Yunlu County

Since Dongsheng Town was more than ten li from Yunlu County, a long line had already formed by the time they arrived. After waiting nearly half an hour, it was finally their turn to be inspected.

The city guard at the head of the line held out his hand. "Entry fee and Tooth Tokens."

Tooth Tokens were proof of identity and household registration in the Great Qi Dynasty. People had to carry them whenever they traveled far from home.

Otherwise, if the authorities caught them, they would be treated as unregistered citizens. At best, their property would be confiscated and they would be conscripted into the army; at worst, they would be thrown into the county jail and made scapegoats for the wealthy.

After checking everyone's Tooth Tokens, the lead guard looked them over and held out his hand. "The entry fee for people from Dongsheng Town is twenty copper coins."

"Twenty copper coins? Isn't it ten? When I brought people to Yunlu County last month, the entry fee was only ten copper coins."

Hearing this, the guard was about to lose his temper. But when he looked at the speaker, he thought the man looked a lot like Captain Wang, the Zongqi. Then he noticed that the name on the man's Tooth Token also had the surname Wang.

Worried about provoking someone he shouldn't, the guard hurriedly said, "Since you know the going rate, ten coins per person will do."

After collecting the entry fees, the guard registered everyone's information and handed them a Temporary City Entry Token.

Anyone carrying a Temporary City Entry Token had to leave the city before the You hour. If they were caught staying in the county town after dark, they would all be treated as enemy spies.

With that, the guard cupped his hands toward Wang Meng, signaling that they could enter.

After entering the city, Luo Yi began taking in the sights of Yunlu County.

The houses stood in orderly rows, and the broad, clean streets were paved with bluestone. Stalls lined the roads in neat rows, their vendors constantly calling out to draw passersby over to buy their wares.

The prosperity within the county town and the utter desolation beyond its walls seemed to belong to two different worlds.

Seeing Luo Yi lost in thought, Wang Meng asked, "Xiao Yi, are you coming with us to sell the wolf hides, or do you have other plans?"

He and his younger sister were visiting the county town for the first time. They didn't know their way around, and wandering everywhere with the wolf hides while searching for a buyer might attract the attention of unscrupulous people.

"This is my first time in the county town, and I don't know my way around. I'll go with you, Uncle Wang!"

Wang Meng nodded and led everyone to the place where they usually sold the hides of their prey.

"Qipi Collection Shop." Looking at the lavishly decorated shop before them, Luo Yi found the name rather strange. Did they sell anything besides the hides of wild beasts? The thought left him puzzled.

Wang Meng led everyone inside.

Once in the main hall, Luo Yi discovered that Qipi Collection Shop had more than one floor. In a corner stood a staircase leading up to the second floor.

"Captain Wang, welcome to my shop. Have you brought some hides to sell?" The shopkeeper on the first floor clearly knew Wang Meng and greeted him at once.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they opened their packs. Wang Meng took out the five wolf hides he had brought, and Luo Yi followed his example.

The shopkeeper had an employee spread out each hide and hang it on a rack inside the shop.

He examined them closely, then gently rubbed the hides with his hand.

"These wolf hides are decent quality, but the tanning was poorly done. Several spots are stiff, and the hides aren't soft enough."

"Only this one is mostly intact. The others are badly damaged, so they'll be a nuisance to mend."

After hearing the shopkeeper out, Wang Meng asked, "Shopkeeper Li, how much are you willing to offer for these hides?"

"I'll offer twenty-two taels of silver for the best one. For each of the others, I can only give you eighteen."

After hearing the offer, Wang Meng looked at Luo Yi.

The price was already higher than the twenty taels Luo Yi had expected. He nodded.

Seeing Wang Meng ask the young man beside him what he thought, the shopkeeper introduced himself to Luo Yi.

"Young brother, my name is Li Hui, and I'm the shopkeeper on the first floor of this establishment. May I ask what you're called?"

"Luo Yi. The character Yi has four fires."

"That's a fine name, a truly fine name. I can tell you're destined for great things."

Seeing the two of them chatting, Wang Meng didn't interrupt. He waited until they were done.

Wang Meng said, "Shopkeeper Li, we'll take the price you offered."

After hearing that they agreed, Li Hui went into the back room and found the bookkeeper. He took out twenty-two taels of silver and handed them to Luo Yi, then gave the remaining ninety taels to Wang Meng.

"Captain Wang, you and the young brother can bring any hides you get to my shop. I guarantee you the best prices in both counties."

After selling the wolf hides, the group walked outside.

Wang Meng addressed the hunters. "This money was earned with the lives of the brothers who went into the mountains that day. When we get back to the village, we'll divide it equally among ourselves and the brothers who died. What do you think?"

"We'll follow your lead, Captain Wang. We have no objections."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Wang Meng continued, "I'm going to buy some things for Xiao Yong and your sister-in-law."

"Since we rarely get to visit the county town, you probably all want to look around and buy what you need. Let's split up here."

They agreed to meet at the city gate during the You hour, then everyone went their separate ways.

Walking through the county town with his younger sister, Luo Yi looked at the dazzling array of shops lining the streets.

Passing a shop called Chen's Cloth Shop, he noticed that his sister always wore the hemp clothes their father had left behind whenever they went out. He pulled Luo Xi into the shop.

He found the shopkeeper and bought two sets of coarse-cloth clothes for himself and two for his sister.

After buying the clothes, he thought back to his first few days after arriving in this world, when he'd eaten Black Dough every day.

Once he'd recovered, his meals had changed to Millet Porridge and smoked meat every day. His mouth was so tired of the blandness that birds could have flown out.

He went into the Grain Shop next door and saw that it carried a wide variety of goods, at prices far lower than those in town.

He bought two jin of Coarse Salt, one jin of Brown Sugar, one jin of White Sugar, one jin of spices, and thirty jin of Polished Rice. The total came to six taels of silver.

The two jin of Coarse Salt alone had cost three taels of silver.

Luo Yi finally understood why selling salt illegally in ancient times was a capital offense, and why so many people still threw themselves into the trade.

After buying food,

It was now noon. He took his sister to a stall in the market and ordered some snacks and two bowls of braised meat noodles.

After lunch, he thought of the dilapidated houses in Dongsheng Town and decided to find out the price of houses in the county town.

Just as the two were about to get up, a commotion broke out nearby.

"Twenty copper coins for a stall fee! If you don't pay, get lost. Don't set up here." After saying this, the man waved his hand. Behind him, a group of yamen runners spread out to collect fees from every stallholder.

Those who paid the stall fee could continue selling. Those who didn't were not only beaten by the yamen runners, but also had their entire stalls overturned and thrown to the side of the road.

He recognized the yamen runner leading them. It was Qin Feng, the man who had taken people to Wang Meng's home that day.

To avoid trouble, Luo Yi tossed twenty copper coins onto the table and led his sister out of the market.

He found a property broker in the county town.

He learned that even the most ordinary house in Yunlu County cost at least two hundred taels of silver.

He only had about a hundred and twenty taels in total.

Considering that practicing martial arts would also require buying Tonic Medicine, he put the thought of moving to the county town out of his mind for the time being.

He checked the sky. It was nearly time to meet Wang Meng and the others, so the two headed toward the city gate.