There are also tribute ships from all over the world, which are also to transport the tribute items from all over the country to the capital in a steady stream and present them to His Majesty the Emperor.

For a while, this dock was almost crowded with people, and people pushed people.

There are countless boats waiting to dock, and those who are unlucky have been queuing for days.

An Huahao and they took the official ship, so naturally there was a special dock, and there was no need to queue.

Just a little waiting for the ship in front of them to unload the goods, a speedboat was summoned to the side of the boat they were on, picked up Mei Xiaotong and their family and goods, and sailed away from the big ship lightly.

Duan Chuanzhou and the others had to wait for the goods to be unloaded and go on a business trip with their boss before they could get off the ship and go home, so they had to make an appointment with An Huahao and them for the next meeting before reluctantly sending people away.

When they arrived on the shore, seeing their posture, some helpers surrounded them and greeted them with gossips: "This master, do you want to be sharp or stay in the hotel?" ”

"This lord, do you want to hire a carriage?"

"This old man ......"

Yang Zongbao stepped forward, pulled one of the idlers, and said a few words.

The idler laughed all over his face and shouted, "If you have it, please do it!" As he spoke, with a wave of his hand, two boys came out of the road.

"Hire a carriage and bring these distinguished guests to the Yuelai Inn!"

The two boys were also clever, one immediately got into the crowd and disappeared, and the one who stayed with a smile stepped forward to talk: "A few distinguished guests, please rest assured, I will deliver it to you!" This Yuelai Inn is one of the largest inns in our county, clean and convenient, and it is not worse than the capital. ”

"A few distinguished guests are coming back to us, right? I look at this old man, hey, the little one has eyes and doesn't know Mount Tai, this is a big man? You're coming here for the spring festival in February next year, right? No wonder the little one went out today, and heard the magpie calling, and the feelings should be here for you? Today, a small one can also be touched by the blessings of the master......"

The kid left behind has an extremely neat mouth and thief eyes, and he doesn't speak like a teenager at all.

Sure enough, there are many people at the foot of this capital, and even a kid who solicits customers has a little more eyesight than other places.

An Huahao's face was dark, as long as he didn't smile, ordinary people would not dare to approach easily, the kid slapped a sycophant, and when he saw An Huahao silent, his attitude was careless.

After a while, the kid who left earlier brought two carriages over, and explained with a smile: "The little one saw that the old man had a lot of cages, so he hired an extra one, so as not to crush the old man's things." ”

Yang Zongbao nodded, ordered to move all the luggage to the carriage at the back, and then let Mrs. Wu, Mrs. Ding, and Gu Yu get into the carriage behind to guard the luggage.

Mei Xiaotong and An Huahao helped Mrs. Li into the carriage in front, and the two boys, one for each person, sat next to the coachman.

After Yang Zongbao made the arrangements, he thought about it, and also got into the carriage behind, sat down next to the coachman, and walked slowly

Go to the Yuelai Inn.

When I arrived at the door of the inn, before the carriage stopped, Xiao Er greeted him with a white scarf on his shoulder.

The two boys leaned over and whispered something, and the smile on the little two's face became more and more attentive.

Yang Zongbao asked the price, and sure enough, it was not easy to live at the foot of the capital, a small courtyard with three or four rooms, and it would cost one or two silver a night.

Yang Zongbao first let the luggage be unloaded, put it in the lobby, and settled the money with the coachman and the two boys who led the way, and let the two mothers-in-law guard it.

Mrs. Li and Mei Xiaotong also entered the lobby, and there were braziers in the four corners of the lobby, which was much warmer than outside.

When they saw Mrs. Li and them coming in, someone immediately brought hot tea and snacks and invited them to sit on the edge of the brazier and roast the fire.

Yang Zongbao took a sip of hot tea, his body was warmer, and then he followed the little second to see the yard, although it was small, it was indeed clean and quiet, so it was directly settled.

Xiao Er was also happy, seeing that Yang Zongbao was refreshing, and he didn't make a bargain or anything, so he made a favor, "Master, please rest assured, I will send hot water to the yard in a while, and the luggage will also be handed over to us, and I will move in a lot for you." ”

"Our inn provides hot water in the morning and evening, and if you want to eat at our inn three times a day, just say it in advance. If you want to eat something new, give me an order, and we can also help run an errand or something. ”

Yang Zongbao thanked Xiao Er, went to the lobby to take Mrs. Li and them to the yard, and the guys in the store also sent the cages.

