Chapter 92: The Bear's Enemy

Da Wang certainly wouldn't admit to catching thieves without catching them in the act.

But it's not only because of that; Da Wang's fearlessness comes from Youzhou. If his fief were in Ruyang, he'd be honest and cautious, just like in the inner palace.

Now that he's tied to Youzhou, what does he have to fear?

Da Wang doesn't fear offending his father emperor or the court officials at all.

Even if he did, for a trivial matter, you'd demote him again and change his fief? Jin Dynasty really can't find many places like that. The only comparable place, Nanjiang, has been blocked by the court because it's too close to the Wei family.

Da Wang galloped away on horseback, leaving behind a trail of clear laughter, utterly unrestrained.

He went to the temporarily rented warehouse and saw only Zhao Bao and Chen Cang guarding it, with no idle people around; Da Wang was satisfied.

He left Zhao Bao outside, saying he had something to discuss with Chen Cang, then the two entered the cold-air-emitting warehouse. Da Wang threw the rest into the warehouse, came out, and Chen Cang, with a calm face, locked the door and deliberately hid the key in front of Zhao Bao and Wei Shen, saying he had already informed the person taking over.

They acted mysteriously; Wei Shen was oblivious and didn't care, but Zhao Bao couldn't understand, always feeling something was overlooked. Da Wang gave him no chance to think further, climbed onto his horse, flicked the small whip, and said, "Back we go—we'll set off!"

"Huh? Isn't it tomorrow?"

As soon as Da Wang boarded the ship, he ordered immediate departure; supplies had already been bought in advance yesterday, so it's better to fill the ship early and return to Youzhou for the New Year.

The treasure ship turned and left Jiaodong Ferry; not long after, Yong'an County finally gathered all the bailiffs to come inquire, only to find the ferry already empty.

The team leader, with a face of regret, turned to the Ma family's steward: "Ma steward, look—they've already left. We really can't do anything about this smashed courtyard case."

Not mentioning the Ma family, the treasure ship sped away from Jiaodong Ferry for a while, then cast a net, taking advantage of the fishermen busy hauling in fish; the ship came to a complete stop, drifting on the sea, resting overnight as planned, then heading straight for Youzhou the next day.

Setting off on the road home, everyone on the ship seemed in good spirits, heading north all the way, their destination their home.

Da Wang held Bai Ze in one hand and tucked Winnie under his arm, climbing onto the terrace with the whole family.

"Look, that direction is Youzhou, our home. In about ten days, we'll be home~ Do you miss home?"

~A silence.

"You're so dull~" Not cooperative at all.

Da Wang, huffing and puffing, put Bai Ze on the railing: "Speak, or I'll push you down!"

Bai Ze still didn't speak, so Da Wang lifted the bear from under his arm and placed it on the railing too: "If it won't speak, you will!"

Wei Shen behind finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing: "... I suddenly realized you're really seven years old—how are you this funny? You're making the bear speak?"

Da Wang: "... When did you get here?"

Bai Ze:... You have no vigilance at all.

Only Winnie was blown into disarray by the wind, struggling to cling to the railing; falling wouldn't kill it, but if the bear fell, who knows what would happen!

Bai Ze clearly looks ethereal and immortal, yet Wei Shen was still drawn to the funny bear. He stared at Winnie twice, always feeling something was off?

"... Wait, this bear of yours—why hasn't it gone into hibernation yet?!"

Da Wang was even more confused than Winnie: "What does hibernation mean?"

"Bears store fat in summer and autumn to survive winter; in the cold, food-scarce winter, they generally sleep through it, waking only in spring. Why aren't you sleeping out here in the wind?"

"Of course it's because there's endless fish on the ship—who would want to sleep?"

Da Wang, wanting his child to fit in as naturally as possible, grabbed Winnie by the scruff of the neck: "Winnie, what's wrong with you? If you need to hibernate, why didn't you say so? Other bears hibernate—you should too!"

Winnie began struggling to grip the railing, feeling this wasn't good...

Da Wang returned to the room, dragged Winnie's nest to the farthest corner, shoved the bear inside, then fussed about moving the only heavy table and chair set in the room to encircle the nest, building a big prison for Winnie on the spot.

"Alright, you just stay here and hibernate peacefully; I and Little Bai Bai will speak softly during the day. When we reach Youzhou, I'll remember to bring you home~"

Winnie:...

That tall guy—next time we meet, the bear won't let you off!

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Da Wang was still drifting at sea; his second brother's team sent to Youzhou to buy horses had already arrived.

They first attacked the old prince's residence in the city, but the stationed soldiers informed them that the Prince of You wasn't home—he'd gone out to sea fishing!

The head of the Jin family turned over these words several times in his mind, utterly bewildered.

