Chapter Seventy-Two: Treasure Hunting in Jiangxi

With the help of Yangzhou merchants who returned from Hanguguan together, a large compound was bought for 15,000 taels of silver not far from the wharf outside the city. Although it is not as good as the foot of Yangzhou City, it is located on the main traffic road. Therefore, Zhang Zhimu has to buy it if it is more expensive. Li Mao decided to turn this place into an inn, which is also the kind with guest rooms in front and freight yards in the back. Li Mao said: "In this way, there is no need to press much money, and in the future, when the goods come from the north, they can also be wholesaled everywhere." ”

Yan Boju led the people to sell another hundred horses, and the old man of Le had a trembling beard. He said, "Now it's earned." "It turned out that the horses seized from the bandits were sold at once, and some medium horses were sold. They sold for thirty thousand taels of silver. There are now two columns left for the top and medium horses. Lu Chengxiang sold all the humps here, and sold some other goods, selling a total of more than 63,000 taels of silver. As soon as Lu Chengxiang came back from outside, Yan Boju asked: "I said Lu Xiaoluo, I have been carrying this egg, and you said that you will sell it in Yangzhou." Whether it sells or not. I'm almost getting prickly heat. Yan Boju called Lu Chengxiang like this, and Lu Chengxiang was not angry, and said: "Now that everything else is over, I want to sell it specifically." ”

Yan Boju asked: "I carried this thing all the way like a baby, how much can it be worth?" ”

"I don't know exactly how much it's worth, but I do know that it's much more expensive than gold. Generally good color, it can be worth fifty good horses. Lu Chengxiang said.

Yan Boju listened to it and said, "I know that this thing is expensive, and we can't sell it for this money in Shanxi." I didn't expect it to be worth so much money. ”

Lu Chengxiang and Yan Boju took Zhang Bingchen and others to a relatively large pharmacy. Q: "Do you accept medicine?" Seeing that it was a few northerners, the pharmacy guy ignored the question and asked, "What medicine do you have?" Lu Chengxiang has seen the world, slapped the table, and said, "Let your shopkeeper speak." Before this guy called the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper had already heard the news, and arched his hand and said, "What's the matter with the guest officers?" I'm the shopkeeper. Yan Boju said, "I have something, please take a look." As he spoke, he handed over a cloth bag, which Yan Boju carried all the way, sour and pungent, and the shopkeeper didn't dare to cover his nose. I slowly opened the bag, looked closely, my eyes lit up, and then I didn't move. Lu Chengxiang and Yan Boju had already seen all this. The shopkeeper said, "This is a Ma Bao, a good thing is a good thing, but you don't keep it well." Some have gone bad. If you want to make a move, we can discuss it. Behold, it is only five thousand denarii. Lu Chengxiang smiled, wrapped his things, and said, "Excuse me, let's go." Find someone who knows the goods. As he spoke, he led the people away. At this moment, the shopkeeper panicked, knowing that he had failed to act. This Mabao is hard to find, and it would be a pity if it slipped out of his hands like this. I was a little panicked and didn't know what to do, so I shouted to stay and stay. At this time, the owner of the pharmacy stopped Lu Chengxiang in front of the door. said: "A few guest officers, give the old man a thin face." Please have tea in the inner hall. ”

In the inner hall, the proprietor asked people to bring the scales in front of everyone. Weigh it up. In the end, after some bargaining, this Ma Bao sold for 21,000 taels of silver. The owner of the pharmacy has always been polite, and the shopkeeper has been sweating and smiling beside him.

Lu Chengxiang and the shopkeeper went to the money shop to exchange all the silver for gold.

On the way back, Yan Boju said: "If I run away secretly and sell this horse egg, will I be able to live happily for a few years?" Lu Chengxiang said: "You made this treasure like stinky meat along the way, and the shopkeeper thought we didn't know how to do it, and he wanted to lie to us." It's good that I didn't cheat them. ”

In the evening, Zhang Zhimu held another meeting with the cadres. Before the meeting, Zhang Zhimu asked Lu Chengxiang how much cash he had now, and Lu Chengxiang said: "The big number is 433,000 taels." ”

At the meeting, Zhang Zhimu said: "We are walking in Zhenjiang, Yingtianfu (Nanjing) and Jingdezhen. Then I went to Huizhou, and then went to Hangzhou and Suzhou to buy some silk and returned to Yangzhou. Li Mao stayed in Yangzhou to build a house, hoping that when we come back, there will be a change here. left 200,000 taels of silver for Li Mao. In addition to repairing the house, the rest of the money was set aside for expenses and all the food was bought. ”

