Chapter 7: Kickbacks!

Lu Chuan set down the load he was carrying.

He didn’t rush. Instead, he calmly waited a short distance from the entrance.

Not long after, a man who looked like a steward swaggered out of the residence.

A smile curled at the corner of Lu Chuan’s mouth—this was exactly the person he was waiting for.

If you wanted to set up a stall at the market, you had to pay a management fee. In Bingzhou, all kinds of miscellaneous taxes and fees were already painfully high—especially for ordinary people.

If you set up shop without paying the fee, you’d be lucky not to get caught. But if you were, the fine could be three times the normal amount.

So Lu Chuan opted for a safer, more discreet approach.

…

“Excuse me, sir…”
Lu Chuan stepped forward and greeted the man with a friendly smile. “Are you the head of this household?”

The steward waved dismissively, half helpless, half pleased.
“Me? Head of the house? Nah, I don’t look it—I’m just the steward here.”

“And who are you?” he asked, puzzled.

“Oh, so you’re the steward?” Lu Chuan laughed politely. “With your impressive presence, I thought you were the master of the house. My apologies. May I ask your name?”

The steward straightened his clothes and cleared his throat proudly.
“My surname is Xu, given name Houxiang,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re quite the smooth talker, young man. So what do you want?”

“Well, here’s the thing.”
Lu Chuan glanced around, then continued in a lower voice. “It’s freezing these days, and I went hunting up in the mountains recently. I was lucky enough to bag a roe deer. You know how delicious that meat is. I’ve been looking for a good buyer, and when I saw you, I thought maybe your estate might be interested.”

“I figured you were the master here, so I came over to ask if the household might need some fresh game,” he added with a grin.

Steward Xu paused, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
“Roe deer, huh? Let me take a look.”

Lu Chuan opened the sack.

After glancing at the fresh meat, Steward Xu nodded. “Hmm, we actually could use some.”

“How much do you want for it? Name your price. If it’s reasonable, I’ll take it.”

Lu Chuan smiled slyly.

“Well, Steward Xu… how should I put this?” he said with a wink. “Roe deer meat isn’t like beef or mutton. It’s tastier, and when stewed, the broth is rich and flavorful. You know the usual price is about 150 coins per jin.”

“This roe deer meat totals around forty jin. I’ll cut you a deal—5,000 coins.”

Steward Xu waved his hand impatiently.
“That’s too expensive.”

“Oh, come on,” Lu Chuan replied smoothly. “It’s not easy to get this stuff. It’s midwinter—deer barely come out. Even regular hunters rarely have this kind of luck.”

“And!” Lu Chuan leaned in slightly.
“If you’re truly interested, I’ll sell it to Xu Manor for 7,000 coins.”

Steward Xu frowned, clearly annoyed.
“You little rascal—trying to scam me? Something worth 5,000 coins and you’re charging me 7,000?”

“Get lost. Go on—scram!”

But Lu Chuan chuckled and said,
“Steward Xu, I think you misunderstood. I’m selling it to you for 5,000. But if it’s being sold to Xu Manor, then it’s 7,000.”

He grinned again.
“You give me 7,000 coins, I hand you the meat. And then… the extra 2,000 coins? They’re still yours.”

“What do you think?”

In that instant—

Xu Houxiang felt like he had just opened the door to a whole new world!

“Oh… so it can be done like that…” Xu Houxiang crossed his arms thoughtfully. “Then what about all those times before…”

“Hiss—”

His eyes lit up with excitement.

After clearing his throat twice, he glanced around cautiously to make sure no one was watching.

“You’re a clever one, kid! Alright, I can see the meat is fresh, and with it being the dead of winter, roe deer is rare indeed. 7,000 coins it is!”

“This roe deer meat—our Xu Manor will take it.”

“Wait here. I’ll go inside and get the money for you.”

With that, Xu Houxiang hurried off.

…

Lu Chuan had calculated all of this carefully.

Truth be told, if the price was over 5,000 coins, Xu Houxiang might not be interested. But if the price was too inflated, the Xu family might also reject it outright.

So the price had to be just right.

At about 170 coins per jin, it wasn’t unreasonably high, and given how rare roe deer meat was in winter, the Xu family wouldn’t fuss over the extra cost.

In short—even greed takes skill.

…

Less than fifteen minutes later, Xu Houxiang came trotting back, beaming and holding a money pouch. He handed it to Lu Chuan.

“Here, kid! This is 5,000 coins!”

“This roe deer meat is mine now!”

“Our Xu family is big and well-off. If you ever hunt more—whether it’s birds, beasts, or rare mountain delicacies—come straight to me at the manor. Just tell the guards you’re looking for Steward Xu No. 3, and they’ll let you in.”

He gave Lu Chuan an earnest reminder.

“All right!”
“Don’t worry—I’ll definitely be back!”

Lu Chuan nodded and, seeing no one around, pulled a wild rabbit from another bundle and handed it to Xu Houxiang.

“Steward Xu, I hunted this yesterday too. Just a little gift of thanks. I’m sure we’ll have more chances to work together.”

He smiled warmly.

“You, kid… You’re no ordinary man,” Xu Houxiang chuckled, grinning ear to ear when he saw the rabbit. Then he leaned in and added, “Since you treat me like a brother, I won’t let you suffer.”

Looking around cautiously again, he lowered his voice and said:

“Lately, the third madam in the manor has been feeling unwell.”

“The doctor says it’s due to cold in the body from weakness.”

“He prescribed a special medicinal soup—but one of the ingredients is badger meat, and it’s really hard to find right now.”

“We’re currently offering high prices for it.”

“If you can get your hands on one badger, it could fetch at least 5,000 coins!”

Xu Houxiang leaned closer.

“Since you managed to bring down a roe deer, you must be skilled. Why don’t you head back and see if you can find any? The manor needs at least three.”

He shared the insider tip with Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you so much, Steward Xu! I’ll check the mountains when I get back.”

“Oh, right, Steward Xu—there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you!”