76 Chapter 76. A Market Dominator
He was just worried about money, and now there was money, and so much money at once? Qiu Yongkang didnât know if he should be happy or worried, but he didnât dare to accept the money until he found out where it came from.
Ji Shuisheng pointed at Su Qing,
âSu Qing gave it to me.â
âLady Su, what is the meaning of this?â
Qiu Yongkang was the type to get to the bottom of things, and he would only accept the silver notes after getting to the bottom of things.
âItâs from old Qin. Itâs our bodyguard fee!â
Su Qing thought momentarily and finally chose the word âBodyguard.â There were bodyguard agencies in this era, and he believed they would understand once he said that.
âOh, I remember now. Elder Qin gave me a banknote worth a thousand silver taels.â
Li Daniu suddenly yelled out and was knocked on the head by Ji Shuisheng.
â500 of the 1000 taels was Su Qingâs consultation fee for old Qin. Are you still thinking about it? â
âIâm not thinking about it. Iâm being wronged.â
Li Daniu clutched his head and looked at Ji Shuisheng as if he wanted to cry but had no tears. He was asking where this money came from and didnât want it.
Afraid that Su Qing would misunderstand him, Li Daniu ignored the pain in his head and rushed over to her.
âSu Qing, donât misunderstand. I donât want your money.â
âYes.â
Su Qing acknowledged his words. From the beginning to the end, she saw no greed or envy in Li Daniuâs eyes. He was an honest person and did not have any ulterior motives.
âThis is great. If we have money, we can buy two more carts. There are several horses anyway! How much are Su Qingâs clothes?â
Qiu Yongkang laughed and changed the topic. He was happy that he could bring more food with him. He took out some silver and asked Su Qing how much the clothes cost.
âThis is for you. Thank you for helping me fight.â
Su Qing rejected him expressionlessly, and her tone was as cold as ever. However, Qiu Yongkang felt that this lady was a person who knew what was good for her and would repay any kindness she showed. If he insisted on paying, he would seem petty. Qiu Yongkang smiled and kept the silver, then bowed to Su Qing and thanked her.
âThank you, Miss.â
Ji Shuisheng also knew Su Qingâs character. If he said he would give it to her, she would cut the clothes into pieces and throw them away if he insisted on paying.
âDaniu, look at the things. Letâs go buy a cart.â
Su Qing, Ji Shuisheng, Xiaoying, and Qiu Yongkang went to buy a cart together, leaving Li Daniu to look after the food and things.
This was a large market. There were people selling donkeys, mules, horses, and cows. There were also all kinds of wooden-wheeled carts and carriages.
In short, if you had money, there were all kinds of carts here.
Ji Shuisheng and Qiu Yongkang went to look at the cart while Su Qing brought Xiaoying to look at the carriage. She had her eyes on a date red horse with fat body parts. There was a relatively large carriage nearby. Although it was not as high-class as old Qinâs, it was small and had all the essentials. She asked the owner to open the curtain to take a look.
The carriage was also large enough to seat four or five people. A circle of stools was wrapped with cotton pads to ensure they wouldnât hurt their butts.
Su Qing felt it was acceptable, so she asked the owner for the price.
âThis descendant has a good eye. Youâve made a profit by buying our familyâs carriage. You wonât be able to find a better carriage in this entire car park. I wonât ask for more money from you. Just give me fifty taels of silver, and you can drive it away.â
The carriage owner looked as if he was taking advantage of Su Qing. He held the whip and boasted about his carriage. The owner of the carriage was a tall man with thick hair. He had thick eyebrows and a beard. His nose bridge was crooked as if someone had broken it. There was also a fracture on his brow. His open coarse cloth coat revealed a patch of dark chest hair, making him look even more ferocious.
Su Qing and Xiaoying were dressed as men, and Su Qing had deliberately raised her voice when she spoke so the car owner had not realized that she was a woman.
Moreover, the two of them didnât look very old. He felt that they were young men who hadnât seen the world. They wouldnât know, even if he fooled them.
When Xiaoying heard it would cost fifty taels of silver, she became anxious.