According to the plan, Zhang Zhimu's fleet stayed in Zhenjiang for two days and Yingtianfu (Nanjing) for three days, and in these two places, Lu Chengxiang turned the jewelry into cash, and according to Zhang Zhimu's request, Yan Boju left ten good horses. The rest were sold, and Yan Boju, who sold the horses, was very distressed, but had a sense of accomplishment. A total of more than 70,000 taels of silver were sold. Lu Chengxiang's jewelry was sold for 230,000 taels of silver, and the goods were sold for more than 40,000 taels. There is still a little cowhide and horns left. Lu Chengxiang said that as long as he stopped in Jiujiang for one day, he could sell it for a good price. In Nanjing, Zhang Zhimu bought several machines for weaving and spinning silk. Lu Qi said that he would do all these things, and he didn't need to buy them. Zhang Zhimu said: "After buying and dismantling, you can install it when you go back." According to Lu Chengxiang's requirements, he bought a lot of various silk satin and embroidery. I rented a storeroom and arranged for two people to take care of it.

The fleet sailed to Wuhu to stop the boat, Zhang Zhimu called Lu Qi, handed Lu Qi twenty taels of silver, and said: "You go home and arrange the affairs of the family, and help me do two things, first, people like you in your hometown, who are literate and can write and draw, have skills and talents, help me invite some." No matter what talent you have, if you are a family member, you can go with me if you want to, and I want to be a skilled craftsman. Also, I see that you are full of ponds and ducks everywhere, and you have to buy me some duck down and goose down, which cost twenty pounds a pack. I will send two people to you to help you transport the eiderdown to Yangzhou, and we will meet in Yangzhou. You bring ten thousand taels of silver, and you may buy some velvet. If you can't use the money, you stay at home and let your family continue to collect eiderdown everywhere. We come to recycle duck down at least once a year, and the down will give your family a profit. It's really not okay to collect some pickled duck eggs. Then Lu Chengxiang arranged two people to accompany Lu Qi to get off the boat and leave. From here, you can go out of the Yangtze River and take a small boat to Luzhou Mansion.

When the fleet arrived at Jiujiang in the morning, Lu Chengxiang led the people ashore, and when he came back in the afternoon, there were merchants who came to pay for the silver and pick up the goods. Zhang Zhimu said: "Mr. Lu, you are very godly, how do you know that such a small amount of goods can be sold so expensively here, and it will be sold so quickly." ”

Lu Chengxiang shook his head and said, "What do you say we are for?" For bows and arrows. This is the closest to Zhang Xianzhong, and whoever buys these goods is for him. This point of goods was sold for more than 50,000 taels of silver at once, and Lu Chengxiang had a sense of accomplishment. Zhang Zhimu lost no time in complimenting a few words, and Lu Chengxiang was very beautiful in his heart.

This is a person who has devoted his son and nephew to the cause of kiln gang, Zhang Zhimu is very moved. In the evening, rest for the night in Jiujiang. Now the ships of the caravan are constantly decreasing. Zhang Zhimu asked Lu Chengxiang to prepare dinner better, but he couldn't drink, and waited until Jingdezhen for everyone to drink. Of course, the cadres all followed Zhang Zhimu ashore for a drink. It's also a great way to bring people together.

As soon as the morning dawned, the fleet left the Yangtze River and headed for Poyang Lake. At this moment, Zhang Zhimu suddenly remembered the two lines of Bai Juyi's poem "Pipa Xing": "Xunyang River sends off guests at night, and the maple leaves and flowers are in autumn." "Because the Yangtze River flows through the north of Jiujiang, it is called Xunyang River, and Jiujiang is also called Xunyang. And because time is really waiting for no one, I can't go to see what Lushan is like now, and I feel a little regretful in my heart.

After passing the vast Poyang Lake, we arrived at Jingdezhen.

At this time, Jingdezhen was in his heyday, and he was really a businessman. Merchants from the south to the north are shoulder to shoulder. Official kilns and private kilns, smoke and dust are billowing out. Get in and out of merchant ships and line up in long queues. When he arrived in Jingdezhen, Zhang Zhimu's mind was not on porcelain, so he simply walked around, and asked around, knowing whether Dayu Town was not. The shopkeeper of the inn said that there is no one in Jiangxi who does not know Dayu Town, and the porcelain here is transported to Guangdong, and it must go ashore from Dayu Town. You can go to the dock and find the boatman from Dayu Town.

