The cornucopia was also brought and he was saying goodbye to his wife and children - the mare had given birth.

When the beast found out that he was going down the mountain, he showed no affection for his wife and children, and kept moving his hooves in place in excitement.

"Be honest!"

Zhu Ming slapped it away, pressed the luggage on the horse's back, and Lingzhi was also packed in a bag and hung with the luggage.

Chen Yuan and his entourage, as well as the brute of the cornucopia, will definitely not be able to take the stagecoach boat for free. At that time, there will be an additional fee, and the post staff are very happy, they are eager to earn more extra money.

The post station here is just an abbreviation, and the Song Dynasty was divided into two sets of systems: post house and delivery shop.

The post house only provides food and lodging, which is equivalent to a government-run inn, recruiting people as post guards, and generally the county magistrate or county commander serves as the person in charge.

The delivery shop has vehicles and ships, and is responsible for delivering documents, mailing parcels, and transportation, and the staff are all soldiers, and are supervised by road-level supervisors, state and county magistrates, and patrol envoys.

Post houses are only set up inside and outside the city, but delivery shops are everywhere, and it is necessary to ensure the smooth delivery of official documents.

Shen Yourong had a big stomach and was inconvenient to go down the mountain, so he only sent Zhu Ming out of the village.

Mrs. Yan took her grandson by the hand and sent them all the way to the river. Just like ten years ago, when she sent her son to take the exam, she really regarded Zhu Ming as her own grandson.

Sitting on the small boat in the village, I soon came to Shangbai Village, transferred to the Bai family's passenger boat and continued to move forward.

The cornucopia beast was very obedient, and did not toss around on the boat, otherwise it would have overturned the village boat.

The Bai family's passenger ship also only went to the Golden Gorge, and everyone landed and took the land route.

After walking for a while, there was a plank road ahead, and everyone sat down to rest.

Bai Chongyan mysteriously took out a few oiled paper bags: "This is a piece of tea, exclusively for the royal family to drink, just these few pieces of tea, transported to Tokyo can be sold for hundreds of times." ”

"Isn't lap tea the most precious? How can there be a piece of tea? Zhu Ming said curiously.

The slice tea of the Song Dynasty is not the kind of slice tea of Lu'an Gua Pian.

Bai Chongyan explained: "Strictly speaking, slice tea is also a type of lap tea, but it is more elaborate than lap tea. Even if it is pressed into tea cakes, it needs to be made with a silver mold, otherwise the taste will not be right. This is my family's inventory for several years, hundreds of acres of tea mountains, hoarding for five or six years, and just making these clusters of top-grade tea. ”

Zhu Ming was a little speechless when he heard this.

It can only be pressed with a silver mold, which is purely blind, what is the difference between it and the copper mold and the stone mold?

Slice tea is also divided into grades, and the best goods are the most expensive, even if the price is more than 1 guan in the tea-producing area. But the defective rate is also extremely high, the most garbage piece of tea, and the most garbage loose tea at the same price, even the bottom people don't like to drink.

Officially, tea is roughly divided into three grades, but in the terminal market, it is subdivided into dozens of grades.

For example, there are 16 grades of waxed tea, 55 grades of slice tea, and 59 grades of loose tea.

In Bai Chongyan's hands, it belongs to the top sliced tea, which is forbidden to be sold privately, and only allowed to be drunk by the royal family. If a private merchant obtains this item, he must sell it to the royal family, otherwise he will be guilty of overstepping the system if he is caught.

More than a ghost system, the more forbidden the court, the more the people like it, and the higher the price.

Zhu Ming took it over, smelled it through the oil paper bag, the fragrance had already come out, and he was immediately surprised: "How many spices are used here?" ”

"There are more than 20 kinds," Bai Chongyan said, "if I hadn't been able to take them to the capital duty-free, my family wouldn't have bothered to make a piece of tea, and even if I smuggled it locally, I would have lost money." ”

The reason for the loss is that the production cost is too high, and the defective rate is also high.

Zhu Ming felt that the tea-making process of the Song Dynasty had been completely crooked, just like the glass made in the Ming Dynasty.

Xue Daoguang said, "Da Lang, show me the lingzhi." ”

Zhu Ming took the bag from the horse's back and threw it over.

