The ship went all the way east, out of the Three Gorges, into Jingnan, walked for more than ten days, and on this morning, the ship arrived in Jiangxia County, Ezhou.

When the passenger ship passed through Yuzhou, there were more than a dozen guests, there were businessmen, there were also scholars who traveled to study, there were many women and children, they only paid one or two times the boat fee, and could not be compared with Guo Song, who paid eighty times the boat money, so they could only live in the bilge or the first floor, and could not go up to the second floor.

Before leaving, Xue Tao bought a lot of paper and pens in Luchuan County, and bought some books, Guo Song also bought her a piano, along the way, Xue Tao stroked the qin and painted, and let Guo Song accompany her to chant poems, and the two lived like a fairy.

Xue Tao laid out the paper and was about to continue her painting, when suddenly there was a cry of a child and the sound of a man scolding downstairs, and then a woman's cry was heard.

This is a small businessman in Ezhou, as if surnamed Mao, went to Yuzhou to do business at a loss, was in a bad mood, kept drinking all the way, and vented his anger on his wife and children after drinking, their cabin was just under the living room, and they heard their family crying wolf along the way.

Xue Tao sighed, her Yaxing was disturbed by the people below again, she had to put down her pen, got up and came to the window, and stood side by side with Guo Song.

"Guo Lang, shall we buy our own boat in the future?"

Guo Song nodded and said with a smile: "I was disturbed by the people below again, you should have listened to me a long time ago and drove them off the boat in Zigui." ”

"Don't!"

Xue Tao shook his head and said: "Although I don't like them, I don't want to be so domineering, the best way is to have a big ship of my own, and then enjoy the coastal scenery quietly all the way." ”

Guo Song hugged her shoulders and said with a smile: "It's going to Jiangxia soon, except for us, everyone else has to get off the boat, I won't let the boat boss get on the boat, all of them will be covered, what do you think?" ”

Xue Tao nodded expectantly.

Guo Song said again: "There is another choice, after we charter this boat, we can go to Xiangyang by Hanshui according to the original plan, or we can continue to take the boat to Yangzhou, and then we will change ships from Yangzhou back to Chang'an, which one do you want to choose?" ”

Xue Tao bit his lip and thought about it: "I want to go to Yangzhou, but the premise is that there are two of us on this ship." ”

"No problem, I'll negotiate with the boat boss when they all get off the ship."

At this time, the shout of the boat boss came from outside, "Jiangxia is coming!" ”

An hour later, the big ship slowly docked at Jiangxia Wharf, the passengers waiting on the side of the ship have taken their luggage and got off the boat, before Guo Songding's ship was to Xiangyang, must turn the road to take the Han River, if the passengers want to go east, they can only change ships.

The captain of the ship shouted to Guo Song: "Guo Gongzi, we want to replenish supplies here, stop for two hours, do you want to go ashore for a walk?" ”

"What's so interesting about Jiangxia?" Guo Song asked with a smile.

"Childe can go to the Yellow Crane Tower to have a look!"

Only then did Guo Song wake up, isn't Jiangxia the Wuhan of later generations?

"Uncle, there is one more thing to discuss, we want to go to Yangzhou, can you go? If I can't go, I'll find another boat. ”

The captain of the boat laughed and said: "If you pay another eighty yuan, we will not bring other guests, this boat will be chartered for you, as long as the son can accept this price, we will be happy to serve." ”

"Then let's say okay, eighty times to go to Yangzhou, we will completely charter this ship, and we are not allowed to bring other guests."

The boat boss nodded, "We're up for it!" ”

.......

Jiangxia is today's Wuchang, on the opposite bank is Hanyang County, in the Tang Dynasty is also the most prosperous commercial and populous city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Guo Song and Xue Tao came out of the wharf, immediately felt the noisy and lively atmosphere, people come and go everywhere, densely populated.

The Anshi Rebellion also caused a large number of wealthy families from the north to flee to the south, one line was to go to the south of the Yangtze River, and the other line was to go to Jingxiang, which more than doubled the population of Jiangxia in just two decades.

Although the Anshi Rebellion has ended, many people have already settled here and are reluctant to return.

"Two, ride my bullock cart! I'll send you to the Yellow Crane Tower. ”

Several ox carts stopped on the side to pick up passengers, and they shouted loudly, giving Guo Song a sense of confusion that had traveled through time and space.

Xue Tao changed into a thick dress bought in Zigui County, wearing a tulle hat, she could see the situation outside, but her face could not be seen clearly outside.

She took Guo Song's arm and whispered, "Guo Lang, let's take a walk first, walk around the streetscape, eat something, and then go to the Yellow Crane Tower." ”

Guo Song nodded, in fact, he had another idea, he wanted to buy a little maid for Xue Tao, Xue Tao's maid Xiao'e did not come with him in Chengdu, and Xue Tao's living was really a little inconvenient.

