Cangqian Village and Canghou Village under Gongwei Shixiacang, Canghou Village is the guest system, and Cangqian Village is the 'tide' system. Cangqian Village takes Wushiwei as the main body, Wushiwei is a tulou, the outer circumference is more than 80 zhang, the inner circumference is more than 30 zhang, there are 36 sets of three-entry hall houses, the back wall of the hall house is connected together is the outer wall of the tulou, more than three feet thick, enough to make the bandits and pirates daunting.

There is another stream in the southeast of Wushi Wai, which can be used for transportation in peacetime and can become the second line of defense outside the enclosure in wartime. Walk across the wooden plank bridge of this stream to the direction of Raoping County, you can see another river not far away, there is a bridge on the river, there are stalls on both sides of the bridge, this is the Qiaotou Market that the 28 villages near every fifteenth day of the first month and the New Year's Festival must come to catch up.

There are a number of houses on the edge of Qiaotou Market, and on the side of the road leading to Wushi Wai, there are several crude earthen houses, and in the corner of the earthen houses there is a shop flag with the three characters of apricot 'flower' written on it. The owner of this apricot 'flower' is an old ***, the person is called Mrs. Zhang, more than 20 years ago was driven out of the in-laws of Cangqian Village after settling down here, opened this shop, the two empty rooms at the back came out to entertain the passing merchants, and the front shop also sold some wine and food, but the most attractive and most spurned by serious people is that Mrs. Zhang raised three 'daughters', and the special 'door' was used to entertain guests. Therefore, if there are descendants in Cangqian Village and Canghou Village who want to come to Qiaotou Ruins, the verbose elders always have to tell them two more words, so that they can't even look at this dirty place that is both an inn, a wine shop and a brothel, and use a lot of words like "three years of bad luck" to scare people, but there are some unsuccessful descendants who can't help but run here secretly if they have a few spare money.

This day is not the day of the bazaar, Zhang Po because of the lack of things in the store, early with the big 'girl' Zhang Daya to the farmer on the other side of the bridge to buy goods, in the afternoon, Zhang Daya, who is over 30 years old, ran back with two ducks, and shouted before entering the "door": "Dog Er, quickly take the fairy grass water to remove the bad luck for me!" ”

A man in his forties who looked crooked ran out and asked, "What's wrong?" "This man named Dog Er is both a cook and a *** in the apricot 'flower', and he is also the second child of the inn when he is busy, and he does a lot of work, but several 'women' look down on him.

"Bad luck!" Zhang Daya shouted: "I met a dead body!" ”

"Dead bodies?" Two more 'female' heads poked out of the room, one was nearly thirty, and the other was in his early twenties, but it was Zhang Po's other two 'female' sons, Erya and Sanya, who shouted together: "Then you have to wash the fairy grass water before you can come in, don't bring bad luck in!" ”

Gou Er picked fairy grass and served water to Zhang Daya, and asked her what was going on, Zhang Daya said: "Don't mention it, it's really back!" I also blame my mother for being greedy, we met a group of people at the bridge to ask for directions, I wanted to ignore them, or just mumble a few words and just pass away, but my mother laughed and talked to them, looking like I wanted to do business again. ”

"There's nothing wrong with doing business." Dog Er said: "Recently, the government has strictly banned it, the white whistles in the pirate mountains in the sea are fierce, the harvest in the fields is poor, and I heard that people are dying of hunger in some places, and our business is becoming more and more difficult." Hmph, if it weren't for the proprietress who would have been in business in the past two years, if I hadn't run 'errands' diligently, this store would have collapsed long ago! ”

"I didn't say that business is bad!" Zhang Daya said: "But I don't think that group of people is very pleasing to the eye, no, I didn't say a few words, and their group suddenly pointed to the water and said that someone seemed to be drowning!" For the son-in-law of the first surnamed Wang—well, he's so good-looking—well, what are you talking about! The son surnamed Wang asked people to jump down and scoop people up, and when they saw it, it was a 'woman', her face had been soaked in water for a long time, and she couldn't understand her face because of the rouge mud, but she had already died! Bad luck! Bad luck! ”

Speaking of which, Zhang Daya had washed the fairy grass water, and when she entered the house, Zhang Erya asked, "What about Mom?" ”

"She's more back than I am. When the prince saw that the person was not saved, he asked his subordinates to carry the body to find the ground guard, and pulled her and Wang Zhougong and Tofu Po, who happened to pass by the bridge, to testify. ”

Zhang Erya smiled: "She is actually willing to take care of this idle matter." ”

"You don't know!" Zhang Daya said: "That prince is beautiful, but he speaks very majesticly!" When he said a word, people didn't dare not agree. It can be compared with our Zhang Zhudian in Wushiwei. ”

Zhang Erya and Zhang Sanya both laughed when they heard this: "I see that your soul has been hooked by that prince?" Compare with our Zhang Zhudian? How is that possible! ”

Gou Er thought for a while and said, "Your mother never likes to meddle with this kind of thing, she is willing to go this time, most likely because she wants to come back with this business, and we should also be prepared." So saying, he went to boil water.

