10 Chapter 10
◎The pale-faced scholar sells himself online to bury his father◎
The settlement area of Silver Moon Valley was finally chosen to be located on the gentle slope of the basin. After a period of construction, it has taken shape and will be ready for occupancy soon once the earth walls are completely dry.
Li Hengqing hadn't deliberately concealed her actions. Furthermore, she had access to a considerable number of artisans through Agula, so concealing them completely was unrealistic. Countless eyes in the tribe watched her next move, both openly and covertly, but Li Hengqing remained calm and remained within her tent.
After a long day of hard work, she finally took a rare half-day off. Quite a few people gathered in the tent. A maid brought a bamboo steamer, still emitting steam, to the table. She opened it, revealing a collection of pale yellow pasta products shaped like cat ears, curled up in a circle. She could smell the unique fragrance of the grain itself.
Lang Yue brought over another bowl of sauce and curiously asked, "Is this flour made from oatmeal?"
"Yeah." Li Hengqing nodded, transferred the oat noodles to a bowl, and poured a spoonful of bright tomato-red sauce on it himself.
The rich, sweet and sour flavor is a crowd-pleaser, stimulating yet not cloying, making it a delight for all ages. The sauce, enhanced with chili peppers and celery, creates a wonderfully sour, spicy, and sweet flavor. Thickened with starch, it's easily coated in oatmeal rolls.
The richness of the grains complements the tomato sauce, and the oatmeal flavor dilutes any cloying taste, making it easy to eat more. The golden scrambled eggs on the side are a must-try. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes have been a perfect pairing since ancient times, a recipe passed down from our ancestors.
The other sauce uses dried shiitake mushrooms and chopped shiitake mushrooms as the main ingredients. It is thick and oily. Although it has a single salty taste, the taste is not monotonous. The fresh fragrance of the mushrooms is fully integrated without overpowering the taste. The fresh shiitake mushrooms are soft and crisp, while the re-soaked wild dried shiitake mushrooms provide chewiness. The potato granules are stewed until soft and the carrots are fragrant, which enriches the taste.
Langyue was eating slurpingly, like a pig. Li Hengqing had a copy delivered to each location, and he watched her eat with his chin on his hand. Suddenly, he asked, "How's the accounting book I gave you a few days ago? How's it going?"
"..." Lang Yue froze for a moment, not daring to raise his head from the bowl. "Princess, I'm still learning. There are still a few things I don't understand, and I'd like to ask you for advice later..."
Li Hengqing couldn't help laughing at her guilty look, and said leisurely, "That's fine. I'll give you the accounts of the recent transactions with the Han people and the various tribes to practice reconciling. It won't be too late to talk to you about it after you're done."
The salt produced in the tribe can still be stockpiled, but there is no need to stockpile too much of the butter, milk skin, dried meat and other products produced in the new camp under the current circumstances. Li Hengqing wants to make the limited resources at hand flow as much as possible to bring back maximum benefits; and looking around, the ones with the greatest demand for these meat, milk and by-products are none other than the neighbors to the south.
The original owner's hometown, Nansheng.
Although neighbors, the Northern Di and Southern Sheng had vastly different customs. Under imperial control, they adhered strictly to a small-scale peasant economy based on farming and weaving, representing a typical agricultural civilization. However, the north's harsh cold and underdeveloped agricultural technology made it far less suitable for farming than the more abundant southern regions. Life was difficult for the toiling masses, who toiled in the fields.
The original mutual trade did exist, but it was just the exchange of rice, flour and cloth based on the superficial needs of both parties, and the exchanges were not very frequent.
Li Hengqing confirmed the date of the next market with Langyue, thought about it, and decided to go there in person.
*
A few days later, at the border of Nansheng, Yunzhou City.
This was the largest official trade point between the Northern Di and Southern Sheng tribes. Li Hengqing, dressed as a Han woman with a light veil, walked the bustling streets with Lang Yue and several of her assigned guards.
Different from the vast and desolate grassland, the bluestone streets in the city are bustling with people, various shops are lined up one after another, and small vendors with different accents are doing their best to shout and attract customers.
Traditional products like dried meat and milk tofu quickly attracted many housewives to inquire about their products, and sales were quite good. However, the butter was a sluggish seller. The few who were tempted by its aroma would occasionally approach, only to be deterred by the price and their tongues twitching.
"Madam, isn't this butter too expensive?" Lang Yue looked at the deserted butter stall, his round little face almost wrinkled into a bitter gourd.
Li Hengqing was unhurried. She gently scratched Langyue's nose and said with a smile, "How can you attract customers and do business with a gloomy face? Don't be afraid, I'm here."
She asked her personal guard to spend a few cents to borrow an unused small charcoal stove from the pancake stall next door, and placed the pineapple buns she brought on the stove to heat them slightly. The pastry was baked to become even more golden and crispy, and the unique and tempting aroma of the sugar and oil mixture spread instantly.
The appeal of calorie bombs to humans is timeless.
"Come and have a taste, have a taste - fresh snacks from the prairie, no charge if not sweet!" Lang Yue received the order and immediately shouted in unfamiliar Chinese.
People are always looking for bargains, and the power of free samples is undoubtedly huge. Soon, the stall was surrounded by curious people, especially children.
"Wow! This yellow skin is so crispy and sweet!"
“The bread inside is so soft!”
Li Hengqing picked up a freshly baked pineapple bun at the right time, cut it in the middle with a knife, put in a piece of cold butter, and handed it to a drooling, well-dressed little boy.
