"What's the matter?" The king asked without raising his head, a little slack, but there was nothing domineering that his grandfather said.

"Lord Qiqi, I am a Longdi merchant who went to the Western Regions to do business, and when I returned today, I realized that all the texts of this customs clearance have been changed! I also hope that the adults will raise their noble hands to sign new documents for us, and the people are grateful! ”

I have never seen my grandfather treat an official so respectfully, and I hurriedly bowed down like him.

Uncle Su has quietly placed a brilliant jade Buddha on the desk of this official family.

"Kunlun beautiful jade, rare and rare!"

Seeing the beautiful jade, this Lord Wang's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly put down the wolf's hair, and praised the jade Buddha in a loud voice.

"This jade Buddha, carved knife workmanship is exquisite, quite the style of the former Longdi Murong clan, it is really a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation!"

"Your Excellency, this Jade Buddha is from the hands of the descendants of the Murong clan in Khotan! Adults also know the Murong family in Wuwei County? Grandpa asked in surprise.

"How can you not know that the Murong clan is the native of the lower officials, and the descendants of the two families have not seen each other for more than a hundred years! Listening to my brother's accent, it should be from Jincheng County, Longxi, right? ”

The Jade Buddha talked about the nostalgia and the hometown, and the attitude of the prince towards the three of us also took a 180-degree turn.

He gave us a seat with extra affection, and ordered the sergeant outside the door to serve us milk tea berries.

"Adults have good eyesight, Lao Suo is the descendant of the Yi family of Jincheng County! At the end of the Jin Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and Lao Suo took refuge and moved to the Western Regions in Khotan for more than 40 years! Grandpa replied.

"Uncle Shi is on top! Please be worshiped by the juniors! ”

As he spoke, the situation changed abruptly, and Lord Wang stood up and bowed deeply to his grandfather.

"Adults, don't you, you're going to kill Lao Suo!" Grandpa quickly stood up and returned the salute again and again.

"Uncle Yi Shi, Wang Qingyuan, the chief bookkeeper of Jincheng back then, is the great-ancestor of Xiaguan!" Lord Wang burst into tears.

"Oops! The king's lordship? O brother of my grandfather! Virtuous nephew! It's really a big flood that washed the Dragon King Temple! You old man seems to be really bearable, haha! Grandpa was overjoyed when he heard what the king said.

He patted the shoulders of the king emotionally and laughed heartily.

"Jin Cheng, come and see your brother of the Wang family! Virtuous nephew, this is the eldest grandson of the old man, the first time he has come to Middle-earth, and I will need your brother to take care of it in the future! ”

I hurriedly stepped forward to give a salute, and after the two sides finished the ceremony, I figured out that the ancestor of our Jincheng Yi clan and the grandfather of this royal brother were friends of eight worships when they were studying in Jincheng Academy.

Later, one person went out of office, and the other went home to inherit the ancestral business.

The two are in Jincheng County, and their families have taken care of each other for several generations.

"Heaven is immortal, I didn't expect the descendants of our Wang Yi family to meet here! Virtuous nephew, why didn't you go to the south to Jiankang? Grandpa sighed.

"I'm ashamed, Uncle Shi, it's hard to leave the country! can only work hard for the court of the Qiang people here, talk about it and steal a living. Speaking of this, Brother Wang Shi's face was full of guilt.

"Don't be embarrassed, nephew, if it's too peaceful today, you are not alone in the Han family who came out to be an official. As long as you do things with your conscience and don't help the abuse and bullying of Han people, it can be regarded as a benefit to Sangzi! ”

Grandpa comforted with kind words.

"Are the brothers of the Wang family still alive? When we were in Jincheng County, we bent our bows and leaped horses together, and walked in all directions, so we were so happy! ”

Remembering the story of the old man in his hometown in Jincheng County when he was a teenager, his grandfather smiled and said.

"The two clan uncles crossed the river with their families to the south, and there has been no news so far. My father and mother are still in good health, and they still live in the old house in Wuwei County, and they have younger siblings to take care of them at home. The king replied.

It seems that the disaster in the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty had similar experiences for the wealthy families of the Han people in the north.

"Uncle Shi, I'll help you with the new customs clearance documents now. The tax on customs clearance goods is determined by the imperial court, and the nephew can't call the shots, so your batch of items will be priced at general groceries! ”

Thinking of the matter, the eldest brother of Chief Wang hurriedly returned to the case, took out the documents that had been prepared for a long time, and took out the official seal, leaving his bright red seal.

A bowl of tea is less than a effort, and all the customs clearance documents are made.

As for this tax, it is clear which is more important than jade and groceries, and this Wang Shige has already given his grandfather a lot of face.

"Uncle Shi, this jade Buddha is priceless, and my nephew can't afford it, so you should take it back! At noon, I prepared a little wine in Yangguan City Tower to catch the wind for you, Uncle Shi. ”

As a Confucian scholar who reads the book of Confucius and Mencius, Brother Wang Shige hugged the Jade Buddha and said sincerely.

"This time I passed by in a hurry, and I didn't go to visit my brother and sister-in-law, this object is the right to be a piece of the old man's heart, please pass it on to them on your behalf. When I return from Jiankang next spring, I will definitely visit to renew the generational friendship between our two families, hehe! As for the drink, then we will be disrespectful, hehe! ”

Grandpa looked at me and Uncle Su and smiled heartily, I haven't seen grandpa so happy for a long time.

