Chapter 3: The Wilderness (Part 3)

For a moment, Li Xu was a little distracted. Wang Mazi's face was no longer so disgusting in his eyes. And with a knife in one hand and a chicken neck in the other, the image has also become warm. What's even warmer is the oil lamp at home that never lights too brightly, and the appearance of my father and mother flipping under the oil lamp to and fro for me before leaving.

A soft, warm feeling enveloped him, intoxicating him. So much so that a late guest asked about the price of Shu brocade, but he couldn't answer in time.

"Han family, didn't you hear Sister Eru ask you? What's in a daze? A crisp rebuke woke Li Xu up from his memories. This is an authentic Central Plains dialect, in which the slightly delicate taste has long been indelible traces in his memory. So, don't be even more afraid to look up.

"Tao Kuo Desi, don't be so rude to the guests!" Another slightly gentle voice came, stopping the girl's nonsense.

Trying not to look at the eyes of the guests, Li Xu stared at the Shu brocade in his hand and replied, "Do you want to buy brocade?" This is the best Shu brocade! ”

"When you Han people talk about brocade clothes and jade food, you mean this kind of fabric. Is it really thick? The soft Chinese praised again. Out of politeness, Li Xu had to look up to say hello. A goose-yellow curly dress immediately appeared in front of him. Next to the goose yellow, there was a dazzling water blue, which shook so much that he didn't dare to look at it directly.

"It's not silk, it's brocade, and we usually wear it there on very important occasions!" Xu Dayan's concentration was far better than Li Xu's, and he quickly turned his mind after being amazed, and replied in a very professional tone.

"Sister Eru, why don't you buy a piece and wear it on your body when you get married, and the flowers on the entire grassland will lose their color!" The voice of the blue-shirted girl was as crisp and bright as a yellow warbler out of the valley.

"Really? I'll take a look! The girl in the yellow shirt known as Eru listened to her companion mention her marriage, and her face did not show the common twisting color of a Central Plains woman. Instead, he pulled up the corner of Shu brocade more happily and gently put it on his shoulder.

She is tall, her skin is fair, her pale blue eyes and white gold hair look very bright, and at this moment, she is set off by the brightly colored Shu brocade, which immediately makes the evening sun a little more gorgeous. Looking, watching, Li Xu had unconsciously forgotten the embarrassment, and looked at the girl quietly with his eyes, as if he suddenly understood what appreciation was.

Appreciation, without any dusty appreciation. Xu smiled widely, watching the girl wrap half of the brocade back and forth on her body. The moment he heard that the girl in the yellow shirt was ready to get married, he felt a little lost in his heart. But soon this loss was replaced by pure appreciation.

From the day he was born, fighting for the glory of his family has become the most important thing in his heart. All other things are like a cloud of smoke, and they must not bring any fetters to the firm mind of the young man.

Li Xu felt a little sorry for Xu Dayan. In terms of appearance, the woman in the yellow shirt looks more durable than the girl in the blue shirt, and her tone of voice is gentler. Xu Dayan is clean, elegant, and well-cultivated, and he is originally a dignified character like Pan An. If he marries the woman in the yellow shirt in front of him, the two of them will definitely become the most eye-catching couple within a radius of hundreds of miles, whether they are outside the Saiwai or in the Central Plains.

"I'll do it too!" After the blue-shirted girl saw her sister wearing Shu brocade, she added a little brightness. Not to be outdone, he stepped forward and grabbed the other corner of the brocade. The two girls who exuded the breath of spring fiddled like this, and immediately attracted the attention of countless people around them. Some people who came from afar had already finished buying the things they needed, but they stopped and asked about the market of Shu Jin.

Today, Li Xu and Xu Dayan's business is very prosperous. The two of them were originally more pleasing to the eye than other vendors, and the size of the shipment was sufficient, plus Xu Dayan was good at stacking the goods. So in just half a day's effort, Li Xu brought dozens of catties of coarse tea and more than 100 pieces of lacquerware that Xu Dayan used to respond to the story. And the rest of the goods are only a few Shu brocade brought by Li Xu. Xu Dayan's pricing method for these twill jacquard brocades is somewhat beyond the expectations of the people, so for this kind of high-end goods, the people see a lot, but there are very few who are really determined to buy.

