The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 445 Forced Purchase
They despise them because Bali City is broken?

They even complained that Balicheng wasn't lively enough!
Who invited you here?

If it weren't for you in Kansai, cutting off the trade routes of the Silk Road...

Merchants from the Khanate and even more distant foreign lands would never cease their trade.

As a result, the livestock that the herders had worked so hard to raise were all sold directly.

Why are there so few shops in the city?

The products that are selling well now are agricultural products that meet basic living needs.

For example: grains, salt, dried meat, and dairy products.

Merchants selling silver ornaments, jewelry, carved woodenware, bone artifacts, and the like—things that aren't edible or suitable for clothing—have long since closed down.

It wasn't just the city dwellers who were struggling.

Their leader, Awule, had not worn silk clothes or drunk tea for several years.

Talk and talk.

It's all the Han people's fault!

As a result, that damned young nobleman even came to Bali City and stabbed him in the heart!

The leader smiled to the outside, but was cursing under his breath.

You want him to confront it head-on?

No, I wouldn't dare!
Of the several cities in the Ili River Valley, Bali City was the weakest.

The number of Hesa ​​people active in the vicinity is less than 50,000.

The town is small, and the population is small.

They have no choice but to attach themselves to the strong.

All the rulers of the Kashgar Khanate regarded the Ili River Valley as the granary of the Khanate.

Rumors circulated last year.

It is said that the king will cede the Ili River Valley to the Yongtai Dynasty in the Central Plains.

What is an old saying among the Han people?

There's no smoke without fire!
Even if the Khanate was weak, it still had the ability to destroy several cities in the Ili River Valley.

The Kansai army to the east was eyeing them covetously.

There are tigers in the west and wolves in the east.

The tribal chiefs of the Iri Valley were filled with unease.

Thinking of these rumors, the leader's confidant mustered all the muscles in his face, and it took him a long time to force a smile:
"Please excuse my poor performance, distinguished guests. Merchants in Bali City are indeed not very active right now. The city will only become lively after the farming season is over."

When you're out and about, your reputation is something you earn yourself.

"Pfft."

"Tsk tsk."

The guests clearly didn't give him any face, and they laughed strangely for a while.

The young master who was leading the group immediately shouted:
"What's the point of making it lively? Do the city dwellers only buy naan bread and milk curd when they go shopping? Look at what your shops are selling!"

I'm asking you, my friend!

Have you ever worn a thick cotton coat like the one I'm wearing? We have dozens of colors of this cotton fabric, thick, thin, and medium-thick, so there's a suitable fabric for clothing all year round.

Look at these snow boots I'm wearing. They're waterproof and slip-resistant; I get sweaty even wearing them barefoot.

If you're not particular about your clothes, then take a look at my purse. This is Shu embroidery! Look how majestic this eagle is! If you don't like Shu embroidery, that's okay too. There's also Yue embroidery and Suzhou embroidery.

We've been talking for so long, we're really thirsty! Friend, please take us to a teahouse for a cup of tea.

What? Such a large city doesn't even have a teahouse!

Oh, look at my memory!
Forgot that you can't even buy tea!

It's different in Kansai! Every garrison has three or five teahouses, with storytellers inside. Drinking tea, listening to stories, and snacking on dried fruit—life is wonderful.

Look at you, I just said a few words of truth, why are you still so angry? Here, have a piece of our Kansai specialty milk candy.”

The despicable young nobleman ignored the bitter face of the leader's confidant.

With lightning speed, he stuffed an almond milk candy into the other person's mouth.

The rich, sweet flavor of milk candy is irresistible.

The leader's confidant chewed and chewed.

After realizing what had happened, I wanted to slap myself.

Why couldn't he control his mouth?
I ate it. I want to eat more.

The other person grinned and grabbed another handful for him.

"Isn't it delicious? The milk curds made by the herders have enough milk flavor, but they're not sweet, and they don't have the nutty aroma of almonds. In Kansai, both adults and children love milk candy."

Awule's (chieftain's) confidant held a milk candy in his mouth, his lips tightly shut.

Isn't cotton cloth just white folded cloth?
Huozhou has produced this before!

The workmanship is rather rough, so they don't like wearing them.

Now even coarse white rags are no longer available, because Huozhou is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Khanate.

Snow boots!
They definitely look warmer than their riding boots; I really want them.

Embroidery is something that only housewives like.

In the past, such exquisite purses would have cost at least two taels of silver to sell in Bali City.

tea!

God has no idea how much they love tea!

When people in the tribe fall ill, the shaman often uses tea leaves to brew medicinal soup for the patients to drink.

They hadn't seen Chamozi for several years.

Milk candy is even more amazing!
He was certain that if there were vendors selling this candy in Bali Town, the shop thresholds would be worn down by children.

The items the other party carried were things that were not available in their Bali City.

It’s okay if you don’t know.

seen.

I've eaten it.

But I cannot possess it.

Who understands this helplessness?

The leader's confidant, full of complaints, led this group of annoying people and spent half a day giving them a cursory tour of Bali City.

"Honorable guests, our chieftain Awule has instructed me to invite you to the most delicious roasted whole lamb in Bali City."

"Good! Good! Good! My friend, you know how to treat guests. We love lamb the most!"

The leader's confidant, who knew how to treat guests well, treated the group to a whole roasted lamb at noon.

We also had a pot of the local specialty mare's milk wine.

This mare's milk wine, with its unique milky aroma and fermented bubbly texture, was sour it almost made several winemakers vomit.

Qu Daxian: Even swill is better than this stuff! It almost ruined his reputation in his later years.

Lu Ye and the others naturally knew the special features of mare's milk wine, and they burst into laughter when they saw that it was the first time they had ever drunk it.

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, he expressed his satisfaction with the banquet hosted by the leader of Balicheng.

"We must visit Balicheng more often in the future, just for the sake of this authentic roasted whole lamb and mare's milk wine."

The leader's confidant couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

No matter how dilapidated Balicheng was, it was still an important trading city on the Silk Road.

There's a reason why a restaurant can stay open for decades.

Before the smile had faded, the other person said again:

"The reason you can raise such delicious, fat sheep is thanks to your excellent pastures in the Iri River Valley. My friend, could you do me a small favor?"

After a few breaths.

A gasp of surprise came from a private room in this long-established restaurant.

"What? You want to buy a ranch nearby? No, no, the ranches in the Iri Valley are all owned and belong to the tribe. We have no right to buy or sell them."

Clang.

Something fell to the ground.

Then, the other party's voice became even louder.

"Don't push your luck! You're not involved in ranch trading! Everyone knows that whoever has the power here calls the shots. You won't let me buy when we're trying to talk things out? How about we fight first?"

fight?

If we beat up these young masters from Guanzhong, a bunch of government officials will come running in a few days.

I'm not stupid!

(End of this chapter)