As he spoke, the pot helmet had already received a bag of sake and a few large bowls of stoneware from the old man in charge of the team's food and drink.

Qin Chong hurriedly got up and happily took the leather bag and sifted wine for me and Uncle Su.

A strong aroma of barley wine comes to the face, and the thick flavor of Ahmad incense complements each other, which makes people feel refreshed and dripping, and the fun of walking the rivers and lakes lies here!

"Young master, don't worry, although my caravan has never been in the spice business for decades, it has been entrusted by regular customers from all over the world to bring goods back from this Jiandra incense market for them. The spice trade is nothing more than a kind of buying and selling, and between buying and selling, a lot of knowledge can be learned without a teacher. ”

Uncle Su raised the bowl and shared it with the three of us, and said with a smile of relief.

"The young master just drinks! Su Ye has long had a reputation for being a soft and fragrant idiot in business, and with him in charge for you, everything can be worry-free! Come on, come on! Master Su, Qin Chong did it first as a respect! ”

Qin Chong said arrogantly, he was no longer the hairy boy who would get drunk with half a glass of wine in the Wusehai Winery of Loulan Country back then.

The bloody and murderous aura that he has cultivated over the years has doubled his drinking.

Now this guy is fighting wine with a thousand cups of Shamihan, who is not drunk, although it is difficult to distinguish between winning and losing, only between Zhong Bo.

"This old wine of Guishan in Mibona Pass is really worthy of its name! Young master, Master Su, this time I will pass by there and take some more to take on the road! ”

The pot helmet said to himself, picked up the wine bowl and drank it all.

When he looked for the wine bag and was about to sift the wine again, he had already been picked up by Uncle Su.

"We don't have much wine left, how much can you two drink like this? There can't be more than this bowl, I still have business to talk about with the young master! ”

Uncle Su personally got up to refill the wine for the three of them, and then sat back and looked at me.

"Uncle Su, the learned nephew of the spice trade knows very little. The types of strange fragrances in the world, the habits and uses of each family, the old customers of the family who engaged in the spice trading in the Han Kingdom of the East, the water of various spices transported to the East, etc., etc., my nephew didn't know at all, and I hoped that Uncle Su would teach me. ”

Seeing that Uncle Su restrained his smile and was about to preach, I quickly got up and bowed to him to bow to him.

Qin Chong and Liu Zhen'er have long passed their stubborn years, and they regard the livelihood of merchants as the main business in this life.

Seeing that I asked Uncle Su for advice on incense, they all stopped making noise and put down the wine bowl to wash their ears and listen.

There are tricks to trading in the world, and it is also the capital of every businessman to walk the world and settle down.

Uncle Su's willingness to teach me is already a great affection, and the two of them are not willing to miss it.

"The young master doesn't hurt to ask, the old man knows everything and says everything!"

Uncle Su took a sip of sake to refresh himself, put down the pottery bowl and gently brushed the silver beard.

"This this, this Ahmad Xiang, why is it called "ambergris" in Chang'an, Han China? ”

There are a lot of things to learn about spices, and I was about to ask Uncle Su about it, but I suddenly felt that my head was empty and I didn't know where to ask.

He pointed to the burning Ahmad incense beside him in fear, and sneered at Uncle Su.

"Hehe, Ahmad Xiang has been in your Eastern Han Dynasty since ancient times, and it has always been a tribute to the imperial court from coastal counties. It is said that there is a species of arowana in the southwest sea, and their saliva condenses when it is exposed to water, and after being dried and dried it becomes what it is today. ”

Uncle Su took out a few pieces of Ahmad incense from the incense basket for the three of us to play with carefully.

Resin beeswax is like a soft blue-gray glow under a dim oil lamp.

"It's amazing that the saliva of sea fish can also become fragrant! Master Su, what is the price of this incense? ”

Qin Chong put Ahmad incense under his nose and sniffed it deeply, and sighed repeatedly.

"There are no more than three types of spices in the world, one is resin, Suhe, Acacia, Agarwood, Myrrh, and Humble Bello are all of this kind; the second is the flower and fruit peel leaves on the tree, which are most famous for pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, etc.; Although the third category sounds pickled, it is the best among thousands of strange aromas. For example, this ambergris is made of the saliva of the sea dragon. And musk, hehe. ”

Uncle Su picked up the wine bowl and took another sip, everyone grew up in the Northland, and they all had the experience of taking musk deer from stags, so there was no need for him to say more.

"As for the price of this Ahmad incense, it is difficult to see it on the market in the Eastern Han Kingdom because it is a tribute, so there is no ready-made market, and the transaction depends on chance. The southern part of Tianzhu Kingdom is surrounded by sea arowana, and Ahmad incense is already a common spice in Jiantuoxiang City, and a piece of silk can be exchanged for this basket of incense blocks. ”

Uncle Su pointed to the sandalwood incense basket beside him and looked at me meaningfully.

I quickly got up and lifted the incense basket and tried to teach it its weight.

There is no doubt that if the whole basket is full, it will be at least twenty pounds.

"Uncle Su, if this basket of Ahmad incense can be transported to Chang'an, how can it be worth a tael of gold, right?"

I put down the incense basket and asked Uncle Su tentatively.

"Based on the old man's experience over the years, if you talk about the effect of Yuanshen righteousness, the Ammad incense on the Persian Sea should be the best saliva in the world. If you can meet buyers who know the goods in the medicine markets of Chang'an and Jiankang, this basket of incense can be worth 100 taels of gold! ”

I was skeptical of Uncle Su's dismantling, and as he said, when I returned from Fulousha, I didn't have to do any kind of business.

