32: Chapter 32 The Price of the Great Beast

Before Mo Shoutian could speak, Mo Changlin, who was loading the cart nearby, said:

"Shoutian, it seems that this time going to Jiuzhou City, we need to buy a few more heavy crossbows."

Mo Shoutian really hadn't expected that so many people would suddenly be willing to follow him into the back mountain to hunt large beasts, which was a lot more than he had anticipated.

Hearing Mo Changlin's words, Mo Shoutian nodded.

"It seems we do need to buy a few more heavy crossbows."

Although there were nearly three hundred catties of medicinal herbs, packing them up was quite fast.

In about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the few of them finished loading.

Right before departure, Mo Shoutian said to Xu Qiuniang:

"Qiuniang, train one or two more helpers."

Xu Qiuniang was somewhat puzzled.

"Brother Shoutian, I can handle these things, I don't need helpers."

Mo Shoutian didn't explain much, and only said:

"Qiuniang, just listen to me; train one or two people first."

At this time, Liu Chunmei also walked over holding wrapped flatbreads.

"These flatbreads are enough for you all to eat for a while on the road. Be sure to stay safe."

Mo Shoutian took the flatbreads, looked at Liu Chunmei, and nodded.

Then he turned around and said to the others:

"Brothers, let's set off."

Along the way, the few of them took turns driving the cart. When tired, they would lie on the cart to sleep for a while, and when hungry, they would eat some food on the cart.

After arriving at Qingshi Town, they had a meal at Mo Dahu's stall.

Worried that the cargo on the cart was too eye-catching and that they were still far from Jiuzhou City, Mo Changlin had Mo Shoutian buy a few straw mats and a few ragged cloth sacks to cover the things on the cart.

Afterwards, the group continued to rush towards Jiuzhou City.

This journey was quite smooth, and no unexpected events occurred.

At noon on the eighth day, the group finally arrived at Jiuzhou City.

Before they even reached the city gate, the people and carts on the road became much more numerous.

There were those driving horse-drawn carriages, those pushing wheelbarrows, and quite a few commoners carrying poles on their shoulders to enter the city and sell things.

Mo Changlin and the others were all coming to Jiuzhou City for the first time.

Ever since Mo Qingshi saw the city walls from a distance, he kept looking up at them.

"Uncle Shoutian, these city walls are much taller than those of Qingshi Town."

Mo Shoutian glanced at him.

"Don't just focus on looking; watch the horses well."

Mo Qingshi gave an acknowledgment, but still couldn't help glancing at the city gate a few more times.

After paying the city entry fee, the group drove the two horse-drawn carriages into the city.

Jiuzhou City was countless times livelier than Qingshi Town.

Both sides of the street were filled with shops, and the roadside was also lined with stalls.

Cries of hawking came one after another, and people on the street came and went, forcing the two horse-drawn carriages to move forward slowly.

Mo Shouyi and Mo Shoucheng kept looking to both sides, and even Mo Changlin couldn't help taking a few extra glances.

Mo Shoutian had been here last time and didn't join in watching the excitement with them.

He turned back to glance at the things on the cart.

"Keep a close eye on your cargo. There are a lot of people here, so don't lose anything."

Only then did several people withdraw their gazes.

Mo Shoutian drove his carriage at the very front, Mo Changlin drove the other carriage following behind, and the remaining people walked on both sides of the two carriages respectively.

Following the route in his memory, Mo Shoutian led the group to Dasheng Cargo Firm.

The clerks in the cargo firm were busy in the courtyard, just like last time.

One of the clerks recognized Mo Shoutian at a glance.

"Isn't this the one who came to buy heavy crossbows last time?"

While speaking, the clerk looked at the two horse-drawn carriages behind Mo Shoutian.

"Did you manage to get some big cargo?"

Mo Shoutian smiled.

"Buddy, is Shopkeeper Qiu here?"

Before the clerk could answer, Qiu Wansheng walked out of the room.

He spotted Mo Shoutian at a glance, then looked at the two carriages behind him, and said with a chuckle:

"Isn't this little brother Shoutian? It looks like the harvest this time is not small."

As Qiu Wansheng spoke, he walked up to the horse-drawn carriage.

Mo Shoutian also smiled and said:

"May your kind words come true. The harvest this time is quite decent. Please take a look at the cargo first."

After finishing, he said to Mo Changlin and the others:

"Take off the straw mats and let Shopkeeper Qiu take a look."

Mo Changlin and the others quickly removed the straw mats covering the cargo.

The pelt, claws, and fangs of the Giant Tiger, as well as the horns and hide of the large ox, along with the tiger meat and beef they brought back, were all exposed.

