In the afternoon, a light snow fell, which made the slightly thin scenery of the city a little thicker.

The Zhenyuan Gate between the north and south walls is not high, even if this city tower is worse than the county towns around the Jingshi, but it looks more solemn in the snowy winter day, which makes people inexplicably add some awe.

The guards of Dingliao guarding the gate of the city curled up one by one, trying their best to put their hands in their sleeves to keep warm, and those spears that looked cold were all crooked and leaning against the wall, one by one. With Cheng Xiangwen leading the way, the group passed through the door and was not checked, and it seems that the guards here are not strict on weekdays.

Coming out of the brick doorway, it is as if you have arrived in two worlds.

Behind it is the brick-clad southern city wall, and as far as the eye can see, the northern city wall is all earth rammed, which is much lower than the southern city, but the head of the city has been covered with a layer of snow, making it not look monotonous.

A straight loess avenue from the Zhenyuan Gate leads to the invincible gate in the north of the north of the city, and this city gate looks much worse from a distance than the Zhenyuan Gate behind it.

On the west side of the road is a cluster of low, dilapidated houses, which seem to be piled up in a haphazard manner, and at first glance it seems to be a place of filth and filth, but the city of Zizai Prefecture is located there.

Compared with Nancheng, the market here is much noisier, perhaps because tomorrow is the New Year's Day, and the Han people in the city are rare.

Except for a few Korean soldiers from the Liaoyang Guard who patrolled around the market, the rest were naturalized Jurchens and Mongols.

These people couldn't tell whether they were merchants or sitting on the ground, but they were all wearing leather and cotton robes, and it was difficult to distinguish the Han Yi except for the braids on the back of the heads of a few people, and these people should be decent among their respective clans.

The shops are also in the same shape as the south city, but they are much simpler, and there is no elegance of the merchants in the customs to welcome customers and serve tea, and there is often a pot of charcoal fire in the store for a little heating, and the hot water is directly boiled on the charcoal fire for emergencies, probably because the charcoal used is inferior, and the taste is quite pungent.

Wang Xingping and a few people casually walked to a fairly elegant shop, this is a shop that deals in Liaodong specialties, Cheng Xiangwen glanced at it and said that the owner is a Mongolian, but looking at the clothes is no different from the Han people, I don't know how he saw it.

Seeing that a group of people were all high-rollers, the shopkeeper was also very enthusiastic, and the three or four guys in the store were smiling, and they were busy asking the guests what they wanted, but the Chinese was not bad at all.

"How many masters are from Guannai, what do you want to see? The small shop is also the number one in Dongningwei. ”

"Look at your mink in this shop?"

Wang Xingping looked at the shelves, which were full of various colors of fur and some bottles and cans.

"It's all the finest sable skins from the north, and honey and eel."

"Is there a Dongzhu?" Fu Xiaofei picked up a jar of honey and asked absentmindedly, business matters are now in his head.

"This guest officer has good eyesight, and when it comes to Dongzhu alone, the goods in this store are all first-class goods."

"Then why don't you put it out." Fu Xiaofei asked knowingly, this wooden container is indeed not suitable for visiting jewelry.

"The guest officer laughed, how can treasures like Dongzhu be easily put out, I don't know what level the guest officer wants to see."

Wang Xingping said on the side: "Nature is the best. ”

Fu Xiaofei's mind The shopkeeper naturally doesn't know, mink fur, Nanyang naturally can't do it, but the artificial cultivation of pearls is a very mature technology, Song people Pang Yuanying has recorded the method of raising pearls in his "Wenchang Miscellaneous Records", as for the cultivation of special-shaped pearls in the early Ming Dynasty, but the technology is more extensive and not easy to succeed. However, modern pearl farming technology is not difficult to pass through the group, but the market situation still needs to be understood.

