The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 290 Astonishing Prices

More than 20,000 military dependents of the vanguard battalion have moved into Hamiwei.

Hami City's commerce recovered at lightning speed.

Local merchants were stunned by the astonishing purchasing power when they opened their shops for the first time after the Han army recaptured Hami.

During the day, I'm so busy doing business that I don't have time to think.

After closing time, several familiar merchants from the Hu region quickly gathered to discuss this amazing phenomenon.

Hu Shangjia was the first to raise a question:
"It's understandable that the Han soldiers' families would buy dozens or even hundreds of catties of melons. Merchants have said that our Hami melons can sell for one or two taels of silver each when transported to the Han prefectures within the Great Wall! Now, one tael of silver can buy five hundred melons. Knowing the price is so cheap, these people will definitely eat their fill of melons. But what's so great about naan bread?"

Hu Shangyi was displeased upon hearing this, and almost jumped up in anger:
"Aimudula, don't be so greedy! What do you mean buying melons is a matter of course! No matter how delicious melons are, can they be eaten as a staple food? Our family's tandoor ovens have been passed down for three generations. It's an ancestral craft, made with high-quality ingredients, and the prices are cheap and good. Why don't they deserve to be snapped up?"

Hu Shangjia couldn't help but roll his eyes at the other person:

"Ankar, what do you think you are? Before the Han army came, your ancestral naan bread could be bought for one qian of silver for twenty pieces. How come the price has increased to one qian of silver for ten pieces now? The key point is that you are even selling your own people at this price!"

His words startled Hu Shangyi, who feared that the Han soldiers patrolling the streets might have overheard them.

But he quickly realized that the Han people couldn't understand their Uyghur language.

Finally, he even found a good excuse for himself:

“It’s not that I, Ankar, am raising prices. We haven’t left the city since the Han army recaptured Hami, and we don’t have much wheat left at home. I raised the price to encourage people to buy less so that my business could last longer. Who knew these Han army families would be so wealthy? They can’t just turn down money that’s been handed to them, can they?”

"Ah!"

The group simultaneously let out a disdainful sneer. This Ankar was the most cunning. They had heard that his granary contained so much wheat that it could feed half the city for a month!

There's no food left?
His words could only fool those Han Chinese who didn't know his background.

What puzzled them was that although naan bread did indeed originate in the Western Regions, the method of making it spread to the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty.

Oh, the Han people call this a flatbread.

The military dependents from the Northwest should also eat this often.

But what's the situation now?
On the main commercial street of the royal city, apart from Ankar's long-established flatbread shop, the other two shops, which are generally considered to have mediocre taste, also had long queues outside.

The families of Han soldiers seem to have a particular fondness for this staple food.

Hu Shangbing also disagreed:

"Han people seem to have a strong appetite. My family slaughtered ten sheep for our tandoor-roasted meat today, and it still wasn't enough to meet the demand! That old lady is holding a banquet at the General's Mansion tomorrow, and she has pre-ordered fifty sheep from our shop!"

The Hu merchants: "."

Turns out there's a big dog breeder here!

It was incredibly sour!
Each sheep can be sold for at least three taels of silver, so fifty sheep would be one hundred and fifty taels of silver!
They earn in one day what they do in a month.

Melon, naan bread, and mutton are all edible.

Is it really true that Han Chinese people value food and drink so much?
I love to try new things when I arrive in a new environment!
These foreign merchants had no idea.

Just past noon, the news spread throughout the entire military dependents' circle:
"Quick, take the silver and head to East Street! The shops on East Street are open! Those two-pound sesame seed cakes, covered in sesame seeds, can be bought for ten for one qian of silver! They're made of pure wheat flour and are much softer than the ones we bake!"

"What? A two-pound flatbread for only ten copper coins? You must be lying to me!"

“What good would it do to cheat you? Copper coins are useless here; only gold and silver are acceptable! Oh, and the silver notes issued by our three major money houses are also usable.”

"Heavens! The prices here are unbelievable! In Huaiqing Prefecture and the border town, where can you even buy any grain? This flatbread is good; given how dry it is here, it probably won't spoil even after a month. I'll buy two taels of silver worth of flatbread to take back and store; I don't want to go hungry again!" "Don't worry, we won't starve in Hamiwei! Fifty melons can be bought for one qian of silver! Mutton is also very cheap! A skewer of meat roasted in the tandoor oven, weighing two jin, only costs twenty copper coins! I just ate some; it's different from the way we roast meat in the Northwest!"

Everyone asked curiously, "How is it different?"

"Do you know what tandoor-roasted meat is? It uses the same kind of tandoor oven used for baking flatbread, which is made of wool and clay. It has a wide belly and a narrow mouth, like an upside-down wide-bellied wine jar."

A fire is lit at the bottom of the oven to heat it up, then flatbreads and other baked goods are stuck to the oven walls. The residual heat after baking the flatbreads is perfect for roasting meat.

The Hu people used eggs, turmeric, cumin powder, salt, and flour to make a batter, then coated the meat pieces with it before roasting.

It's probably because of that outer layer of batter that the lamb, after being braised and roasted, is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with plenty of juice—even children can eat it without breaking a sweat.

Everyone's mouths watered: "Let's buy! After we buy the flatbread, let's buy the tandoor-roasted meat!"

I can't bear to kill my own sheep.

With such a beautiful price, even a woman who is usually very frugal would be willing to buy a skewer of tandoor-roasted meat for each member of her family to try.

This is still from a family that is not well-off.

Miss Zhao Ran, who possesses a huge sum of two hundred taels of silver, today distributed her favor equally among every shop.

Food, daily necessities, clothing, and toys.

She went into every shop that was open for business and browsed around.

"Young master, this mutton baked bun is quite good!"

"Buy ten! The old lady will probably like them!"

"Hey, young master, every bone in this restaurant's roasted lamb chops is covered in fat, it smells so good and tastes delicious!"

"Grill two spare ribs for me to take away, Fatty will love them."

"Hehe, what's the name of this one, boss? Komuz!"

"Buy one for Yuanyuan. Learning musical instruments should start from a six-month-old baby."

"Wow! This stone is nice! You're saying this is a Hetian jade pebble?"

"Such a large piece of raw stone should be enough to make a pair of bracelets. I'll ask someone to help cut and polish them so I can take them back to my mother."

"."

Buy! Buy! Buy!
The master and servant strolled around for half a day.

Their bellies were bulging and hard, and their hands were full of weight.

And that only cost five taels of silver!
Zhao Ran's eyes lit up: "Wow, the Western Regions are really great! The money goes so fast!"

Mangya nodded repeatedly.

She has a much larger appetite than the average person; the Western Regions are a perfect fit for her.

The food they sell not only tastes great, but also comes in large portions that will keep you full!

With a monthly allowance of five taels of silver, she seems to be able to live quite well here.

I wonder how long Miss is going to stay here!

(End of this chapter)