In the haze, a faint fishy smell poured into his nose, and Xie Ao's consciousness gradually sobered up. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 The sound of chopping vegetables came to his ears, and he opened his eyes, and the soft morning light slanted down from the cracks in the tiles.

He looked around, and it was a simple house, with nothing but a dining table, a water tank, and a fishing net.

Xie Ao struggled to get up, and there was a faint pain from the wound on his body. He coughed as an old man walked in from outside. "This Langjun, you woke up, but you worried me badly."

"Uncle, where am I?"

"This is a small fishing village in Huangsipu under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, the day before yesterday when Zhang Li and I were going out to sea to fish, we found a huge fish in a bay, that guy is old, I am almost a year old, I have never seen such a huge fish."

The old man continued, "We boldly rowed the boat over, and found that the fish was dead, and there was a steel knife stuck in the fish's eye. When I got closer, there was another person next to me, covered in blood. ”

"I'll quickly pick you up and rush back, and then Zhang Li is going to ask the villagers to drag the fish. In the past few days, you have been having a fever, and you have been talking nonsense, and you have invited several famous doctors to treat you, but they all say that your illness is incorrect. Zhang Lizheng of our village also invited a few warlocks, they danced in the house, and then burned talismans for you to eat, but your illness still did not improve, but became more and more serious. ”

"No, burn the talisman for me to eat, so what about later?"

"Later, a little lady with a white veil on her face passed by the door and happened to be bumped into by me. The little lady claimed to know medical skills and could help take a look. Speaking of which, after taking a pair of medicines, your fever gradually subsided. The little lady finished prescribing the medicine and told you to be good and leave. ”

"The girl with the white veil, I have to thank her when I have the opportunity in the future."

At this time, the angry stomach suddenly "growled". It's no wonder that it's been three full days since I was in a coma, and I haven't eaten anything at all, but I have drunk a stomach full of runic water. What a miserable life I have!

When he heard Xie Ao's stomach "growling", the old man ran to the kitchen to bring a bowl of rice porridge. It's said to be a kitchen, but it's just a stove under the eaves.

"That little lady said that you are recovering from a serious illness and will be well raised, so eat more millet porridge."

Xie Ao's eyes stared at the rice porridge in the pottery bowl, only to see that the white porridge was steaming with a hot aroma, the rice grains were as white as snow, and the bowl was dotted with a few red dates, which was very gratifying, and he scooped a small bite with a spoon, which was delicious and fragrant, as if there was also sucrose. This rice porridge cooked in a wood fire is extraordinarily fragrant. For a person who hasn't eaten for a few days, this bowl of rice porridge is worth the world's deliciousness!

"Uncle, have you seen my package?"

"Package? You're talking about bags! You wait, I'll help you get it and put it outside to dry, but don't worry, I haven't opened the things inside. ”

After a while, the old man walked in, still holding a set of clothes in his hand, "This is the clothes that my family Han'er used to wear, you will wear them." He worked as an errand in Yangzhou Mansion and did not return for several years. ”

After the old man finished speaking, he went back to the kitchen to eat. When Xie Ao saw the old man eating rough soup cakes, he felt a little uncomfortable. Although the family was poor, the old man kept the best things for himself. What a simple old man!

Looking at Xie Ao coming over, the old man said, "I really have to thank you this time, because of this giant fish, our entire fish village is boiling, I heard that Wang Zicong, the son of Wang Guohao, a wealthy businessman in Yangzhou, is also here, it is said that he wants to spend a lot of money to buy our fish, we Zhang Lizheng's eyes are smiling crookedly, at this moment they are negotiating the price, saying that they will give me more money when they sell the fish." ”

"This is what you always deserve, and good people will be rewarded."

"I'll keep the money for my daughter-in-law, hehe~~"

Just when the old man and Xie Ao were discussing the price of fish, suddenly two people came to the door, a young man in a gorgeous green robe, and next to him was a peasant in a coarse linen robe.

