7: Chapter 7: Is there a black market in Lijiawa?

Over the next three days, Xia Shaoxin rolled twenty-nine qi and blood pills.

Confirming that his body was fine, he decided to convert medicinal herbs again.

He had learned his lesson this time; before converting, he ate a qi and blood pill first.

He caught ten more ordinary mantises, put them in ten bamboo cages, recited the incantation, and a beam of light shot out from the center of his brow.

His brain twitched, and a very nauseating feeling welled up, leaving him dizzy, but he did not faint. After a moment, the nausea vanished.

He watched with his own eyes as the ten ordinary mantises turned into mighty and imposing White-Bellied Poisonous Mantises within seconds.

Inspiration struck, and it was as if the clouds had parted; he understood: "So, the reason I would faint was because my Physique was weak and could not withstand the conversion power of the Shangqing Profound Mirror."

"The larger the Poisonous Insect converted, and the greater the quantity, the more qi and blood it consumes. This is called backlash."

By eating a qi and blood pill beforehand, his excess qi and blood had offset this backlash.

Not daring to act rashly, he rested for a day and took another qi and blood pill. Although there was some discomfort, he did not fall unconscious.

Xia Shaoxin was completely relieved.

"The cost of one extra qi and blood pill for each conversion is still very worthwhile."

On the day of Awakening of Insects, his grandfather died.

During the Spring Equinox, he made miasma-repelling pills.

Around the Qingming Festival, he quietly went up the mountain.

By Grain Rain, he converted Poisonous Insects, made dried goods, and went through all sorts of trouble.

These days, he had to eat chicken, duck, and fish every day, and Liushu Ao Village could not keep up with the supply. The whole village was in an uproar, and the uncles and elders cursed behind his back every day.

"That brat from the Xia family, with no one to look after him after his grandfather died, has turned into a playboy."

"Eating and drinking like that every day, does he not intend to live a proper life?"

"The poor old man scrimped and saved just to get him a wife, but it seems this kid doesn't want to get married."

Of the four great evils—eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling—eating ranks first.

Soon it was the Beginning of Summer, the time when Bug Catchers began to go up the mountain and the Gu Bureau opened for business.

Xia Shaoxin had only converted eight types of Poisonous Insects. He planned to hand in this year's quota first, then buy ten portions of ingredients for miasma-repelling pills, go to Dawu Mountain to catch some real goods, sell them live, and earn more money.

On the second day of the Beginning of Summer, he arrived at Li Family Hollow.

The people at the Gu Bureau did not expect that on the first day of opening, a Bug Catcher would come to hand in Poisonous Insects. Liu Xinglong from the Gu Bureau came to see him personally.

"Where did you get these?"

Xia Shaoxin claimed that they were accumulated by his grandfather over the years.

"Nonsense, these are fresh!" Liu Xinglong exposed the lie without hesitation.

Once a lie was told, one must stick to it to the end and never back down.

Xia Shaoxin said firmly: "My grandfather and I caught them a few years ago. They were preserved very well, so they look like new."

With a firm gaze, his heart not racing and his face not flushing, Liu Xinglong had no choice but to believe him.

However, this raised another serious problem.

"You two were hoarding them and not selling; were you planning to sell them on the black market back then?"

Xia Shaoxin was stunned. The black market? Is there a black market in Li Family Hollow?

Liu Xinglong frowned. From the clear look in Xia Shaoxin's eyes, he could tell that this kid likely really didn't know about the black market's unofficial channels.

It must have been his grandfather who hoarded them and died from a Poisonous Insect bite before he could tell his grandson about the channels.

Everyone knew that goods from Dawu Mountain sold for a very high price outside and could never be capped at forty thousand.

"You must know that this is illegal!" Liu Xinglong's tone was very stern, but his eyes flickered.

Without strict laws and harsh punishments, how could Bug Catchers ever be honest?

Xia Shaoxin was intimidated and instinctively shouted: "I didn't actually engage in smuggling; didn't I bring them here to hand over to you? Our family has earned so much less money; please just have pity on my grandfather, he was a bit muddled."

He said to himself, sorry, old man...

Liu Xinglong snorted: "I know your grandfather is dead; there is no point in settling this account. These dried goods can only be discounted by fifty percent."

Xia Shaoxin was shocked: "Don't be so greedy!"

"Seventy percent! Otherwise, I will report it."

"Deal."

