"Do you say Bai Rong is a boy or a girl?"

"Of course it's a boy." The eldest lady immediately said, "No matter how you look at it, it can't be a girl." ”

Xiao Yao also agreed with the eldest lady's point of view, and echoed: "In all aspects, voice, movements, and appearance, he is a boy." ”

When Hu Yiyi heard this, he hid his face and chuckled. "You've all been tricked by her, giggles."

Then he continued: "She just coiled her hair in the wrap around her head, she didn't have that long hair like other girls, she probably cut off part of it." You feel that her skin is a little dark, and that is only from the tea garden for a long time. Just look at her fingers. The reason why she wears boy's clothes and dresses up as a boy is probably because she has to come out to do short-term work. ”

"I can't imagine that the descendants of the former Miao Wang tribe will also end up in such a field." Xiao Yao couldn't help but sigh.

This is also the reason why King Miao's position is very embarrassing. There are too many Miao tribes, and the Miao King is not hereditary, but elected by the four Miao together, so his power is very limited, far from being like the other three major Tusi. But it is precisely because King Miao is not hereditary, so most King Miao has never done anything too out of the ordinary. So everything is a pros and cons. Once King Miao is replaced, then the tribe of the previous King Miao will once again be reduced to an ordinary tribe, and even ordinary tribes cannot be compared. ”

Hu Yiyi also sighed.

"Then if she comes out to work at such a young age, her family can rest assured?" The eldest lady thought about her life experience, and compared with it, her heart was also sour.

In fact, in many Miao families, children of her age have already helped the family to share a role. The land in Miaojiang is scarce and the food is limited, so it is necessary to collect more medicinal herbs or work in the tea plantations to make money, otherwise the whole family will have to starve and starve in winter. ”

Hu Yiyi sighed softly again.

"Then why not cultivate more terraces?" The eldest lady asked puzzled.

"Most of the mountains in Miaojiang are stone mountains, and there is no way to cultivate terraced fields or grow grain. Mountains that can be terraced must ensure that there is an abundance of water, and there are very few such mountains. A high dam village like the Witch Ghost Assembly is more suitable for cultivating terraced fields. And Phoenix Mountain is not suitable. Hu Yiyi said.

"That's why this place attaches so much importance to the tea plantation, and uses the tea produced to exchange for food." Xiao Yao finally understood the reason why the Miao people attached so much importance to the tea fair, which was directly related to the livelihood of the tea farmer's family.

"Yes, what the Miao people lack most is food, and after going deep into Miao Xinjiang, it is far from being like those places of the Peng Tusi Tu tribe, where water transportation is developed and more convenient, but when they enter the depths of Miao Xinjiang, they can only rely on the horse team to carry it out." Hu Yiyi nodded and said.

"Is the route taken by these caravans carrying tea leaves the famous Ancient Tea Horse Road?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Yes, the main routes of these horse teams or caravans are the three ancient tea horse roads that run through Miao Xinjiang, leading to Sichuan-Tibet, the Central Plains and the Southeast respectively." Hu Yiyi said.

Speaking of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, Xiao Yao couldn't help but think of the description of this aspect in the witch book, there are three ancient tea horse roads in Miaojiang: the first is the Northwest Ancient Tea Horse Road, which crosses Xichuan to the Tibetan area; the second is the Central Plains Tea Horse Ancient Road, which leads to the Central Plains; The third Southeast Tea Horse Road leads to the fortresses of major towns in the southeast, and even crosses the ocean and is sold to foreign countries.

The Ancient Tea Horse Road originated from the early "Tea and Horse Market".

Because Gaozang belongs to the alpine region, the altitude is more than three or four thousand meters, and tsamba, milk, ghee, beef and mutton are the staple foods of the residents there. In the alpine region, it is necessary to consume high-calorie fat, but there are no vegetables, and the glutinous rice is hot and dry, and excessive fat is not easy to decompose in the human body, while tea can not only decompose fat, but also prevent dryness.

Therefore, in their long-term life, the Tibetans have created the habit of drinking butter tea on the plateau, but Tibet does not produce tea, so they have to buy it from the Miaojiang area.

In Miaojiang and the interior, civil servants and military campaigns require a large number of mules and horses, which are often in short supply. The Tibetan area and the Xichuan border area produce good horses. As a result, the complementary trade of tea and horses, known as the "tea and horse market", came into being. It has formed an "Ancient Tea Horse Road" that continues to this day.