âSo expensive?â
âI donât like what this junior is saying. Do you know the market? Whatâs so expensive about it? Iâll sell it at this price, donât buy it if you canât afford it.â
When the owner heard that Ji Xiaoying found it expensive, he immediately scowled and criticized her in an unfriendly tone. Seeing the carriage owner criticize Xiaoying, Su Qingâs face turned cold.
âLetâs go, Xiaoying!â
Based on the ownerâs attitude, she didnât want his carriage, no matter how good it was.
âStop, youâre leaving after asking the price? You donât put me, the Tang familyâs third master, in your eyes, do you believe me? In this market, no one would dare to sell you a carriage if I donât say anything.â
The carriageâs owner saw that Su Qing was not buying and immediately turned hostile. He extended his thick arms to stop Su Qing and Ji Xiaoying. He stared at them with big eyes as if he was telling them not to leave if they did not buy. It was as if he would hit them if they dared to say no.
âForce a deal?â
Su Qing snorted coldly, her eyes filled with killing intent as she looked at third master Tang. If she had not been in a hurry to leave Jin City today and did not want to cause any trouble, third master Tang would have been a corpse by now.
Third master Tang was stunned momentarily when he saw the killing intent in Su Qingâs eyes. This kid was not tall, and his figure was thin. Where did he get such a strong aura from?
Could he be a young master from a wealthy family? No, could a rich manâs son wear such tattered clothes?
However, with such a powerful aura, he was not an ordinary person. Could he be a martial artist? Third master Tang hesitated, not daring to make a move for a moment.
Seeing that he had stopped talking, Su Qing led Xiaoying into the market. She realized that the third master Tang was right. Those who sold horse carriages didnât dare to do business with him.
Su Qing felt a sense of frustration. He pulled Xiaoying and prepared to leave.
Just as she walked out, a new carriage rushed in. The coachman was not from the horse market. When he saw him driving the carriage in, third master Tang went over. The others who also wanted to talk to him to stop the carriage saw third master Tang go over and could only leave.
âHow much is the carriage?â
Third master Tang opened his chest, revealing his black chest hair, and asked the driver. The driver hurriedly got off the carriage and bowed,
âMy Lord, my carriage only costs forty taels of silver.â
âForty taels? Why donât you rob someone?â
Third master Tang exploded when he heard this, scolding the coachman with wide eyes.
...
The coachman was very aggrieved, but seeing the fierceness of third master Tang, he didnât dare to speak to him. He pulled the horseâs reins and walked inside.
The Tang familyâs third master grabbed the horseâs reins, extending two fingers.
âTwenty taels of silver, Iâll take it.â
âHow can you do that? This carriage isnât mine; it was my old master who asked me to bring it here to sell. He said he wouldnât sell it for less than forty taels.â
The coachman was anxious and snatched the horseâs reins back.
âI, the third master Tang, have the final say in this market. Donât even consider selling it to anyone other than me.â
Seeing that the driver was disobedient, third master Tang began to act shamelessly, showing by his posture that he wanted to snatch it by force.
âI wonât sell it, okay?â
Seeing that he couldnât afford to offend him, the coachman pulled the carriage out of the market. Tangâs third master put his hands on his waist and stopped the coachman,â You want to leave? Sure, drop five taels of silver.â
âOn what basis?â
The coachman was anxious. If he couldnât force it, was he trying to rob him?
...
âThe entrance fee. Who allowed you to enter my horse market? You canât leave without paying.â
The Tang familyâs third master was rude and unreasonable. Behind him, four or five scoundrels rushed up, clearly intending to rob him.
The other peddlers in the market already knew of the Tang familyâs third masterâs tyranny. They only looked at the coachman with sympathy, but no one dared to speak up for him.
âYouâre such bullies. This horse market was built by the government, not you. Why do you want to take my money? â
The coachman was very angry and straightened his neck to reason with third master Tang.
âThis person is so bad.â
Ji Xiaoyingâs face turned red from anger when she saw third master Tang bullying the coachman. If she knew martial arts, she would have beaten this Big Bad guy to the ground.
Su Qing didnât look at the two people who were quarreling. Her gaze fell on the carriage.