The elephant walked for about half an hour, there were no traces of human habitation on the road, the elephant shouted, the head elephant ran, and the two elephants behind also ran, Han Ji subconsciously hugged Haizhu, holding the rope with one hand to stabilize his body.

Smoke billowed from the ground, and the leg-high trees were trampled by the elephant's feet, and in an instant they were leveled, and even the stones were cracked into rubble under the weight of the elephant's legs.

The scenery on both sides of the road is quickly crossed, Haizhu stares intently, the soil here is fertile, the flowers are blooming, and the fruits grow a lot, it would be nice if it was closer to Quang Nam.

Passing through a fruit grove on the way, elephants used to eat, and people went down to pick their own. After walking for a long time, Haizhu's face was covered with a layer of ash, she picked apples and unknown fruits and went to the river to wash, the water in the river was clear, and she took two sips of water while washing her face.

Han Ji rummaged in the grass with his sword, he was afraid that a snake would crawl out, he had also walked a lot of places, and the snakes he had seen were not as many as those seen in Dali.

"Yo." The guard not far away roared, and in an instant, he hacked a fat snake to death.

"Haizhu, come here, don't stay away from me." Han Ji called her.

"Okay." Haizhu carried the washed fruit and said, "Eat, eat these at noon, and eat the same fruit as the elephant." ”

The two of them stood in the open space by the stream and nibbled on apples, and in the fruit grove not far away, the elephants snorted and broke off the fruit branches, and one by one the red apples entered their mouths, and after two chews, they entered their stomachs.

"Fruit trees are wild." Han Ji kicked the grass on the ground and said, "The soil and water here are good, it is too suitable for the people to live, and the people who live on this land do not worry about eating and drinking." ”

Haizhu replied vaguely, and the apple juice flowed down her hand, and she soaked in the stream, walked up to the elephant herd, and asked, "Can I touch the elephant?" ”

The elephant shook his head, and he picked the fruit for her, and showed her what she could feed to the elephants.

Haizhu excitedly finished nibbling the apple in her hand, she took off the shade of the straw hat and walked to the fruit tree to pick the fruit, picked a bag and held it next to the elephant, she handed out the apple, it stretched out the trunk of the elephant to catch and feed into the mouth.

"When we go back, we buy two more baskets of apples to bring back, the apples are durable, and they can't rot when we bring them back." Haizhu said to Han Ji, she waved at him, "You also feed it a few, it's rare to see it once, and you may not be able to see it next time." ”

Han Ji did as she pleased, and also picked an apple to feed it.

When the elephant was full and continued to hurry, Haizhu picked another bag of apples and sat on the elephant's back to eat slowly, passing by a banana forest, the elephant picked a banana leaf for her, so that she could shade her head, and her straw hat was damaged by the elephant.

In the middle of the afternoon, the elephant found another sugarcane field, and Haizhu and his party followed the elephant to eat and drink, and when they left, they cut a bundle of sugarcane and stacked it on the elephant's back.

In the distance, there are mountains, and the roads are rugged, and the elephants no longer run, they wind their way up the mountain path. Haizhu and Han Ji were a little nervous when they sat on the elephant's back and looked down the mountain, but whenever the elephant's feet slipped, they fell down and were crippled.

At sunset, they finally arrived at the quarry, where they were serving for dinner, and the stone quarryers poured out of the cave like a colony of ants, all of them skinny and tired.

The elephant herd received the gold from Han Ji, and when the three elephants had finished eating the apples and sugar cane given by Haizhu, he took the elephants down the mountain.

The elephant's trunk was patted on Haizhu's shoulder, and the elephant's trunk was lifted and walked away in style.

"How are we going to go down the mountain when we go back?" Haizhu looked at the distant elephant and asked.

"There are elephant workers in the quarry."

When the steward of the quarry heard the news, Han Ji showed the token, which was given by the chief when he first visited. He made his purpose clear, and the steward led him to spend the night at the place where he was staying.

There were piles of stones all over the quarry, and Haizhu glanced at them and asked, "Are these all abandoned?" Is there jade in it? ”

"Yes, it's just that the quality is not good, someone buys it and sells it." The steward glanced at Haizhu and said, "It's getting late, tomorrow I will take you to choose a stone first, and cut it out, whether it is good or bad, I will give it to you." ”

Chapter 200: The Parrot That Sneaked Aboard the Boat

As the day dimmed, the quarrymen dragged their heavy steps into the pit one after another like honey-gathering worker bees, and one by one they disappeared to the ground one by one in the fog. The smoke and dust were wrapped around the cold stones, and the dew-stained flowers and plants were not spared, and the petals and leaves were covered with dust, and the gray flowers and plants fell to the dirty stones, and everything here seemed to be gray and lifeless.

Haizhu turned around and took two handkerchiefs in her arms, and followed Han Ji to the back of the cave from the steward she had met last night, and the sound of knocking stones she heard when she came yesterday came from here, not from the empty and dark cave.

