Charlie was able to catch the attention of our kids because he was funny and friendly.

Unlike other passing merchants, they are either full of ferocity on their faces, which makes people dare not approach.

Either they come and go with expressionless faces, without stories and gadgets, and children don't bother to get close.

So during the days when Charlie lived in the hotel, he and we became friends with each other. From him, I also learned some everyday language of the Roman state.

According to his interpreter Cusell, the Charles family was a wealthy family in Eastern Rome, and several of his elder brothers were high officials in the court of Constantinople.

Only Charlie is free and loose by nature and unruly, but he is particularly interested in this kind of hard life of sleeping in the open and wandering the world.

So instead of becoming an official, Charlie became a businessman.

His business was very large, and in the fjords of his native Bosphorus, he had a fleet of five ironclad wooden sailing ships parked there all year round, ready to set sail wherever he wanted.

On Anatolian Street, the busiest street in Constantinople, Charles also has a high-end shop specializing in oriental goods.

Previously, all of Charles' goods from the East, including silk and jade, which were the favorite of the Eastern Roman aristocracy, were purchased by Persian caravans who came to Constantinople.

The lion's share of the profits went to the caravan, and his shop had to drink some soup from it.

Even so, it will often be out of stock, which makes many old customers very dissatisfied and no longer do his business.

So this time he came to Khotan by land, and Charlie's purpose was to find a stable source of oriental goods for his shop.

He heard from a friend who had been to the East that the old proprietor of the "Qingfengze" inn in Khotan, Mr. Yi Linfeng Yi, was a big merchant who traded goods to the West, and more than half of the fabrics sent to the West from the silk production area of China and Khotan were his business.

In addition, he is also one of the shareholders of the world-famous "Chang'an Fang" jade.

Therefore, as long as this old man is dealt with, the supply problem will be perfectly solved from now on, and he will no longer be choked by those Persian merchants who specialize in business.

The above content is all some excerpts of Charlie's conversation when he was communicating with his mother, when I was still a child, and I had no concept of these business things.

Now that I have been in business for most of my life, I can't help but feel a lot when I recall and record this conversation with Charlie's predecessors.

It has to be said that this Eastern Roman was born to be a good material for doing business.

A few days later, at dusk, the sound of thousands of horses galloping and neighing came from the wasteland outside the inn, like two armies fighting each other.

The whole family, including all the merchants who lived in the hotel, happily ran outside the gate, grandfather, grandfather, the two old rivers and lakes and hundreds of Wusun horses they purchased, returned to "Qingfengze"!

Grandpa and the others turned over and dismounted like soldiers returning from an expedition, handed over their mounts to the butler, and he led the men to drive these horses from Wusun Kingdom back to my family's horse farm.

Many years ago, after the caravan's business began to get involved in the horse trade with customers in the Central Plains, my grandfather built two horse farms one after another.

One is located on the edge of the Murong Villa on the south bank of the "Qingfengze" lake, which is called Kunlun Ranch.

The other is in the heart of the Heavenly Mountains in Middle-earth, and it was only ten years later that I witnessed its magical appearance when I traveled with the caravan.

Grandpa Lu Yu, who was born a horse idiot, volunteered to take over the burden of daily management of the racecourse, and usually he spent the rest of his time here except for forming a group business with his grandfather.

And the jade business he inherited from Murong Qiu's great-grandfather has now been handed over to several sons-in-law and my cousins-in-law.

"Golden City! I miss my grandfather! Seeing me in the crowd, my grandfather stepped forward and hugged me high and smiled happily.

Since my father ran away from home, my grandfather has put all his thoughts on our grandchildren.

Especially my eldest grandson, when I am at home, I will take me wherever I go, and it is strictly forbidden for us male grandsons to play with the female children of relatives.

My father's experience made my grandfather feel uneasy, and it also hurt my cousins and cousins who were the same age as us.

They have long called "Qingfengze" their home, because it is lively, there are new people and things every day, and there are countless delicacies.

