The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 74 An extraordinary background

"Is your cow sick?" Stone circled the cow lying on the ground and said in a knowing tone, "My ancestors were veterinarians, don't try to fool me."

Having seen many middle-aged men like him pretending to be experienced buyers, he could tell at a glance that Shitou lacked confidence.

"Don't talk nonsense, my ox is perfectly fine," the middle-aged man explained. "Yesterday, while hauling heavy cargo, the ox accidentally strained its leg. I just had it checked by a vet, and it should be healed in a couple of days."

Stone curled his lip in disbelief, "Where is the injury? I can't see it."

The middle-aged man pointed to the beef leg and said, "The doctor said the wound is inside the flesh, so it's not visible from the outside."

Stone leaned closer to examine it with some skepticism, even touching it with his hand. Then he nodded seriously, "It is indeed an injury deep inside the skin. I can feel this kind of injury just by touching it."

The guy's eye twitched. If you don't know, don't pretend to know. If you just go along with what the boss says, you'll be screwed over.

The middle-aged man became increasingly certain that Shi Tou was pretending to be mature, but was actually just a little kid who didn't understand anything.

He cleared his throat. “I bought this ox for ten taels of silver. If you are serious about buying it, add three more taels, and I will give you the matching oxcart for half price.”

Buddy: Goodness, the boss isn't planning to lose any money at all.

"Are you trying to fool us?" Xiao Huan glared at the middle-aged man and said to Shang Wan and Lu Chengjing, "Young master, young mistress, a cow only costs six taels in the East Market, and even with the oxcart, it's only eight taels. He's trying to rip us off. Let's go to the East Market to buy it."

"I hate liars." Shang Wan looked at Lu Chengjing and said sweetly, "Husband, don't rent cars here anymore."

Lu Chengjing glanced at the middle-aged man, nodded to Shang Wan, and smiled indulgently, "I'll do whatever you say, my wife."

Shang Wan smiled sweetly on the surface, but in her heart she was thinking that she would have to make her fox laugh like that a few more times when she got back.

Xiao Huan immediately called to Shi Tou, "What are you all standing there for? Let's go!"

"They're here." Stone immediately went over.

As soon as the middle-aged man saw the duck about to fly away, he hurriedly called out to the man, "Wait! Young master, the price I just mentioned was the price I paid to buy it back. If you are serious about buying it, I can give you a discount."

Lu Chengjing did not turn around.

The middle-aged man winked at the waiter, who immediately ran over and spread his arms to block the four men.

"Are you trying to force us to buy or sell?" Stone stepped forward, glaring at the shopkeeper with an imposing air. "Don't you even know who my young master is? If you dare to touch a single hair on my young master's head, the authorities will be here to raid the caravan shop tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, the waiter realized that Lu Chengjing was no ordinary person. He secretly sized him up. This man exuded an ethereal aura, and the young mistress beside him was also exceptionally beautiful and elegant. No ordinary family could possibly raise someone like him.

He looked at his boss, wondering whether he should stop them or not.

The middle-aged man felt a little uneasy. This involved the government; was it perhaps a relative of the prefect?
Stone yelled at the waiter, "Get out of the way!"

"Young man, calm down and let's talk this out." After weighing his options, the middle-aged man stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Lu Chengjing. "Just now, I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. I neglected you, young master. Please don't be angry, young master and madam. The price of the oxcart is negotiable, negotiable."

"Husband, let's go." Shang Wan glanced at the middle-aged man, deliberately finding fault. "He doesn't look like a good person at all."

Lu Chengjing: "I'll do as my wife says." He looked like he was blinded by lust.

The middle-aged man muttered "Pah!" several times under his breath. He listens to his wife in everything; he's not a real man!
He smiled ingratiatingly, "Madam, you jest. I am an honest and upright man, as everyone in the neighborhood knows. May I ask what Madam intends to do with this ox?"

"Isn't it just to eat..." Shang Wan hurriedly covered her mouth halfway through her sentence, a look of annoyance on her face.

Middle-aged men are shrewd; it turns out they bought the beef to eat. They certainly need to find a plausible excuse.

The current dynasty has extremely severe punishments for those who illegally kill cattle for farming.

According to the law, anyone who intentionally kills another person's horse or ox shall be punished with seventy strokes of the cane and one and a half years of penal servitude; anyone who privately slaughters their own horse or ox shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane; anyone who fails to report the injury or death of a draft ox to the authorities and instead skins it privately shall be punished with forty strokes of the cane.

The middle-aged man guessed that Shang Wan was craving beef but didn't want to openly buy it to slaughter, so he used the roundabout method of buying an oxcart.

He had initially worried that selling the sick cow to Shang Wan and his companion would cause trouble, but now that he knew they were buying it to eat, he was relieved.

He took a closer look at Lu Chengjing's appearance and confirmed that he was indeed a stranger. The wheelchair was also made of excellent materials; it would easily sell for three or four hundred taels of silver in a woodworking workshop.

The sleeping baby was beautiful and lovely, dressed in silk, clearly the kind of child only a wealthy family could afford.

After some deliberation, the middle-aged man put on a fawning smile. "If you and your wife are truly interested in buying, I'll offer you a discount. How about six taels?"

Xiao Huan pouted, "They also sell it for six taels in the East Market, and it's a healthy cow."

“Young lady, the East Market is full of gossip and people, nothing beats the convenience of my carriage and horse-drawn carriage,” the middle-aged man said with a meaningful smile. “I’m the most discreet person I can keep to myself.”

Shang Wan glanced at him, then leaned close to Lu Chengjing's ear and whispered a few words.

Lu Chengjing nodded, took her hand and played with it carefully, looking completely indifferent.

The middle-aged man felt increasingly contemptuous, but looking at Shang Wan's appearance, he thought that if he married such a heavenly wife, he would probably pamper and cherish her.

His wife is fierce, unlike this lady who is gentle, sweet, and affectionate.
Shang Wan said, "You know whether this cow is sick or not. Including the cart frame, it's worth five taels of silver. If you're willing to sell, we're going back to the prefectural city in a couple of days. We have a lot of stuff, so we'll need to rent several carriages. We'll rent them all from your carriage rental shop."

The middle-aged man silently calculated in his mind that renting the oxcart over the past two months had helped him earn some money back, and with the five taels given by Shang Wan, he could almost break even.

If we can actually secure this carriage rental deal, we won't lose money even if we sell it for five taels.

Having made up his mind, the middle-aged man sighed, "Alas, five taels of silver is really a loss. My carriage and horse trading business is a small business, and business is not good these days..."

Shang Wan interrupted him, "I can sign a contract with you, and I will definitely send someone to the carriage rental shop in a couple of days to rent a carriage."

The middle-aged man had been waiting for this very sentence. After saying a few nice words, he agreed, drafted a contract, and both parties signed it.

Lu Chengjing read the contract. The gist of the terms was that once the agreed date arrived, regardless of whether anyone came to the carriage rental shop to rent a carriage, the rental fee had to be paid; otherwise, the government would enforce the payment.

His eyes darkened slightly as he watched Shang Wan take out a square seal, stamp it on the contract, and hand it to the middle-aged man. "Go to the Lu family in the north of the city to collect the money."

(End of this chapter)