Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 155

“Don’t push, everyone. We’ve brought plenty of goods this year, and there’s enough for everyone to buy.” A middle-aged man with a goatee stands on a raised platform, calling out loudly. Though he appears gentle and smiling, a glint of cunning flashes in his eyes from time to time. To him, these eager townsfolk below are nothing more than plump sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

The entire street is cleared, with the roadside filled with goods unloaded by his trade caravan. Most of the items are fresh novelties from the south, covering everything from food and supplies to clothing—everything anyone could want. Jiang Miao notices a few mirrors displayed at one of the front stalls, the kind that the lady from earlier mentioned reflects one’s image with remarkable clarity.

Previously, Jiang Miao hoped to find a transparent glass-like alternative at the glassware shop that Grandmother Pei gave him before, but unfortunately, that type of material is rare and costly, and his greenhouse project has to be put on hold. Now, seeing that someone from the south actually produces glass reignites his hope for the greenhouse plan.

He squeezes his way through the crowd, moving closer to the stall, only to be blocked by two burly men. They say, “Everyone, please keep your distance and look from here. These Western mirrors are fragile; if one accidentally breaks, it’ll ruin the mood for everyone.”

Jiang Miao addresses the friendlier-looking one, “Brother, may I ask, how much are you selling these Western mirrors for?”

The man looks him up and down before responding, “Why do you ask?”

Jiang Miao grins, “I’m just thinking of buying one to take home.”

As soon as he finishes speaking, the man looks Jiang Miao up and down, his drab, grayish clothing giving him a shabby appearance, hardly fit for such an item.

Seemingly angered, Jiang Miao puffs up his chest, glaring at them. “Who are you looking down on? It’s just a mirror! Just tell me how much it is!”

The man chuckles disdainfully, “The price would probably scare you.”

Jiang Miao lets out a cold laugh. “I wasn’t raised to be easily frightened. Just tell me already.”

“See the smallest one here?” The man points to a mirror about the size of a dinner plate on the table. “That one alone costs two hundred taels. I doubt you could scrape together that much with everything you own.”

“T-Two hundred taels?” Jiang Miao feigns a shocked expression, clearly struck by the price. “That’s a lot more expensive than a copper mirror!”

“If you can’t afford it, stop making a scene and get lost.” The burly man gives Jiang Miao a rough shove, causing him to stumble.

Behind Jiang Miao, Chan Yi and Wen Jing immediately glare, ready to step forward and teach this man a lesson for daring to push their Master Jiang. But a quick look from Jiang Miao signals them to hold back, and they restrain their tempers for the moment.

“You low-life, looking down on others! Just wait—I’ll sell what I have, then I’ll have enough to buy your mirror! And when I do, I’ll make sure you personally deliver it to my doorstep!” Jiang Miao glares fiercely at the man, speaking in a tone full of anger.

The man squints at Jiang Miao’s basket and, realizing it’s filled with dried pine mushrooms, immediately changes his attitude.

“Heh, I should’ve known—you’re just another fool. What a waste of breath dealing with him this long,” he mutters to his companion.

Jiang Miao, furious, retorts, “Don’t look down on a poor youth!” as he squeezes his way out of the crowd, prompting a burst of laughter from the man behind him. The commotion catches the attention of the man on the raised platform, but seeing nothing noteworthy, he returns his gaze to the crowd.

“Master Jiang, why not just buy it and show those fools a thing or two?” Chan Yi asks, still fuming.

Once they’re out of the crowd, Jiang Miao’s expression returns to normal. Smiling, he says, “With such a lousy attitude, why should I buy anything from them? That would just let them profit.” Jiang Miao isn’t one to spend money for the sake of pride. If it were possible to buy a large quantity of glass, he might consider it, but just one mirror is completely useless to him.

Chan Yi nods grudgingly. “You’re right, but to be humiliated like that and let it go—isn’t that hard to swallow?”

Wen Jing says calmly, “Master Jiang must have his own plan. Let’s just watch and see.”

Wen Jing is more level-headed than Chan Yi, and she has noticed Jiang Miao’s unusual behavior. In her impression, Master Jiang is not such a person.

Jiang Miao smiles and says, “Let’s go check out the other side.” This street is for selling goods, while the neighboring street is reserved for collecting mountain products.

When they arrive at the next street, Jiang Miao no longer receives disdainful looks from the caravan merchants. Here, most of the people carrying baskets and sacks are dressed like him. They stand in front of various stalls, handing over their gathered goods for inspection. Once checked, they negotiate the price—often exchanging a large sack of goods for a small piece of silver, or, sometimes, just a handful of copper coins.

Jiang Miao frowns as he observes. Although he knows that the buying price and selling price can’t be the same, seeing such a huge discrepancy is still surprising.

Jiang Miao shakes his head, sighs, and walks up to one of the stalls. “Could you please tell me how much this basket of goods is worth?” he asks, setting his basket on the table and letting the stall vendor inspect it.

