Chapter 74: A Big Story
"Is your cow sick?" Shitou circled around the cow lying on the ground and said with a mature look, "My ancestor was a veterinarian. Don't try to fool me."
The middle-aged man had seen many buyers pretending to be experienced, and he could tell at a glance that the stone lacked strength.
"Customer, please don't say anything nonsense. My cow is fine." The middle-aged man explained, "It accidentally pulled its leg while pulling heavy goods yesterday. I just saw a doctor and it should be healed in two days."
Shitou curled his lips in disbelief, "Where is the injury? Why can't I see it?"
The middle-aged man pointed at the cow's leg and said, "The doctor said the wound is deep in the flesh and can't be seen from the outside."
Shitou took a closer look, half-believing, and even touched it. Then he nodded seriously, "It's definitely wounded inside the flesh. I can feel it with just a touch."
The guy's eyes twitched. If you don't understand, don't pretend to know. If you follow the boss's words, won't you be cheated to death?
The middle-aged man became more and more certain that Shi Tou was pretending to be mature, but was actually a little kid who knew nothing.
He cleared his throat and said, "I bought this ox for ten taels. If you're serious about buying it, add another three taels and I'll give you the ox cart that comes with it, half for you and half for me."
Guy: Good boy, the boss doesn’t intend to lose money at all.
"Are you trying to fool us?" Xiao Huan glared at the middle-aged man and said to Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing, "Master, Madam, a cow only sells for six taels in the East Market, and with the ox cart, it's only eight taels. He's taking advantage of us. Let's go to the East Market to buy it."
"I hate liars." Shang Wan looked at Lu Chengjing and said in a soft voice, "Husband, don't rent a car here in the future."
Lu Chengjing glanced at the middle-aged man, nodded to Shang Wan, and smiled dotingly, "I will listen to my wife."
Shang Wan smiled sweetly, but in her heart she was thinking that she must make her fox smile like this a few more times when she got home.
Xiao Huan immediately called out to Shi Tou, "What are you still standing there for? Let's go!"
"Coming." Shi Tou walked over immediately.
The middle-aged man saw the duck in his mouth was about to fly away, and hurriedly called out to the man, "Wait! Young master, I just said the price I bought it for. If you are sincere, I can give you a lower price."
Lu Chengjing didn't look back.
The middle-aged man winked at the waiter, who immediately ran over and opened his arms to block the four people.
"You still want to force me to buy or sell?" Shitou stepped forward and glared at the waiter with great force. "Why don't you ask who my young master is? If you dare to touch a hair on his head, the government will come and raid our carriage business tomorrow."
When the guy heard about this, he was shocked by the story. He secretly looked at Lu Chengjing. He looked like an immortal. The appearance and temperament of the young lady next to him were also very outstanding. An ordinary family would definitely not be able to raise such a lady.
He looked at his boss and asked, "Are you going to stop this?"
The middle-aged man's heart was also pounding. This involved the government. Could it be that he was a relative of the prefect?
Shi Tou shouted at the waiter, "Get out of the way!"
"Little brother, calm down. Let's talk things over nicely." After weighing the pros and cons, the middle-aged man ran forward and bowed to Lu Chengjing. "Just now, I was blind and neglected you. Don't be angry, my lady. The price of this ox cart is negotiable. It's negotiable."
"Husband, let's go." Shang Wan squinted at the middle-aged man and deliberately found fault with him. "He doesn't look like a good person at first glance."
Lu Chengjing: "It's all up to you, my lady."
He looked like he was blinded by lust.
The middle-aged man secretly spat several times, saying that he was not a real man at all because he listened to his wife in everything!
He smiled apologetically, "Madam, you're joking. I'm a very honest and upright person, and everyone in the neighborhood knows it. I wonder what you're going to do with this cow, Madam?"
"I bought it to eat..." Shang Wan hurriedly covered his mouth halfway through his words, with a look of regret between his brows.
The middle-aged man is so smart. It turns out he bought the cow to eat. He really needs to find a plausible excuse.
This dynasty imposes extremely severe punishment on those who privately kill oxen for farming.
According to the law, anyone who intentionally kills another person's horse or cattle will be caned with seventy sticks and sentenced to one and a half years in prison; anyone who privately slaughters his own horse or cattle will be caned with one hundred sticks; anyone who privately skins or skins a working ox without reporting it to the authorities will be caned with forty sticks.
The middle-aged man guessed that Shang Wan was craving for beef, but it was not convenient for him to buy it and kill it openly, so he used the roundabout method of buying an ox cart.
Originally, he was worried that selling the sick cow to Shang Wan and the others would cause trouble, but now that he knew they were buying it to eat, he felt relieved.
He took another closer look at Lu Chengjing's face and found him to be a complete stranger. The wheelchair was made of excellent materials and would fetch at least three or four hundred taels of silver in a woodworking workshop.
The sleeping baby was very cute and was wearing silk. It was obvious that she was the product of a wealthy family.
After thinking for a while, the middle-aged man smiled ingratiatingly and said, "If you and your wife are sincere in buying it, I'll lower the price. How about six taels?"
Xiao Huan curled her lips and said, "It's also sold for six taels in the East Market, and it's a healthy cow."
"Miss, the people in East Market are so many and talkative, how can they compare to my convenient carriage?" The middle-aged man smiled meaningfully, "I'm the most tight-lipped person."
Shang Wan glanced at him, leaned over and whispered something in Lu Chengjing's ear.
Lu Chengjing nodded, grabbed her hand and played with it carefully, looking as if he didn't care about anything.
The middle-aged man felt more and more contemptuous, but looking at Shang Wan's appearance, he felt that if he married such a fairy-like wife, he would probably pamper her.
The woman in his family is so fierce, how can she be as sweet and gentle as this lady who is so adorable and lovely?
Shang Wan said, "You know whether this cow is sick or not. Including the carriage frame, it's worth five taels of silver. If you're willing to sell it, we'll be returning to the capital in two days. We have a lot of stuff, so we'll need to rent several carriages. We can rent them all from your carriage and horse shop."
The middle-aged man calculated in his mind that renting the ox cart in the past two months had helped him earn some money. Taking into account the five taels given by Shang Wan, he could almost break even.
If I can really make this carriage rental business, I won't lose money if I sell it for five taels.
Having made up his mind, the middle-aged man sighed, "Alas, five taels of silver is really a loss. My carriage and horse business is also a small business, and business is not good now..."
Shang Wan interrupted him, "I can sign a contract with you. I will send someone to the carriage and horse shop in two days to rent a carriage."
The middle-aged man was waiting for this sentence. After saying a few nice words, he agreed, drafted the contract, and both parties signed it.
Lu Chengjing read the contract. The gist of the terms was that when the agreed date arrived, regardless of whether anyone showed up to rent a carriage from the carriage shop or not, the rental money had to be paid, otherwise the government would enforce it.
His eyes darkened slightly as he watched Shang Wan take out a square seal and stamp it on the contract before handing it to the middle-aged man. "Go to the Lu family in the north of the city to get the money then."
(End of this chapter)
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