Chapter 970
Don't Bring a Knife
The Hanling tribe followed He Liang to the medicine and bone shop. Helian personally followed, watching from beginning to end. He watched as the master craftsman spread out a bundle of cold herbs, smelling and pinching each one individually, while uttering a long string of jargon that he didn't quite understand. The question in his mind, "How do people from the south view goods from the north?" was gradually answered.
It turns out that not just any thing can be sold.
It turns out there's a proper way to dry grass: it can't just be dried, it has to be dried evenly and thoroughly, it can't get wet with dew, and it can't develop a musty smell.
It turns out that the degree of "deathly aura" in one's bones can be detected by smell.
Helian looked at it for a long time, then pulled the old herbalist from the department aside and whispered, "Look carefully and remember it well. When we get back, we can't dry our herbs haphazardly like before."
The old herbalist nodded, took out a piece of charcoal from his pocket, and began to take notes on the leather—although he was illiterate, he could still draw a few lines and remember a few numbers.
The people of the Firemane tribe were taken to the cloth market and the general merchandise market.
Tiegu personally led the skillful women to inspect fabrics from shop to shop. He felt thick linen, fine cotton, quilted cotton, and velvet fabric, asking about the price, usage, and durability of each type.
"This thick linen is durable and suitable for making outer garments."
"This fine cotton, when used as a lining, is not itchy against the skin."
"This kind of velour fabric is the best at blocking the wind, but it's expensive and not everyone can wear it."
Tiegu listened and took notes, memorizing them. As he got older, his memory wasn't what it used to be, so he read and recited them repeatedly, like a child memorizing a book.
The women, however, were more interested in colors and patterns. Standing at the entrance of the fabric shop, their eyes widened as they stared at the colorful samples. The youngest woman among them couldn't resist reaching out to touch a piece of dark red fine cotton fabric, but immediately withdrew her hand as if burned, afraid of being scolded by the shop assistant.
The shopkeeper didn't scold him; instead, he smiled and said, "This is a new arrival, dyed from the south. The color is perfect and won't fade."
The woman turned to look at Tiegu, her eyes filled with a rare, almost pleading light.
Tiegu paused for a moment, then asked the waiter, "How much is this one?"
The guy gave a number.
Tiegu paused for a moment, then turned to the woman and said, "Buy half a bolt this time. Try it out when you get back, and if it works well, buy more next time."
The woman nodded vigorously, her eyes reddening.
Red Fang wasn't as impulsive this time.
He followed He Liang the whole time, accompanied by the two boys from the Hanling tribe, listening to him talk to people from various merchants. He wrote down everything He Liang said—if he couldn't remember something, he had the two boys write it down for him. The three of them huddled together, like three mimicking birds, repeating He Liang's words over and over again.
"Steward He, what did that person from the pharmacy mean when he said 'is it cold enough'?"
He Liang glanced at him and patiently explained, "It means whether this herb is 'cold' enough. The reason why cold herbs from the north are valuable is because they grow in cold places and have sufficient cold properties. Herbs grown in the south are not cold enough and have poor medicinal effects."
Chi Ya suddenly realized what was going on and turned to the two boys, saying, "Did you hear that? Han Xing. Remember that."
The two boys nodded vigorously.
Wu Chen did not go shopping with them.
He stayed alone in the yard, going over the leather goods that had already been agreed upon again—not because he didn't trust Shenghe's people, but because he wanted to see them a few more times and make the difference between "good leather" and "inferior leather" etched into his mind.
When the Bone Granny walked over, Wu Chen was staring blankly at a wolf skin.
"What are you looking at?"
“Look at this leather,” Wu Chen said. “Shenghe paid a top price for it, but I still feel it’s a little inferior to the one Zheng Yi took last time.”
The old woman squatted down and reached out to touch the skin.
"The problem lies in the tanning process," she said. "This leather wasn't tanned long enough; the hide is still a bit stiff. The last one was tanned for five more days."
Wu Chen frowned: "Then why did Shenghe still offer a superior price?"
“Because they know this is a northern craft, and we can’t use the standards of southern tanneries to judge it.” The old woman stood up. “But they won’t be so lenient next time. You have to go back and tell the people in the ministry that the tanning time cannot be cut, not even by a single day.”
Wu Chen nodded, engraving those words into his mind.
On the third day, Zheng Yi took Chi Ya and the bone ornaments to a shop that was not on He Liang's list.
It was a small shop tucked away in a back alley of the inner city, with a small storefront, specializing in jewelry. The items were diverse—jade and silver ornaments from the south, as well as bone hairpins, wooden combs, and leather bracelets made by local artisans. Most of the customers were young women from the city and some passing merchants from the south.
