Chapter 320: People from Tianhai Arrive [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The common people soon discovered that the "hobbies" of the "important people" that they did not understand included more than just makeup aesthetics.

For example--

Competition events.

They had already watched wrestling matches in advance, and many were even die-hard fans of some of the competitors, dreaming of seeing their bodies. Therefore, when the wrestling qualifying matches officially began, the cheers of these enthusiastic fans resounded throughout the sky.

They tried to overwhelm the opposing player with their presence off the field.

But they didn't understand some of the later competition events.

They genuinely don't understand and don't comprehend.

The competition event is called "riding".

But what they were "riding" was not a horse, but a fully grown fat pig.

Twenty contestants gathered in one place.

At the sound of the starting signal, the race begins, traversing seven or eight different obstacle courses. The course is winding and full of surprises, with each obstacle containing elements such as jumps, water crossings, hill climbs, ice skating, and mud traversing...

The first three contestants to reach the destination will share the twenty fat pigs in the competition, according to a 5:3:2 ratio. It is said that these fat pigs were all castrated and raised by Shen Jun himself! The meat is delicious and has no fishy smell at all.

Curious things always attract people. The common people, still immersed in the fierce fighting of the first wrestling qualifying match, were drawn to this project and rushed to the "viewing area" set up next to the track to catch a glimpse of the pig-riding warriors.

Twenty contestants: "..."

They claimed they were forcibly selected to participate in the competition, not because they had some strange pig-riding fetish. Would anyone believe that? They had intended to participate passively, but upon hearing about the competition's rewards, their eyes gleamed with a determined light, like hungry wolves spotting their prey.

First place: Ten pigs!

It was Shen Jun who personally castrated the pig he had raised!

Selling them would bring in a huge amount of income!

Don't be fooled by the fact that nobles look down on pigs, and even slightly wealthier families disdain eating such foul-smelling meat. For the poorest people at the bottom of society, they might not even get to taste meat twice a year. No matter how smelly pork is, it's still meat! And it still has a market.

As for the difference between castrated and uncastrated pigs, not many people pay attention to this point.

At a command, twenty brave warriors rode pigs out of the pen.

Numerous problems arose during this period.

The common people were overjoyed.

Some pigs simply wouldn't obey commands, lying still and refusing to move, engaging in non-violent non-cooperation; some pigs were short-tempered, constantly trying to throw the person on their back off; and some pigs attacked each other, jostling the warrior on their back quite violently.

The Warriors were getting really anxious watching this.

They practically wanted the pig to ride on their backs to finish the race—after all, the race required both the person and the pig to reach the finish line simultaneously, not who rode whom. A group of commoners watching the race jogged alongside, practically ready to cross the line and help drag the pig along.

"Run faster! Run faster! We're about to be caught!"

"Number One, watch out for Number Three behind you! Number Three is about to launch a sneak attack!"

Oh, I forgot to mention.

Each warrior held a smooth, rounded stick wrapped in thick, coarse cloth. The stick could be used to poke the opposing fighter's body, but not to attack their face or their crotch. Chaos erupted on the field.

The participating warriors were drenched in sweat, and the ordinary people who were running alongside them were also hoarse from shouting. These warriors' comrades were also allowed to come out and cheer them on—well, perhaps more out of curiosity than anything else.

"For ten pigs!"

"Think of your ten pigs!"

"You have to grit your teeth and hold on, Dog Pillar!"

"Three more obstacles, roll over them in the mud!"

"Quickly, quickly, push it down in front!"

"Boss, someone committed a foul!"

The match lasted a little over half an hour.

The three fastest runners started fighting before the finish line. In the end, the fourth runner half-carried and half-dragged the pig, using cover to successfully climb to the finish line and pick the peaches. None of the onlookers or fellow countrymen who were just watching the spectacle said a word to warn them.

The three contestants: "..."

Among the many serious-style competition events, there are always one or two bizarre events with a very unconventional style.

For example, in one ice skating event, two competitors form a team and race in three legs; the first to cross the finish line wins. This is fine on flat ground, but the problem is on ice. Even with thick protective gear, everyone still gets slammed and dizzy from the falls.

Everyone: "..."

I seriously doubt Shen Jun's original intention in organizing this event.

They said it was for them to relax and have fun...

They're just messing with them, aren't they?

By the end of the first day, everyone was exhausted and didn't want to move.

The entire event lasted five days.

The sixth day is Lunar New Year's Eve.

The only thing that brings them comfort is that there will be a fireworks display on New Year's Eve that rivals the opening ceremony. Ordinary people can choose to have their reunion dinner at home and then come out to watch the performance, bringing the year to a perfect close.

These past few days, the common people have been living a very content life.

Merchants who risked going to other places to purchase goods also made a fortune—although the purchasing power of ordinary people was not strong, the large number of people and the long duration meant that the first few batches of goods were all bought up, and those that were not bought up were cleared out by the local government at a price higher than the purchase price.

Some vendors have spotted the potential of the pufferfish.

They also signed several business deals with "Fugu Department Store" under the jurisdiction of the government, and everyone was smiling more brightly than flowers.

On the thirtieth day of the year, at the administrative center.

Aside from going out for a while on the first day of the competition, Shen Tang spent the rest of her time working in the government office, and these past few days she's been inseparable from her abacus, the beads clicking and clattering. Qi Shan also unusually didn't go on a business trip, and even dragged Gu Chi along to do the accounting.

This is also somewhat related to their embarrassing drunken incident a while ago; hopefully, time will fade the memory from everyone's minds.

"My lord, the calculation is complete."

Shen Tang accepted the letter and form handed to her by Gu Chi.

The three of them were compiling statistics on the general business operations of the small market and various shops over the past few days, as well as the city taxes collected. Although it was only a small sum of money, this was the first time Shen Tang had seen a return after investing a large amount of money in Fu Gu.

"Sigh, it's tough..."

While feeling gratified, Shen Tang also began to sigh.

These merchants were all persuaded by Shen Tang through various concessions, but they are all small merchants with small business scale and few goods. Once they run out of stock, they cannot be replenished quickly. For example, the lanterns that sold best these days sold out on the second day of the opening ceremony. It is difficult to find a single lantern in Fugu. Merchants can only watch helplessly as customers are lost.

If we go to buy more goods now, we can only wait until the Lantern Festival to sell them.

Missing the Lantern Festival means hoarding lanterns, which is essentially just creating unsold inventory.

Merchants are struggling financially and unable to collect market taxes. Furthermore, the need to purchase seedlings and agricultural tools after spring necessitates large-scale, reputable merchants with ample supply. This is precisely what Fugu desperately needs.

In remote and impoverished areas, people are unwilling to settle down and invest.

If you have worries on your mind, you won't be able to enjoy the New Year.

"My lord, why don't we send Chi to Tianhai?"

"Go to Tianhai? Ask Wu Xian for help? Isn't that a bit inappropriate? Going there now would just be reminding him that Zhao Dayi hasn't gone home to celebrate the New Year with his family yet. Although he said he wanted to help us gain a foothold in Heyin before leaving, Wu Xian is insisting on taking him back, and we can't do anything about it." Zhao Feng is so useful that she doesn't even want to return him.

Unexpectedly, before Shen Tang could even send anyone over, Tian Hai had already sent people over.

|ω`)

This is half a chapter; there will be another half chapter (or possibly a 4,000-word chapter) tonight.

P.S.: Please vote for me! There are only today and tomorrow left before the end of the month, sob sob. It would be such a waste if my votes expired, right? Give me mushrooms instead, it won't go to waste, hehe.

(End of this chapter)