zChapter 837 - This Old One Is One of the Ninth Prince’s People (1/2)
The old man smiled wryly, “Silly granddaughter, this is five taels of silver! Even over the course of a year, the three of us can’t make this much money.” He said to Feng Yu Heng: “It’s just a bit of boiled water and lending some pots. Young Miss, there’s no need to give this much. Just giving a few coppers is enough.”
Feng Yu Heng smiled and said: “Just take it. Opening up a stall on a cold day is not easy. With so many people, we will be disturbing you for quite some time, and you won’t be able to do business. Just take care of the money since we have already come.”
Huang Quan shoved the money into the old granny’s hands and happily said: “Granny, quickly take it. Also, quickly brew the tea!”
The old couple saw that Feng Yu Heng wanted to give it, and they also knew that they had met with someone noble. They needed to kowtow and give thanks for the grace but were stopped by Feng Yu Heng. After saying their thanks repeatedly, they went to brew the tea. Wang Lin arranged for the people to take the food out of their carriages. The majority of it was pastries that had been purchased in the various counties that they had passed through, and there were some noodles that they had purchased in the morning that had not been boiled. In addition to the jerky that Feng Yu Heng had brought out from the capital, it was all handed to the old couple. The hidden guards that had gone into the mountains to look for wild animals had also returned. Each of them held a rabbit and a pheasant. The people that knew how to prepare wild animals stepped forward to help out. The hidden guards started a fire not too far from the tea stall and began to cook the wild animals that had been prepared.
Not long later, a meal that could be a plentiful lunch had been prepared.
The young girl trembled while watching, and Xiang Rong decided to give her a drumstick. The old woman then kneeled and expressed her thanks to Xiang Rong, saying that their granddaughter had not eaten meat for nearly one month.
Wang Lin was puzzled and asked the old woman: “Normally speaking, one jin of pork should only cost 20 copper coins. You should be able to make 20 to 30 copper coins each day with this stall, right? It should not be to the point of not being able to provide meat for a child for a month.”
The old man sighed and helplessly said: “Young man, how could it be as good as you make it sound. We make 30 copper each day and need to pay 15 taels. There are times when we can’t make 15 copper and need to pay with the coppers that we have saved. If we don’t pay, we get beat. Our days are not going well!”
Wang Lin heard this and felt helpless. Before he had met Feng Yu Heng, his family had also been poor. There would even be some people that would go around collecting protection fees. No matter what business one conducted, money had to be paid to them. If the money was not paid, they would get a beating. After countless years, it had already become a way of life, and there was nothing that the government could do about it. Of course, if these small shops were to suffer from being attacked, there really would be protection. That was why people just came to accept it. After all, running a business on the roads, all types of people could be found. It was inevitable that there would be some people with wicked thoughts. At times like those, they had to rely on the protection.
Feng Yu Heng also understood this reasoning, and she had no desire to concern herself with such small matters. She also believed that operating a shop on the roads like this without protection was no good. She just said to the young girl: “You got some money today, but you must not speak about it to others. When you get home, have your grandpa and grandma buy you something good to eat.”
The young girl repeatedly nodded with a bright smile that was very adorable.
Everyone ate while drinking tea, and someone had brought out some wine and began drinking. Feng Yu Heng did not mind. Either way, they would all be seated inside carriages. If they drank too much, they could just go to sleep. There would be no major problems. It was just that not long after they started eating, another few carriages came from the East. They also stopped in front of the small stall. A dark and fat granny then came out with a tall and muscular man that looked like a butcher. They took a glance at Feng Yu Heng, and the granny faintly revealed a cautious expression. The butcher, however, did not pay any mind to this, as he shouted to the stall: “Prepare 20 millet pancakes. We will be taking them to go.”
The old couple acknowledged the order and quickly went to work. The butcher then immediately took notice of Feng Yu Heng’s group drinking tea. It had a delicate fragrance. Without needing to smell it, he knew that it was an extremely high-quality tea. He then loudly shouted: “This sort of tea, also brew a large pot. Place it in a water bladder, and we will take it to go!”
The old man heard this and quickly explained: “Sir, this tea was brought by those guests themselves. It’s not something that this small tea stall could afford to buy. If you wish to quench your thirst, we do have tea for one copper per cup. Not to hide it from you, but it’s just some powdered tea leaves. It’s just good for warming up the body and quenching some thirst.”
“Brought themselves?” The butcher immediately looked around, and his gaze landed on Feng Yu Heng and Feng Xiang Rong. Thinking for a bit, he whispered into the granny’s ear and saw the granny shake her head. The two received their pancakes then paid the coppers before quickly returning to their carriage.
Xiang Rong was puzzled and quietly asked Feng Yu Heng: “Second sister, what were they just talking about? Why did it look like they were talking about us?”
Feng Yu Heng sneered, “It was just the two of us that are dressed the best, and we have servants around taking care of us. That’s why the one that looked like a butcher came up with some ideas for the two of us and wanted to kidnap us to trade for money.”
“Huh?” Xiang Rong was shocked then let out a laugh. Kidnapping her was easy, but she was currently with her second sister. What sort of courage pill would someone need to take to actually dare to kidnap her second sister? In the end, who would be kidnapped would remain unknown! Xiang Rong had extreme confidence in her second sister when it came to this. She was not hesitant in the slightest.
Her laughter and Feng Yu Heng’s words were not hidden in the slightest, as the granny and butcher heard it clearly. The granny did not have much of a reaction, but the butcher was clearly someone with a fiery temper. Stopping in his tracks, he suddenly turned around and pointed at Feng Yu Heng then loudly asked: “Fuck, you two little sluts, what did you just say?”