Chapter 214 – A Great River

“How much did you pay for them?” the shopkeeper asked.

“They sell for one tael and four qian in stores, but I bought a lot, so I got a deal—one tael and two qian each,” Yan Lao’er replied.

The shopkeeper nodded. That price seemed reasonable.

“If you’re willing to sell to me at the same price, I’ll take a few bars,” the shopkeeper said after some thought.

He could tell the man hadn’t come into the shop for anything else—he was here to sell scented soap.

Otherwise, what were the odds he’d show up carrying a bundle like that?

Whether Yan Lao’er had really bought too much in Yongning and feared his wife back home wouldn’t be pleased, or whether he was simply making use of his official errand to haul goods from Yongning City to Longxing to turn a profit—it didn’t much matter to him.

What caught his eye was that this scented soap seemed a bit novel. Maybe it could be sold for a few qian more—that alone made it worth a try.

He already had the perfect excuse to charge a higher price.

That constable from Crouching Tiger City had said it himself—this scented soap was wildly popular in the prefectural city…

Yan Lao’er was overjoyed. “Thank you, Shopkeeper, you’ve solved my dilemma.”

He sold ten bars and walked out of the shop with twelve taels of silver, grinning from ear to ear.

Before leaving, he made sure to remember the shop’s name. If he ever had the chance to come back to Longxing, he’d return here again.

With twelve taels in hand, Yan Lao’er went to a pharmacy he’d visited earlier. After relentless bargaining, he just barely got them to agree to the old price before it went up. As for getting a discount—no way. Buying at the original price was already a steal.

This time he didn’t leave a deposit. Instead, he waited right there in the shop as they prepared and packed the herbs, not even breaking for lunch. He kept a close watch the entire time until everything was loaded up.

After reuniting with Qi Si at the inn, Yan Lao’er asked a servant to fetch him some water. He also handed over some silver and asked the man to help buy some large meat-stuffed buns.

The two of them got to work organizing the herbs, binding them tightly, and covering them with dried tung oil cloth.

“Qi Si, you watch the cart. I’ll be right back,” Yan Lao’er said.

Qi Si nodded and stood by the ox cart, not taking his eyes off it for a moment.

Yan Lao’er went to ask the shopkeeper about something.

“Shopkeeper, I saw boats under the bridge outside the city. Where do they go?”

The shopkeeper motioned with his mouth toward the outside. “With your kind of cargo, you can’t cross the bridge. You’ll have to take a boat. I’d say you’ll need to make two trips—cargo, cart, and ox all separately.”

Yan Lao’er had been thinking the same.

When he arrived, the cart was empty, and even then the bridge had creaked and groaned. Now it was fully loaded—taking a boat would be much safer.

“Aren’t there any larger boats?” he asked.

“There are,” said the shopkeeper. “Government boats—they travel between Longxing and Fengming. You could take your cart and cargo all together on one of those. But where are you headed?”

“I’m going to Crouching Tiger…”

“The river outside the city runs from Fengming through Longxing, then downstream to Gufeng and Changping. But the big boats can’t go that far—they only run between Longxing and Fengming. As for small boats… the river’s shallow this year, probably not navigable either.

Even though going downstream is quick, no one’s likely to make the trip. You’d best cross the river and go back the way you came.”

Yan Lao’er thanked the shopkeeper. When the servant returned with a large bundle of meat buns, he tipped him a few copper coins.

He’d really learned something today.

He hadn’t been sure before, but now, after hearing the innkeeper’s explanation, he finally understood where the river near their village came from.

It flowed out of Fengming, passed through Longxing and Gufeng, and finally reached Changping and entered the sea.

Going downstream, boats would travel fast.

But the reason the cities along the route weren’t closely connected was probably because downstream was easy, but upstream was hard.

Only when the water wasn’t too strong could boats go both ways.

And the stretch of river by their village—shallow and narrow—was impassable for large boats.

They had to rely on small boats to come and go, which were tiring and could barely carry anything.

Without a big enough profit, no one would bother taking the river route.

Far better to travel overland along the official road—smooth all the way.

Yan Lao’er and Qi Si hurried out of the city.

At the gate, they handed over one qian in silver—quite a hefty bribe.

Sure enough, the guards handled everything gently this time, not rummaging and turning everything over like before.

Yan Lao’er was speechless. Clearly, he hadn’t tipped enough when he came in.

Yongning City only charged ten copper coins at the gate, and thinking he’d be generous in Longxing, he’d given twenty—only to find they didn’t even care…

The difference between cities was just too much!

…

“Boatman, I want to rent two of your boats. Wouldn’t it be better if we crossed together and arrived at the far bank at the same time? If only your family’s boat is going, you’d have to make an extra trip anyway,” Yan Lao’er tried persuading the stubborn old boatman.

But the old man wasn’t having it.

“We boatmen have our own rules. You can only rent from one family. What’s wrong with making two trips? That’s how everyone crosses.”

Yan Lao’er tried everything he could—sweet talk, earnest pleading—but the man wouldn’t budge, so his face darkened.

He turned on his heel and marched back to the cart.

The old man shouted after him, “Hey, young fella! It’s getting late. If you don’t cross now, I’m heading home to rest!”

Yan Lao’er wasn’t buying it.

This was a trap so many had fallen into.

Can’t take the bridge? Take a boat. But with a cartload of goods, they had to go in two trips.

And the boatman insisting on one boat doing both trips—just a way to squeeze more silver out of them.

But really, if he couldn’t get everything across in one trip, why take the boat at all?

He could just cross the bridge twice. Or three times. Or four.

With a smart old ox—why not?

Yan Lao’er and Qi Si unloaded the goods under the bridge.

“Qi Si, you wait here. I’ll have Sanbao come back empty later. Then you load this pile onto him.”

Yan Lao’er divided the goods into three piles.

He planned to make three trips.

Qi Si scratched his head and asked, “Yan Lao’er, can the ox really cross on its own?”

Yan Lao’er chuckled. “Why not? Haven’t you heard? Old oxen, horses, mules, and donkeys all know the road. My Sanbao was raised right—he understands speech. Besides, that bridge is one straight path. He won’t stray.”

Qi Si heard him say it would work, so he believed it would.

Yan Lao’er drove the ox cart across the bridge, unloaded the goods, and turned the cart around…

Down below, the old boatman and the owner of the second boat stood dumbfounded, staring in disbelief.

“That… that ox cart…”

The old man, fuming, muttered, “He just got lucky this time. That ox hauled everything across smooth as butter. If his luck had turned, he and the whole cart would’ve toppled right off.”

Even after the ox cart disappeared from sight, he was still grumbling, “What’s the rush? Chasing the next life, is he?”

Meanwhile, Yan Lao’er, now far away, was already summing up the lesson.

Next time, two people wouldn’t be enough—three at the very least.

And if they were moving this much cargo again, it’d be best to bring two carts.

But that would mean extra expenses all along the way.

Not to mention the bribes they’d handed out at post stations and checkpoints—the silver spent just on smoothing things over with the officials was no small amount.

Thinking it through, it was no wonder the scented soap sold for such a high price in Longxing.

It was all baked into the cost of transport.

“Qi Si, we need to hurry and get back. Let’s try not to stop unless we absolutely have to. Just the two of us and this bundle of big meat buns—eat sparingly and see if we can make it all the way home.”

Qi Si, for once, had a flash of brilliance. “Yan Lao’er, did you spend all your silver already? I’ve still got some—my mother gave me five taels before I left.”

(End of chapter)