However, the potential of this market is huge, and in the case of the Ming Dynasty, the market value of pearls is often higher than that of gold. In the fifth year of Wanli, Zhu Yijun got married, and bought nearly 80,000 taels of pearls of various colors, but the gold used was only less than 3,000 taels. It's just that 80,000 taels of pearls sounds sensational, but if you look at the planning of the Senate, the scale of artificial cultivation in the future, I am afraid that the annual output will be more than 100 times, and it will really be the price of cabbage.

After thinking about it, the shopkeeper had already asked the counter to take out a brocade box from the back.

Carefully opened, the box was full of more than 100 beads, all the size of a little finger, the body was about a round size, about four minutes in size, with a pale golden luster.

Everyone has seen it and knows that although this is not the best Dongzhu, it is not far away, and it is impossible to meet the size of six points. Although the pearl is the highest to flawless, but the east pearl has always been light gold is precious, but also the difference between the south pearl and the north pearl, is that Wang Xingping and Fu Xiaofei are confident that the future of the senate artificially cultured pearls regardless of size or color will crush these natural products, that is just the difference in the control of trace elements after implanting pearl, not to mention this pearl, even salmon farming in later generations can control the muscle texture of fish meat through feed mediation.

Pressing the thoughts, Fu Xiaofei inquired, and the shopkeeper also gave a rather exciting price, a bead of five coins of silver.

When Wang Xingping was in Beijing, he often went to all kinds of shops to hang out, knowing that such a quality of pearls, the Beijing division can sell a single to about two taels, he has seen a pair of one hundred and eight pearl necklaces, the price of two hundred taels of silver, the quality of the beads is comparable to these, the heart of the price is fair.

Fu Xiaofei was thinking that pearls of this size could be made into pearls in a year and a half with the technology of the Senate, almost twice as fast as the wild ones, except for the need for some labor when planting pearl, there was no side cost, even if it was a penny, it was almost profitable, and it was really a good business. As for the water pollution caused by pearl farming, there is no need to worry about it at this time.

The intelligence department has already investigated, and now the Ming Dynasty is located in the pearl pond of Lianzhou Mansion, with a production of 8,000 taels of pearls a year, and the cost is nearly 10,000 taels of silver.

At this moment, four more people entered the store, all of them looked like outsiders, dressed in Mongolian, and the braids under the hats could be vaguely seen.

The leader spoke directly to the shopkeeper in Mongolian, and seemed to be very familiar.

Wang Xingping noticed that there was a big bird standing on the right arm of the leader of the leader, like an eagle but not an eagle, and the gray and blue spots on the snow-white feathers were beautiful.

'These people are pearl divers?' ’

He glanced back at the speed beside him, who was one of the two Yehebu merchants who had followed him back to Guizhou, and now this person was dressed as a Han people, and had become one of the family members who had left the customs this time.

He nodded quickly, as if confirming Wang Xingping's judgment.

The Yi people of Liaodong relied on Haidongqing to collect Dongzhu, and it was this bird in the hands of the person who was the leader.

This East Pearl is the best to become a pearl in autumn and winter, but at this time it is not easy for the river to freeze and dive pearls, fortunately, the swans like to eat pearl mussels, and Hai Dongqing likes to hunt swans the most, so the yellow finch is much more convenient than direct pearl diving, and the beads obtained are often big and good, it is to see the appearance of these people, and then think of the business of the store, and soon think through this layer.

However, this Haidongqing is regarded as a holy bird in all the tribes of Liaodong, and it is not easy to take care of it. In addition, it is also necessary to pay attention to controlling nutritional weight, and to use medicine and food to clear the fire, so troublesome naturally the price of Dongzhu will rise. And this person can have such a Hai Dongqing, which shows that his status is also extraordinary.

These people communicated with the shopkeeper in Mongolian, although Wang Xingping knew that the speed could understand, but it was not easy to say it to his face, and after a while, the shopkeeper came to confess, leaving two men to serve, and he took four people and an old shopkeeper to the back, it seems that there is really a deal to discuss.

But it didn't take long for those Mongols to come out, and it seemed that the business had not been negotiated, but they still said a few more words to the shopkeeper, although Wang Xingping did not understand, but it seemed that those people were quite sincere, and the shopkeeper also looked regretful, and after talking for a while, he took his leave and went out.

