The tribe of Chaolu was actually a settlement consisting of yurts. The Chaolu clan had lived there for four generations. The area was rich in water and grass, and the horses were strong and fat.
Chaolu didn't have much time to spend with her, so he found a younger cousin from the clan to play with her, as Chaolu was busy herding livestock every day.
She stayed for about eight days. The mutton and goat milk she ate made her feel hot and bothered. Coupled with the climate of the grassland, Nan Yi missed the plain porridge, side dishes, soft silk curtains, and fragrant tents back in the pass.
One night, she left behind the goods and gold and silver she had brought from within the pass, took five sheep and two cows from the Chaolu family, and left the Chaolu tribe without a word.
Having enjoyed the scenery of the grasslands, she returned to Datong along the same route, sightseeing along the way, and finally arrived at a place called Qixian.
Perhaps it was because of the beautiful scenery and mild climate of this place that she decided to rest here for a while after spending more than a month there.
Leading two horses down the street, Nan Yi wanted to find a comfortable inn to stay in. After searching halfway down the street, he finally found one that caught his eye.
Wow, what a beautiful horse!
Suddenly, a girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old jumped out from the side. She ran to the horse and kept circling it, making clicking noises.
Nan Yi didn't stop him, but watched with a smile.
Her two horses were carefully selected; they weren't great runners, but their coats were absolutely gorgeous.
After riding back and forth across the grassland, the horse hadn't lost weight; on the contrary, it had become much stronger, and she was happy to ride it.
"Young master, are you selling this horse? I'll pay double the price." The girl reluctantly turned her gaze away and walked up to Nan Yi to ask.
Nan smiled faintly, stroking the horse's head. For her next stop, she wanted to go south, and she didn't need to bring any goods to be a traveling merchant.
So he said, "Alright, only if you can afford the price."
The girl was delighted and said, "That's great! The highest price for a horse at the market is only twenty or thirty taels of silver. Your horse looks better than the ones at the market, and it's not very old either. I'll offer fifty taels, how about that?"
Nan Yi was taken aback. She was a woman of some means, yet she was only asking for fifty taels to buy her beloved horse. She scoffed, glanced at the girl indifferently, and said, "Miss, since you're not serious about buying it, don't tease me. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
She led the two horses to the inn, where a waiter greeted her warmly, "Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"
"I need a room at an inn, a superior room, with the best food. I'm starving. Also, please feed my horse well, with the best feed." Nan Yi casually tossed a tael of silver to the waiter as a tip.
The waiter beamed, "Alright, sir, please come in. I'll take care of everything for you."
He took the horse's reins and called out to the inn, "Sir, you need a superior room and a first-class meal!"
Nan Yi took the luggage from the horse and walked into the inn. The girl who wanted to sell the horse followed him. "Who's joking with you? I'm serious. You think the money is too little? This is already a very high price. A fine horse from beyond the Great Wall is only worth this much."
“You can buy such a fine horse for tens of taels of silver, young lady? I just came back from beyond the Great Wall, how come I didn’t know?”
Nan replied to her and walked straight into the lobby of the inn. The innkeeper greeted her, "Greetings, Miss. Please come upstairs. Your room is ready and your meal will be served shortly. Please take a hot bath and relax."
Nan Yi nodded. "Okay, lead the way."
The girl persisted, refusing to back down, "Since you come from beyond the Great Wall, you must know the market price of horses. So tell me, am I right? Is fifty taels a reasonable price?"
Nan stopped and said seriously, “The price you offered is reasonable, but although my horse is not a fine steed, it has been with me for a long time and we have developed a bond. If you want to buy it, you are not only buying the horse, but also severing the bond between me and the horse. Do you think fifty taels is worth it? Besides, I don’t lack a mere fifty taels of silver. Therefore, the price is not reasonable. Do you think that makes sense?”
"You, you, you can negotiate the price like that?"
The girl was dumbfounded. She came from a merchant family and had been exposed to business from a young age. She had a talent for business and was smart and quick-witted. As the only daughter in the family, her father had taught her a lot about business and was preparing to let her take over the family business ahead of schedule.
The usually quick-witted and sharp-tongued future head of the Zhou family was rendered speechless by Nan Yi's words.
"Do you really like this horse?" Nan Yi asked again.
Zhou Ruxue nodded emphatically, "Of course, how could I possibly refuse such a fine horse that I find so pleasing to the eye, young master?"
Nan Yi smiled and said, "Of course I can part with it, but I don't have enough money to buy this horse. Please don't follow me anymore. I need to take a bath and change my clothes. Please leave, young lady."
Zhou Ruxue gasped. Nan Yi's next words made her blush instantly. Annoyed, Zhou Ruxue stomped her foot and said, "I need to think about it. I'll come find you again tomorrow." With that, she quickly ran out of the inn.
The innkeeper led Nan Yi upstairs and casually added, "Sir, I'd like to congratulate you on your new fortune."
"Oh, what do you mean?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "The young lady just now was surnamed Zhou. She is the only daughter of Master Zhou, a wealthy man in this county. Master Zhou is extremely rich and dotes on his only daughter, granting her every wish. She said she liked your horse, and even if it cost a thousand gold pieces, Master Zhou wouldn't hesitate."
Nan Yi shook his head upon hearing this. "From what you've said, shopkeeper, it's a good thing that I made a fortune by buying my beloved horse. But what you don't know is that even if it were a fortune, I wouldn't be willing to part with the horse. If it weren't for the inconvenience of the journey, unlike in the border regions, I wouldn't have sold it."
The shopkeeper thought to himself, "Well, I've been too talkative. This young master may not look impressive, but he's a wealthy man who doesn't care about a thousand pieces of gold."
The innkeeper was honored to have such a wealthy man staying at his inn, and he smiled even more warmly.
After dismissing the shopkeeper, Nan took a bath, had a hearty meal, locked the doors and windows, and went to sleep.
She slept until the next morning before leisurely getting out of bed and going to the inn's lobby. The innkeeper approached her and said, "Sir, you slept quite a long time. What would you like to eat today? I'll have the kitchen prepare it."
Nan Yi thought for a moment, "A lighter diet is fine. I went to the area outside the Great Wall a while ago, and it was all meat. I'm tired of it."
"Okay, just wait, I'll bring it up right away."
He was worried that guests would find the inn's food too simple, but to his surprise, they wanted something light and easy to prepare.
After breakfast, she inquired about the city from the innkeeper and then strolled around the streets alone. Qi County was not large, with only one main street running from east to west, and the inn was located at the eastern end of the street.
She then walked along the west side of the street.
There are many taverns and teahouses here, and the roads are full of traveling merchants leading horses and carrying goods.
Qi County is close to the area outside the pass, and occasionally you can see foreign caravans with long horse teams passing through the streets.
Halfway through his stroll, Nan Yi found a tea stall, sat down, ordered a bowl of coarse tea from the owner, and listened to the passing merchants chatting.
Before he could finish his tea, he heard a commotion coming from the middle of the road. The voices sounded somewhat familiar, so Nan Yi dropped the money for his tea and went over.
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