Chapter 48 The vendor's attempt to sell dried meat was exposed.

Chapter 48 The vendor's attempt to sell dried meat was exposed.

For the next two days, the Jiang and Cheng families traveled closely together. Even when they went to the river to fetch water or to relieve themselves in the woods, they would always call two or three companions to go with them, never leaving anyone behind.

The people hiding in the shadows seemed to have vanished without a trace, neither finding an opportunity to strike nor revealing any further signs. But the more this happened, the more vigilant they became.

The other party is most likely observing from the shadows, brewing a bigger scheme.

Cheng Lanzhou continued to secretly observe Jiang Yutang from the side, watching to see if she would take advantage of the situation to meet with some mysterious person.

However, over the course of two days, Jiang Yutang did nothing but travel, organize supplies, and help his family with chores, without exhibiting any unusual behavior.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that the outline of the prefecture and county finally appeared in the distance, with the bluish-gray city walls faintly visible in the sunlight.

Jiang Yutang suppressed his excitement, his eyes fixed on the front, secretly hoping that the yamen runners would enter the county town as soon as possible.

The four constables acted somewhat unusually upon entering the county town.

They huddled together, whispering something, a sly smile occasionally appearing on their faces, their eyes constantly glancing towards the distance. Even after handing over everything, they showed no intention of leaving immediately.

A moment later, a fat constable turned around, deliberately adopting a stern expression, and loudly addressed the refugees: "Today we need to meet with our superiors here to discuss official business and hand over matters, so we'll be spending the night here! You all stay put and don't wander off. Anyone who dares to leave without permission will have their legs broken!"

Upon hearing this, the refugees all showed joy on their faces.

For them, being able to spend the night in a prefecture or county is already a great blessing.

After all, the city is much better than the wilderness. At least you don't have to worry about wild animals attacking you at night, and you can find a sheltered place to rest in the corner of the inn or under the eaves.

Those refugees with travel expenses could secretly buy a bowl of noodles, which was much better than those suffocating flatbreads.

After the four constables finished giving their instructions, two of them stayed behind to look after the refugees, while the other two swaggered away.

Before long, the two constables who remained couldn't stand it any longer. Seeing that the refugees were all behaving themselves, they locked the door and went into the inn, leaving behind only the words "Behave yourselves" before disappearing without a trace.

Jiang Yutang's eyes lit up; she knew her chance had come.

She quickly lifted the burlap tarpaulin off the cart, temporarily moved the rest of the items to the ground, shook all the beef jerky onto the cart, and pushed it towards the most crowded area.

Upon seeing this, Madam Yun immediately became anxious: "What is Tang'er going to do?"

Jiang Songzhi immediately got up and chased after her, grabbing her sleeve and reminding her, "Little sister, this place is crowded and chaotic, don't run around aimlessly."

"I have something to do." Jiang Yutang lifted her chin and pointed to the beef on the cart, her dimples revealing a thoughtful smile.

"I need to sell beef jerky to earn more travel money so that I can handle any unexpected events that might happen later."

Upon hearing her words, Jiang Songzhi's brows furrowed slightly, as if he were calculating how much money they still had. After a moment, his brows slowly smoothed out, and he nodded.

"Yes, I'll go with you. It's not safe for you to go alone."

Hearing their conversation, Jiang Huaiyu's eyes lit up, and she immediately perked up, running forward excitedly: "I'll go with you too!"

"Huaiyu, you stay here to protect your parents."

"Don't worry." Jiang Huaiyu looked at Cheng Lanzhou, waved in their direction and shouted, "Brother Lanzhou, I'm leaving this to you."

So the three of them pushed the cart into the crowd.

After the three walked away, Cheng Lanzhou looked at Cheng Daier. The two siblings didn't need to say much; a single glance was enough for them to understand each other's intentions.

He quietly got up, hid in the crowd, quickly caught up with the three, and followed behind, watching them.

Jiang Yutang cleared his throat and called out, "Selling beef jerky! It's filling and delicious, or you don't have to pay if you don't like it! Anyone passing by, want to come and take a look!"

Her voice was clear and bright, and when she added, "If it's not delicious, you don't have to pay," she quickly attracted several passing merchants and ordinary people.

While enthusiastically introducing the place, she secretly kept an eye on the direction of the inn, hoping that the yamen runners wouldn't cause any trouble.

She deliberately opened a package of beef jerky, tore the firm chunks of meat into small pieces by hand, and handed them to the people who gathered around: "Everyone, try some first. You'll know if it's good or not once you try it!"

Several merchants took a piece of the jerky, put it in their mouths, chewed it a couple of times, and their eyes lit up instantly: "This jerky is really different. It's fragrant and chewy, much tastier than ordinary beef jerky!"

"That's natural."

Jiang Yutang smiled, picked up a packet of beef jerky, and weighed it in her hand: "Two taels of silver a serving, not expensive."

"Two taels? This is robbery!" One of them immediately widened his eyes. One tael of silver could buy three large bags of ordinary beef jerky, so this price was indeed beyond his expectations.

Jiang Yutang remained calm and composed, her tone confident: "Don't rush to complain about the price. This isn't ordinary beef; it's high-altitude yak beef. The meat is naturally firmer and more flavorful than ordinary beef. Moreover, the marinade and Sichuan peppercorns used are unique to that region and can't be bought anywhere else. What you're eating is a rare flavor, so how can you charge the price of ordinary beef jerky?"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd pointed at the chains on their feet and asked suspiciously, "Aren't you exiled refugees? Where did you get such rare goods to sell? Could you have stolen them?"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of those around them instantly became wary.

Jiang Huaiyu instinctively wanted to stand in front of Jiang Yutang, but Jiang Songzhi stopped him, gesturing for him to continue reading.

Jiang Yutang suddenly revealed an unfathomable expression, put her finger to her lips to make a "shut up" gesture, then leaned down and deliberately lowered her voice.

"To be honest, our journey here was not easy, and our identity as refugees was a deliberate disguise. If we had revealed our true identities, these beef jerky would have been confiscated by corrupt officials along the way, and we wouldn't be able to sell them here."

The villagers were completely bewildered by her words. Remembering the delicious food they had just tasted, they hesitated for a moment before someone finally took out some money: "Okay, I'll buy one so my children can try it!"

Once the first person bought it, others followed suit.

This sudden transformation left his two older brothers speechless, who repeatedly made "tsk tsk tsk" sounds of admiration.

Although not many people could afford it, there were many onlookers but few who actually placed orders, but it still brought in a considerable amount of spare change.

During this time, a shifty-eyed man, seeing that no one was paying attention, secretly reached out to steal a handful of loose jerky. As soon as he touched the fabric, he met Jiang Yuhuai's cold gaze, which frightened him so much that he withdrew his hand and dared not have any more crooked ideas.

As darkness fell and fewer people lined the streets, Jiang Yutang put away the silver and decided to go home with her two older brothers.

But as soon as they turned around, they saw a merchant dressed in silk clothes and holding a folding fan walking towards them.

The merchant walked up to the stall, glanced at the chains on their feet, then looked at the remaining beef jerky, and suddenly spoke, his tone somewhat playful.

“You are genuine refugees, yet you dare to hoard goods and sell them. You have quite the nerve.”