Liu Xinglong revealed an imperceptible smile and carefully calculated the sum for him: sixty thousand, and after deducting the forty thousand for the quota, he could get twenty thousand in paper money.

Xia Shaoxin breathed a sigh of relief.

He was secretly delighted; he had spent three or four thousand on medicinal herbs, rolled ten miasma-repelling pills, and sold them for sixty thousand.

If they were all made with real materials, the cost wouldn't even be covered. But he had the Shangqing Profound Mirror; this was profiteering.

Moreover, the first sacrifice had cost him, but from now on, it would be pure profit.

He was grateful to Liu Xinglong of the Gu Bureau for saying the word "black market"; it was definitely not made up and must exist.

Bug Catchers handed in Poisonous Insects annually based on the number of households. Families with more able-bodied men naturally handed in more, but on average, it was not high.

He planned to hand in hundreds of thousands this year, which could easily cause problems. If there was a black market, it would be easy to handle.

When the two exchanged the paper money, smiles appeared on their lips.

Xia Shaoxin quickly left the Gu Bureau and walked down the main street of Li Family Hollow in a daze.

This place was famous, and he came here often, yet it always felt unfamiliar, as if he would always be an outsider.

"The imperial court's strict laws and harsh punishments classify us Bug Catchers as slaves, restrict our residence, forbid us from leaving Dawu Mountain, and even more so, forbid us from privately buying and selling Poisonous Insects."

He walked as he thought. "Who would have thought that a black market actually exists! Yet I never heard my grandfather mention it."

After walking a few streets, he saw a newly opened tavern, went inside, ordered some beef and fine wine, and treated himself first.

After a few cups of wine, he figured it out. Because the Xia family was a law-abiding household, and with few family members, completing the Gu Bureau's quota every year was very difficult, so they probably really didn't understand the ropes here.

Even if his grandfather knew how to smuggle, he wouldn't have told his grandson.

There were several groups of guests in the tavern, chatting about everything, but no one mentioned the black market.

He thought he should find someone to ask, but he had no relatives or friends in Li Family Hollow, so he couldn't just ask anyone, right?

"Forget it, I won't look for any black market."

"One thousand taels of silver, according to the current exchange rate, is about four hundred and fifty thousand copper coins."

Xia Shaoxin counted on his fingers. After resting well, he would go to Dawu Mountain to catch some live ones, get some converted dried goods, and he could make over two hundred thousand this year; next year would be enough.

He glanced at the beef on the table and said to himself, he still had to save some money and couldn't really eat and drink recklessly.

On second thought, two hundred thousand was a number he wouldn't have dared to imagine before. Now that he was full of confidence, wasn't it worth eating a few more pieces of meat?

With this thought, he tucked in.

Suddenly, a figure walked slowly past from behind and tapped his shoulder lightly. The voice was very low, and the speaker said quickly: "Follow me, I have something to ask you."

Xia Shaoxin turned his head sharply, only to see a middle-aged man who looked vaguely familiar, already walking to the door of the tavern and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

He hesitated for a moment, wrapped the beef in paper, drank the wine in the pot in one gulp, and hurriedly followed.

The man kept a certain distance in front. He followed him for a street, turned into a small alley, and the man disappeared.

Xia Shaoxin looked around blankly, thinking it was a stranger playing a joke on him.

The door opposite suddenly opened, and the man stood inside, beckoning to him.

He hesitated and walked to the door. "Who are you..."

Before he could finish, the man grabbed his shoulder, pulled him inside, and closed the door.

"What do you want to do?" Xia Shaoxin exclaimed.

"Don't panic, don't shout." The man said hurriedly and reached out to pat his shoulder. "Welcome to my villa."

Xia Shaoxin discovered that the house was very well decorated; it looked ordinary on the outside, but the materials used were very exquisite.

He never expected that such a wealthy household was hidden within Li Family Hollow.

"There is a problem with your goods." The man got straight to the point.

"What?" Xia Shaoxin was stunned.

The man smiled and waved his hand: "Don't be afraid, I'm not here to investigate you, I just want to ask a few questions."

Xia Shaoxin always felt this person was familiar but couldn't remember who he was, so he said vigilantly: "I don't know you, and I have nothing to answer."

"Your family's Bug Catching level belongs to the bottom tier in the entire Dawu Mountain. How could you suddenly hoard so many dried goods?"

This remark made Xia Shaoxin angry: "How is my family bottom tier?"

