Soon after Dao Tianya left, Zhang Zhao had the idea of going out to travel, so he asked a few words when he met people. The fat master in the back kitchen didn't want to stretch out five fingers when he heard it: "Lao Tzu has gone down the mountain a few times, except for the two times when he was young, he went to buy things with the master twice, and the most recent one was to look for you." ”

"Travel? Let me think. In the Yangxian Hall, Li Mengshan looked back at Feng Qianli, who was just able to sit up: "A few of us came back in a big circle after being driven down the mountain thirty years ago. Haven't you ever left Lingxiao yet?"

"I went down once when I was younger. Feng Qianli coughed a few times and recalled: "Let's go with Sun Hu to carry something to the mountain, I remember that it seems to be a big piece of wood, and it is said to be for the master." ”

Liu Feng smiled: "Zhang Zhao, traveling is to let those outstanding disciples of famous sects go to other regions to experience for a period of time, and those of us who are young are all busy people who don't have that opportunity." What's more, our Lingxiao has always been busy with food and clothing, and even Senior Brother Gu never went out to walk around when he was young. ”

Sheng Jin thumped his legs: "You really have to travel while you're young, at our age, you will have a sore back and legs when you take a few more steps, and you always look forward to finding a warm place to rest, and you are tired to death when you walk to the main hall." ”

"Shandatou, don't talk about your own business to us. Leng Pingyuan straightened his waist and sat up straight, Sheng Jin pointed at him and laughed: "Old Leng, be careful, your waist has only been good for a few days, and when the time comes, I should be blamed for snoring when I can't sleep." ”

After the bloody battle in the main hall, the elders of the Retirement Hall have not recovered. Zhang Zhao suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "When I was helping in the town, I heard that there is a Xuanyu bed in Xuanshui City, which is warm in winter and cool in summer. I'm going to buy a few and come back, and I'll be able to practice it by the way. ”

These days, Zhang Zhao is depressed because of Nie Wanqing's affairs, but the elders don't remember any Xuanyu bed, thinking that it would be good for him to go out for a walk. Zhang Zhao asked Changqingzi and instructed the two monkeys to deliver the food well, and got up early the next day to get out of Lingxiao alone.

Stepping on the road to the town, Zhang Zhao's mood was much calmer than the first time. He went straight into the wine shop in town, and when the man saw that he was dressed as a cultivator and warmly entertained, he didn't recognize him as the meat boy who had been helping here.

Inquired about the road to the port on the other side of Heisongling, Zhang Zhao went out and walked directly to his own meat case along the dirt road in the town, the old butcher was squinting his eyes in the sun, and suddenly found that there was more person in front of him, and he jumped up after a closer look.

"It's only been a few days, why are you kid back again? Let people come out?" Zhang Zhao hung his head helplessly and sighed: "Dad, why can't you think of something good? I'm going to the port on the Black Pine Ridge side to see you on the way." ”

The old butcher breathed a sigh of relief: "Come out on an errand, that's good, have you eaten?" He waved his hand when he saw Zhang Zhao nodding: "Then why don't you go quickly?" Don't delay the errand, let's go." ”

Zhang Zhao thought for a while and asked him: "Dad, have you ever been out of this town?" The old butcher waved his hand vigorously: "What are you going out for?" Lao Tzu has wine and meat here and lives well, don't you want to lie to me again." Hurry up and run errands, and don't say those things that don't make sense in front of Lao Tzu. ”

The port of Heisongling was extremely lively, and Zhang Zhao could smell a salty and damp smell from afar. The dilapidated board houses on both sides were filled with shirtless, barefoot, dark-skinned sailors who were moving goods, and there were many horse-drawn carriages pulling things shuttling back and forth, most of which were heading inland in the Xuanmu Domain.

Zhang Zhao casually asked someone where the hired sailors were, and according to the instructions, he found a large fence, in a sandy area surrounded by wooden planks, thousands of sailors dressed as men were sitting or lying, and some were talking loudly with the merchants about the price.

As soon as he approached, dozens of men surrounded him and shouted, "Little boss, do you want to hire someone? We are all the best sailors, and each round trip costs only three thousand taels of silver." ”

Zhang Zhao didn't understand the market, so he learned to listen to the words of those merchants from the wine shop and shouted: "I want twenty of the cheapest sailors, and I also want a helmsman who understands maritime affairs." After hearing what he said, a small number of people immediately dispersed in front of him.

