The Mijia convoy came to the moat outside the West Gate and was stopped, and the rather annoyed caravan manager got off the car and found that what he saw and heard seemed to be different from the past.

Under the two-storey watchtowers built with stone strips and blue bricks on both sides of the bridge, there are two saber county soldiers, all of them are bright and energetic, holding a new-style waist knife in their hands, wearing a brown leather helmet with red tassels on the brim in front of them, and wearing boots made of cowhide under their feet.

In the middle of the road, the well-dressed tax collector of the city gate, who did not have a patch, read out the terms of tax payment, took the declaration of goods submitted by the caravan steward, and without saying a word, took more than a dozen small officials and began to inspect the goods one by one.

Mi Zhu didn't care about tax affairs, walked side by side to the moat bridge with his friend Liu Ye and Liu Ziyang, looked at the new stone arch bridge and the square and simple stone guardrails on both sides of the bridge deck with great interest, turned his head to look at the two banks of the moat neatly built with stones, and the two rows of willow trees planted along the embankment, and then looked up at the newly repaired towering and heavy city wall, and finally the simple and generous new dysprosium tower above the city gate, and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

The two guards at the head of the bridge saw that the two of them were dressed brightly and magnificently, and there was no change except for looking around, so they stared at them from a distance and did not come forward to disturb them.

Liu Ye, who was puzzled, asked Mi Zhu in a low voice: "Brother Zizhong, is this still the remote and dilapidated Xiahe City that everyone has in their mouths, and the scenery is no longer beautiful?" ”

Mi Zhu shook his head: "The change is too great, a few months ago when the foolish brother left, the city wall was mottled and cracked, the city gate was empty, there was no upper and lower tower, the original moat was full of silt, the weeds on both sides were stinking, this Dongmen Bridge was originally a wooden bridge, not the wide and solid stone arch bridge in front of him, all in all, the previous Xiahe City did not have such a weather, it seems that the new county magistrate Liu Zijian did have his superiority in governance, the foolish brother inferred, the local families may have also been exploited by him, Otherwise, they will not go to the royal city to file a complaint. ”

After the convoy had inspected the tax, the caravan steward came to report and asked the two men to board the car and enter the city. The two of them were interested, and simply walked into the city.

Walking to the middle of the stone bridge, Liu Ye suddenly asked, "Brother Zizhong, did the caravan need to check and pay taxes when it entered the city before?" ”

Mi Zhu smiled bitterly: "The previous county commanders are all slippery people in officialdom, and they are afraid of offending big merchants like local nobles and foolish brothers, and the goods entering the city only need to be declared as small and half to pass, but I didn't expect Liu Zijian to be so strict after taking power, it seems that Langya County no longer has to worry about taxes." ”

Seeing that Liu Ye didn't understand very well, Mi Zhu explained: "Liu Zijian's Zhushan caravan has close contacts with my Mijia caravan, and the volume of goods is getting bigger and bigger. ”

"Will his own caravan be fully taxed?" Liu Ye, who is accustomed to seeing the darkness of officialdom, has a lot of ideas.

Mi Zhu pondered for a moment: "With Liu Zijian's person, he will definitely take the lead in setting an example, only in this way can he convince the public, in addition, Liu Zijian has a reputation for benevolence, compassion and love for the people, since August last year to now, thanks to Liu Zijian's generosity and survival of no less than 30,000 displaced people, it can be seen that Liu Zijian disdains to do those things that harm the public and private interests. ”

Liu Ye was deeply touched: "This person's future is limitless!" ”

Mi Zhu laughed: "Brother Fool agrees with Ziyang's prophecy, but I am not the only one who is a Han talent, Liu Zijian?" Why hasn't there been any ruler today? It can be seen that Maxima often has it but Bole does not often have it, and it is even a famous saying! ”

Liu Ye was speechless for a moment, the court was mediocre and corrupt, bandits were frequent, and the future of the Han Dynasty became more and more difficult.

