Selling

Over the next few days, Li Yuan followed the same routine.

With his Archery skill now at the Minor Accomplishment stage, his harvest far exceeded what it had been in the past.

Most of what he caught were wild chickens and rabbits.

Instead of rushing to sell them in the county town, he used them to nourish his rather frail body.

On this day, Li Yuan was walking through the mountain forest in search of prey as usual.

In addition to the common wild chickens and rabbits, his traps had even caught a roe deer that had carelessly wandered into the outer mountain forest.

The skin and meat of a roe deer could fetch a good price, and when added to the few wild chickens and rabbits, it amounted to a significant income.

"Since I've bagged a roe deer this time, I can take it all to the county town to sell and exchange for some money."

After descending the mountain path, Li Yuan carried his catch past the entrance of Blue Stone Village.

He saw a large crowd gathered at the village entrance, consisting of hunters who had just come down from the mountain as well as women, and everyone's expression was grim.

"Didn't they just collect taxes a few days ago?"

"Now they want six taels of silver within a month? This is going to be the death of me!"

The crowd surrounded the two tax officials from the county town, their complaints filling the air.

The tax officials kept cold faces and said, "The war on the border is urgent, and we are merely following the orders from above. Now is the time for you to contribute to the Great Yan Dynasty.

If you cannot pay within a month, you will either be conscripted into the army or all be entered into the Corvee Registry!"

The tax officials were not afraid of these hunters rebelling; they couldn't beat the people outside, but they could certainly handle them.

It wasn't as if such things hadn't happened before, where a tax official had been killed.

But the families of the perpetrators were hung at the village entrance and beaten for three whole days and nights!

Having said their piece, the two turned and left, preparing to head to the next village.

"Six taels in a month?" Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat.

He had been working himself to the bone these past few days, and after all the various deductions, he wasn't even sure if he had earned eight hundred wen!

That was only when his luck was good; if his luck were worse, having one or two hundred wen for a few days would be considered decent.

This tax meant they had to work for the imperial court for free for a month, or else they would have to hand over their savings.

Li Yuan took a deep breath. Having awakened his Past Life Memory, he understood the concept of an impending chaotic era far better than the others.

Strength, it was all about strength; he could not afford to delay his martial arts training.

If he wanted to earn a large amount of money in a short time, he had no choice but to hunt big game.

Inside his house.

After tidying up a bit, he planned to set off for the county town to exchange his goods for money.

"A forty-jin roe deer is worth about five hundred wen.

Adding the few wild chickens and rabbits that the restaurants love so much, that's another three or four hundred wen.

I'll keep a few for my own consumption—things are looking up, life is finally looking up!"

Without further delay, Li Yuan, who had originally planned to leave for the county town tomorrow, decided to set off today to trade at the market due to the increased tax burden.

If I exchange a few hundred wen and buy some good arrows to specifically hunt big game, it won't attract any attention, he calculated in his heart.

Li Yuan packed his things, tied the prey with hemp rope, shouldered his basket, and headed toward Wuxi County.

Blue Stone Village was not too far from Wuxi County. With Li Yuan's current physique, he arrived in about half an hour and saw the county town's wall, which was not particularly tall.

Soldiers stood lazily at the city gate, and high above, several figures were hung up, among them hunters from other villages who had violated the rules.

Entering the city required a fee of five wen. Li Yuan felt a pang of heartache as he fished out five copper coins and handed them over.

Inside Wuxi County, there was a distinction between the Outer City and the Inner City.

The Outer City was mostly where the lowly and those in the Corvee Registry lived; it was filled with dilapidated small houses, the roads were muddy, and various foul odors mingled together. It was also not safe.

The Inner City was home to noble families, restaurants, and inns. It was mostly paved with bluestone, the roads were clean, and officials patrolled from time to time.

In the center of the east side of the city was a large square.

This was where the market was held. Tenant farmers, fishermen, and hunters all did business here to make a living.

The place was bustling with noise, and the sounds of hawking and haggling were endless.

Li Yuan found an empty spot. Just as he put down his prey, a man wearing a black-dyed cloth garment with a short club tucked into his waist sauntered over.

"Li Yuan? It's been a while since I've seen you. The stall fee is eight wen," the man said, squinting his eyes with an unquestionable tone.

Li Yuan's heart sank. As expected, the price had gone up; it used to be only six wen.

He gritted his teeth, said nothing, and silently counted out eight wen to hand over.

The man weighed the coins in his hand and walked away, satisfied.

Watching the coin purse in his hand instantly deflate, Li Yuan felt a touch of helplessness in his heart.

Business hadn't even officially opened yet, and he had already been fleeced down to the bone.

"Ah Yuan, your luck is quite good!"

"Just this roe deer alone is worth several days of our usual haul!"

"Whoa, adding all these up, it must be worth at least several hundred wen!"

Seeing the man leave, nearby hunters who were also selling their goods immediately crowded around, discussing with envious tones.

Everyone here was a hunter who relied on the mountains for a living, so they naturally understood just how bountiful Li Yuan's haul was this time.

His game was fresh and his prices were fair, so he quickly attracted a few people to come over and inquire about purchasing.

However, even with low prices, in these hard times, everyone wanted to buy as cheaply as possible.

In particular, that roe deer caught the eye of a kitchen steward from a restaurant.

He was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a stern expression.

He held a small notebook in his hand, seemingly purchasing provisions according to what was written inside.

"I can take all of your goods; calculate how many wen it comes to."

"Coming right up!"

Li Yuan's spirits lifted; a big customer had arrived.

He recognized this man as Lin Youyu, Steward Lin, who managed the kitchen at Yewen Restaurant.

And this Yewen Restaurant was a property under the Lin Family, one of the Four Great Families of the county.

The Four Great Families of Wuxi County were the Lin Family, the Li Family, the Zhao Family, and the Zhou Family.

Whether it was grain shops, restaurants, inns, or daily pawnshops, everything related to clothing, food, housing, and transportation was inextricably linked to these four families.

On the surface, the government yamen was the highest authority, followed by these four families, who jointly governed Wuxi County.

"I can take everything, but I have one condition."

Lin Youyu's words were sharp, delivered in an unquestionable tone.

Recently, their family's exclusive merchant supply route had run into some trouble, forcing them to temporarily source goods from the open market.

In the eyes of these great families, these mountain hunters were no different from lowly commoners.

"If you manage to hunt anything that greatly replenishes blood and qi, such as bear meat or tiger meat, you are to provide it to me first."

Lin Youyu had heard that the young master of the Lin Family was at a critical stage of tempering his blood and qi and was in urgent need of potent supplements.

If he could provide help at this critical moment, perhaps his position as kitchen steward could be further elevated.

Source goods from other families? Don't even think about it; funding the enemy was something no one would ever do.

The families all wished for the others to drop dead.

"No problem, Steward Lin!"

Li Yuan nodded, feigning immediate agreement.

He didn't care about all that; he would just deal with the goods when he had them.

If he were lucky enough to actually hunt something like that later, couldn't he just eat it himself?

Besides, looking at the situation, could he even say he was unwilling?

Li Yuan had heard some rumors; this Lin Youyu was not a broad-minded or kind-hearted man.

And Lin Youyu, for his part, secretly shook his head.

He had only mentioned it in passing; looking at this kid, he didn't seem like the type capable of hunting any major game.

Of course, if he did manage to hunt something and then went back on his word to sell it to others, he wouldn't mind letting this kid taste some bitterness.