Shen Leyan felt a buzzing in his head, his body swayed, and he staggered forward a few steps.
Fortunately, he managed to grab the table for support. Pointing to the door, he said to the terrified He Dong, "You, you go and arrest that person who's spouting nonsense. I'm going to the county government to sue him for defamation..."
The person spreading the rumors can't be caught, and now the whole city is in an uproar.
Shen Leyan, Huang Changsheng, and He Dong led a group of people to Yaqian Street in a hurry. They had heard it from a few vendors who set up barbecue stalls there.
Street vendors!
Shen Leyan was burning with anger. She had been having such bad luck lately that even cats and dogs could take advantage of her.
When did these small vendors who only sell soup and porridge to make a living ever catch his eye?
If Tianxianglou doesn't dare to use force, what can't they deal with these small vendors?
They sent someone to overturn the stall and drive it out of Qili County. From then on, it wouldn't even be allowed to set up a stall in the city.
Shen Leyan and his group had a good plan, but they didn't have the opportunity to put it into practice.
Outside Yaqian Street, several yamen runners in black robes stopped Shen Leyan: "Master Shen, Boss Huang! Please move aside!"
"Master Qin, Master Qian, please do us a favor, we need to go in to find someone."
Although Shen Leyan was just the owner of Jinxilou and a merchant, he had been operating in Qili County for many years and naturally had connections.
These constables were usually very close to him.
Over the years, he never skimped on the tribute money he sent to the county clerk every month.
"Master Shen, we brothers are on official business, please forgive us!" The leading foreman looked troubled and blocked the intersection, refusing to budge.
He was drinking at Jinxilou yesterday, but today he has to do his job properly, so there's nothing we can do about it.
He was a government employee, and now that Magistrate Jiang had given him an order, he had no choice but to obey.
Shen Leyan's expression was very unpleasant: "Master Qin, I heard someone inside slandering the reputation of Jinxi Tower. I must go in and confront them. I hope you can make an exception for me."
He Dong, being a smooth talker, laughed and said, "Hey! Master Qin, we're old acquaintances, no need to take this kind of small matter so seriously."
As he spoke, he quickly stuffed a money pouch into the head constable's belt and whispered in his ear, "There are two taels of silver inside. Please have a bowl of tea with Head Constable Qin and Head Constable Qian."
Normally, the head constable would have pretended not to accept the money, but now, as if bitten by something, he snatched the money pouch, threw it back into He Dong's arms, and said with a dark face, "Lord Jiang has ordered that this is in front of the county government office. Anyone who causes trouble will be beaten to death. The responsible constable will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane! Master Shen, if you were just here to have some fun, I would have let you in, but look at this!"
He pointed to the area behind Huang Changsheng, where there were more than a dozen burly men who did not look like good people.
For a mere tael of silver to let these people in, he himself was beaten fifty times, and even if he didn't die, he would be skinned alive.
Shen Leyan now understood that with the county officials around, she had no way of finding the vendor who spread the rumors.
With a dark expression, he bowed to Qin Ban Tou and said, "Master Qin, I've taken note of this today!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
He Dong followed anxiously behind, saying, "Master Chen, if we leave now, what will we do about what people say? Are we just going to let them say whatever they want?"
Huang Changsheng stood silently to the side until he saw Shen Leyan storm off, then gave a sinister smile: "He Dong, if you have a way, go in and find her!"
"Who am I supposed to turn to? This is Master Shen's prescription!"
He Dong glared at the constables blocking his way, wanting to confront them, but seeing that Shen Leyan had already left, he hesitated for a moment, then stamped his foot and followed Shen Leyan after them.
Compared to the morning, there were even more people on Yaqian Street. Although there were only more than thirty vendors, they all crowded together, walking around, looking at things, and even standing and listening to people talk. Some yamen runners started to chase people out.
At this moment, Song Liyun was standing in front of her own stall, with a waiter from Tianxianglou helping her sell her wares.
The same long table, covered with white silk, was piled with cardboard boxes, each about a foot square.
The dried beef brought back from the Uda tribe has a dark brown skin, but the cut surface is golden and translucent, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat.
The growth barcodes are placed in cardboard boxes. If someone wants to buy one, it costs two hundred coins per box, and they can just grab it and go.
Next to it were bundles of acorn noodles wrapped in white paper, also neatly stacked.
I'd seen glass noodles before; people were buying them. But while there were plenty of onlookers for the dried beef, not many actually bought any.
The waiter didn't shout out; he just silently opened the cardboard box, and the high-quality meat was the best advertisement.
The reason he didn't solicit customers was because it was clearly dried meat from the grasslands.
During the Wu Dynasty, oxen were highly valued and their slaughter was forbidden without authorization.
Yunzhou is close to the grasslands, so the management of beef is not very strict, but it is still rare to see it sold so openly.
Song Liyun noticed that everyone's eyes were glued to the beef, but no one was buying it.
She pushed through the crowd, stood by the long table, and called out, "Fellow villagers, this beef is from wild buffalo that the Zhenbei Army captured on the grasslands. We are displaying it here to share the joy of our victory with you all."
Bison! They were hunted by the garrison.
Human thought is never as unwavering as we imagine, and things in the world are never absolutely black and white.
The Di people are terrifying, but the meat from the Di grasslands is the most delicious.
Those who understood immediately knew it was time to buy, and those who reacted quickly grabbed several cardboard boxes.
It's okay if you don't understand. If others are buying, you can't go wrong by buying too.
Chaos ensued; the few dozen boxes of beef that had been prepared were instantly snatched up.
Those who managed to snag a prize laughed heartily, while those who missed out flew into a rage: "Too few! How can they sell them like this?!"
There was only one worker here, and he was too busy collecting money to keep up with the workload, so Song Liyun quickly went to help.
Lin Tao's wife was also capable. Without Song Liyun's arrangement, she stopped those carrying boxes from behind and only allowed them to leave after they paid.
Once the news spread that beef was available for sale, people started coming to buy it. Song Liyun had no choice but to tell everyone that there were only fifty boxes available each day, and they could order them from Tianxianglou.
Although Jiang Feng did not appear on the street, he heard every word of the news from the trade fair.
The previous disputes over grilling skills only made him think that Song Liyun was somewhat intelligent.
Upon hearing that they were selling dried beef from the Uda tribe, Jiang Feng's spirits immediately lifted.
Only then did he realize Song Liyun's true intention in organizing the trade fair.
When people are emotionally agitated, thinking about problems becomes easier.
And once you've bought it once, you can buy it a second time...
Compared to breaking free from the shackles of thought, overturning Jinxi Tower is merely a side effect.
It seems I need to have a serious talk with this woman!
Originally, in his mind, Song Liyun was just a military household girl with some brains and a fiery temper. It was precisely because of this that the Third Young Master remembered her.
Jiang Feng now knows that Song Liyun is not only talented in business, but also has a strategic mind that rivals that of men. Moreover, Zhao Tingduo took Song Liyun to the grasslands, which makes her story even more significant.
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