As the family dined together in the morning, I carefully told my mother about my intention to go to Rome and Babylon.

"Golden City! Now that you have a family, how can you do things as you please! Amika and her father Alexander are ungrateful! I haven't come back once after leaving Qingfengze for so many years, and people are avoiding us, you understand! No way! I won't promise you that! ”

After listening to my request, my mother rebuked me bitterly.

Yamika, the little Roman girl she regarded as her own daughter, has not returned to Qingfengze for so many years, and it seems that she has broken her mother's heart.

"We made a pact that we would go to Rome to see her when we grew up! A gentleman should be true to his word, grandma! Besides, if Yamika doesn't come to Qingfengze, he may have a last resort, and old Alexander may not be a merchant for a long time! ”

It is not certain that anything happened on Alexander's way back to Rome, but I dare not say what this speculation is.

Merchants are walking on thin ice, and if they are not careful, they will fall into the abyss and never get up again.

If this is the case, how pitiful the beautiful Yamika must be! I didn't dare to dwell on it.

"I have lost my husband because of a foreign banshee, and I can't afford to pay you as the eldest son! Don't go to Fulousha, Qingfengze Inn can't always rely on our mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to support these women! Jincheng, I worked hard to raise your brothers for my mother, and now my wings are hard and you have to fly, right? ”

The mother's words were resolute, and there was no room for negotiation, and when it came to the sad place, the old man sobbed sadly.

Gulandau hurriedly got up to comfort her mother, glared at me angrily and shouted, "Big brother! How can you talk to grandma like that! You die! ”

"Mother-in-law, let Jincheng go! If he is not allowed to meet that Miss Yamika, he will not die in this life! ”

Kuzhina affectionately brought hot tea to my mother-in-law and played a round for my mother and me.

"Daughter-in-law, I didn't let Jincheng go to Rome mostly for you! Aren't you afraid that he will never come back? ”

My mother looked at Kuzhina in surprise, their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law should be on the same side in this matter, but I didn't expect Kuzhina to speak for me.

"Jin Chengjun is not such a ruthless person, besides, his legs are long on others, if he really wants to run away from home, how can we stop our mother!"

Kuzhina looked at me meaningfully as she helped her mother smooth her back.

"Grandma, don't worry, this time I'll go with my eldest brother and them, and I'll help you keep an eye on him! I'll follow him wherever he goes! Gulandau reassured uninterestingly.

"Why don't you brothers and sisters let your mother worry about it! I'm mad at me! ”

Gulando's suggestion of leaving home and going west with the caravan was to add fuel to the fire, and my mother got up indignantly and went straight to the hall, not listening to our ramblings any more.

Grandma Murong Qionglin agreed with my idea of going to Babylon in Sasanid Kingdom to find my father Yi Fengnian.

"Grandson! If you will see your father in Babylon, persuade him to come home, and bring back his wife and children, both young and old. People always have to return to their roots, let the past pass! Your grandma has survived so many years, and she will definitely not blame him. Ay! My son has been affectionate and frail since he was a child, and now he may no longer be in this world! Otherwise, he wouldn't be so ruthless and wouldn't come back! ”

The departure of her father, the only beloved son, was devastating to her grandmother, making her lose her head overnight, and the beauty and self-confidence of Princess Murong Qionglin in the past have long since disappeared with the wind.

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother has been a white-haired old woman who does not care about the world and serves the Buddha devoutly, and even our vigorous grandchildren can't lift the slightest bit of her old spirit.

Whenever grandpa mentions grandma, he is always full of guilt.

Princess Murong Qionglin, who grew up in "Chang'an Fang" and had a stunning crown in the royal city, married him back then, how lucky his grandfather should be.

"Grandma rest assured! The grandson wrote it down! I bowed to my grandmother.

"A lifetime of businessmen, it is a pity that this trade road between Rome and Khotan has not been walked, Jincheng you can take a trip, and also help my grandfather and me have a wish. Hehe, the caravan set off after ten days, and after arriving at the High Annexed City, it was a smooth road all the way west to the sea! Our caravan is divided into two, half to Fulousha, and the other to the city of Rome with you. ”

Just now, when my mother and I were arguing over whether to go or not, my grandfather was always drinking sake as if no one else was doing anything.

In Qingfengze's family, the affairs of the inn are all taken care of by the grandmother, and the big and small affairs in the family, as long as the grandmother opens the golden mouth and makes a decision, the grandfather is all in favor of it.

So after hearing that my grandmother promised me to go to Babylon, my grandfather, who had not agreed with me going to Rome, also changed his mind and quickly made arrangements.

Her mother has always been an atmospheric person with a broad vision, so she can endure the torment of perennial longing, and send her beloved sons Chang'an and Wuwei to Luoyang, thousands of miles away, to study.

Now that she saw that I had made up my mind, my mother had no choice but to put down her original insistence and began to prepare for me with Kuzhina for my journey to the west.

Of all the equipment, a piece embroidered on the white brocade road map is particularly valuable.