"You have come early and you have chosen first, there are two ways to buy, you can choose the rough stones you want to choose from, this pile is ten taels of stones, this pile is fifty taels, and the rest is one or two hundred taels. The jade cut by the stonemason is another price, you choose first, and then ask the price. ”

Haizhu swept around, she didn't know about the stone and jade, she could only divide it according to the size, but the ten taels had a big head, and the one or two hundred taels had a small one, obviously her judgment was not reliable.

Han Ji walked to the master who was polishing the stone, the stone chips were flying, he took out a handkerchief to cover his nose, glanced at Haizhu, and saw that she also covered her mouth and nose, he turned around and squatted down to watch the action of polishing the stone seriously.

The steward glanced casually, and he sat down casually on the stone, closing his eyes and not looking at it, and not at all hospitable to him.

Haizhu glanced at him and said to Han Ji, she rummaged carefully in a pile of stones to observe, and also learned the craftsman's technique to touch it. The shape of the stone is different, some of the stones are of different colors, and the obvious surface layer is green, she found two coconut-sized stone balls and moved them to Han Ji's feet, and said with interest: "These two stones are green." ”

Han Ji picked it up and took a look, and asked the master who knocked on the stone: "These two stones contain jade?" ”

"The stones that can be moved here are all selected, and they all contain jade." The stonemason's voice was hoarse, and he casually asked, "Where are you from?" ”

"Quang Nam, have you heard of it?" Haizhu asked.

The stonemason shook his head slightly, the stone in his hand was out of jade, he restrained his mind and stopped talking, scooped a scoop of water on the stone, washed away the stone chips, he changed the tool to peel off the stone shell little by little, judged the size and position of the jade, he changed a sledgehammer and smashed it vigorously. A bucket of stone gradually became smaller, he changed the small hammer, and finally took out a jade ball about the size of a coconut, the color of the jade ball was uniform and translucent, the sun shone on it, and there was a faint flow of water inside.

The stonemason casually handed the jade ball to Han Ji and said, "This piece of material is good." "Move the chair and tools to chisel another stone.

Haizhu realized that his legs couldn't stand straight, maybe he had been sitting for too long, and his knees had been deformed.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and the scorching sun had begun to work, and the fog had long since dissipated, and people were soaking in the sun. Haizhu waved a handkerchief to fan the wind, and caught a glimpse of the steward on the side who opened her eyes, she kicked the stone ball at her feet and asked, "Last night, you said that you gave us two stones to play with, but it still counts?" ”

"Of course, you can choose at will, and find the master to open it."

"I'll try it myself." Haizhu carried the stone ball to the bottom of the mountain wall, the mountain wall was in the shade, and the people sat down in the shade.

Han Ji glanced at her and assigned a guard to help, he said a few words to the steward, and the two took the remaining guards to the cave, where the jade material that had been polished was stored.

Haizhu glanced at it, she didn't understand it, so she didn't mix, these two stones were enough for her to kill a day.

She learned the master's movements to grind the stone first, peeled the stone shell along the most green place, and knocked off the stone chips with a finger thick to reveal the jade color. She moved over to show the master, and the other party glanced at it and pointed: "Your piece of jade material is good, the shell is thin and the jade is big, just grind it slowly." ”

"You're not from Dali?" Haizhu asked.

"My mother is from your place, so I will say your words there, she may also be from Quang Nam, I don't know." The stonemason on the back coughed, and the old master looked up to see that it was the overseer coming, and he closed his mouth and waved Haizhu away from him.

Haizhu glanced at the overseer who came with a whip, his face was full of cruelty, and when he looked at her, the □□ look in his eyes was disgusting.

The guard drew his sword, and the other glanced at him and withdrew his gaze contemptuously.

Haizhu didn't want to cause trouble, she called out to the guards, and the two of them carried the stone ball to the direction of the cave, and sat under the mountain wall to continue grinding stones.

When the sun rose to the top of his head, Han Ji came out of the cave, and the steward who followed him was smiling at this time.

"How's the polishing going?" Han Ji walked over and asked.

Haizhu handed him the jade material that had been knocked out of the stone shell, which was half green and half white, and was not small.

"I can take out five or six bracelets, the girl has a good eye, and her craftsmanship is also good." The steward laughed and said, "Let's go to dinner first, and we'll choose after dinner." ”

Han Ji casually handed the jade ball to the guard, he led Haizhu and followed the steward, this meal was prepared heartily, there were meat and vegetarian dishes, soup and vegetables, and fresh and tender fruits.

Outside, there was a sound of shuffling and heavy steps, and the quarrymen had finished their meals, and they came out of the stone pit, their clothes ragged, their hair knotted, their bodies thin, and their eyes numb. After staying in the stone pit for a long time, the bright light pierced them so that they couldn't open their eyes, and they sat together in a shady place to scoop rice with their hands.

Haizhu glanced at Han Ji, his face was expressionless, but he didn't have the appetite to eat again.

"There are also people who have been abducted and trafficked from Guangnan, Qiongya, and Guizhou, and in recent years, the inspection of passing ships has been strict, and the management of household registration has been strengthened, so there are fewer missing people." He spoke in a deep tone.

