Liling City, North Street.

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It's mid-June, and it's the day when the small market opens in January.

Wei Bushan has been in the store for a long time, and knows that opening a small market is the most important priority for every business.

As the proprietor of the "Great Victory", he had to arrive early and go with everyone to participate in the sale.

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On this day, Wei Bushan not only learned the local business methods of Liling City in the store every day, but also walked all over North Street and South Street.

As long as there are merchants on the street, they will go to see how other people's businesses are doing, study which kind of business is more profitable, and look for greater business opportunities.

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Because of his obsession with business, he has also begun to read and write these days, which was impossible before.

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There are also some scenic spots in Liling City, such as Chengshan Temple, Zhuangtang, etc., as well as some official residences and other places.

Wei Bushan has never been there.

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When I arrived at North Street, every business was already preparing in a big way, and Dahesheng was no exception.

When Wang San arrived at the store with Wei Bushan, Zhang and Wu's shopkeepers had already arrived, and all the guys had put the goods and samples for sale and prepared to go to the market together.

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Datong Village is one of the most important foreign trade points, and the small market every month is also very important.

This is also the advantage that merchants have won upwards.

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"The gong is lit, before the three, you must enter, everyone hurry up."

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Everyone stood in front of the store and greeted each other, all nervous.

After faintly hearing the sound of the gong on the side of the market, Zhang Yuanbao's face was straight, and he immediately ordered everyone to set off.

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All the samples of the goods were placed on two donkey carts, and when they arrived at the market, they set up their doors and set up stalls to buy and sell freely.

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"Uncle Zhang"

Wei Bushan and Zhang Yuanbao walked together, and Wei Bushan asked Zhang Yuanbao: "The goods are sold, how can they be transported away?"

"The buyer has his own horse team, how many goods we sell, how much capacity they calculate, come and move them." Zhang Yuanbao patiently explained: "This is the rule of these years, if it is an early year, we can only ship the goods to the market and deliver them on the spot........."

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These are years of experience. The shopkeeper kept saying, Wei Bushan just listened, and asked if he didn't understand.

Seeing him like this, Zhang Yuanbao's face was full of smiles, and he felt that there was hope for a big victory.

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Liling City, Datong Village.

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The horse market is not far from the west of Datong Village, and a wide field specially opened up, with a wooden fence and an arrow tower.

In the direction of the west, there are traces of moats, and at the beginning of the mutual market, buyers and sellers were very wary, and many foreign merchants came.

Fortunately, now that the trade has been going on for a long time, the merchants who came along the way are all laughing with each other, and they are not at all defenseless.

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When everyone entered the door, the second gong sounded.

There was a chaotic sound of footsteps in front of the gate, and the flag was unfurled.

First, a small group of cavalrymen in armor and long knives entered, ran around the wooden fence, and finally stopped their horses at a high platform.

Then there were the brigades of spear-carrying foot soldiers.

In the formation was another horse team, and this time there were many leaders in iron armor in the horse team, and the total number was about three hundred, of which the horse team had about a dozen people.

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Wu Da was beside Wei Bushan, and when he saw the curiosity on Wei Bushan's face, he immediately said softly: "The horse team is a close confidant of the young governor of Liling City, and the infantry team is part of the guard camp......... It is said that it is partial, but in fact, there are more than 900 soldiers, and the actual amount is only about 700 people, and most of them have already come here. ”

"Why are they dressed in such tatters?"

Wei Bushan was surprised not by what Wu Da said.

He's not very interested in the fact of the team, the only thing he's interested in is business.

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What's more, these soldiers don't see them.

At this time, at first sight, there was a huge group of Hanako in front of me.........

His clothes were in tatters, and his face was yellow and thin.

The only difference is that Hanako is holding a broken wooden stick, and these "soldiers" in front of him are holding long knives and spears.

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"It's not been a day or two since the infantry soldiers withered, it was like this when I was young, and I'm afraid it was like this decades ago and a hundred years ago."

