Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 262 Not a Local Official

The touch was not as soft as he remembered, and the color was not pretty enough, so it probably could not be considered top quality.

"How is it?" The waiter was very good at reading people's faces. "There are better ones in there. If you want to see them, I can bring them out for you."

The man from Qi stood up and asked, "What kind of silk is this made of?"

"Silk." The waiter finally responded, "From your accent, you are from the South?"

"Yes."

"No wonder you ask that. The silk in our two places is different. The silk over there is beautiful and can be sold at a high price, but the silk here is made into quilts and coats, which is warmer and more durable than the silk over there."

"How is the sales of your silk?"

"Of course! After all, it's silk, and it's never hard to sell. Although ordinary people can't afford it, the dignitaries will buy as much as they can." The waiter heard that he was not here to buy cloth, "Sir, you are in the silk business, right? The silk in our area is famous throughout Dazhou. It's fate that you came in. My family also collects silk. If you want it, I'll ask the shopkeeper to come and discuss it with you in detail."

"Great!" Qi Renli thought to himself that he had come to the right place. He didn't expect that he could find the way after entering the first store.

"Okay, please wait a moment." The waiter asked Qi Renli to sit down and poured him some tea. "Wait a moment, please wait a moment, I'll call the shopkeeper over right away!"

As soon as the waiter put down the teapot, he ran out the door.

The guy ran so hard that even the horses on the roadside were attracted by his running.

Soon the waiter brought the shopkeeper back, "This is the young man."

The shopkeeper was obviously out of breath, and without even taking a breath, he asked hurriedly, "Sir, do you want to buy silk?"

Although Qi Renli didn't have much experience, he realized something was wrong. Didn't they say that silk would be easy to sell? If it was easy to sell, shouldn't he go and beg him?

"Just asking, do you have any goods?" Qi Renli asked.

"Yes!" said the shopkeeper, "Whether you want silk or satin, I have both here!"

"What's the price?"

"A piece of woven fabric costs five liang, and silk costs sixty wen per liang." The shopkeeper couldn't read Qi Renli's expression, so he added, "If you want more, it can be cheaper."

Qi Renli coughed. He didn't know whether the price was reasonable or not. He knew nothing about sericulture and silk. But if he could really sell them at the same price as the shopkeeper, then he had to raise the silkworms!
One tael is sixty wen!

"Do you know anyone who raises silkworms?" Qi Renli had just finished speaking when Qi Rui ran in from the doorway, "Master, I found the inn."

"Inn?" The shopkeeper was very smart. How could ordinary people live in an inn? He stood up with his butt sticking out. "Who are you?"

"I am the County Magistrate of Beishan County."

The shopkeeper immediately knelt down and said, "Greetings to the County Magistrate."

"Get up. You haven't replied to me yet, I just asked you."

"Reporting to the master." The shopkeeper said bitterly, "I only do some small business in the town, and I don't know anyone who raises silkworms."

Qi Renli didn't see that there was something hidden in his expression, he stood up and said: "Forget it, I've disturbed you for a while, I will buy that piece of silk." "How can I let you spend money, sir? Just take whichever one you like." Although the shopkeeper was so humble, he didn't really trust the identity of the man in front of him.

But he has his own way of verifying the other party.

"How much is that piece of silk?" Qi Renli asked again.

Seeing that he was serious and didn't seem to be faking it, the shopkeeper replied, "That horse is five taels. If you insist, four taels will be fine."

Qi Renli took out five taels of silver and gave it to him, and asked Qi Xiang to carry the silk out of the shop.

When they arrived at the gate of the posthouse, Qi Xiang, who helped him dismount from his horse, whispered, "Master, someone has been following us since we came out of the cloth shop. You go in first, and I'll go around to the back to see who it is."

When Qi Xiang turned to the back, he found that it was the cloth shop clerk. The clerk only watched Qi Renli enter the post house, and then quickly went back to report to the shopkeeper, "Except the driver, all the travelers have entered the post house."

"It seems that he is really an official." The shopkeeper stroked his beard. The five taels of silver in his hand had not been recorded in the account yet.

"Boss, I've never heard of Beishan County." The waiter said, "Isn't he an official from Dazhou?"

The shopkeeper frowned and pondered for a long time. What was this official doing here? Was he going to join those people in swallowing up these retail investors? And what was Beishan County?
As he was thinking about it, the shopkeeper suddenly slammed the table and said, "Beishan County! Beishan County, Liangzhou!"

The guy was startled by him, "What did you think of?"

"I've figured out where Beishan County is, the wasteland next to Weishan Pass that was recently fenced off! I heard that the officials there are from the capital, descendants of generals, and they are both resourceful and righteous. I didn't expect that they would come here!" The shopkeeper became excited.

"Boss, what are the officials from Liangzhou doing here?" the clerk asked, "They can't be here to buy silk and satin, can they? Can people from the capital be interested in the things in our store?"

The shopkeeper frowned again and said, "I really shouldn't have accepted this money. You should get up early tomorrow and wait at the entrance of the posthouse. When you see their people coming out, tell me and I will return the money."

The next day, before dawn, the waiter was waiting at the door of the inn. Seeing someone leading a horse out from the side yard, he immediately went to inform the owner.

The shopkeeper was waiting for news in the cloth shop and arrived just in time, just before Qi Renli and his group were about to leave.

The shopkeeper handed over the silver with both hands and said, "Sir, I was blind and didn't understand what you said yesterday. I came here today to return your silver."

Qi Renli was puzzled. Zhou Dajiao, who had not yet boarded the car, immediately came over to watch the show and asked quickly, "What did the master say yesterday?"

Fortunately, Qi Renli was in a good mood and said, "Exactly. What did I say yesterday that you didn't understand?"

"I know someone who raises silkworms. My wife's family is in Hongfu Village, and my father-in-law is an old silkworm breeder." The shopkeeper explained palely, "I was excited when I saw you yesterday, and I accidentally said the wrong thing, so I came here to apologize."

"Your father-in-law is from Hongfu Village!" Qi Renli didn't care about the other party's perfunctory response yesterday. He just wanted to find someone who could raise silkworms to go back to Beishan County. "We are going to Hongfu Village, so you can come with us. Keep the silver. I don't need that little money."

The shopkeeper was surprised. He took the money and thanked them repeatedly. He also said that he had a bullock cart and they could just follow behind.

The shopkeeper even closed the cloth shop and followed Qi Renli to Hongfu Village.

Although Zhou Dajiao was enthusiastic, he had only heard of silkworm farming in Hongfu Village but had never been there. After leaving the town, the shopkeeper's ox cart led the way.

"Thanks to meeting you two kind people, I was saved a lot of trouble." Qi Renli sighed while sitting in the car.

The shopkeeper led the way and took the man directly to his father-in-law's house, but when they arrived, the door was locked from the outside.