Zhang Zhimu took the Jiangxi man who came back from Yaogang to the dock together and asked if he was from Dayu Town? After a while, a boat family came to live in Dayu Town, saying that it was home. Zhang Zhimu was a little nervous in his heart. Ask you if there is a heavy stone there, that is, a stone that is heavier than any other stone. The boatman said, of course, our ship from Dayu Town is basically empty, we used to use that kind of stone to press the boat, that kind of stone is heavy and does not take up space, we call it heavy stone here. When we got to the dock, we were all thrown into the river. But now the big ones are gone, and they may all be thrown into the river. Small mountains are all over the place, even in the river.

Zhang Zhimu asked: "This kind of heavy stone, it is poisonous after being burned with fire. ”

"The heavy stones we have here are not poisonous, and I heard that the heavy stones in some places are poisonous." The boatman said. Zhang Zhimu's heart was about to pop out with joy. He came all the way to it. Seeing that it was getting late, I thanked the boatman. Holding Yang Yulin with one hand and Chen Yufeng with the other, he walked back happily and said, "I'm so happy today, go back and drink." ”

Back at the inn, Lu Chengxiang was waiting for him. said: "I have seen the goods of several houses, and the porcelain here is really cheap." It's like you don't want money. Especially those small kilns, in fact, the quality is not too much. We buy porcelain, in two kinds. One is high-end, which is used by large aristocratic households, and the other is used by a large number of people in restaurants. I just don't know how much silver porcelain Mr. Zhang plans to buy. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "We came to the porcelain capital, of course, the porcelain here is good and cheap. It's like the horse we bought in Killing. Horses are not worth much in that place, but when they get here, how many horses from outside the mouth have been transported here, and it is strange that they are not expensive. I look at Mr. Lu, you can just buy porcelain for about 50,000 taels. I don't care about the specifics. Tomorrow I will go to Dayu County to do some business, and Uncle Chen and Yang Yulin will go with me. Li Jing took ten people with me. Everyone else stays and helps Mr. Lu get porcelain. ”

Early in the morning, Zhang Zhimu had more than a dozen people, hired two fast boats, and went to Dayu Town.

On the boat, Chen Yufeng asked: "You have made it mysterious, what are we going to do in Dayu Town, can we talk about it now." ”

"Let's go on a treasure hunt." Zhang Zhimu said.

"What kind of treasure are you looking for, say it quickly." Yang Yulin couldn't help it.

Zhang Zhimu replied with a question: "Uncle Chen, have you ever seen a treasure knife that can really be as iron as mud?" ”

Chen Yufeng said: "I've heard of it, but I haven't seen it. ”

"You've seen lightning, right? What do you think would happen if we used electricity to light the lamp? Zhang Zhimu asked again.

Yang Yulin said: "That's not all killed. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "If we go to find this thing, we can make a treasure knife that sharpens iron like clay." It can also be used to light the lights with electricity, and it will not be killed. You say, "Is this a treasure or not?" ”

Chen Yufeng said: "It's really like what you said, that's a baby." Although I can't understand it now, everyone believes what Zhang Zhimu said.

Dayu Town is now called Dayu Town, and it was called Dayu in the previous life. This is the place where merchants from the north who came to Guangdong abandoned their ships and went ashore, and it is the stopping point of this ancient road. Although the place is not big, it has stood the wind and rain of the years, and there are many wine shops and inns. Things are very cheap, and you can also eat baby fish, pangolins, snakes, pheasants and other mountain delicacies. After eating, I hired a guide with the help of the guy at the inn. When he came to the mountain by the river, Zhang Zhimu knew that this place was the famous "tungsten capital" in his previous life. Sure enough, you can see some stones here, and when you pick them up by hand, they are indeed much heavier than other stones. Zhang Zhimu said: "Go back and buy some baskets." Tomorrow I will pick up stones. ”

Bamboo is everywhere here. Soon a thousand and hundreds of reinforced baskets were made. Then let Li Jing take all ten people with him and start picking up stones according to Zhang Zhimu's request. It took two days to fill a thousand baskets. In fact, it was only half a basket, because the stone was too heavy, and it was too heavy to carry it, not to mention that it was afraid that the basket would be broken. There happened to be a fleet of ships transporting porcelain to Guangdong to unload their cargo in Dayu. Wait until they're done. Zhang Zhimu: They loaded the 100 baskets of stones onto the ship. Set off to Jingdezhen.

Zhang Zhimu They didn't know yet, Lu Chengxiang thought that they were in a hurry, and they were waiting for him anxiously.