Chapter 17

Editor: Atlas Studios

Mingshui County was a lower county among the 88 counties in Xingyuan Prefecture. However, because it was close to the border and the forest, there were especially many leather goods and Hu products. The merchants in the south liked to buy goods here, so there were more people coming and going than in Middle County.

The last time Mu Yangling came to the county was more than a year ago in the winter. At that time, it was almost the new year, and Mu Shi happened to earn a sum of money, so he brought his wife and children to the county to buy New Year goods.

Over the past year, Mingshui County had not changed much. It was still as lively as before.

“Father, where are we going?”

“Let’s go to the market first. The itinerant merchants are all buying goods there.”

There were all kinds of goods in the Mingshui County market. Leather goods, in particular, occupied the largest area, and beside them were medicinal herbs.

Xingyuan Prefecture’s medicinal herbs were as famous as their leather goods.

Mu Yangling had already gotten off the cart. Walking beside her father, she looked around. Mu Shi whispered, “I’ve seen these itinerant merchants before. The last time we came, they bargained me down to a very low price. Let’s go inside and take a look.”

Mu Yangling saw the itinerant merchants standing behind the stalls. They only glanced at Mu Shi for a moment before looking away. Some of them even snorted arrogantly.

Mu Yangling couldn’t help but frown. Shouldn’t businessmen value harmony? Her father’s leather goods were considered top-notch in the market.

The deeper they went, the more disappointed Mu Shi became. These itinerant merchants were all the ones he had met the last time. There was no difference.

Mu Shi stopped in his tracks and said to his daughter, “Stay here and watch. I’ll ask for the price.”

“Okay.” Mu Yangling sat obediently on the cart.

Mu Shi took a piece of fur and went to ask for the price one by one. Meanwhile, Mu Yangling observed the people in the market and specially paid attention to the itinerant merchants nearby who were buying leather goods. She realized that the purchase price they quoted was about the same. Only when they encountered superior-quality goods would one see them raise the price. However, it was not intense. Most of the time, people would withdraw from the bidding after the price was raised twice or thrice.

Mu Yangling knew that these itinerant merchants were collaborating, and had likely conspired to lower Mu Shi’s price.

While Mu Yangling was frowning in disgust, she was unaware that a young man not far away was looking at her in surprise.

Qi Haoran grabbed Fan Zijin and pointed at Mu Yangling. He said happily, “Zijin, look who that is. We were just saying that we would go and repay the favor when we have time. In the end, she showed up unexpectedly.”

Fan Zijin was also surprised to see Mu Yangling sitting on the cart. “Why is she here?”

“Is there a need to ask? She’s definitely here to sell leather goods. She’s so skilled at hunting, so her family must have accumulated a lot of leather goods. Let’s go and take a look. If there’s anything good, we’ll buy a few too.” Qi Haoran pulled Fan Zijin over.

Fan Zijin had a bad feeling, for he found this too coincidental. Once the seeds of suspicion were sowed in his heart, he could not help but think too much.

They had just found Brother Xiuyuan and immediately this girl appeared. What if she was a spy sent by the Hus or the Imperial Court? It was also possible that she was sent by an opponent who wanted to deal with Brother Xiuyuan…

Fan Zijin was still letting his imagination run wild when Qi Haoran jumped up happily and was about to pat Mu Yangling’s shoulder.

Mu Yangling reached out alertly and grabbed Qi Haoran’s hand. With a slight twist, Qi Haoran shrieked and shouted, “Be gentle, be gentle. It’s me, Miss Mu. Don’t you remember me?”

Seeing that it was Qi Haoran, Mu Yangling quickly let go. She was also a little surprised to see the two of them. “It’s you? You found your family?”

Fan Zijin said reservedly, “Thank you, Miss Mu. We found our family when we arrived in the county yesterday afternoon. Why are you here?”

“I followed my father here to sell leather goods. Young Master Qi, is your hand alright?”

Qi Haoran waved his hand and said, “Gosh, you’re strong! But I’m fine. I am used to being thrown around since I was young.”

Fan Zijin glanced at him, then looked down at his wrist and smiled coldly.

Qi Haoran glared at him and asked Mu Yangling, “Miss Mu, where’s your father?”

“He went to ask for the price.”

Qi Haoran asked in confusion, “Aren’t the prices the same? Why is there a need to ask?” He and Fan Zijin came over early in the morning to shop and realized that the purchase price for leather goods quoted here were about the same.

Mu Yangling said helplessly, “They specially lowered my family’s price and slashed the purchase price by half, so my father wants to compare who’s offering a higher price and see if it can be raised further.”

Qi Haoran was astonished. “Why? Did your father offend these itinerant merchants?”

“No.” Mu Yangling snorted. “They’re just bullying my father because he looks like a Hu.”

Fan Zijin raised his eyebrows and pointed at Mu Shi, who was asking for the price. “Is that your father?”

Mu Yangling nodded.

Qi Haoran did not have a good impression of the Hus. He took a closer look at Mu Shi and said, “It’s just that his eyes and nose look a little similar to the Hus. He looks a little more majestic, but his appearance isn’t particularly similar. Does your father have Hu blood?”

Mu Yangling nodded. “My grandfather is half-Hu. However, our family has been living in a village near the mountain for a long time. My father has many old friends in Seven Mile Village. In the past, things were fine for him in the county. However, for some reason, ever since the itinerant merchants in the county changed, they often lowered the price of my father’s leather goods in the past two years. If not for the fact that we live too far away from Xingzhou, my father would definitely have gone to Xingzhou to sell his leather goods instead of being subjected to bullying here.”

It was said that Mu Shi looked like a Hu because he was surrounded by Han Chinese. Mu Shi’s eyes were darker, his facial features were rougher, and his nose was higher. Coupled with his majestic figure, he stood out among a group of Han Chinese men who only reached his chin.

However, he would not stand out in the military. Qi Haoran had seen many such people in the capital and did not think that they looked like Hus.

Fan Zijin pondered for a moment and understood the reason. He said, “Your father’s leather goods seem to be of pretty fine quality.”

“Of course. My grandfather was an expert at leather tanning, and my father inherited my grandfather’s teachings. The fur sold by us is made from leather hunted and tanned by my father. It’s considered top-notch in the market.”

“No wonder. Since your family is skilled at hunting and tanning leather, your leather goods should fetch a high price due to the superior quality. It will naturally cost a lot of money to buy your family’s leather goods. The local people hate the Hus, so those itinerant merchants probably conspired to lower the price seeing that your father looked like a Hu. Otherwise, if it was a local Han, the itinerant merchants would not dare to do this.”

The reason why the itinerant merchants joined forces was to prevent themselves from being bullied by the local people in a foreign land. In order not to be suppressed too much by the itinerant merchants, the local people would also join forces. If someone was suppressed too much, there would naturally be people protesting against the itinerant merchants. Alas, Mu Shi was clearly not included.

Mu Yangling furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. “Then, are there any itinerant merchants who are also ostracized in this line?”

Fan Zijin looked at Mu Yangling approvingly and said, “I don’t know about this, but you can ask the owner here. He should know.”

Mu Yangling’s eyes lit up as she looked at the two of them. “Do you know the owner here?” Mu Yangling had long noticed that their clothes were glamorous and they were no longer as disheveled as they were yesterday.

Wanting to return the favor from yesterday, Fan Zijin smiled and nodded. “Although I don’t know him, I should be able to see him. If Miss Mu wishes to see him, I can get someone to bring him over.”