After entering the city, the two of them entered the Mijia branch of South Street with the caravan to rest, bathed and changed clothes, and the branch shopkeeper reported that the county commander went to Zhushan Township yesterday afternoon to inspect, and the housekeeper of Liu's mansion said that the head of the house could only return to the city tomorrow afternoon.

Mi Zhu and Liu Ye had to wait, and when they had refreshments, Mi Zhu asked the young shopkeeper standing aside: "Manfang, what's new in Xiahe City?" ”

Twenty-four-year-old Mi Feng Mi Manfang is a handsome man in the younger generation of the Mi family, if it weren't for the side branch, with his shrewdness and talent, he would not have been put in this remote Xiahe City, and he hasn't moved a step for five years, but he has a tough personality and is very intelligent, and he knows very well what the head of the family wants to hear, so he calmly reports in an orderly manner:

"Recently, there are three major local events: first, the dredging of the century-old abandoned Langya Ancient Port has been completed, and the construction of the 500-step breakwater has begun; The second is that the newly established shipbuilding workshop under the jurisdiction of the 'Zhushan Chamber of Commerce' has built a 300-stone ship that can be navigated at will with three large sails, and the navigation is still very smooth in the five-foot waves, and it is rumored that the ship traveled 25 miles in an hour, and until yesterday, this ship had passed outside Langya Port five times......;

"Wait!"

Mi Zhu couldn't sit still, and looked at Mi Feng with blazing eyes: "Manfang, have you seen that boat?" ”

Mi Feng nodded: "The foolish brother is fortunate to watch from afar, but unfortunately it is three miles away, and it is not true, but the ship is indeed very fast, the sails can be turned at will, the ship is full, the steering is free, the navigation is smooth and fast, far more than any big ship that the younger brother has ever seen, the younger brother speculates that the rumors of the cargo capacity of three hundred stones are not exaggerated." ”

Mi Zhu's hands clenched unconsciously, and he began to think about how to open his mouth to Liu Cun after meeting.

Liu Ye on the side is very interested, he is from the royal family, but the scenery in the family road is no longer good, since he was a child, his family is poor but self-improvement, he is full of poetry and books, diligent and studious, he reads everything about astronomy and geography, and he has a soft spot for the design of vehicles and boats.

This time, he passed by Xuzhou to be a guest in Mi's house, and saw that all the tableware and tea utensils used by Mi's family were all crystal clear and exquisite pottery that he had never seen before, and he was fascinated at once, and resolutely interrupted his plan to study in the south, and followed Mi Zhu, who wanted to come to Xiahe City to re-sign a business contract with Liu Cun before other giant merchants, and prepared to visit Liu Cun, who could make brilliant products.

At this moment, when he heard the appearance of the big ship, he was even more surprised in his heart, obviously there were many new things in this place, which had exceeded his cognition and aroused his strong desire for knowledge.

Under Mi Zhu's signal, Mi Feng continued: "The third major event is that the Chengbei Woodworking Workshop of the Zhushan Chamber of Commerce has made a completely different four-wheeled carriage, the board is two feet long, eight feet wide, and there is an iron axle connecting two huge rear wheels under it, the front two wheels can be bent and turn freely with the road, and the outer ring of the four wheels is wrapped with wide iron bars, which is extremely strong and durable, using two oxen or three pack horses to pull, it can carry more than 4,000 catties of goods at a time, and it can easily sit on fifteen people, and it travels between Xiahe City and Zhushan Township in the north coast every day. Forty-two miles of new official roads can be reached in half a day. ”

Mi Zhu was taken aback: "It's so fast? Can it really carry 4,000 pounds of cargo? ”