"Don't have a family. As soon as Zhang Zhao said this, he left a few more, leaving these sailors to see that he was not like a layman, so someone asked: "I don't know how much money the owner can get." ”

Zhang Zhao had never hired a boat in the end, and he was exposed when asked. He replied honestly to the person who spoke: "How much money do you want, uncle?"

The sailor was tall and had a gray beard, and when he heard his words, he immediately smiled: "What kind of business is the little proprietor going to do?" Zhang Zhao replied truthfully: "I want to go to Xuanshui City to buy some things and transport them back." ”

Blackbeard's sailor was happy: "Xuanshui City, the little owner must be going to do big business, if I still make a lot of money from Seabeard, I'm afraid that no one will go with you, back and forth, two thousand eight hundred taels of silver." ”

Zhang Zhao calculated in his heart that if he hired more than 20 people and a boat, he was afraid that it would cost more than 100,000 taels of silver, but with his current net worth, he naturally didn't think it was too much. He straightened his chest: "Okay, Uncle Hai, it's at your price." Zhang Zhao didn't know that Seabeard was a newcomer, and he had already added a lot of silver, and this price was really not low.

"Wait. A hoarse voice came from behind the crowd: "Little boss, you buy me a good wine, and I will help you find a boatload of two thousand taels of sailors." Before Zhang Zhao could speak, Seabeard was so anxious that his face was flushed: "Old salted fish, you ruin my business every time." ”

"Seabeard, how many times have I told you, you can't be deceived in sea trading, otherwise Lord Hai will find out and pull you to reason. Seabeard didn't refute after hearing this, but just looked at Zhang Zhao and said, "Forget it, two thousand taels will go." ”

Although Zhang Zhao was not short of these tens of thousands of taels of silver at all, he still shouted happily: "Okay, uncle, please help me find twenty more sailors." Seabeard smiled: "I'm a sailor, you don't have to find someone else at the helm, just that old salted fish just now." But you've got to treat him with some good wine. ”

When Zhang Zhao heard this, he hurriedly asked, "Which old man is it?" The crowd parted, and a thin old man dressed in tatters squeezed out, and before he got closer, Zhang Zhao smelled a strong smell of alcohol. "It's my old man, I don't care about anything else, except for the boat money, you have to bring me a few jars of good wine. ”

"No problem. But old man, do I have to hire another boat?" the thin old man replied, "Of course, there is no ship in our Black Pine Harbor with sailors, even if their own ship goes to sea, they have to hire people here." ”

Zhang Zhao nodded: "If you want to choose a boat with the old man, let Uncle Hai help me choose some sailors here." The thin old man shook his head: "Seabeard, the little owner will give you the job of selecting people, you don't want to deduct other people's silver taels in the middle, be careful that the sea prince looks for you to settle accounts." ”

Seabeard smiled bitterly when he heard this: "Old salted fish, sometimes you are really more verbose than my father, everyone eats sea rice, how can I deduct everyone's money, just now I just want to make more money, and when I make money, don't I invite you to have a drink first." ”

The old salted fish nodded: "This is true. Little proprietor, let's go, I'll go with you to see the boat. Zhang Zhao agreed to go out side by side with the old salted fish, and the two walked along the beach by the sea for a short distance to the dock, where dozens of boats were parked, some large and some small.

The old salted fish took Zhang Zhao into a big wooden house, and as soon as he arrived at the door, he smelled a smell of wine, and the old salted fish shrugged his nose: "It's time to come." He rushed into the house, and Zhang Zhao followed, only to see that several tables in the room were put together into a large platform, and there were more than 20 people around to eat and drink.

A middle-aged man on the side saw that the old salted fish found a gap and squeezed in, grabbed a jar of wine and was about to drink, frowned and shouted, "Old salted fish, you came to steal wine again." He raised his hand to grab the old salted fish by the shoulders and drag him out.

The old salted fish circled his hands and protected the wine jar first: "Liang Laosi, I led the owner to hire a boat." As soon as he spoke, the middle-aged man Liang Laosi's hand gently brushed his shoulder: "It's easy to say, I don't know where the owner is?"

Lifting the wine jar, the old salted fish first drank it in one gulp, and then pointed at Zhang Zhao: "Isn't this it." Liang Laosi looked at Zhang Zhao a little surprised, at first he thought that this was a little sailor who followed the old salted fish to eat and drink, but he didn't expect that it was a merchant who wanted to hire a boat.

