Chapter Sixty-Three: The Desperate and Bedraggled Yao Youjiao!

The next day, Zhao Zheng pushed his handcart toward the market long before dawn, arriving just as the sun came up.

Fugui Township possessed an open-pit coal mine, but the common people were forbidden to scavenge from it. In this era, coal was known as graphite. Whether anyone in the township used it for fuel, he could not say for sure, but the people in the small mountain village certainly never had. One thing was certain: if it were in common use, the authorities would not ban people from scavenging; this simply meant that an industrial-scale supply chain had not yet formed. Leaving aside antiquity, even in modern times, coal mining remained a hazardous enterprise, and productivity limits constrained its market.

Yet, he managed to unearth a few fine treasures at the bustling market.

[Ding! Wild dried morel mushrooms, eight hundred wen per catty, valued at two thousand wen. Store or sell?]
[Ding! Wild pine and fir ganoderma, two thousand wen per catty, valued at four thousand five hundred wen...]
[Ding! Wild rabbit pelts...]

After making the rounds, Zhao Zheng used ten catties of millet and twelve hundred wen in cash to exchange for another forty taels of silver. Primarily, he dared not draw too much attention for fear of being targeted; as soon as items came into his possession, he would pretend to put them into his bamboo basket and then store them away in his inventory warehouse. At this rate, it would not take long for his balance to exceed one hundred taels.

However, Mao Xiaolong was nowhere to be seen at the market, which he found somewhat regrettable. "I was actually planning to break the hundred-tael mark in one go..."

Still, he was content. Keeping a quarter of the goods for his own use, Zhao Zheng sold off everything else. The purpose of earning money was to secure a better life and enjoy it, rather than merely hoarding wealth.

After stepping out of the market, he headed straight for the township administrative office, which housed the largest charcoal trading market in Fugui Township. Many charcoal burners brought the charcoal they had painstakingly fired here to sell. The prices were dismally low, fetching barely half of the retail price, whereas the township turned around and resold it to local gentry at least double the price. As for the premium charcoal used by the gentry, it cost a hundred cash per piece, leaving the common folk to sigh in despair.

Zhao Zheng glanced at the acquisition price; it was only about twice as expensive as ordinary firewood. Yet, producing charcoal required time and capital, and prices were constantly suppressed, making the burners' lives even more miserable than those of woodcutters.

Casting a glance nearby, Zhao Zheng spotted quite a bit of coal piled up and was instantly overjoyed. He stepped forward. "Official, I'm here to buy some coal!"

The man wore a grim expression, looking as though everyone owed him several hundred taels of silver. "What do you want coal for?"

"For heating!" Zhao Zheng gave the excuse he had prepared in advance.

"How much?"

"A hundred catties. I can't afford any more than that." With that, Zhao Zheng handed over a small string of cash.

The middle-aged man counted the coins and exchanged a glance with a companion. "Load up a cart for him, and don't give him a single catty extra."

Zhao Zheng pushed his cart to the side, where two laborers shoveled coal into baskets in preparation for weighing. Meanwhile, he listened in as the men nearby chatted idly. "Did you hear? The magistrate is planning to come down to the countryside for an inspection in a few days."

"How could I not have heard? The township head notified all the households yesterday!"

Hearing this, Zhao Zheng chuckled inwardly. He had not expected that in this era, a county magistrate would give advance notice before inspecting the countryside. Was that even an inspection? That was an advance warning!

As those two simpletons chattered on, their conversation drifted off course. "Do you know why Yao the Bailout went hunting for tigers at Pig's Snout Mountain a few days ago?"

"Wasn't it because a tiger snatched someone?"

"That's just the official story they told outsiders. Besides, the tiger didn't even enter the village; those hunters went looking for death by venturing deep into the mountains. No matter how expansive the township's jurisdiction is, it doesn't reach deep into the mountains, does it?"

"You mean there's more to the story?"