The boy took a bite and his eyes widened instantly.
The cool, salty butter melted in his mouth, perfectly intertwining with the warm and soft bread and the sweetness of the puff pastry. The taste, unprecedented in his life, made him stunned for a moment.
"Ma'am, ma'am!" the boy's mother asked anxiously, "is that the expensive butter you put in there?"
"That's right," Li Hengqing said slowly. "This butter is made from the freshest milk, extracting the best part. Not only can you eat it directly, but you can also spread it on your pancakes, steamed buns, or add a little to your cooking. It will make the flavor tenfold more fragrant and help you resist hunger."
The mother looked at her spoiled child eating happily, and after some hesitation, she ordered the servant to get the silver.
All things are difficult at the beginning. After we got this first order, sales became much smoother afterwards. The stall became even more lively. The butter became a hot seller and it even seemed like it would take the lead.
Just then, a gorgeously decorated carriage stopped in front of the stall. A well-dressed maid stepped out and said somewhat arrogantly, "My young lady tried your snacks and loved them. We'll take care of the rest."
When Lang Yue heard this, he was delighted and was about to pack up, but Li Hengqing gently raised his hand to stop him.
"I'm truly sorry," Li Hengqing said to the maid, neither servile nor arrogant. "I didn't bring much today, so the rest needs to be left for other villagers to try. Purchase limit is one box. If you really like it, please leave a note, and I'll personally deliver it to your house next time the market opens."
The maid was a little unhappy at being rejected, but seeing that Li Hengqing had an extraordinary temperament, she did not dare to act rashly and had to return to the carriage in disappointment.
"Khatun, why don't you do business?" Lang Yue asked in a puzzled voice.
"Of course, it has other uses," Li Hengqing explained patiently, lowering his voice. "First, it's to whet their appetite, and second, it's to build their reputation so we can do long-term business."
When Lang Yue heard this, he suddenly understood: "This way, we can get repeat customers, and our reputation can also be promoted through that Miss. It's a win-win situation. My wife is really smart."
As they were busy, a group of officers dressed in official uniforms and wearing long swords at their waists came over. The leader of the group asked sternly, "Where are you from? Do you have any official documents?"
The personal guard was about to step forward, but was stopped by Li Hengqing with a look, and instead respectfully handed over the document.
After the inspection, the squad leader's expression eased slightly, but he gave a routine warning: "A distinguished guest is coming to the city soon, so we're strictly checking. Those of you from other tribes, please behave yourself and don't cause any trouble."
After the officials walked away, Li Hengqing looked at their departing backs with a slightly gloomy look in his eyes.
Just as she expected, the mobile vendor model was not a long-term solution after all. If she wanted to have a stable income, she had to find a way to buy a shop and run it.
She turned to Lang Yue and instructed, "You watch over the stall. Once the remaining goods are sold, go and buy according to the list I made earlier. Don't miss anything."
He turned around and strolled around Yunzhou City at a leisurely pace, taking a general look at the vacant shops on the street. The guards who followed him were all puzzled, but they did not dare to ask rashly like Langyue.
After a while, she finally walked into a dental clinic, where a middle-aged man with a goatee and shrewd eyes immediately came up to her.
"Madam, how are you?" the broker said with a broad smile. "But would you like to see a house or a shop?"
Li Heng calmly pointed to the empty three-story shop across the street and said, "I'd like to buy that shop and open a general merchandise store. Could you please talk to my agent about it?"
Upon hearing this, the broker glanced at the burly man beside her: "Oh, madam, you don't know. There are laws in Yunzhou City. Outsiders...outsiders buying property have complicated procedures and need a guarantor from a local tycoon. You..."
Li Hengqing took off his veil, revealing a beautiful and gentle Han face.
"Since I've dared to say I want to buy the shop, I must be aware of all these complicated matters." She said calmly, "Regarding the guarantee, Captain Cen will come to discuss it with you in detail in a few days. All you need to do is look for a shop in a good location for me."
When the broker heard the name "Boss Cen," the embarrassment in his eyes instantly disappeared, and he even bent down a little, his attitude extremely respectful: "So you are a noble sir, it's my fault that I didn't recognize you! Don't worry, I will take care of the shop and I promise to handle it properly for you."
After the matter was settled, she returned to her temporary residence, and Langyue came running over excitedly to report.
"Madam, I've got the spinning wheel, the ironware, and those strange seeds you asked for." Lang Yue handed over the account book as if presenting a treasure, then his face fell and he whispered, "But...but I haven't found any of the gentlemen you were looking for."
She recounted her day's experiences: "When those scholars heard we were going to the grasslands, they shook their heads like rattles. The few who were interested complained that the rewards we offered were too little. Bah, they just wanted to make a quick buck!"
"There was also an old scholar who was willing to go, but when he heard there were girls, he insisted on using 'Women's Scriptures' and 'Women's Rules' to educate them, and even wanted to test me... I, I got angry and scolded him and sent him away..."
Li Hengqing was not surprised after hearing this and gently patted the girl on the head who was feeling indignant.
"Don't worry, take your time." She comforted him, "It's just that fate hasn't arrived yet."
Lang Yue's face turned red and he was stammering to say something when suddenly a noise came from the crowd not far away.
"What's going on?" Li Hengqing frowned.
The guard reported, "Madam, there's a poor scholar selling his body to bury his father on the street corner. He got into an argument with someone and has blocked the road."
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