The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 199

 

| TBBOTOF | 199

Wei Dong’s dried marinated duck was accompanied by five jars of wine.

Two boxes of marinated duck, totaling five hundred pieces, were bought by a purchaser who said that people of all ages liked them. 

Wei Dong didn’t say much, just asked for a favor: to try his homemade wine and taste something new.

When the purchaser took it back to his superiors, they immediately ordered two more jars. 

However, by the time of the order, the merchant caravan had already left the city. 

The purchaser could only go back and report to his superior. The superior was not angry but asked him to find out which caravan it was, when they would next come into town, and to have someone visit their residence then.

The five jars of wine caused quite a stir among a few people, and the dried marinated duck created a bit of a sensation in Jiyang City, but Wei Dong didn’t plan to sell too much. 

Once the two boxes were sold out, he would close up shop.

After leaving Jiyang City, although they were still heading north, the weather had warmed considerably with the spring thaw. Wei Dong had recently taken off his winter clothes—cotton jacket and pants—and carefully folded and wrapped them in oil paper, placing them in his backpack.

"Brother Dong," Wu Hong said, his eyes bright and excited. He was in charge of selling the dried marinated duck and hadn’t expected it to sell so well! 

When they arrived, he had discussed with his mother about how to attract customers. Who would have thought that his cousin would set up a small clay stove on the street, chop the ducks into pieces, and cook them directly in a pot? 

The duck had been marinated in a rich, savory brine with plenty of spices, and then hung up to dry after soaking overnight.

The rich aroma drifted through the mist, quickly attracting a crowd of onlookers.

With people gathering, some started asking questions. Wei Dong signaled Wu Hong with a glance.

Wu Hong didn’t rush to start selling. Instead, he first took small bowls made from bamboo tubes and distributed them to the onlookers, serving each person a small piece of meat.

Considering the size of the duck, Wei Dong chopped it into small pieces. After boiling in hot water, the meat absorbed some moisture, making it appear a bit more substantial. 

However, dried meat differs from fresh meat in texture. He didn’t want to give too much, fearing that giving more might not entice the customers.

“This is the local specialty dried marinated duck. Please have a taste, and see if it suits your palate.” Each bamboo tube bowl had a small piece of meat and a half spoonful of broth.

In the chilly weather, having a bite of hot, meaty soup was incredibly comforting. Even if it were just hot water, it would be soothing to the stomach.

“This duck doesn’t have any gamey taste; it’s really fragrant.”

“It tastes a bit salty.”

“The flavor is just right, and the meat is savory. Young man, are you selling this?”

When Wu Hong heard someone asking about the price, he looked over at Wei Dong while nodding.

Wei Dong, unfazed, raised three fingers and said, “Three hundred wen per duck.”

Not only was Wu Hong shocked, but even Fourth brother Pan nearby was taken aback.

“Three hundred wen each?”

Who would buy that?

Those who tasted the duck bought it immediately—not just one, but directly purchasing three or five at a time. 

Wu Hong sat on the cart, surrounded by the aromatic dried marinated duck wrapped in several layers of oil paper, reminiscing about how bustling the previous days had been when he sold the dried roast duck.

He couldn’t help but admire Wei Dong. Despite his quiet demeanor, when he spoke, it was with real impact.

Wei Dong held the ledger, noting that in Jiyang City, the dried marinated duck was priced at three hundred wen each. 

In the next state capital, the price would rise to three hundred fifty wen each.

“Brother Dong, why did the price increase?” Wu Hong, not understanding, and even Fourth bother Pan, were puzzled by the significant price hike.

Wei Dong felt that an increase of fifty wen was actually modest.

After all, the next state capital was a very prosperous place, known for its abundant grain production and considerable wealth among its residents.

“Ah Xu said it’s called a ‘hardship fee.’”

It wouldn’t make sense to sell each duck for a hundred wen when it’s first taken out from home, and then, after enduring the hardships of a long journey with wind and rain, still sell it for a hundred wen or two hundred wen in the capital. 

If that were the case, what was the point of going through all that trouble? It would be better to sell it close to home.

Tang Xu also said that one must learn to be flexible. The places he stopped at along the way might not have been wealthy, but once he reached a wealthy place, he needed to set a good price and stick to it. 

Even if he knew he might be pricing it too low, he shouldn’t regret it.

To avoid regret, Tang Xu suggested setting a higher price.

Wei Dong wasn’t blindly setting the price. While in Jiyang City, he had walked around, asked about prices at meat shops and stalls, and had meals at local restaurants. 

He found that three hundred wen for a duck was an acceptable price.

Even though he hadn't traveled extensively for business, he understood the mindset of both buyers and sellers. If the price was too low for something transported from afar, it might not even sell.

Setting a high price in a new place demonstrated confidence in the quality of his product. He wasn’t afraid of people trying it, especially with food—where issues could arise if not handled carefully.

Tang Xu was also aware that in the food business, if someone wanted to cause trouble, they might claim to have fallen ill or even died from eating your food, and you’d be left with no way to defend yourself. 

However, this situation hadn’t arisen yet. If it did, they would need to address it in real-time.

Tang Xu shared his concerns with Wei Dong, and Wei Dong acknowledged them and noted them carefully.

So, the dried marinated ducks sold previously were taken out of the box on the spot, two ducks at a time, chopped up and distributed for people to sample, and only after that were they sold. 

