Chapter 5: The Money Earned Caught the Thief’s Eye
The carriage stopped outside the fenced yard, and a middle-aged man wearing a wolf fur coat stepped down from it.
“I am Zhao Tuo, the steward of the Zhao family. I heard you caught a live deer. Sell it to me.”
Seeing the familiar face of Li Feng, Zhao Tuo knew he had come to buy wild deer.
Zhao Tuo looked at the wild deer lying on the ground. “How much did he offer you? I’ll give you a higher price.”
Jiang Yi’s first impression of Li Feng was not good. “He offered eighty wen per jin for the deer.”
“Li Feng, you always like to take advantage. You’re bullying an honest man.”
Zhao Tuo mocked Li Feng’s stinginess, while also ridiculing the Wang family’s small-mindedness.
“Zhao Tuo, do you want to stir up trouble? Are you prepared for the consequences?”
Li Feng was displeased by Zhao Tuo’s taunts.
Jiang Yi listened to their quarrel from the side, shielding Shen Rong behind him to prevent either side from hurting her.
He was aware of the longstanding feud between the Zhao and Wang families.
The two families had even clashed violently over disputes involving interests.
“Sell the deer to me, and I’ll pay the highest price in Hanyang City.”
Zhao Tuo was purchasing wild deer on behalf of his master and didn’t mind spending a bit more.
Jiang Yi appreciated Zhao Tuo’s approach. “The deer goes to the highest bidder.”
Having struggled to catch the deer, Jiang Yi was naturally willing to sell it to whoever offered more.
“105 wen per jin,” Li Feng offered.
Li Feng thought that if Zhao Tuo hadn’t come to compete, he would have bought the deer for just over eighty wen per jin.
Jiang Yi knew that with the power the Zhao and Wang families wielded in Hanyang City, sending people to hunt wild deer in the mountains was not difficult.
The two sides nearly came to blows over the purchase of a single wild deer.
Zhao Tuo was determined to have the deer. “I’ll pay 110 wen per jin.”
This price exceeded the highest market price for venison in Hanyang City, and Li Feng certainly wouldn’t raise his offer further.
Zhao Tuo smiled triumphantly — the deer belonged to the Zhao family now.
It was no easy feat to hunt a deer; few in Hanyang City could manage it.
Serving venison to esteemed guests brought great prestige to the host family.
Since Li Feng wouldn’t bid higher, Jiang Yi agreed to sell the deer to Zhao Tuo.
The Zhao family’s servants worked together to lift the deer and hang it on a scale to weigh.
“Steward Zhao, the deer weighs 200 jin.”
Shen Rong smiled excitedly, calculating in her heart that selling the deer would earn them dozens of guan in silver.
Jiang Yi grinned happily — he had finally earned enough to buy the sheepskin coat and wool quilt.
“There’s also a wild boar. Would you like it?”
If they could sell the wild boar too, Jiang Yi and his wife could go to Hanyang City and buy what they needed.
Most importantly, they wanted to visit the blacksmith to have a weapon forged to fend off tigers.
Zhao Tuo smiled slyly. “Why not sell me the wild boar as well? You can’t go back empty-handed.”
Li Feng’s face darkened. “Wild boar meat is cheap; the Wang family doesn’t eat it.”
Zhao Tuo decided to buy the wild boar himself to feed the dogs.
Wealthy families didn’t eat pork; they regarded it as lowly meat.
Ordinary people ate pork because it was affordable.
Wild boar meat was cheaper than domestic pork only because it was gamy and tough.
Zhao Tuo smiled with satisfaction. “I’ll pay 15 wen per jin for the wild boar. Do you want copper coins or silver?”
“Let’s discuss after the total is calculated.”
One tael of silver was equivalent to a thousand copper coins, and carrying such a heavy amount of copper was inconvenient, so silver was lighter.
The Zhao family’s servants hung the wild boar on the scale; it weighed over 200 jin.
After calculating the total price for the wild boar and deer, Jiang Yi rounded down as a concession, receiving a total of 25 guan and 200 wen.
“Give me 25 taels of silver; the rest can be copper coins.”
