#6 - Chapter 6 Great Zhou

Following Old Cheng, I woke up early, setting off before dawn. This time, I brought bandages and carried the bucket of fish.

Of course, Old Cheng carried the fish. After all, Cheng Feng was only 16 years old. It would take a long time to walk from the village to the county town.

Cheng Feng's small frame couldn't handle it!

Indeed, in his two lifetimes, Cheng Feng had only walked a short distance when returning to his hometown as a child. With the development of the times and the progress of society, he had never really walked such a long distance.

Along the way, Cheng's father walked and shared his experiences with his second son.

From the neighborly relationships in the village to the locations of the villages they passed, as well as the famous and well-known figures in each village he had heard of.

Old Cheng could also see that his second son had become enlightened after recovering from his illness.

Last night's topics of conversation revolved around saving money or marrying a wife for the eldest son.

Perhaps he had taken a fancy to a girl from some family.

Or maybe he had overheard his mother and him discussing the family's money and grain.

Looking at his second son carefully observing and memorizing the route, he couldn't help but sigh, "The child has grown up."

He single-handedly opened up a source of income for the family. The eldest son didn't have to worry and could steadily farm the land with him. He had been worried about the second son before, wondering how to find a way out for him.

Now, the second son had opened up his own source of income and could even teach the third son. Very good, very good.

As a simple country person, honest and law-abiding, he didn't mind suffering a little. Seeing his children grow up safely was the greatest happiness.

Cheng Feng didn't see the beaming smile on Cheng's father's face.

Because the county town was approaching.

Four or five-meter-high stone bricks were laid, and county soldiers patrolled above the city gate.

The words "Qingxi" on the stone plaque had an indescribable majesty, indeed capable of intimidating the country bumpkins.

Unfortunately, Cheng Feng discovered that these characters were somewhat similar to the Chinese characters of his previous life, but he was certain they were not the same. It seemed that his plans would have to include another item.

A long queue formed at the city gate. Several county soldiers pretended to inspect the items of the queuing people, but in reality, they couldn't wait for these poor ghosts to enter quickly so they could change shifts!

The entrance fee was one small coin per person. Some villagers also discussed pooling their money to buy something, with one family entering the city first to buy it, and then dividing the items after exiting the city, thus saving one small coin.

Snakes have snake paths, and rats have rat paths.

No matter the era, there would always be people who wanted to reasonably and legally exploit loopholes.

The county soldiers didn't care about that. They collected money upon entering the city. If you didn't enter the city, stay away and stand aside.

More people entering meant more income. No one wanted to block someone else's path to wealth.

They could divide a few more small coins after a day.

The county town was divided into an inner city and an outer city. The outer city was divided into east, west, north, and south, basically the territories of gangs, merchants, and local residents of the county. The inner city was extraordinary, basically the territories of those aristocratic families, wealthy merchants, and magnates.

No one wanted their family's young lady or young master to be bumped into by some petty thief.

So, they tacitly raised housing prices, land prices, and commodity prices.

Turning the inner city into a position that people from the outer city yearned for but could not reach.

In a sense, entering the inner city meant you were a big shot in Qingxi County.

Listening to Cheng's father talking about various things, and seeing the yearning in Cheng's father's eyes, Cheng Feng smiled and said, "Dad, we will definitely be able to enter the city in the future and become city people."

Cheng's father smiled and scolded, "Don't be afraid of people laughing at you for bragging. I have no hope in this life. If you guys are promising, Dad will wait to enjoy the good life."

Cheng Feng smiled playfully, "Just watch."

Cheng's father was only 36 years old this year, in his prime, and Cheng's mother was younger, 34 years old.

It was just that the farmers' haste and the pressure of life made them look slightly older.

Cheng Feng had confidence in his heart that he could live a decent life in this era.

The government didn't charge fees for temporary stalls in the west of the city, but there were gangs here. Each stall cost two small coins a day, and a temporary half-day cost one small coin. If you didn't remove the stall after noon, you had to pay another small coin.