As soon as the group left, Wang Xingping and the others also said goodbye and left, as soon as they went out, Wang Xingping asked about the speed, "Did you hear what they said just now?" ”

"Although the villain is from Ye Hebu, he has been in business for a long time, and it is not difficult to understand what they say, it is all about business."

Wang Xingping knew that at this time, although the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong spoke Jurchen language, they did not have their own writing, and all the Jurchen tribes were written in Mongolian, and the merchants naturally knew Mongolian to some extent. I heard that Nurhachi had already begun to compile Manchu script a few years ago, but it was not easy to create the first word, and now it is still on paper, not to mention that even if it is completed, it is only used by the Jianzhou family, and the Mongolian language is still spoken in Lingbei.

Without saying the language in advance, Wang Xingping just confirmed again: "These people are all pearl kes, right?" ”

"Indeed, these people should have some good goods in their hands, otherwise the shopkeeper would not let them go to the back." ”

The shopkeeper knew that Wang Xingping was a Han from Guannei, and he was afraid that they would understand and deliberately avoid it, it seemed that this product was not ordinarily good.

"Seeing that they came out later, it seems that this business has not been negotiated?"

"Childe is really wise, and it is true that it has not been negotiated."

"That's been going on for so long." Wang Xingping guessed that it was nothing more than a larger bead, and this thing was good, but he was not interested, so he casually sent another sentence, preparing to go to another house to see.

But he mentioned a detail, "These pearl customers seem to be old acquaintances with the shopkeeper, so it is interesting to say some other things." ”

This made Wang Xingping interested, and he was also a businessman in the past, so he naturally wouldn't pick up some inconsequential white words, "Oh...... Interesting fact? What was said? ”

Wang Xingping was concerned.

"Nazhuke told the shopkeeper not to go north recently, especially Shenyang."

"Shenyang...... Wang Xingping said with some realization: "Can you tell where they are by listening to their accents?" ”

"Since Zhuke is naturally from the north, it sounds like the accent is from the side of the three guards (that is, the three guards of Duoyan set up in the early Ming Dynasty: Duoyan Wei, Taining Wei and Fuyu Wei)."

"Let's go ......," Wang Xingping's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this.

"Where is Childe going?" Hurry asked.

"I'm a little interested in the other people."

A moment later, the four pearl guests were stopped by Wang Xingping and his party, and their expressions were a little stunned.

Wang Xingping said: "My son-in-law is a little interested in the goods of several distinguished guests, can you talk about it in detail." ”

The man at the head looked at Wang Xingping's smiling appearance, and was stunned for a moment before nodding lightly.

[References]

1, "Daming Huidian"

2, "Records of Emperor Mingshen Zongxian"

3, "History of the Late Ming Dynasty" Fan Shuzhi

4, "Wanli Ye Ed" Shen Defu

5. "The Record of Crimes: The Biography of the Economic Ministers"

6, "History of the Ming Dynasty • The Biography of Xu Guangqi"

7, "The Biography of Erchen"

8. "Ming Dynasty Timber Valuation and Timber Volume Calculation" He Weiguo

9, "A Brief Exploration of Liaoyang Inscriptions in the Ming Dynasty" Li Luhua

10. Analysis of the Plane Structure and Layout of the Main Buildings of Liaoyang City in the Ming Dynasty by Yang Furong and Wang Sa

11, "About the Dongning Wei of Liaoyang in the Ming Dynasty" Yoshihiro Hanoi

12. "Research on Liaoyang Town in the Defense System of Liaodong Town in the Ming Dynasty" Huang Huan

13. "A Preliminary Study on the Geographical Distribution and Trade Status of Ancient Pearls" by Liao Chenhong

14. "Comparative Study of Freshwater and Seawater Kernel Cultured Pearls" Wang Jiening

15. "The Relationship between the Luster of Mariculture Pearl and Its Microstructure" Li Qian, Zhang En, Xu Xiaoqiong