17: Chapter 17 The First Carriage

Chapter 17: The First Horse-Drawn Carriage

Mo Shoutian left Dasheng Cargo Firm and walked towards the west of the city in the direction Qiu Wansheng had pointed out.

After walking for about half an hour, the streets ahead gradually grew narrower, and the shops on both sides became much fewer.

Before even reaching the stone bridge, Mo Shoutian heard the cries of cattle and horses.

After crossing the bridge, there was a large open space by the roadside enclosed by wooden fences.

Inside were tethered horses, mules, and cattle, along with quite a few carriage frames of various sizes.

The ground was covered in mud churned up by the livestock, and the air carried a strong stench of animal feces.

Several livestock vendors stood by the fence, calling out to customers.

"Are you buying a horse or a mule?"

"Customer, come take a look. The horses here are all from the north."

Mo Shoutian ignored them and slowly walked inward along the wooden fence.

A man wearing a gray cotton-padded jacket walked up leading a tall, robust horse.

"Brother, you look like someone who knows their goods. This horse just turned five, and it is good for both pulling carts and riding."

The horse indeed looked spirited with a glossy coat, but when it stood, its right hind leg never quite settled firmly on the ground.

Mo Shoutian walked over, touched the horse's leg, and had the man lead it for a few steps.

The horse started off walking relatively normally, but after taking a dozen steps or so, it seemed hesitant to put force on its right hind leg.

"This leg has been injured."

The man hurriedly said:

"It bumped it some years ago, but it healed long ago. There is usually nothing wrong with riding it at all."

"It's fine for short trips, but not necessarily for long ones."

Mo Shoutian did not look anymore, turned around, and continued walking forward.

The man shouted from behind:

"The price is negotiable! If twenty-two taels won't do, twenty taels will sell!"

Mo Shoutian still did not look back.

He wasn't buying it just to look at; it was over five hundred li from Jiuzhou City to Mo Family Village, and the road also passed through Heishi Ridge.

If the horse injured its leg halfway, both the heavy crossbow and the carriage would have to be abandoned on the road.

Parked deep inside the livestock market were a few old carriages.

An old man of around sixty sat on the carriage shaft smoking a dry tobacco pipe, with a grayish-brown horse tethered near his feet.

The horse was not particularly tall, and its back hair was somewhat mixed in color, but its four legs stood very steadily.

When Mo Shoutian walked up to it, it merely raised its head for a glance, without crying out or dodging backward.

The old man tapped his tobacco pouch.

"Buying a carriage?"

"Are the horse and carriage sold together?"

"Sold together, or they can be sold separately."

The old man pointed to the flatbed cart behind him.

"The cart is a bit old, but the axle was just replaced last year. The horse is no longer young either, but it has a steady temperament and won't fuss on long journeys."

Mo Shoutian first inspected the horse's teeth, then felt its four legs and hooves.

This horse should be about ten years old, and its left shoulder had a patch of hardened skin worn away by the harness, but there was nothing wrong with its legs and feet.

He squatted down again to check the axle and the two wheels.

The axle had indeed been replaced, but the right wheel was a bit loose, and the wooden wedge inside had worn down.

"How much?"

"Nineteen taels for both the horse and the carriage."

"The right wheel's wooden wedge needs to be replaced, and a piece of the carriage board is also rotting."

"How much is a wooden wedge worth? I'll replace it with a new one for you later."

The old man said:

"This horse used to pull grain for others, and its longest trip was seven to eight hundred li. It has never broken down on the road. Go out and ask around, you can't buy a horse and carriage like this for nineteen taels."

"The horse is old."

"An old horse is steady. Besides, a ten-year-old horse is not yet old; it's right in its prime for steadiness."

After finishing, the old man reloaded his tobacco.

"Young horses run fast and have big tempers. If you're hauling cargo on long journeys, this one is just right."

Mo Shoutian glanced at the horse.

"Sixteen taels, you replace the wooden wedge for the wheel well, and give me a usable set of reins."

The old man shook his head and said:

"Sixteen taels won't do; this horse alone is worth more than that price."

"Then I'll go look elsewhere."

Mo Shoutian said and prepared to leave.

Having only walked a few steps, the old man called out to him from behind.

"Come back, come back."

Mo Shoutian stopped in his tracks.

The old man stood up while saying:

"Sixteen taels it is, and I'll throw in a new set of reins for you."

"Replace the wooden wedge properly."

"Alright, no problem."

As the old man spoke, he found a piece of hardwood from the shed nearby, whittled a new wooden wedge, and hammered it into the wheel.