The older man nodded. "It was all for this upcoming inspection by the magistrate. Word has it that our magistrate is fond of taking concubines. With so many concubines, a man's strength inevitably falls short, and tiger testicles are supposed to be exceptionally invigorating..."

"Quiet! If anyone overhears you talking about such things, we're finished."

The older man looked around from side to side, casting a glance at Zhao Zheng not far away, before lowering his voice to gossip about other matters.

"Damn it, and here I thought the township was being kind enough to hunt tigers out of the goodness of their hearts!" Zhao Zheng cursed inwardly. As it turned out, it was all to curry favor with the magistrate!

Since ancient times, subordinates seeking to cater to the preferences of their superiors had been commonplace. Just because the county magistrate liked taking concubines, they had mobilized one to two hundred men into the mountains for the sake of tiger testicles, sacrificing the lives of three strong men—men who happened to be the pillars of their households. Furthermore, they had been drafted into corvée labor; if they died, there was nowhere to seek justice, let alone compensation.

"I must climb higher."

A ruthless determination took root in Zhao Zheng's heart, and a thought instantly crossed his mind. "Isn't there a prime opportunity right now?"

He checked the system mall, spent six hundred wen to buy ten small blue pills, and then purchased a small porcelain vial to put the pills inside. Afterward, he walked up to the two men. "Excuse me, sirs, might I ask if Bailiff Yao is currently inside the administrative office?"

Interrupted in their conversation, both men looked displeased. One of them rebuked him sharply, "What do you want with Bailiff Yao?"

"Oh, I know Bailiff Yao! I brought some mountain delicacies from the countryside specifically for him!"

"You know Bailiff Yao?" Both men looked entirely incredulous.

Zhao Zheng nodded. "I do. Bailiff Yao told me that whenever I got my hands on fine mountain delicacies, I should bring them straight to the township for him!"

With that, Zhao Zheng showed the mushrooms in his back basket to the two men.

"Ah, Bailiff Yao is inside. You can just go right in." Both men's expressions softened somewhat.

"Many thanks!" Zhao Zheng cupped his fists in salute and walked inside.

"Old Niu, make sure you give him full weight on that cart!" the older man muttered to the laborer currently shoveling coal, after a moment's thought.

Inside, Yao Yingxiong was reviewing intelligence sent over from Daguan Township. The two townships were neighbors, separated by Daguan Mountain. Though not particularly towering, Daguan Mountain backed onto Pig's Snout Mountain, and there were bandits in the hills. Word from Daguan Township was that the bandits planned to raid down the mountain before the new year to secure a prosperous holiday season.

As the bailiff of Fugui Township, suppressing bandits was his core responsibility. But how much was he being paid to risk his life fighting these outlaws to the death? Yet, if the bandits actually succeeded, the pressure on him would be immense. He had already been chewed out by the township head a few days ago over the failed tiger hunt. If the township were raided, even the Yao clan would find it difficult to step in and protect him.

Although bailiff was not the highest position in the township, he... wielded military power. Moreover, it was a post with genuine authority. While the majority of power remained in the hands of the township head, ever since he became bailiff, the Yao clan's fortunes had grown year by year. Once he lost this position, there would be no shortage of people ready to kick him while he was down. Therefore, to keep his position, he had to fight with everything he had.

At that moment, one of his township soldiers approached. "Bailiff Yao, there's a man outside claiming to be Old Zhao from the small mountain village, here specifically to deliver mountain delicacies to you."

"Old Zhao?"

Yao Yingxiong was momentarily blank, but then a figure flashed through his mind. Putting down the letter in his hand, he said, "Let him in!"

That batch of bees and bee pupae had been quite remarkable, leaving him with a deep impression of Zhao Zheng. In particular, Zhao Zheng's loyalty and righteousness were still fresh in his memory.

Before long, Zhao Zheng walked in. "Greetings, Bailiff Yao!"

A faint smile surfaced on Yao Yingxiong's face. "Old Zhao, what fine goods have you brought me this time?"