Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 479 Han Xin of Huaiyin greets Young Master Lin~
The surrounding crowd quickly stepped aside.

The road parted, and I watched as Lin Dao walked forward.

Everyone looked at Lin Dao, their faces mostly smiling.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a friendly laugh, but rather the kind of laughter that onlookers have when they're just watching the show.

The Huai and Si regions have a long history of fierce and unruly people, with frequent private feuds that have been difficult to eradicate.

Although Qin law is strict, it is unlikely that anyone would report an outsider who takes the initiative to cause trouble.

The butcher, with his arms crossed, glanced at them sideways.

"Outsider, are you going to take on his problems?"

Never provoke a butcher, especially an ancient butcher, unless absolutely necessary.

Meat was a luxury in ancient times, and many people never ate meat more than a few times in their entire lives.

Butchers who make a living this way, whether they are Zhang Fei or Fan Jin's father-in-law, are definitely not easy to deal with.

To make a simple comparison, it's similar to the big shots with the "Leopard" account in the outer five counties.

He's incredibly influential in the area, the kind of person who can get away with anything.

Provoking the local butcher in the area will generally not end well.

Lin Dao, however, didn't even glance at the butcher.

He simply walked past the butcher and came to the young man.

"What's your name?"

Before the young man could respond, the butcher laughed, "He's a notorious good-for-nothing in Huaiyin County, named Han Xin, also known as Han the Good-for-Nothing!"

"Hahahaha~~~"

Everyone around laughed, as if they had seen a group of energetic young men in the modern world who couldn't afford a bowl of noodles and were eventually kicked out by the shop owner.

Mocking the weak is human nature.

"My surname is Lin, my given name is Dao, and my courtesy name is Zihou." Lin Dao continued to stare at Han Xin. "Why don't you answer my greeting?"

Slightly stunned, Han Xin blinked, then clasped his hands around his sword and bowed.

"Han Xin of Huaiyin greets Young Master Lin."

During the Han and Tang dynasties, the sons of high-ranking officials could also become princes.

After the Song Dynasty, people of some status, especially scholars, could be addressed as "Gongzi" (公子).

In the Qin Dynasty, "公子" referred to the son of a feudal lord, and daughters could also be called "女公子".

In short, they were nobles.

Han Xin observed that although Lin Dao was dressed in plain clothes, his speech, manners, and especially his demeanor and temperament were clearly those of a commoner, and he suspected that Lin Dao was a descendant of nobles from various states.

Although he was a commoner, Han Xin's manners were impeccable, clearly showing that he had studied etiquette diligently.

His practice of aristocratic etiquette despite being a commoner drew laughter from the surrounding crowd.

The butcher laughed so hard he almost fell over, tears welling up in his eyes.

"You, Han Xin, are a scoundrel. Who in Huaiyin County doesn't know that?"

"Why are you pretending to be some kind of important person?"

Lin Dao finally turned to the side and looked at the butcher.

Tilting your head slightly, "Are you jealous of him?"

The butcher's face immediately changed. "What nonsense are you spouting?!"

"Although he idles away his days, he has great ambitions."

"Although you have this intention, you are not willing to suffer in life and do not have his determination."

"Only through sarcasm can one mask their inner resentment."

Lin Dao smiled and said, "You see I'm ignoring you but only talking to him, and you're jealous that he's really being recognized."

"court death!"

Enraged, the butcher raised his fist, as big as a clay pot, and slammed it down.

The gasps of surprise from all around suddenly rose.

The Qin laws were extremely harsh, and this was no exaggeration; they were truly severe and intimidating.

Take fighting as an example, it can be divided into two types: armed and unarmed.

Anyone who injures another with their bare hands shall be punished with fines or forced labor.

If it were a public place, like the street right now, the punishment would be doubled.

The punishment is already severe if the victim is unarmed; if they are armed, it would be even more severe.

First, there are fines, which are very heavy and can bankrupt a person.

Next came the punishments, the lighter of which was tattooing, which was essentially a free tattoo on the face, the kind that could never be removed, so that people could immediately tell that this person had been a criminal.

Those who were more severely punished were tattooed and sentenced to hard labor in the city.

After getting tattoos on their faces, they were punished with hard labor such as building city walls and digging ditches, which was commonly known as "city labor".

Such physically demanding jobs were usually done by criminals and sons-in-law.

Don't think it's an easy job; it's purely about physical labor, moving stones and digging ditches—the kind that can exhaust you to death!

As for killing someone, that goes without saying; he would definitely be executed.

The butcher, who was quite wealthy, threw a punch in public despite the punishment, clearly indicating that he was thoroughly enraged and had taken the words to heart.

Lin Dao raised his leg and kicked out.

The butcher was kicked away and landed on the ground in the manner of a toad falling.

The shouts from all around grew louder, and the onlookers were so excited that they were breathing heavily, waving their arms and legs, wishing they could rush up and experience it for themselves.

This place was originally inhabited by fierce and unruly people, but their bloodlust was suppressed by the strict laws of Qin.

The mere thought of being able to release something, even just to watch, thrilled them.

"Son!"

Han Xin hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him, saying, "You mustn't!"

"It's not worth being punished for someone like that!"

"Ah~" The butcher rolled on the ground, his wailing sounding like a dog being killed.

Dog meat was the mainstream meat consumed by people during that era.

Lamb was something only nobles were entitled to enjoy.

Lin Dao smiled and waved his hand, then stepped over to the rolling butcher.

"Outsider~"

The butcher, clutching his stomach, his face contorted with rage and teeth clenched, said, "You're dead for injuring someone in the street."

Lin Dao remained silent, reaching into his robes to retrieve something.

