The rumbling drum continued for a long time, and the Qiren guide said that this was the signal to announce the opening of the market, and it would not stop until it was struck three hundred times. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"It's the same when you scatter, you have to strike the bell three hundred times, but between this Zhuangyue, even if you don't have a market day, it's usually full of morning and sunset."

Mingyue and they have now stepped into a six-track avenue that winds sideways in Guo District, which is the most lively street in Linzi, called "Zhuang".

The busiest market near this street is called "Take", and within the north gate, it is a place where markets and businesses are concentrated, and in addition to the year-round transactions, a large trade market is held every five days. From the beginning of Guan Zhong's establishment of the Nine Prefectures, the Qi State implemented the policy of "closing the market and ridiculing but not leviing", encouraging foreign merchants to come to Zi for trade, thereby driving local consumption, and selling the special products of Qi through them.

Because of this "free trade" policy, Linzi's commerce is particularly developed, so here, Mingyue can see businessmen from all over the world, and the things, sounds and smells here are exotic. Qin Shu's Dan lacquer and feathers, Jiang Han's leather bone elephant, Wu Yue's Nanzi bamboo arrows, Yan Zhao's fish salt Qiu, Wei Han's lacquer silk threads, all converge here to trade, people come and go, the sound is noisy, dusty. Of course, all this is not safe and free, it is said that within a month, the city of Zhuangyue can get a thousand gold in the city, which is bigger than Xianyang and Handan......

These big merchants from all over the world were armed and guarded, and the market was full of armed walking personnel, but there were no frequent fights on the streets of Handan, because the Qi soldiers wearing leather helmets and armor were patrolling the aisles with the city officials, and the scabbard was dangling from the leather belt.

It is said that Anping Jun Tiandan, who was in this Zhuangyue between the city officials, understood some of the mysteries of using soldiers from the sound of the golden drum that organized the opening of the market, and it was no less difficult than commanding tens of thousands of troops to organize the market transactions in an orderly manner......

In addition to the giant merchants who were worth hundreds of gold and focused on large-scale trade, the local small traders in Linzi were not to be outdone: the well-dressed cloth merchants exaggeratedly held up large cloth and showed passers-by the kudzu cloth and silk dyed in more than a dozen colors; An obese spice merchant argues with an opponent about the price of a certain spice, perhaps ginger or peppercorns, but Mingyue can't read the trade sign language between them; The subordinate concubines swaggered through the market carrying heavy bags of grain and salt on their backs, sweating profusely, and their masters kept beating and urging them with thin sticks.

In addition, there are some people who are similar to the performers of later generations, who set up a stall, or play the flute and drums, or play the piano and build it, or fight cocks and dogs, or play six games and bows, attracting people to stop and watch and ask for a little reward.

There was also a merchant who sold copper jian, holding a large copper mirror, and tried to recommend it to Mingyue, claiming that this item could make the wives and concubines in the family shake their eyes.

Mingyue thought about it, threw a string of Qi knife coins at him, and bought the best bronze jian, with the hollow patterns of birds and beasts on the back, which was extremely exquisite, and it can be seen that the craftsmen of Qi were skilled. These days, Nuqi has served him diligently, and this delicate mirror can express her gratitude.

Shu Qi also walked around in front of the stall he was interested in, it was a sword stall, which was clearly full of iron swords and scabbards, and the shirtless swordsman had a thick beard and hung his chest, sitting behind the stall and silently sharpening the blade with a whetstone. As long as it is not expressly forbidden to manufacture and sell crossbow machines, it is not illegal to sell weapons in Linzi City.

However, after picking and choosing, Shu Qi still came back and said, "It's not as good as Handan's iron sword." ”

Mingyue said: "This is natural, although the Qi State was the first to set up an iron official, who was responsible for smelting iron casters, but in terms of the sophistication of iron soldiers, Zhao and Han were the best. ”

Handan of Zhao State, because there are many iron mines nearby, has now become the most prosperous place for iron smelting in the world. South Korea is not bad, Moyang, Hezhen, Deng Shi, Wan Feng, these swords can all cut off cattle and horses on land, intercept birds and geese in water, and cut off the iron curtain when the enemy is strong......

In addition, Wandi of Chu was also a large iron-smelting city, but it was now occupied by Qin.

Lu Jujian also pulled back from a stall, and muttered and complained: "I don't understand what those Qi people say, and I can't understand the price when I ask for it, I can only talk non-stop, I'm really angry." ”

In this era, the Chinese languages were already very different, and the dialect of Linzi was mixed with a large number of Dongyi Laiyi words, and a Handan person who had just arrived did not understand it.

Mingyue smiled: "If you stay in Linzi for half a year, you will." ”

He told the crowd a story.