Wu Da is quite knowledgeable, and Zhang Yuanbao also said on the side: "The proprietor, the battle is a cavalry pawn, have you seen those cavalry pawns just now, and there are armor and clothes that are neat."

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Wei Bushan could only reluctantly nod, the cavalry of the hundred or so people was indeed still presentable, and they looked quite brave.

There is a small amount of iron armor, most of which is leather armor, with iron leaves on the outside, and the weapons in his hands are also strange, all kinds of things.

Those pikemen called Hanako seem to be just cannon fodder for a large number of people.

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Zhang Yuanbao said again: "The cavalry soldiers here in Liling City are quite elite, and the proprietor has never seen the soldiers of Dexin County and Anqiu Town, which is much worse than this."

"Can it be bad?"

Wei Bushan felt that the limits of his cognition had been completely renewed.

He glanced at the soldier in front of him again.

Tall, short, fat and thin, with a spear as a weapon, no armor, tattered robes, only a small number of swords and shields stood in the forefront, such a team of men and horses.

How bad could it be?

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"Naturally." Zhang Yuanbao said firmly: "I Liling City was once a closed place, although it is far less than a hundred years ago, but the current cavalry is still considered the elite of the sea, Dexin County, Anqiu Town soldiers I have seen, to be honest, after they went all the way to Kyoto, it is still a little inferior to the name of Hanako in Kyoto."

Wei Bushan's mind was dizzy.

In the end, he still has little knowledge, and he has traveled all over the world and deceived all over the world. But it was only then that I saw with my own eyes and knew what was going on with this so-called soldier.

It turns out that the group of soldiers called Hanako in front of me are still elite!!

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Wei Bushan's suspicions were unfounded.

The soldiers of Liling City are indeed elite, but they have been overturning and blocking foreign brigades in recent days.........

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These soldiers in front of them, although their robes are tattered, they still look like soldiers, and most of them are generations of soldiers, and veterans with some experience are standing in the queue.

Wei Bushan took a closer look and faintly felt the aura emanating from these soldiers, so he was convinced by Zhang Yuanbao's assertion.

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But this is too much of a thief for the brigade guarding him.........

"I can't explain this........."

Listening to Wei Bushan's words, Zhang Yuanbao also shook his head, he was just an old shopkeeper, and it was okay to talk about what he saw, and he couldn't say anything about the specific analysis.

However, the composition and logistics of the current brigade, the organization and command of the brigade, even if there are dozens of books to talk about these things, it may not be complete, and it is difficult for Wei Bushan to expect an elderly old shopkeeper to say all this.

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Thinking of this, Wei Bushan smiled to himself and turned his eyes to the young governor of Liling City.

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Jin Zilong, the young governor of Liling City, had already dismounted at this time, went up to the high platform all the way, and sat in the middle.

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For some reason, when Wei Bushan looked at the young governor, he felt that there were also eyes faintly observing him.

His eyes seem to be under the stage, that is, the manager of the small city.

Small cities have managers, and generally experienced clerks in the guards serve as judges.

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Wei Bushan felt a little strange in his heart.

Why among those scribes, there are people who pay attention to themselves?

After looking at it, it was all short-winged yarn and green robes, and the eyes probably swept away.

Wei Bushan stared at him for a while, but he didn't look at the man in the crowd anymore, so he had to stop.

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At this moment, the third gong sounded.

The sound of horses' hooves could be heard at the western gate.

Wei Bushan looked over there, and noticed that there were already hundreds of foreign merchants standing on the western wall, each pulling one or several carriages.

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Wu Da came over and said, "This is a foreign market supervisor, and it is also a guard."

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Before the official opening of the small market, not only did a young governor and more than 300 soldiers come, but also a deserter who was responsible for guarding the mouth from a foreign country, and at the same time, he also served as a supervisor of the market.

This is the result of mutual agreement between the two sides, and the interests and security of both sides have been taken into account.

