Chapter 213 – Longxing

Yan Lao’er hadn’t expected news to travel so fast.

After going through several towns without success, he and Qi Si made a decisive turn toward Longxing.

Sanbao’s planned route overlapped in many places with the Official Road, so Yan Lao’er simply chose to drive along the main road. Compared to cutting through backroads in a straight line, the Official Road had better conditions, and travel time was about the same. Plus, there were post stations along the way for rest and information gathering.

The border towns of Longxing and Fengming were much farther from Yongning than Crouching Tiger was. The road was barren, with nothing but a post station every thirty li.

Thanks to their official travel documents, they encountered no trouble on the road.

It also helped that Yan Lao’er was a man who sought peace and made a point to get along with others.

Whenever they were stopped for inspection, he would greet the officers with a smile, answer their questions before they could even ask, and recite the contents of their travel pass from memory. He’d even slip them a few copper coins with a polite word of thanks. If the officers were friendly, he’d chat with them a bit longer.

Don’t underestimate these seemingly idle courtesies.

They made the journey significantly smoother.

The officers would point out which post stations had agreeable innkeepers, which ones served slop barely better than pig feed, and which ones were greedy for tips.

Thanks to these insider tips, they avoided a number of unpleasant stops and managed to eat decently and sleep well along the way.

With good food and rest, they were full of energy. Sanbao, their mighty ox, was also a powerhouse—running tirelessly.

Truth be told, their travel time from Crouching Tiger to Longxing might even rival this world’s cavalry.

Qi Si didn’t think there was anything out of the ordinary.

They always traveled like this. Back when they were fleeing famine, they’d often march for eight to nine hours a day. Even the village’s donkeys and mules could handle it, huffing and puffing all the way.

Sure, they’d get a little cranky…

Naturally, he hadn’t noticed that Sanbao had been quietly picking up speed every day—just a little more, so subtly it left no trace.

After passing the fork between Longxing and Fengming and traveling another full day, a great river came into view, roaring in the distance.

Endless and mighty.

Here stood a stone bridge.

More accurately, it was a narrow part of the river, where people had piled stone to constrict the current further and built a solid bridge.

It was a Seven-Arch Bridge.

The largest bridge Yan Lao’er had seen in this world.

Granted, counting this one, he’d only seen two.

Still, that didn’t stop him from forming an opinion.

The center arch was the tallest and widest, while the others tapered off gradually, forming a graceful arc between the riverbanks.

As they got closer, he saw the bridge wasn’t entirely made of stone. While the foundation was solid rock, the surface was made from thick beams of wood lashed together.

The bridge had clearly stood for many years. The wood was dark and weathered. As the ox cart rolled over it, the boards creaked and groaned.

Yan Lao’er worried more than once that he and Qi Si—ox cart and all—would go tumbling down into the river.

But they didn’t.

They crossed safely and steadily.

At that moment, Yan Lao’er felt an immense sense of relief that Sanbao was an exact replica of the yellow ox his family had bought—down to appearance and weight.

If the load had been even slightly overweight, he might have seriously reconsidered crossing that bridge.

It was that nerve-wracking.

Once over the bridge, they were officially within Longxing’s jurisdiction.

Following the directions carved into the stone marker, they headed west for another half-day.

At last, a grand city rose before them.

“Yan Lao’er, is this Longxing? It’s huge!” Qi Si stared wide-eyed.

Indeed—it was huge!

Yan Lao’er thought to himself: It’s on par with Yongning City.

Then he thought of Crouching Tiger. Also a border city, yet compared to Longxing, it was tiny. Honestly—no presence at all!

Longxing’s entry inspection was strict—even for travelers coming from within the interior.

Even Yan Lao’er’s usual tactic of slipping coins wasn’t quite as effective.

The guards thoroughly examined their documents and even checked the cart.

They inspected every inch of the ox cart, leaving Yan Lao’er feeling shaken.

Good thing he hadn’t listened to his daughter about bringing the crossbow. If he had, they’d never have made it past the gate.

After a long inspection, they were finally allowed into the city.

Longxing, both in appearance and atmosphere, lived up to its imposing reputation. People walking the streets carried a sharp, unfamiliar air of toughness.

Qi Si, on his own, blended in fine. He didn’t stand out in the slightest.

But standing next to Yan Lao’er, they made a conspicuous pair.

One look and it was obvious Yan Lao’er was an outsider. Something about him just didn’t fit.

Carrying that awkward feeling with him, Yan Lao’er didn’t even stop to rest. He headed straight for a medicine shop.

After reading the list he presented, the shop assistant said, “Please wait a moment,” and went to fetch the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper came out, not bothering with pleasantries, and asked directly who he was and what he needed the herbs for.

Yan Lao’er answered honestly. He said he was a Zhuangban Constable (Undercover constable) from Crouching Tiger City, sent under orders from the Lord Magistrate to procure the herbs.