"A doctor of Chu wanted his son to learn Qi language, so he invited a master of Qi to teach his son. But there are many Chu people around the son of the Chu people who disturb him all day long, talking with him in Chu language, and the Qi language he just learned was forgotten within a few days, and a year passed like this, even if the doctor of Chu used a whip to whip his son, he still couldn't learn Qi language. In the end, the doctor brought his son to the country of Qi and let him live in this Zhuangyue, and the son of the Chu people had to learn Qi in order to talk to others, and within a month, he learned it. ”

This story is called "One Fu Zhongxiu", Mingyue pointed to Lu Jujian and said: "After half a year, you will definitely be able to speak in unison." ”

Lu Jujian said disdainfully: "Who loves to learn this Dongyi dialect." ”

The ranger next to him teased: "If you don't learn Qi language, how can you ask a beautiful woman of Qi to go back?" ”

Lu Jujian's face was dry, and everyone laughed, and while talking, they finally walked out of Zhuang Yue, and after coming out, Chang Anjun in the car was fine, and everyone on foot was sweating without exception.

Fortunately, after leaving the market, the crowd is not so crowded, and further on, it is a place of bright lights and wine, the most desirable "female lu" in Linzi.

The Danfang of the magician that Pingyuan Jun said was opened near the entrance of the female lu, and Mingyue searched for a long time under the guidance of the guide before she found it on the side of a remote alley.

It is similar to the shops in other Linzi markets, it is the structure of the front store and the back workshop, the back is the alchemy Danfang, the front is the shop of the Gebu banner, and the word "fairy" written by Qi Seal, but unfortunately although the word is handsome, it is weakly hanging at the moment, and there are few people near the store, and there is no business.

In the shop, the owner of this Danfang, a middle-aged man with a small bun, did not have the fairy wind bones of an ordinary magician, his hair was so oily that he could stir-fry vegetables, and he was dozing off on the desk at the moment, and between breaths, two thin mustaches on his lips followed.

Three steps away, a teenage boy with a hair knot on his head was holding a wooden pestle and pounding something or medicinal herbs in a large blue-colored stone mortar. His expression was bored, and he complained about something to his master who was dozing off on the desk......

……

Once again, he slammed the wooden pestle into the sand mine in the stone mortar, and Lu Sheng's face was full of excitement.

"Master." He rubbed his sour arms: "These dansha, do they have to be powdered?" ”

His master didn't pay attention, still closed his eyes, but his mouth moved, and said, "If it's not powder, how can it be refined, and how can it be turned into mercury?" ”

Lu Sheng had no choice but to raise the wooden pestle again, ding ding dong dong, repeating the action that had to be done hundreds of times a day in the past few years, after scooping the large pieces of dansha into small pieces, and grinding them carefully in the milk bowl, which was extremely time-consuming.

He couldn't help complaining: "Master, you have been bragging to me that you and that Song Wuji are in the same lineage, and you were named a guest by King Yan back then, and you also came to Zi from Yan Kingdom together. But why was he welcomed into the court by the King of Qi, regarded as the elder of the country, eating meat, and traveling with cars, while we could only live in a broken shop in this city, barely fed? ”

Lu Sheng's master, Xu Ping, changed his head and didn't answer, but his heart was also sour, his apprentice disliked him for mixing poorly, but could he blame him?

He was originally from Qi, lived in the East China Sea, went to Yan Kingdom when he was young, and studied under the warlock Zheng Boqiao. That Zheng Boqiao is as famous as Song Wuji and Xianmenzi Gao, and they are all valued by King Yan Zhao, and let them refine the pill and pursue immortality.

At that time, these magicians were also in the limelight for a while, but something happened, more than ten years ago, the golden pill offered by Zheng Boqiao died King Yan Zhao. After the violent death of King Yan Zhao, King Yan Hui, who succeeded to the throne, was furious and expelled the magicians. Especially the Zhengboqiao family, almost slaughtered, only Xu Ping remained, he had to come to Linzi to hide, this little boy Lu Sheng, is the widow of one of his senior brothers.

The two have been dependent on each other in Linzi for more than ten years, and Xu Ping originally hoped to be able to blend into the palace of King Qi and be a guest of King Qi, but as soon as others heard that he was a disciple of King Yan Zhao who killed him, they avoided it, how could they dare to eat the pill he offered?

So Xu Ping could only live in the alley next to this female lu, and make a living by selling aphrodisiac pills to foreign nobles passing by, and those people didn't know his details anyway......

But the location of this store is not good, and the money brought from Yan Guo has long been spent, and they are almost unable to make ends meet.

Just when he was at a loss, Lu Sheng began to shout again.

"Master, Master!"

"What a noise! I knew that you were so disobedient, and the old man shouldn't have pulled you up in the first place! Xu Ping was furious.

Lu Sheng had already run over and shook his arm desperately: "Hurry up, there is business coming, if you can't make this money, we will all starve to death, you really raised me for nothing!" ”

"There's a business!?"

Xu Ping didn't sleep anymore, a spirit, raised his head, and just saw a young aristocratic gentleman, followed by several powerful guards, walking into his dusty shop with his hands behind his back, and a piece of jade like a bright moon hung on his waist......