Suddenly, Han Xin appeared beside him, drew his sword, and lunged at the butcher. Lin Dao grabbed him, puzzled, "What are you doing?"

"This matter arose because of me," Han Xin said solemnly. "How can I allow the prince to take such a risk?"

"I killed this man, and I will bear all the responsibility for the crime!"

Historically, Han Xin endured the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs because he did not want to lose the opportunity to realize his ambitions and become a superior person by hurting someone.

Now, the only person who ever gave him face has gotten into trouble for standing up for him.

Han Xin could not stand idly by.

The gleaming longsword thrust forward, and the butcher was so terrified that he scrambled into the crowd.

This immediately sparked a burst of laughter from all around.

The butcher who deliberately caused trouble turned out to be a coward, which is truly laughable.

Lin Dao grabbed Han Xin, who was about to chase after him to kill him, and shook his head, "There's no need for that. Just watch."

Having said that, he went forward to find the butcher.

He took a silver ingot from his pocket and threw it at the butcher's face.

"I suppose you're a worldly person, so you should know what this is."

The butcher, drawing parallels to the Leopard brand from the five outer counties, was clearly worldly-wise.

He rubbed his swollen, smashed hand, picked up the silver ingot and examined it closely, even taking a bite out of it.

Looking up in disbelief, he exclaimed, "Platinum?!"

The Qin Dynasty had two main types of currency.

Gold was the primary currency used for large transactions and as a reward for meritorious service.

As for the lower currency, it refers to the copper coins used in daily circulation, commonly known as half-ounce coins.

Silver also existed, but it was considered a valuable commodity rather than currency.

Although it's not currency, its value is undeniable; it's an absolutely valuable and rare item.

The butcher, holding the silver ingot in his hand, looked at Lin Dao with a surprised and uncertain expression, not understanding what he meant.

"Tell me," Lin Dao said, his gaze sweeping over you. "Who hit you before?"

The butcher blinked, then suddenly stood up and shouted in a loud voice.

"Who hit someone?"

"Why did I not see it?"

"The law is strict; do not speak nonsense!"

Lin Dao laughed again, pointing to his stomach, "This shoe print~"

"Pat pat pat pat~" The butcher quickly wiped away the shoe print. "What shoe print? This is clearly from when I was butchering a dog before, when I was kicked by a dog."

"These damned dogs, they won't behave even in death!"

The butcher bowed with a beaming smile, "Greetings, young master."

With a smile on his face, Lin Dao turned to look at Han Xin and asked, "What have you figured out?"

Han Xin pondered, "As a human being, one should hold power and wealth in one's hands; only in this way can one live a life without regrets."

Lin Dao first shook his head, then nodded.

He turned and walked out of the crowd, saying, "Follow me."

The crowd parted to make way, and Zhang Liang, who had been watching the horses and observing the spectacle, stepped forward and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Brother Zihou!"

Although he didn't understand why Lin Dao had come all the way here to find such a young man.

But it was clear that Lin Dao had achieved his goal.

Narrowing his eyes, Lin Dao raised his hand and patted Han Xin's shoulder, indicating that he should "learn from this guy who is full of ideas when you have time, learn his way of dealing with people, and don't be foolish enough to fall into the hands of a woman."

Han Xin was puzzled, but he still bowed to Zhang Liang.

After exchanging greetings, the three of them, leading their horses and accompanied by Han Xin, headed towards the most famous tavern in the county town.

Upon entering the tavern, Lin Dao immediately wanted to shout out.

"Shopkeeper, bring me a few pounds of good wine and two pounds of beef!"

Then, he generously pulled out a piece of silver and threw it on the table to pay the bill.

Unfortunately, this scene can only appear in movies and TV dramas; it would never have happened in a tavern during the Qin Dynasty.

First of all, all the taverns in the cities of the Qin Dynasty were directly operated by the government.

Just like now, when the people in the tavern saw Lin Dao and his two companions enter, the tavern staff merely raised their eyelids and showed no intention of coming forward to greet them.

I understand. After all, it's directly operated by the government, so it's completely understandable.

Whether they work or not, their salaries won't be reduced.

Secondly, the Qin and Han dynasties had extremely strict prohibitions on alcohol!

That's right, alcohol was prohibited in this era.

Private brewing was prohibited; only government brewing was permitted. Anyone who wanted to drink alcohol had to purchase it from the government at a high price.

Drinking alcohol at banquets on occasions such as weddings, funerals, and celebrations also requires approval.

The reason for doing this was, on the one hand, to monopolize the production and sales of alcohol and increase revenue.

On the other hand, it was to curb private fights among the people after drinking and to maintain the ruling order.

After all, people these days are really stubborn.

After a few drinks, a group of them might get together and dare to rebel.

It's not just talk; they really dare to do it!
The Dazexiang Uprising is known as the first large-scale peasant uprising.

This does not mean that there were no peasant uprisings before this.

It's obvious that there must be one.

However, because of its small scale and insufficient influence, it quickly rose and fell, and was therefore only considered a popular uprising rather than a peasant revolt or even a peasant war.

Many of these incidents were caused by drinking alcohol.

Therefore, the prohibition of alcohol was extremely strict during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Finally, beef is something that ordinary people can only dream of.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, only the emperor was entitled to eat beef; even feudal lords and nobles were not.

Not to mention the common people, or even the vagrants.

Does this mean we won't be able to drink alcohol anymore?

of course not.

As the saying goes, "For every policy from above, there's a countermeasure from below," this isn't a new import; it's been around since ancient times.
Even the First Emperor's will could not overcome the greed of his subordinates.

(End of this chapter)