Mi Feng reported in detail: "This ** car began to appear half a month ago, and now it is increasing, only the Zhushan Chamber of Commerce has no less than fifty cars, after the younger brother has seen it, he was surprised by the two iron axles in the carriage one after the other, you must know that since the Qin and Han dynasties, all carriages have no axles, and they all rely on a single wheel bearing on both sides to bear the weight of the whole car, and hug the wheels to roll forward, so I am very curious, and I asked the Chamber of Commerce Lu to know that the iron axle can not only bear and disperse the weight of the whole car pressed on the wheels, It can also make the left and right wheels better keep parallel forward, and after figuring out the inside, the foolish brother didn't have time to think about it, so he immediately ordered two cars, each for 50,000 yuan, hoping to send them back to the clan workshop in Xiapi for imitation, and it is estimated that it will be available in three more days. ”

Mi Zhu was very satisfied: "Brother Xian did a good job, even if the price is twice as expensive, it is worth it!" ”

Liu Ye couldn't sit still anymore, stood up and said loudly: "Manfang, can you take me to see this ** car?" ”

Mi Feng smiled: "Why not? The warehouse of the Zhushan Chamber of Commerce is just outside the east gate, and it can be reached by walking for one and a half miles and crossing the bridge. ”

Mi Zhu said that he would lead the way in front, and he walked out side by side with Liu Ye, and Mi Feng hurriedly called several guards to follow closely.

Mi Zhu and his entourage crossed the crossroads, quickly walked out of the east gate, at a glance to see the north end of the road at the east end of the stone bridge across the moat, standing a magnificent heavy eaves building, red brick and gray tiles up to three floors, four huge round stone pillars in front of the door support the upper two layers of white stone carved railings, the wide door frame lintel is also a round arch shape neatly built up with white stone strips, on the left and right walls of the gate, each hangs a delicate plaque with gold characters on a black background, and a pair of ambitious couplets are written on it: "Business is prosperous through the four seas, and the wealth is wide into the three rivers."

Mi Zhu and Liu Ye are both well-informed people, standing in front of this twenty-four zhang long and twelve zhang long building at this moment, they are still very shocked, standing and looking up for a long time without moving, until Lu Ping, the head of the Zhushan Chamber of Commerce, hurriedly greeted him and came to the front to greet him respectfully.

After the greetings, Lu Ping gladly met the requirements of the distinguished guests, led Mi Zhu, Liu Ye and Mi Feng into the gate, passed through the large shops on the first floor full of merchants and buyers from all over the world, and climbed the wide staircase to the third floor.

Two handsome and clever young men have set up a small charcoal stove made in their own workshop in front of the elaborately carved wide pear wood low couch, and a beautifully made pear wood coffee table is placed in the middle of the low couch, on which is placed a beautiful white background painted ceramic tea set.

Standing in front of a circle of high and low scattered Bogu shelves full of all kinds of exquisite ceramic products, Mi Zhu and Liu Ye, Mi Feng are extremely moved, and the large and small colorful ceramics on the shelves are all unheard of by them.

For a long time, Mi Zhu took a deep breath and looked at Mi Feng with a shocked face reproachfully.

Mi Feng came to his senses, and hurriedly bowed down and explained in fear: "If it weren't for the blessing of my brother, I'm afraid that my younger brother would never have had the opportunity to ascend to this platform." ”

Mi Zhu suddenly realized, turned to Lu Ping, who was full of smiles, and saluted deeply: "Thank you for the favor of Manager Lu, Mi Zhu is fortunate in his three lives!" ”

Lu Ping waved his hand again and again, respectfully invited the three of Mi Zhu to come to the bed to taste tea, and explained with a smile after sitting down: "All the utensils here are from the hands of the contemptible owner, but the owner of the family has a word, from now on, if there is time to make any utensils, they will not be taken out for sale." On the day of the display of the utensils in the room, the head of the family solemnly advised that if Mr. Zizhong came, he would invite him to go upstairs to have a look, and that he would not open the display to anyone except Mr. Zizhong and his relatives and friends for three years, and not sell any of the utensils. Every other day, I took two boys to wipe these boutiques, and I was honored to regret it in my heart, so I looked forward to the arrival of Mr. almost every day! ”

