Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 59 The Tycoon 1
Beijiwu had the gold leaves from before, and after paying taxes, he still had two hundred taels of silver.

With money comes the desire to spend it, so Beijiwu walked to a livestock pen.

"Master Wu, what would you like to buy?"

The thirty-something Tuoba Niu took the initiative to greet Beiji Wu.

Beijiwu never expected to become so famous, looking at the oxen in the livestock pen.

How much does a draft ox cost?

Tuoba Niu quickly replied, "The large one is twelve liang, and the small one is four liang."

I feel that the price of Arctic oxen is a bit too high; anything over ten taels of silver is considered expensive.

Tuoba Niu, observing the situation, quickly said, "I admire Lord Wu's bravery, and I can sell you an ox for eleven taels."

Arctic Martial Arts seems a bit expensive. "I'll go look elsewhere."

Tuoba Niu quickly followed, "Master Wu, a big ox and a big donkey, twelve taels in total!"

Beijiwu asked curiously, "You have donkeys here too?"

"Yes!" Tuoba Niu breathed a sigh of relief and introduced with a smile, "We also have sheep and horses. Does Master Wu want a horse or a sheep?"

Arctic Martial Arts Academy doesn't need that many horses; horses are too expensive and not cost-effective.

"Ten sheep and one horse will suffice. I have too few people with me today to take away so much stuff."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Niu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master Wu. I am a law-abiding citizen from the nearby Great Wall Village. We are all from within the Great Wall. As long as we don't leave the Great Wall, we can send livestock to your village."

Bei Jiwu was relieved. "Alright, the five oxen and the donkey together will cost 55 taels. We'll also get a small calf to raise. Including transportation costs, it'll be 60 taels. What do you think?"

“It’s feasible!” Tuoba Niu was overjoyed to receive such a big deal. “Do you still want the sheep and the horse? One tael of silver for a live sheep, and twenty taels for a horse.”

Arctic Martial shook his head. "Too expensive."

Tuoba Niu wanted to make as much money as possible, so when he saw that Beiji Wu thought it was too expensive, he immediately lowered the price, saying, "A horse and a sheep, twenty taels!"

Before Beijiwu could speak, a Hu man standing on either side of the bustling street said, "Don't listen to his lies. A cow only costs seven taels of silver, and a fine horse is only fifteen taels of silver!"

Tuoba Niu quickly looked at the speaker and said fiercely, "You barbarian! What nonsense are you spouting?"

Beijiwu looked at the Hu man who was speaking; his head was wrapped in white cloth, he wore gold earrings, and his beard gleamed orange in the sunlight.

He was indeed a non-Han Chinese, a middle-aged man with golden curly hair and blue eyes.

Xia Qiu saw that Tuoba Niu and several other men nearby were looking at him, and he regretted what he had said.

Beijiwu grabbed Tuoba Niu's hair with one hand and gently pushed him away as if he were holding a human head.

“You’re a really good person. You stood up for me and spoke up for me after I was cheated. I am Beiji Wu of the Shan Nong tribe. You don’t need to be afraid of these people. If they dare to hurt you, I will avenge you and wipe them out.”

Beijiwu ignored Tuoba Niu and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Xiaqiu, who knew about local prices.

Xia Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and introduced himself: "My name is Xia Qiu, I am from the Xia Kingdom, and my name means hill. The cattle here are priced at seven or eight taels of silver according to your government's standards, sheep only cost six qian of silver, a donkey is one tael of silver, and a horse is a little over ten taels."

Beijiwu asked curiously, "Then help me buy some livestock, and I'll give you a reward for your hard work."

Xiaqiu said, “I am a merchant from the Western Regions. You can look at my goods. I have gems and horses, as well as exquisite silverware and carpets.”

Arctic Wu wasn't interested in any of these things, but at Xia Qiu's invitation, he went to take a look.

As he was leaving, Beijiwu suddenly turned back to look at Tuoba Niu, whose face was filled with resentment.

Their eyes met, and the cold gaze of Beiji Wu sent a chill down Tuoba Niu's spine.

Beijiwu quickly followed Xiaqiu to his tent to inspect the goods.

The tent in Xiaqiu was supported by a bronze crescent flagpole, swaying slightly in the dry westerly wind. The tent was not large, but it maintained a safe distance from the nearby tents.

At the entrance to the tent was a deep red wool felt covered with gold vine patterns.

Upon entering the tent, Xia Qiu quickly walked to the corner where a dry tree root, tied with a straw rope, hung from the corner, swirling in the wind.

Xia Qiu carefully untied the object, took the tree root, and said with a solemn expression, "This is a divine medicine from the West. After consuming it, one can have sex with ten women in one night!"

Arctic Martial smiled politely and continued looking at the other things, ignoring the Western miracle drug.

