Qu Hao and Wu Mengyao followed the master through the gate, and then through a vacant staircase, into the lobby, only to see a low coffee table placed opposite the door, the master raised his hand, a gesture of invitation guided Qu Hao to the left side of the coffee table, and invited Wu Mengyao to the left side.

Qu Hao and Wu Mengyao were at a loss because there were no stools or chairs. Wu Rong smiled when he saw it, knowing that the visitors didn't know the local etiquette, so he showed them first, and sat cross-legged on the right side of the low table, Qu Haohe and Wu Mengyao realized that there was no seat at that time, so they sat down separately according to the master.

After settling down, the host called out to the next room, "Madam, there are two guests."

Someone inside replied, "Oh."

After a while, a woman in a blue robe with a delicate bun on her head came out with a wooden plate, on which were placed three pottery teacups and a clay pot.

The woman put the wooden plate on the low table, saluted them separately, poured tea and served tea to Qu Wu, Wu Mengyao, and the male host, and then withdrew.

The man asked, "Mr. Qu came all the way from afar, is it business or business?"

Qu Hao replied: "Contemptible people are indeed here for business."

As he spoke, Qu Hao took out a night pearl from his pocket: "Mr. Wu Rong, come here to disturb, I have no choice but to do so." This is the pearl of the night brought back from overseas by the contemptible people as a small gift. ”

Wu Rong looked at it and was shocked: "No, this night pearl is a priceless treasure, how can such a big courtesy person bear it?"

Qu Hao said: "Although this night pearl is a little precious, but as soon as I see you, brother, I feel that you are magnificent, and you will definitely be a talent in the future, and only this gift is worthy of you."

"No merit is not punished, this contemptible person must not accept it." Wu Rong excused himself.

"Brother Wu, let's not hide it, after we arrived in your country from overseas, we went to Liuhe first. But in the vicinity of misfortune, except for the pearl of the night in his bosom, all the belongings have been robbed, but I beg you to lend me a little copper coin, and it will be returned to you in the future. Qu Hao said.

"Oh, I see." Wu Rong took the night pearl with both hands, and closed his hands to block the light, leaving a gap. I saw a faint green light shine through. He tried his best to hide his ecstasy, for he knew that this pearl of the night, though not large, was worth several times more than his entire house.

"The gentleman came from afar and met with misfortune, and the contemptible people should help him. But your gift is too valuable, so please wait. Wu Rong stood up as he spoke, walked into the inner room, and after a while, he filled five square gold nuggets with a wooden plate, as well as a large handful of ant-nose copper coins, and said: "It's really unfortunate that the family's money is used to collect grain and pay tenant peasant workers, and there are only these five pieces of gold and some change left, and Mr. and Mrs. Wanwang do not dislike it."

Qu Hao took the money, only to see that the gold was a piece of gold of different sizes, and there were still patterns or words engraved on it; The ant-nose copper coin resembles a small copper shell with a grimace carved on it.

"Thank you, Mr. Wu, you have helped us a lot." Qu Hao bowed his hand and fell.

"There is another question, after our belongings were lost, on the way to Hanyue, we met a post station to check, looking for us to clear the documents, I wonder if we will encounter the same thing if we go to Hanyue. If we want to clear the paperwork, how can we get in?" Qu Hao asked again.

"If you lose your customs clearance papers, it may be a little troublesome for you outsiders, or you should change your outfits. If it's like a local, there won't be a problem. Your wife can change her outfit and change the bun on her head a little, and you may need to wear a wig and then a set of local clothes. Wu Rong said.

"I see, then I want to ask, if we want to change clothes and wigs, where do we need to get it right?" Qu Hao asked again.

"This is easy to do, it just so happens that we have a few sets of new clothes at home, if you don't dislike it, you can pick two sets and you can change your clothes. I also have a set of wigs, which I have used before, and you can use them if you don't dislike them. I have someone at home to help and I'll get it for you. Wu Rong replied.

"Thank you so much for helping us a lot." Qu Hao and Wu Mengyao were overjoyed.

Wu Rong got up, called two helpers, a man and a woman, and brought a few sets of satin clothes from the inner room for them to choose from, as well as a set of wigs. Then he took the two of them to the bath and instructed them how to dress and change in the inner room.

Qu Hao and Meng Yao walked out of the inner room after changing their clothes, and both of them were startled by each other's outfits, and then felt a little funny. Because they have long been accustomed to each other's modern style, one suddenly appeared on the other side, one is a classical beauty with all kinds of charms, and the other is a chic and elegant young man in ancient costume.