But as long as the grandfather's "tiger" is at home, these girls will stay away under the protection of their mother and friends.

Fortunately, my grandfather lived in "Qingfengze" for no more than half a month throughout the year, so their childhood in my inn was still very free and happy.

"Grandpa, there is a Roman merchant named Charlie who has been coming to the inn for many days, saying that he wants to wait for you to come back and have business to discuss."

Grandpa is a hero in my eyes, and there is nothing in this world that he can't do.

With him by his side, our children's lives are full of security, and they have not been bleak because of the loss of their father's love.

It was only when I grew up that I slowly realized that the compassion in the heart of my grandfather, who was optimistic and fearless on the outside, was not inferior to those in the suffering world.

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother stopped worrying about the world because she missed my father, and hid in her own temple to eat fast and pray Buddha.

The grandfather in life is one less old wife who can ask for warmth.

There is also the heartache of the departure of his beloved son, and the growing longing for the Yi clan people who have wandered to the end of the world in Jincheng County's hometown.

Any one of these sufferings, if pressed on an ordinary person's body, could completely destroy his life.

But my grandfather carried it all, leaving us grandchildren with only happy and warm memories.

"Grow up soon, my grandson! Grandpa's business is still waiting for you to take over! ”

Grandpa laughed and put me down, handed the horsewhip to the guy on the side, and strode straight towards where Charlie and the others were.

Over the years, walking around the business road, grandpa has developed a pair of fire eyes to recognize people.

The Romans, the Sassanids, the Rouran, the Kushans, all kinds of people don't speak, and he can guess eight or nine without leaving ten.

"Jincheng, Wuwei, Chang'an! These days, all the guns and sticks have been lost! Look back and see how Lao Tzu cleaned up your bunny cubs! ”

Compared with Grandpa's kindness and kindness, Grandpa Wei Chi Biao has always played the role of a wicked man, and our nephews are afraid that he will be better than everything in the world.

Under the careful training of my grandfather, who was born as a teacher, our three brothers have practiced solid basic skills at a young age, and I have become a first-class master when I become an adult.

In the future, walking on the rivers and lakes of the business road, the battle of open swords and guns has never suffered.

After hearing Grandpa's drinking, our group of little babies who were watching the excitement hurriedly hugged their heads and slipped away.

Charlie's deal with his grandfather was not as successful as he expected, and he wanted to take the exclusive rights of his grandfather's jade and silk business in Constantinople, but his grandfather did not agree.

Grandpa's reason is that he can't kick all the old customers because of new customers, which is not in line with the rules of business.

But he assured Charlie that as long as Charlie's caravan could arrive in Khotan on time every year, the supply of jade would be absolutely guaranteed.

As for silk, Grandpa gave Charlie two options.

One is that the grandfather purchases on behalf of him, and Charlie can come to Khotan every year to pick up the goods.

Another grandfather promised that he would send horses to the Central Plains in the spring season next year, and he could take Charlie and his party with him along the way.

And will personally introduce him to the big silk merchants in Luoyang, Jiankang and other places.

At that time, Charlie can guarantee how many goods he wants, and when he goes back, he can also choose to take the sea route, which will cost a lot less trouble.

After careful consideration, Charlie and his entourage chose Grandpa's second suggestion.

But there is still half a year before next spring, and Charlie decides to go north to the mysterious Wusun and Qiuzi countries to investigate.

And I made an appointment with my grandfather to meet at Yangguan in Dunhuang County in China in April next year, and then set off from there to go to the rich Eastern Jin Jiangnan.

Because for Lord Charlie, who was born into a wealthy family, the first purpose of his business is to travel all over the world to broaden his horizons, and the second is to make money.

After listening to his grandfather's introduction to the customs of Wusun Country, Charlie couldn't hold back his curiosity to go on an adventure.

On the second day, he bid farewell to the old and young people of "Qingfengze" and set off on horseback.

And the next time I saw Charlie, it was ten years later.