The old man hurriedly introduced to Xie Ao, "This is Zhang Lizheng from our village, and the other one must be the famous prince of the king, right?" ”

I saw the young man in a fancy costume and said: "Here is the second son of Wang Guohao, a wealthy businessman in Yangzhou, Wang Zicong, known as Wang Erlang." My family runs a few restaurants in Yangzhou, and I heard that you caught a giant sea fish, so I rushed over. This sea fish is a rare thing that is rare to see in a hundred years! ”

Wang Zicong looked at Xie Ao and said: "Presumably, this is the young man who caught the giant sea fish, and he is really a hero out of a young man!" ”

Xie Ao hurriedly replied, "Awards, awards, the young man is ashamed, this fish is estimated to have run aground on the beach and died, I just stabbed him in the eye." ”

"If you don't take pride in your work, you will definitely have a lot of success in the future. I don't know where this young hero's family lives, why is he here? ”

Xie Ao thought about it for a while, and thought that the tombstone at the beginning said Wujiang in Hezhou, so he said, "In Wujiang, Xiahezhou, because I went to sea with my uncle, I had high winds and waves along the way, and I also ran into this shark, and the result is like this." ”

"Shark, how come I've never heard of it?"

"The name of this fish is just a title, don't worry too much!"

Tang Gaozu once stipulated: the costumes are different from the lowly, and the five colors are mixed. Above the fifth grade, wear a purple robe; Below six grades, crimson green is used at the same time; The officials are blue, the people are white, and the butchers are soap. In the ancient feudal society, all dynasties emphasized agriculture over commerce. Scholars, farmers, industrialists, merchants, and merchants were at the bottom of the list, but the rich boy wore a green robe, which obviously did not follow this rule. It can be seen that his identity is not simple!

Zhang Lizheng, who was standing next to him, also said in a timely manner, "This time Erlang wants to use ten yuan to buy this sea fish, and as long as the shark fin part, the rest is left to us, this time we have made a lot of money, we have to thank this Lang Jun!" ”

The old man knew that he could make a lot of money this time, but he didn't expect to be able to sell it for so much money, and it was only a small shark fin. Ten times, the old man never dreamed that a fish was worth so much money, and now the rice is only forty yuan and one stone, if you buy all the grain, it will be 250 stones, so how many barns do you have to fit it, the old man is a little confused.

During the Tang Zhenguan period, it has always been equal to 1,000 Wen, and ten runs is 10,000 Wen, which is a huge amount of money for a fisherman. The purchasing power of coins was quite high during this period. Historical records record that in the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, that is, in 641 AD, Taizong once said to his courtiers: I have two joys and one fear. Than the year of Feng Minoru, Chang'an Dousu is worth three or four dollars, and one is happy; It is better than serving for a long time, and the border is safe, and the two are happy. Public security is arrogant, and arrogance is dangerous, and this is also fearful.

It can be seen that the price of grain at this time is about 4 Wen per bucket, which is similar to what the old man said. One stone is equal to 10 buckets, then one stone of grain is 40 Wen; One stone of grain in the Tang Dynasty was about 59 kilograms, and 250 stones were equivalent to 30,000 catties of rice now.

Now the rice in our supermarket is generally 2 to 4 yuan a catty, assuming that we calculate it at 2 yuan per catty, 30,000 catties of rice is about 60,000 yuan.

In the Tang Dynasty in 641 AD, 30,000 catties of rice cost about 10,000 wen; In 2016, 30,000 catties of rice cost about 60,000 yuan. Through comparison, it is concluded that one penny in the Tang Dynasty during this period is equivalent to 6 yuan now. It is about the same as the US dollar.

Of course, this ratio will vary with the fluctuation of prices, and we will only compare the price ratios of the two periods. It can be seen that our modern standard here is calculated with 2 yuan, if it is 4 yuan, or compared with the price of rice in the Tang Dynasty, then this ratio will be higher, which also shows that our current prices are indeed a bit high.

