The merchant ship was two stories high, with the first deck attached to it filled with merchants, and the second deck was the wings.

When he entered the wing, Fang Ling saw He Zheng's cousin and sister.

He Zheng's cousin's name is Ling Xiaoran, about 24 or 5 years old, quite handsome, dressed as a scholar, wearing a scarf and holding a paper fan.

The 18 or 8-year-old girl sitting next to him was He Zheng's younger sister, named He Shuilian, slightly chubby, with a mediocre posture and a little freckles at the corners of her eyes.

As soon as he saw He Zheng walking in with two people, Ling Xiaoran's eyes were glued to Song Ying'er's body at once, looking at her beautiful face and graceful figure presumptuously, and finally swallowed her saliva with difficulty, and then looked at Fang Ling, her eyes full of jealousy.

He Shuilian was also slightly stunned when she saw Song Ying'er's stunning appearance, as if she didn't expect that there would be such a beautiful woman in the world, and then glanced at her cousin's eyes, she immediately became a little hostile, and said with great displeasure: "Brother, who are they?"

He Zheng said with a smile: "This is Fang Gongzi and his maidservant Miss Song, the rope was loosened at the dock just now, and a box of agarwood almost fell into the river, but thanks to Fang Gongzi's help, he survived." They also happened to be going north to the city of Bingzhou, so I invited them up and took them on the same boat. ”

Hearing that Song Ying'er turned out to be a young man's maidservant, Ling Xiaoran couldn't help but be taken aback, and couldn't accept this fact for a while, this woman is not only beautiful, but also has a charming temperament, no matter how you look at it, it should be a lady from a big family, how can it be a maidservant?

He Shuilian's face was suddenly filled with a thick smile, and there was more disdain in her eyes, muttering to herself, what about being beautiful, but she was just a lowly maid, and she said complainingly: "Brother, my father has instructed you to be careful when you go out, and you should be careful when you meet people, especially don't meet those who are of unknown origin." ”

Fang Ling is so smart, as soon as he entered the door, he saw through the expressions of the two, He Shuilian obviously liked this cousin very much, but this cousin Ling Xiaoran was obviously a gentleman, he was afraid that he didn't have any thoughts about this cousin, so after seeing Song Ying'er, the two naturally reacted completely differently.

Hearing He Shuilian say this, He Zheng couldn't help frowning, and said with a straight face: "Little sister, don't be rude." Then he apologized to Fang Ling and said: "My sister has been pampered since she was a child, and her words are not inferior, please forgive Fang Gongzi, come, please sit down." ”

He Shuilian snorted lightly and pinned her head to the side.

Fang Ling sat down and said with a smile: "What Miss He said is not wrong, when you go out, of course, it's better to be careful." ”

Ling Xiaoran's gaze reluctantly left Song Ying'er, his eyes rolled slightly, and he inquired: "Gongzi Fang has an extraordinary bearing, I don't know which prince of the Wang family in Bingzhou is it?"

"I don't come from a noble family. Fang Ling replied with a smile, this answer is not a lie, after all, the royal family is indeed not a wang family.

As soon as he heard that the young man was not a child of the Wang clan, Ling Xiaoran's face was dyed with a thick smile, and he wondered how he could get a beauty like Song Ying'er.

He Shuilian's face was a little more disdainful, and she even felt that sitting in the same room with these two felt a little lowered.

He Zheng took out a small wooden box from the side at this time, put it on the table, and said with a smile while opening it, "Our He family specializes in all kinds of high-end wood products, these are made by first-class carpenters in Bingzhou. ”

As soon as the wooden box was opened, I first smelled a refreshing fragrance, the fragrance was strong and lingering, and then I saw a bunch of gadgets inside, including bracelets, beads and various ornaments.

Fang Ling didn't expect He Zheng to be so generous, he could see at a glance that these ornaments were made of high-grade agarwood, although the quality was not as good as a product, but this random string also cost dozens of taels of silver.

However, what surprised him even more was the craftsmanship of these jewelry, so he couldn't help but pick up the top bracelet and put it in his hand to admire.

Fang Ling grew up in the palace since he was a child, even if the things in the palace are waste, they must be made of the upper layer of materials, not to mention the craftsmanship, it must be made by the top craftsmen in the country, so his aesthetic vision is far above ordinary people, in the palace and royal family, the agarwood that is rare among the people is the most common material, and all kinds of scholarly utensils have their shadows

This bracelet is exquisitely carved, round as a bead, and each bead is greatly endangered by the beauty of a unique pattern, and then after being strung up, it can be described as a ingenious thing, and I can't help but flash a trace of brilliance in my eyes.

He Shuilian snorted dissatisfiedly when she saw that He Zheng actually took out the high-quality agarwood products for Fang Ling to pick, and when she saw that Fang Ling really reached out and grabbed the bracelet, she even "revealed" a disdainful expression.

