Chapter 1653: A Trip to the Grassland
Manbao and Zhou Lijun came over quickly.
Zhou Silang glanced at their mouths and asked, "What delicious food did you eat?"
Manbao looked at Zhou Silang and Xiang Mingxue's expressions and asked, "Fourth brother, why do you look so bad?"
Zhou Silang waved his hand and said, "Don't mention it. We walked all the way back from the grassland. How could it be okay?"
Manbao was stunned when he heard this, "Fourth brother, were you robbed?"
Zhou Lijun couldn't help but ask, "Fourth Uncle, are all the money and goods you brought gone?"
Zhou Silang: "...Can't you guys just think of me a little bit?"
Xiang Mingxue couldn't help laughing. Zhou Silang said, "They weren't robbed. I just bought some cattle. They were difficult to transport, so I had to lead them slowly back to the interior. I almost walked all the way back."
Manbao asked, "How many cows did you buy?"
Zhou Silang said complacently, "Not that many, maybe a hundred."
This time, each of them brought back about five cows. If he hadn't been afraid of being robbed on the road, he could actually buy more.
However, this was his first time taking this route, and even with Xiang Mingxue leading him, he didn't dare to carry too much of such conspicuous goods at one time.
Manbao exclaimed: "Fourth brother, you are really amazing. You even walked to the grassland. By the way, are there many people on the grassland? Are there many good things?"
"Not many. Sometimes you might not even see one person in ten days or half a month," Zhou Silang said. "If it weren't for Brother Xiang leading me this time, I wouldn't have dared to enter the grassland."
Xiang Mingxue smiled and said, "The grassland is different from the interior of the country. When we entered, we happened to encounter flocks of sheep and cattle migrating, so it's hard to run into people unless you're in an area with abundant grass and water."
Zhou Silang said to Zhou Lijun, "Go get some food. I'm hungry."
Manbao said to her, "Just bring some steamed buns and some light dishes. They are too tired to eat anything too oily all at once."
Zhou Lijun gave them a basket of steamed buns and desserts, plus a bowl of soup full of vegetables.
Zhou Silang and Xiang Mingxue didn't complain and started eating. As they ate, they said, "After going to the grassland, I finally understand why Ah Liudun and his people like tea so much. There's no vegetables grown there. All they eat are wild vegetables they dig up."
He said, "But there are only a few wild vegetables. It's not enough. The most we eat every day is milk and meat. I've only been on the grassland for 20 days and I can't poop anymore."
Xiang Mingxue continued eating without being affected at all.
Zhou Silang continued, "I still have a poor appetite. I like meat, but if I eat too much, I just can't eat it. Several of the three children had problems with the local climate, and they finally got better after taking the medicine you brought us. After that, we each had a cup of tea every day, chewing and swallowing even the tea leaves. We almost thought we were savages."
Manbao and Baishan listened with great interest.
Zhou Silang continued, "Originally, we wanted to buy the herbs and leave, but we ended up going back too late with Ah Liudun, and a lot of the herbs from their tribe had been taken away. We only got a small amount. If we had just turned back, our trip wouldn't have been in vain, but we wouldn't have made much money either. It just so happened that they had a lot of cattle, and they were cheap, so I bought a hundred."
He pointed at Xiang Mingxue and said with a smile, "Originally, I didn't dare to take Sanzi and the others on the road. Thanks to Brother Xiang's help, we were able to return safely."
Xiang Mingxue smiled and said, "It just so happens that we also need to return to Beijing."
Bai Shan looked at Xiang Mingxue and asked with a smile, "Why did Brother Xiang go to the grassland as well?"
"I'm going to meet some old friends," Xiang Mingxue said. "I owed them favors in the past, and this time I'm going to settle them."
Bai Shan and Man Bao looked at each other and guessed that this was most likely someone they had known in the past when they were dealing with the King of Yizhou. Now that the revenge had been taken, there was naturally no need to pursue the past, so the two of them smiled and did not ask any further questions.
Seeing that they had no problems, Zhou Lijun immediately asked the question he was most curious about, "Fourth Uncle, how do you sell cattle on the grassland?"
Zhou Silang immediately said, "There are two ways. One is to kill and weigh the meat, and the other is to divide it into different sizes and estimate the approximate weight. Then calculate the price. Anyway, it's much cheaper than what is sold inside the pass."
"But the cows on the grassland are raised for meat and milk, not for work," he said. "Luckily, I've seen how Mr. Bai's cowherds pierce noses and train cows before, otherwise we wouldn't be able to bring these cows back this time."
The cattle and sheep on the grassland are all free-range, who would pierce their noses?
Zhou Silang was away for two months just to put nose rings on them and gave them a simple training before he dared to bring them back.
Zhou Lijun asked: "How much did it cost to buy the cow?"
Zhou Silang felt around and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with his account number on it. "Here, it's all written down. The cattle are worth two hundred and thirty-two taels. I estimate I'll keep them for a few days, and when they're a little more energetic, I'll divide them into three grades and sell them at different prices."
Manbao immediately said, "I'll start with twenty."
Zhou Silang glanced at her and said, "What do you want the cow for?"
"Farm the official land," Manbao said, "Fourth brother, I have already made an agreement with the Ministry of Revenue. The 1,000 mu of official land allocated to me will be managed by our family, as well as the 200 mu allocated to you."
Zhou Silang was stunned for a moment, and quickly asked, "So, my parents came to the capital..."
"Father and mother have decided to stay in the capital. Brother and sister-in-law are staying too. How are you? Are you happy?"
To be honest, I'm not very happy!
Zhou Silang couldn't be happy when he thought of four huge mountains falling on his head.
Before his parents and his eldest brother and sister-in-law came, he was the most influential person in the capital besides Manbao. But now...
Zhou Silang hung his head and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll go say hello to Mom first."
"You should go say hello to Dad first." Although Manbao understood his frustration at the moment, he still couldn't hide his happiness. "Mom is with a large group of female relatives. You haven't even washed your hair yet, so you'd better not go any closer."
Manbao reached out and patted Bai Shan's shoulder, smiling and saying, "Take my fourth brother to see my father. Oh, and have my fourth brother offer a glass of wine to Senior Brother Bai. Don't let him drink too much. It's best for them to drink less now. When we get back, I'll make them a decoction. It'll help them recover after drinking it."
Bai Shan agreed with a smile, and pulled Zhou Silang and Xiang Mingxue to the front.
Zhou Silang sighed for a while, then pulled himself together and asked, "Did Mr. Bai rent or buy this house?"
“I bought it.”
Zhou Silang turned around and said to Xiang Mingxue with a smile, "You originally said you'd buy this house after you made some money on the grassland, but someone else got there first, didn't they?"
Xiang Mingxue said: "This is also fate, it can't be forced."
Bai Shan turned to look at Xiang Mingxue and asked, "Brother Xiang, are you planning to settle down in the capital?"
Xiang Mingxue shook his head and smiled, "Not really, it's just that cultivating the farm at home requires a lot of money, so I plan to stay in the capital for a while to earn some money."
(End of this chapter)
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