"This little proprietor wants to hire a ship? I don't know how big a ship it is, a sloop or a brig?" Zhang Zhao didn't understand and looked at the old salted fish, and the old salted fish swallowed a big sip of wine and explained to him: "It's the size of the ship, the dhow is the smallest, and you have to return when you go to sea when you encounter wind and waves, you have to go to Xuanshui City, how can you need a two-masted sailing ship to withstand the wind and waves at sea, if you want to be safe, you have to have a three-masted ship." However, the price of the three-masted ship is too high. ”

After hearing this, Zhang Zhao asked: "If there are more than a dozen Xuanyu beds, can a two-masted sailing ship be able to carry it?" Liang Laosi showed surprise on his face when he heard this: "A dozen? The little owner is so big, and others can pull up five or six at a time." Zhang Zhao felt strange: "Is it because the ship can't fit it?"

Liang Laosi shook his head: "That's not it, even if a brig pulls a dozen jade beds, it's more than enough, but the little owner, you have to know that in the event of wind and waves, the ship has to drop some goods if the draft is too deep." The price of the jade bed is high, and if you throw a few of them, it will not be cost-effective. ”

Zhang Zhao suddenly realized: "I see, thank you uncle for your advice." Liang Laosi smiled: "What is this called, anyone who has been running a boat for a few days knows it." Little proprietor, you and I will go and see the boat. Zhang Zhao wanted the old salted fish to accompany him, but the old salted fish was drinking vigorously, and said vaguely: "You can go to the little owner, the bigger the choice, the better." Fourth, the boat here can't be wrong. ”

Zhang Zhao saw that Liang Laosi had already walked out of the door, so he had to speed up his pace to keep up. When the two arrived at the dock, Liang Laosi pointed to the left side of the shore: "Those are all two-masted ships, and there are some here." The small proprietor wants to hire a three-masted ship, and there is no one today, I have a total of six three-masted ships here, and they have all been hired to go to sea recently. ”

According to what the old salted fish said, Zhang Zhao planned to choose a relatively large one among the two masted ships. He walked along the dock made of planks on the shore and looked one by one, and saw two masts rising high on a wooden boat more than ten feet long, some broken canvas piled up below, the hull was made of thick wood, the bow and stern were wrapped in iron sheets, and many hulls were damaged.

Liang Laosi followed behind, and when he saw him looking at the boat, he frowned slightly and hurriedly explained with a smile: "The little owner doesn't have to worry, the boat has been in the sea for a long time, it will inevitably be like this, the inside has been repaired with tung oil, and it will definitely be fine." ”

Zhang Zhao chose all the way down, and when he turned to look at the more than 20 boats on the left, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he pointed to a boat in the distance and shouted: "Uncle, you must be mistaken, isn't there a three-masted ship? ”

It was a black three-masted ship more than 20 zhang long, the hull was black and shiny, Zhang Zhao didn't know what material it was made of, but it looked much taller than the broken ship next to it, and the canvas under the three masts was also black, which was very pleasing to the eye.

The bow of the three-masted black ship was raised high, unlike the other two-masted ships, which were almost as high as the hull. It's like a person holding his head high, and a mast sticking out of his head looks majestic. Although it was parked behind the rest of the ships, it had a faint sense of pride.

Zhang Zhao quickly ran to the front and saw that the ship was wide and sturdy, and it was much taller than the rest of the boats. But it was far blocked by more than two dozen boats, and if you came over and chose a random boat and left, you really couldn't find it.

"Little owner, this boat is not mine, it is stored by two big merchants here. Liang Laosi saw Zhang Zhao's face full of frustration and whispered: "And even if it can be used, few people dare to take it to sea." ”

He mysteriously leaned over to Zhang Zhao's ear: "The two owners of the boat were originally rich and powerful businessmen, but the boat has not yet been launched, and the two owners have passed away one after another. Everyone is rumored to be the owner of this black ship, and I have long hoped that the two of them will come and tow it away quickly. ”

Zhang Zhao looked at the black boat reluctantly: "I see that this boat is very atmospheric, I haven't used it before, how can I blame it for an accident?" Liang Laosi pulled Zhang Zhao's sleeve: "Okay, little owner, it's useless for you to look at it again, I don't count this boat." ”

Zhang Zhao, who was disappointed in his heart, had no choice but to choose a boat at random. As soon as the two of them returned to the room, the old salted fish, who was already a little drunk, shouted: "Fourth, next time you drink, you must call me, you see, there is someone looking for you over there." ”

Liang Laosi turned his head and saw that the three or four people next to him were standing or sitting with unhappy expressions, obviously not liking the mess in the house. One of the two seated brocade-robed boys turned his head to look at the window, and the other took a white handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose.

