"Dong Weng! This is the West Market! "
Under Xu Jie's lead, Meton and the rest arrived at the West Market of Chang 'an. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, commercial development was encouraged. When Chang 'an was being built, it was specially divided into East and West markets for commercial development.
Compared to the luxurious East Market, the West Market was much cruder. Even a lowly business like the carriage trade was planned in the West Market.
"Young Master! Look at that Hu man, he looks so weird! "Tie An exclaimed when he saw a Hu man with curly hair and blue eyes skillfully dealing with the peddlers.
"Blond hair and blue eyes, how scary!" Mo Er chimed in.
"That's a Hu man from the West! Don't be fooled by his ferocious appearance. He's actually very honest. Doing business with him is much easier than doing business with the merchants of the Tang Dynasty! "Xu Jie said.
As the starting point of the Silk Road, Chang 'an would naturally attract many people from the West. Especially in recent years, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty had been increasing day by day. Countless adventurers from the West had come to seek gold.
"Blonde hair and blue eyes are only a result of the Hu's different living environment. Their essence is no different from us normal people. Putting aside blonde hair and blue eyes, in the far west, the people there are born with skin as dark as charcoal. The ancestors of the School of Mo called them the Black Race. Our skin is yellow, so we are the Yellow Race. On the other hand, blonde hair and blue eyes are the White Race!" Meton explained the three races in a simple way. Instantly, the three of them exclaimed. Even though Xu Jie had traveled extensively, he had never heard of such an amazing thing.
There were many Hu people in Chang 'an. As the four of them went deeper into the West Market, they saw many shops run by Hu people. They spoke fluent Mandarin and haggled with the people. They were no different from the Tang Dynasty.
The villagers of the Mo Family Village had just arrived in Chang 'an not long ago. Everything in the West Market was new to them. As they walked deeper into the city, they unknowingly came to a place where horses neighed and cows mooed.
The West Market Carriage Trade!
"Dong Weng! This is the Great Tang's largest horse trading center. Whether it's the tall horses of the Western Regions or the terrifyingly durable Turkic horses, we have everything you need! "Xu Jie pointed at the stables, within which were countless fine horses.
"Neighhh!"
"Hiss!"
There were fine horses everywhere in the carriage. The horse stalls were filled with fine horses, and the neighing of the horses was incessant.
"Neigh!"
A horse neigh that sounded like a dragon's roar immediately attracted the attention of Meton and the others.
"Young master, look at that horse!" Tie An pointed at an unusually tall horse in surprise. The horse's fur was snow-white, without any other color. It shone under the sunlight, as if it was covered in silver silk.
"My husbands! This is a Turks BMW. Its name is Thunderclap and it is the leader of a herd of wild horses. It took a lot of manpower to capture it. " A green-robed waiter saw Meton and the others and was attracted to them. He immediately went up to them and welcomed them warmly.
"Three thousand strings! So expensive? "Tie An exclaimed when he saw the price.
Three thousand strings of strings of cash! Even if a rich family in Chang 'an were to go bankrupt, it would not be worth three thousand strings of cash! And now, a horse was being sold for 3,000 strings of coins. It was truly a case of humans being inferior to horses.
"If the few of you think it's too expensive, I have some other war horses here. They are all first-class horses!" The green-robed waiter did not even think of selling the BMW Thunderclap in one go. It was just a signboard used to attract customers!
The green-robed waiter led Meton and the others to another stable. The horses in this stable were all fat and healthy, and their fur was bright. Although they were not as good as Thunderclap, their quality was not bad either. They were considered first-class horses, and the profits were the highest.
"Two hundred strings of cash!"
"Three hundred strings of cash!"
… … …
Tie An and Mo Er looked at the prices that made them flabbergasted! They shook their heads. The Mo Family Village had just become prosperous not long ago, and the hardworking and simple lifestyle had long been imprinted in their bones. How could they be willing to spend so much money?
"The main reason we are here is to buy horses to pull carriages!" Xu Jie said.
The green-robed waiter's face instantly lost its spirit. He led Meton and the others to the largest stable. The horses here were generally short and skinny! Moreover, the breeds were more mixed.
