"Two hundred and thirty-seven pieces, all wolf pelts. However, some are not in good condition. Have the shopkeeper take a look and estimate their value."
The wolves had fallen into traps and were pierced through. The wolf pelts, naturally, had large holes and many small ones. Such pelts were not worth much.
The shopkeeper couldn't help but swallow as he watched the men carry the wolf pelts in. "Are these really all wolf pelts?"
Jiang Pan nodded. "Of course. Shopkeeper, you can have someone inspect them. We'll compensate ten times the price if they're not genuine."
The shopkeeper stepped forward and examined a few. "Heavens, where did you hunt so many wolves? Judging by the condition, they were only hunted a few days ago. Your accent... you didn't happen to hunt the pack of wolves in the Old Official Road forest, did you!"
The existence of a wolf pack in the Old Official Road forest was no secret, and Jiang Pan's group clearly had the accent of people from Jianzhou. The news that the road from Tongzhou had been washed out by a flood had already spread, and these Jianzhou people had to take the Old Official Road to get here.
Therefore, the shopkeeper immediately guessed the origin of these wolf pelts.
Jiang Pan nodded. "Indeed."
The shopkeeper busied himself by having people count the wolf pelts, then looked at Jiang Pan eagerly. "May I ask how you heroes managed to exterminate the wolf pack there? I heard there's a wolf king among them, completely white. Is that true?"
Jiang Pan nodded. "It is."
The shopkeeper looked regretful. "Did the wolf king escape?"
"No, we killed it too."
The shopkeeper's eyes suddenly lit up. "What about the wolf pelt? Did you bring it along? A snow wolf is a rare sight in the world, and its pelt can fetch a good price. Even with damage, I can offer you a satisfactory price."
Jiang Pan shook his head. "Not for sale. I want to keep it for my daughter as a cloak."
The shopkeeper hurriedly persuaded him. "Brother, judging by your appearance, you must be fleeing from Jianzhou, right? Times are tough now. The wolf king's pelt can be exchanged for a lot of silver. Later, you can buy your daughter a rabbit fur cloak; it will be just as warm."
He felt that a farmer, refusing a fortune in silver for a flashy but impractical cloak for his daughter, was truly a bit short-sighted.
But as a businessman, he couldn't say anything too offensive, so he could only hint at it indirectly.
Jiang Pan waved his hand. "My daughter likes it."
The shopkeeper was momentarily speechless but still unwilling to give up. "If the wolf king's pelt has no damage, I can offer you one hundred and fifty taels of silver. For each damaged spot, I'll deduct twenty taels. Brother, this price I'm offering is truly full of sincerity. One hundred and fifty taels of silver is enough for you to buy a house and some land."
Jiang Pan became a little displeased. "Not for sale. Shopkeeper, please have your people count them quickly. We have other things to do and are in a hurry."
Seeing his demeanor, the shopkeeper could only shake his head and return to the counter.
A moment later, the shop assistants finished counting all the wolf pelts, categorized them by damage, and calculated the prices. In the end, the more than two hundred and thirty wolf pelts sold for two hundred taels of silver.
"There's too much damage; that's all they're worth."
Jiang Pan didn't understand the price of furs and turned to look at Madam Cheng.
Madam Cheng, being knowledgeable, nodded and indicated that the price was reasonable.
So, Jiang Pan collected the silver readily and prepared to leave with his men.
The shopkeeper was still not giving up and chased after them. "Brother, if you decide to sell the wolf king's pelt, please consider us first!"
Jiang Pan waved his hand and led his men away from the fur shop.
Next, they went to the largest pawnshop in the city.
Madam Cheng's jewelry box was pawned for over three hundred taels of silver.
After leaving the pawnshop, Madam Cheng took out the silver notes she had been carrying and handed them to Jiang Pan. "Brother Jiang, this is the money we agreed upon, five hundred taels in total. If you want to exchange it for cash, there's a bank ahead."
Jiang Pan declined a few times before accepting the money. He hadn't yet decided how to use this sum, so he would keep it for now. Perhaps this money would be the foundation for their small mountain village to take root in Jiangnan in the future.
Following that, Jiang Pan took a few men to buy grain, while Madam Cheng went to the carriage and horse market to buy a carriage. Madam Liu's goal was also the carriage and horse market, so she followed along.
Madam Cheng spent fifty taels of silver to buy a carriage. The horses were of average quality, but the carriage was spacious enough.
Madam Liu spent over twenty taels of silver to buy a donkey cart.
Her silver was limited, and she still needed to purchase other items, so she had to be thrifty.
Jiang Pan took a few men to the grain store and spent fifty taels of silver to buy thirty dan of coarse grain.
In the past, coarse grain was only eight wen per jin. If coarse grain was eight hundred wen, fifty taels of silver could buy over sixty dan. Now, it could only buy less than half that amount.
Afterward, they went to the cloth shop and bought over six hundred jin of cotton and a large batch of oilcloth.
Their companions were very confused. "Brother Pan, why are you buying so much cotton and oilcloth?"
Everyone was short of food now; why not buy all grain?
Jiang Pan loaded the items into the carriage as he spoke. "The weather this year has been unusually cold. By preparing some cotton in advance, we won't have to endure hardship if it gets truly cold."
"As for the oilcloth, it's naturally for covering against rain and snow. We're not buying all grain because the further south we go, the cheaper grain will become. Carrying grain on this long journey would be a burden."
Everyone found his reasoning sound and no longer asked questions, helping to move the goods.
Once all the purchases were complete, they gathered at the city gate and then exited the city together.
Seeing that they were nearing the team, Jiang Wan quickly finished her candied hawthorns and urged Cheng Sinian to eat his quickly as well.
There were many children in the team, and they were all at an age when they craved sweets. If the others saw them, they would surely start crying and fussing, which would only cause trouble for the adults.
Although a candied hawthorn only cost a few wen, the money of farming families was carefully managed. Before festivals, which family would be willing to buy snacks for their children?
This was a lesson Chen Yuezhi had taught her earlier.
Returning to the team, Jiang Pan took out the scale and distributed grain to each household based on the number of people.
Thirty dan of grain was three thousand jin. With over three hundred people, each person could receive less than ten jin.
Ten jin of grain was enough for everyone to eat for more than half a month.
The villagers received their grain, then the cotton and oilcloth, and everyone's faces were filled with joy.
Jiang Pan reported the accounts to everyone and also declared the five hundred taels of silver given by Madam Cheng, so everyone would have a clear understanding.
When the villagers heard that they now had six hundred taels of silver, they felt a sense of security.
"Let's set off quickly and strive to reach Jiangnan before the twelfth lunar month, then build houses and celebrate the New Year!"
The villagers seemed to already see their new houses in Jiangnan, their faces beaming with happiness. When they set off again, their steps were even more vigorous.