First, he needed to buy brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Although in this era he was just a wild kid who only knew how to fight and play ball, and had only attended school for a year, deep down he always considered himself a scholar.

Even though he had failed the college entrance exam three times, it didn’t affect his self-assessment.

Next, he needed to buy a polo mallet, or else he wouldn’t be able to train in the well tonight.

Adam Thompson wore a short gray coarse-cloth jacket, loose pants, and a pair of coarse-cloth shoes. All his clothes, shoes, and socks were made by Granny Mu. Though rough, they were washed spotlessly clean.

He looked no different from the laborers in the West Market. The only difference was that the laborers all hurried along, ignoring everything around them, rushing to deliver goods and make money.

Adam Thompson was different. He looked around curiously at everything, marveling at it all, completely like a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time.

There were so many shops in the West Market, lined up one after another, with signboards everywhere and hawkers shouting in succession. All kinds of goods were piled up in front of the doors, many of which he had never seen before. The dazzling array left him overwhelmed.

There were also so many people, a constant stream of all kinds, and many foreigners whose nationalities he couldn’t tell. Adam Thompson stared at them curiously as he walked by.

Turning a corner, a few flamboyant young women suddenly appeared before him. Their hair was like clouds, they wore light gauze dresses, and large areas of white skin were exposed on their chests. They leaned against the doorway, beckoning to Adam Thompson, casting flirtatious glances, biting their lips and giggling.

Adam Thompson immediately blushed, wanting to look but not daring to, and fled in panic.

……

He first bought brush, ink, paper, and inkstone at a stationery shop. The cheapest set cost thirty wen, but the shop assistant treated him like a delivery boy.

Carrying the bundled cloth package, Adam Thompson felt a bit hungry, so he spent another ten wen to buy two meat-filled buns, gnawing on them as he walked.

“Master Shaw’s latest polo mallets, the pride of the polo field, only three for sale!”

A hawker’s shout caught Adam Thompson’s attention, and he noticed that right next to him was a shop selling polo equipment called ‘Shao’s Equipment’. Not only this one, but the next seven or eight shops ahead were all selling polo gear, and business was booming.

Polo was the national sport of the Tang Dynasty. From emperors and nobles to servants and peddlers, everyone was obsessed with polo. Even the concubines and princesses in the imperial harem would often ride donkeys to play polo matches.

Any random polo match in Chang’an would attract tens of thousands of spectators, the excitement was off the charts.

Adam Thompson walked to the shop entrance. The shop assistant, who was shouting, glanced at him with barely concealed disdain and was about to shoo him away. Unexpectedly, Adam Thompson took out ten taels of silver and weighed them in his hand. The gleaming silver dazzled the assistant’s eyes, and he bent over with a smile, saying, “Young master, are you here to buy equipment?”

“Let me see the mallets!”

“You’ve come to the right place, young master! Our mallets, in the capital, are…”

The assistant gave a thumbs up. “Even the mallets for the palace ladies are supplied by us. Last year’s league runner-up, the Xiaqiwèi team, also used our mallets.”

Adam Thompson couldn’t be bothered to listen to his boasting and walked into the shop. The main hall was spacious, with no counter, and all kinds of equipment hung on the walls.

Polo was fiercely competitive and injuries were common, so there were all kinds of helmets, leather armor, and leg guards, all clearly priced. Adam Thompson was secretly shocked—a set of the cheapest leather armor and helmet cost fifty strings of cash, while the most expensive set, hanging in the center of the wall, cost eighteen hundred strings.

The assistant picked up a set of leather armor and enthusiastically introduced, “This is called ‘Light and Shadow’, modeled after the Mingguang armor. It’s our best seller, only one hundred and twenty strings a set. How tall is your young master?”

This bastard still thought he was a delivery boy.

Adam Thompson said coolly, “I want to see the mallets, those under ten strings.”

When the assistant heard “under ten strings,” his enthusiasm vanished instantly. He lazily pointed to a corner, “They’re all over there, go look yourself!”

In the corner, three large bamboo baskets were filled with polo mallets. The baskets were labeled with prices: five strings, ten strings, and fifteen strings. Compared to the limited edition mallets personally made by Master Shaw, which cost five hundred strings each, these were definitely low-end goods.

A few other young men were also picking out mallets nearby.

Adam Thompson pulled out a five-string willow mallet, shook his head—the craftsmanship was decent, but the wood was too light and soft, not even as good as his own.

He then picked out a ten-string mallet. The wood was a bit better—it was beech—but still too light.

He suddenly realized that although his own mallet was a bit worn, it seemed to be made of jujube wood, solid and much heavier than the ten-string mallet.

Looks like there’s no need to buy a new mallet. A good second-hand one will do. His mother had only spent ten wen to pick it up from a street stall.

At this moment, he overheard a few young men chatting nearby: “Do you think John Johnson will also hire foreign players?”

Adam Thompson’s ears immediately perked up.

Chapter 13: The Hierarchy System

A few sturdy young men were chattering away.

“What kind of foreign players could he hire? The prince has forbidden the use of white-ball players, so at most he can only hire other black-ball players. But can any other black-ball player compare to Little Frank?”

“Little Frank is just a top black-ball player, fifty strings per match. There are plenty of white-ball players better than him!”