Chapter 247 - Chapter 247: Chapter 240 Master Mo Yang’s Herbal (1/2)
Chapter 247: Chapter 240 Master Mo Yang’s Herbal
Compendiums
The carriage hurried along and gradually arrived at Mai City.
Compared to the Seven-Star City Qin Niu had seen two days ago, the city before him seemed quite shabby.
The city walls were three zhang high, with the city gates wrapped in a layer of copper. Four soldiers dressed in leather armor stood guard at the gate, holding long spears, looking quite vigilant.
There were two idlers in black robes at the city gate responsible for collecting the entry fee.
This system was quite similar to that of Black Tiger City.
“Two Wen, two Wen, the entry fee is uniformly two Wen! Please prepare in advance.”
One of the idlers reminded the entering civilians.
“You two, that’ll be four Wen Money in total!”
When the uncle’s carriage approached the city gate, the fee-collecting idler glanced over and immediately announced the price.
The entry fee was calculated per head.
Goods were not charged.
This was a major benefit for the common people who sold goods.
No wonder I couldn’t see even one stall outside the city.
“Uncle, let me, let me!”
Qin Niu hurried to pay the money.
“How could I accept that!”
The uncle responded politely but didn’t push too much. The four Wen Money could be considered as Qin Niu’s contribution for the carriage fare.
Once inside the city, the streets were much narrower than expected and the buildings were also quite ordinary.
However, one thing was quite good: many places showed people building new houses. The city was populous and commerce was thriving, which revealed a considerable vitality in its development.
“Uncle, where are you going to sell grain? It’s rare for me to come here and I want to look around. If I find suitable seeds, I’ll buy some to take back.”
Qin Niu looked around at the city’s shops, which sold grains, seeds, herbs, fertilizer, farming tools, rain gear, and so forth, all well-stocked.
Every place has its own customs and practices.
The Shennong Sect, just like the Black Tiger Gang, was part of an agricultural civilization.
Only, it specialized in cultivation and was somewhat one-dimensional in development.
This was also reflected in the variety of shops in Mai City.
The goods sold by the common people mainly revolved around cultivation and planting.
“Mm-hm, go ahead! I will wait for you at the East City gate later.”
“Alright, thank you, uncle!”
Qin Niu got off the carriage and began to wander around inside the city.
He entered a seed shop.
“What kind of seeds would you like to buy, young master?”
The shopkeeper immediately greeted him warmly.
This seed shop wasn’t big and employed no shop assistants.
“I’m just looking around. Do you have corn seeds?”
Qin Niu inquired.
“Yes, yes, yes! Here, these are all corn seeds. This one is the soft and sticky variety, this one is crisp and sweet, this one yields high with large cobs and full grains, but the taste is much inferior.
There’s also this corn, which is a new variety this year, resistant to lodging and diseases, very advantageous, it grows quickly and doesn’t require good soil…”
The shopkeeper introduced them one by one.
Who knew that the Shennong Sect could develop corn seeds to such an extent.
Each craft has its experts.
Different sects focus on different development directions, excelling in various techniques.
The Nine Insect Gang’s best development is in insect control.
But Shennong Sect’s main direction is planting.
In comparison, the Black Tiger Gang seems to encompass everything, versatile in many fields.
In terms of seniority, the Black Tiger Gang is considered a very young sect. In terms of heritage, it might not compare to veteran sects like the Nine Insect Gang, Seven-Star Sect, and Shennong Sect. But it has its own strengths, having carved out a territory in a land shared with dragons and tigers.
Its potential for development should also be one of the strongest among the neighboring sects.
It’s just that a short time has passed, so it hasn’t reached a state where all flowers bloom together in splendor.
“I’ll take five jin of this tasty variety of corn seeds!”
“Alright! I guarantee you’ll be very satisfied after planting them! Please show me your identification tag to register.”
“You need to register identification information to buy seeds?”
Qin Niu asked, somewhat surprised.
“All the seeds sold in our seed shops are legitimate and legal; registering the information of the buyer makes it easier to verify and compensate if problems occur after cultivation.”
“I see! I’m buying these for a neighborly uncle who’s over there selling grain, I’ll call him over later.”
Qin Niu casually fabricated a lie and then left the seed shop.
As a subject of the Black Tiger Gang, and with both sects at war, he dared not reveal his true identity.
After leaving the seed shop, he wandered ahead and found several bookstores.
The Cultivation Techniques and martial arts skills on sale were mostly street stall items.
On the other hand, books about planting were quite professional.
Qin Niu spent fifteen Wen Money and bought a thick botany atlas.
Although it was a secondhand old book, the content was quite good. And the price was surprisingly cheap.
The labor cost for transcribing and illustrating couldn’t come down without paying two or three Hundred Taels.
The cost for paper and ink would also not be low, at least a couple of hundred Wen.
But because there were too many similar old books and they were everywhere, considered as common goods on the streets,
the price was remarkably cheap.
At fifteen Wen for such a thick book, the cost was far from sufficient.