Cutting In

Chapter 39: Cutting In

After Hu Ba and Hu Qi arrived at the Great Xia Imperial Capital, they first sought out the major merchants they had traded with before. But they were told that this year's horse business was different from before—all horses had to be handed over to several aristocratic clans for resale, supposedly to "maintain market prices." Even those old-established merchants were no exception.

Hu Ba had no choice but to spend some silver to get an introduction, hoping to consign his horses to Prince Chenliu's household for sale. Yet he never imagined that one of Prince Chenliu's stewards would offer him an astonishing price... ten taels of silver per horse.

One had to know that the horses Hu Ba had carefully selected for the journey south were all fine warhorses, able to run freely without panic even at the sight of wild beasts. Only warhorses raised alongside wild beasts could contend with the Orc Tribe. Yet ten taels of silver could scarcely buy even an ordinary draft horse. Was this not simply bullying Hu Ba because he was young and ignorant?

Hu Ba stormed out of Prince Chenliu's Residence and led more than a hundred horses straight to the mule and horse market west of Lindu City, intending to sell them individually. He refused to believe it. Though they were steppe people, generation after generation they had been subjects of Great Xia, recognized by the Emperor of Great Xia. In broad daylight, who would dare seize his horses? Had the law ceased to exist?

For several days in a row, no one truly came to seize Hu Ba's horses, nor did anyone come looking for trouble. But... he did not sell a single horse. Whenever someone came to buy one, several people would immediately approach, pull the buyer aside to whisper a few words, and the buyer would turn around and leave. Even when Hu Ba shouted prices absurdly low, no one dared turn back to trade with him.

Watching those vile servants stand nearby and snicker at him, Hu Ba drew his saber and was about to fight them to the death. What steppe man could endure such stifling humiliation? It was his elder sister, Hu Qi, who clung to him with all her strength. At worst, if they could not sell the horses, they would lose some money. But if he killed someone, he would have to pay with his life.

Over the course of an entire month, Hu Ba changed from a sunny boy who loved to laugh into a silent, despondent child. His tribespeople were still waiting for him to sell the horses and bring back salt and iron! Yet now he could no longer even afford fodder. The daily expense of three thousand horses was an astronomical figure. He had already spent all his savings, and when he returned to the tribe, he would still have to face their questioning. He would probably not even be able to keep his position as chieftain. In just a few months, Hu Ba's young heart had been forcibly ripened.

In a few more days, the army formed by Great Xia's nobles would march north onto the wasteland. These past few days, even fewer people had come to buy horses. Yesterday, the steward from Prince Chenliu's Residence had come again, still offering ten taels per horse. Hu Ba looked at that smug expression and refused without hesitation. He would rather see these horses collapse and die on the road home than sell them to those crafty nobles.

"How much are these horses?"

"Hey, how much are these horses? Whose horses are they? Are you all deaf?" A rough, booming voice startled Hu Ba out of his daze.

"...They are my horses. Thirty taels each... if you truly intend to buy..."

"What a joke... This heir—why would we come to this stinking dump if not to buy horses? Can you make the decision? Are you even fifteen this year?... Hahaha." The tall young man mocked Hu Ba.

Hu Ba had just been about to fire back a few words, but when he saw those hateful flies approaching again, he could not be bothered to speak. From his experience, whenever those vile servants appeared, these people would surely scram.

"My apologies, gentlemen, but our master has already claimed these horses. You would do better to look elsewhere!" A servant-dressed man spoke to Qin Yumu. His words were polite, for Qin Yumu's clothing and bearing made it clear at a glance that he was no ordinary person. A servant could lack any other skill, but he absolutely had to know how to read people.

Qin Yumu and the other two had come together to stroll around the mule and horse market today. From far away, they had spotted Hu Ba's herd of warhorses. They had thought they had stumbled upon a bargain, only for a dung beetle to leap out and disgust them when they got close. They could not help feeling unlucky.