A Damascus steel scimitar lay across the velvet cloth, its scabbard jet black. As Beijiwu approached, he drew it an inch, the water ripples on the blade shimmering like living things in the sunlight.

There were some dried raisins and dried fruit, as well as some dried meat and dairy products on the boxes inside the tent.

The most eye-catching item was a box with a lid painted with a Persian woman in a gauze dress, the paint so bright it was almost blinding. Upon seeing this, Beijiwu said, "You don't have what I want here, but do you have seeds of Western crops, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, or corn?"

Xia Qiu shook his head, not knowing what it was.

Beijiwu said, "Never mind then. I have a painting by a famous artist. Could you give me a price?"

Xia Qiu smiled and said, "I don't accept paintings, but I can help you take a look. Westerners don't really like calligraphy and paintings."

Arctic Martial thought that Xia Qiu would be willing to help, so he took Xia Qiu to his car.

When they walked from the tent to a corner of the horse market, Ai Dake came over and said, "Chieftain, the flag chief just brought over a cart of farm tools. He said it would cost fifty taels in total. He asked if you wanted them."

Beijiwu looked at the vehicles and found four seed drills, four plowshares for tilling the land, and more than twenty iron hoes and sickles.

A plowshare costs about one ounce each, a seed drill costs three to four ounces each, a hoe costs 0.5 ounces, and a sickle costs 0.3 ounces.
Even including the ox and the oxcart, it probably still wouldn't be enough for fifty taels.

Arctic Martial discovered that even with his amazing combat power, he would inevitably be the one making money off others whenever he did business with them.

To make someone lose money doing business, you must continuously use force. Simply intimidating someone will only work once and won't make them come to you to do business.

"Okay, I've given it to you."

At least Beiji Wu has a normal understanding; he knows that doing business requires paying money and doesn't mind if the other party makes a little profit.

Not only did he give fifty taels, but Beijiwu also gave fifty-five taels to the deliveryman.

“We’re all family,” Beijiwu said softly.

Upon seeing the fifty taels of official silver and five taels of loose silver, the person collecting the money quickly became one of Beijiwu's family.

"Thank you, Master Wu!"

The officers and soldiers beamed with joy and offered their advice: "These are all from the imperial court. If you want more, Master Wu, just tell the brothers. There's plenty more."

Arctic Martial Arts finally understood why so many people in this region were rebelling.

After dealing with the officers and soldiers, Bei Jiwu took a colorful painting he had recently completed from his car.

Colored pigments have existed in this world for a long time, but they are not used much; people prefer to use them to create a specific atmosphere or mood.

Beijiwu pulled Xiaqiu to a secluded spot nearby and handed him his painting.

"Take a look and tell me how much it's worth. Name your price."

Xia Qiu opened the scroll, which didn't even have a scroll scroll, out of curiosity. After unfolding it and glancing at it casually, his eyes widened in surprise!
The woman in the painting is a white-clad woman with flowing white clothes, jet-black hair, a full bottom and large breasts, and a cold expression.

Her appearance was exquisite and beautiful, unlike the kind of beauty that a normal human should have.

Her figure is simply captivating.

Unlike those paintings of beautiful maidens that emphasize artistic conception, this white-clad female swordswoman is like a bewitching enchantress, yet she also gives off a sense of awe-inspiring and inviolable holiness, like a Taoist nun or noblewoman who has attained enlightenment.

Her breasts and hips were alluring, and her eyes, mouth, and face made one want to touch them with their lips...

Xia Qiu quickly bit his tongue and looked away at Bei Jiwu. "Who drew this? What's the name? Could it be the legendary 'Mirror of Love and Lust' that makes men lose their souls?"

The Mirror of Love and Lust? Does such a thing still exist?

However, the stronghold will indeed be reduced to ashes.

With an expectant look, Beijiwu asked, "How much can I sell it for?"

Xia Qiu was thinking quickly, while also looking at Beijiwu.

Beijiwu didn't urge him, eager to know how much this 21st-century painting could sell for in this age of limited imagination.

After hesitating for half a minute, Xia Qiu quickly and earnestly said, "I am willing to buy it with ten horses! Would you be willing to part with them, Master Wu?"

Beijiwu smiled and said, "Sure! Ten horses are about a hundred taels of silver. Go and try selling them first. If you can't sell them, I can refund you fifty taels. If you do sell them, come back to me. There's another scroll. The next scroll is about not wearing clothes. It's two hundred taels!"

Xia Qiu asked excitedly, "May I take a look?"

Beijiwu shook his head. "Let's talk about it after you sell it. Where are you planning to sell it to?"

Xia Qiu replied, "I intend to sell it to the West, where nobles love these ancient paintings of beauties. I wonder what it's called?"

Beijiwu smiled and said, "Then we can stay here next year. The woman in the painting is named Liu Ruyan. She was a female Taoist priest from three hundred years ago. The painter is Liu Bei."

(End of this chapter)