When the sun will set, Zhang Po came back, she did not come alone, but brought back five big men plus a teenage child, depending on the situation, it should be the group of passing merchants that Zhang Daya said, but this group of people did not push the cart to carry the burden, but three of them carried a big bag on their backs, and they couldn't see what they were doing.

Before Mrs. Zhang arrived at the 'door', she shouted: "A distinguished guest is here!" 'Girls', come and greet you! Dog two, go cook and cook! ”

A few 'female' people chattered in the 'door': "I didn't think that my mother really brought the guests here." He hurried out to greet him, Zhang Sanya had a flexible brain, and did not forget to fetch water and pick the fairy grass before coming out and putting it at the 'door'.

When Zhang Po saw that she praised the little 'girl' in her heart for being smart, she said to the visitor: "A few guest officers, our customs here have only touched those things, we should wash our hands and go to bad luck." ”

The young man who was the leader of the merchants smiled and said, "We also have this custom in Quanzhou." Should, should. She took the lead in washing her hands, and Mrs. Zhang led them into the store, and asked the eldest 'daughter' to clean up the room, and the second 'girl' to prepare the meal, leaving only the little 'girl' to accompany her.

The young man stayed in the shop and waited with Mrs. Zhang, but his two subordinates and the child went around the house, and when they came back, they nodded, and the young man said, "Take me to see the room, if it's still clean, I'll stay." ”

Mrs. Zhang was overjoyed and hurriedly asked the little 'girl' to take her to see the room. Although this room is also simple, it is fairly clean, and this group of people does not care much, so they live like this. The matter of waiting for the service came to an end, Zhang Erya and Zhang Sanya were still serving inside, but Zhang Po had already gone to the kitchen and said happily: "It's okay now!" Once the deal is done, the next few months of work will be settled! ”

Gou Er said: "I don't think they plan to live for long, how can they earn a few months' worth of food?" ”

"You don't know!" Zhang Po said: "This prince is a merchant from Fujian, and this time he is going to our 'tide' state capital to buy 'tide' embroidery." ”

Dog Er said: "Are they going to Fucheng?" If that happens, he'll leave tomorrow, and we'll earn him at most money for a meal and a night's sleep. ”

"You know what!" Zhang Po said: "If he wants to buy something else, then forget it, but if you want to say 'tide' embroidery, why go to Fucheng?" That day, Zhang Lang spent the night here and said to Sanya that he had a lot of words, saying that there were a lot of things in Shixiacang! ”

Dog Er said with a sigh: "Do you want to match this business?" ”

"Otherwise, I'll be busy all day long!" Zhang Po said: "You hurry to the village now and talk to Zhang Lang." If we can match this business, our Chinese fee is indispensable. ”

Gou Er hesitated for a moment and said, "Over there in Wushiwei, shouldn't we mess with it?" ”

Zhang Po asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Gou Er said: "The guy in Canghou Village who heard that he had been a pirate came back, and he first hooked up with Zhang Lang with us, and then disappeared for no reason. Two days ago, a few more people with fresh faces passed by Wushiwei - I think there must be something going on in Cangqian Village recently, can we not mess with it, or don't ......"

Before he finished speaking, he was slapped by Mrs. Zhang, and scolded with a sneer: "No wonder people say that your dog has no eggs, but it really has no eggs!" No guts at all! What pirates are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? I don't want to know what kind of store we open! We open a right and wrong shop, the more right and wrong, the more profitable, there is a way to be a male thief 'female' prostitute, we are a 'female' prostitute, those pirates White Whistle are our relatives! If you were all doing serious business, you would have starved to death a long time ago! ”

Where does Dog Er dare to talk back? Hurry up to Wushiwei, at this time the sky is late, Wushiwei has closed the door, Dog Er counted the number of houses outside, found Zhang Lang's house, took two stones and aimed at the window to throw, soon after the snapping sound, a man opened the window, and said angrily: "What person!" Do! ”

Gou Er vaguely saw that it was Zhang Lang he was looking for, so he shouted: "I'm Gou Er, Uncle Lang will come out and have something important to discuss." ”

Zhang Lang asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Gou Er said: "The mother-in-law in our store has ordered, saying that this matter cannot be publicized." ”

Zhang Lang muttered, "Pretending to be a god and 'making a ghost'", but still took a long bamboo pole and stretched it out, the program of this bamboo pole was opened, Zhang Lang leaned his ear on one end of the bamboo pole to listen, and after the dog got the other end of the bamboo pole, he leaned over and told the passers-by. After hearing this, Zhang Lang hesitated for a while and said, "Is that really a big businessman?" Don't be a thousand. ”

Gou Er said: "They were originally going to Fucheng, but the lady in our store thought that this business could be taken over, so she kept them." As for whether it is Lao Qian, we have to wait for Uncle Lang's eyes to meet each other. ”

