The performance lasted for more than an hour, and after that boiling opening, the artists and animals performed individually or in pairs.

Although the individual programs are not as grand as the opening scene, they are much more exquisite and complex, if the opening performance is dizzying, then the later programs are intent, reluctant to miss any detail.

Before I knew it, when the last show was over, the artists and animals lined up in front of the stage and bowed for a curtain call. At this time, the guests in the audience were shocked to realize that their eyes had been open for so long, and they suddenly felt dry and blinked several times.

The people applauded enthusiastically, and sat in their places for a long time before they got up, packed up, and went out the door.

At the door, a blonde woman in a shawl bows to the departing guests one by one, saying auspicious words such as "have a good trip" and "live a long life" in fluent official dialect.

Cai Zhao looked at it from the sidelines, and only felt that he shouldn't say this, but if he asked what he should say at this moment, he couldn't say for sure - "Thank you"? But it seems that it should be said by the store that sells things.

After the guests left, the crew packed up the tents for the performance, adjusted the layout of the space, removed the curtains, stage and seats, and replaced them with rolled palm mats.

I saw that the crew at one end untied the brown mat and sent it to the other end, and the brown mat rolled into a roll and rolled away, from this end to that end, it was more than two feet long.

It was late at night, and the tired crew did not wash, but fell asleep on the rows of brown mats.

Returning to land after a long absence, with a stable earth and not an uncertain sea, he slept unusually sweetly, until noon the next day, when a few of the crew members who were particularly sleepy lay on their mats.

Outside the tent, Zhang Huaitu had been standing in the sunlight and with his hands behind his back for a long time, when the snake came over and stood side by side with him, sighing: "The feeling of being down-to-earth is really good." ”

Zhang Huaitu's eyes were blank at the noon sun, he turned his head sideways, and responded: "If the captain wants to find a place on land to take root and become a forest, Zhang can help." ”

The snake worm smiled flatteredly, waved his hand and said: "It's not bad, but if it really takes root and becomes a forest as your Excellency said, even if it becomes a lai, very bad, and thorough, my snake can't swim away." ”

"If the captain wants stability on land, he must give up the freedom ...... at sea," Zhang Huaitu said slowly, "...... Moreover, if it is stable to the extreme, it is also the ultimate in freedom. ”

The snake shook its head with a smile and did not speak.

So Zhang Huaitu continued: "The captain said that one day it will become a lai, a very bad, and a lai, but Zhang wants to tell you that under the hands of the prince of Changyang, it will only be worse, very bad, and not bad." ”

"It seems that Your Excellency really believes in this Prince of Changyang. The snake sighed flirtatiously.

Zhang Huaitu lowered his head with a smile, then raised his head, and said: "The captain has been drifting on the sea for a long time, and he has forgotten the goodness of the shore; One day, when the captain was adrift on the vast sea and finally forgot the direction of the shore, Zhang would recall today's conversation on his own shore and at his own home, with the satisfaction that it had been done. ”

The snake didn't respond, but looked up meaningfully into the distance, and the expression on his face couldn't tell whether it was melancholy or free.

It was early summer, Xingkou was located in the southeast, and the midday sun was already hurtful. The two of them stood under the sun for half an hour, one looking at the mountain and the other at the sea, and did not speak.

"Captain!" until a slender Sesi youth ran up to the snake and reported, "Last night's seat money plus reward money was a total of four hundred and seventy-seven taels of silver. ”

"Less than five hundred taels ......," the snake groaned.

If it is in Sesi, such a circus can earn them 800 taels of snowflakes and silver, and the number in Shizhou will be even higher...... Why is it that this great empire and the world's first majestic state of all nations have appreciated his peerless wonders, why is it so shabby?

"Captain, you said that the punt that can go to the river can go to the river...... "The crew said, "can fit dozens of people in our boat plus more than a dozen large iron cages...... At least one thousand two hundred taels ......"

"Hmm......" The snake was silent when he heard this, biting his nails and falling into deep thought.

"Do you have to go by water? If you go by land, you can rent a convoy of horses, and it will be a few hundred taels less than the sky. Zhang Yao, who had just woken up, saw his father and a few people gathered around the snake, and came over to talk.

Zhang Huaitu stretched out his hand to block his son, and said to the snake in a calm voice: "The captain has escorted my father and son back to the empire, which can be regarded as fulfilling the promise, and Zhang Mou was not thoughtful at the beginning......"

“...... I didn't expect the problem of the draft of the Sexi spire, so I proposed to send it all the way to Jinding, and now if the captain is embarrassed, you might as well say goodbye, my father and son will return to Beijing on their own, and the captain will wait here with your ship, and the promised reward will not be less at all. ”

Hearing this, the snake smiled and said: "As the so-called 'help people to the end and send the Buddha to the west', the snake has promised to send the two back to Beijing, so he will send the two to the city gate of Jindingjing......"