After checking his identification, the shopkeeper’s expression softened.

“My apologies. The Northern Rong have been making frequent incursions lately—we’re all on edge.” He added, “Not long ago, some bandits from beyond the border snuck into the city, pretending to be merchants. They were actually scouting our defenses. Since then, the Lord Magistrate has ordered us to thoroughly vet anyone purchasing large quantities of supplies. If we let anything slip, we’ll be held accountable—worst case, it’s treason. That’s a capital crime. We really can’t afford to be careless.”

“I understand completely,” Yan Lao’er said sincerely. “Crouching Tiger’s a border city too. We’re in the same boat. We’re the ones holding the line. Those damn Rong bastards never give us a moment’s peace…

And on top of that, Gufeng’s got an epidemic now. Even we at Crouching Tiger are being affected. Problems inside and out—what a mess!”

The shopkeeper’s expression eased further, and a flicker of camaraderie crossed his face.

Only those who lived on the border truly understood what border life was like.

“But why come all the way to Longxing to buy herbs? There are plenty of medicine shops in Yongning City. Even if one store can’t fill your order, a few combined could.”

Yan Lao’er sighed with regret. “Don’t even mention it. All the medicine in Yongning City’s already been sent to Gufeng. What’s left for us at Crouching Tiger is barely enough. The master sent us to Longxing to stockpile a bit more, just in case.

“If you can’t supply it all here, I might have to make a trip to Fengming. I have to bring back the full order before I can report back.”

He deliberately left out how dire the need for medicine was back in Crouching Tiger, wary they’d raise the price.

The shopkeeper replied, “That’s quite the order you’ve got, but thankfully most of it’s for clearing heat and relieving the exterior—usually not in high demand till winter. Our lord happened to restock before the fifth month, so it shouldn’t be a problem to portion some out for you.”

“That’s great to hear. There’s still time before winter, plenty of time to restock,” Yan Lao’er chimed in.

The shopkeeper had been thinking along the same lines. He asked where they were staying.

“We just arrived. Longxing feels so big and imposing, we didn’t dare wander. Saw your shop and came straight in. Haven’t even had time to look for an inn,” Yan Lao’er admitted honestly.

The shopkeeper laughed. “First time running an errand?”

“You’ve got a sharp eye, Shopkeeper, that’s exactly it. Never been this far from home. Yongning was the furthest I’d gone before—and even that place felt bustling. And now Longxing… from the outside, it looks just as grand as a prefectural capital!”

The shopkeeper waved it off modestly. “Yongning is a prefectural city—we can’t compare. Longxing only looks big because the garrison is stationed inside the city. More than half of it is occupied by soldiers.”

“I think I saw… people from outside the pass?” Yan Lao’er asked cautiously in a low voice.

The shopkeeper sighed. “Those aren’t Northern Rong. They’re children born from women of our dynasty taken by bandits beyond the pass… Poor souls.”

He clearly didn’t want to talk more about it.

He started flicking through the abacus beads with practiced speed, reciting the prices and quantities aloud as he calculated from Yan Lao’er’s order.

After working out the total, he went through it again to double-check, then reported the final number.

Yan Lao’er asked him to copy the unit prices onto his own prepared list. He double-checked each item and added up the numbers himself, borrowing the shopkeeper’s brush to jot things down.

That caught the shopkeeper’s eye. He hadn’t expected this customer to be literate.

Yan Lao’er didn’t quibble over the prices—the shopkeeper hadn’t inflated them.

But for such a large order, how could you not haggle?

So the two went back and forth for quite a while, eventually agreeing on a final price, and then shaving a little more off to round down the total.

The shopkeeper did the math carefully, then agreed. He copied out two clean versions of the invoice—one for Yan Lao’er, one for himself.

But Yan Lao’er noticed something off.

The shopkeeper’s own copy listed the agreed-upon price clearly, including the discount and the actual amount to be paid.

The one he handed over to Yan Lao’er only listed the original prices, the deposit paid, and the pickup time.

“Shopkeeper, just make the two copies the same,” Yan Lao’er said, handing it back.

The shopkeeper looked up at him, cupped his hands respectfully, and spoke with noticeably more warmth. “Brother, you’re a straightforward man. Next time you’re in Longxing on official duty, be sure to stop by again.”

He even helpfully recommended an inn just a street over.

“We’ll have everything ready by tomorrow morning. You can pick it up then.”

Yan Lao’er left a deposit, then left with Qi Si.

But instead of heading to the recommended inn, he made his way to a second pharmacy.

Using the same list, he ordered another full set of the medicines.

Only then did the two of them head to the inn.

“Yan Lao’er, we can head home tomorrow?” Qi Si asked, surprised at how smoothly things were going. In, buy, done.