Zhang Lang thought about it again and said, "The 'door' is closed tonight, and it's inconvenient for me to go out." You let Mrs. Zhang not have to keep people, show them the way to Fucheng tomorrow, and let them go. ”

Gou Er couldn't help but be a little disappointed: "Uncle Lang doesn't want to do this business? ”

"It's not that I don't want to, I just want to guard against him! Anyway, you just do what I say! Zhang Lang said, and told him in the bamboo pole to remember to lead the way for the merchants tomorrow: "At least take it to the fork under the big god tree." ”

After sending the second dog away, Zhang Lang closed the window and lay back on the 'bed', his wife also woke up early, so he asked what happened, Zhang Lang said the matter in a few words, his wife was anxious when she heard it, and said: "Why don't you go and take a look!" It is really ...... to let Mrs. Zhang send people away If you really can afford to pay for the merchants, you must keep it! In the past six months, the second uncle has been in charge of it tightly, how long have we not had money in our pockets? The annual harvest in the past two years is not good, if there is no subsidy, you will starve to death just by relying on the harvest in the field! ”

"You know what!" Zhang Lang said: "You also know that the current year is not good, those who can't go on, those who have the courage either to go to the sea to be thieves or go up to the mountains to set up a village, and those who are a little crooked will be cheated and cheated and stolen!" Who knows if these people are real merchants or fake merchants? Besides, what the second child said is right, there have been a succession of people coming to the sea recently, most of them are going to have an accident! It's better to be careful. ”

His wife said: "Be careful, you have to be careful, but you don't have to let Mrs. Zhang send people away, right?" ”

"Don't worry!" Zhang Lang said: "Since I do this, I naturally have my idea!" ”

He got up early the next morning, asked his wife to go to the apricot 'flower' to inquire about the news, and told him to pay attention to the expressions of the merchants, but he stopped on the fork in the apricot 'flower' to the city, and when it was noon, he saw his wife hurrying to him and said: "The group of people have eaten, and they will go after asking the way, without any delay." When Zhang Lang heard this, he said in his heart: "This is three points true." Soon I saw a group of people walking slowly, and it was Dog Er who led the way. His wife whispered behind him: "It's that group of people, the young man walking behind Dog Er, what is Wang Gongzi, it seems to be their head." So saying, he hid.

When the group of people walked in, Zhang Langcai said, "Dog Er, why did you come here?" These faces are very raw, are they your relatives? ”

When Gou Er saw him, he pretended to be surprised and shouted, "Uncle Lang, why did you come here?" And he said, "I'll show the way for a few of the guest officers in our shop!" They are going to the city. He said to the prince again: "A few guest officers, this is what our boss mentioned this morning, Uncle Lang of Wushiwei, surnamed Zhang." Uncle Lang has a wide range of people in Fucheng, and the roads are familiar, several guest officials are going to Fucheng this time, whether the road is good or the people are good, you can inquire with Uncle Lang. ”

The prince of the prince heard that he stepped forward to meet Zhang Lang, claiming that his surname was Wang, Xingsi, looking Zhang Lang up and down, and seemed to be a little suspicious, Zhang Lang said at first sight: "He doubts me!" Then he said: "Does the prince want to visit relatives in Fucheng?" I have two relatives in Fucheng, so I may know each other. ”

There was a child in his early teens in the crowd, who blurted out: "No, my cousin came to the 'Chao' state this time to buy 'Chao' embroidery......" Before he finished speaking, he was pulled by the prince, and the child said strangely: "Cousin, I said something wrong?" But the prince just smiled and didn't speak.

Zhang Lang saw it in his eyes and smiled: "'Tide' embroidery? So why bother looking for the near and the farthest? Raoping has it here. ”

The prince glanced at the middle-aged man, and his expression seemed to say, "Anyway, it's better to say it directly", and said: "We are from Raoping County, and the goods there are too small in terms of 'color' and quantity." ”

Zhang Lang was slightly taken aback when he heard this, and said: "You can't look down on the goods in the county?" So what do you want to be 'colored'? How much? ”

The prince was about to answer, and the middle-aged man beside him hurriedly said: "Son, it's better not to talk about business casually on the road." ”

The prince nodded yes, and asked Zhang Lang to say goodbye, Zhang Lang's eyes rolled, suddenly laughed, and shook his head again and again, the prince looked strange, so he asked him what he was laughing at, Zhang Lang smiled: "Out of the 'door', it's right to be distracted in everything." But even if you go to Fucheng, I'm afraid you may not be able to buy the goods. ”

The prince said curiously: "Why is this? ”

Zhang Lang smiled: "Your companion is right, on the road, don't talk about business." Get out of the way, point in the direction of Fucheng and say, "Several, please." ”

The group of merchants glanced at each other, and the middle-aged man stood up and said, "Xiao Ke's surname is Chen, what he said just now was a lot of offense, and I ask Uncle Lang not to take it to heart." This is really not the place to speak, I don't know if Uncle Lang is willing to move a golden step, let's go to the apricot 'flower' to drink tea and talk, how about it? ”