A bounty of twenty large dollars was given to each of them, and the fellows happily pinched the money and left.

After a while, the hot water was sent up, and the guy who sent the water pinched the reward money, and asked specifically: "The kitchen has a good mutton soup today, and the hot one is just done, do the guests want to come to a pot?" ”

Yang Zongbao was still a little hesitant, and Mei Xiaotong hurriedly said: "Then come to a pot of mutton soup, please trouble the second brother to serve us a few more vegetarian dishes, a few meat dishes, and send it if you get it." ”

The fellow nodded, and went to the kitchen to order.

When Mei Xiaotong and the others washed up, the guy probably pinched the time, so he came with a food box and set up a steaming table.

The reward money was given and the men were sent away, and everyone didn't pay attention to the master and servant anymore, and they were all very hungry.

In the morning, because I had to dock and pack my luggage, I made some food to pad my stomach, and when I got off the boat, I was faced with a cold wind.

Although Mei Xiaotong and the others had already prepared, and when they docked at the dock on the way, they prepared a few thick clothes, but after being delayed at the dock for a while, the heat on their bodies was almost blown away.

Although there was a charcoal basin on the carriage, it was only stronger than the outside.

Mei Xiaotong and An Huahao are in good health and can bear it, so they are worried about Mrs. Li, but fortunately they also brought the wolf-skin robe, with this robe,

Mrs. Li's hands and feet were warm, which reassured Mei Xiaotong. At this moment, when the dishes came up, he first scooped a bowl of mutton soup for Mrs. Li and Yang Zongbao, urging them to eat quickly: "It's best to eat mutton soup this winter, drink a bowl quickly, and go to the cold." ”

On the Qilidun side, there is only pork, chicken and fish to eat every day.

Cattle are strictly forbidden to be eaten by the imperial court, and even the cows that die of old age and illness, or fall and can't survive, are about to be slaughtered, and they have to be prepared by the yamen for cases, and they have no chance to eat them.

Mrs. Li took the bowl and smelled it first, the meat aroma had a little smell, and there was a peppery smell, and she tried to take a sip, and the pepper taste mixed with the umami of mutton suddenly rushed into her head, and she was suddenly shocked.

After a bowl of belly, the whole body was warm, not to mention, and the tip of the nose was still a little sweaty.

Yang Zongbao has been traveling south and north for many years, and he is extremely good at this mouthful, and he drank three bowls in a row before he exhaled a happy breath.

Now only An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong are still guarding their filial piety, only picking up the vegetarian dishes to eat, seeing that Mrs. Li was distressed, she turned her head and instructed Mrs. Ding: "Find their inn for a while and ask, if there is a stove, let's borrow one and boil some snow ear red date soup for Xiaotong and the two of them to make up." ”

Mrs. Ding hurriedly agreed.

This snow-eared red date soup is still Mrs. Li's chanting in front of Mrs. Qi, saying that this is filial piety, the two children have lost weight, and they are still growing their bodies, and autumn is the time to paste autumn fat, everyone has grown meat, but the two children are pitifully thin, and they have to bump on the road for a month, where can they hold up and so on.

Mrs. Qi is also distressed, but she also knows that this filial piety is right, and An Huahao is now half-footed in the official career, so she should pay more attention to these.

However, she has seen more in the end, and there are many nobles in the capital who keep filial piety, and the emperor has to keep filial piety for three years after his father dies, and she has not seen the emperor starving.

By what? Rely on all kinds of soup tonics, otherwise who can bear it?

I also quietly told Mrs. Li a few soup recipes, such as this snow fungus red date soup, red dates are good to say, there are many dates in the countryside, but the snow fungus is not easy to get, although they rely on the big black mountain, the fungus is common, and this white snow fungus is rare.

It is also an extremely rare thing, in previous years, even if these things were picked in the mountains, they were reluctant to eat at home, and only dried them to sell them at a good price.

I heard that these snow ears are all taken away for those nobles in the capital and the ladies in the palace to eat, nourishing yin and replenishing qi, which is the most peaceful.