The vendor examines the contents and replies, “These things are all over the mountains, not worth much at all. But since you made the trip, I’ll give you… thirty wen.” His tone is patronizing, as if he’s doing Jiang Miao a great favor by accepting the basket. An honest mountain villager might be fooled by his act.

Jiang Miao almost laughs in anger and says, “Are you thinking I’m some country bumpkin? Dried mushrooms of this quality go for at least a hundred or two hundred wen per jin in town, and I have more than just a jin here. Do you think you can brush me off with a mere thirty wen?”

The vendor shows no sign of embarrassment at being questioned. Instead, he seems entirely unfazed, as if bargaining with people who understand the market is common.

“You said it yourself—in town. If you think you can get that price, by all means, go sell it there. But here, this is the only price you’ll get.”

Jiang Miao stays silent for a moment, then takes back his basket. “I won’t sell to you. There are plenty of other buyers on this street besides you.”

“Not selling to me?” The vendor bursts out laughing, rocking back and forth as if he’s heard the funniest joke. When he finishes laughing, he adds, “Then go ahead and ask around. If anyone else here is willing to buy, go sell it to them.”

Jiang Miao suspects from this reaction that the whole street is likely in collusion—and he’s right. He goes from stall to stall, but not a single one is willing to buy his goods.

When he passes the first stall on his way out, the vendor calls out after him, “If you come to sell tomorrow, it won’t be for the same price.”

Jiang Miao ignores him and walks away.

Chan Yi and Wen Jing have been following at a distance and hurry up to him once he turns a corner.

“Master Jiang, these crooked merchants are infuriating. The villagers work so hard to gather these goods, and yet the merchants say they’re worth nothing,” Chan Yi says angrily. She has watched several stalls buy goods, only to belittle them as worthless before offering a low price. The villagers, accustomed to such treatment, sell their harvests without a word and go to the front of the street to buy grain.

“Yes, it’s normal for merchants to be shrewd in business, but what they’re doing is clearly an unfair transaction.” In modern times, they’d call it robbery masked as a transaction. It’s as if they could have robbed you outright—yet chose to give you a token amount just for show.

“Ah, only in Cangzhou would something like this happen. If it were Liangjing, no merchant would dare to conduct such an unfair business. They’d be afraid the authorities would shut down their shop,” Chan Yi mutters.

Hearing her words, Jiang Miao falls into thought.

When he arrives home, the other women from nearby courtyards have also returned, their faces showing cheerful smiles, evidently pleased with the items they’ve purchased. In the same courtyard as Jiang Miao, one of the older women looks both pleased and pained—she has bought a mirror, but it has been so expensive that it hurts to spend the silver. If she hadn’t liked it so much, she would never have paid the price.

“Wen Jing, could you go and find out how much Madam He’s mirror costs?” Jiang Miao asks, feeling it would be awkward to approach himself.

Wen Jing nods and casually walks out, blending into the crowd to inquire about the price of the basin-sized mirror.

“Master Jiang, her mirror costs her 180 taels.”

“180 taels? Yet that man just quoted me 200 taels for even the smallest one. It seems they adjust their prices based on the buyer.” Jiang Miao gives a cold scoff. It appears these merchants are well aware of the ladies’ backgrounds and are practically bribing them in disguise.

Jiang Miao decides to wait until Pei Che returns to discuss the matter further. Even if they don’t establish a separate merchant group, they can’t let these crooked traders monopolize the market and maliciously lower prices.

He waited all afternoon, through the return of Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu from their studies, as the sun begins to set, and as the food on the table cools and is reheated, but Pei Che still hasn’t returned.

Jiang Miao grows extremely anxious, though he keeps his worry hidden from the children to avoid making them uneasy. Fortunately, just before nightfall, a messenger from Xiahe County arrives with a note from Pei Che.

Alright, as long as nothing happens, that’s all that matters. Jiang Miao feels relieved, guessing that Pei Che and his team must have found something in Xiahe County. But what exactly have they found? Could it be the key to solving the case?

That night, Jiang Miao lies on the unusually spacious bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Normally, when Pei Che is around, he always feels cramped—no matter how wide the bed is, Pei Che always has to sleep close to him.

Now that Pei Che is gone, he should’ve been able to sleep well, but no matter how tightly he shuts his eyes, sleep won’t come. His mind is so alert he feels he could sit up and play ten rounds of chess with his grandfather.

Finally driven to frustration, Jiang Miao punches Pei Che’s pillow with a hint of resentment. He thinks, if Pei Che isn’t back by tomorrow morning, he will head over to Xiahe County himself. Of course, it won’t be just for Pei Che—he just wants to see if there is anywhere he can lend a hand. And while he is there, he will share what has happened that afternoon and see if Pei Che can figure out which clause of the Daliang legal code applies to these merchants.