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nChapter 31.2 – Going to the county town for medical treatment

nAlthough Wang Haisheng hoped that Jiang Zhen could cure his wife, he did not have much hope. He was not surprised when Jiang Zhen said he couldn’t cure him. However, Jiang Zhen’s willingness to buy his boat made him ecstatic. “You . . . Do you really want to buy my boat?” His ship, in fact, was a bit broken . . .

n“Um.” Jiang Zhen nodded, then jumped off the boat and went to his house.

nHe had been thinking about buying a boat since he decided to become a merchant to make money, but he couldn’t row.

nThis time, if this matter could be settled, he would not only have a boat, but also a rower . . . even though the ship was shabby.

nWhen Jiang Zhen returned with the silver, he saw Wang Haisheng, who was in his thirties, standing at the bow of the ship with tears in his eyes.

nWang Haisheng also knew that his boat was definitely not worth 20 silver. You could get a new boat by getting some wood and finding someone to make a boat. You could get a new boat for 10 silver. So the man who used a hedgehog to trade fish with him was actually helping him.

nAlthough he was worried about where he would live after selling his boat, Wang Haisheng was still full of hope and gratitude.

nWhile Wang Haisheng rowed, Jiang Zhen would not row for fear of standing in his way. Instead, he said, “I plan to go out and do some business later, so you can row for me, and I won’t let your family starve to death.”

nWang Haisheng was stunned at first and could not react, but soon, he realized that Jiang Zhen had given him a way to make a living.

nThe man who had been living on the boat through wind and rain, now cried again, “Thank you, thank you!” After crying, he rowed even faster.

nIt wasn’t long before they came to the county town.

nSpring rain usually didn’t last long. When they got to the county town, the rain had just stopped.

nWang Haisheng carried the drowsy Sun Xiaoshan and went ashore together with Jiang Zhen, leaving his two children to watch the house while they went to the pharmacy.

nJiang Zhen threw him twenty silver. “You go first. I’ll call someone.”

nWang Haisheng did not know who Jiang Zhen was going to call. He took the silver and walked towards the pharmacy quickly, almost running.

nJiang Zhen took a look at him and went to find Yang Jing.

nIt rained today, so instead of going out on a patrol, Yang Jing stayed at home.

nIn front of the yamen, they received filial piety from a businessman. The man above took the big share, but those at the bottom could still share some soup and water. Yang Jing took three silver home and asked his wife to buy meat.

nHe didn’t like to stay at home before, but these days, since it was raining, he stayed at home every day and suddenly found it quite comfortable.

nPerhaps it was because he had been staying at home all day that his wife didn’t talk to him all day long, and his two children were getting closer to him.

nAlthough his wife was fat, the meat hug was actually quite comfortable. She was not worse than the lover he liked before, and he didn’t need to worry about her asking for this and that, and his two children . . .

nThese days, his two children brought him water to wash his feet and massaged his back. They were very clever. Yang Jiang looked at them and thought of the scene of Jiang Zhen stabbing Butcher Jiang in the thigh.

nYang Jing was telling his two children about his heroic attitude in handling cases, when someone knocked on the door of his house. He said, “Damao, open the door.”

nYang Damao soon opened the door, and Yang Jing glanced out to see Boss Jiang.

nYang Jiang, who looked relaxed a moment ago, quickly got up from the reclining chair and greeted Jiang Zhen with a smile, “Boss, you are here!”

n“Well, come out with me,” said Jiang Zhen.

nJiang Zhen was a bit rude like this. If someone else did this, they might have been driven out by Yang Jiang. But he didn’t dare to drive out Jiang Zhen, so he quickly cleaned himself up and went with Jiang Zhen.

nJiang Zhen first took Yang Jiang to the pharmacy.

nThe people in the pharmacy did not take Wang Haisheng, a fisherman with no fixed residence, seriously at all. He might have even been swindled, but it was a different situation when Yang Jiang swung by.

nEven if the people in the pharmacy were not afraid of the yamen, when they saw that Wang Haisheng knew the yamen officer, they would pay more attention when treating Sun Xiaoshan.

nJiang Zhen thought correctly.

nThe people in the pharmacy were not afraid of Yang Jiang, and Yang Jiang was also polite to the doctor in the pharmacy. However, with Yang Jiang around, the people in the pharmacy became much politer to Wang Haisheng. At first, they didn’t allow Sun Xiaoshan to stay in the pharmacy, but later, they even let Sun Xiaoshan live in the patients’ resting room behind the pharmacy.

nJiang Zhen was not a doctor, so it was not interesting for him to stay there. Seeing that things had been arranged, he didn’t stay but went out with Yang Jing. “Let’s go to the market for a walk.”

nThe two of them strolled around the market. During that time, Jiang Zhen also found that the market was different from that of later generations, or rather, the consumption needs of the people from these times were different from those of later generations.

nThese days, the rich didn’t care about spending money casually, but the common people were different.

nCommon people who have little money are reluctant to spend money, and when they buy things, they choose low prices over considerations of beauty or tastiness. For example, steamed buns of the same size with the same amount of meat in them, but one is delicious though expensive while the other one is not tasty but cheap. In the end, everyone would go buy the cheap one.

nThey don’t pursue quality of life as long as they have enough to eat. It was precisely because of this, that even if Wang Haisheng had a fishing boat and could catch and sell fish, his life was still very ordinary.

nFish couldn’t be sold at a reasonable price in the county town. Even though it had been raining recently and there were fewer people selling fish, no one would accept an increased price of fish. If they found out that the price of fish had become more expensive, they would simply choose not to buy or eat fish.

nEven regarding pork, people in the county town would take advantage of buying more at lower prices. People who came to the county town during the New Year holidays would shell two or three copper pennies for more expensive pork from the butcher’s shop.

nOf course, the rich were different. They were even willing to spend money that Zhao Jinge couldn’t earn in a year just to eat one meal. With Jiang Zhen’s current capital only, it was impossible to do business with the rich; however, the demands of the poor were too limited. Just like the villagers from Hexi Village, they were basically self-sufficient.

nIf he was willing to travel long distances and bring cheap silk and other goods here to the north, he would definitely make money, however . . .

nHow was he going to get there? If there was trouble on the road, how would he solve it? What would he eat and where would he live?

nHe didn’t know anything, so should he just take the goods and leave?

nWhat’s more, if he was gone for a few months . . . what about Zhao Jinge?

nAfter looking around, Jiang Zhen suddenly looked at Yang Jiang. “How much do you know about the ‘private’ (black market) salt?”

nLast time he bought salt, he spent 35 copper pennies for a kilo of salt. In modern times, that’s thirty-five dollars for a kilo of salt.

nHow much profit is this? This town is very close to the seaside .

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