The best snow fungus is more sought-after than the average bird's nest.

Mrs. Li paid attention, and heard that this snow fungus and red dates are very good for women, can nourish and nourish the skin, and when she returned to Qilidun, she told the Mei brothers to keep the snow fungus they received, and they also made up about a pound.

I keep it all the time, and I stew a small pot for Mei Xiaotong and An Huahao at the end of three days, and only give them to drink, and no one will give it.

Mei Xiaotong drank this way, and she didn't feel anything, but she felt that An Huahao didn't know if it was because she didn't have to hunt and run around now, or because of the nourishment of snow fungus

, looking at the face is not so dark.

also secretly laughed at An Huahao, after drinking like this for two years, this black face is about to drink white face.

Since then, Anhuahao has changed color when he hears about snow ear soup.

It's a pity that this mother-in-law's care is like the sea, even if he resists again, when the snow fungus soup is served, he can only grit his teeth and drink it.

After resting in this Yuelai Inn for two days, Yang Zongbao also inquired with the shopkeeper of the inn and Xiao Er, there is also a Yuelai Inn in the capital, and this inn is the same.

When they first arrived in the capital, they had no place to stay for the time being, so they would definitely have to live in an inn, and it would not be too late to slowly find a suitable house.

This Yuelai inn is not bad, as long as the reward is sufficient, up to the shopkeeper, down to the guy, are extremely good to talk, the hot water has not been cut off every day, it is a big night to take a snack, served up is also steaming, just baked.

The shopkeeper of the Yuelai Inn also said that if they go to the capital and stay in their own inn, not only will they be free of charge, but they will also give a discount on the room price.

Yang Zongbao had also been to the capital at the beginning, and the reputation of Yuelai Inn had always been good, so he was quite moved.

When An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong heard this, they also thought it was good, so as not to have to go all over the street to find a place to live after getting the inn, it was better to settle down early and then make plans.

Since it was decided, early the next morning, the shopkeeper personally arranged a carriage and asked the guys in the store to drive the carriage to the capital.

Between the county town and the capital, the official road is wide, and the walk is stable, but it doesn't suffer much.

Seventy or eighty miles away, but in the afternoon.

From afar, I saw the tall city gates, meandering crowds and carriages, and a long queue formed at the city gate.

After waiting for the good document and the road guide, the guard guarding the city gate waved his hand and signaled for permission.

As soon as you enter the city gate, a noisy and lively atmosphere rushes to your face.

The capital is really the weather of the Son of Heaven, extraordinary, not to mention the crowd of people who come and go on the road, the clothes are rich and not comparable to other places.

The tone of these people's speech and the way they walked revealed a vigor that was not found elsewhere.

An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong were gone, Mrs. Li lifted the curtain and looked at the scene outside, and she didn't know how many Buddhas she had recited.

Not to mention Mrs. Wu and Gu Yu, they are even more dumbfounded, their eyes are completely insufficient, everything is beautiful, and everything is strange.

Mrs. Wu was still secretly laughing in her heart that day, and her sister-in-law, after arriving in the county seat, she saw everything strangely, and the hillbilly who was alive entered the city.

Now, she herself feels like a hillbilly who has never seen the world.

Because it gets dark early, soon after the sun goes down, the twilight is shrouded, and the shops on both sides of the street are lit up one after another, and from a high place, it looks like the Milky Way has fallen into the world for nine days.

When I arrived at the Yuelai Inn, it was already dark.

As soon as the man who led the way went in and said, there was a shopkeeper and a few

A man greeted him, and while inviting people to the lobby, he ordered all the lights in the courtyard to be lit, and let the distinguished guests choose them later.

Now it is the beginning of the lunar month, and the rooms in the inn are quite tight, but this courtyard is empty because of the price.

Yang Zongbao followed and went to look around, and chose a slightly remote and quiet courtyard, with only three or four rooms, as well as a pantry, a flower hall, and a small courtyard, with a monthly rent of three taels of silver.

There is a compartment in the pantry, so it's convenient to heat a meal, steam a snack, or make a soup or something.

It was settled, and it took a long time to be busy before everything was settled.