Not far from the county seat in front, the two walked into the city, the county is still very lively, a spacious street leads straight to the north and south, the ground is also paved with stone slabs, it is very clean and tidy, the shops on both sides are lined up, the prosperity is abnormal, and Chengdu is almost comparable.

Guo Song stepped forward and asked a soldier guarding the city, "How do I go to Jiangrenyuan?" ”

The soldier pointed ahead, "Thirty steps ahead, do you see?" It's the shop with the apricot yellow flag. ”

"Thank you!"

"Guo Song, what is Jiangrenyuan?" Xue Tao asked strangely.

"I heard from the boat boss that the Jiangren Courtyard is a place for buying and selling official slaves, and I want to buy you a little maid."

Xue Tao didn't object, there was no maid by his side, many things were really inconvenient, and many things were done by Guo Song, which was really embarrassing for him.

After a while, they saw a big black lacquer plaque, with the words 'Jiangrenyuan' written on it, and many people came in and out, this is the largest place for official slaves to be bought and sold in Ezhou, and official slaves do not only refer to slaves who have not entered the official mansion.

It refers more to the lowly people registered in the government, who are dependent on their masters, do not have to pay poll tax, and have kabukos, musicians, craftsmen, subordinates, servants, etc., and their status is lower than that of the common people.

"Do you want to buy a servant woman?"

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he was warmly greeted by a broker in his thirties, who could not only introduce business to others, but also had official slaves in his own hands.

Guo Song nodded, "If you want to buy a little girl, is there a suitable candidate?" ”

"There are not thousands of little maids, but hundreds, the key is what conditions are needed, such as age, such as family status, such as what are you going to let her do, rough maids, or personal maids, etc., can the son make specific requests?"

Guo Song thought for a while and said: "The age requirement is about eleven or twelve years old, preferably an orphan, we can take it away, and we have to stay in a big family, we can become a personal little maid, smart and clever, and the appearance is required to be delicate." ”

The broker laughed, "This is actually the best little maid, I happen to have one on hand, the little maid in the inner house of the Huang family, the master died, and the maids and servants were all sold by the Huang family, this little maid only came yesterday, I will show you." ”

"Is it the right age?"

"It's definitely suitable, I just turned eleven years old last month, a very well-behaved and smart child, and he looks good, wait a minute."

The broker hurriedly went to find someone, and Xue Tao whispered to Guo Song: "Let me see, I will squeeze your hand if I like it." ”

Guo Song nodded, he liked Xue Tao, he was not pretentious, and his personality was refreshing.

After a while, the broker brought a little lady, the little lady was carrying a small burden, she looked really eleven or twelve years old, her skin was very white, her eyes were big and round, there was a hint of sadness in her eyes, her temperament was also very good, and she had a faint bookish atmosphere.

Guo Song and Xue Tao squeezed each other's hands almost at the same time, both of them fell in love with each other, this was a child with feelings, and the sadness in her eyes moved them all.

Xue Tao squatted down and took the little girl's hand and said, "We are from Chang'an, are you willing to go to Chang'an with us?" ”

The little girl nodded slightly, and Xue Tao said to Guo Song: "Guo Lang, it's her." ”

Guo Song said to the broker: "Just buy her." ”

The broker smiled: "Childe has good eyesight, this little lady is the best maid I have ever seen, a fixed price, fifty yuan, I will help you get the deed, I have a relationship, you don't have to queue, you can get it immediately." ”

It costs ten yuan to buy a maid here, and the broker heard that they were from Chang'an, and they liked this little lady, so they asked for five times the price.

Guo Song knew that he was asking for a high price, but he didn't bother to bother with him, so he said, "Yes, you can help me make a deed." ”

The broker asked for Guo Song's information and went in a hurry, but Xue Tao asked the little girl in a low voice, and the little girl was very well-behaved and had no temperament, so she answered in a whisper.

Guo Song was surprised when he heard it, "This little girl is actually literate, which is rare." ”

This is also what Xue Tao is most satisfied with, her maid Xiao'e is illiterate and refuses to learn, so she always secretly reports her situation to her mother, and then simply lets her follow her mother.

"Hmmm! Since your father named you Min Qiu, then you will be called Ah Qiu from now on! ”

At this time, the broker ran back and took a copy of the deed and handed it to Guo Song, and the owner of this little maid was Guo Song from then on.

Guo Song took five taels of gold and handed it to the broker, the broker was very happy, he spent five times this morning to buy this little girl, and he made ten times as much money as he changed hands.

"Let's go!"

The three of them went out of the gate, and the broker diligently found them an ox cart, and they got on the ox cart and headed for the Yellow Crane Tower.