Seeing Fang Ling admiring the bracelet, He Zheng smiled and said: "This bracelet is made by the best craftsmen of the Mo family in Bingzhou, don't look at it as just a string of wooden beads, the process of manufacturing it is not simple, just this string, it will take half a month." ”

Fang Ling nodded again and again when he heard this, and did not hesitate to praise: "This carving is indeed extraordinary, not only preserves the natural texture of the light fragrant wood, but also perfectly shows the luster feeling, just like the jade of ink 'color', shining in the light, and there is an extraordinary charm." ”

Hearing Fang Ling's appreciation, He Zheng was a little surprised and said: "Gongzi can recognize at a glance that this is the light incense wood in agarwood, it can be seen that he has also studied this wood, even if it is a child of our He family, at your age, what kind of light incense stack incense raft, it is all anxious to distinguish clearly." ”

You must know that although the number of agarwood is scarce, there are surprisingly many types, and the fragrance, texture, and "color" of different types are very different.

Speaking of this, he said with reminiscence: "I also suffered a lot in order to identify the type of agarwood, and I still remember that my father locked me in the warehouse for half a month, and I didn't release it until I could roughly distinguish it." Fang Gongzi is so discerning, could it be that he also does this handicraft at home?"

Fang Ling shook his head with a smile and said, "My family is in the silk business. ”

He Zheng suddenly realized: "So, Fang Gongzi went to Bingzhou because there is your family's silk village there?"

Hearing that Fang Ling's family was engaged in the silk business, the smile on Ling Xiaoran's face became even stronger, there were too many merchants who were engaged in silk trading, and their grades could not be compared with those of the Wang family merchants who specialized in high-grade wood.

Fang Ling nodded, He Zheng remembered something, and asked: "Recently, my wife is going to celebrate her birthday, I am thinking about what gift to give her, I have asked many people, and they all think that it is best to give a good satin, but I don't know which one to give? Since Fang Gongzi's family is engaged in silk business, why don't you give me some advice?"

Fang Ling thought for a moment and said, "It's summer now, the weather in the north is dry, and there is little rain, but there are still abundant water and grass in the grassland area of the northern border, and there is also a kind of water silkworm growing there. ”

"Water silkworms?" He Zheng said in surprise.

Fang Ling said: "This water silkworm is different from ordinary silkworm species, although it also eats mulberry leaves, but it must live in shallow water, so it is larger and whiter than ordinary silkworms, this water silkworm spits out silk as soft as water, caressing it like silky, and the silk woven into this silk is called water satin, if it is worn on the body, it is not only cool, but also has no sense of weight, I want to buy such a piece of satin, and then let the tailor cut it into a long skirt, it will definitely be liked by Mrs. Zun." ”

He Zheng was immediately overjoyed and said: "It sounds like this, this water satin is really good, I don't know where it is sold?"

Fang Ling smiled slightly and said: "My silk village will be sold again, and when I arrive in Bingzhou City, Brother He will take the time to come to the silk village, and I will personally select it for you." ”

He Zheng nodded again and again: "That's really good, when I arrive in Bingzhou in the afternoon, I will come to the door." ”

Fang Ling smiled, put the bracelet back in the box and said: "Then I will wait for Brother He in the store in the afternoon, I won't take this bracelet, otherwise I will be embarrassed to accept your silver taels, and if Brother He thinks that the silk in the village is good, he will trouble us to publicize it." ”

He Zheng laughed out loud, nodded straight and said, "Don't worry, Master Fang, as long as this silk is really as good as you said, then I will definitely not be stingy with this mouth." ”

Speaking of this, there were other business travelers passing by outside the door, and He Zheng walked out to greet him.

As soon as He Zheng left, Ling Xiaoran, who had not spoken, laughed, and said: "Master Fang, these jewelry are only a few dozen taels of silver, since your cousin wants to give it to you, why do you refuse? Moreover, it is really unfair that a beauty like Miss Song here is not wearing any jewelry." Otherwise, Miss Song, tell me which one of the things in this wooden box you like, and it will be given to you by Ling. ”

Song Ying'er didn't have a good impression of Ling Gongzi, who had been looking at him all the time, but now when she heard him sarcastically mocking Fang Ling's stinginess, she snorted lightly, but her face was silent, but she smiled and said: "Ling Gongzi is really generous, that little woman will thank you first." ”

Ling Xiaoran was so fascinated by this smile that his eyes were about to be spent, and he glanced at Fang Ling unintentionally and said: "Heroes in the world love beauties, if this son has a maid like Miss Song, then he will definitely make a large box of jewelry for you." ”

Seeing Ling Xiaoran being so courteous, He Shuilian couldn't help but snort lightly, and said coquettishly in a buzzing voice: "Cousin, if you even give jewelry to this maidservant, then you must give it to me." ”

"This jewelry belongs to yours, so you can take whatever you want. Ling Xiaoran obviously didn't have much interest in this cousin, so she said casually, and her eyes were staring directly at Song Ying'er.