"Dong Weng! Although the Turks horses are short, their endurance is amazing. Secondly, the Shu horses from the Tang dynasty are also acceptable. The other horses are slightly inferior. "Xu Jie analyzed to Meton.
"This customer is also someone who knows his stuff. A normal Turks horse is forty strings of cash, a Shu horse is thirty strings of cash, and the other local horses are twenty-five strings of cash!" The green-robed waiter quoted.
"So expensive, green-robed waiter, we are selling a lot of horses this time. Can you give us a discount?" Mo Er asked.
According to Xu Jie's estimation, the Mo Family Village needed at least two hundred horses this time. Based on the Shu horses, it would cost close to six thousand strings of cash. Although the Mo Family Village had earned quite a bit during this period of time, but after all, they were still a big family. Spending six thousand strings of cash in one go was still a huge expenditure.
"You think it's too expensive? If you think it's too expensive, you can buy these horses for five strings of cash and pick any of them? "The green-robed waiter sneered and pointed at the most messy stable.
"Five strings of cash for one horse?"
"So cheap?"
Mo Er and Tie An exclaimed.
"Sick horses?"
Meton frowned as he looked at the dispirited horses in the stable. The horses in the other stalls were also very active, but the horses in this stable were all lifeless and did not move for a long time.
"How can they be sick horses? There are so many horses here. Once a sick horse is found, it will be dealt with immediately to prevent it from spreading to the other horses. Don't worry, these horses are not sick, they are injured!" The green-robed waiter said. It was not that the green-robed waiter was being honest, but these injuries could not be hidden.
"Dong Weng, please take a look. The hooves of these horses are already cracked!" Xu Jie pointed at the hooves and signaled to Meton.
The hooves of a horse were a layer of cuticle. Once heavy work was done, if it was not done properly or if too much force was used, it would cause the hooves to crack. The most important thing for a horse was its speed and leg strength. Once the hooves cracked, the horse would not be able to exert any strength and the horse would be crippled!
"If it cracked, can't it just grow back?" Tie An asked doubtfully.
Xu Jie shook his head and said, "No matter how good a horse is, once the hooves crack, it will be crippled. Because horses are different from other animals, they stand all day and their entire weight is on their hooves. Once the hooves crack, it will not be able to grow back! As long as it moves, the wound will only become bigger and bigger until it dies! "
"Ah!"
Everyone exclaimed! They looked at the stable in shock. No wonder these horses were so dispirited. Horses were intelligent and obviously knew their fate.
"Seems like this mister has good eyesight. I won't hide it from you. For example, this horse is called Shadow Extinction! It is a famous horse that is as famous as Thunder. Because its hooves cracked, it is waiting for death here! "The green-robed waiter pointed at a big but skinny horse in the stable.
"Really?" Mo Er exclaimed.
They had seen with their own eyes how divine Shocking Thunder was, and the skinny injured horse in front of them was actually as famous as Shocking Thunder. Everyone stretched out their heads to take a look, only to see that there was a shocking crack on Shadow's hind hooves. Flesh and blood were exposed, and it was very frightening. Shadow Extinction was originally the same as Thunder. They were both used by horse dealers to attract customers. Unfortunately, Shadow Extinction was running wildly and suddenly hurt its hooves. That was why it was replaced by Thunder.
Its forehead was bulging and its eyes were protruding. Its body was well-proportioned. Even if it was skinny, it could still be distinguished from other horses. Xu Jie nodded and believed the green-robed waiter's words. This Shadow Extinction was indeed once a good horse.
Seeing that everyone was watching, Shadow Extinction whined and its voice involuntarily revealed a trace of sadness. Its eyes were filled with tears and it was full of spirituality. It made people's hearts ache.
"Alright, I want it!"
Meton suddenly said.
The green-robed waiter revealed a smile on his face. The purpose of him saying this was to see Meton being young and impulsive. He wanted to try and get rid of Shadow Extinction. After all, if he didn't get rid of it, Shadow Extinction wouldn't live for long. If it fell into his hands, he would definitely be punished. To be able to sell a dying horse for five strings of money, he would definitely receive a reward from the higher-ups.
"Alright, guest. I will bring it out for you." The green-robed waiter quickly said.
"No!" Meton said word by word, "I mean all the horses. I want them all!"
"Ah!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