"This is not silk. Thick, sturdy. Although expensive, it makes sense! Li Xu saw that there were more and more Xia women coming around, and explained in Turkic as much as he could.

Uncle Zhang and the others were right in advance, and the people of the Xia tribe really couldn't tell the difference between Suzhou silk, Zhejiang silk and Lu silk. Different from the appreciation angle of the Central Plains people, their enthusiasm for the slightly higher price, soft and delicate Suzhou silk is not as high as the slightly too thick and hard Lu silk. As for why the people chose this way, Hao Laodao, who is familiar with the national character of the grassland, explained to everyone: "They both men and women love to ride horses, and they are more durable and wear-resistant in their eyes!" Su silk is light and soft, but it makes them feel unreal! ”

The thickness of Shu brocade is several times that of Lu silk, so Li Xu directly used the thickness to explain the reason for the high price.

Although the goods look beautiful when placed on the stand, they are not so beautiful that they are irresistible. Placed on the two girls, it is equivalent to making all the onlookers imagine that if this object is cut into a specific image of their own clothes. Several young women of the Xia tribe were obviously moved, and they came over one after another, flipping the other Shu brocades with their hands.

"Nishiki, huh. How many hides! A tall man from the Xia tribe with his arms and many copper bells tied to his hair stepped forward and asked, pointing to a roll of scarlet Shu brocade. There may not be a brocade in Turkic yet, so he pronounced it in Chinese, which sounded strange, as if someone had just broken the bridge of his nose.

"Red, wear it when you are festive, rawhide, enough for it, don't change it. A silver bell for one foot. Change the copper bells, twenty! Li Xu gestured with the ruler in his hand, and opened his mouth according to Xu Dayan's instructions in advance. This is his exclusive cargo, so he is not afraid that other vendors will blame him for disturbing the market.

The silver bells that the women adorned on the edges of their clothes and wrists were smaller than the copper bells, but the three of them together weighed half a penny. The copper bells that the men adorned on the edges of their clothes and hair were very large, and twenty copper bells were sold in the Central Plains, which was enough to sell for hundreds of Wen. Therefore, if Li Xu can get rid of any roll of Shu brocade in his hand, he will completely earn enough initial capital.

The young man touched the thickness of the brocade with his hand, looked at the color of the sunset, and showed a look of affection on his face. Shouting a few words into the distance, he called a woman of the Xia tribe who was about the same age as the girl in the yellow shirt, discussed with the other party in a low voice for a while, and began to untie the copper bell from her hair down.

The woman, apparently not wanting to ruin her husband's mighty image, reached out and gently grabbed the man's arm. Whisper a reprimand. It's like saying that her husband is too extravagant. Then, he took off a bracelet decorated with thin chains and small bells from his wrist and put it in front of Li Xu.

"Bell!" Li Xu was startled by the pleasant sound of the silver bell. This is too much, there are enough silver taels and silver cakes for copper coins, which can be exchanged for two thousand wen. Moreover, the style of the bracelet is really novel, if it can be sold directly to a large family, it is estimated that 3,000 Wen can be exchanged.

Xu Dayan didn't feel surprised at all, put away the silver bracelet, neatly unfolded the red brocade, and measured it one foot at a time. Ten feet was enough, and he smiled kindly at the man of the Xia clan, and spared another foot. Cut it with a knife, rolled it up, and respectfully placed it in the hands of the couple of the Sultans.

The man of the Xia tribe shook off his own Shu brocade in the wind, folded it into three folds in the air, and draped it thickly on his wife's body. The young wife's cheeks were dizzy from the red brocade and she leaned her head gently on her husband's chest. The two people leaned on each other, carrying tea, silk, lacquer plates and other items in exchange, separating the crowd and slowly walking away.

A woman watched the couple leave with envy, mentioned the red brocade in front of Li Xu, compared it to herself, sighed again, and left with her head down. But more women came around, tore the silver bell from the wrist and the corner of the clothes, and changed it into Shu brocade.