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The foreign overseer only carried a dozen wagons, but it was different from ordinary foreign merchants.

He wears an armor suit and an iron helmet on his head.

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The supervisor sent his horse to the opposite side of the high platform to station his horse, and bowed his hand to the platform from a distance.

The golden dragon on the stage also showed his hand.

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At this time, Zhang Yuanbao was a little anxious and said: "Everyone is here, why don't you beat the gong to open the market."

For a while, there was still no gong to open the market, and foreign and local merchants were a little anxious.

Local merchants were in a hurry to ship goods to make money, and foreign merchants came from afar to buy things and return home.

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At this time, one person stood out on the stage, and it was Jin Zilong, the young governor of Liling City.

There are very few foreign merchants who do not know Chinese, and they are not worried that everyone will not understand them.

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“……… Yesterday, eight local shipping merchants were arrested, unruly and contrary to the instructions. Before the market opens today, each shipping company will be responsible for 20 days and the flail number will be 3 days!! ”

Wei Bushan didn't hear the first few words clearly, but then he understood.

It turned out to capture the local shipping merchants, and deliberately landed in today's small market.

To put it simply, it's a threat.

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Wei Bushan looked left and right, and the proprietors and shopkeepers of the four sides had the same faces as usual, and they were not moved at all.

The little fellows were whispering and laughing, not taking the matter to heart at all.

The foreign businessmen on the other side were the same, without the slightest fluctuation in their hearts, and their faces still had that look of expectation and impatience.

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Wei Bushan turned to Zhang Yuanbao and whispered, "Uncle Zhang, is it like this every time the market opens?"

"Naturally not, every time it's like this, is it annoying?"

Zhang Yuanbao shook his head, with a bit of disdain on his face: "The sea is all small businessmen, earn a few hard silver, Datong Zhai is all over the place, from our Liling City to Suzhou City, and then north to Shili City, how can there be no sea transportation?" ”

There was a pause.

“……… What kind of evil can you do in a small business, so many people who are shipping by sea, how many months will you be fined for these people, who cares about it? It's just a good explanation, and if something happens, it can also prevaricate. ”

Wei Bushan nodded slightly, and his heart moved.

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Sure enough, as Zhang Yuanbao said, there are hundreds of people who ship to foreign merchants every day around the border, and it is nothing more than a good explanation to catch a few unlucky people in a few months.

At this time, several local shipping merchants were escorted to the middle of the market.

Dozens of soldiers were already standing and waiting.

Wei Bushan saw that these "local businessmen" were all dressed as ordinary people, and even a few of them were obviously poor people who had been struggling at the bottom all year round.

It is estimated that their shipping is a few buckets of rice, a few jars of sauerkraut and other "goods".

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Just as he was thinking, the soldiers had already swung their sticks and waved them heavily.

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The crackling sound sounded first, followed by the cries of people, after all, they were all merchants, and the faces of the merchants present were not very good-looking, and they were quite dissatisfied with Jin Zilong's disposition.

At the end of the 20th National Congress, everyone was lying on the ground motionless.

But this was not the end of the story, the soldiers took action and put their hands in the shackles one by one, and each man could only show his head, neck, and hands.

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The maritime merchant was pushed away.

The third gong sounded.

The buying and selling has finally begun.

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The dissatisfaction on people's faces gradually dissipated, after all, everyone is a serious businessman, not a sea transporter, everyone will only be moderately sympathetic, but it will not affect themselves.

A large number of foreign merchants came, bringing with them the specialties of their own side.

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Horses, jewelry, and all kinds of furs were the specialties of foreign merchants.

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There is also a difference between a small city and a large city, where the local merchants in the big city give two taels of silver, supplemented by grain and cloth, in exchange for the war horses of foreign merchants.

Thirteen taels on the horse, eight taels on the middle horse, and five taels on the dismount.

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Every time Liling City trades in the big market, you can buy horses of more than 100,000 taels of silver.

And the buying and selling of small markets.

