Chapter 1223: Friend or Foe (3)

This stall probably belonged to a tribe or trade caravan. Little Treasure could tell from the number of workers and the goods they were selling that they were the largest stall in this area.

The two of them ran to their stall with the mentality of giving it a try. They picked up a piece of fox skin and asked for the price in gold.

The stall owner only took a glance at them before quoting a price in the Jin language.

Little Treasure and Little Bear raised their eyebrows slightly, surprised that it worked. The two of them looked at each other and began to pick up things seriously. Each time they picked up a piece of fur or herbs that caught their eye, they would ask for the price.

Initially, the stall owner only let them choose while continuing to deal with the other customers. Seeing that they were asking more and more questions and that they had so many guards behind them, he turned his attention to them and waved for two subordinates to attend to the other customers.

Satisfied to see this, Little Treasure and Little Bear chose even more seriously, and there was even a hint of regret on their faces. They said in the Jin language, “It’s a pity that there are too few herbs here. Although the fur is of good quality, the quantity is small.”

The stall owner glanced at the guards and the duo’s attire and pondered for a moment before saying, “If the two of you are interested in a big transaction, we do have other goods.”

“Oh?” Little Treasure asked excitedly, “I wonder if we can take a look?”

The stall owner stood up and pointed at the items that Little Treasure and Little Bear had asked for. He said to his subordinates, “Keep these.” Then, he turned around and said to the two of them, “Please follow me.”

The stall owner brought them behind the curtain at the back. Behind each large stall, there was a place surrounded by a curtain on three sides, as well as a curtain hanging from the opening. When the curtain was lowered, other than the space above their heads which was empty, it was a completely sealed space.

At first, the two of them thought that this was a place for one to rest, but now it seemed that it was actually a place to discuss business.

Little Bear asked curiously, “Why don’t you just set up a yurt?”

Since the grassland folks typically carried yurts with them, wouldn’t it be better to use that instead?

“It’s not raining today,” the stall owner explained. “Our lamp oils are very precious!”

Due to the fact that the top of the four-sided cloth curtain setup was empty, it was bright inside. However, it would definitely be dark inside if they set up a yurt instead. When the time came, they would have to light oil lamps to let the customer see the goods. Considering there was no guarantee that the business deal would conclude, there was no need for them to spend so much money.

Little Treasure and Little Bear didn’t expect them to even scrimp on this. For a moment, they were both amused and sad.

There were five or six large packages piled up inside. Without bothering to invite them to sit down, the stall owner directly dragged the packages over and opened them. Four of the packages were filled with fur whereas two were filled with medicinal herbs.

The stall owner said, “As these items are all very expensive, few people will buy them even if I put them out on display. I’m only showing you these because I see that you have the means. How about it? Do you want them?”

Only two guards followed Little Treasure and Little Bear in while the others were guarding outside. The stall owner didn’t look at them but only at Little Treasure and Little Bear.

The two youths squatted down to look at the goods. As they looked, they said, “These furs are indeed not bad. We’ve checked out many stalls earlier. There are very few such goods. If I’d seen these at the stalls, I’d have asked for the price and bought them already. You sellers shouldn’t hide such items. After all, you’ll only know if there are interested buyers after putting them out.”

The stall owner snorted and said, “These are too expensive. Most Han people just touch them and leave without buying after asking for the price. I find them annoying.”

Smiling, Little Treasure said, “Well, this is business. If the price isn’t suitable, one will naturally give up. How much are you asking?”

The stall owner quoted the price one by one.

Little Treasure said with a bitter expression, “It’s indeed too expensive.”

Little Bear also interrupted. “This is different from the price my uncle quoted.”

“When was your uncle involved in this business?”

Little Bear lied righteously. “Two years ago!”

“Exactly. The price has increased since!”

“But it can’t have increased by nearly 30% all of a sudden, right? It wasn’t even this expensive during the war two years ago. Why is it getting more and more expensive now that things are peaceful?” Little Treasure and Little Bear looked dissatisfied.

The stall owner’s expression was not good either. He snorted and said, “Do you think we want this? Although there was a war two years ago, there were still trade caravans from Great Qi that could enter the grassland. Tea leaves and silk could be bought. The Jin Court also controlled many salt mines, so it was not difficult to buy salt. However, now that the war has ended and Great Jin has been destroyed, Great Qi’s trade caravans no longer enter the grassland. If we want to buy tea leaves and silk, we can only go to the market. As for salt, we can only go to the town to buy it. Everyone is not allowed to buy more than two catties of salt every day… The things from Great Qi are too expensive, so we have no choice but to raise the price.”

Seeing that the two youths’ mouths were wide open, the stall owner was in a slightly better mood. His expression softened slightly and he said, “Moreover, people living on the grassland haven’t been doing well either. The weather has changed very quickly in the past two years. Last winter, it was snowing heavily, so we lost a lot of fur, as well as medicinal herbs. What you’re seeing now are the superior goods our tribe saved up from last year. If you buy more, I’ll give you a cheaper price.”

The stall owner lowered his voice again and said, “However, if you have tea leaves, satin, or salt, we can also do a barter. It will be even cheaper then.”

Little Treasure asked innocently, “Didn’t you say that only the Imperial Court can sell salt?”

The stall owner said in a low voice, “The Imperial Court won’t care if it’s one or two catties.”

Little Bear looked regretful. “Because one needs a permit to sell salt, we didn’t bring it with us. However, we do have some tea leaves and satin.”

The stall owner immediately cheered up. Although there was no salt, it was not bad to have tea leaves and satin either. This way, he would not have to fork out money to buy these items from Han people’s stalls or shops, which charged very high prices.

Little Treasure immediately asked the guards to go back and bring over the tea leaves and satin that had yet to be sold while they continued to choose the goods. As they asked for the prices, they quietly inquired about the news on the grassland.

The tribes on the grassland did not enjoy a higher standard of living after Great Yuan replaced Great Jin. In the beginning, Ogedei had removed a lot of harsh taxes, but in a few months, tax collection resumed.

In the end, it was all Qi Xiuyuan’s fault for taking down Great Jin’s capital in advance and occupying Great Jin’s national treasury. Without the national treasury left behind by Great Jin, Great Yuan was short of money which limited them in every way.

There was no money to reward the meritorious officials, no money to appease the army, and no money to provide relief to the refugees. Ogedei did not have a brother who could earn money and help him wholeheartedly, so he could only increase taxes. Apart from that, he also sent troops to attack West Xia. It was better to send them to the battlefield than to keep them in the capital where they could force him to reward them, right?

Therefore, the people on the grassland did not have much of a sense of belonging to Great Yuan now. Their lives were bitter and they were slogging away every day just to put food on the table. Even so, the heavens did not give them face. From time to time, there would be a drought and heavy snow on the grassland. Although only certain regions were affected, it had a huge impact.

When there were natural disasters in Great Qi, the Imperial Court would provide relief and reduce taxes. However, it was impossible in Great Yuan, so everyone could only try their best to get close to Great Qi. And this was how the market near the border came into existence.

Although Great Qi had strong troops and horses, there was no need for them to fight with these commoners on the grassland every day. Hence, they directly set up a market to provide a venue for the commoners to trade. This way, they would not form teams to plunder whenever they faced a shortage of tea leaves, grains, or salt.

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