This time, Chen Mo brought some of the family's savings on his trip to the city, just in case.
Fu Ze Village is ten miles away from the county town, and there was still a heavy snowstorm outside. Chen Mo tightened his clothes and used the tail of his garment to cover the chopping knife tucked at his waist.
Soon, Chen Mo arrived at Pingting County. The city walls were not high, estimated to be less than two zhang, built with yellow soil and stones.
Not many people were entering the city.
At the city gate, four officials in gray robes were guarding it. When they saw Chen Mo approach, the leader stretched out his hand expressionlessly: "Identification paper."
The identification paper was the proof of identity in the Great Song Dynasty.
If you couldn't provide the identification paper, you would be considered undocumented. If discovered by the government, you would either be fined or conscripted, or at worst, thrown into jail as a scapegoat for some case.
Before leaving, Chen Mo naturally brought his own.
"Fu Ze Village..."
Chen Mo keenly noticed a smile on the official's face and said, "Entry fee is eight cents."
"You have to pay to enter the city?" Chen Mo was stunned. He hadn't heard Han Anniang or Song Tian mention it, nor was there anything about this in the original memory.
"Are you going in or not?" Upon hearing Chen Mo's question, the official became somewhat impatient and had no intention of explaining.
"Yes." Since he had come all this way, Chen Mo couldn't possibly turn back now, so he silently paid the fee, and the official completed the registration.
Chen Mo even saw the official jot down the time he entered the city.
"Remember, you must leave the city before Hour. If you delay, you'll have to wait until tomorrow, and then you'll have to pay a ten cent overnight fee when exiting."
Seems like the official thought Chen Mo paid quickly, as he offered a reminder.
Chen Mo: "..."
After entering the city, he didn't rush to move away but stayed to observe the people coming into the city.
He noticed that some people paid, while others did not.
Once they entered, Chen Mo hurriedly stepped forward to inquire.
Some people were utterly unwilling to respond to Chen Mo.
After being refused, Chen Mo wasn't annoyed and continued to ask another person.
After asking a few people, finally, someone explained it to him.
Turns out, anyone not residing in Pingting County must pay the entry fee.
Moreover, they must leave the city the same day. If they want to stay in the county town, they have to purchase a house there. In this case, the government will issue a proof of residence, otherwise, they will pay a ten-cent overnight fee for each day they stay.
Of course, this fee does not include accommodation expenses; it merely allows one to stay in the county.
This regulation was implemented a month ago, so Han Anniang and Song Tian wouldn't know about it.
Here, Chen Mo discovered a significant loophole.
If someone enters the city and stays hidden, doesn't leave at night, and reappears during the day, in a city so crowded, it would be impossible to question everyone. By avoiding the officials, this would allow indefinite stay in the city.
But when Chen Mo saw someone exiting the city and the official checked their identification paper against the records, he changed his mind.
Indeed, you can use this loophole to stay indefinitely, but you must pray never to be discovered. Once found, the accumulated overnight fees would be astronomical.
...
Chen Mo walked along the street of Pingting County, his gaze sweeping everywhere. He was surprised to see little snow piled up, indicating traces of sweeping.
The city was fairly bustling, with vendors lining both sides of the street, hands tucked into sleeves, dressed warmly, stamping their feet and shouting out.
The "appearance" was decent, relatively clean, without beggars or refugees in sight.
As for public security, watching the children laughing on the streets provided some clues.
Inside and outside the city were two completely different worlds.
Suddenly, Chen Mo's expression froze as he saw a burly man with a full beard standing guard at a shop entrance, and astonishingly, there were two red numbers "31" on his forehead.
Beside him hung a signboard.
Today's grain prices, rice is thirty cents per catty.
Millet is twenty-five cents per catty...
"What are these numbers?"
Chen Mo's eyes scanned the people on the street; none of them had numbers on their foreheads.
Chen Mo rubbed his eyes and looked again at the burly man; the number 31 remained.
What is this?
That burly man noticed someone staring at him, his gaze immediately swept coldly.
Chen Mo quickly looked away and continued walking, passing other grain stores where men also stood guard, but none of them had numbers on their foreheads.
At this moment, he saw a group of officials coming over, sabers strapped to their waists, presumably on patrol.
And the leader among them had a red number "55+6" on his forehead.
The nearby vendors greeted him obsequiously.
"Master Peng."
"Good day, Master Peng."
"Master Peng, freshly steamed Dabai buns, have a taste."
"..."
Through the discussion among the vendors, Chen Mo learned that this man known as Master Peng was the Chief Constable at the government office.
That's when Chen Mo seemed to understand something.
The people with numbers on their foreheads must be entry-grade martial artists, and the number represents their strength.
Among the constables earlier, only Master Peng had a number on his forehead.
Chen Mo didn't stare at Master Peng, instead he moved away to a luxuriously decorated "Li's Cloth Shop" and stepped inside.
As he entered, Chen Mo smelled a faint fragrance. There were not many people inside, mostly women.
And a man blocked his path and asked, "What do you want?"
Chen Mo saw a "36" red number on the man's forehead and said, "Do you buy animal pelts?"
The man looked Chen Mo up and down: "We buy everything, what do you want to sell, where's the item?"
"It's a wild boar hide. I'm here to inquire about the price. If you're buying, I'll bring it over to sell."
The man glanced at Chen Mo, seemingly knowing what he was up to, and laughed: "Try asking around. When it comes to pelt trade, no one offers a higher price than Li's Cloth Shop. If your wild boar hide is of good quality, I can offer more than two strings of coins, but the exact amount depends on the quality of the pelt..."
Chen Mo nodded, left Li's Cloth Shop, and went to other cloth shops and even trade associations to inquire, finding the prices were not as high as Li's Cloth Shop.
Chen Mo returned to Li's Cloth Shop.
It seemed the man knew Chen Mo would come back, and he smiled: "Have you found out?"
Chen Mo didn't explain, removing his outer garment to reveal the wild boar hide rolled up underneath.
"Take a look," Chen Mo handed the hide to the man.
"The pelt is good, but the processing craftsmanship is poor. It's damaged and poorly tanned..." The man was an expert, glancing at it briefly before pointing out pros and cons.
Chen Mo remained silent.
Tanning leather is extremely complex, involving over a dozen processes, and to properly tan such a large wild boar hide would take at least a month. How long has Han Anniang been tanning?
Chen Mo nodded: "How much will you offer?"