HLnovel Chapter 366 Buying Livestock
Chapter 366 Buying Livestock
After packing up their stall, Shen Zhiqiu and his group did not go back directly, but went to the cattle and horse market in Fang County.
The cattle and horse market in Fang County was not in the city, but outside the west city gate. It was very large, covering an area of more than ten acres.
In the agricultural society, cattle, horses, donkeys and mules are called the four powerful animals by farmers. They are indispensable for plowing, harrowing, grinding and transporting. They are important laborers and close partners of farmers.
Therefore, the cattle and horse market was naturally very prosperous.
As soon as they entered the market, what caught their eyes were the fat and strong cows, horses, donkeys and mules, which were tightly held in the hands of cow handlers, and followed by lively baby animals who were not yet tied with reins.
Herds of cowherds and livestock came from all directions, and the sounds of cows mooing, horses neighing, and buying and selling transactions rose and fell, creating a spectacular scene.
The stalls of the cattle handlers are adjacent to each other and their plots of land are overlapping. Although they may not be from the same village, they are familiar with each other.
Everywhere, the bull handlers would greet each other loudly and affectionately.
Sometimes two people get together, add tobacco to each other's pipes, light a fire, and then the conversation spreads with the smoke rings, and they chatter as if they have endless gossip.
There were also many livestock owners standing by and chatting and laughing, with the livestock they were leading looking around with wide eyes.
It is very lively here, but don't think that this is the smell of fireworks, you are totally wrong.
The smell of animals, the smell of humans, the smell of feces, the smell of soil, everything mixed together, you can figure it out yourself.
However, the people from the nine clans did not care much about this. Each of them tried to suppress their excitement forcibly. The reason was that they had to buy livestock in order to set up stalls in Shuntian Prefecture.
You know, they had wasted so many livestock before. I thought it would take a long time to buy livestock in this lifetime, but I didn't expect it to be possible so soon.
Although Shen Zhiqiu only wanted to buy five, that couldn't stop their joy.
Although it was his first time here, Zhou Qian introduced me to someone who knew me well.
When Shen Zhiqiu and his companions walked and asked around and found the cattle handler Lao He, Lao He's business was good and he had just sold a day's worth of mules.
Shen Zhiqiu looked at Old He, a man in his forties, with half-white hair and a coarse cloth shirt, but he looked very strong.
The two sides greeted each other and knew that it was Zhou Qian who introduced them. Old He was honest in his words.
"Oxen are strong and can be used to plow fields and pull goods, but they are slow.
Mules have a long lifespan, great strength, and fast speed, making them the best choice for pulling goods or carts. But they also have a problem, as you should all know: they cannot give birth to offspring.
Donkeys are not as strong as mules, but they are cheap and can give birth to pups. What kind of animal do you want?"
Just at this moment, an old stubborn donkey on a stall not far away stretched its neck and shouted happily without any scruples. Then the donkeys around it followed suit and sang loudly.
Not only were they shouting at the top of their lungs, some were even rolling on the ground unscrupulously. The boss hurried forward and cracked his whip, scolding loudly. In a moment, dust and dirt were flying everywhere.
Hunter Gao clicked his tongue twice: "This is the stubborn donkey!"
Old He said with a bit of embarrassment: "Donkeys are cheap."
Shen Zhiqiu didn't care about the donkey rolling around, and asked, "Brother He, what are the prices for the cow, mule, and donkey?"
"A cow weighs about 17 or 18 taels, a mule weighs about 12 or 13 taels, and a donkey weighs about 7 or 8 taels."
Obviously, such a price made all the nine tribes feel relieved. It was not much different from their hometown. Fortunately, it was not the unfair price in the livestock market when they first entered the northern border.
Shen Zhiqiu discussed with everyone and said, "Brother, take us to see the mules and donkeys first."
"okay!"
Old He did not take them to see the donkeys that were causing trouble. Instead, he led them forward and introduced them to seven or eight families.
The ones who were most familiar with these things were Li Quan and Gao Liehu. They were in charge of checking them. Shen Zhiqiu actually didn't know what they were looking at.
In short, we just need to check whether the fur is shiny, whether the body is well-proportioned, the limbs... the eyes... the teeth, etc.
Although Shen Zhiqiu didn't understand, he knew how to pretend. He looked at the expressions of Gao Liehu and Li Quan, nodded from time to time, or walked away with an expressionless face.
I guess no one else can see it except himself, he really doesn't understand.
After a round, Lao He led them to a corner and asked in a low voice, "Whose animal do you like?"
Li Quan opened his mouth and said: "The second one is not good, it looks droopy."
Hunter Gao also said: "The last one is not good either. The animals look strong and energetic, but the price of their livestock is much higher than the market price."
Old He nodded and confirmed with their eyes that these people really knew what they were doing. The donkey from the second family, although it looked like a young animal at first glance, had actually been tampered with.
"The last one has some good livestock, but the price is a bit high. But if you are sure how many you want, you can still bargain. If you don't find anything you like, you can continue to look tomorrow. Buying livestock is a big deal, so don't be too hasty."
Indeed, in the eyes of ordinary people, buying livestock is not a trivial matter. You have to look at them carefully and it is always better to be cautious. But Shen Zhiqiu and others are anxious because they plan to use them to transport goods to the provincial capital tomorrow.
The city is still quite far away. If we don’t have livestock to push the carts, we won’t know when we’ll get there. But we can’t always borrow livestock from the villagers, after all, they are busy with farming.
Finally, after consulting Li Quan and Hunter Gao, Shen Zhiqiu selected two cows, two mules, and a donkey.
This donkey is of moderate size, with a broad neck, straight back, slender limbs, obvious joints, and round hooves. It is indeed a good donkey that you can like at first sight.
As for cattle, they are actually divided into two types: oxen and buffaloes. Oxen are suitable for plowing dry fields, while buffaloes are suitable for plowing paddy fields, but both can be used to pull carts. Considering that they might be used for plowing fields in the future, Shen Zhiqiu asked for one of each.
Compared to other livestock, cows are much quieter and more reserved. They are gentle and introverted, and except for the occasional low moo, they are not noisy at all.
They just strolled leisurely or lay on the ground, with the cowbells under their necks making crisp and rhythmic sounds.
The boss who sells mules looks to be in his thirties. He is tall and strong with a rough beard, but he speaks very smoothly, which is not consistent with his appearance at all.
However, his mule cost fifteen taels of silver, which was indeed two taels of silver more expensive than others.
The two mules are compact and well-proportioned, with solid muscles, tight and elastic skin and shiny fur.
It has a large head and long ears, a long and strong neck, good connection between neck and shoulders, tendons in the limbs, and small hooves with thick edges and strong texture.
After looking around, these two were the most satisfactory. However, Shen Zhiqiu acted rather perfunctorily. While listening to the boss' introduction, he uttered "Hmm, Hmm!" from time to time.