Uncle and Zhang Li are discussing to give five of them to Xie Ao, Xie Ao refused to accept it, he said that his life was saved by the uncle, and his share was reserved for the uncle to marry his daughter-in-law in the future, but the uncle also insisted on refusing to ask for it, and finally Wang Erlang coordinated in the middle, Xie Ao left two runs as entanglement, and the remaining three runs were given to the uncle. He really couldn't resist the old man, so he had to agree in the end.

When everything was discussed, Wang Erlang was ready to go back to Yangzhou, Xie Ao learned through inquiries that the best route to Hezhou was to take a boat along the river to enter more conveniently, so he decided to go to Yangzhou with Wang Erlang.

Before leaving, the old man prepared a bag of white sugar for Xie Ao, "My Han'er likes to eat millet red date and cane sugar porridge the most, this is what I saved after several years of fishing, if you meet him in Yangzhou, please transfer it to him, and by the way, let him have time to come back to see me; If you don't come across it, you can eat these on the road. ”

"Uncle, I wrote it down, I will definitely urge him to come back and give you a fat boy"

After saying goodbye to the old man and taking his luggage, Xie Ao and Wang Erlang took a boat to Yangzhou together.

It is a large ship, luxuriously decorated, with spices lit inside, and the hull is much more elaborate in workmanship and design than Japanese ships. The foremast and mainmast are about two feet high, and the mast is hung with transverse titles. On the horizontal title hangs a sail made of cattailgrass. Because of its good flexibility and strong pulling force, it is often used to make sails.

"Young man, also interested in ships."

"It's just curious, this building ship is much more advanced than the Wa Kingdom."

"How can their ships be compared with my Datang, there is a world of difference between the two."

They went all the way up the Yangtze River, and there were many slender men on both sides. Unkempt, ragged, and heavy-footed, they walked slowly like old oxen plowing the land. The boats beat gongs and drums, shouting for their waist drums, and sometimes when the impact is too strong against the current, they only need to loosen their hands a little, and the boat will go backwards. Xie Ao thought of the world-famous painting at this moment - "The Slender Man on the Volga", although it is a prosperous era, but the life of the people at the bottom is still hard.

At this time, Wang Erlang spoke, "This young man is also a person who has seen the world. In a few days, it will be the annual Oiran Contest of Yangzhou Lichun Academy, when all the literati and ink writers, businessmen and rangers will come, I wonder if Xie Shaoxia will have time to watch together? ”

"How can a small Lichun Courtyard be so famous?"

"Actually, everyone is mainly going to the beautiful woman in Lichun Temple, although it is to choose the oiran, in fact, the name of the Oiran of the Xiangyue girl has already been decided. I heard that she was going to recruit a guest to enter the curtain this time, and everyone came according to their abilities, as long as they could win her favor, she was willing to unveil the veil of mystery. ”

"Seeing that you are so eager to try, do you also want to see the little lady's face!"

"My Fair Lady, good gentleman. I used to always watch from afar, wouldn't it be nice to see her true face up close. How do you think I'm going to get his favor? I can't do martial arts, my family is money except money, what do you think I should give? ”

"Just do what you like."

"You're thinking too simply, if you want to lift his veil, it's not a problem that can be solved with money alone."

"It seems that this woman is not a greedy person for money, Erlang, you don't have much hope!"

"yes, I'm dying of sorrow. I don't know if Xie Shaoxia can do anything? ”

"Tell me what kind of person she is, try to be as detailed as possible, know yourself and your opponent, so that you can win all battles." After listening to Wang Erlang's introduction, Xie Ao probably had a bottom in his heart.

Xie Ao said to Wang Erlang, "You have a good rest for the past two days, and I will let you unveil that Xiangyue girl with your own hands." Wang Erlang excitedly ran over and hugged Xie Ao and said, "Is this true?" Xie Shaoxia, I really love you to death. ”

"Hey~~ Don't be like this, I'm not interested in men."

Two days later, the ship landed in Yangzhou.