When people go fishing in the river, people naturally come to the river to buy fish. It is said to be a fish market, but in fact it is very simple. You can just find a relatively flat and suitable place by the river. Or after the people fish, it is more concentrated.
The place to go ashore.
When this kind of fish market is busy, people's heads will tremble, but once the crowd disperses, it will quickly return to its original desolation, as if the excitement just now was an illusion.
The fishermen gradually came ashore with their catch, and the fish market officially began. The fish buyers stood in position with their swords drawn, and stared at the common people who came up with their catch, as if they were watching.
The pieces of fish are average.
There is no clear price tag, no bargaining, and even the power of setting prices is not in the hands of the people. There is no way, the only people who can buy fish here are servants sent by powerful people nearby.
If the people refuse to sell fish to them, then no one will be willing to buy their fish. They are all fresh catches that have just come out of the water. People can't sell them to counties dozens of miles away, right?
If the fish were just brought to the county seat like this, the fish would probably die. Who else could they sell it to?
Therefore, as long as the fish buyers do not go too far, even if they deliberately lower the price, people will still have to sell the fish to them. ??
But it was not without exception. A thin man wearing shabby clothes stood behind the fish sales team with a basket of catch on his back. He hesitated and did not step forward.
Several people passed by him one after another, but he did not move.
But in the end, seeing that the fish in his basket was no longer as lively as before, the man still had to join the fish buying queue and come to the fish collector.
The fish buyer was a young man wearing brocade. He looked to be no more than 22 or 23 years old. He had something wiped on his face. He looked oily and pink-faced. The most special thing was his two dark circles.
Even the powder can't cover it up, and it looks like it's caused by overindulgence.
It stands to reason that it is impossible for a person who looks like a noble son from a wealthy family to come to this fish market. After all, such a noble man cannot stand the strong smell of fish. But this guy just came and made a
The fish buyer's attitude is such that I don't know what his plans are.
The young man glanced at the man with a faint smile, then lowered his eyes and glanced contemptuously at the man's fish basket, and said casually: "They are all dead goods. They cost a penny each. Give him money."
When the man heard this, he became very angry. He quickly waved his hand to stop him and said, "Wait a minute! You gave someone ten cents a piece, why did you give me one?"
A piece of money? Besides, my fish is bigger than other people’s, why did you give me so little?"
The young man chuckled and said: "Lao Wu, it's not that I'm bullying you, but that although your fish is indeed a little bigger than others, it's about to die. You said, this dead fish can compete with
Is there one price for live fish?”
"Nonsense, this is obviously a live fish, where is the dead fish?" The man's eyes widened, veins were bulging on his forehead, his hands were clenched into fists, and his knuckles were tense and white. If it weren't for the young master in front of him who had the right to
With his strength, he might have been unable to bear it and rushed forward to beat him up.
When the guards around the young master saw it, they immediately stepped forward to guard the man. The young master did not pay attention to the man's anger at all. He leaned back lazily and said jokingly: "Now your fish
It is alive, but if it is left in the basket like this, won’t it be dead in a few hours?”
"In a few hours, shouldn't it be your business whether the fish is alive or dead?" The man was a little confused and did not turn around for a while.
The young master chuckled and shook his head: "No, this is your business."
"Then according to what you said, other people's fish will die differently? Why did you give them ten cents for each fish, but only one cent for me?" The man was very unconvinced.
"No, no, no, you are wrong." The young master waved his hands repeatedly and retorted: "Their fish will be put in the water, so their fish will live and not die. Since they will not die, then naturally
It’s the price of a live fish. But I will put your fish in a basket. Without water, the fish will die. So your fish can only be sold at the price of a dead fish.”
Although the man was honest and did not understand the young master's treacherous tactics, he realized at this time that the young master was simply playing tricks on him. He shouted angrily: "Cheng Qi, you have gone too far!"
Cheng Qi was yelled at by the man, and he no longer pretended to be harmless. He directly opened the chair and stood up, with a ferocious expression on his face and said sternly: "This young master is so excessive, what can you do? I used to have that
Do you really think you are a nobody when you are being cared for by a steward who eats and drinks everything? Let me tell you, that steward has been taken care of by me. From today on, I will personally come to collect your fish, and the price is just this, one penny a fish.
, do you like to buy it or not? Oh, by the way, let me remind you, I
The young master has already said hello to everyone who collects fish, no matter who collects your fish, they will pay you a penny each."