Before traveling north, the Shu brocade that Li Mao chose for his son was all red and purple. For Han women, this color is a little too showy. On the grassland, it just matches the fresh and bright scenery around it. Therefore, this kind of dark color is called the favorite of the people of Xia, and they can't put it down one by one.

Seeing that the red brocade was about to be ripped off by the women, the blue-shirted girl became anxious. stepped forward and grabbed Li Xu's hand, and ordered loudly: "I'll wrap the rest and make a wedding dress for Sister Eru!" ”

Without waiting for Li Xu to express her position, the woman in the yellow shirt said in a low voice. "Little sister, this is not good. There are other colors to choose from. I love that gold, which just goes well with their tribe's battle flag! ”

"I, I still have a piece, enough, enough to make a wedding, a wedding dress!" Li Xu was blushed again by the girl's reckless behavior, and stammered.

Although the surrounding Xia people couldn't understand Chinese, they also guessed from the girl's expression that she was going to buy the rest of the red Shu brocade. Thinking that she was preparing for her future, she laughed out loud with kindness on her face.

"Don't say it sooner!" The girl glared at Li Xu fiercely, two red clouds flew up on her face, stomped her feet, and flashed to the side.

"That's only a few feet, not a whole piece!" Li Xu explained with a red face. But it was impossible for the girl to understand the custom that non-whole pieces of cloth would not be placed on the stall.

The girl in the yellow shirt pronounced Eru looked slightly older than the girl in the blue shirt, grabbed her sister, and slowly looked at the other color Shu brocade. After Li Xu sent all the guests away, he put the yellow brocade that had been draped on his shoulders back into the stall, and asked Li Xu in a low voice: "Is this color the same as the red one?" ”

"One, the same. If you buy, you can count less, count less! Li Xu made money and made a little weak. Before leaving the north, my father replaced all the copper coins collected at home and a few pieces of jewelry from my mother at the bottom of the box with Shu brocade. Although the expenses were very large at that time, I earned ten times the return in just half an hour. If he sold at a high price according to Xu Dayan's instructions, he felt that he was really a little greedy.

"I'm going to make two wedding dresses, one in the Central Plains style, and one in red. One piece that we make in our beholden style is golden. You see how many feet I need to buy, the price is the same as others, I can't bully guests! Eru refused to ask for Li Xu's discount, and asked in a low voice.

Her original words speak very fluently, and she faintly carries the charm of the Wu area. Unlike the bright and fresh pronunciation of the girl in the blue shirt, listening to it makes people feel another kind of comfort.

"This, this, I, I don't really understand! Why don't you take this piece of yellow brocade and this piece of red brocade? Li Xu took out another piece of red brocade from under the stall, placed it with the yellow brocade, and asked tentatively. I can count you for half the price! ”

"Thank you, but I can't take advantage of you for nothing!" Eru once again declined Li Xu's gift. Picking up two pieces of brocade and comparing them on my body repeatedly, I finally couldn't make up my mind how many feet to buy. The grassland is not abundant, and even if you are born in the family of the patriarch, your behavior of wasting too much things will be condemned by everyone.

"Sister Eru, why don't we go back with these two Han men. Let Aunt Qing measure it for you, yes, tailor-made, I remember this word! The blue-shirted girl clapped her hands and said, the silver bell on her wrist jingled, which once again made Li Xu's heart flutter.

"It's not good, it's getting late! In addition, there may be deviations in the size of the lamp. Xu arched his hand and rejected the other party's proposal. Visiting a strange woman's felt tent in the evening was not polite in his eyes.

By this time, the sun had set at the end of the grassland, and most of the vendors had already closed their stalls. Those who have persisted until now are only him, Li Xu and a few other people who sell special goods. Today, the business of all the vendors is good, and it is estimated that they will sell for another whole day tomorrow, and everyone will be able to pack up and return south the morning after tomorrow.

"We don't have that many rules!" The blue-shirted girl and Xu Dayan compared whose eyes were bigger, and said with a slight brow.