Xue Daoguang hurriedly caught it, carefully opened the bag, and reproached: "This is a century-old Ganoderma lucidum, how can it be thrown indiscriminately?" ”

Zhu Ming said with a smile: "If the Taoist chief likes it, just take it to soak in water and drink it." ”

"It's too precious, don't be poor." After Xue Daoguang finished speaking, he buried his head and began to count the "annual rings".

Counting it, it has only been more than ten years, and it seems that it is still far from a hundred years of Ganoderma lucidum.

Xue Daoguang concluded that this was a century-old Ganoderma lucidum, and repeatedly tasted it and said: "This is Zizhi, which is contained in Shennong's Materia Medica, and its taste is sweet and warm." The main deafness, good joints, protect the nerves, benefit the essence and qi, strengthen the muscles and bones, and good color. Long-term wear, light body does not age and prolongs life. Prolonging life is definitely fake, but taking it with the Neidan method can also be beneficial to cultivation and health preservation. ”

It is indeed useful, and its effect is significant, equivalent to infusion of several bottles of amino acids, glucose, mannitol...... In ancient times, it was a miracle medicine that could greatly enhance the body's immunity.

Zhu Ming asked, "How much can I sell it for in Tokyo?" ”

"It's worth 100 guan," Xue Daoguang said, "if a patient is in a hurry to buy it, 5 or 600 guan can be sold." ”

Zhu Ming sighed: "It's really a good thing." ”

took out the boiled eggs of Mrs. Yan and Shen Yourong, Zhu Ming shared the food with everyone, and then patted his ass and set off.

I waited in Yangzhou for a few days, and by the way, I nailed a horseshoe to the cornucopia, and then went to the state government to get a letter of relief, and finally waited for the official ship to leave.

Perhaps it was because the people who took the boat were all people from the county and relatives and friends, and the boatmen were too lazy to check carefully. Even Chen Yuan and his three entourage, as well as the cornucopia beast, all enjoyed free boat rides.

There are quite a few people who take this kind of tailwind boat, and some even pretend to be relatives of officials, who are checked out and kicked off the boat.

Su Shi has a classic story, a fellow villager pretended to be his relative and mailed a package for free through a delivery shop. It just so happened that Su Shi also took that boat, and the courier brother delivered the package directly to him. After the matter was exposed, Su Shi did not pursue it, and changed the mailing address to his own home, which was completely in line with the regulations of the imperial court.

is so generous to the government, digging into the corners of the country, and it is actually passed on as a beautiful talk, and the world feels that Su Xianggong is very generous, and he takes special care of his fellow villagers.

It can only be said that the ancient and modern concepts are different.

Li Hanzhang was also waiting for the ship here, and with him was the son of the record who joined the army.

"Da Lang, this is Lang Jun of Tu Join's army, Tu Ru Kui, the word is square. Brother Du Fang, this is Zhu Ming, the son of the Eight Elements, and the word is successful. Li Hanzhang said.

Tu Ru said: "I have heard the name of the successful virtuous brother for a long time, and when I see it today, the name is well deserved." ”

Zhu Ming returned the salute: "Each other, each other." ”

Li Hanzhang introduced other people to Tu Ruhua.

The soldiers were very enthusiastic, after all, they were the sons of the records who joined the army, but there was some disdain in them.

Li Hanzhang came to Lizhou Road for the test, at least one or two years in advance.

But this Tu Gongzi, who usually lives in Jiangxi, only showed up after the exam, and he didn't even bother to do the basic appearance. It is estimated that he can't pass the second-class test in Jiangxi!

The official ship of Yangzhou Dipu stopped when it sailed to Xingyuan Mansion, and all the official documents and packages were transferred to the official ship of Xingyuan Mansion.

Zhu Ming and the others also changed boats, and then they had to buy tickets for the cornucopia.

Before changing boats, eat and drink for free at the Xingyuan Mansion Post House, where forage for horses is also provided.

Full of wine and food, Zhu Ming took the cornucopia and walked around the city. When the official ship was about to depart, the boatmen were urging, and Zhu Ming led the horse up.

The brute didn't like to ride on a boat, and snorted to express his displeasure.

The next section is the famous Bao Ramp Road, which is nearly 500 miles long.

When the water is turbulent, the official boat stops to find the slender man.

The slender men who took the work were miserable about this errand.