If the single transaction of transporting the Ahmad incense from Jiandra Xiang City to Chang'an can be completed, it will already be a hundredfold profit.

"Master Su, is the ambergris market really so profitable?"

Without waiting for me to ask, Qin Chong had already preemptively questioned.

"The key is to have a connoisseur of knowledge, the Ammad incense from the Persian Sea and the ambergris from the South China Sea of the Han Dynasty are difficult to distinguish from the good and the bad only from the appearance, and the two are only different in terms of smell and taste. In addition, this incense will dissolve and heat when it encounters water, and it will disappear like purple gas if it is not stored well on the way. Therefore, some businessmen transported incense from Tianzhu to Handi, and when they arrived in the east market of Chang'an, there were no more than two out of ten! How can there be a hundredfold benefit of water, and it is a blessing to have a small profit of fifty percent. If you can't find a buyer to smash it all in your own hands, then you will lose your money! ”

"What Uncle Su said is very true, spices are not hungry and cold, and ordinary people can't afford to use them. Didn't my caravan have a deal with the palace office of the Eastern Jin Dynasty! There are also people like Jiangdong Liufu and Wang Xie of Jiankang City, who have always been old guests and gold owners of Tianzhu spices. In the future, we will be engaged in the spice trade, and these imperial courts, famous mountains and ancient temples, and wealthy families of scholars should not be missed! ”

Over the years, I have also seen a lot of Wangcheng Bazaar and Xiaocheng Commercial Street in Tianxia Kingdom.

Of course, knowing that the spice trade can only be achieved by chance, it is definitely not a long-term solution, so he took the opportunity to give Uncle Su a long-term strategy for selling.

"The young master is really wise, hehe. Yes, the biggest buyers of the four flavors and strange fragrances that are now popular in the Eastern Han Kingdom are the backyards of the palaces of the northern and southern dynasties and these wealthy families. ”

Uncle Su smiled and said, his words full of praise.

"Master Su, what are the four flavors of strange fragrance? What are the uses of each? ”

The pot helmet has been round

Listening to our conversation, he asked coldly.

"The so-called four strange fragrances, Shen Tan Dragon Musk Deer is also!" Uncle Su will answer all questions.

"What is the Shen Tan Dragon Musk Deer?"

I heard that there are also strange incense and incense markets in the ancestral hometown of the Han Kingdom in the East, so I immediately became interested and continued to ask.

"Shen is agarwood, commonly known as daughter incense, which is a must-have thing in the boudoir of Han women. The production area is mainly in the southern part of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the southern part of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Champa countries and the Puluozhong Islands in the South China Sea; Tan is Tan, the Han Dynasty Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions after the introduction of the North Tianzhu, and now it has already blossomed and borne fruit in all parts of the Eastern Soil. ”

"Hehe, when I was in Jiankang in Jiangnan, I also heard Tan Lang Xie the words of talented and beautiful women."

After listening to Uncle Su's explanation, I suddenly remembered that when I was in Longxi Manor outside Jiankang City, Liu Nan'er, the seventh sister of the Liu family, once praised me for having the appearance of Tanlang.

At that time, I didn't know what Tan Lang meant, but later the third brother Chang'an told me that there was a young man named Pan An in Luoyang City, the small character Tan Nu.

Tannu has a gorgeous appearance, and women flock to it.

Since then, the word "Tanlang" has become a good name for my fair lady for her husband and the man she likes.

Liu Nan'er called me "Tan Lang", she was showing her love to me naked!

It's a pity that Tan Lang was ruthless with his intention to thank the girl, and this southern beauty and Bai Xuan's painter made a pair of fairy couples.

And I worked hard, but after all, I made a wedding dress for others, and I wanted to increase my melancholy!

"The dragon is this ambergris fragrance, and the musk deer is the unique fragrance of your Han land. At that time, there was a shop in Chang'an City, which had been engaged in the business of spices and herbs for generations. His family's unique secret is to mix musk, ambergris, Suhe incense and herbs into a powdered form, and then pack them in brocade bags and sell them along the street, which is called incense sachet in the world. It is known as the effect of dispelling evil and avoiding obstacles, righteousness and clearing heat. Generally, people in the market will buy a few bags to take back and tie them on the belts of the little babies for the purpose of protecting themselves and warding off evil spirits. Now this kind of incense sachet has long been spread all over the world, but the initiator, the incense shop in Chang'an East City, has long disappeared in the troubled times. ”

Speaking of which, Uncle Su suddenly felt a little sad like me.

The world is impermanent, life is short, and on the East-West trade road, most of the old customers and old friends of his age are no longer alive.

"Master Su, you've been talking about it for half a night, what is the use of this spice?"

The brain of the pot helmet must have been kicked by the donkey, and after listening to it for a long time, it was still a mushy head for the incense.

"There are so many uses for spices, hehe. But there are only a few categories: worship, medicinal, embalming, cooking, monasticism, purification, and boudoir use. When you arrive in Xiangshi tomorrow, the old man will dismantle it for you one by one. ”

Halfway through the night, Uncle Su got up and closed the copper lid of the incense burner, blew out the oil lamp on the shelf, and prepared to send off the guests.

"It's still stupid or unknown, and it's a spice and a herb for a while! Hahaha! ”

The pot helmet laughed, and the three of them got up and got out of Uncle Su's tent, and the old man followed.

The moonlight was as transparent as water, the sound of frogs in the four wilds was one, and the night was really deep.

"Incense is medicine, medicine is incense!"

Uncle Su was in a rare good mood, and after going to a distant place to relieve himself, he hummed a small tune in the mountains of Rouran Country and went back to rest.

The way of spices is also the way, and the Tao can only be understood but not spoken!