Chapter (9) "A Trip to the Port City to Sell the Boars" (Part 4)
"Young brother, isn't five silver ingots for three jin a bit too expensive?"
Bai Li had already expected this question.
When selling wild game, there's usually an estimated market price, but it's never fixed. Since hunting wild animals involves risking one's life, the price is ultimately determined by the seller's word.
Therefore, Bai Li replied with a small smile.
"Brother, looking at you, you must be a merchant. Let me ask you—when was the last time you ate wild boar meat? And I mean specifically wild boar meat."
The man thought for a moment, and soon a specific expression crossed his face.
"I can't even remember. Was it four or five years ago?"
Or perhaps it had been even longer than that.
It was easy to understand. Even a merchant who traveled all over the country only had the chance to eat wild boar meat once every many years. That just goes to show how rare wild boar meat is in this era.
Deep in the mountains, there are many dangerous large animals, and in this era, tools and weapons aren't well-developed. No ordinary person wants to take up the life-threatening job of a hunter. That is exactly why this meat is so scarce.
Bai Li didn't say anything more after hearing the man's answer; he simply looked at him with a smile. The man wasn't slow, and he understood exactly what Bai Li was implying. He burst out laughing and said: "Alright! Just by looking at these massive boars, it's obvious they weren't easy to kill. I was just talking, I didn't really mean to haggle. Go ahead and weigh out fifteen silver ingots' worth for me.".
Fifteen silver ingots would buy nine jin. Bai Li gave a friendly smile and suggested.
"Brother, why don't you take twenty silver ingots' worth instead? If you do, I'll throw in an extra jin for free."
Hearing this, the man considered it for a moment and agreed.
"Fine! Twenty silver ingots' worth it is, then."
He happened to see the boars while he was in city and wanted to buy some to enjoy with his merchant group as a snack while drinking liquor. Merchants are wealthy people; spending a bit of money meant nothing to them.
(AN// The "liquor" mentioned here refers to the white spirit found in ancient Chinese stories, not wine.)
At that moment, the crowd listening to the conversation realized that thirteen jin of meat had just been sold by word of mouth alone—even before the bristles had been cleaned off the boars. They completely forgot about haggling and scrambled away to go grab their money.
The eldest sons from the two families, who were busy setting up the water boilers, were stunned. The two elders' mustaches were also quivering with shock. Five silver for three jin... and it was that easy?
They never knew Bai Li was so skilled at business. Was this really the same "useless trash" Bai Li who had grown up right before their eyes?
However, a moment later, they were overcome with joy. They realized that if three jin cost five silver, these two massive beasts could bring in over a thousand silver ingots.
Based on his memories, the country Bai Li now lived in was very peaceful, and the reigning Emperor was a truly good man, like a father to the nation. If someone wanted to sell goods every day, they would need to buy a shop stall from the authorities, but for a one-time thing, there wouldn't be any trouble. The Emperor had allowed certain rules to be relaxed for ordinary citizens, and the people loved him dearly for it.
Naturally, Bai Li was happy about this. In an ancient era like this, if the country were in turmoil, the common people at the bottom would suffer the most. Seeing how peaceful it was made him very relieved.
Once the water started boiling, they removed the boar's bristles, and Bai Li himself began butchering the meat. Initially, the eldest sons of the Bai and Jiang families wanted to help, but Bai Li's butchering skills were so superior that they realized they couldn't cut the meat as neatly as he could. Instead, they helped by organizing the queue and collecting the money.
Actually, Bai Li wasn't exactly an expert butcher. It was just that in his previous life, he had gone hunting and had seen videos of meat processing, so his skills in handling a carcass weren't too bad.
The long line of people wanting to buy meat didn't dare break the rules under Jiang Ting's direction. They were told that if anyone skipped the line or caused trouble, they wouldn't be sold any meat.
As a result, the orderly line was quite eye-catching. The District Magistrate, who had come to inspect the cargo ships, saw the line and asked his assistant: "Liu Qing, what is going on here?".
The assistant, Liu Qing, had been at the port all day and didn't know either. He ran over to ask and came back excitedly.
"District Magistrate! This huge line is for buying wild boar meat. Someone brought two massive boars to the city today. Why don't you get some boar trotter soup for your wife? It would be very nourishing for her."
The District Magistrate's wife had given birth just two days ago, and boar trotter soup is indeed very strengthening. The Magistrate was delighted, dismounted from his horse, and joined the back of the line.
Liu Qing wanted to say that if the Magistrate just went to the front, they surely wouldn't refuse to sell to him, but remembering the Magistrate's character, he kept quiet.
Speaking of this District Magistrate, he was a local from this very area. Although this district was small and remote, because it had a port, many officials fought for the position. While others submitted proposals to the Emperor about "striving for national prosperity" or "district development," this Magistrate's application simply stated that this district was his birthplace.
He said he wanted to serve in his own birthplace. This was so different from everyone else's applications that even the Emperor laughed and granted him the position.
Liu Qing shook his head but continued to follow behind the Magistrate.
But as long as you are a good official, the people will love you.