The end point of this westward route map is the city of Rome on the opposite side of the Canaan coast, and every river, every mountain, city, post station, country name, product, folk customs, etc., are clearly marked on the brocade surface.

Even in each place, if there is an unpredictable danger, who to call for help, and the surname and residence of the merchant, there is a detailed description in the picture.

My mother told me that she had been preparing this map for more than seven years, and that the caravans that came to the East from the West every year brought her all the information she needed.

Ever since Amika left Qingfengze, my mother knew that this day would come sooner or later, and began to make silent arrangements for my trip to Rome.

Pity the hearts of parents all over the world!

And my mother also made a decision that surprised everyone, and promised my little sister Gulanduo to go with me.

"Grandma, my caravan is never allowed to take female dependents on the road! How can the Gulando girl's family do it! Please take back your life! ”

One night before leaving, when my mother announced this decision in public, I was so frightened that I quickly kowtowed to ask her to change her mind.

"Jin Cheng, you underestimate your sister! This time the journey to the west is far away, and the language barrier does not say that you will reach Rome, in the desert of Sassanid Persia, you will not even be able to distinguish between the south, the east, the west, and the north! Gulando, Persian, Assyrian, Hebrew, Roman are all proficient, she will be your ears and eyes on the way, without her to accompany you, you will not be able to move an inch! ”

Her mother was snorting shisha in a misty manner, which was an old habit she had been using for a while.

"Is Gurandot really that powerful? My caravan's hometown of Hesrul is in the kingdom of Canaan, so we can let him join us then!" ”

Looking at the smug look of Gulando on the side, I was annoyed.

It is so inconvenient to take a woman on the road than at home, not to mention that this woman is her own little sister.

Why doesn't this little girl understand her brother's feelings! Tomorrow is on the road, and she's still here fooling around.

However, I know the language talent of the Gulando, and from the time she began to speak at the age of four or five, as long as the caravans from any state lived in Qingfengze for ten days, she could learn some of the local languages in the daily communication of these caravans.

After such years of accumulation, the extremely talented and intelligent Gulando's language skills can hardly find a second person in the entire Khotanese country.

"Hesrul, hehe, he has been in my house for ten years, and now he probably has forgotten his native language, you can still count on him!"

The mother exhaled a puff of smoke before she was satisfied enough to let Golandot put away the hookah.

"Big brother, don't worry! I have hands and feet, I won't trouble you, let me go out and meet the world, big brother! ”

With my mother's consent, Gulando's gold medal was equivalent to a gold medal for avoiding death, and now she took out her daughter's most invincible unique skill, grabbed my arm and coquettishly coquettish.

There is only such a naughty little sister, what can I do with her! As a brother, he can only disarm and surrender.

Shamihan had returned from the country of Shache with her bride ten days ago, plus Qin Chong, Liu Zhen'er, Gulando, the eldest brother of Hesrul of Canaanite, and Langton of Persia, and the elite caravan to Rome was formed.

This time I went to Rome to explore the way, and the second was to find people, just to go back quickly, and it was inconvenient to drive the camel team on the road.

After discussing with my grandfather and Uncle Su, after much deliberation, my grandfather finally agreed to my plan.

There were seven people in total, equipped with fourteen fast horses, seven riders carrying people and seven carrying goods, just like when we set off from Qishan Horse Farm to Chang'an last year.

According to the Hebrew caravan from Canaan, the most dangerous part of this westward trade route is the area of the Wakhan Mountains west of the Green Mountains, and my caravan has traveled back and forth many times.

After passing the high annex city, although the road is full of drought and little rain in the alpine desert, there are continuous oases along the way, and there are not too many problems in the supply of drinking water and food for people and animals.

After a short reunion, it was time to part, and my newlywed wife, Kuzhina, cried almost all night, and couldn't bear my departure.

In the early morning, as soon as the sun broke through the thin fog and hung on the branches of the poplar forest, the copper bells that set off and assembled in the courtyard rang rapidly.

"Husband, take care on the road!"

Kuzhina took out the Buddha beads I gave her on the bank of the Peacock River and hung them around my neck affectionately.

At that moment, I actually had the urge to stay in Qingfengze, sing with my dear wife and children, and grow old together, far less passionate than when I left home for the first time.

"I'm leaving!"

I hugged Kuzhina and kissed her deeply, and I couldn't bear to look at my new wife's sour eyes again, so I ran down the stairs without looking back.

"Young master! Let's go! ”

"Big brother! Come on! ”

At this time, Qin Chong and Gu Landuo, who were already waiting in the courtyard, began to shout anxiously and loudly, causing a burst of laughter from the surrounding guys.

Shamihan's wife, Yinglan Lil, whose eyes were also red and swollen, was like an apricot, and she kept pulling the old man to whisper, as if she had an endless heartfelt heart.

The newlywed Yan'er is inseparable, and it is normal for people to be inseparable!

After Grandpa and Uncle Su worshipped the shrine dedicated to the Buddha, they turned on their horses and led the long camel caravan to the west.