Huang Zude, the general banner of the Jinyi Guard, sat at the door of the tent and spread a piece of mink on a long wooden board.

The skins have been tanned, nailed and dried by craftsmen in Kannai.

The animal fat is completely removed, the inner inner skin layer is soft and flat, and the hairs on the outer fur exude a silver-blue fantasy luster under the reflection of the winter sun.

Huang Zude is the captain of the "bodyguard team" who escorted Zheng Haizhu on this trip, but in addition to guarding safety and shortwriting the gains and losses on the battlefield in the notebook, he was also sent by Mrs. Zheng to do a job - to peel animal skins with embroidered spring knives.

The embroidered spring knife is the eating guy of Jinyiwei, Huang Zude originally wanted to come, cutting a few pieces of skin, it is not a piece of cake.

Unexpectedly, Madame's requirements were too high, not just to pinch the head and tail and cut off the limbs, but to cut them as flat as the bricks of the city wall.

Although the embroidered spring knife is sharp, after all, it is two feet long, and the lady does not allow him to step on the fur, Huang Zude had to sit on the ground with his legs crossed, control the blade in an awkward posture, press the fur with his left hand, adjust the side of the knife to the edge of the plank, hold the knife in his right hand, and quickly draw it down with skill, so as to not only cut off the head, tail and limbs of the little beast, but also ensure that the skin becomes a regular rectangle.

"Zude has worked hard," Zheng Haizhu walked over and said gently, "I came out in a hurry this time, and I didn't bring the half-wheel knife that I took advantage of." ”

The half-wheel knife is also a fur knife used by craftsmen in later generations, which looks like a ginkgo biloba leaf and a small half-wheel wheel. In the late Ming Dynasty, during the Xiaoice River period, even in Songjiang, which is directly affiliated to the south, in the autumn and winter, people above the well-off have a demand for fur vests and collars, and when Zheng Haizhu just recruited the Fan tailor father and daughter, he saw them cut the fox skin with a half-wheel knife.

Huang Zude hurriedly stood up respectfully: "Fortunately, this mink is bigger than the gray squirrel, and it is a little cheaper to cut." ”

Zheng Haizhu handed over a collar of the big jacket in his hand to Chang Zhongxin, the son of the Jin merchant who was following him, took the mink, and gestured: "Sew a side on the leather collar and tie the cloth button, you can connect it with the buckle of the jacket, and you can't fall off on a fast horse." If you feel hot, you can untie it very quickly. ”

Chang Zhongxin nodded, unfolded his jacket again, and watched in the sun.

Different from the fur jackets he commonly wore in the area from Beijing to Shanxi, the twenty or so pieces of gray squirrel skins sewn together became the lining of the clothes, covered with cotton cloth with a blue and black background and a yellow lotus pattern of reed leaves.

Shanxi in the Ming Dynasty, this is also a large weaving and dyeing province, but the Jin merchant Chang Zhongxin felt that Mrs. Zheng sewed the clothes with this kind of Songjiang cotton cloth, not only the weaving method is tight, the dyeing flowers are rich, and the sizing process is very meticulous, the texture of the cloth is not hard, but the surface is quite scraped.

Sure enough, Zheng Haizhu said to him: "The bitter cold season in the north is longer than that in the south of the Yangtze River, and there is a shortage of water, and this jacket is lined with animal hair, so such a warm robe does not need to be washed, take it out when there is new snow every year, rub it with snow, and dry it in the sun." Whether it is gray squirrel hair, fox hair or mink hair, it is made of lining, which is not only warmer, but also not easy to dirty. ”

Although Chang Zhongxin is a second-generation business for the family, he has also read private school decently since he was a child, and at this time he hurriedly slapped Zou Zou and said: "Old Master Kong has a saying, he is not tired of eating, and he is not tired of being fine, in fact, the younger generation wants to come, food, clothing, housing and transportation are all like this, there is no shortage of leather goods in the north, such cloth jackets or robes, the rich families of the official eunuchs in Xuanda and Jizhen will definitely like it." ”

"Not only that," Zheng Haizhu said as she stroked the supple and beautiful mink fur, "the Rakshasa people I have been talking to you about, their emperors and nobles, are also diligent in extravagant things, but they don't know how to grow cotton and weave and dye such beautiful cloth, and they don't know how to tann and sew animal skins, so our merchants, in addition to black tea, can sell high-quality leather goods to the Rakshasa people." ”

She thought for a moment and added: "Of course, some of the Mongols who passed through the tent of Lin Dan Khan can also do it." We have to involve the Mongols in the trade routes, and share some of the sweetness, so that they can neither let the Houjin Tartars do evil, nor allow the Cossack cavalry of the Rakshasas to break in and occupy the territory. ”

