Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 48 Peace (Please continue reading)

"Haha, Mr. Zixu, please take care. I will have the gatekeeper deliver the things you asked me to to Taoyuan in a while."

At Li's shop, the shopkeeper, beaming with joy, saw Zhang Xian out, his hand still clinging to Zhang Xian's arm with obvious reluctance.

"The business is settled, and I'm heading back now. Manager Li, please wait, we'll talk again when we have time!"

He bowed respectfully, a warm smile on his face, and turned to leave.

The main reason for coming to Zhen Ding today is to order a batch of bottles and jars. Tao Yuan's pottery is not enough. The business with the Zhou family involves 3,000 catties of wine, and just jarring it will be quite a hassle.

In addition, he also wanted to check on the harvested millet. There were many merchants traveling to and from Zhending, and boats traveled back and forth on the Hutuo River with the help of water conservancy.

After winding through Zhen Ding County and entering the market town, Tao Yuan had already arranged for people to be stationed there. Upon seeing Zhang Xian appear, they all gathered around him.

"Master of the house."

"Master of the house."

"."

"Mr. Zixu!"

"Mr. Zixu is here? Where?"

"There, Mr. Zixu is over there!"

Not only the people of Taoyuan, but almost everyone in the market gathered around when they heard of Zhang Xian's arrival.

The widespread use of smallpox vaccination has led to Zhang Xian's rising reputation, with countless people in both rural areas and county towns remembering his kindness.

Even the Zhen Ding County Annals have now recorded Zhang Xian's deeds.

The reason is simple: the fact that the spread of smallpox in Zhending County was cut off is enough.

"Mr. Zixu, are you thirsty? We have some honey water in a shop. Waiter, go and get it quickly."

"Yes, yes, the roast chicken at that shop is also very good. Go and get it for Mr. Zixu to eat."

"Me me me"

Zhang Xian, who appeared on the street in an instant, was completely surrounded by the crowd. The Taoyuan group was so shocked that they quickly formed a circle to protect their patriarch.

"Everyone."

The scene was so chaotic that Zhang Xian's shouts had no effect whatsoever.

Left with no other choice, he could only blow the [Spirit Bone Short Whistle] hanging around his neck.

Beep!
The sharp whistle finally brought order to the chaotic scene.

"Gentlemen!" he raised his voice.

Looking around, his smile remained unchanged: "I appreciate everyone's kindness, but please don't crowd together. You all have your own businesses to attend to, and passersby need passage. So please don't let me delay these things. What I've done is just what a doctor should do. It was only through the county magistrate's full support and the Guo family head's efforts that this was made possible."

"Please do not attribute the credit to Zhang alone; I would be ashamed!"

“Mr. Zixu, you are too kind. We know your abilities and intentions. If it weren’t for your decisive action, we might have suffered from smallpox. Please don’t be modest.”

Someone in the crowd shouted, eliciting nods of "yes, yes" from the crowd.

A tavern in a corner of the market.

There was a table of people drinking on the second floor near the window.

The commotion outside the window attracted one of them, who then leaned against the windowsill, sat down on the ground, and looked down.

“Brother, look at that man, is that Zhang Xian we’re looking for? He doesn’t look like much at all.”

The man by the window spoke to the middle-aged man in the center of the table. Beside the middle-aged man was a burly man who also got up and walked to the window to look. "Third brother is biased. I think this man has an extraordinary demeanor and should be a gentleman."

"Brother, won't you come and see?" The man also looked at the man kneeling in the center of the table.

With a crown on his head, a beard on his face, and eyes as sharp as an eagle's, the middle-aged man put down his wine cup: "Second brother, third brother, don't gossip behind our backs. We are here to visit Mr. Zixu, and we should be respectful."

"only."

The two men by the window bowed to each other and returned to the table.

"Brother, when shall we go to pay our respects?"

After drinking a glass of wine, the person who first noticed the commotion downstairs asked.

The middle-aged man replied, "Let's go and see the surrounding households of believers first, and ask them about Mr. Zixu's character. We've come here to seek your guidance, so please don't cause any trouble!"

“Brother, how is your statement any different from Brother Liang’s? It’s biased, biased!” The second man who went to the window shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with his brother’s words.

The middle-aged man smiled and shook his head: "Just remember this sentence and don't make a fuss about it. The governor of Julu County has been keeping a close eye on us these days."

"Why should I be afraid of that old Qiu who's already halfway to the coffin? I'd love for him to lose his temper so I can beat him to death!"

"That's what the man called Brother Liang said angrily."

The two did not try to dissuade him; on the contrary, they quite agreed.

However, as the backbone, the middle-aged man still said, "Don't talk too much outside. Although my followers are numerous, please don't leave any room for gossip."

"Understood." Zhang Liang slammed his wine glass heavily on the table. "Waiter! Another jar of fine wine, please!"

"Alright, here it comes! Seat D on the second floor, a jar of fine wine!"
-
Downstairs, Zhang Xian finally managed to persuade the crowd to leave after much pleading. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself.

"I should try to go out less in the future; people these days are too fanatical."

How is the grain procurement going?

Several members of the Peach Blossom Clan led Zhang Xian to a certain place. Under the tarpaulin, the leading man bowed and said, "Reporting to the patriarch, we have collected five hundred shi of millet and one hundred shi of coarse salt in recent days. This is the contract. When the shopkeepers learned that it was purchased by the patriarch, they all said that the money could be owed to them and paid later."

The man handed Zhang Xian several small pieces of silk.

He picked it up and looked through it. Most of the notes were written by grain and salt merchants. One shi (sixty jin) of sorghum was only 480 coins. Although it was not cheap, it was still less than the 10 coins per jin that he had expected.

However, coarse salt is much more expensive, costing a thousand coins per stone with no room for negotiation.

Expenditure: 345,000 baht.

Nodding, he said, "Let them send it to Peach Blossom Spring. Settle the bill there and tell them to bring their accountant. Also, you all continue purchasing grain."

"Yes, sir." The man cupped his hands in greeting.

After Tao Yuan and his group left, Zhang Xian also left the market. He had only come to take a look.

Grain prices are not cheap these days. Even though Zhending is a famous large county, the governor is in a good position, but the impact of natural disasters has still affected the area, and soaring grain prices are inevitable.

Even millet, which used to be worthless, now costs nearly 500 coins per shi (a unit of dry measure), not to mention other staple grains such as millet and wheat.

Fortunately, the estate still had spare cash, and the Zhou family had secured a liquor business worth over 200,000 yuan, so procurement could still proceed.

These 500 shi of sorghum, weighing 30,000 jin, can yield over 60,000 jin of fine wine. Even if all of it is sold at a wholesale price of 70 qian per jin, that would still amount to over 4 million qian. Overall, Taoyuan is still making a profit.

After leaving the market, Zhang Xian visited various clans in Zhengding one by one, exchanging pleasantries with each family before moving on to the next, much like a special forces soldier making a visit.

There's no other way; give and take is the way of human relationships, and this is something Zhang Xian learned after coming into this world.

(End of this chapter)