Qiu Dao said helplessly, “Lord Wen’s meaning is that I should go to the island with you. What do you think?”
Suo Qian was stunned. “What does he mean by that?”
Qiu Dao sighed. “Nothing much. He said he’d assign dozens of guards to protect my safety when the time came.”
The meaning was blunt enough that everyone understood what he was really saying.
Xie Nanxiao sighed and put it even more directly. “Lord Qiu, are you really not considering coming to Fengzhou?”
Suo Qian stroked his beard. “Indeed. Fengzhou is desperately short of physicians right now. If you come to Fengzhou, you’ll have plenty of room to make your mark.”
Qiu Dao: “…”
Zhou Leng found him much more agreeable now as well. “Some people are like mud mixed with egg yolk. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never prop them up into a wall. Why bother?”
He did not name anyone, but everyone knew exactly who he meant by “mud mixed with egg yolk.”
Qiu Dao: “…”
Although… where did Zhou Leng come up with so many strange expressions?
“I know I’m very talented, but with all of you poaching me so openly, I suddenly don’t know how to respond.”
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. “That’s not right.”
Qiu Dao was puzzled. “What’s not right?”
Suo Qian laughed. “It’s not because you’re talented. It’s because your father is talented.”
Xie Nanxiao added, “Your son isn’t bad either.”
Qiu Dao: “…”
So, apparently, he was the only useless one in the family.
Suo Qian paid no attention to his sorrow and began assigning tasks directly. “There are too many refugees, and we can barely keep up. You should go to Xiaoyuan Island.”
Xie Nanxiao nodded. “That works. Leave the guards Lord Wen sent to me. They absolutely won’t interfere with your work.”
Zhou Leng added, “As for your money and property in Jiu’an, sort them out as soon as possible. When the opportunity arises, we’ll help transport them to Fengzhou. We can’t let mud mixed with egg yolk benefit from them.”
Qiu Dao: “…”
As for the Qiu family’s shops, farmland, and other fixed assets, he had already begun selling them off little by little not long after his father left for Fengzhou. By now, there was actually not much left.
Leaving now really was an opportunity. All he had to do was notify the loyal servants at home to gather up the money and valuables and quietly leave.
Xie Nanxiao said with a smile, “That’s right, don’t let anyone else benefit from them. Once you’ve sorted everything out, I’ll send people to collect it. Our small and medium-sized ships can dock anywhere in Jiu’an.”
As he spoke, he familiarly patted Qiu Dao on the shoulder. “Who would have thought we’d already be working together? What a wonderful twist of fate.”
Suo Qian also looked at him with the benevolent expression of an elder looking at a younger relative. “Work hard. You’ll certainly have a place in Fengzhou.”
Qiu Dao: “…”
You’re only a few years older than me. What is that look supposed to mean?
He left the tent in a daze, his entire mind somewhat numb.
Wen Zixin hurried over to ask, “How did it go?”
Qiu Dao said, “…It’s fine.”
Wen Zixin let out a huge sigh of relief. “That’s good. I’ll arrange your guards right away.”
Then he remembered something and ground his teeth. “The prescription?”
Qiu Dao shook his head. “You’d better negotiate with them yourself. It won’t cost much anyway.”
Wen Zixin had no choice but to go find Xie Nanxiao to discuss the prescription.
Xie Nanxiao raised an eyebrow. He had not expected Qiu Dao to be so understanding and keep the prescription to himself.
He knew very well that Suo Qian had never deliberately avoided Qiu Dao when using the medicine. Besides, given Qiu Dao’s medical skills, he had surely figured everything out after watching them for so many days.
Xie Nanxiao was straightforward. “Three thousand horses.”
Wen Zixin was startled. “The bandits we dealt with earlier only had a little over three hundred horses. Why are you asking me for three thousand?”
Xie Nanxiao looked at him as though he had failed to understand something obvious. “They also had grain and medicinal supplies. Besides, what sort of relationship do Sizhou and Fengzhou have?”
“It’s the sort of familial bond where even broken bones remain connected by sinew. We certainly won’t let you suffer a loss, so we’ll give you three prescriptions: two for treating different epidemics, and one for prevention.”
