The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 1674 - 1668: Yunzhong County

The reason they were sent by the Emperor is naturally because they are quite capable. When they play these roles, they do it convincingly, so much so that the average person can hardly tell the difference.

However, the spies placed in the market by Song Chongjin, along with the stewards, are very keen-eyed individuals.

With them around, those intending to use tricks or conduct fraudulent schemes have almost no chance of succeeding, as they are promptly caught and locked up.

These few people, though convincing, exhibited some unusual traits that naturally caught their attention.

Nevertheless, Song Chongjin instructed that unless they were involved in activities such as swindling money or harming the market, they should be left alone.

So they only kept a watchful eye, ready to act if there were any improper behaviors.

Among those sent from the Capital City, some were completely oblivious, while others noticed the surveillance. Seeing that there was no intervention, they continued with their own affairs.

By noon, these people were reluctant to leave.

The market stewards who patrolled the area had a meal at noon prepared in a small hut in a corner of the market.

Although the taste was average, the food was decent enough.

Song Chongjin had lunch with everyone in the market, and some from the Capital City joined in for a meal.

Two of them surprisingly managed to flatter a few traders enough to be considered as important clients and were invited to a restaurant in the county for drinks.

Song Chongjin didn’t intervene in this.

In the restaurant, these two from the Capital City were treated as honored guests, with traders showering them with compliments.

The two received it calmly, drinking while extracting information from the traders.

They asked about their views on the market.

The traders talked extensively about the trading market, mostly with praise.

One trader was particularly moved, as he was originally a small itinerant merchant, with little capital and not many connections. When his family faced an issue, he was stuck with a batch of goods he needed to dispose of quickly.

Everyone knew his situation and pressed the prices so low that he’d barely break even or even incur a loss.

Reluctant to give up, he knew that if he weren’t in this predicament, he could take his goods to the Western Region, and even if he couldn’t earn five times, he could at least double or triple his silver earnings.

In a desperate attempt, he heard that a trading market had been set up in Chicheng County and was worth a shot as it promised to find suitable buyers at fair prices.

Having no other choice, he decided to try his luck, hoping to at least sell the goods at cost to a suitable buyer.

Upon arriving at the Chicheng trading market, it was not as grand as it is now—just a few rooms, without even a warehouse. It was desolate with few people around, and he felt disheartened.

Just as he was about to leave, a market steward approached him, and in his frustration, he poured out all his woes.

The steward listened and smiled, asking why he was worried when he had already reached their market?

He asked what kind of goods he had and their quality, and then told him to wait. Shortly after entering the market, he returned with someone interested in his goods, provided the quality was as he described, needing to inspect them.

The offer was even higher than his cost price, truly at a conscientious rate.

He was ecstatic, it was an unexpected boon.

With the trading market as a witness, they drew up a contract, and with the buyer, he returned home. After inspecting the goods, the buyer readily purchased all of them.

With cash and goods exchanged.

Naturally, the trading market took a commission, but compared to his gains, it was negligible.

This business transaction brokered by the market not only saved his family’s life but gave him an opportunity for a comeback, almost like a lifesaver for his family.

Since then, he has intermittently acquired affordable but quality-guaranteed goods brought by Western Region traders through the market.

Business gradually picked up, getting better and better over the years.

Now, he trusts no one else but the trading market.

Whenever a business deal is struck, it must be signed in the trading market for assurance.

Not only did this trader say so, but several others also benefitted more or less from the market.

Of course, there were some complaints about the commission and contract taxes being somewhat high, hoping they could be cheaper.

Some also complained that the market management’s rules were too rigid; elsewhere there was a mutual understanding to offer some benefits in exchange for leniency, but here it simply doesn’t work.

A trader argued that this makes it fair and just, ensuring fairness for everyone.

They ended up in a debate.

The two from the Capital City, having gathered the necessary information, upon seeing the ongoing debate, seized the opportunity to express their hesitation, mentioning they needed time to think and would contact the market after deciding.

The traders didn’t doubt them, as it is usual in business to gather more understanding before finalizing deals, so they reasonably agreed, suggesting they return to the market once they made up their minds.

They provided their names, saying they could be found by asking the market steward.

They even escorted the two downstairs.

The two felt somewhat embarrassed and after leaving, returned halfway to settle the meal bill before returning to the market.

Seeing this, Song Chongjin made an excuse to leave, allowing them time to converse.

As anticipated, by the afternoon, apart from leaving two individuals to tally the daily trader traffic and transactions, the rest returned to the County Yamen with Song Chongjin to discuss various matters concerning the trading market.

Hence, Song Chongjin estimated that after another half month of assessment, they should have enough information.

Besides Chicheng County, they also needed to visit the border defenses and neighboring towns, but it was likely close to a conclusion.

Discussing these matters with Wang Yongzhu, he finally said, "In my opinion, a letter should be written to urge Brother Zikai to come quickly, as the County Magistrate of Yunzhong County has recently fallen ill, diagnosed by the Doctor as having an acclimatization issue and is almost bedridden. Yunzhong is close to Chicheng, merely a hundred miles, and although the county is somewhat smaller, it is still a vital trade route." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"With proper governance, political achievements can be made, moreover, there is a Yunzhong River adjacent to Yunzhong County, said to be formed by melted snow from the snowy mountains, flowing like a heavenly river descending to earth. I’ve vaguely heard someone once found a nugget gold the size of a palm in the Yunzhong River—"

No further words were needed; Wang Yongzhu immediately shared the same speculation as Song Chongjin, suspecting that there might be a gold mine in the mountains near the Yunzhong River, with erosion over time washing down to the riverbed.

If this were true, then Yunzhong County would indeed be a promising place.

Currently, Yunzhong County is an insignificant small county with a sparse population, governing largely mountainous regions with little arable land, thus few are willing to go.

Precisely an opportunity to secure this position for Gu Zikai, regardless of the presence of a gold mine.

After all, without a gold mine, there is still the trade route, a chance to make great strides awaits.