It is mainly miscellaneous goods for ordinary horses and jewelry, in addition to a large number of furs, and some dry goods, such as pine cones, chestnuts, etc., but the quantity is not much, and sometimes there are rare things such as ginseng, which is extremely rare.

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In addition to bartering, there is also the practice of selling goods and buying them with silver.

Even, some foreign nobles brought gold and silver to trade, but this method was only a minority. Most of those who use gold and silver to buy goods also come to buy pen, inkstone, silk, and so on.

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"Ten stones of grain for a horse, and skins are also available, not silver, only grain."

"Who wants ginseng? A hundred-year-old ginseng with 1,000 stone grains, the quantity is not much, and those who want to change it should come quickly. ”

"If there is not enough food, cloth will do."

"All kinds of herbs, jewelry, too."

"No silver, just food."

All kinds of voices are very noisy, and at the beginning of the sale, the two sides are you and me, and there is no need to mention bargaining.

And Wei Bushan did not stay still in his business, and walked around in the crowd.

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Listen more, watch more.

That's his biggest purpose right now.

After listening to it, it was really rewarding.

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Grain is the top priority of this small market.

Whether they were bought or sold with horses or furs, or rare items such as jewelry and ginseng, the center of exchange was grain, followed by cloth and herbs.

In addition, it is to ask for silver taels.

All kinds of miscellaneous goods, which were very popular in the past, were bought and sold in limited quantities this time, and there were few people who asked.

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"Is it possible that a foreign country has suffered a catastrophe? These foreign businessmen don't want anything else, just food, and they really want their own lives. ”

Wu Da was sweating profusely, and commanded his men to keep talking and buying and selling with those foreign merchants.

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Today, Dahesheng has prepared a lot of groceries and a lot of food.

Unfortunately, there aren't many bidders for those groceries, and even fewer are successful.

Fortunately, the price of grain has risen sharply, and the selling price is higher than the purchase price of Dahesheng, whether it is in exchange for horses or cash, and it is another layer of profit.

Calculating that this month's small market is not only not a loss, but also a lot of money, which can make up for a lot of shortfalls, although Wu Da scolded in his mouth and was busy sweating, he was actually very happy in his heart.

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Zhang Yuanbao and the bookkeeper in the store, as well as the guys, were also very busy, and everyone had smiles on their faces.

Wei Bushan was naturally happy in his heart, but he didn't take the little money he earned today into account.

Earn it like this, and when he enters the coffin, he will save hundreds of thousands of taels, and like duckweed, he doesn't know when to provoke a big person, and it may be all over when a gust of wind comes.

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What he wants to do is to make the victory bigger until the foundation is solid and the country is rich.

As for more, Wei Bushan didn't think too much, he was born to be a businessman, and the pursuit of profit was engraved in his bones, and other than that, he couldn't think too much.

Today's events, the current business situation, made Wei Bushan feel that something was faintly wrong.

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In the usual written records of the small market, Wei Bushan also found some.

Grain is certainly a big deal, but tea, oil, salt, cloth, even kimchi, and those iron tools are all big commodities in the trade.

But this time, the foreign merchants turned around, and in addition to food, they asked for cloth, herbs and other things, which was strange from the inside.

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Wei Bushan walked around, thinking about it, and he didn't go to the place he shouldn't have been.

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One man stretched out his hand to block him: "Hey, what people, don't go around here." ”

"Hatche"

Wei Bushan sneezed.........

It's really rushing.

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Stopping him was an exotic soldier in leather armor and an iron helmet.

Lying on the nose, there is a lot of meat on the cheeks, and the chin is full of beards and ordinary exotic looks.

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The foreigner was drinking loudly, and behind him was the market watchman, who was sitting cross-legged on a chair.

A painter was painting a portrait of the market watchman, as if he sensed Wei Bushan's gaze, and the market watcher turned his head to look at it.

Smiling slightly, he said, "Young man, what do you think of Bencha's portrait, does it look like a painting?"