“How about it? Aren’t we being generous?” He looked as though Wen Zixin had just received an enormous bargain.
Wen Zixin: “…”
Although it sounded as if there was nothing wrong with it, he somehow felt that something was off.
Xie Nanxiao continued, “I’m only willing to give you the prescriptions because of our cooperation in this disaster relief effort. These are prescriptions for treating epidemics!”
“From now on, you’ll never have to fear epidemics again. This will benefit generations to come. All it costs is three thousand horses. It’s truly an incredible bargain. I almost feel as though I’m losing out. How about five thousand instead?”
He did not care what Wen Zixin thought. At present, he only wanted to obtain as many horses as possible for the islands.
Once the two islands were fully developed, they would cover a considerable area, and horses would be the primary means of transportation. Naturally, the more, the better.
As long as he could fleece enough horses from Sizhou, there would be no need to transport them from Fengzhou.
Wen Zixin was completely dumbfounded. Why did the price keep going up the more they bargained?
He coughed. “At most, one thousand.”
Xie Nanxiao shook his head. “At least four thousand. I’m really not asking too much. You can sell the prescriptions to the great clans of Sizhou. They’re rich; exchanging four thousand horses for them would be nothing.”
“These are exclusive prescriptions. You’ll be able to name your price when you sell them later. Isn’t that right?”
Wen Zixin’s heart stirred, though his expression remained unchanged. “…I’m not an idiot. Fine, I won’t argue with you. Three thousand horses.”
Xie Nanxiao sighed. “All right, then. For the sake of our shared Han heritage. But you’ll have to provide five thousand horses. I want to choose them myself.”
Wen Zixin: “…”
Was this to prevent him from giving them old, weak, or sick horses?
He snorted. “Do you think I’m that kind of person?”
“You are,” Xie Nanxiao replied with complete seriousness.
Wen Zixin: “…”
The very next day, Wen Zixin sent five thousand horses over, and Xie Nanxiao took his people to select them.
Even Qi Pingwei joined in the fun, offering suggestions from time to time. “This horse is good—strong and well-built. This one is good too, and that one…”
Xie Nanxiao finally could not take it anymore. “Shut up. I can choose for myself.”
Qi Pingwei: “…”
The horses were quickly selected, and Suo Qian handed over the prescriptions just as readily.
Only then did Wen Zixin feel a little better. Holding the prescriptions as though they were priceless treasures, he finally felt that he had accomplished something worthwhile. From now on, Sizhou would no longer have to fear epidemics.
Before long, he instructed his subordinates to contact all the great clans of Shankang Commandery and Tao Commandery, informing them that they could exchange money and grain for the prescriptions.
Xie Nanxiao had been right. With the prescriptions in hand, they could indeed exchange them with the great clans for money and supplies.
Wen Zixin knew better than anyone how wealthy the great clans were. They could easily recoup the cost of the three thousand horses.
However, reports soon came in one after another: the Jinyang Army had beaten him to it and already exchanged the prescriptions with the various great clans.
The most outrageous part was that one of the clans had obtained the prescription for only five hundred horses—an entire two thousand five hundred fewer than he had paid!
Wen Zixin was so furious that he nearly vomited blood. “The Jinyang Army has gone too far!”
“The Jinyang Army has gone too far!”
Zhang Balang swept everything off the desk.
Although he knew full well that the Jinyang Army had seized his Zhang family’s possessions, he had still been shamefully tempted when the Jinyang Army shamelessly proposed exchanging goods for a prescription.
This was a prescription for treating epidemics!
After the Jinyang Army repeatedly guaranteed that it was an “exclusive” prescription, he eventually negotiated the price down to five hundred horses and completed the transaction as quickly as possible.
Those horses had been taken from the Zhang family’s own horse ranch. Every one of them was a fine horse. He had had no choice—the Jinyang Army would not accept anything less.
Now, remembering that His Majesty’s men had just brought the prescription to him in exchange, Zhang Balang felt his vision go black.
He had thought he’d gotten an incredible bargain. With this exclusive prescription, the Zhang family could easily trade with His Majesty and the other great clans for a vast amount of supplies.
But the “exclusive” deal they’d agreed on—
Only now did he realize that, damn it, everyone had an “exclusive” deal.