This settled down temporarily, had dinner, and when Mrs. Wu and the others went down, An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong and Mrs. Li discussed what to do next with Yang Zongbao. Tomorrow, I have to go to Du Mansion to pay a tribute, and I have to inquire about where the people from Jing County live when they come, and they have to visit one or two.

Yang Zongbao still has to go to the Chinese person to see if there is a suitable house in the future, to see whether to rent or buy.

There is also Gu Zikai's side, he once wrote a letter to An Huahao, and he also won the lift, and Xie Yuan, the first place in Zhili, was in the limelight for a while, in order to avoid those messy entertainment, he planned to go to the Guiyuan Temple outside the city to borrow a period of time.

It is estimated that he should still be in Guiyuan Temple at this moment, and he has to meet him.

Besides, Li Jiushao and Zhang Yinbao are now in the capital, Mei Xiaotong has arrived, and he must write to them, and he will see them.

In this way, I am afraid that I will not be able to be idle until the end of the year.

There is one more thing, An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong didn't say it, but they knew that when they arrived in the capital, they would definitely not be able to hide it from Song Hong, and they couldn't say that one day, Song Hong would come to the door, how to deal with it, and they should also have a charter.

Everyone slept all night with concerns, and the next morning, after cleaning up a little, Yang Zongbao went to find the Chinese, An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong packed up the meeting gift to Du Mansion, as well as the letter written by Imperial Doctor Du, hired a carriage and said the address, and went to Du Mansion.

Before arriving at the Du Mansion, the two got out of the carriage, gave the money, and looked up to see that the location of the Du Mansion was in this area, the neighbors on the left and right were all eunuchs, and the alley was quiet.

Two black lacquered gates, the simple two words "Du Fu" on the mahogany plaque on the door, the door is tightly closed.

An Huahao stepped forward and knocked on the knocker on the door, and after a while, someone opened the door from the inside, and a middle-aged man came out, looking at the two suspiciously: "Who are you looking for?" ”

An Huahao handed over the greeting note in his arms: "We are from Jing County, and we are here to meet Master Du." ”

As soon as the middle-aged man heard the word Jing County, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked up and down again, and asked hesitantly: "But the old lady from Jing County is a newly closed disciple?" The lady of the Mei family and the master of Song Juren? ”

An Huahao nodded: "Exactly!" ”

The middle-aged man hurriedly smiled on his face, and suddenly opened the door: "Please come in, please come in!" Our lord received it

After the old lady's letter, counting the days, knowing that the two of you are coming in the next two days, you have already ordered it to come down, if the two of you come and meet our master who is not at home on duty, please go to the mansion to rest for a while, and he can come back at noon. ”

"Our lord happens to be not on duty today, please sit in the living room for a while, and I'll go tell our lord!" Saying that he was leading the way in front, he met a little man on the road, and he hurriedly shouted to stop and asked him to go to tell the housekeeper, saying that the distinguished guests of Jing County had arrived.

The little girl glanced at An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong, saluted, and ran away.

The middle-aged man took the person to the flower hall in the front yard and sat down, confessed and retreated.

After a while, a well-trained girl came up with hot tea and hot snacks, quietly put them on the table, and quietly retreated.

An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong only saw the rules of the people under the Du Mansion today and glanced at each other.

At the beginning, they also said that Mrs. Qi was very strict in housekeeping, and her subordinates advanced and retreated to a certain extent, but now it seems that Mrs. Qi's rules in Jing County are very lenient compared with those in the capital.

The maid had only withdrawn for a while, and two mothers-in-law came in with two braziers, and the flower hall was warmed up at once.

Mei Xiaotong saw that the brazier was burning very strongly, and she could only smell a little bit of imperceptible smoke, thinking that this was high-quality charcoal.

After sitting for a while, I heard the footsteps of someone outside, from near to far, and soon, the door was pushed open, and a figure came in with a cool breeze.

An Huahao and Mei Xiaotong got up and looked over, it was a man in his thirties, wearing a brown brocade robe, with a long beard under his chin, his face could be seen to be five or six points similar to that of Imperial Doctor Du, a pair of eyes were shining between opening and closing, and the corners of his lips were often pursed, but there were two deep marks, which were not very close at first glance.

(End of chapter)