Haizhu remembered that the first time she took Dongzhu and Fengping to Yongning, she was targeted by a kidnapper, she frowned and asked, "The bandits are also connected to this side?" ”

"Human trafficking is what bandits do." Han Ji nodded.

In the afternoon, when he was taken to the cave by the steward, he took the initiative to ask if he could buy back the quarryman he had sold from Quang Nam.

Twenty taels for one person, and when it was dark, the steward sent twenty-seven men whose ages they could not distinguish, and they were still at a loss when they were sent.

"Your life is big, and someone buys your worthless life." The steward took the gold from the guard's hand, and said to Han Ji with the gold ingot: "Boss, this time it's for the sake of you giving money to sell you face, only this time, next time it's fifty or two people, I won't do it, and I also need someone to work in this mine." ”

"Okay." Han Ji nodded.

Only then did the unresponsive quarrymen come to their senses, they cried excitedly, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Han Ji, and banged their heads on the ground.

Han Ji gave the guard a look, and he pulled Haizhu into the house.

"We'll stay one more day, and we'll leave the day after tomorrow." He said.

Haizhu nodded, she had no opinion.

The next day, Haizhu saw the elephant workers in the quarry, and the elephants here were numb and tired like the stone quarryers, carrying large baskets on their backs, which were full of jade, and they were driven by the elephants to droop their proboscis and go down the mountain step by step.

The twenty-seven quarrymen who had been redeemed were also taken to the ferry first, but they followed the elephants down the hill on foot.

Haizhu has no excitement to play, and there are piles of white bones under the prosperity, compared with these places, it seems that the days of Guangnan are more and more precious, and she is homesick.

When the jade material was enough, she and Han Ji rode an elephant and left the ruins with the jade material, and the steward who was in charge of receiving them went to pick up the goods on the ferry boat.

The elephant walked slowly with the jade material, Haizhu and Han Ji only took one day when they came, and when they went back, they traveled for two days and one night, and when they arrived at the ferry, it was the afternoon of the fifth day in Dali, and the elephant team that came the day before was still waiting here.

Han Ji asked people to move all the gold and silver on the ship, and the boatload of things he brought was exchanged for most of the ship's jade.

Near dusk, the two official boats left the ferry, and Haizhu stood at the stern of the boat and saw a man hurrying over, but the wind and waves were too strong to hear what he was saying.

Han Ji also saw it, he looked at the merchants on the ship, and asked, "Do you know anyone?" ”

"I don't know, I haven't dealt with each other."

"I seem to have the impression that he is looking for a talking bird, probably suspecting that the bird is flying on our ship."

"Nobody stole his birds, did they?" Han Ji asked solemnly.

The people on the boat shook their heads in unison.

"Forget it." Han Ji didn't let the helmsman stop the boat.

The night was completely dark, the boat floated on the sea and continued to move forward, arriving at the wharf in Guizhou at dawn, staying for a day to buy tea and mountain goods from the local area, and then embarked on the way back.

"This trip is not fun, next time we go east, or along the river north, there is nothing interesting here." Han Ji said to Haizhu.

"I didn't come in vain, I came here to find out that I was lucky, or Quang Nam's life is good, fortunately I was born in Quang Nam." Haizhu sighed, she was also glad that Guangnan met Han Ji and Admiral Han, they were conscientious, and the lives of the people at the bottom were guaranteed.

Han Ji was just about to speak, when he suddenly heard a voice in the cabin, he reached out to cover Haizhu's mouth, pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a while, and found that there was a sound of Suo Suo under the bed. He picked up the long sword on the table and walked over, and as soon as the sword reached in, a colorful bird rushed out with its wings flapping.

"Quack-quack-" The brightly feathered parrot flew out of the window.

Haizhu and Han Ji opened the door and ran out, and the people on the boat board also looked up when they heard the sound.

"Help*&*#"

The parrot shouted something it didn't understand, and it flew over the side of the ship and flew on the sea, finding that it could not bear the sea breeze, and flapped its wings and landed on the side of the ship.

Han Ji recognized it, on the first day he arrived in Dali, the bird that flew over his head should be it, but he didn't know when it flew onto the ship and hid in the cabin, and now it was taken away by them.

"This bird really can talk?" The ship's merchants were amazed.

"This is what it flew up on its own, not what we stole it, it is our bird when it gets on our boat, and it will settle down in Quang Nam in the future." The red-faced middle-aged man said to the others: "Everyone, don't say the wrong thing next time you go to Dali and cause trouble for yourself." ”

"Hungry, hungry." The parrot shouted at the top of its voice.

The merchant who was gnawing on the fruit beckoned to it and cut an apple to feed it.

Han Ji stood on the second floor and looked down, this parrot obediently learned to speak to the people on the boat in order to beg for food, he asked Haizhu: "Do you want to raise this bird?" It eats bugs, nuts, fruits, and leaves. ”

Haizhu is not interested, there are many people in the family and there are many mouths, and there is no shortage of a bird to learn to make trouble.