Chang Zhongxin said: "The younger generation understands. If Daning Town can be rebuilt as the lady suggested, the city can also become a place where merchants gather, like Zhangjiakou or Fushun in Liaodong. Along the way, the younger generation has been pondering the 'ticket number' pointed out by his wife. Our Chang family, with a little confidence in the darts, will first go to Daning with silver and give it to the first group of small merchants and hawkers who come to explore the way. ”

Zheng Haizhu nodded approvingly: "Those Jin merchants who have already done high business have no shortage of people, let alone capital, and they are also unhappy that your Chang family has been sent by Long Live Lord and me." Let them stay in Zhangjiakou and eat their old books, what we have to do is to attract the Jin people who have just started to run the dock and set up a new mountain. Zhong Xin, your Chang family is developed in Daning, don't forget to honor General Ma. ”

Chang Zhongxin said angrily: "That's certain, if there are no soldiers to guard it, how dare the businessmen come over." ”

Zheng Haizhu smiled, glanced at his temporary bodyguard leader Huang Zude, made an unabashed tone towards his own people, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Zu Deruo also wants to come out and do some work, stay under General Ma, take the post of chief of staff, and be unyielding." When there is no war, you can still conspire with Chang Gongzi on all kinds of matters related to the mutual market in Daning Town, isn't it very smooth? ”

Huang Zude was overjoyed.

Jin Yiwei sounds bluffing, it is the personal guard of the Son of Heaven, in fact, the Son of Heaven still has the real domestic slaves of the eunuchs, even if he commands Luo Sigong and Liu Qiao, the governor of Beizhen Fusi, don't you have to look at Dongchang's face often, let alone himself, a little person who has not even risen to the top of a hundred households. On weekdays, arresting people or raiding homes, and getting some oil and water, they have to be handed over to the security officer above.

It's better to come to a new realm like Kanwai.

Look at that pony general, not only is he benevolent to his brothers, but he also has a good friendship with his wife, and he can be regarded as a military general who has someone in front of him, and he is worth voting.

Huang Zude then said sincerely: "If you have to be placed like this by your wife, you can't ask for it." ”

……

The convoy finally entered the core control area of the Mongolian Chahar Department, less than 100 kilometers away from the city of Chahanhot.

He Zhuo ordered the Mongol guards to lead most of the men and horses to a Huangjiao temple at the foot of the mountain cliff for a final rest, and ordered the fast horses to go to the royal city first to report to Lin Dan Khan and Sutai Dafujin.

Zheng Haizhu also completed the fur jacket made of Songjiang cloth and gray squirrel skin and mink skin.

"General Man, when you finish eating, send this jacket to Mama Kedun."

Under the slanting sun, Zheng Haizhu walked through the hot cooking on the snowfield in front of the temple, and found Man Gui, who was roasting rabbits with his brothers.

Man Gui stuffed the half-gnawed rabbit leg to the soldiers beside him, wiped his hands on the cotton armor, and was about to come over to pick it up.

Looking at the wrapper in Mrs. Zheng's hand again, it was a high-quality silk, and seeing that it was more expensive than the skirt worn by the rich lady in Zhangjiakou, she hurriedly retracted her hand again, grabbed a handful of snow, and carefully rubbed her palm.

"Don't dirty such expensive silk," Man Gui said, "Don't eat rabbits, let's send them now, it's dark again, it's not appropriate." ”

Xuanzhenbing, who was disemboweling another rabbit, grinned: "It's good when it's dark, and the head and Na Ke Dun Mama went directly into the cave room." This lama's temple is built quite like that, much better than our broken tent. ”

"You melon baby, what nonsense, Lao Tzu roasted you!" Man Gui kicked at the little soldier.

But obviously retracted his strength, the little soldier easily dodged, and said with a smile: "The general spares his life, and the small one is for you...... Pour out the urine bowl and make amends. ”

Zheng Haizhu has seen all the way that before Man Gui went into battle to kill the enemy, he was as strict as a god with the twenty or so Xuan soldiers under him, but on weekdays, he was like a brother and sister, and there was no fight.

She also put on a playful look, handed the burden to Man Gui, and asked Xiaobing: "Your leader, have you taken a fancy to that Ke Dun Mama?" ”

Xiao Bing also liked Mrs. Zheng's easy-going style, and said more and more colorfully: "The boss doesn't look down on that mother-in-law, we don't know, that mother-in-law, it should have a little bit of that meaning, otherwise, why are you sending us ghee these days?" The little one went to ask a few Sichuan barbarians, but they didn't. ”

"Shut up," Man Gui made a gesture to kick him again, "Don't take a bite of a mother-in-law, that mother-in-law speaks very well, if you hear us so rude, you will lose your temper and delay your wife's business." ”

Zheng Haizhu pursed his lips and said, "You continue to eat rabbits, General Man will come with me."

(End of chapter)