The prince went out to sea fishing? Is his return still before the year's end?

What kind of life is the Prince of You living!

Although it's only a few days until the New Year, the Second Prince was anxious about his precious horse, so the Jin family steward had no choice but to write a letter and send someone back; they saw they'd have to return later than originally planned.

Since the Prince of You wasn't at the Jin family's, the steward still had other things to do; they were also here on a procurement mission, bringing the popular long'an koi and music boxes, night lamps.

Following the Second Prince's instructions, they first went to the "Aquatic World" to check, but found the place empty.

The townspeople saw their attire resembled that of itinerant merchants and warmly pointed them out, saying: "Go out the city gate, head north, follow the stone-paved road all the way—there's Zhuque Avenue, and the Aquatic World has moved there."

They had seen the stone road when entering the city, knew the Prince of You was building a mansion outside, and assumed they were first repairing the road.

After getting the news, the Jin steward directly left the city, passed a few small slopes, and saw nothing blocking the view ahead. He looked at the distant entrance of Zhuque Avenue and grabbed the aide beside him: "Is that ahead the Hai Chen Lou? Have you seen it?" The architectural complex before them, compared to the dilapidated Youzhou city, was completely another world.

Even better than the east and west markets of Chang'an City.

The aide bared his teeth in frustration: he'd never seen a mirage, but this is just a street built outside the city.

When they finally reached the end and saw the Prince of You's mansion, they truly confirmed: the Prince of You has some real power. That mansion is on a scale even the richest Jin family couldn't imagine how much silver it would take.

"Your Highness surely doesn't know the Prince of You's mansion is like this…… I'll write another letter to Your Highness!"

"... The letter was already sent yesterday."

The Jin steward could only give up.

Along the way, they saw several open shops; they first went to the Aquatic World to stroll, looked at the koi, chatted with the shopkeeper, and inquired who had bought koi in large quantities.

They weren't in a hurry to buy; short-term transport was difficult, so it's better to keep them in the shop.

Seeing them, the shopkeeper knew they were wealthy southern merchants and began boasting about the vast koi market: although only a few have been sold so far, none to the same place, in such a vast Jin Dynasty, the market gap is huge—there's great potential.

The gold steward had pre-ordered five hundred strips of blank ink wash painting, while the others were three hundred and two hundred strips respectively; Shopkeeper Zhou thus knew that blank ink wash painting from Chang'an was the hottest-selling item.

After paying the deposit, Shopkeeper Zhou issued a voucher for the Gold family, then enthusiastically promoted Wanxiang City, saying it had the glass fighting fish most beloved by the Prince of You, and was also exceptionally refined and elegant; guests bringing some back to Chang'an would surely be welcomed.

As long as they diverted people to Wanxiang City, Zhu Ti would have a way to extract silver from them.

Even before reaching it, they had noticed that Wanxiang City, and they first passed two shops hanging up signs, with clerks busy unloading tables, chairs, and stools from carts to move them inside.

The road was blocked, so they stopped to look: a wide-fronted three-story shop, newly hung with a signboard, clerks still adjusting its angle. The gold steward could read characters; the sign read: 【Pin Hai Lou】.

It was just a wine shop, nothing surprising. I really wish it opened today—I've had enough of Youzhou's beggar-version wine shops and inns.

Originally, they had been wind-battered and dew-soaked on this journey, rushing to make haste, thinking they could finally eat and drink well upon arrival; but the food and lodging in Youzhou were beyond description.

The gold steward was woken twice by the cold draft in the inn where he spent the night; the shopkeeper still quibbled that it was because this year was unusually cold, and their inn was already one of the few good ones in Youzhou.

He turned to the adjacent two-story shop, which had a sign but was not yet open, called: 【Sheng Ping Hai Huo】. Youzhou relies on the sea, so it was likely a shop selling dried fish. A clerk was outside wiping the transparent glass window. Tsk tsk, this Zhuque Avenue truly shows grand ambition.

The clerk wiping the window noticed them observing from outside, stopped thoughtfully to greet them, "Customers want to buy fish? Fresh big fish delivered from the seaside, over a meter long; if you buy one and have it cooked at a wine shop, it's not a wasted trip to our Youzhou."

Yes, even though the Great King hasn't returned, with Zhu Ti having free access to the homeland, Zhuque Avenue has already started selling fish.

Fresh sea fish, over a meter long—this is something inland people have never tried.

"Aren't you not open yet?"

That clerk had already stepped down from the window ledge to usher this group inside to pick fish, "Please come in, customers! Our Chief Manager Zhu said, in business don't overthink, put customer needs first—whether open or not, as long as we have goods, we'll welcome you whenever you come."