After the two of them changed their clothes and walked out, Wu Rong enthusiastically took them to visit his mansion, Wu Rong introduced: "In our Wu country, houses are roughly divided into two types: road beds where large families live and small bedrooms where small families live, while Shu people only have one bed. There are doors, courtyards, halls, and rooms in the road bed, and when you enter the door is the court, behind the court is the hall, and behind the hall is the room. ”

Qu Hao and Meng Yao saw that the front and back yards of this whole house were very spacious, the houses were made of large logs as columns, blue bricks and green tiles, and wide corridors with cornices, and they knew that they were not ordinary big families.

Wu Rong also introduced the relevant etiquette: "There are two steps under the hall: the one in the east is called the Yan step, and the one in the west is called the bin step; When the guests enter the door, the host welcomes them in, and he walks up from the steps, and the guests walk up from the guest steps, and salute each other. There are mats and feasts in the house, and there are gardens and the like outside the house, and the places for entertainment are various pavilions. ”

After visiting the mansion, a table of wine and food was already waiting for them.

Wu Rong said to Qu Hao: "According to our rules of hospitality, female guests are not allowed to eat at the table. But you and your wife are both distinguished guests, so we have to change the rules and invite you to dinner as a family banquet, only me and I will accompany you, so I hope you will not be surprised. ”

Mr. Wu was polite. My wife and I are really grateful for such hospitality. Qu Hao said.

The male and female hosts were entertained with the highest family banquet etiquette, which made Qu Hao and Wu Mengyao both curious and surprised. Of course, curiosity is a great curiosity about what to eat in ancient times, and I was surprised that it would be so abundant, and there were some vegetables that I had not eaten. The two also drank ancient wine for the first time, although the taste was very light, but it was very sweet.

At the wine table, the four of them staggered and talked happily.

Qu Hao asked Wu Rong: "Mr. Wu, you are an official at first glance, I don't know who the current monarch is?"

The man replied, "Wherever and where, the contemptible man is just a local servant." The current monarch is Wu to Qi is also. ”

Wu Mengyao, who was familiar with the history of the Wu Kingdom, was secretly surprised when she heard this, she clearly remembered that Wu Quqi was the last monarch before the Wu State became king in the Spring and Autumn Period around 600 BC. In other words, the place where she and Qu Hao were located was the Wu State more than 2,600 years ago, when there were many wars, large and small countries fought for each other, and wars were commonplace, and the national strength of Wu at that time was not strong.

Qu Hao didn't know who Wu Quqi was, so he still complimented him: "Your country is strong, and it will definitely get better and better."

"Where is it, now there are many powerful countries, and our Wu country is in a corner, but fortunately, we rely on the two major financial resources of salt drying and coinage, and the national strength is still more than enough." Wu Rong talked eloquently.

"Your country has developed coinage, but I don't know how to pass coins nowadays?" Qu Hao asked.

"Nowadays, the coins are pearl and jade as the upper currency, gold as the middle currency, and copper as the lower currency." Wu Rong replied.

"Oh, I see." Qu Hao said that he was secretly glad that he had brought the Night Pearl in his heart, but he was a little regretful for bringing too little, especially when there was Hetian Yu in the car, he was afraid that it would be too heavy and did not take it.

"How are your relations with your neighbors now?" Qu Hao asked again.

"Our country is close to the sea on the right, Chu on the left, Xu on the north, and Yue on the south. There is no war or peace with neighboring countries, and in general the borders are fairly stable. Wu Rong introduced.

"And how do you trade with neighboring countries?" Wu Hao asked, he had been a soldier and knew that road conditions were very important for those of them who were not familiar with geography.

"We don't have waterways with Xu and Yue, and trade depends on horse-drawn carriages, so the volume is not very large. The state of Chu is connected to China by rivers and waters, and the trade volume is very large. The timber of the Chu State was transported to our country, and our salt and coinage were transported to the Chu State. Wu Rong replied.

"I wonder if your country is developed overseas?" Wu Rong asked.

"Our country is quite developed, but it is far from your country. Actually, my father was also from your country, and I went overseas by boat in my early years, so I can use your language. Qu Hao said.

The two men communicated smoothly, Wu Mengyao and Mrs. Wu Rong were not easy to interject, and the two women asked each other some questions they cared about.

After eating, Qu Hao and Meng Yao packed all their belongings in cloth and carried them diagonally on Qu Hao's chest, while the gold and copper coins were packed in a small linen bag provided by Wu Rong and tied inside Qu Hao's waist clothes.

Qu Hao and Wu Mengyao repeatedly thanked Wu Rong and his wife and said goodbye, and the two of them wanted to find a boat to cross the river to Hanyue.