Then he harnessed the horse to the carriage and let Mo Shoutian drive it for a circle around the livestock market.

The horse didn't walk fast, but it was very steady.

When someone led an ox past nearby, it merely stepped aside and was not startled.

Mo Shoutian counted out sixteen taels of silver and handed them to the old man.

The old man took the silver, bit it, and then weighed it piece by piece on a small scale.

"The horse and carriage belong to you."

He handed the new set of reins to Mo Shoutian, patted the gray horse's neck, and said with some reluctance:

"This horse isn't picky about food, but you mustn't skimp on its daily water, especially on long trips."

Mo Shoutian memorized these words and drove the carriage away from the livestock market.

He had driven the village's oxcart before, but this was his first time driving a horse-drawn carriage.

There were many people and carriages in Jiuzhou City, so he didn't dare sit on the carriage and instead walked while holding the reins.

When he returned to Dasheng Cargo Firm, the clerk at the entrance spotted him at a glance.

"You're back."

Mo Shoutian nodded.

"The items were too heavy, so I bought both the carriage and the horse."

Hearing the noise, Qiu Wansheng walked out from the back.

He walked around the carriage, examining it, and then looked at the gray horse.

"The horse is a bit old, but its legs and feet are still steady. A horse like this is much less worrisome for long journeys than those young horses that only know how to frolic."

Afterward, he called several clerks to load the heavy crossbow and crossbow rack onto the carriage.

The clerks first padded the bottom with a few old linen cloths, and then tied the crossbow rack and carriage board together with ropes.

The six crossbow bolts were wrapped separately in cloth and tucked beneath the carriage board.

The few men fussed back and forth for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before finally securing the items.

Qiu Wansheng pushed the heavy crossbow with his hand.

"Check the ropes every so often on the road. When the carriage bumps along, the knots easily loosen."

"And the crossbow string, don't let it get rained or snowed on. If it really gets wet, dry it in the shade first when you get back; you can't roast it over a fire."

Mo Shoutian nodded, then thanked Qiu Wansheng, and led the carriage away from Dasheng Cargo Firm.

He didn't leave the city directly, but instead went to Zhou Family Pharmacy.

When he left earlier, he had promised that once matters were settled, he would come back to check on Zhou Chengan.

Mo Shoutian led the carriage and stopped outside the pharmacy.

The clerk in the pharmacy recognized Mo Shoutian and ran to the back courtyard to report.

Not long after, Zhou Chengan walked out from the inside.

The injuries on his body had not yet healed, and he walked a bit slower than usual.

"Brother Mo, are you getting ready to head back?"

"Yeah, I'll be leaving the city shortly."

Zhou Chengan glanced at the heavy crossbow on the carriage.

"Why did you buy such a big contraption?"

Mo Shoutian said, "There are some large beasts in Baitou Mountain that ordinary bows and arrows can't handle. I bought this heavy crossbow intending to go back and find a few people to head into the mountain and try it out."

Zhou Chengan frowned after hearing this.

"Old Ding died in the mountains just a few days ago. You understand hunting better than I do, so I won't try to persuade you too much."

He looked at the heavy crossbow and added:

"Those large beasts are extremely ferocious. If you aren't sure of yourself, don't force it; run when you should run."

"I know."

Mo Shoutian took out wild herb records from his bosom.

"Manager Zhou, there is still one more thing I'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"In the future, if I gather herbs in the mountains and bring them to Zhou Family Pharmacy, will you buy them?"

"As long as there's nothing wrong with the medicinal herbs, of course we'll buy them."

Zhou Chengan opened wild herb records and pointed to a few pages as he said:

"These kinds of herbs cannot be piled all together to dry after being dug up. Roots are roots, leaves are leaves; some need to be sun-dried, and some must be air-dried in a shady place."

He flipped to the page recording green leaf vine.

"For something like this green leaf vine, what's valuable is the root below. When digging, don't break the root; just pat off the mud after bringing it back, and you cannot wash it in water."

Mo Shoutian memorized these points one by one in his heart.

Zhou Chengan returned wild herb records to Mo Shoutian.

After exchanging a few more words, Mo Shoutian prepared to take his leave.

Before leaving, he bought some salt by the street and a bolt of thick, coarse cloth, placing them into the carriage.

By the time all the items were fully purchased, it was already getting late.

Mo Shoutian led the horse all the way out of Jiuzhou City before finally climbing onto the carriage shaft and driving the carriage toward the official road he had come by.