Chapter Thirty-Six: Buying Horses

  "Reporting back to Minister Xu, it is true that Zhang's technology is in Xujia Camp. According to our investigation, what Zhang Lei said is mostly factual." the man said.

  Xu Guangqi took the note again, looked at it and said: "Hmm, what's written here is also about 80-90% accurate. It seems that this young man really has some skills, I don't know where he learned them from. Send a few people to secretly follow him, report back to me as soon as there's any situation. Of course, we won't care about his daily life, mainly focus on his activities and who he contacts."

  "Yes."

  "Go."

  After this person withdrew, Xu Guangqi sat alone at his desk, propping up his chin with his hand, and fell into deep contemplation.

  After a while, Xu Min called from outside: "Uncle."

  "Come in."

  Xu Min pushed open the door and ran in front of Xu Guangqi, smiling: "Uncle, how is it? Is the person I found for you okay?"

  "Hmm, what do you think of him?" Xu Guangqi nodded and asked.

  Xu Min did not expect him to ask such a question, hesitated for a moment, and said: "I think it's okay, speaking is quite realistic, although some views seem to be surprising and unconventional, but I always feel that he is not shooting randomly."

  "I also thought what he said was like a fairy tale, but I couldn't help but follow his train of thought and think deeply about it. Upon careful consideration, it seemed that things were indeed as he had said. It's been a long time since I've had this feeling. Thinking back, it was when I accepted the Lord's will that year. Xu Guangqi reminisced about the past when he joined Catholicism, at that time, he was also young and vigorous, and didn't expect that after so many years, the scene seemed to have just happened yesterday."

  "What is Uncle going to do? Will he recruit him under his command? Bring him to the capital city? I think he's quite resourceful, maybe with Uncle's support, he can achieve something." Xu Min said.

  Xu Guangqi said: "I like him, but it's not necessary to bring him to the capital even if I recruit him under my command. I've already told him to come again tomorrow and see how he performs."

  Xu Min nodded thoughtfully.

  As for Zhang Lei, after leaving Xu Guangqi's mansion, he has been in a state of extreme excitement. The fact that he was able to see Xu Guangqi with his own eyes and gain his appreciation still feels like a dream to him even now. Looking at the time, it's getting late, and he still needs to rush to the government office to meet Zhang Chen.

  After waiting at the door for a while, I was hungry and had another big bowl of beef noodles. Only then did I hear the sound of a copper gong inside, and one after another, candidates came out. Some were overjoyed, obviously already confident of winning, while others hung their heads in despair, which must be because they were very dissatisfied with the exam results.

  Finally saw Zhang Chen mixed in the crowd and walked out, his face was very calm, couldn't tell how he did on the exam. Zhang Lei's heart suddenly settled down, this wasn't a good sign. He went up to greet him and called out, Zhang Chen saw him and walked over, calling out: "Brother."

  "What's wrong? You look like something is off," Zhang Lei asked worriedly, as Zhang Chen was an important part of the big plan. If anything went wrong, the consequences would be severe.

  "Don't worry, bro, I'm sure you'll pass."

  Hearing him say that, Zhang Lei finally felt a bit relieved and said: "Okay, it's best to do it this way. Let's go, I'll take you to eat something delicious first, then we'll head back. Oh right, I also said there was something important to attend to, let's go after dinner."

  "What's important?" Zhang Chen also suddenly remembered, this brother is going to follow him and there must be something he wants to do.

  "Buy a horse."

  "Buy a horse?"

  "Yes, in the future when you go to school, it won't be here, you'll have to go outside. If there's no horse to ride, can't walk?" Zhang Lei said with a smile, "Besides, I also need to go out sometimes, walking will waste too much time."

  "Alright."

  "When you were taking your exam, I went to take a look. There's indeed a horse market here. Later, I'll bring you to eat some good food and then we'll go buy horses." Zhang Lei said.

  The horse market in Nancheng County is not very large, and it's located near the South City Gate. If Zhang Lei hadn't familiarized himself with this place today, it would have been hard to find.

  As it was already late, the place wasn't as lively as in the morning or at noon, but it still hadn't closed yet. Zhang Lei smiled and said: "Looks like we can take a look around this afternoon."

  The horse market had a strong smell due to the trading of livestock, but Zhang Lei decided to endure it in order to reduce his travel in the future. Many merchants here had already sold their horses and left, making the place seem somewhat empty, with only a few remaining, preparing to take their unsold horses home. So when Zhang Lei and his group walked in, everyone was very excited, beckoning them over.

  Zhang Lei walked around in circles, feeling that there was nothing good left. A sorrel horse with a lean and bony body was being used by the store owner as a draft animal to pull carts. When it saw Zhang Lei and his group approaching, it let out a low-pitched whinny. It struggled to break free from its reins and come closer, seemingly wanting to confide in them about something. Zhang Chen saw this and exclaimed with great joy: "Brother, this horse is not bad!"