The shopkeeper's surname was Bai. He was a man in his early thirties with a thin, long face and long, slender fingers. He looked like someone who dealt with small items all year round.
Zheng Yi unwrapped the soft cloth covering the bone ornaments and placed the items one by one on the counter.
Manager Bai glanced down at it but didn't say anything.
He glanced at it again, reached out and picked up the string of animal teeth beads, and looked at it against the light from the window for a few moments.
"From the North?"
"Yes."
Shopkeeper Bai put down the bracelet and picked up the pendant made from a piece of shoulder blade. The pendant was very thin and translucent, with the bone patterns spreading out like mist inside, and its irregular shape making each piece unique.
"What kind of bone is this?"
"Scapula. From the old wolf of the North."
Shopkeeper Bai flipped the tag over to look at the back, then leaned closer to smell it.
"Not waxed?"
"It wasn't done. It was just polished smooth, revealing the true color of the bone."
Shopkeeper Bai was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How many of these do you have?"
Zheng Yi's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm.
"I didn't bring many this time, just a dozen or so. If they sell well, I can make more next time."
Shopkeeper Bai put down the price tag, took a step back, crossed his arms, and looked at Zheng Yi for a few moments.
"Your stuff isn't good enough."
Chiya, who was listening nearby, felt a chill in his heart.
But then Manager Bai added, "But it's wild enough."
He pointed to the jade and silver ornaments in the shop: "These things are exquisite, but you get tired of seeing them after a while. When customers from the south come and say they want to bring back a bit of 'northern flavor,' should I give them jade? The north doesn't produce jade. Should I give them silver? There aren't many silver mines in the north."
Manager Bai paused for a moment, then glanced at the bone ornaments again.
"This one of yours is obviously from the North. You don't need to tell me, the customer will know it himself."
Instead of being overjoyed, Zheng Yi asked a very practical question.
"What does Manager Bai think is the best way to sell this kind of thing?"
Manager Bai thought for a moment and gave a number.
Chiya's eyes widened instantly.
That number is higher than the price Shenghe pays for a medium-grade wolf pelt.
Zheng Yi was also startled, but he kept his composure and didn't show it on his face.
"Manager Bai, we're certainly willing to accept this price. But I have an idea—could we put a few pieces here to try selling first? Once they're sold, we can talk about a long-term deal."
Manager Bai glanced at him and smiled.
"You're pretty steady. Fine, let's put up five items and see. If they sell, I'll take seven and you take three."
Zheng Yi nodded, "Okay." Shopkeeper Bai casually picked out a few items—the string of animal teeth bracelet, the scapula tag, a piece of wolf bone pendant, and two small pendants pieced together from broken horns and bone fragments. He placed these items separately in a box lined with soft cloth and put it in the most conspicuous position on the counter.
Chiya watched from the side, his palms sweating with nervousness.
He couldn't understand how these things, which were considered waste in the tribe, could be worth so much money.
But he didn't dare ask, afraid that if he did, he would seem too unsophisticated.
Once outside Manager Bai's shop, Chi Ya couldn't help but ask, "That Manager Bai... will he really sell it?"
Zheng Yi glanced at him and smiled.
"I don't know. But at least he's willing to try."
“But that price…” Red Fang lowered his voice, “is more expensive than a wolf pelt, who would buy it?”
“It’s not sold to ‘anyone’,” Zheng Yi said. “It’s sold to those who want a little bit of ‘the North’.”
Chiya didn't understand, but he remembered the sentence.
That evening, in the courtyard of the inn, Zheng Yi gathered all the people who had come with him together.
Torches were lit, and the people from the three divisions sat together, just like they had done at the Black Anvil Division's base last time, but this time, the atmosphere was completely different.
Last time it was "Let's hear what this southerner has to say".
This time, "we are doing things ourselves."
Zheng Yi stood beside the fire, without sitting down.
"I called everyone here today not to lecture you, but to report on the accounts of the past few days." He held several sheets of paper in his hand, densely covered with numbers. "For the furs, Shenghe has already placed an order, at a price half a percent higher than last time. For the bones and herbs, we're still negotiating with the medicine and bone shop, but the price won't be lower than last time. As for the frozen ore and miscellaneous goods, we'll go to Wanping Wharf tomorrow; Steward He is handling it."
“Bone ornaments…” Zheng Yi paused for a moment, “I went to a small shop today and put five pieces up for trial sale. The price was very high, but I don’t know if they will sell.”
People whispered a few words around the fire.
