In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 617 Overjoyed

Everyone left satisfied upon learning that Zhang He would come again next time.

After everyone left, Zhang He and his group began to calculate their profits.

"We brought a total of 500 chickens and ducks this time, including 250 chickens and 250 ducks. As for the profit..."

The skinny monkey pulled out a small abacus, his eyes shining brighter as he calculated: "The total profit is 775 taels of silver!"

775 taels?!

The men in the caravan immediately had their eyes light up!

Their profit from a trip to Ding'an County was only a little over three hundred yuan, but now the profit from a trip to Yongliang County has doubled.

"Brother He, we've really come to the right place!"

A man exclaimed excitedly, "Yongliang County is even closer to Ding'an County than Ding'an County, yet we earn twice as much! We've truly come to the right place!"

Yongliang County borders Taiping County. So, although Yongliang County and Taiping County belong to different prefectures, the distance from Taiping County to Yongliang County is actually much closer than that from Ding'an County.

"Yes, yes! A profit of 775 taels of silver is much more than what we could earn from a trip to Ding'an County."

"You can earn about 800 taels of silver per trip, that's incredibly profitable."

"Earning 800 taels in one trip, business in my hometown of Liangzhou is even easier than in Ding'an County!"

"..."

The caravan members were overjoyed.

Zhang He, on the other hand, fell into deep thought with a bright look in his eyes.

To be honest, Zhang He was a little apprehensive before coming to Liangzhou. After all, Liangzhou was plagued by constant warfare, and the rulers here were considered "rebels" by the imperial court. No one knew whether it was safe or not.

Fortunately, the results showed that although this place was ruled by "rebels," the security was better than that of the places ruled by the imperial court, so he did not lose everything.

In addition, Zhang He had some doubts about whether the people of Liangzhou could afford to eat meat, after all, as someone who came from Liangzhou, he knew all too well the poverty of the people of Liangzhou.

It is no exaggeration to say that 90%, or even more than 95%, of the people in Liangzhou could not afford to eat meat.

But this doesn't affect Zhang He's ability to make money, because even if more than 95% of the people can't afford meat, the remaining half-tenths of the population is still a significant number.

Not to mention, Yongliang County was not Zhang He's ultimate goal. His plan was to use Yongliang County as a base to expand his business throughout Liangzhou...

Once he can dominate the entire Liangzhou market, making a fortune every day is not just a dream for him!

Zhang He's eyes sparkled as he imagined his business spreading throughout Liangzhou.

Just then, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in front of Zhang He.

The small figure was none other than Qin Le, the constable who had insisted on paying for the chicken yesterday.

As for the large figure, although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, Zhang He could still vaguely sense his identity from his refined demeanor and official air.

"Good Lord, my lord."

Zhang He immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

Officer?

Tang Qing, dressed in casual clothes, gave Qin Le a strange look, then looked down at Zhang He's stall, which was already sold out, and said, "Sir, would you mind coming to my residence for a chat?"

"I dare not refuse the invitation from the elder."

Zhang He knew this person must be an official from Yongliang County, so he dared not refuse.

"Then please."

Soon after, the group arrived at Tang Qing's residence. Zhang He instructed the skinny monkey and the others to wait in the open space outside the gate, while he followed Tang Qing and Qin Le into the residence.

Looking at the elegant interior of the mansion, Zhang He couldn't help but feel solemn.

Having once been Xu Zhiwen's confidant, he knew that a county magistrate's normal salary wouldn't be enough to afford such a house, so he could basically deduce that the person in front of him was a corrupt official.

The corrupt official personally invited a businessman to his residence for a detailed discussion...

Zhang He suddenly had a bad feeling.

"sit down!"

After leading Zhang He into the living room, Tang Qing personally served tea to Qin Le and Zhang He, and then said, "I am Tang Qing, the magistrate of Yongliang County. May I ask how you are addressed?"

"So it's Magistrate Tang. I've long admired your name."

Zhang He's words were not entirely flattery; he had genuinely heard of Tang Qing's reputation from the people of Yongliang County. In their eyes, Tang Qing was a rare good and honest official.

This made Zhang He's previous belief that Tang Qing was a corrupt official waver somewhat.

"My name is Zhang He."

Zhang He gave his name.

"So it's Brother Zhang."

Tang Qing nodded and said, "Judging from Brother Zhang's accent, he seems to be from Liangzhou?"

Although the people in the various states of Xia Kingdom speak the same language, their accents are still somewhat different. Although Zhang He had stayed in Qingzhou for a year, his accent had not completely changed and still had a distinct Liangzhou accent.

"Your Excellency, I am indeed from Liangzhou."

Zhang He told the truth: "I am from Zhangwang Village in Yongliang County."

"Zhangwang Village?"

Tang Qing and Qin Le exchanged a glance. They had both subconsciously assumed that Zhang He was from Qingzhou, but they hadn't expected him to be from Liangzhou, specifically Yongliang County.

This made the two of them a little suspicious. According to the information they had, Zhang He was a merchant from Qingzhou. How could he be from Liangzhou?

Zhang He did not hide anything from this and directly told the story of how he fled from Liangzhou to Qingzhou and finally settled down there.

After listening, Tang Qing couldn't help but sigh, "The people's lives are so difficult!"

Tang Qing knew about the people of Liangzhou fleeing famine. In fact, during the time Zhang He fled, many people in Tang Qing's village also chose to abandon their land and leave Liangzhou.

It wasn't until Tang Qing took office in Yongliang County six months ago that the situation improved, and the people who were able to survive in their hometowns were finally able to stay in their homeland with peace of mind.

"Brother Zhang, your journey from Liangzhou to Qingzhou must have been extremely difficult, right?"

Qin Le also sighed, having experienced hunger himself, he knew how difficult it was to flee famine, and therefore felt great sympathy for Zhang He's plight.

"It's indeed not easy."

Zhang He recalled his experiences on his journey to escape famine and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

Zhang He never wanted to experience that state of constant hunger and fear of starving to death again in his life.

"The magistrate of Taiping County is a good official just like Lord Tang!"

Qin Le added, "If it weren't for Magistrate Xu's compassion for the people, the Zhang brothers would probably have starved to death outside the city."

Hearing this, Zhang He nodded in agreement. Although Xu Zhiwen had taken advantage of him, he had never felt any resentment towards Xu Zhiwen; all he felt was endless gratitude.

If it weren't for Xu Zhiwen, he would have starved to death outside the city long ago, becoming food for wild dogs and vultures.

As for Xu Zhiwen using him...

It can only be said that the most terrifying thing in this world is not being used by others, but having no value to be used by others at all.