Qiu Wansheng first looked at the pelts of the Giant Tiger and the large ox, then reached out and stroked them a few times.

Afterwards, he said to the clerk beside him:

"You guys, unload the tiger pelt and ox hide first."

Several clerks acknowledged and quickly lifted the tiger pelt and ox hide down from the cart.

Qiu Wansheng first came to the tiger pelt, stroking it with his hand while saying:

"Good stuff, truly good stuff."

Afterwards, he came to the ox hide.

"This piece is also not bad."

Qiu Wansheng watched for a moment, as if wanting to confirm something, and walked towards the ox horns on the cart that hadn't been unloaded yet.

He stared at the two ox horns for a long time, turned his head, and said to Mo Shoutian:

"Brother Shoutian, you really have skills."

Hearing these words, Mo Shoutian and the others all wore smiles on their faces.

Even a fool could tell that this Giant Tiger and large ox should be able to sell for a good price.

Mo Shoutian asked:

"Shopkeeper Qiu, these tiger and ox are alright, right?"

Qiu Wansheng smiled.

"Brother Shoutian, this is where you don't understand."

"This tiger is called a Black-striped Mountain Tiger."

As he spoke, he pointed at the black stripe on the tiger's back.

"The name of the Black-striped Mountain Tiger comes from this black stripe. This black stripe grows all the way from its head to its tail."

Finished talking about the Black-striped Mountain Tiger, Qiu Wansheng walked over to the two ox horns.

He took a knife from a nearby clerk's hand and gently tapped the ox horns a few times with the back of the blade.

A clanging sound came from the ox horns, sounding much like striking ironware.

Qiu Wansheng said somewhat proudly:

"This ox is called an Iron-horned Cyan Ox, and its horns are even harder than ordinary weapons."

"I really didn't expect that Brother Shoutian would manage to get two such large beasts on your first time leading people to hunt beasts."

Hearing him say this, Mo Shoutian politely said:

"It's still the heavy crossbow you sold me that works well."

Qiu Wansheng turned around and looked at Mo Shoutian.

"Brother Shoutian is too polite."

"Now let me talk about the prices first."

Having said that, he pointed at the tiger pelt and ox hide on the ground.

"For the pelt of the Black-striped Mountain Tiger, I'll give you one hundred and twenty taels. For the hide of the Iron-horned Cyan Ox, one hundred taels."

Afterwards, he looked at the tiger bones, ox bones, tiger claws, and ox horns, thought for a moment, and said:

"Tiger bones are one tael of silver per catty, and ox bones will also follow this price."

"The four tiger claws plus the fangs total one hundred taels, and the two ox horns will also be one hundred taels for you."

"As for the tiger meat and beef, they will all be bought at five hundred wen per catty. How about that?"

Hearing this price, Mo Changlin and his son, along with the brothers Mo Shouyi and Mo Shoucheng, almost jumped up with joy.

In the past, when they hunted a wild deer in the front mountains of Baitou Mountain, they could only sell it for a few taels of silver.

They didn't expect that this time, even without counting the meat and bones, the tiger pelt, tiger claws, ox hide, and ox horns alone already amounted to four hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Deducting Mo Shoutian's half, the remaining silver would be divided equally among the ten of them, with each person averaging at least twenty taels.

How could they not be happy.

Mo Shoutian had long known that these things could sell for quite a bit of money, but he hadn't expected them to fetch this kind of price.

Seeing that Mo Shoutian hadn't spoken for a long time, Qiu Wansheng thought he was unsatisfied with the price.

"What, does Brother Shoutian feel this price is too low?"

Mo Shoutian only then snapped back to his senses and hurriedly said with a smile:

"What are you talking about, Shopkeeper Qiu? Naturally, I am satisfied with this price."

"As long as you are satisfied."

Qiu Wansheng turned around and said to the clerk beside him:

"Weigh them."

After finishing, he looked at Mo Shoutian again.

"Brother Shoutian has had a hard journey along the way. Bring the brothers inside to have a cup of tea."

Before Mo Shoutian could speak, Mo Changlin spoke up first.

"Shoutian, go drink tea. The few of us will stay here to help the clerks weigh them."

Mo Changlin had lived for half a lifetime and naturally understood the rules within this business.

Qiu Wansheng was mainly inviting Mo Shoutian inside to drink tea; inviting them inside was just out of courtesy.

Besides, with so many things to be weighed, they needed to keep an eye on it.

Hearing Mo Changlin say this, Mo Shoutian didn't say much more. He just gave him a look to watch the scales carefully, and then followed Qiu Wansheng into the room.

As soon as they entered the room, seeing that there was no one else inside,

Mo Shoutian took out the beast core found inside the belly of the Iron-horned Cyan Ox from his bosom.