Chapter 1222: Friend or Foe (2)

The assistant innkeeper responded happily and ran out to get his cousin.

The men squatting around the inn all specialized in guiding people and providing interpreting services. They were all villagers or people from the town nearby. This was once the territory occupied by Great Jin, so they all knew some Jin language. Because they lived near to the grassland and often traded with those tribes, they also knew their language. Thus, they had no difficulty communicating with those people.

This provided them with a source of income during the off-peak farming season. If done well, the money earned from this wasn’t inferior to farming.

As soon as they saw the smiling assistant innkeeper run out of the inn, a man shouted, “Wen San, your cousin is looking for you. He must have found a job for you!”

Everyone looked at Wen San, who was squatting on the ground, envious of the fact that he had a cousin who worked as an assistant innkeeper.

When Wen San heard someone calling for him, he immediately stood up and limped over.

The assistant innkeeper pulled Wen San over and instructed him in a low voice, “Cousin, although this client is a bit of a scrooge, his aura is different. If you do your best, he might turn into a long-time client. Considering they’re sent out here to gain experience in the world, I reckon their family didn’t give them much money.”

Wen San nodded repeatedly and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely serve them well!”

When Little Treasure and Little Bear saw that the two of them had arrived, they retracted their gazes and stopped looking at the men squatting under the eaves or standing under the wall.

Little Treasure and Little Bear didn’t seem to notice that Wen San’s leg was crippled. They smiled and nodded. “Let’s go.”

The assistant innkeeper was originally a little apprehensive, but seeing this, he calmed down and nodded with a smile. “Thank you, young masters. Although my cousin is crippled, his walking speed is not at all slower than others. Young masters, if there’s anything you need, just order him and he’ll get it done for you.”

As if to prove that his legs did not hinder his ability to work, Wen San quickly took two steps forward and said with a smile, “Young masters, just tell me if you need anything. I’m quite familiar with this place.”

Little Treasure nodded and said as he walked out, “We just want to purchase some local specialties like fur and medicinal herbs.”

Wen San heaved a sigh of relief. Such items were quite common in the market and were not difficult to find.

The market was just two to three hundred steps east of the city gate, and this inn was close to the city gate, so the group walked at a leisurely pace.

Although they had been here for two days, the two of them did not know enough about this strategic town. As they looked around curiously, they asked Wen San, “Are there many people working as interpreters like you?”

“There’s more at the moment since it’s off-peak farming season.” Wen San explained, “During peak farming season, only specialized brokers or people who don’t work in the fields will come.”

Little Treasure nodded and asked, “Can all of them find jobs?”

Wen San shook his head and sighed. “It’s not so bad during peak farming season due to fewer competitors, and we might have one client a day. At this time, there are many people vying for the jobs, so we might not even get a job every three to five days.”

Little Bear: “Then you’ll just squat there and wait? Won’t it be a waste of time if you don’t get a job?”

“There’s nothing to do at home anyway. By waiting around, we might be able to get a job here, which gives us an income.” Wen San limped in front of the two of them and turned around with a smile. “We’re still alright. Those who can’t even do this job can only do manual labor at the loading docks. However, because the merchants typically bring their own assistants and escorts here, there are even less hiring opportunities for those jobs. One could wait for ten days to half a month and not get hired once. Not only is the work tiring, but the salary is also low.”

At the end of the day, it was still because there were too few side jobs.

As this was a strategic town at the border, there were many merchants coming from the south to the north. Therefore, everyone could at least do some odd jobs. As for other places which didn’t even have such opportunities, wouldn’t the people’s lives be even more difficult?

If only more people could have this opportunity!

Little Treasure pondered as he walked out of the city gate. When he saw the market not far away, Little Treasure couldn’t help but be stunned. Even Little Bear stopped in his tracks.

This was the first time the two children had visited the market at the border. When they saw that it was really crowded with people from all races, they could not help but be stunned. Before they got close, they could already hear the commotion coming from inside. There were truly all kinds of languages spoken, and the people there relied on shouting in order to be heard.

After listening carefully and realizing that they did not hear the familiar Jin language at all, the duo could not help but rejoice. Fortunately, they had brought Wen San along.

Wen San led everyone into the market with familiarity. He pointed at the goods at the stalls and introduced, “This is only part of it. There are certain goods that the sellers won’t put on display and will only take them out when they encounter a big buyer and confirm the price.”

Little Treasure and Little Bear nodded and carefully observed the Yuan people in the market. They asked, “Is there anyone from the Great Yuan Imperial Court here?”

Wen San stopped in his tracks and said warily, “Young Master, why are you asking this? This is the market of Great Qi. There are no Yuan Ting people here. Most of the people who will come to this market are shepherds or representatives of the tribes.”

Thinking that this was his client after all and had a good attitude towards him, Wen San couldn’t help but remind him, “Great Qi has just fought a war with Great Yuan, and the relationship between the two sides isn’t very good. Young Master, it’s better for you not to ask about the Great Yuan Imperial Court.”

Was he worried that they would collude with the Great Yuan Imperial Court?

Little Treasure and Little Bear looked at each other and smiled. “We’re just asking out of curiosity. After all, this is a strategic town of the Imperial Court. With so many merchants coming to the grassland, Great Yuan should have sent its people over. After all, the market should be managed by both sides.”

Slightly relieved, Wen San explained, “Since Great Qi and Great Yuan have just finished fighting, the two sides don’t interact much. This market only came into existence because our magistrate requested this of the Imperial Court. Thus, it’s only considered a private transaction and not official. Therefore, the Great Yuan Imperial Court doesn’t have a presence here.”

Little Treasure and Little Bear nodded and lowered their heads to check out the goods at the stalls.

They only brought three carts with them, leaving one for them to sit in or carry their things. The rest could be used to carry the goods.

Due to the limited space, the two of them decided to solely purchase medicinal herbs and fur. Reason being, these two items were easy to sell in the Central Plains, and were also easy to transport.

The two of them squatted down to ask for the price. After walking around, they had an idea of the prices. Little Treasure whispered to Little Bear, “Wen San said that the price of these items is nearly 20% higher than last year. It seems that the people of Great Yuan are having a hard time.”

“It’s a pity that we don’t know their language. Otherwise, we could ask them about the situation in the grassland personally.” Little Bear glanced at the people in the market. The interpreters here were similar to Wen San, and they all relied on shouting 30% of the time while gesturing 70% of the time. With their limited language skills, it was sufficient to discuss the price, but it was impossible to ask about the other party’s situation.

They did not come here just to do business. More importantly, they wanted to understand more about the situation in Great Yuan.

Little Treasure pulled Little Bear and walked around the market again. Then, he instructed Wen San and the two guards, “Since we don’t have much time, the three of you go over there to check out the goods. We’ll go this way.”

Wen San was surprised. “Don’t you need me to be your interpreter?”

Smiling, Little Treasure said, “No need. We’ll just walk around on our own. You can just bring the two of them around.”

As such a situation was not uncommon, Wen San thought for a moment and simply left with the two guards. In any case, he only had to obey the customer’s instructions.

Little Treasure pulled Little Bear and the remaining guards to the largest stall in the market.