Miaojiang, on the other hand, is mainly mountainous, so it relies heavily on caravans to transport various materials, so it exchanges the continuous output of tea from Xichuan and Qinghai-Tibet for horses.

Later, the ancient tea and horse road continued to develop, and the trade between Miaojiang and the Central Plains and the southeast region continued to develop, but the trade was no longer horses, but tea was directly exchanged for grain.

"Since Peng's Tusi began to focus on water transportation, various river water transportation along the boundary between Miaojiang and Xichuan has been continuously developed, but these places are mainly in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and the water is shallow and rapid.

On the contrary, it is the part leading to the Central Plains, because it is located in the middle and lower reaches, and the water transportation is very convenient.

Therefore, although it is still called the Ancient Tea Horse Road, more materials are transported to the vicinity of Miaojiang by water before being replaced by horse gangs into the mountains.

Hu Yiyi once again acted as a qualified tour guide for the two.

It seems that the geographical location of this Peng's Tusi is very important, it is almost an important hub between Miaojiang and the outside world, and the grain entering Miaojiang is mainly transported from there, maybe the imperial court has been staring at Xizhou for a long time. That's why it is proposed to change the land and return it to the stream.

Xiao Yao thought about this in his heart, and said, "Is our route to Phoenix Mountain an ancient road?" ”

"Yes, this is the ancient road in the Central Plains. It is now the largest ancient road. Hu Yiyi replied.

"And what's so special about this tea tasting meeting?" Xiao Yao asked.

"As we all know, tea trees originated in the southwest of Miaojiang, with the expansion of tea drinkers and the development of tea trade, the tea planting area has gradually expanded. The tea-producing areas of the country are divided into four major tea areas: Jiangnan Tea Area, Jiangbei Tea Area, Southwest Tea Area and Southeast Tea Area. Among them, the Jiangnan tea area mainly produces green tea, special black tea and dark tea, the Jiangbei tea area mainly produces green tea, the southwest tea area mainly produces black tea, and Pu'er tea and green tea are produced at the same time, and the southeast tea area mainly produces oolong tea, and at the same time produces white tea and special black tea. Hu Yiyi introduced.

Hu Yiyi continued, "The southwest of our Miao Xinjiang is the place where tea trees are produced, and the southwest tea area is located in the southwest of the country, the origin of tea trees, and it is also the oldest tea area in the country. The terrain of Miaojiang is complex, the terrain is high, undulating, and mostly belongs to the plateau. ”

Hu Yiyi paused deliberately, and then continued, "The climate in the tea area varies greatly, the climate is characterized by early spring, warm winter, hot summer, autumn rain, superior thermal conditions, hot weather, rainy days and foggy days, suitable for the growth of all kinds of tea trees. In the southwest tea region, the soil is generally more fertile than other tea areas, and it is also suitable for the growth of tea trees. The tea varieties are mainly arbor type and small tree type large and medium leaf tea trees, and there are also a small number of shrub type small and medium leaf tea trees. ”

"How did you know so much, so detailed?" The eldest lady couldn't help asking.

"Of course, it is written in the Book of Tea, and an important income of our Poison Dragon Sect is to guard the horse teams of tea merchants, because the tea transported over long distances is often relatively expensive tea, and some are even more expensive than gold. Therefore, the senior management of our education must know some knowledge of tea. I have been familiar with the Tea Sutra since I was a child. ”

Hu Yiyi said proudly.

"As the saying goes: good mountains and good water make good tea. The four major tea-producing regions in the country have their own characteristics, and the tea produced also has its own merits. If you have the opportunity, you might as well go to the tea-producing areas to see the beautiful scenery, understand different customs, and taste different teas! Xiao Yao couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, it must be a place with beautiful mountains and rivers in order to grow good tea, and the Miaojiang region is full of mountainous areas, which is naturally a rich place for tea, and this tea tasting conference must be a gathering of tea, right?" The eldest lady answered.

"Of course, it's just that the production of this good tea is extremely limited, and it has to be processed through many processes, so in the case of our most famous Pu'er tea in Miaojiang, it takes several months to ferment. Therefore, the price is often very expensive, so the admission to this tea tasting festival will be limited. Hu Yiyi said.

"What is the restriction, is it to buy a ticket to enter?" The eldest lady asked.

"No, but someone has to send out an invitation, and generally the person who attended the last tea tasting conference is allowed to invite a person to the next tea tasting meeting." Hu Yiyi explained to the two.

"Isn't that more and more crowded?" Xiao Yao asked.

"How can it be, these tea merchants cost money to live in King Miao's line, and the price is expensive, who would pay so much for the room just to participate in the tea tasting conference?" Hu Yiyi said.