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This guy wears a satin cotton robe, with more than a dozen jewels on the side belt, the skin of his face is whiter, and his beard is trimmed, so he can be regarded as a handsome man.

No wonder he called a painter to come over to paint a portrait on this occasion, and it seems that he is a stinky and beautiful master.

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Before Wei Bushan could answer, the painter said disdainfully: "He is a businessman, how can he know the quality of his paintings?" My lord, you asked the wrong person. ”

If the painter didn't speak, or spoke politely, Wei Bushan would just say a few words casually, and then leave quickly.

It's just that this painter is not disrespectful, and there is a unique arrogance of literati......... Or sour gas.

The posture of looking down on the businessman with such eyes above the top really hurt Wei Bushan, who will learn to read and write, a little hurt in his heart.

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"Your Excellency's level, painting landscapes is good, and the artistic conception is acceptable, but when it comes to portraits, there is a big problem, to be honest, in my eyes, it is similar to the graffiti of a little doll."

"What nonsense are you talking about? You know what a painting is, you smell of copper? ”

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"Teng"

The painter stood up suddenly, and his face was already the color of pig's liver.

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It's no wonder he's angry, this painter is indeed a literati, but he is still an old boy in his forties, and it's hard to say whether he can be admitted to Xiucai in this life.

After reading a book all his life, he can't carry it on his shoulders and can't lift it, and he doesn't want to be a businessman, let alone be a bookkeeper.

He is like this, either practicing medicine or learning painting.

This painter just learned to paint, but fortunately, he was still talented, and after a few years of study, he made a living by painting.

Mountains, water, fish, and shrimp can all be painted, and the best thing is portraits.

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Wei Bushan's words really made this painter unbearable.

Wei Bushan smiled coldly and said, "I, a businessman, may not be inferior to you in painting, but it is inconvenient to use this as a job."

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"Come on, come on, you come !!" The painter was furious, pointed to the sketchpad in front of him, and said, "You can try it, and then you will know that this matter is not as light as when you open your mouth."

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The two of them were bullish, but a group of exotic businessmen were stunned.

The foreign supervisor only came back to his senses now, and said to Wei Bushan: "Young man, since you have angered my painter, you can't paint anymore."

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"You can paint, why do you use words to coerce." Wei Bushan sat down generously, looked at the color of those brushes, frowned and said, "I don't want these, the market supervisor, you ask someone to bring some charcoal."

When he was a child, Wei Bushan deceived him into eating, and when his stomach was full, his only hobby was to take a stone bar and row it around in the soil, but there were occasional mysteries.

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The painter sneered and said, "The bull is blowing up, and now you are pretending?" Which little proprietor are you, hurry up and call your people to come and apologize to me, and forget it. ”

The overseer was also a little displeased, these foreign nobles were rarely able to paint portraits, and they had been trading with the northern country all these years.

Many foreign nobles have also learned the conventions of the northern country.

He likes gold and jade, loves jewelry, and even learned the habit of portrait painting.

This noble man is also a young man who loves to supervise the market.

This time I made up my mind to paint a picture and show it off when I went back. He has a very good impression of Wei Bushan, and he also feels that this northern boy has an extraordinary temperament, looks mediocre, and treats each other with a kind face.

But if Wei Bu is good to him, the market supervisor will also turn his face.

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Wei Bushan said very firmly: "Just bring charcoal strips, if the painting is not good, I am willing to be punished."

"Bring the charcoal."

The supervisor was almost suspicious, but he still ordered his subordinates to find some charcoals.

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Charcoal bars were easy to find, and soon someone hugged a bunch of them.

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Wei Bushan rummaged through them very carefully, found a few "round" and thin ones, and carefully polished them gently, polishing a few thin ones out of thin pointed heads.

His actions attracted the attention of the market supervisor, and a group of foreign merchants were very interested and gathered around to watch.

