After arriving in this world, Fang Jie's biggest feeling was that human potential truly seemed limitless. His preconceived notions from his previous life were repeatedly violated by the realities of this world, and damn it, he even experienced a strange sense of pleasure from it. He couldn't help but wonder if the directors of those martial arts dramas from his previous life had all transmigrated here and then gone back.
Even Chu Liuxiang, if he were as fat as this man, probably couldn't squat on a slender blade of grass and sway gently in the wind. Such a dashing squat would surely make Chu Liuxiang envious and jealous.
This once again overturned Fang Jie's understanding of human anatomy, and also overturned the knowledge he had painstakingly acquired over a decade of study in his previous life.
The one thing Fang Jie most wanted to say about this fat man was:
This is unscientific.
The fat man, wearing a moon-white robe that was now soaked in sweat and turned an egg-yolk yellow, smiled and stared at Fang Jie, pointing to Fang Jie's uniform and smiling, "Deserter?"
Fang Jie first shook his head, then nodded.
"I heard that some soldiers from the Right Guard were transferred to the training grounds. These are the soldiers used for the top three competition in the Martial Arts Academy. You're hiding here at this hour, it seems the competition has ended. Can you tell me who won first place?"
That's what he actually asked.
Instead of the more common questions like "Why are you here?" or "Do you have some ulterior motive?"
Fang Jie's hand remained on the hilt of his sword, his muscles taut. Although his current posture looked somewhat disheveled, he could draw his sword and injure the fat man in a second if he made any move. But Fang Jie dared not draw his sword, even deliberately suppressing his hostility.
He didn't know if resisting a fat man who could crouch on a blade of grass would be futile. Of course, if the fat man attacked, even if resistance was meaningless, Fang Jie wouldn't just sit and wait to die.
"It should be Luo Wen," he replied.
"Huh?"
The fat man let out a soft exclamation of slight surprise, then scratched his head in frustration, saying dejectedly, "I bet a full five hundred taels of silver on Li Fubo. If Luo Wen wins first place, won't I lose everything? No good, no good, really no good."
He stepped down from the blade of grass, his movements very gentle. When his feet touched the ground, the blade of grass seemed unchanged. The wind still blew gently, and the grass swayed slightly.
"You're not planning to ambush us by the roadside, are you?"
The fat man asked Fang Jie seriously after a few more frustrated remarks.
Fang Jie shook his head earnestly and said, "I really didn't mean that. You should be able to tell I'm hiding from you. If I wanted to rob you, I should have jumped out and said some harsh words. Like, 'This road is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, leave some toll!'"
"That's utter bullshit."
The fat man shook his head and said, "What you're saying is exactly what the officials of the Sui Dynasty should do."
Fang Jie wholeheartedly agreed, so he nodded vigorously.
"Since you're not trying to rob us, then I'm fine. You can continue hiding. I'll leave first. I'm really sorry to have bothered you. Don't worry, I won't report you to the authorities for harboring a deserter. Because if I report you, the government won't give me any reward. I don't do things that don't benefit me."
The fat man smiled, waved his hand, and said goodbye. As he walked onto the official road, the curtain of a carriage parked by the roadside was slightly ajar. Someone peered out and asked, "Little Jiu, what's the matter?"
The speaker's voice was deep, a resonant male voice.
"Master, it's nothing. I encountered a rather interesting deserter, but I think he lied, though I don't know what he lied about. Since it has nothing to do with our trading company, and he wasn't trying to rob me, I ignored him."
"He lied to you that he's not actually a deserter."
The person in the carriage said, then lowered the curtain and said, "Let's go. Yu'er must be tired from traveling so long. Let's hurry home; she definitely wants to take a nice bath and have a good sleep."
"Yes."
The fat man bowed his head in response, then turned and glared at Fang Jie, saying, "You lied to me!"
Fang Jie wanted to laugh, but didn't dare.
