Merchants from the West

Two carriages stopped in front of an inn. The inn is not big, the small courtyard on the floor, cleaned up cleanly, the store door is facing the street, people come and go, so it is not lively. Ah Liu and Du Qi got out of the car and carried their bags first, and Ada went to settle the cart and horses. Mu Qing followed Du Ruhui into the store and walked upstairs. She went to Yuhang, has been raised in the deep boudoir, never went far away, only in the festival by the people to wander around, it is difficult to see the market on weekdays, let alone inns and other places, she cautiously looked around the store, all kinds of people gathered, talking to each other along the way, boiling the sky.

Mu Qing wore a semi-transparent soap gauze hat, and there were still sharp-eyed good deeds, who caught a glimpse of her, and gathered around to discuss, and what they discussed was nothing more than "Xiao Niang's good color", "Are these two husband and wife or brother and sister", "Don't elope with each other". Du Ruhui leaned closer to her, deliberately covering her figure, and went to the small room that was separated behind the screen.

"Can I not go to the cubicle?" Mu Qing stopped him and whispered: "I often hear my senior brothers talk about the world at home, but I only hear it, and today I can listen to it in person." ”

Du Ru glanced at her in surprise, "The homeless people in the market speak rudely, aren't you afraid that they will pollute your ears and eyes?" ”

"Qi Niang is not noble, just choose those who are willing to listen." Mu Qing replied lightly.

Du Ruhui lowered her head and smiled silently, and led her to a table by the window. After sitting down, the prying eyes around him also followed, Mu Qing raised his hand to take off his hat, but hesitated for a moment, and lowered his hand without taking it off. The guy who was waiting for the tea came over quickly, and he couldn't help but be curious, and couldn't help but look at her until he finished the tea and looked at her twice before leaving. Mu Qing suddenly stretched out his hand and took off his hat, raised his head to meet the curious peeping eyes, glanced around, and then turned around and ignored everyone's eyes and discussions, looking at the scenery outside the window as if nothing happened, and chatting with Du Ruyan from time to time.

Sure enough, the discussion around them gradually decreased, and everyone reengaged in the previous topic and started talking. Mu Qing listened attentively for a while, and suddenly heard someone say: "I heard that the chieftains of the feudal clans went to the eastern capital to pay tribute and asked the saint for permission to enter the market. ”

"So-and-so happens to be in the Eastern Capital." The middle-aged man who looked like a businessman next to him said proudly, and the other two men in the seat hurriedly urged him to elaborate, he smiled and slowly straightened out, "The younger brother has a business in Duanmen Street, Dongdu, and he received a royal order a few years ago, and ordered to renovate the store according to the prescribed style, and the walls and eaves of the whole street are exactly the same style, and the curtains are furnished, and the best objects in the store are selected and placed in the hall. The market opens on the fifteenth day of the first month, without delay and without reason. The king's order was hard to disobey, so he didn't have a good time for even a year, and promised a lot of money and his companions, not to let them go home for the New Year, but to stay in the store to take care of them. ”

Du Ruhui and Mu Qing glanced up at him at the same time, and they looked like a businessman, with koji dust-colored narrow sleeves and lapel robes, only knee-length, wearing a dark gray scarf, deep eyes and high nose, like a Hu person. Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he helped the conversation more and more, "On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the drum tower at the entrance of the street beat loudly, and the market opened as promised. For a time, the drama was performed together, and there were as many as 18,000 musicians, and the music could be heard more than ten miles away, and it did not stop until the next day. People come and go on Duanmen Street, all dressed up in gorgeous clothes, and the trees on the side of the street are wrapped in good silks, and the palace lamps are hung, shining like day. Even the vegetable sellers set up stalls with dragon beard mats. ”

Everyone took a deep breath when they heard this, and Mu Qing lowered his voice and asked in Du Ruhui's ear: "Isn't this businessman exaggerating?" I have also wandered around the temple fair, how can I be so extravagant? Or the grandeur of the imperial capital? ”

Du Ruhui shook his head, "It's not an exaggeration, it's true." The emperor is not so magnificent, it is deliberately extravagant. ”

"What's more," said the merchant, pouring himself a glass, and continued, "there is an order in the first place, but if there is a merchant from Fanbang who passes by the hotel restaurant, the shopkeeper must go out and invite the merchant into the store, and serve him food and wine, and after he has eaten enough, he will not take any share." ”

Those who listened to the excitement couldn't help but be in an uproar. Someone questioned the merchant for deliberately exaggerating, and the merchant was anxious and said loudly, "If you don't believe it, go and ask someone from the eastern capital, the city will not be closed until the end of the month, and everyone knows from far and near." ”

A person at the same table laughed and said, "Kang, would you be willing to invite people to eat and drink for nothing?" Don't say that the king's order is difficult to disobey, even if you put the knife on your neck, you may not be willing. The people around laughed loudly, looking as if they were familiar with each other, and even the guy in the store heard a sentence or two when he served the food, and he also teased a few words, but he was not annoyed, he was very easy-going.