Zhao Tuo took five oval silver ingots and copper coins from a chest in the carriage, weighing the silver carefully — exactly 25 taels.
He handed Jiang Yi a black touchstone to verify the silver’s purity.
Jiang Yi scratched the silver ingots on the touchstone; all five were of high quality.
He gave the silver and copper coins to Shen Rong and returned the touchstone to Zhao Tuo.
“We should leave now. If we catch more wild deer, the Zhao family will pay top price.”
After Zhao Tuo left, Li Feng’s cold eyes fixed on Jiang Yi.
Without a word, he left with his servants.
Shen Rong felt the heavy silver in her hand. “Husband, this is the first time in my life I’ve held so much silver!”
Her face lit up with excited smiles — it was truly her first time touching silver coins.
Yet she worried; many people now knew the couple had made a lot of money.
Someone would surely try to steal their money under cover of night. Tonight, they would not sleep peacefully.
“We’ll take turns staying awake tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll go to Hanyang City and buy two sheepskin coats and a wool quilt, and whatever else the house needs.”
They had finally reached a small goal — earning enough to buy warm clothes and bedding.
No longer would they suffer from cold or hunger.
“Sheepskin coats and wool quilts are expensive. Are you sure we should buy them?”
Shen Rong considered buying cheaper quilts or dogskin coats to save money wherever possible.
“Money isn’t saved, it’s earned. Trust me, we’ll buy what the household needs.”
Shen Rong nodded obediently; she would follow her husband’s lead.
She looked at Jiang Yi with concern. “Husband, you worked hard today. Next time you encounter a fierce beast, please find a way to avoid it.”
Jiang Yi nodded in agreement. “I will be careful.”
Even if Shen Rong hadn’t said it, Jiang Yi would do his best to avoid dangerous beasts.
Without absolute certainty, he wouldn’t hunt large predators.
“I’ll cook the meal; you rest for a while.”
Shen Rong knew Jiang Yi had worked hard all day and took charge of cooking.
She placed the money on the bed in the inner room; their home had no better place to hide it.
Jiang Yi prepared the wild rabbit; without a pot, he roasted the meat.
After dinner, the couple leaned on each other for a while.
“Husband, you’re tired from the long day. Go to the inner room and sleep. I’ll keep watch tonight.”
Having earned so much money, it was inevitable that someone would covet it.
After buying what they needed tomorrow, the rest of the money had to be well hidden.
Jiang Yi felt both sleepy and weary. “Alright, I’ll rest for a bit. Wake me immediately if anyone comes.”
He thought of Niu Er, who had learned about their earnings and would surely try to steal from them.
Niu Er wouldn’t bring friends; he wanted to keep the money for himself.
He would use a narcotic incense to render them unconscious and steal the money easily.
Last time they tried to steal, they used the narcotic incense.
The couple took turns sleeping to protect their hard-earned money.
In the late hours of the night, it was Shen Rong’s turn to sleep.
Jiang Yi stood behind the door of the main room, watching outside through the crack.
The money was often targeted by thieves, making Jiang Yi uneasy.
If this continued, the couple could never sleep soundly.
Jiang Yi’s next goal was to buy land, build a brick and tile house, and recruit strong young men to guard the property.
The cold wind howled in the late night; dogs barked continuously in the village.
Through the door crack, Jiang Yi saw a figure quietly approaching the fenced yard, guessing who it was.
Niu Er wore a white cloak and covered his face with white cloth.
He looked around cautiously outside the fence — clearly here to steal.
Niu Er easily climbed over the fence and crept toward the window.
Jiang Yi waited by the window inside, anticipating Niu Er’s use of the narcotic incense.
The incense was expensive and hard to obtain for ordinary people.
Someone had given Niu Er the narcotic incense; if it rendered Jiang Yi unconscious, they could kill him easily.
Niu Er reached the window, poked a hole in the paper covering it, and inserted a thin bamboo tube.
Inside the tube was a stick of narcotic incense; inhaling it would deepen the couple’s sleep.
This way, they could kill Jiang Yi and seize a lot of money.
Jiang Yi blocked the other end of the bamboo tube with straw, letting Niu Er taste his own narcotic incense.