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The market was in full swing, but not too many people noticed this small corner, so Wei Bushan could paint with peace of mind.

He used a new piece of drawing paper, set it, and then took a closer look at the market.

Then put pen to paper.

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Draw the general outline and shadow with a "round head" charcoal strip, and then use a thin charcoal strip to complete the details.

Wei Bushan draws very quickly, and has been deceiving himself for many years, he really didn't have much fun when he was young, and this hobby has been with him for many years.

In the heavens and on the earth, there are few things he has not painted.

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Nowadays, it is enough to paint a portrait of the prisoner.

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Wei Bushan's pen is fast, less than half an hour, in this crowded market.

A delicate black and white portrait painting is completely new.

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Looking at the portrait, Wei Bushan was also relieved.

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"Like, too much!!"

As soon as the painting was finished, some people were already amazed, and several guards looked at the painting in Wei Bushan's hand, and then looked at their master, and praised it again and again.

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The painter's face was already as pale as dirt.

He never expected that a troubled businessman boy would be such a genius in painting.

The beauty of the paintings, the likeness of the portraits, and his paintings are really very different, the difference between the two is too far to be compared.

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"Hurry up and show it to me."

The supervisor couldn't sit still, scratching his ears for a while, looking like a monkey in a hurry.

Wei Bu smiled and handed him the painting.

"Huh? Yes? Ahhhh ”

The guards of the city had a wide mouth, like a frog that had been struck by lightning, holding a painting in both hands, and the whole person had fallen into a petrified state.

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From composition to brushwork, depicting details, the whole painting is three-dimensional.

To put it simply, it's like the person in the painting is alive.

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The supervisor held the portrait in his hand and sighed: "Like, too similar, this is me, the heroic me."

Wei Bushan couldn't help it: "Puff cough ........."

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The supervisor was first surprised, and then shook his head and admired his portrait.

This is said to be like the person in the painting is alive.

is so bad, Wei Bushan is deliberately beautifying a little .........

The effect is also very obvious, and the supervisor is almost completely enchanted by this painting.

For a quarter of an hour, both eyes were reluctant to leave the painting.

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"Come on, take a hundred-year-old ginseng, ten taels of gold, and thank this young man for me!!"

In the end, the supervisor put down the painting and ordered people to immediately go to Datong Village to find a framer to come, and the supervisor had to watch the people frame the paintings on the spot.

Anyway, the small market doesn't end until late at night, so there's enough time.

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For Wei Bushan, the market supervisor has offered an unimaginable reward.

Everything, I'm afraid, will cost nearly a thousand silver!!

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"Don't be too little......... "The prisoner is like a baby, caressing the painting, and said to Wei Bushan, "I'm not a rich person in the market, and I have already given you a lot of these things this time."

"What?"

Wei Bushan was pondering.

Why is food so important in this small market?

Appreciate gold, jewelry, and even 100-year-old ginseng, but no food.

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The supervisor over there was a little unhappy.

In his opinion.

Wei Bushan is too greedy.

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The market supervisor was very straightforward, and when he thought of it, he said: "Young man, Bencha didn't lie. I know that a foreign brigade is attacking the western frontiers of the northern country, but we foreign nobles never tell lies. ”

"That doesn't have to be ........."

Wei Bushan subconsciously wanted to say this, but thinking of the identity of the other party, he still took the words back.

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The next moment.

A bolt of lightning went straight through my head

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"I'm a pig brain........."

Wei Bushan complained that he couldn't give himself a punch.

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The foreign brigade is the "Mochen" brigade.

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More than ten days ago, Wei Bushan went to the North Street Law Field.

I was thinking about buying recruits and horses to save my benefactor.

Unexpectedly, he was the first to take the lead, so he had to rest.

But since then, Wei Bushan has also heard the news of the surrounding area.

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Foreign businessmen are not stupid, their eyes are very accurate, their brains are very clear, and they know that everything is false when the war is together.

Food shortages, cloth, herbs, these are the important things.

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