Section 024: Wild Mustang

The two of them discussed the specifics of the transaction further. Since it was to be a large-scale deal, Cui felt he shouldn’t make too much profit off his benefactor and thus drove the price down as much as he could—five gold coins for a bundle of coarse cowhide, six for a bundle of fine cowhide. For the first transaction, Li Zhan ordered fifty bundles of cowhide—thirty-five bundles of coarse and fifteen of fine —with the strict requirement that the quality be top-notch. They agreed that in a month and a half, Cui would deliver the fifty bundles of cowhide to the Yanhuang Tribe at the banks of Hanjiang.

A month and a half, Li Zhan was confident, would be enough time not only to have the clothing finished but also to establish a certain sales channel, ensuring he would have enough gold on hand to purchase Cui’s cowhide. Even if his clothing failed to find a market, Li Zhan wasn’t worried; he still had nearly a thousand units of premium fresh fish fillets in stock, ready to be sold for gold at any time.

As for the clothing production itself, everything was in place except for the “eastern wind”—that is, the successful development of the loom. Earlier in the morning, before heading into the city, Li Zhan had learned from Wang Hui that the loom’s basic design was already complete, with only a few critical parts yet to be finalized.

When, exactly, would these final hurdles be overcome? That was the matter weighing on Li Zhan’s mind.

He bought all the cowhide Cui had left—three bundles and three sheets of coarse, one bundle and one sheet of fine—and handed Cui an extra five gold coins, serving both as a deposit and for his travel expenses. Cui expressed his gratitude profusely, assuring Li Zhan that he’d set out for home at first light, sell off his goat and pig hides at the border market, and immediately begin sourcing quality cowhide for Li Zhan.

With the long-term cowhide procurement settled, Li Zhan hired a carter to take his newly purchased hides and continued browsing the market.

After buying five large dye vats, Li Zhan checked his remaining gold—only five coins left (Ruoyan still had twenty to buy tailoring tools). He lifted his gaze to the horse market nearby. He’d long planned to buy a few horses, but the prices were high and the selection limited—only ordinary chestnut horses, each costing three gold. Such horses were fit only for pulling carts and other menial labor; they were utterly unsuitable for battle.

Li Zhan had no intention of using these horses for menial tasks—there were still five wild oxen in the tribe for that. Thus, he found the chestnut horses neither cost-effective nor practical.

Shaking his head, Li Zhan was about to leave with the carter when the crowd ahead suddenly erupted in panic. People scattered in terror as a voice behind them shouted, “Clear the way! Wild horses on the loose!”

Looking in the direction of the commotion, Li Zhan saw a horse dealer running and shouting breathlessly. Some thirty meters ahead of him, five wild horses with glossy black coats thundered down the street, their long manes fluttering in the wind, their hooves pounding the ground like drums, sending pedestrians and market stalls sprawling in all directions.

Li Zhan and the carter leapt aside as the five wild black horses flashed past. Soon after, several horse dealers dashed from the horse market, working hard with lassos and poles to finally corral the five wild horses.

The horse dealer, breath ragged, hurried over to the five horses, cursing as he ran: “Damn! Leave them alone for a moment and this is what happens! This time I’ll hobble you—let’s see where you run then!”

As he squatted to tie up the horses’ legs, one of the wild horses lashed out, catching him in the stomach and sending him sprawling three or four meters away, groaning in pain and unable to stand.

Laughter erupted all around. “Lao Zhang, you’d best give up on selling those wild horses alive. Who’d buy such unruly beasts? Might as well sell them straight to Wang the butcher.”

Clutching his stomach, Lao Zhang managed to struggle to his feet and retorted, “You think I don’t want to offload them? That damned Wang the butcher tried to lowball me—offered only three gold for all five wild horses, and claimed he was doing it as a favor between friends. Bah! As if I have no other options than selling to him? I refuse to accept that!”

Straightening with resolve, he shouted, “Three gold for five wild horses! Anyone want them? I’ll sell them on the spot!”

He shouted several times, but no one stepped forward. The other dealers jeered, “Lao Zhang, just accept your fate and take the wild horses back to Wang the butcher. Why go through all this trouble?”

But Lao Zhang was stubborn, his neck veins bulging. “Even if I have to set them loose, I won’t take them to Wang the butcher! The sight of that fat head and big ears just infuriates me! Two gold for five wild horses! If nobody wants them, I’ll let them go right now!”

The other dealers chuckled at his obstinacy. After all, who but the butcher wanted wild horses?

At that moment, a voice called out from the crowd, “I’ll take those five wild horses.”

It was Li Zhan.

To others, these five wild horses were only good for slaughter, but Li Zhan knew differently. His tribe had capable “beast tamers”—Li He and Jin Xue—and these five sturdy, robust wild horses were perfect candidates for training.

Several horse dealers stared at Li Zhan in astonishment—judging by his appearance and bearing, he was hardly a butcher. Why would he want wild horses?

Lao Zhang, elated, approached Li Zhan. “Sir, are you sure you want to buy my horses? They’re all wild—you’d better think it through.”

Li Zhan nodded. “Yes, I want to buy these five wild horses. But I have one condition: you must deliver them to my tribe before I pay you the gold.”

As soon as he mentioned his tribe, the crowd immediately “understood” why Li Zhan wanted the horses. Perhaps his tribe had many mouths to feed and little grain, and these horses were so cheap they might as well be bought for meat. The price of meat to grain ranged from five to one up to eight to one, so the deal made sense.

Lao Zhang thought the same and looked slightly regretful. In his eyes, these five wild horses were fine steeds—born to run, yet lacking a worthy master. Such was fate.

Still, he had no better choice, so he quickly agreed. “No problem, sir. Even if you hadn’t said so, I’d have delivered the horses myself. Otherwise, if they get loose on the way, few could handle them.”

With that, Lao Zhang called over several dealers to hobble the five horses and tie their reins together. Once everything was secured, he led the horses, following Li Zhan toward the poultry section.

Ruoyan, Zhao Ming, and Fisherman were already waiting there.