The man shook his head slightly: "That sentence is not important. Well, actually, the origin of the goods your family hoarded is not important to me either."

Xia Shaoxin frowned and asked: "What exactly do you do?"

"Guess."

Xia Shaoxin suddenly remembered that this person was a yamen runner at the Gu Bureau. He had met him a few times but had never spoken.

A flash of light crossed his mind, and he blurted out: "Are you in the black market business?"

"Hehe, shh, keep it down." The man opened his hand and invited him in.

Xia Shaoxin followed him into the hall and was immediately stunned. He had never seen such a luxurious house.

The pillars were thick, and the small paving stones on the floor were not produced locally.

Two grand chairs were placed in the center. They sat down as host and guest, and an old servant tremblingly came forward to serve tea.

Xia Shaoxin was very curious: in such a luxurious and understated house, could they not even afford a maid?

The tea was fragrant and overflowing. He couldn't help but take a sip, and his heart was filled with tears of joy; this was what life was all about!

The man said softly: "The Bug Catchers of Dawu Mountain all engage in smuggling. Every year, after handing in the quota, they hand in a few thousand coins' worth of goods as a gesture, and sell the rest to the black market. Only your family had nothing to sell."

Xia Shaoxin almost dropped the teacup on the ground and stared with wide eyes: "Every family smuggles?"

"Pretty much." The man looked at him with a smile, as if looking at a hick who had just entered the city.

"The imperial court sets a quota of forty thousand coins, which is equivalent to a tax of forty thousand, accounting for at least half of your annual harvest."

Xia Shaoxin was silent and said in a trembling voice: "My family is more than that; it accounts for at least eighty percent."

The man chuckled: "So your family is the worst among the Bug Catchers. Do you accept it?"

Xia Shaoxin let out a long sigh and said nothing.

"On the surface, every household needs ten or twenty thousand in legal income to maintain their livelihood, and the rest is sold to us secretly. Even though your family had nothing to sell, didn't you understand?"

Xia Shaoxin suddenly felt a little sad and said in a low voice: "I really hadn't heard of it."

The man laughed: "It doesn't matter, you've heard it now."

"Are you from the Gu Bureau?"

"Of course." The man answered very directly.

Xia Shaoxin was very surprised: "Aren't you afraid I'll report you?"

The man was amused: "Are you stupid? People in the Gu Bureau who have money at home are all in the black market business. Haven't you seen my house? Can I afford this on the salary issued by the Gu Bureau?"

Xia Shaoxin glanced around and sighed silently.

"My place isn't even that good. The good clients were all taken by them. You were ignored by everyone, which is why it's my turn to do business with you."

"I was ignored by everyone?"

"Your Xia family has always been poor, and you are too young and look very naive, so everyone is afraid to get in touch with you, which is why I came to see you."

"What is your name?"

"My name is Zhang Yan."

"Oh, Brother Zhang."

Zhang Yan laughed: "Actually, my rank in the Gu Bureau is the lowest ninth grade. You are a slave, so calling me Brother is overstepping... But it doesn't matter, just call me whatever. The lowest ninth grade is not really an official anyway."

Xia Shaoxin had no intention of calling him Master Zhang at all.

Zhang Yan continued to say with a smile: "The Gu Bureau manages you Bug Catchers, but also smuggles in secret. Everyone knows it without saying it. Everyone is a separate line, and we don't compete for clients. You don't tell others, and others won't ask you. As long as you don't shout it on the street, everyone will be at peace and get rich together."

Xia Shaoxin thought to himself, no wonder when he wanted to ask about some things, those peers all dodged and avoided. My family members were all too honest!

"I have seen those goods of yours; they are all fresh. You are even better than your grandfather. If the old man knows about this in the afterlife, he can rest in peace."

Zhang Yan's eyes were smiling, but his attitude was serious. On the surface, he was praising him, but in fact, one sentence exposed the lie Xia Shaoxin had told in front of the Gu Bureau.

Hearing him mention his grandfather, Xia Shaoxin felt a trace of warmth in his heart.

"What is the price on the black market?"

"Hehe—I like people who speak directly like you, so I will also be direct."

Zhang Yan leaned closer and said in a low voice: "I will pay double the price set by the Gu Bureau, and for good ones, we can negotiate."

Xia Shaoxin was greatly shocked; it's dark, really dark. What he was talking about was not the black market, but the Yue Kingdom's imperial court.