"Liang Laosi, come here. An old man with a gray beard beside the boy who covered his nose shouted: "This is the son of our Shangguan shopkeeper, and that is the son of Pei Da's shopkeeper, and the two of us are here to discuss the matter of the boat." ”

Pei Gongzi turned his head back: "You send these people away first, what is the noisy and noisy, how to talk about business." Liang Laosi hurriedly waved his hand when he heard this: "Brothers, take it, I have something to do." ”

A group of people rushed out with wine and meat. Liang Laosi turned around and smiled apologetically at Zhang Zhao: "This little owner, please wait for a while, and when the few of them are done with this, we will talk about the price of hiring a boat." Zhang Zhao nodded, went to find a chair and sat down, and the old salted fish carried the wine jar and sat next to him, taking a sip and looking quite comfortable.

"Pei Gongzi, that boat was discussed by the two of us before the shopkeeper passed away, and the harvest that was originally planned to be transported was half of the harvest for one person, but now in this situation, do we have to do the business together according to this agreement?"

Pei Gongzi looked at the wolf look in the house and frowned: "What can be done here? Who mixes with these unruly people every day, I don't think it's as good as this, Brother Shangguan, you return half of my family's money, let's go our separate ways." ”

Shangguan Gongzi let go of Jinpa and sneered: "Brother Pei, you are really not lazy in your wishful thinking, this is a matter between our two families, why should you let me give you money? ”

The old man behind the two of them were frowning, and they looked at each other with deep worry. The old servant behind Shangguan Gongzi coughed lightly: "Young master, our two families have been friends for many years, and I think this matter is still a long-term discussion." ”

The servant behind Pei Gongzi also echoed: "Young master, this matter has been discussed for a long time by the two masters before they passed away, it must be profitable, I think it is better to try it first, and then ...... after transporting the goods a few times."

Before he finished speaking, Pei Gongzi said impatiently: "Who has that idle effort, what kind of money can be made in this kind of place?" He pointed at Shangguan Gongzi: "Brother Shangguan, you give me twenty percent of the money, and I will quit." ”

"Young master, ......I can't help it" The old man behind him was just about to persuade, but the official son on the other side let go of the Jinpa and shouted: "I'll give it to Brother Pei as soon as five, this time it's always interesting." ”

Zhang Zhao listened to it clearly, and he had a really good impression of the black three-masted ship. When he saw that both of them were interested in selling the ship, he shouted, "Are the two sons discussing the matter of the big black ship? How much are you going to sell it? Can you give it to me?"

The two sons were unhappy when they heard him interject, and when they heard that they wanted to buy a boat, they hurriedly agreed in unison: "Okay, of course it's best if this little brother is interested." The two looked at each other and compared their fingers: "According to the price just now, the two of us only need to recover thirty percent of the boat price." ”

Zhang Zhao was overjoyed when he heard this: "How much is the cost of the boat for thirty percent?" The two sons calculated: "The two of us spent a total of more than 100 top-grade immortal crystals on that boat, even if 100 are good, 30 top-grade immortal crystals, the boat will belong to you, little brother." ”

"Thirty top-grade immortal crystals?so many?" Zhang Zhao didn't expect that the boat would be worth so much money, and when he was hesitating, the old men behind the two sons shouted together: "Young master, this is not good, how can the boat be sold like this after spending a lot of money on our two families?"

Zhang Zhaogang wanted to ask why the boat was so expensive, but he saw Liang Laosi turning around and squeezing his eyebrows at him, and the old salted fish laughed when he saw it drinking wine: "Fourth, you don't have to be crazy when there is more business." ”

Liang Laosi saw that the four of them were arguing loudly, so he hurriedly approached and lowered his voice: "You old salted fish know how to drink, the little owner wants to buy the black boat, why don't you hurry up and persuade you." ”

After hearing this, the old salted fish had a smile on his face: "It's good to buy a boat, it's much more cost-effective than hiring a boat, and you can make money for a boat by running a few more times, if everyone is like this, you will have to ......be hungry for the fourth child." He suddenly came to his senses: "Which black boat to buy? The little proprietor wants to buy that big black guy?"