Zheng Yi turned a page of the paper in his hand.
"But I called everyone here today not just to report the accounts. I want to tell you something else."
His gaze swept over Wu Chen, then over Helian, Tie Gu, and Gu Po, finally settling on Chi Ya and the two Han Ling tribe boys.
"There are more people coming to Beining City this time than last time. It's not because I need manpower to move goods, but because I need someone to teach me how to move goods, how to inspect goods, and how to negotiate deals."
The courtyard fell silent, save for the crackling of the burning torches.
“The three northern regions can’t rely on me, a southerner, to sell your goods every time.” Zheng Yi’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word was clear. “I might leave, I might get sick, or I might be held up by other things. So you need someone to fill in for you.”
Helian's brow twitched slightly.
Iron Bones tapped his fingers on his knee.
Wu Chen lowered his head, the firelight casting his face in half-light and half-shadow.
“Wu Chen negotiated the fur trade today.” Zheng Yi looked at Wu Chen. “He negotiated very well. Manager Meng smiled at the end. You may think that a smile is nothing, but let me tell you—for someone like Manager Meng, a smile is the greatest recognition.”
Wu Chen's ears turned red, but he didn't look up.
"Red Fang came with me to the jewelry store today. He didn't say a word the whole time, but he remembered a lot."
Chi Ya was stunned for a moment—he hadn't expected Zheng Yi to call his name. His heart skipped a beat, but he tried his best to remain calm.
“The Hanling tribe went to the Medicine Bone Shop, and the Huozong tribe went to the Cloth Market. Every one of you is learning something,” Zheng Yi said. “That’s enough.”
It was quiet around the fire for a long time.
Helian was the first to speak.
“The people from the Cold Feather Division who came this time, after they go back, I will have them tell the division everything they saw from beginning to end.” His voice was not loud, but it was deep. “One person is not enough to learn; the whole division needs to learn.”
Ironbone continued, "The same goes for the Firemane Tribe."
The old woman sat at the back of the crowd without saying a word, but the way she looked at Zheng Yi was completely different from three months ago.
Three months ago, she looked at Zheng Yi as if he were "a decent southerner".
Now, when she looks at Zheng Yi, it's as if she's looking at someone "who can carry the entire northern region on his shoulders."
Chiya suddenly stood up, his face turning red with frustration, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "I...I can learn too."
Everyone laughed.
Laughter spread through the courtyard of the inn, through the wooden fence, and into the night sky of Beining City.
Looking at these smiling faces, Zheng Yi suddenly recalled his own first time in the North.
At that time, he was alone, riding a skinny horse, carrying a leather bag on his back, unable to even withstand the winds of the north.
Behind him now were fifty-two men, nineteen pack animals, three carts of goods, and a road that was slowly emerging.
He Liang walked up to him without him noticing, holding a bowl of wine.
“Young Master Zheng, your visit this time is different from the last one.”
"What's different?"
“Last time you came to sell goods,” He Liang said. “This time you’re here to bring people.”
Zheng Yi took the bowl of wine and took a sip.
The wine is the kind brewed in the north; it's sour and astringent, with a strong aftertaste.
But he's gotten used to it.
Beining City is not Qingshi Town.
In places like Qingshi Town, border officials turn a blind eye to wrongdoing, and merchants do their own business. As long as no one gets killed, nobody bothers you. Beining City is different—it has officials, clerks, patrolling constables, and a set of rules that, while not exactly fair, absolutely cannot be broken openly.
Before entering the city, Zheng Yi made it clear to everyone: no trouble, no fighting, and no conflicts with the locals. His words were very strong, and even Chi Ya nodded, shrinking back.
But as the saying goes, feet are on other people's bodies.
On the afternoon of the fourth day after entering the city, Zheng Yi was negotiating the price of frozen ore with the newly appointed manager at Wanping Wharf when He Liang ran in from outside, his face as white as the snow in the north.
"Young Master Zheng, something has happened."
Zheng Yi's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face.
"what's up?"
"Your men have been arrested by the authorities."
"Who?"
"Two people from the Hanling tribe." He Liang took a breath. "Chief Helian has already gone there and sent me to find you."
Zheng Yi put down the order form, apologized to the manager of Wanping Wharf, and hurried out the door. Wu Chen followed behind him, his steps quick and heavy, the iron dagger clanging against his waist.
"Don't bring a knife." Zheng Yi said without turning his head.
Wu Chen paused for a moment, then took off the dagger and handed it to He Liang.
The two jogged through three streets and arrived at the entrance of the official residence in the eastern part of Beining City. (End of Chapter)