Chapter 19

Sold

Owner Zhang rubbed the fox skin with his fingers and said with a smile, “This fox skin is of high quality and is worth at least four taels of silver.”

Fan Zijin turned around and asked Mu Shi, “Uncle Mu, what price did those itinerant merchants offer you just now?”

Only then did Owner Zhang see Mu Shi sitting at the side. His expression changed slightly, and he felt a little uneasy.

Mu Shi said, “They offered two taels.”

With his lips curled, Fan Zijin looked at Owner Zhang and said, “Owner Zhang, there seems to be a huge difference in the price.”

Owner Zhang smiled apologetically: “I’m afraid those itinerant merchants don’t recognize quality when they see it.” Owner Zhang thought for a moment and said, “How about this? I’ll introduce you to a few itinerant merchants whose offers have always been fair.”

Although he did not know the relationship between this young master and the Mu family’s father and daughter, it was better not to offend them.

Fan Zijin only wanted to return Mu Yangling’s favor and wasn’t prepared to go so far as to stand up for them. Hence, he said readily, “I’ll have to trouble Owner Zhang then.”

Wouldn’t Owner Zhang be introducing those same few itinerant merchants?

This time, they had Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran standing up for them, but they would not have such luck next time. Displeased with the suggestion, Mu Yangling smiled brightly and interrupted, “Owner Zhang, my father is wooden and I’m inarticulate. I am just afraid that those itinerant merchants don’t like us. I wonder if there are any leather goods merchants who are as unsociable as us.”

Owner Zhang glanced at Mu Yangling and thought to himself, ‘You call this inarticulate?’ Nonetheless, he still lowered his head and thought for a moment before replying, “There are two of them. They came from Wenzhou and don’t fit in with others. They have a stall set up in the north corner alone. Why, do you want to sell leather goods to them?”

Mu Yangling looked at his father. Mu Shi bowed and said, “We want to take a look. Please introduce us.”

Owner Zhang nodded. “That’s not difficult. Come with me.”

He knew Mu Shi. Every year, he sold the most leather goods, and they were of superior quality. Although he had the bloodline of the Hus, his father had lived in Mingshui County before his birth, and he was born and raised in Mingshui County. Therefore, even though he looked down on him, he still regarded him as a citizen of Mingshui County.

He knew a little about him being bullied by the new itinerant merchants after the merchants who used to buy goods from him had left. However, firstly, Mu Shi did not complain, so he naturally did not care. Secondly, this matter only involved Mu Shi. Because it was not a good idea for him to challenge so many itinerant merchants alone, he turned a blind eye to it. However, he, too, was not particularly fond of those itinerant merchants.

Now that someone was standing up for Mu Shi, he was happy to help.

Owner Zhang led them to look for the two merchants from Wenzhou.

Most of the local itinerant merchants came from the Hongzhou area, so they often worked together. Only Jiang Rong and Guo Cai came from Wenzhou, so they were ostracized by everyone and couldn’t even find good locations for their stall. Therefore, even if they offered a fair price, there were very few fine leather goods that they could acquire. However, should they increase the offer price, it wouldn’t be worth their effort going to and fro.

The two of them were sitting behind the stall and watching wistfully at the crowd up ahead, but there was not a single person in front of their stall.

When they saw Owner Zhang bringing people over, the two of them hurriedly stood up and bowed. “Owner Zhang.”

Owner Zhang nodded slightly and pointed at Mu Shi. “Gentlemen, I’ve brought business to you. This is Mu Shi, whose leather goods have always been of outstanding quality. The two of you can have a discussion.” With that said, he moved to the side. As the marketplace owner, he could not interfere with the transactions on the premises.

Jiang Rong and Guo Cai were bewildered. When they got a clear look of Mu Shi’s appearance and then saw the two young masters who were talking softly at the side, they finally calmed down.

The first to break the silence, Mu Yangling took the fox skin and took the initiative to promote it to them. “Uncles, this is my family’s leather goods. Please take a closer look. My father’s leather tanning skills are one of the best in Seven Mile Village.”