Since arriving in this world, he'd met many interesting people, like Big Dog, Mu Xiaoyao, Old Cripple, and even Su Tu Gou and his wife from the Fangu Dog Meat Shop. But for some reason, even though he'd only exchanged a few meaningless words with this fat man, he felt this fat man was more interesting than Big Dog and the others. What kind of boredom would drive someone to sit on a blade of grass and chat with him about whether he was robbing someone?
"Um... could I ask you for a favor?"
Fang Jie stood up, brushing the fallen leaves and dust off his clothes. His expression was serious as he asked, "You said you wouldn't report me unless there was something in return, and I'm grateful. But I want to ask... could you do me a favor and give me a ride into the city?"
"You really aren't a deserter."
The fat man sneered. "What deserter runs into the city? So, that Right Guard uniform you're wearing might be something you killed and stole. You might be a murderer, and a murderer who attacked and killed the Sui Dynasty's imperial troops. Even without a reward, I'm going to arrest you and send you to the Chang'an government office, because I'm a very righteous citizen of the Sui Dynasty. Maintaining the peace of the capital is the duty of every Sui citizen."
He spoke as he walked towards Fang Jie.
"Five hundred taels."
Fang Jie held out his hand, indicating, "Just enough to make up for the money you lost gambling."
The fat man paused, about to say something, when suddenly a cough came from inside the carriage. The fat man's expression changed slightly, then he shook his head and said, "No."
"One thousand taels!"
Fang Jie gritted his teeth and said, "Consider it a winning bet, you can forget about me once we get into the city. I won't remember your favor, and you shouldn't remember I ever existed."
There was another cough from inside the carriage, so the fat man shook his head again.
Fang Jie took a deep breath and stated his bottom line: "One thousand one hundred taels, not a single copper coin more."
"We'll do it."
The words weren't spoken by the fat man, but by the person inside the carriage.
Wu Yidao, known as the richest man in the Sui Dynasty, decided to bring a suspected deserter into the capital city for a mere one thousand one hundred taels of silver. He lifted the curtain and said to the fat man in a serious tone, "One thousand one hundred taels of silver. This is a business I personally handled. It has nothing to do with you, well, absolutely nothing."
The fat man's face fell, and he asked aggrievedly, "Is there a cut?"
Wu Yi shook his head: "Not a single copper coin."
...
...
Fang Jie sat in a carriage, somewhat laboriously taking off his Sui Dynasty soldier's uniform, then lifted the curtain and asked the fat man riding beside him, "Do you have any clothes for me to change into?"
"Yes."
The fat man nodded and said, "Add five hundred taels of silver."
"Even something made of gold thread wouldn't cost five hundred taels, would it?"
Fang Jie cursed inwardly while haggling: "Fifty taels, that's the most. Even the most exquisitely made cotton garments from Yuexiangji, the most famous shop in Chang'an, would only cost that much."
He was indeed right. In fact, only Yuexiangji in Chang'an could sell a cotton garment for fifty taels of silver or even more outrageously. The capital of the Sui Dynasty was never short of powerful families or wealthy merchants. Those without official rank, no matter how rich, were forbidden from wearing fine clothes. Moreover, merchants held a low social status; anyone wearing fine clothes was considered to be challenging the authority of the Sui Dynasty's laws. The punishment ranged from caning to exile.
Merchants, however, had plenty of money and wanted to distinguish themselves from ordinary people. They didn't want to lose face when discussing business. Therefore, catering to the desires of these wealthy individuals, Yuexiangji launched a series of exquisitely crafted, stylish, and comfortable cloth garments. Most importantly, they looked as glamorous as fine clothes, but at exorbitant prices.
This was undeniably a successful marketing strategy. Since the launch of the fine cloth garment series, merchants flocked to it, considering wearing a Yuexiangji garment a symbol of taste. Making cloth garments look like fine clothes without breaking the law—the owner of Yuexiangji was truly a business genius.
"Can Yuexiangji's cloth garments save you?"
The fat man asked Fang Jie.
