After Xia Xiucai finished speaking, he shut up and returned to his wooden state, but his chanting had completely disoriented the cattle dealer.

Jiang Zhi suppressed her surprise and didn't mention Xia Xiucai. She just smiled and said, "Boss Niu, why don't you first introduce how good these oxen are?"

The cattle dealer flinched. He was usually very eloquent when facing customers, and he could even speak fluently and logically to Xu Genyou and Tian Gui.

At this moment, it felt like a lump of glutinous rice cake was stuffed into my mouth; I couldn't open it, nor could I roll it around.

He felt as if he were speaking to the patriarch.

However, in front of his colleagues and the hundreds of villagers present, he still had to say something: "These calves... well, they're all very good. You can decide on a price that suits you!"

This confused Jiang Zhi: "Business negotiations are supposed to be a back-and-forth exchange, how can you just leave it like this?"

Moreover, I don't know how to judge oxen, and Xia Xiucai can only recite books. How should I choose?

Fortunately, Tian Gui and his companions had experience with oxen, and although they weren't as eloquent as Xia Xiucai, they still understood the basic rules.

The village elders all came, and after much discussion, Jiang Zhi finally decided on two calves. The one that remained was the one with the "suspected" vortex that Xia Xiucai had mentioned.

The cattle dealer's lips twitched violently, but he didn't try to persuade him.

Regarding the price, the cattle dealer did not state a price explicitly, but instead whispered it to Jiang Zhi.

The Pingchuan County government is now supporting farmers and has informed these people in the cattle market that farmers who buy cattle will receive subsidies.

Oxen were an important resource in agriculture. Farmers had to report to the government after buying and selling them, and they could only eat the meat after the ox died.

As the village head, she could tell the villagers that she bought eight taels, but in reality, she only paid the price of four taels and five mace, which was the price in previous years.

Then, he would go to the government office to report ten taels of silver, and secretly receive half of the government's subsidy.

Two ounces of subsidy for one cow, four ounces for two cows, plus some money deducted from the villagers... Not bad, they really know how to make money!

By deceiving the villagers and the government, they basically didn't have to spend any money.

Jiang Zhi snorted coldly: "How much compensation can you possibly get from the government?"

The cattle dealer chuckled and changed the subject: "I was just reminding Village Chief Jiang that this is the rule, in case you didn't know."

“Village Chief Jiang, I’m offering you a price of over four taels of silver. I swear to God I haven’t made a single penny. I just want your scholar to recite the ‘Treatise on Judging Oxen’ again.”

The cattle dealer's tone became ingratiating towards the end.

He never expected that he would not only fail to make a single penny in Xujia Village, but would actually lose money.

Not only did he have to hire someone to herd the cattle and feed them for several days, but he also gave up his good cow nose ring.

Jiang Zhi remained silent for a moment, and did not mention the subsidy again. This kind of thing has existed since ancient times, and there was nothing she could change.

He simply said, "If you want to hear about judging cattle, it's easy. We'll buy two cows, but you need to give a fair price for the other mule. That mule isn't a very good one."

"And don't make too much money from piglets and lambs either."

Among the livestock brought by the cattle dealer was a mule, but none of the people from Xujia Village were interested in it because it was an old mule.

The age of cattle, horses, and mules is easy to tell; anyone with a little knowledge can't hide it.

"Examine a horse by its teeth, and a tree by its annual rings."

Mules are hybrids of horses and donkeys, so the calculation method used for them follows that of horses.

Such phrases as "six years old, mouth fully formed, seven squares and eight rounds," "biting down the central canal at twelve or thirteen," and "rounded side teeth at fifteen years old" are all unrelated and appear to be separate, possibly erroneous, phrases.

A mule can live up to thirty years, but this one is only twenty years old. Due to years of hard labor, it is very thin and old, and cannot fetch a high price.

The piglets and sheep are doing well; several families want to raise them.

The cattle dealer was overjoyed when he heard that he could recite the "Treatise on Judging Cattle" for him.

Although he felt a pang of heartache upon hearing that mules and piglets wouldn't earn much money, he still gritted his teeth and agreed.