Under the arrangement of Director Wang, the customs clearance of my caravan was extremely smooth.

At noon, when my grandfather, grandfather, and Uncle Su and I went to Yangguan for a banquet, all the camels and horses of the caravan had already passed the customs and were cooking in a pot on the edge of the pasture of the trade road.

After the luncheon, the king personally rode his horse and led the guards to send our caravan out of the territory of Yangguan.

"Uncle Shi, this time the mountain is high and the road is far away, you should take care of yourself along the way!"

The soldiers of Yangguan Post Station had already received the order of the king, and they had prepared water and wine here early.

Brother Wang stepped off the horse, picked up the wine bowl and practiced for his grandfather with emotion.

It seems that the etiquette of the scholars of Middle Earth is much more complicated than that of the countries of the Western Regions.

"Don't worry, nephew, the old man has been walking this trade route for more than 30 years, and it will be fine! Nephew, you also have to take care of yourself, Yangguan is an important place before leaving the Western Regions, and you are a civil official guarding here, but you have to be careful in everything! ”

Grandpa took the water and drank it down, and solemnly admonished in the tone of an elder.

"Uncle Shi underestimated his nephew, Zhuge Kongming was also a civil official back then, but he could defeat a million teachers! Hehe! The king smiled and said.

"That's the old man's worry! Hehe. Nephew, let's say goodbye and see you next spring! ”

While speaking, the caravan had already set up a long queue and was ready to set off.

We also kicked on the saddle and shook our fists at the elder brother, and everyone said goodbye.

I have walked out of the distance, and when I look back, this royal brother is still standing on the edge of the post station's pavilion, waving to us from afar, which is really affectionate!

"Lao Su, old lieutenant, it's been me and this nephew for half a day, and I've left you two out in the cold, don't blame it!" Grandpa laughed at Grandpa and Uncle Su on the horse.

"Grandpa, I always think that this brother is a little vain and unreal!" I was bored for a long time, and finally I said what I thought.

"What the young master said is very true, this king is still a man who loves money!" Uncle Su echoed.

"It's not just a love of money, it's a love of money! If we hadn't given him the world-class Jade Buddha, and you went to try it with others, this principal wouldn't have dragged you at all! ”

For the first time, my grandfather suffered a little humiliation at the king's place, and this sullenness has not disappeared until now.

"This nephew is a little greedy for money and stingy, and he is stubborn and self-serving! But he is still affectionate with me, my uncle, and you should not slander him in front of me from now on! ”

Grandpa said angrily, and ran to the front of the caravan with the reins of his horse like an arrow.

Grandpa is right, this brother's care for my caravan is beyond doubt.

Regardless of the motives of the people, he still recognized this kind of intergenerational affection between the ancestors of the family.

"Young master, the next place to rest is the sandbar of Dunhuang County!" Qin Chong smiled happily.

He and I each rode a Bactrian camel and rode side by side.

Since our mount was bitten to death by a blue wolf last night, Uncle Su allocated two camels for us to use as a means of transportation.

From today onwards, all the drinking water supplies along the way will be solved on the spot, and in addition to the jade brought to Chang'an and Jiankang on the hunchback, there is no longer a need to carry too much reserves.

The space saved solved the pain of trekking for all the members of the caravan since they went north.

"How long will it take to get there?" I asked lethargically.

The camel took one step at a time, like a walking cradle, and sat on it just to close its eyes and recuperate, and make up for the sleep that had fallen last night.

"I'm sure we'll be there before sunset tomorrow night!" Qin Chong replied, this kid's spirit is really full, and he is not tired at all.

"Young master, there is a grotto in the Thousand Buddha Cave outside Dunhuang City that was dug by the lord's donation, and there are 9 colored sculptures of the Bodhisattva of the West Heaven enshrined in it! The year before last, the old man also invited a painter from Chang'an, saying that all the places we have walked and everything we have done since we started business are painted on the four walls of the grotto! It's been two years, and this artist may have already finished painting and returned to his hometown! ”

"Doesn't this painter want to be paid?"

I heard my grandmother and mother talk about the grotto when I was in Qingfengze, and both their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were devout and compassionate.

Grandpa chiseled the Buddha in Kuku, not only to pray for the almighty Buddha to bless the caravan all the way safe, but also to fulfill their wish to set up a family temple and worship the Buddha.

"I forgot about this, the painter must still be there, he can't work in vain, right?"

Qin Chong and I had a wordless argument like this, and the sky gradually darkened.

There is a carriage and horse shop on the side of the road, and it seems that my caravan is also a regular customer of this store, and the store is very familiar with my grandfather and Uncle Su.

Of course, such a roadside shop can't be compared with my family's Qingfengze Inn, and it is also a big difference with the Peacock River Inn in Loulan.

But those who walk the rivers and lakes are not so poor and exquisite.

If you have hot water and hot food, and if you have a kang to sleep on, you will have everything.

After the meal, Qin Chong found a wooden basin for washing his feet from the store and poured a basin full of hot water.

It's been almost a month since the bath before leaving Shanshanguo.

The moment the two of us put our foul stinky bare feet into the basin, it was called a comfortable! Heart-rending comfort!

After a hasty wash, we went to sleep on the kang and fell asleep, ignoring the gnats, lice and bedbugs on the kang, and dreamless all night until dawn.