Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 19 Shopping in the Town

On the third day after setting off, as Zhou Ye stood on a mountain pass, gazing at the smoke rising from the farmland of a distant village, he couldn't help but smile. He had finally discovered human habitation; he had finally escaped the mountains.

To be honest, they didn't encounter any wild beasts on the way they came. However, the entire path was extremely rugged and treacherous. It was only because Zhou Ye's agility and basic movement techniques were high enough that he wasn't greatly affected. However, marking the route along the way did take some time. Therefore, it wasn't until the third day that they finished this arduous journey.

Carrying a shoulder pole, Zhou Ye approached the village. He soon encountered an old man working in the fields.

"Excuse me, sir, where can I buy or sell things?"

The old man glanced at Zhou Ye's attire and the carrying pole he was carrying on his shoulder. He then pointed in a direction: "Go east along this road. It takes about an hour to reach our town. There are several shops there."

Thank you!

Although the journey was arduous, things went relatively smoothly after we left the mountains.

More than an hour later, Zhou Ye arrived at a small town.

The town is not big; there are only a few dozen shops on one street.

Zhou Ye's first stop was a blacksmith shop. Inside, there was a middle-aged blacksmith and several apprentices working on blacksmithing.

Interestingly, besides many common farm tools, there were also quite a few weapons here. Some secondhand weapons were even discovered. Clearly, the blacksmith shop not only forged weapons but also recycled secondhand weapons and other ironware.

After all, this place is near the county seat, so there are many people who go into the mountains to adventure, and there is a great demand for various weapons.

A quick glance was all it took for Zhou Ye to spot the arrows. Although these were privately made arrows and not as high quality as military arrows, they were still made with iron arrowheads, so their lethality was still guaranteed.

Actually, when Zhou Ye came in, he planned to buy some scissors, needles, thread, and other items. Living in a small family home, there will always be times when things aren't very convenient, and these supplies will be necessary.

But now that he'd seen arrows, he certainly wouldn't let them go. And nearby, Zhou Ye even spotted an iron-tipped wooden javelin? That was also a weapon he needed.

Zhou Ye quickly asked, "Shopkeeper, how much are these arrows? And what about these javelins?"

Seeing a customer approach, the middle-aged blacksmith smiled and said, "Each arrow costs 42 coins. If you buy a bundle (50 arrows), it'll be two taels of silver. There are only these two javelins left; take them together and I'll give you one tael."

Zhou Ye was too lazy to haggle. He silently calculated that he only had the two taels of silver he had obtained from looting the corpse. As for the 50-tael silver note, he decided to avoid using it.

Just then, Zhou Ye suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Shopkeeper, shall we take this knife back?"

Anyway, I already have three waist knives. One to carry, one as a spare, and I can get rid of the extra one. Including those iron tools from the old camp, I can also get rid of the extras later.

As for defensive weapons on the way back? Don't you still have that wood-chopping knife?

Taking the military-style waist knife, the middle-aged blacksmith, equally too lazy to inquire about its origin, glanced at its condition and said, "Young man, I'll give you two taels and two fen at most?"

Weapons like knives sell very well, much better than arrows and javelins. For middle-aged blacksmiths, such transactions are very profitable.

After a brief consideration, Zhou Ye agreed to the deal.

Interestingly, the middle-aged blacksmith also took a liking to the smoked wild boar hind leg. That hind leg weighed over 40 jin (approximately 20 kg). So after the transaction, Zhou Ye received a bundle of arrows, two iron javelins, and some scissors. He even received a few dozen copper coins?

As they parted, the middle-aged blacksmith kindly suggested, "Young man, if you need needles and thread, go to the second general store at the street corner. They also buy furs there; although the prices aren't as high as in the county town, they're still fair."

Upon arriving at the general store, they met the plump shopkeeper. After introducing themselves, they learned that his surname was Ding.

"Brother Zhou, these are bamboo rat pelts, right? These pelts are relatively small and more troublesome to process. These few are also damaged; I can only give you 220 coins per pelt at most. Snake skins aren't worth much; I can give you 60 coins per pelt."

Seeing the few tattered bamboo rat skins, the ones he'd used to practice skinning animals at the beginning, Zhou Ye couldn't help but smile. He didn't deny it much: "Manager Ding, add some more. It's not easy for me in the mountains."

"I run a small business here, and doing business isn't easy! How about this..."

"Then I need to buy some things, can you give me a discount?"

"Okay! Pick whatever you like."

"..."

To be honest, Zhou Ye was quite satisfied. He hadn't expected that these bamboo rat and snake skins could sell for more than 20 taels of silver. If he had known this, he should have hunted more bamboo rats back then.

But then I thought, I still have more than 100 bamboo rat pelts at home, and if I add the ones I raise, it should be more than 200? In that case, it's fine.

However, after the transaction, Zhou Ye couldn't resist his damned urge to buy.

"Shopkeeper Ding, how much is this map?"

"Brother Zhou, this is a simple map of the nearby towns and mountains. Someone like you who ventures into the mountains definitely needs one. But here's also a 'Compendium of Wild Animals and Herbs.' You'd better buy a copy too. In case you encounter any valuable herbs or animal materials in the mountains, you won't miss out, right?"

Zhou Ye agreed. He then asked, "How much?"

"If you add it all up, I'll give you two ounces."

"So expensive?"

"Why is it expensive? Young man, knowledge is priceless! Look, you earned over 20 taels just from one trip into the mountains!"

"You can't calculate it that way."

"Alright! I'll give you a discount of one tael of silver?"

"Hey? You have fishing nets here? Give me one. But do you have any flotation nets?"

"Huh? What's a wire mesh cage?"

"Fine. Then give me some more materials for weaving the net. I'll prepare it myself when I get back!"

"..."

After buying those items, Zhou Ye, through Manager Ding's introduction, went to the pawnshop next door and purchased a complete set of secondhand cotton-padded clothes, trousers, hats, and shoes that someone had pawned, along with a thick cotton quilt. Although they were secondhand, they were about 70% new.

They then found a stonemason's house and bought a small stone mill.

To be honest, without a local's guidance, you simply wouldn't know where to buy a stone mill.

Manager Ding was equally accustomed to Zhou Ye's large-scale purchases.

Because it was indeed very difficult to go into the mountains, many people would build campsites in the forests. There were also those "wild men" who couldn't bear the oppression of the government and fled to the mountains. They were the mountain people.

Although these people live in the mountains and forests, they also have a need for foreign trade.