Probably to preserve freshness, there was no fire here, it was cool and refreshing, no different from outside.

The aide behind them muttered, "You guys are really this cold, no different from the street."

The clerk proudly patted his puffy cotton jacket, "Only frozen things can be stored properly; we're cold here. But we've been issued work uniforms for this job, inside is all cotton, very warm! If customers can't withstand Youzhou's weather, they can go to Sheng Ping Bu Zhuang to buy some cotton clothes—we've got ready-made ones for sale now!"

The clerk led them into the main hall; there were not a few wooden racks, each holding glass tanks, now all empty.

Seeing this, the gold steward was somewhat surprised—wasn't this a seafood shop? Why were there glass tanks for raising koi?

"Do you also sell koi here? Aren't koi freshwater fish?"

The clerk hurriedly explained, "We're keeping these for shallow-layer live seafood, like that octopus—if it's still alive when brought ashore, we keep it in seawater so customers can buy it live and eat it fresh. Manager Zhu said, for example, that big crab—live and dead have two prices. Of course, if you want to see those big fish and there's no live one, such a large fish dies once on board; since it's cold today, we're also keeping them on ice, still fresh! We have two—pick your pick?"

One and a half meters long, palm-width large ribbonfish lay in a pile of crushed ice.

The inland visitors all clicked their tongues in amazement—they truly had never eaten such large fresh sea fish.

This ribbonfish comes from the deep sea; the big ship hasn't returned yet, Zhu Ti didn't say it outright, but the price left no room for doubt.

It can be said to be quite expensive.

But the gold steward, as a second steward in the Gold household, usually spends lavishly; in front of the Second Prince, he always saves face, and is entrusted with tasks, so he can afford it. With their group, this one fish could be finished, and the gold steward unambiguously picked a large one.

After paying, the clerk enthusiastically said the fish could be stored in this ice, and someone could be sent over at noon to pick it up; customers could continue strolling Zhuque Avenue—so thoughtful it was beyond words.

Don't just leave like that without saying more—each shop will demand a sum before you let you go! It's not easy for Youzhou to encounter out-of-town merchants once.

In Wanxiang City, forget those rare little trinkets from Chang'an—the Great King still has countless new designs; if you have money, just spend it.

Hearing they wouldn't leave Youzhou immediately, Zhu Ti took out a ledger, had them check the reported quantities, and said they needed to reserve in advance, or else there might be no stock.

Actually, some things need to wait for the Great King to restock...

Every glance added another item they wanted to buy; the Jin Dynasty people had never seen so many strange little trinkets. The Second Prince brought back a few items, each of which here has seven or eight new models; after placing a long list of orders, Zhu Ti timely proposed buying fifty thousand—You King could dispatch troops to escort them out of Youzhou; the aide beside the gold steward casually said it would definitely be enough.

Because the Second Prince's horse alone costs eighteen ten-thousands.

After Zhu Ti figured out these people's identities, upon meeting the Great King at the homestead, he reported this good news.

Upon hearing it, the Great King almost wanted to laugh three times in a row—indeed, he hadn't miscalculated; Bai Li Heng's money was truly easy to earn. His second brother came again to boost Youzhou's GDP; what they earned from fishing for ten days couldn't even buy the Second Prince a horse.

When no one was around, the Great King lay on the bed and took stock of his wealth.

Preparing to first buy the white gold wild horse, store it in the warehouse, then have Zhu Ti handle sending it to the prince's residence.

Previously, the round sum of one hundred thousand treasure was given to Bai Yang to help buy grain, and the balance paid for the sabre, leaving sixty thousand. Later, he set up a stall selling goods purchased from Jiaodong and earned over forty thousand, plus the high-profit fish from trading with Bai Yang, bringing his account again to 310,000 treasure; the Great King now truly was rich and bold.

The Great King flipped through the trailing zeros, confirming it was truly 310,000, and the value of the outside silver was 3,100,000 taels?

The Great King jumped up, barefoot in socks, ran a lap around the room, "I am so rich hahaha~"

Then hurry up and buy the horse while money is plentiful!

The Great King ran back, eager and excited, began brushing the mall; result: the mall updates quite frequently, and this brush brought out many new items not seen last time.

For example, the chickens sold here are especially expensive, all breeds he's never heard of; the Great King isn't preparing to buy them, unless one day his money runs out.

But today, that string of chickens has an added blind box in front.

Priced slightly above the cheapest chicken, but buying it gives a chance to draw a precious breed worth five or ten times more.

Although the Great King saw through that this is just a form of gambling, he couldn't deny he wanted to try.

People all have this kind of confident psychology, always thinking maybe? Is my luck just that good?

Seeing the chicken blind box, the Great King just thought; upon seeing the horse blind box, the Great King directly took action.