Chapter 7: Kickbacks!

He set down the burden he was carrying.

He did not rush but waited quietly not far from the doorway.

After a short while,

a man who looked like a steward swaggered out.

A smile tugged at the corner of Lu Chuan’s lips.

This is exactly who I was waiting for!

If one wanted to set up a stall in the market, a management fee had to be paid. In Bingzhou, the various taxes and levies were already quite harsh,

especially for ordinary commoners.

If you set up a stall without paying the fee, you might get away with it if not caught, but once caught, the penalty was triple the amount.

Therefore, Lu Chuan chose a relatively safer, more centralized approach.

“Sir…”

Lu Chuan stepped forward and greeted him warmly, “Are you the master of this household?”

The steward waved his hand helplessly but with a hint of pleasure. “Oh, master? I don’t look like a master. I’m just the steward of this estate.”

“And who might you be?”

The steward asked curiously.

“Oh, so you’re the steward? I thought you were the master, you look so dignified. I apologize! May I ask your name, Steward?”

The steward straightened his clothes and cleared his throat.

“My surname is Xu, full name Xu Houxiang,” he said cheerfully. “You young man, you’re quite interesting. Speak, why have you stopped me?”

“Well,”

Lu Chuan glanced around before continuing, “It’s freezing cold now. I recently went hunting in the mountains and accidentally shot a roe deer. You know, its meat is incredibly flavorful! So I wanted to find a good buyer. And here I am, just happened to meet you.”

“Since I thought you were the master, I came to see if your household might need it,” Lu Chuan explained.

Xu Houxiang was momentarily stunned, curiosity flickering in his eyes. “Roe deer meat? Let me see...”

Lu Chuan opened the bag.

After a glance, Xu Houxiang continued, “Hmm, the estate could indeed use some.”

“How much?” Xu Houxiang asked, his appetite stirred by the fresh meat. “Name your price. If it’s reasonable, I’ll buy it.”

Lu Chuan nodded slyly.

“Steward Xu, how should I put this?”

“The roe deer meat is different from ordinary beef or mutton. It’s delicious and makes a flavorful broth. Usually, it sells for about 150 qian per jin, as you well know.”

“There’s about forty jin here. I’m thinking 5,000 qian for you.”

Xu Houxiang waved his hand, somewhat impatiently. “Isn’t that a bit expensive?”

“You say that, but this stuff isn’t easy to come by!” Lu Chuan replied. “In the bitter cold of winter, roe deer rarely come out. Even the usual hunters might not be lucky enough to get such a catch.”

“Besides,”

“If you sincerely want it, I’ll sell it to the Xu estate for 7,000 qian!”

Xu Houxiang looked at Lu Chuan, a bit annoyed. “You’re not honest, young man. Something worth 5,000 qian, and you want 7,000?”

“Go, go, go…”

He began to usher Lu Chuan out.

“Steward Xu, you’ve misunderstood. I’m selling it to you for 5,000 qian, but selling to the Xu estate means 7,000 qian,” Lu Chuan chuckled. “You give me 7,000, I hand over the roe deer meat, and the remaining 2,000 qian is still yours.”

“What do you think?”

In an instant,

Xu Houxiang felt as if a new world had opened before him.

“Oh, so it works like that…” Xu Houxiang crossed his arms. “Then what about my previous…”

His eyes lit up immediately.

After coughing twice, he glanced cautiously around.

“Boy, you really have some brains! Fine, the meat looks fresh, and it’s the dead of winter; roe deer meat is indeed hard to find. 7,000 qian it is!”

“This roe deer meat belongs to the Xu estate!”

“Wait here. I’ll get the money from inside.”

With that, Xu Houxiang hurried away.

Lu Chuan had calculated everything carefully.

Frankly, if the price exceeded 5,000 qian too much, Xu Houxiang might not want it. But if it was too high, the Xu estate wouldn’t accept the roe deer meat either.

So the price had to be just right.

Around 170 qian per jin.

Not too expensive per pound, and something truly rare and precious.

The Xu family wouldn’t fuss too much over it.

In the end, even greed is a matter of skill.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Xu Houxiang came out excitedly, holding a pouch of money, which he handed to Lu Chuan.

“Here, boy, take this!”

“5,000 qian. The roe deer meat belongs to us now!”

“Our Xu estate is large. If you catch any other game in the future—birds, beasts, mountain delicacies—come find me. Just tell the servants you’re looking for Steward Xu San.”

Xu Houxiang said cautiously.

“Got it!”

“Don’t worry, no problem at all!”

Lu Chuan nodded to Xu Houxiang, then, seeing no one around, took out a wild rabbit from another package and slipped it into Xu Houxiang’s hand.

“Steward Xu, this is something I hunted yesterday. A token of respect. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to cooperate in the future.”

Lu Chuan smiled warmly.

“You’re no ordinary lad!” Xu Houxiang beamed, barely able to contain his delight at the wild rabbit. “Don’t worry, if you treat me like a brother, I definitely won’t let you suffer losses!”

He glanced around and lowered his voice.

“Lately, the Third Madam of the estate has been feeling unwell.”

“The doctor said it’s weakness and coldness at the surface.”

“He prescribed a soup containing badger meat, but it’s hard to find these days.”

“We’re buying it at a high price now.”

“If you can get badger meat, each one can fetch at least 5,000 qian!”

Xu Houxiang added, “Since you can catch roe deer, you’re clearly capable. Why don’t you try hunting for some in the next few days?”

“The estate needs at least three.”

He shared this information carefully with Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan’s eyes brightened. “Thank you very much, Steward Xu. I’ll roam the mountains and see what I can find.”

“Oh, Steward Xu!”

“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask you.”