Wu Shengze immediately stepped forward to explain to Qin Mo. These horses had been for sale here for some time, but Prince Chenliu's Residence had monopolized them. They could not decide whether to forcibly take the warhorses, since it involved a commandery prince. No matter how angry they were, they could not make the call themselves. Even Qin Yumu and Qin Yuanze would find such a matter difficult to decide. Qin Mo, however, might manage.

Qin Mo glanced at Prince Chenliu's servants, then turned to Hu Ba and asked, "Have you sold these horses to someone else?"

"No. I, Hu Ba, swear in the name of the Tatar Tribe's chieftain that these horses all belong to me and to no one else."

"Oh! Then I'll buy them. Drive them to Fengtai Camp, and someone will naturally pay you the silver."

"Young master, our master has already claimed these horses. I hope you will refrain from stirring up trouble." The servant from Prince Chenliu's Residence was already growing impatient. In just a few days, these steppe barbarians would be at the end of the road, yet now someone was trying to cut them off. If the chief steward did not deal with every one of them watching the place, that would be strange indeed.

"Your master has claimed them? Do you have a contract?" Qin Mo asked the servants.

"This... our master is of such status that his word will naturally be honored. There is no need for a contract... Young master, you should go elsewhere..."

Qin Mo ignored them completely and asked Hu Ba directly, "Have you accepted their deposit?"

"No. Even if every one of my horses dies on the road home, I will never sell them to those people." Hu Ba's stubborn words rang like metal on stone, his body brimming with the fierce spirit of a steppe man.

"This is the deposit. Deliver your horses to the military camp of Dayuan Prince Heng's Residence at Fengtai Camp. Someone there will settle the remaining payment with you." Qin Mo casually tossed Hu Ba a gold leaf, completing the transaction.

"Um... honored one, I have three thousand horses in total... How many can you take?" Hu Ba held the heavy gold leaf and asked Qin Mo timidly. The tension in his eyes finally exposed his age and youthful frailty.

"Oh!... You have three thousand? Not bad, not bad. Uncle Wu, accompany him on this trip. Make sure every horse is brought back to our place." Qin Mo had initially thought it was merely a scrap of fly meat, but it turned out to be a fat chunk of meat. Three hundred horses and three thousand horses were not remotely the same thing.

"Mo, you let this fellow pick up another bargain!... Aaahhh!" Qin Yumu began to go mad. Qin Mo had first won fifty thousand taels of silver from Wang Renbi, then won two sets of weapons from Wang Yuyan, and today he had even snatched Prince Chenliu's three thousand horses. He was a heir too—why was he always the one falling behind?

When those servants from Prince Chenliu's Residence heard "the military camp of Dayuan Prince Heng's Residence at Fengtai Camp," they greased the soles of their feet and slipped away. In less than a day, Qin Mo's fierce reputation had spread throughout the noble circles of the entire imperial capital.

His retainers had fought the Wang Family's battle-hardened elite to a bitter victory, and he had cut Huang Seshu in half on Western Continent Street. On top of that, he had the unfathomable great elf Allen and countless cultivators and warrior soldiers standing at his side, awaiting his orders. Even their own master might not be willing to clash head-on with Qin Mo now. Weren't little shrimps like them simply fated to be swallowed in one bite?

"Honored one... can the money from selling our horses be exchanged for salt and iron?" Qiangba also felt that this honored one was different from other nobles. Though Qin Mo was full of pride, he did not carry himself in an overbearing manner.

"Oh! I can make the decision regarding salt, but as for iron, I don't know. You can discuss it with my military steward." Qin Mo basically did not involve himself in negotiating prices. He was not particularly familiar with the market prices of various goods in Great Xia, nor did he have much experience dealing in commerce.

Hu Ba and Hu Qi called to their herdsmen and drove the horses away with Wu Shengze. Qin Mo looked at the two brothers whose eyes were practically green with envy and asked, "The sea salt trade... are you two interested?"