Jiang Rong held it in his hand and touched it before opening it to take a closer look. He nodded slightly at Guo Cai, and Guo Cai said in a low voice, “This fox skin is indeed of fine quality. I wonder how many pieces Brother Mu has?”

Mu Shi’s eyes lit up and he replied readily, “There are a total of five.”

“Can you take it out and show it to us?”

Mu Shi carefully untied a roll of fox skin from the cart and opened it for them to see. The two of them examined it carefully and did not miss a single spot. After a while, they nodded, feeling excited.

Jiang Rong calmed himself down and smiled. “This fox fur is indeed of good quality. I wonder how much Brother Mu wants for them?”

Mu Shi thought about how those merchants had offered two taels of silver just now and were unwilling to raise the price by even 50 copper coins. Originally, he had thought that it would be great if he could sell it for 2 taels 50 copper coins, but now, he decided to sell it for three taels. Just as he opened his mouth, his daughter spoke up at this time. “Uncles, why don’t you name a price first? If it’s suitable, we’ll sell it. If not, we can negotiate further. How about that?”

Jiang Rong and Guo Cai looked at each other and saw Mu Yangling in a new light. Whoever made the first bid would be at a disadvantage.

The two of them wanted to refuse, but the two young masters in luxurious clothes were looking over with a smile. The two of them thought for a moment and said, “Such good fox fur can be sold for four taels of silver in the market.” Guo Cai gritted his teeth but did not raise the price. “Then we’ll bid four taels of silver each.” He and Jiang Rong did not come from well-to-do families. Not only did they sell their assets when they came to Mingshui County to purchase goods, but they also owed a lot of debt. Their wives and children were waiting at home for them to bring money back. Although they knew that the other party had a backer, they did not raise the price. They figured they could always slowly raise the bid if the other party was not satisfied.

Mu Shi and Mu Yangling heaved a sigh of relief and nodded with a smile. “Then let’s go with this price.”

Now that the most expensive fox fur had been sold, only the rabbit fur, wolf fur, and other furs were left.

The rabbit fur was still fine, for many nobles in the south liked it. But the wolf fur was a tad difficult to sell. This was because Wenzhou was very far south, and the men there did not like to wear wolf fur. Instead, in the Hongzhou area, men liked to use this fur in winter.

However, Jiang Rong and Guo Cai only hesitated for a moment before offering to buy it for a very reasonable price.

Watching them take out silver, Mu Yangling smiled until her eyes narrowed. Mu Shi was also delighted. Just the fox fur alone fetched 20 taels. Including the other furs, they earned a total of 48 taels of silver. It was enough for the family to have a good New Year, and not have to worry about money until next summer.

Jiang Rong and Guo Cai were also in high spirits. Jiang Rong thought for a moment and said, “Brother Mu, if you have any more furs that you want to sell in the future, you can come to us. If anyone in your village wants to sell, you can also ask them to come here. I don’t dare to say that the price we offer is the highest, but it will definitely be the fairest.”

Extremely satisfied with them, Mu Shi nodded and said, “Thank you. I’ll definitely look for you when I have leather goods in the future.”

Jiang Rong and Guo Cai immediately responded with a wide smile.

Everyone thanked Owner Zhang again. Then, Mu Yangling saw her father take out five taels of silver and stuff it into Owner Zhang’s hand. “Owner Zhang, here are our taxes.”

Narrowing his eyes, Owner Zhang took out a small wolf hair brush. He wrote a receipt for Mu Shi and kept the silver, then smiled at Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin. “Young masters, now that this matter is over, why don’t you let me accompany the two of you for a walk?”

“There’s no need. We’ll stroll around by ourselves for a while.” Qi Haoran had no patience to go shopping with an old man. He said, “Owner Zhang is a busy man. You can go first and don’t have to accompany us.”

Owner Zhang did not force him. He only nodded and smiled before leaving.