bestfiction Chapter 763 Is this even a human life?
Chapter 763 Is this even a human life?
"How is that possible? Three meals a day, every single one of them is just plain white steamed buns. Is that even a human life?"
Even the richest landlords couldn't live like this, could they?
"Could there be a mountain of gold and silver buried beneath Chen Family Village?"
"..."
The people present stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.
Manager Ma was clearly not finished speaking, as he continued, "As for meat, the wealthier villagers in Chenjia Village can indeed eat it every day, while the poorer villagers can eat it every few days."
The moment those words were spoken, the room fell into a deathly silence.
Those who are wealthier can eat meat every day, while those who are poorer can only eat it once every few days...
It's important to understand that in an agrarian society like the Xia Kingdom, where productivity was low, even small landowners only ate meat during festivals. Although they ate better than ordinary people on ordinary days, the improvement was still limited. At most, the grains were more refined, and they didn't have to worry about where their next meal would come from, like the poor people.
According to Manager Ma, even the poorest villagers in Chenjia Village could eat white flour steamed buns three times a day and meat every few days. Such a life was unimaginable to most people.
How can such a place exist in this world?
"Could Chenjia Village be some kind of Shangri-La from a folk tale?"
"It's incredible!"
"..."
The impact of Manager Ma's words was so great that many people at the scene were momentarily confused, to the point that even the chickens and ducks sold at the stall were ignored.
On the contrary, the burly man who first revealed the truth about Chenjia Village said with no small amount of pride, "I told you long ago that Chenjia Village is a god-like place, but you just wouldn't believe me!"
After speaking, the man turned to Manager Ma and asked very politely, "Boss, do you sell blood-feathered chickens or other breeds of chicken here?"
Upon hearing this, Manager Ma couldn't help but glance at the man. Having traveled extensively, he knew very well that Chen Family Village was indeed very famous in Taicang County, almost everyone knew about it. However, outside of Taicang County, fewer people knew about Chen Family Village.
The man not only knew of the existence of Chenjia Village, but also mentioned the Blood Feather Chicken, and he was much more robust than the average person...
The fact that this person is a martial artist is already quite obvious.
"Blood Feather Chickens are not available at the moment."
Manager Ma shook his head and said that the goods transported this time were mainly to help the prefecture city overcome the food shortage crisis, so naturally there would be no blood-feathered chickens, since blood-feathered chickens are a "luxury item" and not something that the prefecture city urgently needs right now.
"All right!"
A hint of disappointment appeared on the man's face. As a martial artist, he had long heard of the Blood Feather Chicken and Crimson Blood Chicken, and knew about their magical effects. He longed for them.
He learned a lot about Blood Feather Chicken from other martial artists, and knew that Blood Feather Chicken was produced in a place called Chenjia Village in the north. So when he heard Manager Ma mention the name Chenjia Village, he was able to tell him the details of Chenjia Village immediately.
"Don't be disappointed, sir."
Shopkeeper Ma said with a smile, "In the future, our Zheng Family Trading Company will open a shop in the city. At that time, the shop will sell all goods related to Chenjia Village. The Blood Feather Chicken that you have been longing for will soon be available for purchase in the city!"
"really?"
The man's eyes lit up. He had been thinking that if he couldn't buy Blood Feather Chicken here, he would go to Taicang County in the south to buy it himself. If, as Manager Ma said, Zheng's Trading Company would open a shop in the city to sell Chenjia Village's goods, then he wouldn't need to go through all that trouble.
"It's true."
Shopkeeper Ma nodded slightly and pointed to the goods on the stall, saying, "Sir, although these yellow-feathered chickens and white-feathered ducks are useless to martial artists, their meat is delicious and they are also rare and high-quality meats. Would you like a few?"
Upon hearing this, the man was immediately tempted. He was a martial artist with a relatively high moral standard and would not do anything to oppress the people or rob them of their life-saving food. Therefore, during the time when the Yang family army besieged the city, although his family did not lack food, they had not eaten meat for a long time.
"How much are these yellow-feathered chickens and white-feathered ducks?"
After thinking for a moment, the man asked.
"Not expensive."
Shopkeeper Ma said with a smile, "Yellow-feathered chickens are 200 coins each, and white-feathered ducks are 220 coins each."
Before setting off, Manager Ma had received instructions from Zheng Qing that the most important thing about this trip to the prefectural city was to help the city overcome its difficulties, and secondly to open up the market. Making money was the least important thing.
Therefore, Manager Ma did not intend to make much money from this batch of yellow-feathered chickens and white-feathered ducks; he only intended to cover the caravan's purchase and transportation costs.
"what?!"
The people present were immediately taken aback. It wasn't that the price quoted by Manager Ma was too expensive, but rather... it was too cheap!
It should be noted that due to the impact of the cold disaster in recent years, people have not had enough food to feed chickens and ducks, which has led to the persistently high price of poultry in the prefectural city.
Even before the Yang family army besieged the city, an ordinary gray-feathered chicken would sell for more than 200 coins.
Not to mention after the siege, it's no exaggeration to say that during this period, poultry in the prefectural city were practically priceless and unavailable. Even if you had an ounce of silver, you might not be able to buy a single gray-feathered chicken.
The yellow-feathered chickens at Manager Ma's stall looked better than the gray-feathered chickens, and were almost twice the size, yet they only cost 200 coins...
"Boss, are you telling the truth? This yellow-feathered chicken really only costs 200 coins?"
"So cheap?"
"You can buy such a plump yellow-feathered chicken for 200 coins?"
"..."
Everyone immediately became excited and started asking Manager Ma to confirm the authenticity of the price.
Upon seeing this, Manager Ma couldn't help but laugh and slowly said, "Before we set off, my patriarch said that the city is currently short of food and clothing. Although we are lowly merchants, we cannot take advantage of the situation. Therefore, this batch of chickens and ducks from my Zheng Family Trading Company will be sold at a low price so that the people of the city can have some meat!"
Manager Ma's words were somewhat suspected of being an attempt to promote his own Zheng family business, but the people present did not care about this at all; instead, they were filled with respect!
They had seen plenty of greedy merchants, but they had never seen a merchant like Zheng's Trading Company who cared about the suffering of the people and was willing to sell goods at low prices. This made them feel a little goodwill towards Zheng's Trading Company, which they had never heard of before.
"Boss, may I ask what the name of the head of your household is?"
The burly man couldn't help but ask. After hearing what Manager Ma said, he couldn't help but feel a little respect for the head of the family that Manager Ma mentioned.
In his eyes, businessmen have always been the epitome of greed and insatiable avarice, but at this moment, he has encountered a different kind of businessman.