sneer. "You don't even know where the Liu family lives?"
The maid's tone was full of pride, but Chen Xiaobei was a bit confused. Thankfully, Old Wu, who was selling vegetables, spoke up at that moment.
"Young brother, you really have no eye for this. Who in the county doesn't know the Liu family? I'll take you to deliver it later."
Miss Liu nodded. "Thank you, Old Wu." With that, she left with her two maids.
Once they were out of sight, Chen Xiaobei, still confused, asked, "Old Wu, what's the background of Miss Liu?"
"Miss Liu's name is Liu Rumei. She comes from a wealthy family in the capital, and she's here just to relax and unwind."
As he spoke, he pointed at the vegetables on the stall. "Ah, she picked all these out herself. I'll be delivering them soon. You can come with me then."
Hearing Old Wu's words, Chen Xiaobei felt a bit of admiration. It was amazing how simple trust between people could be at times.
Old Wu wasn't worried at all about what might happen if they didn't pay or if the deal went bad.
The Liu family's residence in the county was indeed luxurious. The nearly three-meter-high gate alone was enough to dwarf most of the houses in Qinggang County.
Two guards stood at the entrance, and when they saw Old Wu and Chen Xiaobei approaching, they stepped forward to ask their business.
"Wait here." One of the guards turned and went inside. It didn't take long before two more men walked out with him.
The man in front was a middle-aged man, dressed in silk, though his clothes didn't seem as finely made as Miss Liu's.
Behind him was a servant holding a cloth bag.
When he saw him approach, Old Wu smiled and stepped forward. "Wu Zhong greets Steward Feng."
Chen Xiaobei quickly followed suit, giving a respectful greeting to Steward Feng.
Steward Feng smiled and nodded. "Did Miss Liu buy all these?"
"Yes, yes. The total for the vegetables is thirty wen," Old Wu answered respectfully.
Steward Feng waved to the servant behind him, who pulled thirty copper coins from the cloth bag and handed them to Old Wu.
Steward Feng then turned to Chen Xiaobei. "And how much for your wild chickens?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled and replied, "As agreed with Miss Liu, three hundred wen each. For five wild chickens, the total is one thousand five hundred wen."
Upon hearing the price, Steward Feng raised an eyebrow but still waved for the servant to bring the money.
One thousand five hundred wen—one thousand wen could be exchanged for one tael of silver, and the remaining five hundred wen would be in copper coins.
Holding the heavy silver and copper in his hands, Chen Xiaobei felt a weight lift off his chest. He could settle his debt with Chen Ermao now.
Just as he turned to leave, Steward Feng spoke in a deep voice, "Please, young brother, wait."
Chen Xiaobei turned to look at Steward Feng, puzzled. "May I ask if you have further instructions?"
Steward Feng got straight to the point. "Young brother, these wild chickens were caught on Qingniu Mountain to the south, right?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "That's right, my house is at the foot of Qingniu Mountain."
"Good," said Steward Feng. "If you have any other animals, feel free to bring them to me. I also heard there are wolves on Qingniu Mountain. If you can bring me a live wolf, I can give you at least a hundred or more taels of silver."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei was left speechless. People with money really know how to have fun.
Buy a live wolf? I haven't even lived enough myself.
But the person in front of him was his patron, so Chen Xiaobei still forced a smile and agreed.
"Alright, don't worry. If I catch a live wolf, I'll bring it to you."
After bidding farewell to Old Wu, Chen Xiaobei rushed to the general store and bought a full set of cooking utensils.
In this era, even a simple iron pot was quite expensive—one pot cost ten wen.
A strong laborer would need to work for two days just to afford one pot. With prices like this, Chen Xiaobei wasn't sure whether to be happy or worried.
In addition to that, he also bought a pound of fatty meat.
The fatty meat wasn't for eating—it was for rendering into oil.
Animal fat was a good way to replenish energy.
Outside the village, he took a detour along the river to avoid anyone from the village seeing all the things he had purchased.
Otherwise, he would definitely be the headline of Hetou Village today.
This time, he also took some of the rendered fat and went to Dachun's house to pick up Chen Qiao'er.
When Aunt Xiumei saw the fatty meat, she was so happy that her mouth almost reached her ears. "Xiaobei, why are you still being so polite with me?"
"It's nothing, Aunt Xiumei. I'll take Qiao'er home now."
Chen Qiao'er, seeing the new iron pot at home, was overjoyed and bounced around in the yard.
Just then, Chen Ermao's voice came from the door. "Xiaobei, I heard you've got some new household items."