“It’s late today. We’ll check one more shop tomorrow,” Yan Lao’er said, counting the silver he had left. Not much.

Still, now that they’d come all this way, it’d be a waste not to turn every coin into medicine.

“Tomorrow, let’s pick up the orders from those two shops first,” Yan Lao’er added.

He rummaged through the bundle they’d brought from home—inside were bars of their homemade scented soap.

They’d been stacked neatly, but the customs inspection had jumbled everything. Yan Lao’er gently rearranged them with great care.

If he could sell all the scented soap, he could use the same list to place another full order.

He and Qi Si asked the inn’s server for hot water, washed up, and turned in.

Early the next morning, they returned to the pharmacy.

After a round of polite small talk, they inspected the goods, paid the balance, and took the medicine back.

But Yan Lao’er was cautious—he didn’t head to the second pharmacy right away.

Instead, he brought the medicine back to the inn and carried it into the guestroom with Qi Si, bundle by bundle.

Then, still uneasy, he left Qi Si behind to keep watch and went alone to pick up the second order.

He didn’t know how pharmacies communicated with one another, but somehow, overnight, word had gotten around that someone was in town buying up large quantities of medicine.

The second shopkeeper gave a vague nod that confirmed as much—but didn’t make trouble. The transaction went smoothly, payment and goods exchanged according to the list.

Yan Lao’er used the same trick: brought the goods back to the inn himself.

Then, as expected, the next two pharmacies he inquired at had already raised their prices by ten percent.

He walked out with a darkened expression, cursing under his breath. Damn profiteers!

If he’d just pushed to visit one more shop yesterday…

He was annoyed but knew more running wouldn’t have helped much—the real problem was he didn’t have enough silver.

Lifting his head, he looked at the sign above the storefront.

Then Yan Lao’er strode right in.

He didn’t expect to buy a third round of medicine at this point, but since he was already here, he couldn’t shake the itch to ask how much the scented soap might go for.

“Shopkeeper, how much for this scented soap?” Yan Lao’er asked casually.

“One tael and five qian.”

Wait, what?

Yan Lao’er froze.

He looked at the oval-shaped, dark-colored bar of soap, then back at the shopkeeper.

Are you messing with me?

He’d seen his fair share of scented soap before. His family even made it themselves. One glance was all it took for him to tell that this was the kind of stuff sold in Yongning City for one tael and two or three qian.

Was the shopkeeper trying to take advantage of an outsider?

“Shopkeeper, this would go for one tael and two qian in Yongning City. Why is it one tael five here?” He thought for a moment and swallowed the rest of the sentence—Why are you so shamelessly greedy?

The shopkeeper chuckled. “Good sir, Longxing’s not exactly next door to Yongning. The road is long, and the inspections getting in and out of the city are strict. Every cart hauling goods has to pay higher fees, so naturally, the prices here are a bit steeper than in Yongning City.”

Yan Lao’er was tempted to ask outright—So how much silver are you pocketing from this?

But that felt too abrupt.

Instead, he rolled his eyes thoughtfully and changed the subject to the inspections at the city gates.

“I didn’t notice much of that myself. I’ve come to Longxing on official business to purchase some medicinal herbs. Tell me, Shopkeeper, if I were to transport these herbs out of the city, would I also need to pay extra silver?”

There weren’t many customers around, so the shopkeeper was free and didn’t mind chatting.

“Ordinarily, you wouldn’t. You’ve surely got proper travel documents on you. The guards won’t give you too much trouble. Still, if you want things to go smoother, it’s best to offer some tea money. That way, the officers will be quicker and a bit more lenient with their inspections,” he said kindly, picking up on the fact that Yan Lao’er was an out-of-towner.

“Thank you for the advice, truly.” Yan Lao’er wore a look of sincere gratitude. After a brief hesitation, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “Shopkeeper, I came from Crouching Tiger, passed through Yongning on the way. In the city, I noticed people selling a kind of scented soap that’s different from the usual kind—had young ladies and housewives practically fighting over it. Got caught up in the moment and bought a few too many. Now that I think about it, there’s no way my family can use that much. I was wondering… do you buy that sort of thing here?”

“What kind of scented soap would people fight over?” The shopkeeper was clearly skeptical.

There were only so many types of scented soap. The households who could afford it were few and fixed.

“I brought some with me. Have a look, Shopkeeper.” Yan Lao’er tugged the bundle from his back and laid it out.

The shopkeeper gave him a sidelong glance.

Looked him up and down.

Yan Lao’er’s skin was thick as leather—he didn’t blush in the slightest.

“See, Shopkeeper? Isn’t it something special?”

The shopkeeper took the bundle and examined it closely.

“It’s just a different shape.”

There were even characters stamped on it.

Felt smoother than the ones he sold in his own shop.

(End of chapter)