Chapter 28: I’ve Decided to Follow You!

While Lu Chuan was busy working,
there was a sound of footsteps approaching from not far away, but the steps sounded somewhat unsteady.

Lu Chuan looked up.
He saw that Sun Laizi had somehow arrived.
One of his hands was wrapped up tightly, looking somewhat comical.

The moment Lu Chuan saw Sun Laizi, his brows furrowed deeply.
He hadn’t expected that this Sun Laizi would dare to come here.

“Brother Chuan!”
As soon as he saw Lu Chuan, Sun Laizi awkwardly called out.
Then, very seriously, he knelt down on the ground, his gaze heavy.

“Brother Chuan, from now on, let me follow you!”
“From today, whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do it!”
“Whoever you want me to beat, I’ll beat them!”

Yesterday, Sun Mian had been full of hatred for Lu Chuan, and after getting injured, he even planned to settle the score with Lu Chuan.
However,
the people from Zhao Family Village arrived before he could do anything.

After hearing about the matter between Lu Chuan and Zhao Family Village,
Sun Mian was really shocked. No matter what, he was just an ordinary person, not at all a match for Zhao Dabao and his group.

He was just a reckless person, even if he had a little bit of skill,
but in the eyes of these hunters, he was nothing!

And Lu Chuan had actually intimidated Zhao Dabao and his group.
Did that mean that Lu Chuan’s skills were actually greater than theirs?

After realizing this, Sun Mian no longer felt any hatred towards Lu Chuan. He also began to think about how to gain some benefits from Lu Chuan.

He soon figured it out.

Since he was just a reckless person, living day by day,
he might as well follow Lu Chuan and become a runner!

Lu Chuan was a hunter, and it seemed he had some good skills.
If he could just get a little of what Lu Chuan had, it would be enough for Sun Laizi to live well.

With this thought, he came today.

Lu Chuan looked at Sun Laizi strangely, then smiled speechlessly. “You want to follow me?”
“Mm!”
Sun Laizi nodded very seriously.

“Before, I didn’t know better and dared to provoke you! Now, I realize my mistake and want to correct it!”
“As long as you give me a chance!”
“I promise, I will be your most loyal follower from now on!”

Lu Chuan patted the ground. “Come sit down. I need to ask you something.”
“Sure!”
Sun Laizi quickly nodded and then carefully sat beside Lu Chuan.

“I need some coal. Can you get it?”
Lu Chuan’s voice was soft.

“How much?”
Sun Laizi’s eyes lit up, and he instinctively asked.

“The more, the better!”
Lu Chuan nodded.

Actually, nowadays, coal could be found for sale.
It was also called “stone charcoal.”
However, even if it existed, it wasn’t easy to buy.

In a coal mine, twenty percent of all the mined coal had to be given to the government, and forty percent was directly purchased by the government at a low price!
That left forty percent!

This forty percent was supposed to be freely sold in the market,
but it didn’t work that way!
Most of it ended up in the hands of nobles, and very little ever made it to the common people.

Even so, many people might not even know that coal exists.

The authorities have almost complete control over this resource!

“I know, in Hongtu County, there’s a black market. In the black market, there are some scattered pieces of coal for sale. But the prices are very high! Ordinary peasants and common folk can’t afford it!”

“Black market?”

Lu Chuan froze for a moment.

“Mm!”
Sun Laizi quickly nodded, looked around, then continued, “This is something that most people don’t know. The black market in Hongtu County has only been around for a short time!”

“Rumor has it, the county magistrate is backing it!”

Upon hearing this,
Lu Chuan’s brows furrowed deeply.

“How much does it cost roughly?”

“About 500 coins for a pound. Ordinary families can’t afford it. Honestly, it’s better to just gather firewood from the mountains to keep warm!”
Sun Laizi tried to advise.

“Brother Chuan, are you looking for charcoal? If it’s charcoal, I can help.”

“Do you know where the black market is? How to get in?”
Lu Chuan decided that he wanted to check it out.

At this price, he definitely wouldn’t buy it.
What a joke? He wasn’t a fool!
But if this business was related to Zhou Zheng in some way, then he’d be interested.

“I know!”
Sun Laizi nodded. “Hehe, to be honest, when the black market first opened, I went there once. My god, the things you can buy there are just too many!”

He lowered his voice, “I heard they even have weapons and armor. As long as you can afford the price, I’ve heard that many of them are brand new, directly issued from the imperial court!”

“They didn’t even go to the military camp, just straight to the black market!”

At this,
Lu Chuan’s lips twitched sharply.
Damn, these parasites are crazy.

He could understand other things, but weapons and armor? They could even be bought in the black market?

However, he did need some weapons.

The people from Zhao Family Village had sent over some sickles and the like, but these civilian-made iron tools were not very useful. They could only be used for farming!
When it came to real combat, if others had a sword and you had an iron tool,
in a direct confrontation, your iron tool would either dull or break!

“Is there food for sale in the black market?”
Suddenly, Lu Chuan became curious and asked.

“There is!”
Sun Laizi nodded very seriously. “And the food in the black market is actually cheaper than in the regular markets!”

“Mm?”
Lu Chuan was stunned.

Sun Laizi quickly explained, “Most of the food in the black market comes from embezzlement, and food is different from weapons and armor. It needs to be stored properly, in granaries, and it’s not easy to hide!”

“So most people sell it off to get cash!”

Upon hearing this,
Lu Chuan understood.
In other words, some things in the black market were more expensive, and some were cheaper.

Damn!
Why didn’t you join earlier, Sun Laizi?
If you had come a few days earlier, I could have just gone straight to the black market to buy food.

“Good!”
Lu Chuan nodded and gritted his teeth.
“You go back and prepare. Two days from now, come with me to the county town. I need to buy some food, and by the way, we’ll visit the black market too!”

He also had to buy from Cui’s Grain Shop.
Because he had already paid a deposit.