Once a box was sold out, customers would have to wait until the next day to sample from the second box.

While this method didn’t guarantee anything, it allowed buyers to taste the product first and see it taken directly from the box, reducing concerns about purchasing spoiled food.

In short, it’s easy to deceive people or create trouble, but news had spread in a small circle that Wei Dong had already dealt with some thugs decisively, establishing him as someone not to be trifled with. 

As a result, no one dared to come and provoke him.

Speaking of which, while the caravan was camping out in the wilderness, Wei Dong lay in his soft, warm sleeping bag, gazing at the stars with no immediate thoughts of sleep.

Fourth brother Pan was snoring in a nearby tent, which was a tent he had provided.

Before setting out, Tang Xu had given them two thick cotton sleeping bags, one of which Wei Dong had given to Wu Hong.

Now, his cousin was curled up in his sleeping bags, eagerly anticipating their arrival in the next city.

Wu Hong, listening to the intermittent snoring nearby, yawned and shifted a bit, then glanced at his cousin. “Brother Dong, why aren’t you sleeping?”

Wei Dong didn’t respond.

Wu Hong scooted closer, feeling uneasy in the desolate wilderness. Although the sleeping bag was warm, he was still anxious. 

What if they were surrounded by wolves in the middle of the night? 

He felt more secure being closer to his cousin.

“Brother Dong, are you missing Brother Xu?” Wu Hong asked.

Wei Dong gave him a glance.

Seeing that there was a reaction, Wu Hong quickly moved even closer.

The soft rustling sound was like the scurrying of a rat.

The guards outside the tent glanced over at the noise, saw it was just Wu Hong causing a disturbance, and then turned their attention back to the fire, tossing another couple of logs onto it.

The fire wasn’t very strong but needed to keep burning through the night. They had enough people to take turns keeping watch.

Two patrolling guards hurried back and, seeing Wu Hong and Wei Dong awake, quickly lowered their voices and said, “There are wolves.”

Wu Hong sat up immediately, his eyes wide with fear, staring into the darkness.

The guard waved his hand, “It’s just a lone wolf. We didn’t see any signs of a pack nearby, so you can sleep peacefully.”

Wu Hong turned to look at Wei Dong.

Wei Dong nodded, “Yes.”

Even though they were camping in the wilderness, their site was close to the main road. When choosing the location, they had carefully checked the area for signs of large predators. 

They weren’t too worried about a lone wolf but would have been concerned if a pack were nearby. Fortunately, they only heard a few distant howls throughout the night and experienced no trouble.

Wu Hong, still scared, hadn’t slept well and looked worn out the next morning, slumped against the side of the cart.

“What’s wrong?” Fourth brother Pan asked, handing him two pieces of dried sweet potato. “I dried these in the sun.”

Wu Hong thanked him and sighed. “They spotted a wild wolf and I was so scared that I couldn’t sleep all night.” 

He had wanted to chat with Wei Dong, but his fear had left him too unsettled to talk.

He felt as though someone was watching him and was afraid he’d be bitten if he fell asleep.

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. 

During the early morning watch, he was almost startled into a scream by the sounds in the forest.

If Wei Dong hadn’t quickly covered his mouth, he might have woken up the entire caravan with his scream.

Later, they discovered that the noises in the forest were caused by a rabbit. Wei Dong killed the rabbit with a stone. 

For breakfast, they had roasted rabbit meat with dry flatbreads. The flatbreads, made by Tang Xu, had no oil and were quite dry, but when heated and stuffed with the rabbit meat, they tasted delicious.

Wu Hong smacked his lips and yawned, “I thought maybe the wolves would come and carry me away. When I was little, my mother always scared me, saying that if I didn’t sleep, the wolves from the back mountain would come and take me away.”

Fourth brother Pan patted him on the shoulder, “Even if there were wolves, your cousin would scare them away. With his fierce demeanor, not to mention wolves, even a bear would think twice.”

Wu Hong nodded in agreement. His cousin had calmed down a lot recently, especially after having children. 

He used to be quite fierce!

Wei Dong, who was driving the cart, didn’t join in the conversation. After being away for more than ten days, he was worried about home and wondered if everything was alright.

…

Back at home, there hadn’t been any major issues. Tang Xu had recently been taking care of things, turning over the soil in the front and back yards, planting vegetables, and cleaning up the dead branches in the back mountain.

Oh, and one of the two wild goats they kept in the back mountain was pregnant.

Tang Xu hadn’t noticed this at first, but with the arrival of spring and warmer weather, he decided to shear the goats’ thick winter coats. It wasn’t the first time he had done this, and they were quite cooperative. 

After shearing, it was clear that the female goat’s belly was noticeably round, indicating that she was expecting.

Tang Xu was very pleased. After having the two goats for two or three years, they hadn’t had any offspring before, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Tang Xu had built a nest for the goats but later found that they still preferred to run up the mountain. 

He decided not to worry about it. Since the weather was warmer now, they wouldn’t be at risk of freezing.

“Brother Xu! Big Brother sent a letter!” Wei Xi ran over from the front yard, holding an envelope.

Tang Xu was surprised. He hadn’t expected his husband to write letters! 

He thought that after being away from home for just over half a month, Wei Dong would be so caught up in his travels that he’d have forgotten all about home!

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