"So the place where we live is so good?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Of course, didn't you see that King Miao's villa was an independent bamboo building in addition to the palace where he lived? These are for tea merchants, although there are usually tea merchants who come here to sell tea, but the quantity of good tea is limited, and the tea tasting conference has become the main place for buying and selling. Hu Yiyi said.

"It turns out that we are really the VIP of King Miao, the bamboo building we live in is much larger than the ordinary bamboo building in the villa, how much does it cost?" Xiao Yao asked.

"At least one hundred taels a day, so if it's not a tea merchant, who will live there." Hu Yiyi said.

"It's so expensive, so doesn't King Miao make a lot of money?" Xiao Yao asked.

"This is also the cleverness of King Miao, he chose to hold a tea tasting conference in Phoenix City and Phoenix Mountain, which is jointly managed by the four major Miao, as well as the Witch Temple, so that the four Miao will agree, and the other toasts can't say anything, and at the same time, the Witch Temple of Phoenix Mountain can also share the benefits, so everyone basically agrees." Hu Yiyi said.

Xiao Yao had to admire the old fox King Miao again from the bottom of his heart, which was really unexpected.

It is really not easy to skillfully use the resources in your hands to control the economy of Miaojiang.

No wonder Peng Shan wants to be careful of this old fox everywhere.

It's just that I don't know if this Miao King is powerful, or the Peng family's Tusi is powerful, one of the two masters the tea trade in Miaojiang, and the support of the Poison Dragon Sect, the other masters the main passage in and out of Miaojiang, and there are rich Tu clans behind them, it is really a competition without gunpowder.

No wonder it is rumored that King Miao and Peng's toast are not compatible, this is simply one mountain and no two tigers.

Xiao Yao secretly calculated in his heart. He now has a good relationship with the Poison Dragon Sect, and he has also been in contact with Peng Shan, and he has formed some kind of tacit understanding with the person surnamed Du. and the old fox Miao Wang used each other, each taking what he needed.

Although he offended Kang Qincha, he didn't know it at the moment. Offended the Witch Clothes Sect and killed the Right Witch God, I guess no one knows about this. Defeated the Goliu faction.

My friends and enemies are really intricate

Now even Xiaoyao himself can't tell which side he is on. As long as you watch out for the Kang Chin Cha and the Witch Cloak Sect, you will still be safe for the time being. I'm afraid that the Witch Cloak Sect now knows its own details.

Thinking about the intricate relationship network between the major forces in Miao Jiang, I can't help but feel that it is better to see the divine doctor and cure the eldest lady is the king.

Xiao Yao feels that everywhere he goes, he wants to be very low-key, but it often backfires and becomes the focus of various contradictions.

Many of the current things are caused by the fact that I beat the surname Kang.

It's just that when I remembered the time when I beat the second son of the Kang family violently, I still felt that "as a good young man in the 21st century, it is still necessary to draw a knife to help when the road is uneven." ”

Finally, he added a sentence "The premise must be that you have beaten yourself"

Just as the three of them were chatting, suddenly a guard rushed in and said to Xiao Yao, "Xiao Gongzi, the child you brought when you came in the morning was beaten outside. ”

Well?!

Hearing this, Xiao Yao immediately stood up, thinking that Bai Rong was very sensible, and besides, he was only nine years old, so what could he do.

So he immediately followed the guards and walked downstairs, and the eldest lady and Hu Yiyi also hurriedly followed out to find out.

Several people quickly rushed to the central square of the village. From a distance, I saw Xiao Bairong crying there, and was grabbed by a middle-aged man's arm, unable to break free.

Seeing this, Xiao Yao immediately rushed over, easily snatched Bai Rong from the man's hand, and then snorted coldly at the middle-aged man in front of him, "What is it that is so arrogant to a nineteen-year-old child?" ”

Bai Rong saw Xiao Yao arrive and cried, "Big brother, he wronged me!" He said that my money was stolen from his house."

Xiao Yao took Bai Rong by his side, "Where's the silver?" ”

"He forcibly robbed him." Bai Rong said while crying and pointing at the middle-aged man.

Xiao Yao immediately understood the key.

"Is that the case?" Xiao Yao asked softly at the man.

"Don't rely on the crowd, it's this little baby who stole five taels of silver from my family, otherwise you can tell me about him, a tea farmer's child, how can he have so much money? Come on, big guy, come and judge! ”

The middle-aged man was not afraid of Xiao Yao at all, but shouted.