Seeing Liang Laosi nodding, the old salted fish jumped up from the chair all of a sudden: "Little boss, you listen to me, that black goods died before they went to sea, we people at sea care about these things the most, you can say that you can't buy anything." ”

There was a mess on both sides, and the two old men over there persuaded their young master not to sell the boat, and the old salted fish here also said that the boat was useless: "Little owner, if you really buy that black guy, you won't even be able to hire all people." Our people here go far around it when they go out to sea. ”

There was a loud "pop", and Pei Gongzi over there couldn't help but slap the table and stand up: "You all shut up for this son." He looked at Shangguan Gongzi: "Brother Shangguan, are you going to sell the boat?" Seeing Shangguan Gongzi nodding, he pointed to Zhang Zhao: "Little brother, did you pay the money to buy the boat yourself?"

Zhang Zhao nodded blankly, Pei Gongzi slapped the table again and shouted: "The boat belongs to the two of us, of course it is the business of the two of us to sell, the little brother's money is his own, and it is up to him to buy it or not, what are you following and messing around?"

He first beckoned to Zhang Zhao, then turned around and whispered to the two old servants: "If you dare to talk more, the affairs of this ship will be handed over to you, if the business is not profitable, can you two afford to pay it?"

Seeing Zhang Zhao approaching, the two sons greeted each other with smiling faces, Pei Gongzi pulled a chair and pressed him to sit down: "The gentleman has the beauty of an adult, since the little brother takes a fancy to that boat, the two of us can't bear to cut our love, thirty superb fairy crystals." ”

Zhang Zhao turned his head and asked Liang Laosi: "Uncle, how much silver taels does it cost to buy a three-masted ship?" Without waiting for Liang Laosi to reply, the old salted fish rushed to shout: "The best three-masted ship is only tens of millions of taels of silver, little boss, don't be fooled." ”

"Then why does this boat have thirty top-grade immortal crystals?" Pei Gongzi saw Zhang Zhao and asked, so he had to laugh: "Little brother, in fact, the two of us don't know the reason. This boat has always been handled by my father and Uncle Shangguan, but it is true, more than 100 immortal crystals of our two families have been spent on this boat. ”

Although Zhang Zhao felt that the black ship was indeed unusual, he couldn't afford to buy it at a price hundreds of times more. He hesitated for a moment and stood up and arched his hand: "Thank you two for your kindness, this price is still too high." ”

Except for the two sons, the rest of the people in the hall let out a long breath. As soon as Zhang Zhao took a few steps, Pei Gongzi leaned into Shangguan Gongzi's ear and whispered a few words and shouted: "Little brother, you wait, twenty top-grade immortal crystals." ”

Just like the feeling when he saw the indisputable at first sight, Zhang Zhao liked the big black boat very much, he thought about it and wanted to turn around and stand, as if he persuaded himself, and said firmly: "Whatever, buy it." ”

The expressions of everyone in the hall changed instantly, and the two old servants had to sigh when they saw their young masters take out the calligraphy and paintings and press their handprints, while Lao Xianyu and Liang Laosi were stunned and watched Zhang Zhao order twenty top-grade immortal crystals from his arms in exchange for the paperwork to buy the boat.

The two sons have always felt that this black ship is too unlucky, and after coming here to listen to some rumors, they are looking forward to getting rid of it as soon as possible, they happily took ten fairy crystals each and put them in their arms, for fear that Zhang Zhao would regret it and be in trouble, so they went out of the house with a smoke.

Zhang Zhao was also very happy in his heart, and when he looked back, Lao Xianyu and Liang Laosi were sad and hurriedly explained: "I don't see anything going on with that boat." It's just that I'm a little sorry for Uncle Liang, I can't hire another boat. ”

Liang Laosi sighed for a long time: "It doesn't matter if you hire a boat or not, Xiaodong, you have spent so many immortal crystals here in vain, if the adults in your family find it, how can I explain it?" The old salted fish threw down the wine jar heavily: "It's all my fault, if you hire the boat quickly just now, how good it would be." ”

Zhang Zhao was overjoyed, and he didn't take it seriously at all: "Don't worry, no one will blame you." Come with me to see the boat, I can't wait. The old salted fish straightened his waist as if he was going to die: "Well, my old salted fish would rather take this life and accompany the little owner to this experience." ”

(End of chapter)