The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 70 Giving Gifts
The soldiers of Nanhe Prefecture perfectly exemplified the principle of treating everyone equally.

The pedestrians ahead were checked, and no leniency was shown to the Huang family leader and others.

I looked at the identity documents one by one.

Even their carriages were thoroughly searched.

The centurion on duty pointed to the set of pig-slaughtering knives that had just been unearthed.

His tone was very unfriendly: "Why are you carrying so many knives?"

The leader surnamed Huang explained politely:
"Sir, we often camp out in the wilderness and have encountered wild boars several times. This set of pig-slaughtering knives was bought to kill wild boars!"

The centurion showed him no mercy, and roared:

"I don't care if you're killing wild boar or domestic pig. You're not registered butchers, so these are all contraband! Knives confiscated. Knowing the law and breaking it is an even more serious offense, and you'll be fined fifty taels of silver!"

The leader, surnamed Mao, looked as if he had swallowed a mouthful of bitter herbs: "Fifty taels! That's way too much!"

Centurion: "What do you mean 'more'? I'm already being lenient by not confiscating your knives!"

WTF!

Are ordinary people no longer allowed to carry kitchen knives when they go out?
It was as if they could see through the crickets in each other's hearts.

A soldier explained to the two men:
"The refugees in Lushan County have gone out of control. They have killed several landlords, seized the mansions in the county town, and are clamoring to divide up the landlords' fertile land."

The folk song has spread to several nearby counties, and the number of displaced people is about to exceed ten thousand.

The Provincial Governor just gave our garrison a strict order last night: these troublemakers must not be allowed to leave Ruzhou Prefecture and cause trouble.

Anything related to knives is now prohibited, so don't complain, brothers!

The two leaders exchanged a glance and said repeatedly, "No, no, the soldiers are just following the rules."

The officials completed the security check process in just 15 minutes.

Next, it was the exiled prisoners' turn.

Inside the wooden shed.

The centurion sat in a chair, with a soldier standing on either side of him.

One of the soldiers shouted:
"What's your name, prisoner? How old are you? What crime did you commit?"

"Replying to the general's words..."

"Oh, so you're the eldest son of a century-old family's direct line! Young master, would you mind giving us some spare change?"

"."

"What, do you look down on us military households?"

"."

Not long after.

Those who were closer to the shed heard several loud slapping sounds coming from inside.

Then someone angrily shouted, "Hmph! What kind of young master from a prestigious family? I think you're not even as good as a beggar. Get out of here!"

After that, Zuo Wenxuan covered his face and left the shed.

His hair was disheveled, his face was flushed, and he kept his head down without saying a word.

The crowd took several steps back, all turning their hopeful gazes to Zuo Wenkang.

Zuo Wenkang has now become the leader among this group of cousins ​​and nephews.

Being a leader isn't so easy!

He took a deep breath and steadily walked into the wooden shed, which was less than ten square meters in size.

A simple table and chairs were placed in the center of the wooden shed. The centurion, who had just failed to make any money, glanced at Zuo Wenkang impatiently.

Before his subordinates could speak, he personally asked them:

"You, which branch of the Zuo family are you from?" "Sir, my family is a collateral branch, five degrees of kinship!"

"Hmph, I've heard that the collateral branches of the prominent families in Daming Prefecture are all quite wealthy!"

"It also depends on the person. If they help the main branch manage shops or estates, they can receive corresponding monthly interest. If they are not good at managing things, their lives will be only slightly better than ordinary people."

"Oh, so you're being modest! What's your family situation like? If you dare to lie about even a single thing, I'll make you regret it!"

"No, no! My father passed away when I was seven years old. My widowed mother supported the family with half a string of copper coins a month from washing clothes. Fortunately, the Zuo family's ancestral school exempted us from tuition fees, which allowed me to barely pass the imperial examination and become a Xiucai!"

"."

In the state of Bei, the imperial examinations were extremely difficult to pass, and even the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) was highly prestigious.

A centurion who can barely read or write has a certain bias against educated people.

A promising scholar has had his path to advancement blocked; how pitiful!
The thought of a complete crop failure this autumn makes their lives even more difficult.

The centurion despised his overflowing compassion.

He gave his subordinate a meaningful look.

The soldier to his right said:
"It's been terribly hot these past few days. We've been keeping watch here for twelve hours a day, and several of us are getting heatstroke every day! Would you like to treat us to a bowl of tea, sir?"

Zuo Wenkang almost laughed out of anger. How could the soldiers of Bei State be so blatant in demanding money?
But he said:

"If we had passed through your territory before our exile, we would have been obliged to pay our respects without you even asking! But all our family wealth was confiscated before our exile, so we are truly powerless to do so."

However, the scholars in our clan are all very skillful, and they are especially good at weaving straw sandals! If you gentlemen don't mind, we can offer you all the ones we wove a few days ago.”

What's so special about straw sandals?

The centurion was somewhat annoyed.

After seeing the shoes that Zuo Wenkang took out of his sleeve, he stared at them for a long time and stammered, "Well, this is the first time I've ever seen such exquisite straw sandals."

Zuo Wenkang, with keen insight, handed the straw sandals to his subordinate and proudly introduced them:
"This weaving technique comes from a lost ancient book! This style would definitely sell for half a tael of silver in Daming Prefecture."

If you were to embroider some elegant and interesting patterns on the shoes with colorful threads, a pair could sell for several taels of silver.

"Is this pair worth half a tael of silver?"

The centurion, his eyes shining, held the pair of straw sandals, examining them over and over again.

Zuo Wenkang continued his self-promotion:
"Many literati in Daming Prefecture like to wear cloth clothes and straw sandals in the summer, and even call such a combination elegant! The literary style in Nanhe Prefecture is even more so, and these straw sandals can easily sell for one or two taels of silver! We still have more than seventy pairs of this kind of craftsmanship."

The implication was that it could be exchanged for seventy-odd taels of silver.

Is this enough to treat you to tea?

The centurion was overjoyed: "Weren't you going to give us straw sandals? Bring the rest in and let us see!"

Since things had been said to this extent, Zuo Wenkang naturally complied.

He turned and left the wooden shed, found his cousins, and asked them to hand over the newly woven straw sandals to him.

"Everyone, please don't say too much! This is a good thing! The soldiers have worked hard guarding the pass. We have nothing of value to offer them tea, so we can only present them with hand-woven straw sandals as a small token of our appreciation!"

Cousins: "."

More than seventy pairs of straw sandals were quickly laid out on the table for the centurion and soldiers to inspect.

"Not bad, really good!"

"This is so cleverly written."

"Hahaha, I can wear these! I can wear them!"

Although the cousins' straw sandal weaving skills varied, the difference in craftsmanship was immediately apparent when compared to the sandals worn by the soldiers.

Zuo Wenkang thought to himself, "This gift should be exactly what you're looking for, right?"
"You just wait!" The centurion had barely finished speaking when he dashed out of the shed like a gust of wind.

Zuo Wenkang: There's always a somewhat unpleasant feeling.
(End of this chapter)