As for not selling out? Who cares if you sold out or not.

I only manage the stalls, not your business. If business is bad, are you going to blame the gang?

If you dare to be arrogant in the morning, your legs will be broken in the afternoon.

If you eat the gang's food, you have to do the gang's work.

Nowhere would raise idlers unless your ancestors were wealthy and powerful, or you didn't come here to sell!

Spoiling you, you poor ghost!

Cheng's father had obviously inquired about it. He paid what he should to ensure peace.

He unloaded the bucket and sat on the ground, waiting for customers to come.

Cheng Feng thought Cheng's father was tired, but after waiting for a long time without any activity, he asked, "Dad, are we just going to sell like this?"

Cheng's father looked puzzled, "That's how we sell, right? Good things are never hard to sell, what's there to be afraid of!"

Cheng Feng was speechless at his father's attitude, feeling out of place listening to the shouts of the surrounding vendors.

Looking at Old Cheng, who was unmoved, Cheng Feng could only step forward himself, shouting his sales pitch: "Fresh river fish, fresh river fish, river fish that beautify the skin and nourish the complexion!"

Most of the people around buying groceries were women, and they found this pitch novel.

Some of them came over to inquire, surrounding Old Cheng, who was a little shy and couldn't say anything.

Cheng Feng looked anxious and stepped forward to help, "Fresh lake fish, mostly about 6 jin, sold whole, one large coin per fish."

Some couples thought it was expensive, and some women wanted to bargain, but Cheng Feng directly shut them down, "Ladies and misses, we only have three fish, first come first served, once they're sold out, there won't be any more. You definitely won't find it cheaper anywhere else, right?"

The sales tactics he learned in his previous life, praise plus comparison, could make people feel more certain that they were getting a good deal.

Not bargaining was to make customers sure about the value of the product.

And using a little bit of hunger marketing tactics.

The sisters who were called happy generously opened their purses.

Cheng's father, who knew his youngest son's personality well, was speechless looking at Cheng Feng, who was acting obedient and clever, as if he were a different person.

So, that's how it could be done.

"Dad, stop daydreaming, hurry up and weigh the fish for the ladies to see," Cheng Feng called out to Old Cheng.

He also pocketed the three large coins that had been agreed upon.

Cheng's father took Cheng Feng to buy and stroll along the way.

Cheng Feng asked this and that.

Cheng's father patiently said what he could, and inquired about what he didn't know.

The news in the mountain villages was too closed off, and they didn't even know what the country was called.

There wasn't even anyone who could read.

Cheng Feng finally knew that the country he was in now was called Da Zhou.

Da Zhou had eight provinces, each province had four prefectures, and each prefecture had four counties.

A total of thirty-two provinces, one hundred and twenty-eight prefectures, and five hundred and twelve counties, with countless villages.

Cheng Feng was currently in Qingxi County, one of the counties under the jurisdiction of Lianshan Prefecture, Wofeng Province, Huangyun Province.

Da Zhou was not any dynasty that Cheng Feng knew.

Cheng Feng felt deeply powerless, but he quickly shook off this feeling.

No matter what, he had to seize the present first.

Looking ahead and behind would not accomplish anything.

There had to be a plan. Cheng Feng also inquired about how to become literate.

Upon hearing that it cost one or two taels of silver a month, Cheng Feng knew that he couldn't even afford to go to school now.

He could only give up for now and talk about it when he had enough money.

He bought a small jar of mountain salt and ten jin of mixed grains, and all three large coins were spent.

Cheng's father actually wanted to buy all mixed grains, but Cheng Feng quickly refused, saying that making fish without salt was really tasteless.

He talked for a long time before he got through.

After all, Cheng Feng caught the fish, and it was really unexpected that he could exchange it for so many things.

And when Cheng Feng said that there would be more in the future, Cheng's father let go.

After this trip, Cheng Feng also felt that bringing Old Cheng really didn't give him much autonomy.

He was determined not to let Old Cheng come with him in the future.

Otherwise, being so restrained was too unpleasant.