Chapter 022: The Leather Armor Project

Only then did Ruoyan notice that Li Zhan had been standing behind her all along. A faint blush crept up her cheeks—she was clearly still embarrassed from the awkwardness that morning—but she quickly turned to Li Zhan and said, “No, no, you can’t buy things like that. You’re supposed to ask about the price first. I haven’t even found out what they cost yet.”

Li Zhan was surprised. “You haven’t even asked the price, and you’re already picking through these poultry, choosing the best ones?”

Ruoyan shot Li Zhan a look. “This is called the art of bargaining. You look so clueless you’re hardly any better than that goose over there. Such profound philosophy would be wasted on you.”

Li Zhan could only give a wry smile. “You really are a housekeeper. But this isn’t child’s play—we’re at the Exhibition Tribe. As long as the price is reasonable, there’s no need to fuss over every coin. We still have to trade for dyes this afternoon, so we should hurry.”

Ruoyan considered his words, clapped her hands, and stood up. “Fine. I’ll leave these geese to you then. I’ll go buy some tailoring tools. By the way—” she deliberately emphasized her next words, “in the future, you can call me ‘housekeeper,’ but please leave off the ‘old’ part. I’m quite confident I’m still young, and that title hardly suits me.”

Li Zhan had no choice but to nod repeatedly, promising to be careful. He didn’t know why, but in front of this little girl, all his pride and bravado seemed to vanish, leaving him completely powerless.

It wasn’t until Ruoyan walked away with the fisherman that Li Zhan remembered something and turned to Zhao Ming beside him. “Why did Ruoyan buy so many poultry?”

Zhao Ming answered absentmindedly, “She said the villagers eat nothing but sorghum rice, fish, and wild vegetables every day. The diet’s too monotonous, so she wanted to get some eggs for added—something… I can’t quite remember.”

“Protein,” Li Zhan supplied, looking resigned.

“Yes, yes—protein, that’s it.” Zhao Ming echoed him.

This little girl really does care about the villagers. Truth be told, the rations at Yanhuang Tribe are already better than most—many tribes survive on nothing but sorghum rice, with no side dishes at all. At least we have fish and wild vegetables. But she’s thinking about chicken, duck, goose eggs—what next, will she insist on buying dozens of pounds of pork to make dumplings? And now I’ve been stuck with these stinking, filthy birds.

Just as he was grumbling to himself, the duck in his hand suddenly squirted a runny heap of droppings straight into his palm, then shook its tail as if nothing had happened, quacking away.

Li Zhan nearly gagged on the spot. He hurriedly ran off, shaking his hand vigorously, and called out to Zhao Ming, “Watch these for me—I’m going to look around elsewhere.”

At a fishmonger’s stall, Li Zhan finally managed to wash his hands clean. Thank goodness he’d brought plenty of people with him this time—at least there was always someone to take over in a pinch. If he’d come alone…

Li Zhan didn’t dare continue that train of thought.

He wandered aimlessly for a bit, and after turning past a few stalls, his eyes lit up. Amid a cluster of vegetable vendors sat a merchant guarding a pile of leather—an incongruous sight. The merchant, overlooked by the crowd, was dozing beneath the sun.

Li Zhan squatted down at the stall and picked up a few pieces of leather: pigskin, sheepskin, and most importantly, cowhide, which he found particularly appealing. He recalled how the weapons of the county soldiers he’d seen in Danyang were all mismatched, some long, some short—clearly, even the government hadn’t achieved standardization in equipment at this stage of the game. As for armor, it was nonexistent; not one soldier or squad leader wore any sort of protection.

The clothes he made were mainly for added defense, as well as aesthetics. But the protection they provided was minimal at best. The future of armor would have to be leather, iron, and steel. Leather armor, with its simple production process and relatively cheap materials, was sure to become the most widespread. Since he’d realized this, there was no reason to let anyone else get ahead of him.

Perhaps his three years’ experience as a business manager had honed Li Zhan’s financial instincts to the fullest. While other tribal chiefs were only just beginning to realize that the clothes provided by the system were both ugly and offered no protection, Li Zhan had already drawn up a detailed production plan for cotton garments and was about to begin manufacturing. But he hadn’t stopped there—his sights were now set on leather armor.

The merchant was still slumped behind the stall, nodding off with his chin on his chest. Suddenly he jerked awake, his eyes opening slightly, and happened to see Li Zhan examining the cowhide. Instantly, his eyes gleamed. Rubbing the sleep from his face, he called out, “Sir, what would you like to buy? Please, take your time to look—my wares are excellent and worth every coin.”

“Oh, I’m just browsing,” Li Zhan replied offhandedly.

When it came to bargaining, Li Zhan might not be as skilled as Ruoyan, but when it came to reading a merchant’s mind, she was no match for him. He knew perfectly well that given the merchant’s obvious anxiety, he mustn’t show too much interest in the cowhide—better to act indifferent, as if he could take it or leave it. That way, the merchant would be eager to close the deal and offer a lower price, which Li Zhan could then leverage to negotiate a long-term arrangement.

With that in mind, Li Zhan put down the cowhide and stood up. The merchant, seeing a rare customer about to walk away, hurried to his feet and said, “Sir, the quality of my cowhide is second to none, and my prices are absolutely fair. I guarantee you won’t find better or cheaper cowhide anywhere in Jiangnan.”

“Oh?” Li Zhan feigned interest, as if the merchant’s last words had caught him. He turned back and said, “You keep insisting your cowhide is good and cheap. I’ve seen the quality for myself—now I’d like to hear just how cheap your price really is.”

The merchant frowned, did a quick calculation of his costs and transport fees, then added a modest profit before replying, “A bundle of rough cowhide is five gold coins and one hundred copper. A bundle of fine cowhide is seven gold.”