Chapter 305 - 305 Settled Matter
305 Settled Matter
Although the westerners were weak, they had to pay tribute to great glory every year.
Wagler and the others were considered outsiders, and their appearances were different from theirs.
The villagers here were excited to meet the foreigners
When Wagler saw this, he was also excited. He grabbed Zhao Zhan’s arm and said, “Zhao Zhan, no, I should call you my brother! In your words, you are a loyal person!”
Traveling merchants made a living by reselling goods.
What he earned was the difference in price, and all he had received was peanuts each day as payment.
There were many bandits these days. If they didn’t have strong fighters and were willing to risk their lives, they didn’t know how many goods would be robbed by others in a year.
Even so, they often suffered losses.
“Zhao Zhan, to be honest, the things I bought from you take up a lot of space.” Wagler picked up the jar and drank. “Your tea leaves, silk, and gold are all valuable. I can make more money by reselling them, and they are easy to carry around. However, the things you have here are all in big clay jars. They’re very heavy and I’m afraid that they’ll be knocked over.” Wagler’s beard was wet from the wine. He hugged Zhao Zhan and jabbered on. “To be honest, if Shang didn’t insist that I come, I wouldn’t have come.”
As Zhao Zhan listened, his eyes were searching for Yue Jiaojiao’s figure.
Only when he found his lover sitting diagonally opposite him with Madam Qin and Li Miao accompanying her did Zhao Zhan feel a little relieved.
“Zhao Zhan, listen to me.” Wagler patted Zhao Zhan’s shoulder to snap him out of his daze.
“If I were to transport the items from the northern desert to the westerners, what would happen to me?
“As a token of appreciation for today’s meal, I can sign a contract with you right now. If that’s the case, I can buy goods from you every month. Of course, I’m talking about thousand two kilograms of each item.”
That was a huge amount.
For Wagler to be able to do this, it was enough to prove that he had a caravan of his own in the northern desert.
“Thank you for your sincerity, actually, I’ve decided to go with you to the northern desert.”
The jar in Wagler’s hand was almost empty, and he was extremely excited.
In order to prevent him from forgetting things when he was drunk, Zhao Zhan simply stated his purpose. “Will you be willing to bring me along?”
Every caravan had its own secrets.
If Wagler wasn’t willing, Zhao Zhan wouldn’t force him.
“Of course you can come with us!” Wagler laughed heartily and handed the wine jar to Zhao Zhan. “If I want the vinegar you gave me today, how long will I have to wait?”
“Three days will be enough.”
The vinegar Zhao Zhan brewed was a quick-brewing method. He omitted the process of using sorghum as the raw material because that required half a year to brew it. Instead, he directly used low-alcohol liquor.
“Wagler, don’t just drink this. Try something else.”
The lambs and wild boars had been cleaned up in advance, and they were turned over and roasted on the fire with their legs up.
“Bring me a rack.”
The attendant beside him got up and brought over a lamb that was just roasted.
The skin was golden and crispy. When Zhao Zhan cut it, fresh meat juice oozed out.
“It’ll only taste good if you sprinkle some salt on it!”
Wagler saw that Zhao Zhan had already used his knife to slice off a leg, and thought that he didn’t know how to eat roast lamb.
“Don’t worry.”
The surrounding people were noisy, and Zhao Zhan raised his voice. He handed the sliced meat to the attendant and leaned over to whisper, “Take this to my wife.”
After doing this, Zhao Zhan swiftly tore off the second leg of the lamb and handed it to Wagler. “Try it!”
Wagler watched helplessly as Zhao Zhan’s attendant passed the plate of leg meat into the hands of a delicate woman.
He knew that person.
He looked down at the lamb leg that was stuffed into his hands and shouted, “Zhao Zhan! Do you love me as much as you love your wife?”
“I’ve only heard that you westerners like to eat meat.”
Zhao Zhan passed the knife to the other party. “If you want to slice it yourself, by all means.”
Wagler shook his head slightly. “I thought you would say that you would help me slice the lamb leg. Zhao Zhan, you’re really hopeless!”
Wagler’s grief turned into a hungry appetite.
He tore off a large piece of leg meat.
“Zhao Zhan!”
He kept hissing from the heat, but he was reluctant to spit out the mutton in his mouth.
“What did you put in there? It’s completely different from the barbecued meat I have at home!”
When it came to barbecuing meat, they didn’t have the necessary seasonings to make it taste this extravagant in the wild. If they happened to catch a prey, they would roast it over the fire and then sprinkle some salt on it.
Apart from the firewood, all they tasted was salt.
If they could control the heat well, they would be lucky enough to enjoy the fragrance of the meat.
However, the lamb leg in his hand was fresh and tender, and the skin was a little crunchy. The taste of the lamb leg mixed with the seasoning was very fragrant.
Wagler couldn’t help but take another bite.
When he turned his head, he saw that his fellow clansmen had already started fighting over the roasted lamb.
“Zhao Zhan, have you been secretly studying how to roast meat?
Zhao Zhan looked at Yue Jiaojiao again.
His lover took a portion of the meat and gave it to Li Miao and Madam Qin. Her eyes were curved and her mouth was puffed up, showing that she was in a good mood.
Zhao Zhan lowered his eyes and tore a new lamb leg.
“Zhao Zhan, you’re a natural businessman,” Wagler said as he gobbled down the meat. He even licked his fingers.
“Four days later, when I’ve finished counting all the goods, I’ll wait for you at the town’s East Gate. We’ll set off for Bei City together!”
Zhao Zhan punched Wagler’s shoulder as a response.
Now that the matter was settled, the burden in his heart was relieved.
Wagler stealthily reached out to grab the plate in front of him.
Zhao Zhan put away the knife and picked up the plate. “I’ll leave the knife here. This lamb is all yours. I’ll go and see my wife first!”
“You’re leaving me for your wife?! Back in my home, men like you will be looked down upon.”
“I don’t think I did anything wrong. I’m okay with that as long as I get to stay by my wife’s side.” Zhao Zhan laughed and didn’t mind. He patted Wagler’s shoulder and stood up. “Besides, I was going to find my wife after I’ve finished talking business with you.”
“Then when you go to Bei City, how are you going to bring her along? It’ll be a tough journey and there will be bandits along the way. If we bring her along, she’ll slow down the progress of our caravan.”
The smile on Zhao Zhan’s face disappeared.
“Going to Bei City will be a tough challenge, my wife shouldn’t have gone to suffer this hardship.”