Jiang Nian put on a mask and a straw hat, which he disliked the most. However, the businessmen from the grasslands felt that he had not done enough.
The men covered their heads and faces with cloth, leaving only a few holes to reveal their two eyes and nose.
Living in this place, they would easily get burned by the scorching sun, and would get sick if too much wind and sand entered their mouths and noses.
We followed them on the journey, but didn't encounter any villages along the way.
Jiang Yue looked out the window. The endless grassland and the blue sky could open one's mind. But if one stayed there for too long, it would also make one feel lonely.
After three days of travel, the group finally saw some herdsmen and occasionally a dozen felt tents gathered by the river.
"Mom, will our family have so many sheep?" Sui Sui asked curiously, looking at the snow-white flock of at least a thousand sheep on the grassland.
Jiang Yue saw excitement in his eyes and wondered if he wanted to eat raw lamb or roasted lamb...
"Our farm is small, and we can't raise so many. I don't know how many sheep we can buy, but if we can, we'll buy as many as we can. We'll cook mutton hotpot in the winter, and then ask your father to roast a leg of lamb for you, okay?"
"Okay." Sui Sui said in a baby voice, counting on his fingers, "We want roasted lamb legs, roasted chicken, roasted fish, and roasted pig's trotters..."
Jiang Yue laughed and pinched his nose, "I want to see how much food your little belly can hold."
“I can eat so much…”
Jiang Nian listened to their conversation while walking, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
After another hour of travel, when the sunset illuminated the entire sky, Jiang Nian reminded her, "Yueyue, we're almost there."
Jiang Yue peered out the window, a patchwork of brick buildings coming into view. Unlike the capital cities of the Central Plains, this one seemed run-down and small. While the land was vast, most of the buildings were low.
The guide was obviously familiar with the place. He led them to a small house, knocked on the door and shouted, "Saihan, Saihan, someone is looking for you!"
The neighbors were called out by his knocking on the door and looked at the new guests curiously.
"Who is it?" After a while, a middle-aged man's voice came from far away, and the small wooden door was opened.
Seeing that it was a familiar face, he asked again, "Who is it?"
"Your distant guest has arrived, Saihan!"
After dropping the person off, the few people left. Although they knew each other, they were not familiar with each other, so there was no need to exchange pleasantries.
Saihan looked at the family of three curiously, but couldn't remember who they were.
Jiang Nian took off his mask and straw hat and said, "Brother Saihan, I'm Jiang Nian. I bought sheep and calves from you three years ago."
Saihan carefully identified his face and finally remembered, "You are the man from the Central Plains who bought sheep for his wife!"
He showed off his large teeth, and his sun-tanned face was full of wrinkles, making him look simple and honest. He looked behind him and said, "Is this your wife and son? They are so good-looking."
"Yes."
Saihan hurriedly invited them into the house.
Jiang Yue walked behind, Sui Sui by her hand, observing quietly. The house was small, but the yard was large, and the bricks and tiles were in good condition. This family's conditions must be better than others.
Saihan's wife and two sons were at home. Perhaps because they hadn't seen guests from outside for a long time, they stared at them curiously.
Saihan poured them a few bowls of butter tea and said, "I'm so sorry, we don't have anything good to treat you."
"Brother Saihan, there's no need to be so polite. Let's be frank. We're here to buy sheep and cattle, both castrated and uncastrated."
"We have cloth, porcelain bowls and dishes, grain, and a little salt..."
Seeing that they only brought a mule cart, Saihan originally wanted to refuse, thinking that they would have to pay for it again. But when he heard that they could exchange it for food and cloth, his eyes lit up.
Saihan's wife was a cheerful and generous woman with a much thicker accent than Saihan's. She smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time. We'll be selling them out in half a month. The others probably haven't been sold to merchants yet."
Families with large sheep flocks would gather together and sell their sheep themselves for a higher price. However, families with small sheep flocks would not take the risk and would choose to sell to sheep-collecting caravans, which would allow them to get paid quickly, but at a lower price.
"How much do you want in exchange?"
"It depends on how many sheep and cattle we have. We originally thought we would exchange about 80 sheep and 10 cattle."
This quantity is actually not much, it is considered to be lower average, so Jiang Yue is not worried about not being able to buy it.
Sure enough, Saihan was not surprised to hear the number. "These sheep are enough for my family and Agudamu's family to raise. But we didn't raise cattle this year, so we need to ask our relatives."
"Then please ask Brother Saihan for us. The more the better. We have brought enough food."
"good."
Saihan originally wanted to have his son stay at a relative's house for a night to free up a room for the guest, but they said they had to wait for someone to deliver the goods, so it would be more convenient to stay at an inn. So he took his son to the only small inn a few miles away.
The next morning, Saihan brought two carts from his home, and Agudamu's family also brought two carts.
Things from the Central Plains were expensive in border towns where food and clothing were scarce. Even if they weren't in border towns, they would be snapped up in nearby cities. So the things Jiang Yue brought were definitely valuable enough.
She took out most of the goods and piled them up in the house. Saihan came with his two sons and Agudamu and his son. They were all shocked when they saw it for the first time.
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