"Then, it's better for me to be respectful!" Xu Dayan bowed his hand, not angry or angry. The woman named Eru and the girl named Silk in front of her must be the pearl of the patriarch's palm. He and Li Xu want to stay in this department for a period of time, and it doesn't hurt to have a good relationship with the two women. Moreover, although this blue-shirted girl has a somewhat wild temperament, her essence is like a lake of clear water in the wilderness, and she has never been contaminated with any dust in the world.

Li Xu saw that the woman in the yellow shirt was full of longing, and he couldn't help but soften. In addition, he really can't take the blue-shirted girl Tao Kuo off the silk. I had to clean up the stall, wrap the remaining Shu brocade tightly with a burden, and entrust it to Hao Laodao, who was watching the excitement on the side, to bring it back to the group to store the goods in a unified felt tent. Then he led the cattle, and put most of the golden horses and several feet of bright red on the back of the mule, and followed the maiden to meet Aunt Qing in their mouths.

The girl named Eru saw that the other party had made so many concessions, and thanked her again and again. The girl in the blue shirt refused to appreciate it at all. looked at the distance between Li Xu and Xu Dayan and his sisters, and said unhappily: "Come closer, what are you afraid of." Isn't it also the rule of you Han people to go hand in hand with women? ”

"Gentleman's ....." Xu Dayan gave his hand again, I don't know why, he has always been free and easy, but he has become very fond of giving up in front of the two girls. I wanted to quote the words of an ancient sage to explain my behavior, but I thought that whether it was Confucius, Mencius, or Zengzi, I am afraid that there is no deterrent effect on these two wild and solid people. I had to take a few quick steps and walk side by side with the two women. but separated from each other by two people's widths. Looking at Li Xu again, he was even more restrained, pulling the mount, and the distance between him and the girl was the width of three horses.

"The rules of your Han people are really weird, you have to turn around in everything! Aunt Qing is also from the Central Plains, I heard that someone from the old clan was coming, and I obviously wanted to see her, but she said that without her husband's order, a woman should not take the initiative to entertain distant guests......" The blue-shirted woman had no choice but to take Xu and Li, shrugged her shoulders, and continued to count.

"Aunt Qing you are talking about, is she from the Central Plains?" Xu Dayan didn't mean the girl's ridicule at all, but was aroused by the Central Plains woman in the girl's mouth.

"Yes, her name is Chen Wanqing, and she came to the grassland more than 20 years ago. Her father wanted to sell her to the Great Khan, but met a horse thief on the way. It was my father who saved their father and daughter, so Aunt Qing married her father. That old man is so weird that he can't bear to sell his daughter as a commodity! ”

"Goods?" Li Xu asked in surprise. Intuition told him that there was no real family relationship between the father and daughter in Tao Kuo's mouth. In their hometowns, there are also ruthless parents or poor families who really can't get by, selling their daughters to large families as slaves and concubines, but they will never be ruthless enough to sell their daughters thousands of miles away. Moreover, it is a long way to go north, and if you sell your daughter to the Hu people, the final benefits cannot be compared with the risks on the road.

"They're not really father and daughter!" Xu Dayan thought in his heart. At the moment when the blue-shirted girl had just reported Aunt Qing's full name, he had already deduced this. The name Wanqing sounds poetic, but it's not very common. The name of the daughter of a small family in the Central Plains will not get such a charm. As for the daughters of those wealthy families, it would be undignified to take such a name.

Well, there is only one conclusion. The blue-shirted girl's Aunt Qing may be a dusty woman who is sold by traffickers for a high price.

"A woman who can afford such a big risk from traffickers must be beautiful. But the beautiful woman in the dust is already worth a lot of money in the Central Plains, so why should the traffickers take such a big risk? Xu thought with a frown. Looking at the blue-shirted girl's unweathered face, he suddenly thought of the answer.

The girl in front of her is straightforward with a little carelessness, and the twenty years in her mouth are probably not an accurate number. The specific number of years should be twenty-one years according to Xu Dayan's calculations.

That year was the ninth year of the emperor's reign (589). The Great Sui extinguished Chen, and countless Jiangnan families were wiped out.

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