"Crested ibis," he beckoned, as a red-haired crew member with slender legs approached.

"You go and ask the dock in the city again, and see if my two horizontal and three-vertical Ten Thousand Miles Royal, plus the more than four hundred taels of silver we earned last night, are enough to exchange for the most magnificent river boat in his shop. The snake commanded.

"The captain doesn't have to ......" Zhang Huai was about to persuade, but was stopped by the snake with a wave of his hand.

"My 10,000-mile royal ship has traveled thousands of miles, from Saixi to Fandong, and traveled all over 100 countries and 100 islands, but I have not yet been on the land of Taiwei and Xuanchen. Yesterday, the snake worm and the crew were proud of the circus only earned less than five hundred taels, and they were really unwilling......"

“...... Just as Your Excellency firmly believes in your Prince Changyang, the snake worm also believes in his own specialty, and firmly believes that in October, the circus that comes from Sesi will also be popular in the Empire, and I firmly believe that on this land, my Wanli Royal can also return with gold. ”

After speaking, the snake looked at the ornate sailing ship docked at the east pier with a wistful face, even though she was about to belong to someone else—

Snake had no doubt that in ten months' time, she would be back with herself and her crew.

......

A few hours later, a flat-bottomed boat suitable for sailing on inland rivers sailed out of the Jialifang dock to the mouth of the Xingjiang River, docked at the north wharf, and dozens of sailors with the face of Saixi went back and forth between the east wharf and the north wharf several times, emptying a pointed bottom sailing ship at the east wharf and filling a flat-bottomed boat at the north wharf.

The hull of the building ship is actually larger than that of the sailboat, but because it does not have the exaggerated two horizontal and three vertical and the dazzling golden sails of the six-sided triangle, it can't help but make people feel that they have lost money.

The snake still named the ship "Wanli Royal", and there were no huge sails for him to wield, so he had to paint his dragon and snake quadrangle shield on the side wall of the high bridge, which was very incompatible with the rich oriental style hull.

The new Wanli Royal is 20 zhang long and four zhang wide, and the first and last floors have five floors, each with two people high;

The whole body of the building ship is lacquered with vermilion lacquer, covered with green tiles, the first floor and the last floor are all layers of cornices, the top of the spire; the eaves corner hangs the wind chimes of inverted ingots, Pisces Duo tongue, the river breeze blows, accompanied by a chorus like the chimes of the ancient country.

The snake and the crew got on board and set off that night, dozens of able-bodied sailors sat on both sides, singing exotic songs and rowing the two rows of long, vermilion wooden oars.

The undulating rhythm of the oars, the splashing of the water under the oars, from a distance, like the skirt and lace of the lady of Sesi, the onlookers at the north pier of Xingkou may not have such imagination, they just came to see the strange, to see a group of foreign people rowing their own boat.

People look at the gorgeous sailing ships at the East Wharf, and look at the complicated building ships at the North Wharf, some say they lose money, and some say they make money.

However, the captain of the ship thought much more thoroughly in his heart - selling the "Ten Thousand Miles Royal" in exchange for this "Ten Thousand Miles Royal" was neither a ruin, nor for the lofty ideal of conquering the people of the empire with a circus, but simply the most advantageous choice for him at the moment-

Indeed, the value of this building ship is at most comparable to that of his sharp-bottomed sailboat, and he also took the more than four hundred taels of silver he earned last night, which is a loss no matter how you look at it.

But on the other hand, if they don't sell the sailboat, not to mention that such a gorgeous ship is parked at the dock tree and makes a big splash, and when they return to this Xingkou from the inland in a year and a half, the wind and rain and waves alone, and the berthing fee alone, will not be more than the more than 400 taels he has paid.

As for why he didn't let go of the Zhang family and his son and went home, the snake also had his own considerations, but if he didn't tell anyone about this consideration, no one would know.

Zhang Ruo really thought that this captain was determined to make a name for himself in the empire, so he broke the kettle and changed ships, and vowed not to return without earning the money of the people of the empire...... Thinking like this, he somewhat admired this captain from Fandong.

On the first floor of the New Wanli Royal, Zhang Yao, Cai Zhao and the snake were standing against the railing, while Zhang Huaitu was writing in his cabin.

The river breeze is blowing, and the eaves are shining layer by layer, and the wind chimes are jingling. The bell sounded in the ears, and one of the people on the desk was annoyed, but the three people on the railing were pure-hearted.

"Snake," Zhang Yao called his name, "you see the rivers and mountains of this Taiwei country, whether it is noisy and peaceful." ”

The snake didn't say a word, just inhaled a mouthful of river breeze and spit it out again.

"It's not noisy and peaceful, it's witty and unwise. ”

Cai Zhao didn't think much about it, but the young man couldn't see that Zhang wanted to point out the country like a proud son of the sky, so he wanted to refute.

The snake worm heard this, but smiled thoughtfully.