Mi Zhu was taken aback: "Zijian really said that? Is he really no longer hands-on? ”

Lu Ping replied solemnly: "That's true, the head of the family will do what he says, and he has never broken his word, and I and the rest of us are sad about it, alas...... In addition to the display here and a few sets of utensils used by the master mother in the house, I am afraid it is difficult to see the utensils made by the head of the house! ”

Mi Zhu stood up solemnly, shook his big sleeves and slowly bent down to salute: "Please accept Mi Zhu's worship, Zijian's deep friendship, Mi Zhu will always remember!" ”

Lu Ping had already stood up, turned sideways slightly and didn't dare to bear it, bent down and asked Mi Zhu to sit down again, waved his hand and asked the little servant to bring a beautifully carved elm box, and respectfully handed it to Mi Zhu: "This is left by the owner of the contemptible family half a month ago, and told him to present Mr. Zizhong on behalf of the next generation, and the head of the family has a saying: As long as Mr. Zizhong opens the box, he will understand." ”

Mi Zhu and Liu Ye, who were also curious, glanced at each other, stretched out their white and slender fingers, elegantly opened the box half a foot square in front of him, and slowly took out a small gift wrapped in red flannel and opened it carefully.

Suddenly, Mi Zhu froze, looking at his incomparably clear face in the mirror, and the whole person fell into a state of stupor, unable to move like an evil spirit.

Liu Ye was slightly surprised when he saw this, and hurriedly moved over to check the gift in Mi Zhu's hand, and after seeing it clearly, he was also shocked and couldn't suppress it, and snatched the bright mirror inlaid in the pear wood lattice in Mi Zhu's hand, and stared at the clear face in the mirror with great excitement.

Lu Ping coughed lightly, and when Mi Zhu came to his senses, he smiled sympathetically: "When I saw this thing for the first time, I fell to the ground on the spot, and it took a long time to tremble and get up, and I urgently asked the head of the family where this thing came from?" The head of the family smiled and didn't answer, just asked how he felt? I couldn't say what I felt in my heart for a long time, until the head of the family left, and I found that I saw my aging face, and then thought of my parents who had been dead for many years! ”

Mi Zhu had calmed down, took the mirror from Liu Ye's hand and looked at it carefully, cherished the carved rosewood frame inlaid with the round mirror, and then looked up and asked for a long time: "May I ask Mr. Lu, is this thing also made by Zijian?" ”

Lu Ping nodded: "The master of the family has passed on the stunt of manufacturing this thing to the two apprentices under the door, and I don't know how to make it, but I have heard the master of the family say regretfully, it is not too difficult to make such a five-inch long and wide, can shine a clear face without deformation, firing hundreds of mirrors in a kiln, you can always get three to five finished products, if you make a mirror of more than one foot, there is no hard work for more than three years, thousands of trial production, absolutely can not be done, in the future, you need to keep investing in materials, keep trying." ”

Mi Zhu is so shrewd, he can understand the deep meaning of Lu Ping's words without thinking too much, he nodded slightly and asked with a smile: "Please let Manager Lu make it clear, how much is this treasure mirror worth?" ”

Lu Ping hurriedly said: "This is a gift from the head of the family to Mr., how dare you say anything?" ”

Mi Zhu was stunned for a moment, scolded the old slippery head in his stomach, and still maintained a calm smile on his face: "Haha!" I mean, how much do these mirrors produce per month? How much do you sell? Can it also be the same as Zhushan black pottery and painted pottery, and hand it over to my Mijia firm for unified purchase and sales? ”

Lu Ping replied humbly: "The monthly output is about fifty sides, and the opinion of the head of the family is that he still delivers the strong and reputable Mijia business franchise, and the transfer price is left to Mr. Zizhong's decision." ”

Mi Zhu finally knew Liu Cun's shrewdness, shook his head with a wry smile, looked at the mirror in his hand again, calculated and weighed it in his head quickly, and finally gritted his teeth and quoted a price that made everyone's heart arrest-