  "Hmm... your taste is really unique, this horse, okay, to be honest, just by its bony appearance, even if you killed it to eat the meat, I estimate you wouldn't get many good pieces of meat. What do you want this horse for? You bought it as a mount." Zhang Lei took one look at the horse and immediately burst out laughing, not to mention a fine steed, even a random donkey would be much stronger than this one.

  The horse's owner apparently shared Zhang Lei's view, not holding a shred of illusion about being able to sell it. Now hearing that someone actually fancied it, he suddenly came to life, swallowed his saliva, rolled up his sleeves and said: "Sir, you really have a good eye for this horse. I'm not bragging, but it can definitely run a thousand miles a day. Buy it and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

  "Alright, is it really a thousand-li horse? I doubt even ten-li horses are reliable, you're just bragging. If my brother hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't have given it a second glance. Besides, if it's really a thousand-li horse, would you use it to pull a carriage? Who are you trying to fool?" Zhang Lei scoffed at the shopkeeper's claims.

  Zhang Chen also said: "I just think it looks good, if you want to sell it then sell it, if not then forget it. To be honest, this thing is really hard to keep alive."

  "Alright, alright, I won't say more. One or two silver coins, and I'll buy it from you. If you don't want to sell, then forget it." Zhang Lei knew that since Zhang Chen had spoken up, this horse must be extraordinary in some way. However, the horse's appearance was really not impressive, and he was unwilling to pay more money for it.

  "Sir, you're not being fair. Even if it's not a fine horse, at least it's still a horse. You could sell its meat for more than that." The shopkeeper said with a bitter face when he saw Zhang Lei only offering one or two silver coins.

  Zhang Lei, however, was unmoved and said: "Look, you can buy a mule for one or two silver coins to pull it, and it's probably better than this. If you want to sell it, fine; if not, then forget it. I'm too lazy to waste my time with you."

  "Alas, it's just a couple of taels of silver, if I weren't in such a hurry to get home, I would never have sold it," said the shopkeeper as he took the money and untied the reins of the horse.

  Zhang Chen's mount was settled, but Zhang Lei's own had not been fixed yet. So the two continued to wander inside, and after a while, Zhang Lei saw a pure white horse with a high head, and he was overjoyed, without calling out to Zhang Chen, he ran over.

  The owner of this horse was a forty-year-old honest farmer, and around him, there was only this horse. Seeing Zhang Lei walking over, he felt a little happy, but just for a moment, his eyes dimmed again.

  "Shopkeeper, how much for this horse?" Zhang Lei walked over and stroked the mane of the precious horse, asking.

  "The shopkeeper said: 'Five taels of silver.'"

  The price was beyond Zhang Lei's expectations, not because it was too much, but because it was too little.

  "I think it's quite good too, how can it be sold so cheaply? And it hasn't even been sold yet?" Zhang Lei asked curiously.

  The shopkeeper sighed when he heard this question,

  "Alas, you don't know, sir. Customer, come and take a look here."

  He pointed at a red spot on the horse's neck and said: "This thing here, everyone says it's an omen of bad luck."

  "Blood-curdling?" Zhang Chen also came over and took a glance, then said: "No wonder nobody bought it."

  Zhang Lei crouched on the ground and observed carefully. Hearing him say this, he raised his head and asked: "What does that mean?"

  "The middle of the neck has a red ring, like something is stuck in the throat. Sir, I won't hide it from you, it's because of this little red spot that it can't be sold. They all say it can't grow big and is easy to get its throat cut, who would dare want it?" The seller was an honest man and told Zhang Lei everything truthfully.

  Someone next to him muttered: "It's no wonder it can't be sold. Who can see that thing, just casually cheat and it's done."

  As a modern person, Zhang Lei didn't quite believe in these legendary things. From the start to now, he felt that this horse was very much to his taste. At least it was more powerful than Zhang Chen's horse. So even if the shopkeeper said so, Zhang Lei was prepared to buy it.

  "If no one is going to buy it, then why bother bringing it over to sell?" Zhang Chen asked.

  The owner said, "Alas, it's just to try one's luck. After all, I've raised it for so many years. If I were to kill it, how could I bear the guilt? This horse has been obedient since it was young, and I couldn't bear to part with it."

  Zhang Lei stood up and took out five taels of silver, saying: "Alright, alright, no matter what others say, I just think it's auspicious, sell it to me."

  They bought horses, and Zhang Lei and his companions had to match the saddles for these two horses. So the two men led the horses into the largest horse equipment store in the county town.

  Rong Guo, a man in his fifties, is the owner of this store. The store has been passed down to him for three or four generations. Many people have come here to buy horse equipment, including those who bring their horses with them. After a long time of baptism, he has become a half-expert in identifying precious horses.

  He saw Zhang Lei and Zhang Chen walking over, he knew they had come to do business, so he hurried out to greet them. Seeing the two extraordinary horses behind them, his heart was shocked, "Precious horses, truly precious horses."

  Starting point welcomes readers to visit, the latest, fastest and most popular serialized works are all on the starting point of original!