The man's face was livid with anger. If no one buys his fish from now on, even if he humbly buys the fish to this person, it will be of no use. At a penny a piece, he can't make much money in a day.
Just the food at home is not enough. Besides,
Looking at the angry man, the young master was extremely relieved and said viciously: "I want to take your sister as my concubine, because I am looking down on you. For a person from a family like yours, you should keep your eyes open.
Take a good look, how many people are willing to officially take a concubine? Why don't you give some money and just buy it directly? I'm giving you face, but you don't take advantage of it quickly, and you even refuse to marry your sister over.
This young master has lost all face in the county. Just wait for us, we must obediently give you this girl as my concubine!"
An old man next to him saw that the smell of gunpowder between the two was very strong, and he quickly spoke out to smooth things over: "Master Cheng, Master Cheng, please calm down. They are all from the countryside. The mother of this child is sick again now and is waiting for the money."
Medicine cures diseases. Master, just give them a sincere price and be generous and spare their lives."
Cheng Qi turned his head expressionlessly, staring at the old man without saying a word. Just when the old man started to panic and wanted to avoid Cheng Qi's eyes, Cheng Qi spoke, "What if your granddaughter is prettier than his sister?"
, sent to me as my concubine, then I can let him go. But, do you have it?"
When the old man heard this, he knew that Cheng Qi was determined. He turned his head shamelessly and retreated into the crowd. Others did not dare to speak for the man, especially those who had daughters at home.
court disaster.
This young master's lustful reputation is well-known throughout the county. Few of the concubines who were taken back by Cheng Qi survived more than a year. I heard that they were all tortured to death by Cheng Qi.
. However, the Cheng family lost a large sum of money afterwards, and because of the Cheng family's power in the county, no one dared to speak out.
Cheng Qi dismissed the old man who spoke for the man lightly. Others were afraid of Cheng Qi's power and no longer dared to speak for the man.
Seeing the cowering look of everyone, Cheng Qi had a smile on his face, looked at the man and said, "Just tell me, you can buy it for a penny a piece."
"Don't buy it!" the man said without hesitation.
Cheng Qi was not angry, but even happier. He waved his hand towards the man and said
: "Then get out of the way quickly and don't block the people behind you. Next one~"
The man had no choice but to step aside with the fish basket in hand. He was so angry that he wanted to leave right away, but his seriously ill mother urgently needed money for medicine, which made him feel as if roots had taken root in the soles of his feet, and he could not leave just like that.
One after another, common people passed by the man carrying fish and exchanged them for copper coins from Cheng Qi's hand.
The man and his fish are like the loneliest existence in the world, rejected by everything around them.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves gradually grew louder and appeared in his ears, making people unable to help but turn around and listen.
I saw a dozen horses already coming to the man.
Such movement naturally attracted everyone's attention. Someone next to Cheng Qi glanced at the horses, and his expression suddenly changed. He quickly leaned into Cheng Qi's ear and whispered nervously: "Master, these people have different backgrounds."
Small."
"How do you know?" Cheng Qi looked back at this person in confusion.
"Those are all military horses, and they are all rare horses."
Cheng Qi was suddenly shocked. Although he was lustful, he also knew what military horses meant.
Since the Ming Dynasty always faced the threat of the grassland, war horses, as the first strategic material, had an extraordinary status. The imperial court had a ranch dedicated to domesticating war horses, and every war horse was recorded. Folks wanted to get a war horse privately
, it is extremely difficult, and a bad one will be punished. Therefore, most of the horses used by the people are not war horses, but inferior horses.
In this way, people who can blatantly use war horses must be rich or noble and have a strong family background.
After hearing this, Cheng Qi stood up quickly and hurried to greet him. Seeing that the other party ignored him, he bowed his hands and asked, "May I ask where you are from and what you are doing here?"
Tang Fu sat on the horse and did not speak, but kept looking at the people fishing. A guard beside him sat on the horse, leaned down with a whip in his hand, and asked Cheng Qi: "Are you from here?
Chief?"
When Cheng Qi saw that the other party didn't even ask about his origins, he obviously didn't take him seriously. But he didn't dare to get angry, and instead had to be careful with him. The Cheng family still had some status in the county, but it was only
That's all. He also keeps a few horses at home, but they are just inferior horses and are not qualified to raise military horses.