Du Ruhui whispered to Mu Qing, "Do you think this person has the appearance of a bearded person?" Listening to others call him Kang, Hu Shang surnamed Kang should be a Sogdian. However, the Sogdians had always controlled the northwestern trade routes, and somehow they managed to run to the south of the Yangtze River. Seeing that he is familiar with the shop, he must have come and gone often. ”

Mu Qing glanced at him casually again, his hair was curled and bearded, his eyes were deep-set, and the bridge of his nose was straight, there were not many Hu people in Jiangnan, so it seemed a little eye-catching, but his Chinese language was fluent, and he was familiar with the Han people around him, which seemed to be different from ordinary Hu people.

After everyone had laughed, the merchant who was called Kang continued to laugh and said, "No one is allowed to eat white food." How much money can you eat with food and drink? Before the market opened, officials came to make subsidies. Counting the money from repairing the shop and distributing the handymen's money, there was still a lot left, enough to buy two more orchids to make money. ”

Everyone laughed again, and someone shouted, "Is there any business that you Kang Lang doesn't do?" Someone else smiled and said, "Kang, are you willing to sell it after you buy orchid?" "For a while, there was nonsense.

In the end, it was the little lady who was thin-skinned, Mu Qing couldn't help blushing a little when she heard it, and lowered her head to drink water. After a while, she raised her head and asked, "With such a subsidy from the official family, how much money will be spent on the expenses of a whole street of merchants for half a month?" ”

"It costs a lot." Du Ruyan replied, "And in the future, the market will be open for half a month on the fifteenth day of the first month of the first month of the next year, just to show that our dynasty is rich and prosperous, but in fact, it is empty inside, and the people are not happy." ”

Mu Qing made a slight calculation in his heart, and couldn't help but be speechless, and then felt that this move was not all absurd and wrong, "Or the Holy Lord wants to promote the mutual benefit of the merchants of various countries and our dynasty, but it is good to benefit the country with business, but it is only extravagant, overkill, I am afraid that the goal will not be achieved, and I will hurt myself first." ”

Du Ruhui looked at her meaningfully for a while, and smiled slightly, it was Gu Biao who had taught her for many years, even if she was raised in the deep boudoir, she only occasionally had to listen to the senior brothers discuss current affairs, and she could have such insight. In the future, if you can not be confined to the backyard of the deep court, you will not know if you can reach the world in time. I wanted to ask her if she got the truth of "benefiting the country with business" from Gu Biao, but she was afraid that mentioning her father would touch her sadness again, so the words stopped at the edge of her mouth and replaced them with another sentence, "Ah Liu may have cleaned up in the house, there are too many homeless people in the market here, and there are many inconveniences." Why don't you go back to your room first, and then send someone to bring food to your room. ”

Mu Qing nodded, got up and put on a soap veil hat, and walked upstairs to the guest room. The posture is graceful, the charm is elegant, and it attracts a burst of eyes to follow.

At the right time, the sky was already dark, the master and servant ate some food sent by the store in the room, Ah Liu went to prepare water for washing, Mu Qing did not want to stay in the room alone, walked out of the door, and stood on the corridor of the building. Leaning on the railing and looking down at the lively and noisy hall, everyone retreated at this time, but two by two people sat and talked.

Du Ruhui was still sitting at the table by the window, and the person sitting opposite was Hu Shangkang, and the two were drinking against each other. There were already a few empty wine jugs scattered on the table under the table, and I suddenly heard Du Ruhui shouting to the shopkeeper, "Take two more pots of mulberry wine." The shopkeeper replied loudly and got busy. Kang took out a sheepskin water bladder from his pouch and poured it into the bowl of the two of them, saying that it was Sogdian wine, which was rare in Jiangnan.

Hearing Du Ruhui ask the store for mulberry wine, Mu Qing couldn't help but mutter: "Pucheng mulberry wine, Ba'an chrysanthemum fragrance." "Sad for a while, that is the legacy of Yu Li's father, I heard Yu Li talk about it in the past, and I can't help but feel a little gloomy. Downstairs came Kang Haoshuang's hoarse voice, accompanied by the sound of cups and cups, and the sound of wine and joy, Mu Qing looked sideways, and saw that Du Ruhui's face was red, his shape was bold, and he had already drunk a lot of wine. Afraid that he would be drunk and uncomfortable, he went to find Du Qi and instructed: "Your Ah Lang is afraid that he has drunk too much, let the store prepare a decanting soup first, and don't forget to serve him when you go back to the house." ”

Du Qi looked at it and looked disapproving, "Mother is too worried." These wines can't get drunk with Ah Lang, just laugh at them. And Ah Lang and the Nahu people have never known each other, so they must be in control, and they will never be confused. ”

Mu Qing was a little surprised, he usually taught together every day, among the senior brothers, he was the only one who had always been gentle and elegant like ancient jade, and he had never seen him drink so extensively. Mu Qing nodded slightly, turned around to leave, Du Qi remembered something again, and hurriedly said, "Earlier, Ah Lang asked me to ask Miss Ah Liu, what is lacking in my mother, and whether she is okay." It's good to see my mother, and Aliu of the province passes back and forth. ”

"It's good. There is nothing lacking, thank you for me. Mu Qing politely replied. Du Qi smiled secretly in his heart, this Gu Niang can be regarded as having promised Ah Lang, but the two of them came politely and the other politely, like strangers, as if they didn't know how to get along. His family Ah Lang is even more ridiculous, he has followed him for more than ten years, and he has never seen him so concerned about which mother, and he still doesn't want her to know, only thinking behind his back.

For mobile phone users, please go to M to read