"No."
Fang Jie shook his head.
"That's settled then. The brocade robes at Yuexiangji that sell for fifty taels of silver are the most basic style, and they're even last year's overstock. See this very handsome and elegant moon-white robe I'm wearing? It cost me a full three hundred and sixty taels of silver. So I can only say you're ignorant, and I must say you don't value your life at all."
"One hundred taels."
"Four hundred and eighty taels."
"One hundred and fifty taels."
"Four hundred and fifty taels."
Fang Jie couldn't argue with this fat man any longer, and said ruthlessly, "Three hundred and sixty taels, based on the price of this robe."
"Fine."
The fat man nodded with a smile, then took off his moon-white robe and threw it to Fang Jie: "You get what you pay for, no cheating."
The sweaty smell on the robe almost instantly knocked Fang Jie over. Fang Jie firmly believed that even the stinky feet of a large dog couldn't have such power. Moreover, because the garment was made to fit the fat man's size, Fang Jie gritted his teeth and endured the stench filling his nostrils before finally realizing that the clothes looked like a barely knee-length dress on him—and a ridiculously oversized one at that.
The fat man took off his long robe, revealing only his white undergarments, counted the silver notes Fang Jie handed him, and chuckled, "Carrying so much silver, you don't seem like an ordinary person. But I value integrity in business. I'll take your money to ensure your safety and keep my clients' identities confidential. Don't worry, I won't ask about your identity."
After saying this, he suddenly realized something and quickly said to the carriage in front, "Master, this deal was done by myself, and the goods were bought with my own money. It has nothing to do with our 'Trade Across the World' business, right? These three..." "One hundred and sixty taels of silver, I'll take it..."
The deep male voice in the carriage scoffed disdainfully before asking, "When you bought this garment at Yuexiang Shop, did the shop assistant give you a discount because you're from my 'All-Trade Company'? How much was the discount? The money you saved is a benefit of my 'All-Trade Company' reputation. So... the discount is my investment in your transaction."
The fat man's expression became incredibly interesting. He reluctantly pulled out a one-hundred-tael note from his banknotes and stuffed it into the front carriage.
Fang Jie's eyes widened. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Doing business like this, it's hard not to get rich!"
"You're wrong."
The fat man stuffed the remaining banknotes into his clothes and earnestly told Fang Jie, "Doing business like this, only our boss in the whole world gets rich. Because if anyone else dares to try to outsmart him like this, they'll end up with nothing but their underwear."
The curtain of the front carriage opened a crack, and a piece of paper flew out.
"Well done, sir, a reward for your flattery."
The deep male voice said with a hint of smugness.
The fat man leaped off his horse, his body spun in mid-air like a swift circling a wall, clutching the hundred-tael silver note he had just handed over, before flying back onto the horse with incredible speed, completely defying human biomechanics and gravity.
Just then, a small head peeked out from the carriage behind, looking ahead with curiosity. It was a girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate and pretty features, a true beauty in the making. Although she hadn't fully blossomed yet, still carrying a bit of baby fat on her chin, there was no doubt that in two or three years she would be able to captivate countless men.
After glancing at him a few times, she pulled her head back, then said with a hint of excitement to the woman sitting in the carriage, eyes closed, "Miss, Miss, that fool who paid 1100 taels of silver for passage is actually a handsome young man, with delicate features!"
"Idiot."
The beautiful woman addressed as "Miss" frowned slightly. "Isn't a handsome fool a fool? Don't you think it's intolerable for someone to be handsome and foolish?"
"Miss... isn't that a bit much?"
The little maid's pretty eyes widened, and she said with some worry.
"It's such a waste not to take a handsome and foolish guy home for fun. Back in the capital, another boring life is coming. We need to find some entertainment, right?"
She smiled, pinching the air between her index finger and thumb, as if she were holding the leg of a butterfly, trying to keep it from flying away. But in her opinion, that guy she paid to take along the way would probably be more fun than a butterfly.