Jiang Zhi hadn't expected that the knowledge gap in society would be so large.

Professional livestock farmers are illiterate, and their knowledge of things like the "Treatise on Judging Cattle" is only passed down orally.

For those who wanted to take the imperial examinations, scholars who were physically weak considered it an honor to be well-read, and even if they were familiar with agricultural classics, they still looked down on farming.

Farmers and students, two groups that should be interdependent, are the most misunderstanding of each other; one floats in space, the other crawls in the mud.

The villagers didn't know the final price the cattle dealer offered, but the group of eight did.

A calf costs four and a half ounces, a piglet costs one hundred coins, and a sheep also costs one hundred coins.

Xu Gensheng was very disappointed. The price was really not high, and there was no need for him to bargain. He felt that he had lost his place in the market.

In addition, Jiang Zhi told them about the government subsidies.

At this time, Xia Xiucai was not present, and the remaining people were very excited when they heard the news: "Magistrate Zhang is truly a good official. We have never heard of such a thing before."

"Yes, in the past, when we bought cattle, the village chief had to report to the government office, but we never heard of receiving a pound of millet as a gift. We were given a few coins, but I still had to pay for the travel expenses."

Wu Yang was somewhat indignant. His hometown used to be a large village, and his family had once been quite wealthy.

However, the ever-increasing taxes and levies, coupled with the loss of his grandparents which emptied the family's savings, forced him to incur a large debt with high interest rates, making him reluctant to return.

Xu Genyou pursed his lips and remained silent, his face tightly furrowed. In the past, people in Xujia Village had never heard of any subsidies for buying cattle.

He dared not say whether it was the problem of the old village chief Xu Maoping or the problem of the previous government.

Anyway, everything has changed now. Aunt Jiang is the village chief, and the government is providing subsidies.

The group members were full of sighs, and Xia Xiucai was also undergoing a baptism.

In Li Laoshi's small bedroom, Xia Xiucai sat on the edge of a wooden bed, while the fifty-something-year-old cattle dealer knelt respectfully, listening to the "Treatise on Judging Cattle".

"Xia Xiucai, you are truly my second master and my god of wealth. I must kneel down and listen to you!"

Compared to his previous rhythmic recitation, this time Xia Xiucai translated it word by word into the local dialect.

He might not have described the parts of the livestock accurately, but the cattle dealer would understand.

Moreover, the vague and ambiguous words spoken by those masters suddenly became clear.

The cattle dealer knew that once he had mastered the entire "Treatise on Judging Cattle," he would definitely become a top player in the cattle market.

Under the almost manic gaze of the cattle dealer, Xia Xiucai was radiant and showed no sign of dejection.

He asked, puzzled, "Master Niu, why don't you let me write one out by hand and bring it with me?"

It would be so convenient to write a book myself, so I could read it anytime and teach others. Right now, I'm just reciting the annotations aloud.

The cattle dealer patted his trouser leg, stood up, and chuckled dryly: "I can't read, and neither can my children. If we write it down in a booklet and it gets lost, someone else could learn it."

Xia Xiucai looked bewildered: "None of you can read?"

That's right, Village Chief Jiang can't write, Errui and the others can't either, none of them can!

"So what if I'm the only one who knows how! Haha, so what if I'm the only one who knows how! But what's the use? What's the use of studying? You're a complete waste!"

Seeing that Xia Xiucai was starting to ramble on again, the cattle dealer hurriedly called Jiang Zhi over: "Village Chief Jiang, the scholar has finished speaking, what do you think is wrong with him?"

Jiang Zhi noticed that Xia Xiucai's eyes were glazed over, probably because he was recalling unpleasant memories of the past.

I wanted to offer some words of advice, but when it comes to matters of the heart, if the root cause cannot be found, saying more is useless and may even reopen old wounds. Besides, there are too many people around and too much to talk about right now, so it's not a good time to discuss it further.

He had no choice but to have Errui and Wuyang take him home to rest, and he would ask about the "Treatise on Judging Cattle" later when he had time.