When some people in the line noticed the District Magistrate waiting with them, they couldn't help but speak up. The fact that the Magistrate's wife had given birth two days ago was no secret.
"District Magistrate, sir! If you want the trotters, please just go to the front. There are so many people ahead that the trotters might be gone by the time you get there."
A boar only has four legs, so two boars meant only eight trotters, and there were so many people. There were bound to be others who wanted them.
Magistrate Yi Zhan calmly shook his head.
"Didn't they say they won't sell to anyone who doesn't queue? Even if I don't get the trotters, as long as I get some meat, it's fine."
The people didn't dare say more, but word quickly spread up the line that the District Magistrate was at the back wanting to buy trotters. When Bai Li heard this, he asked the Village Elder to go and invite the Magistrate over.
Was he joking? How could he not show favor to the District Magistrate?
The Village Elder, Jiang Yan, was also a minor official in a sense, even if their ranks were far apart, so it was better for him to go. Jiang Yan insisted on inviting the Magistrate to the front, and since everyone in the line was also encouraging him, the Magistrate finally gave in and moved forward.
Bai Li greeted District Magistrate Yi Zhan with a smile.
"Magistrate, sir, I'm not trying to flatter you. I heard your wife recently gave birth, and if you buy the meat now, you can even have it cooked for tonight's dinner. That's why I invited you to the front. If there was anyone else in this crowd needing trotters for a wife who just gave birth, I would give them priority too. So please, buy with a clear conscience. Do you want the trotters? How many should I weigh for you? I'm charging five silver for three jin."
Since this Magistrate was willing to wait in line, it was clear he wasn't an arrogant man who abused his power, nor was he the type who could be easily bribed with flattery. That's why Bai Li explained his reasoning and didn't offer it for free or at a discount; he quoted the same price as everyone else.
Only after hearing this could Yi Zhan relax. Truthfully, he was also worried the trotters would run out and really wanted to feed them to his wife tonight. With the crowd also supporting him, he accepted: "In that case, weigh two for me.".
The two trotters weighed nearly eight jin, and Bai Li charged thirteen silver ingots. After getting the trotters, the Magistrate went home with a smile, and the turn returned to the people in line.
Most people only bought three jin, but the restaurants bought anywhere from ten to thirty jin. Consequently, the first boar was sold out quickly. When they started cutting the second one, the people at the back grew anxious and started shouting.
"Young brother selling the meat! Is there any left for us? We've been waiting a long time! If you see it's running low, you should set a limit on how much each person can buy."
But the people at the front wouldn't accept that.
"If you're late and can't get any, then don't! We're going to buy as much as we need!"
Fearing an argument would break out, Bai Li quickly said.
"Brothers, please don't fight. This boar is even larger. Stay calm, there's enough for everyone."
By then, the line was already more than half gone. Just as Bai Li said, everyone managed to get some, though the people at the very end had to share the remaining meat and bones. They were annoyed they didn't get as much as they wanted, but they figured it was better than getting nothing at all.
Originally, Bai Li wanted to take the bones home to make soup for the little kids' growth, but he never imagined these people wouldn't even let the bones—or even the heads—go. Most people don't eat the heads, but since this meat was so rare, there were people who wanted them, especially since the price was slightly cheaper than the meat.
The only things people absolutely didn't want were the internal organs. People of this era viewed internal organs as disgusting and didn't want to eat them. Even though a few people would eat the heads, they completely avoided these organs. They wouldn't even take them if they were given away for free.
Bai Li sighed and looked at the basket of internal organs. He wasn't foolish enough to throw these away.
The people from the Bai and Jiang families wanted to toss these organs out, but they were confused when Bai Li strictly stopped them. However, they just let him do what he wanted.
Today's experience had left them so stunned that they couldn't think too deeply about such things anyway.
The total revenue from selling the boars today was over a thousand silver ingots—specifically, one thousand three hundred and fifty-four silver ingots. This made their eyes bulge; the fact that money could be earned this easily left them truly dazed.
After packing everything up, they rented two rooms at the cheapest small inn. Bai Li estimated it was around 8:00 or 9:00 PM by the time they arrived.
He told the others to go to sleep, then asked the innkeeper for water to clean the boar internal organs and boiled them so they would stay fresh until tomorrow. The others tried to tell him not to bother, but Bai Li was stubborn, so they eventually stopped arguing.
In their minds, they thought that ever since Bai Li had changed, he had become very stingy. Even with over a thousand silver ingots, did he still want to eat these organs?
Exhausted both mentally and physically, they fell into a deep sleep. It wasn't their fault they fell asleep so easily; in rural villages, there's no work at night, so they usually go to bed early to save on oil, and this was already past their usual bedtime.
After boiling the organs, Bai Li peeked into the two rooms. Once he was sure everyone was sound asleep, he quietly slipped out of the inn. His footsteps were headed toward the largest brothel in the port city.
Actually, Bai Li didn't come to the port city just to sell meat. There was another reason—he had to retrieve the life contracts for Xiao Fu and Xiao Wu, which the original Bai Li had previously sold to the brothel in advance.