Zhu Ming is free to take the official ship, and the official ship is also free to hire a slender man, and he only gives rations along the way, which is not enough for the physical exertion of the slender man.

Fortunately, the slender man is also segmented, and after driving for a day, he changed to a group of slender men and suffered crimes, and he was not caught by the same group and forced to die.

There is a river bay in the middle, the current is relatively gentle, and there are farmers farming on the bank.

There are two delivery shops, one is an ordinary shop, and the other is a special tea delivery shop.

As soon as the official ship docked, he saw two soldiers, carrying the corpses expressionlessly, and throwing them into the water with a bang.

"What's going on?" Zhu Ming was surprised.

Bai Chongyan said: "Tea carrying errands." ”

Li Hanzhang said: "Tea is produced in all roads in Sichuan and Shaanxi, and there are tea delivery shops in all roads. During the Yuanfeng period, soldiers were still used to transport tea, and every few hundred township soldiers were missing, they would inevitably die and escape within a year or two. Later, it was changed to errand service, and the people took turns to carry tea, and the tea difference in Yangzhou was particularly heavy. ”

Ling Guxu said: "The tea shops along the way, the people call it 'Na Ming Field'. ”

Li Hanzhang added: "Local officials hate this, but there is nothing they can do! ”

The magistrates hated the tea cha because they forcibly conscripted the errand and tarnished their reputation, and they could not make half a cent from it, and all the profits were made by the tea and horse division.

There are a small number of good-hearted local officials who are unwilling to forcibly recruit people to serve as errand workers, and have to pay their own money to hire people to do errands.

"You can't kill yourself if you move tea, right?" Zhu Ming wondered.

Li Hanzhang explained: "All the way to the frontier, many places cannot be transported by boat, and they all rely on manpower to carry it. If you can't recruit a slender man, you have to go ashore to pull fiber. Moreover, the officials in charge of the tea completely disregarded the life and death of the servants, and beat and scolded them at every turn, and even had to withhold rations. Of the ten people who were on duty, only six or seven made it home alive. Even if they make it home alive, many people will be seriously ill. ”

I grass, three or four percent of the mortality!

The magistrate can't manage it, how can Zhu Ming manage it? I could only sigh secretly and go to the delivery shop on the shore to eat.

When passing by the tea shop, four people suddenly rushed to him, and he knelt down and shouted: "Dutou, help!" ”

Before Zhu Ming could react, an official had already picked up a whip and shouted angrily: "Rebellion? Come back and carry tea! Only one was killed, and you are not afraid of death? ”

"Help, I'm your soldier!" A tea almost refused to go back, and rushed to Zhu Ming with a rolling belt.

Zhu Ming already understood what the situation was, some of the archers he had brought were recruited by the newcomer Zhang Zhushu, and the rest were all retaliated against by the officials. Every year, all kinds of drudgery are chosen from those archers.

"Wait!" Zhu Ming hurriedly stopped.

When the official saw that Zhu Ming was dressed as a scholar, he immediately put on a smiling face: "The little minister is good." ”

Zhu Ming took out four coins and stuffed them into the official's hand: "These four people were my subordinates, can they be preferential and accommodating all the way." ”

The official saw the words on the money clearly, and after finding out that it was money, he immediately smiled even more happily: "Since the little minister has spoken, I will definitely give preferential treatment to ensure that the four of them go back alive." ”

"Where are you?" Zhu Ming asked again.

The official replied: "I am from the Tea and Horse Division of Xingyuan Mansion." ”

Zhu Ming asked, "Have you ever heard of me, who is Zhu Chenggong?" ”

The official was stunned and became more respectful: "I know, it turned out to be the face of the Eight Elements Scholars, and the Xingyuan Mansion knew that Your Excellency brought back the immortal food from overseas. ”

"Good people who take care of me." Zhu Ming patted him on the shoulder.

"Definitely." The official hurriedly bowed.

Zhu Ming said to the four former archers: "If there are any more errands, I will go to Heifeng Village, and when the servants return to their hometowns, they will tell the other brothers this too." ”

"Thank you for your help!" The four kowtowed frantically.

That's all Zhu Ming can do, unless he rebels immediately, he must not offend the tea and horse division.

Offending the tea and horse division is more terrible than offending the prefect and the governor!

(Ask for a commuter pass.) ）

(End of chapter)