The city gate she came to should be the west gate, because the county seat is not located on one side of this road, but at the end of the road.
This county should be a line of defense. If you want to continue going east, you must pass through this county. There is no way around it on both sides.
The river Chou Chou mentioned before is to the south of the county seat, that is, on the right.
To the north is a high mountain. This mountain has been there before it reached the county seat. It is rolling and covers a large area. It can be regarded as two natural barriers.
Chou Chou said to Qingyan: "If you want to cross the river south, you must pass through this county before you can find the ferry. After passing the county, go east for five or six miles. That should be the narrowest part of the river. , there is a stone bridge spanning the north and south.
After the river passed the county seat, the water flow slowed down. Maybe this is the reason why the county seat appeared here. "
Qingyan raised her eyebrows. If that were the case, the place they were at before was considered outside the customs. Of course, it was also possible that this was the first line of defense. Otherwise, it shouldn't be the county seat. It should be some kind of customs.
Drive the carriage forward and line up behind the team entering the county seat.
As soon as I passed the village near the county seat, people started walking on the road. It was similar to the one in Xifeng Town before. They were all people pushing carts, carrying burdens and carrying baskets.
Maybe they went to the village outside to buy things, or they came back from doing errands. It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon at this time, and it was unlikely that they would go into the city to do business. Those people usually queue up early in the morning. Entering the city.
There is basically no one on the side going out of the city. People in the city won't come out at this time. It's a bit early for those who go in outside. It is estimated that there will be more people leaving the city later.
There were two lines of people entering the city. The city gate in front was wide and narrow. The wider gate was for those with livestock carts and the narrower gate was for pedestrians.
She had just arrived and had to be in the last row. Walking side by side with her and a little ahead on the left was a middle-aged man. The man was carrying two baskets. One basket carried some radishes and cabbage, and the other basket carried some radish and cabbage. A child.
Qingyan thought it was quite funny and stared at it for a long time, thinking of her mother telling her that her mother was picked on by her grandfather when she was a child. At that time, her grandfather put a basket on the side of the bicycle and put her in it.
At that time, the 28-meter large bar was very load-bearing. There were two square baskets hung on both sides. One side could hold things and the other side could put children inside.
Qingyan had seen it when she went back to her hometown with her, but she had never ridden on it. After she was born, she basically took a car when going out. Most of the bicycles at home were used by her grandfather to ride to the market not far from their home.
Of course not to buy vegetables. The market near their home was built by her grandfather and father together. Her grandfather used to keep an eye on it. Even though they hired managers, the old man and the old lady were worried and just ran there when they had nothing to do. Watch.
My parents felt that the old man and the old lady were old and could do some good things, so they left them alone. However, they had agreed in advance not to let them get too tired, otherwise the gains would outweigh the losses.
The topic has gone far, back to the present.
Qingyan looked at the little girl sitting in the basket sucking her thumb. Although she was not fat and fat, she looked very energetic and had big eyes. She was very cute.
It shows that this family is very good to their children and does not favor boys over girls.
She knew that in ancient times, especially after the Song Dynasty, the preference for boys over girls became more and more serious. It was a little better before, and women could freely go out on the streets, and even beat horses and parade in the streets.
It's just that the further they go, the more restrictions they place on women, suppressing their nature.
The little girl must have noticed Qingyan's gaze and looked over with her big dark eyes.
Qingyan smiled at her in a friendly manner, and the little girl blinked and returned a smile that showed her teeth.
Qingyan felt that she was in a better mood immediately. Sure enough, smiling is the best communication language.
The little girl stared at her and the carriage curiously. She didn't pay much attention to the horse. She probably saw it often in the county town, but she was more curious about the carriage shed.
It's probably because there are no such sheds here. At least when she remodeled the sheds for donkey carts before, the ones she saw along the way were either wooden carriages specially customized by wealthy people, or they were open-top carriages with no sheds at all.
The donkey cart we were driving at that time attracted many people to stare curiously, and they wondered if walking around in this county would lead to a new trend.
Those who have livestock carts at home but don’t want to customize the carriage will probably learn to make this kind of temporary carport that can be disassembled.
Because there were not many people, it was her turn soon, and it happened that the man carrying the little girl was also undergoing inspection.
Don't look at the queue of pedestrians over there, because you have less things on hand, so the inspection is faster.
The soldiers guarding the city did not ask Qingyan about her household registration, nor did they ask for directions, which made her relieved.
Although I have the previous household registration certificate, I don’t know if there has been a change of dynasty or if it can still be used.
And since this place is thousands of miles away from that place, it is easy for others to become suspicious.
The soldier just asked her what she was doing in the city, whether she was passing by, visiting relatives and friends, or doing business.
Qingyan didn't say that she was visiting relatives, fearing that the other party would ask her relatives' names or other details, so she just said that she was passing by and was going to the capital city of Qinzhou.
The soldier didn't ask anything else. He just checked her inside the carriage as a routine and let her go after receiving two cents.
Qingyan was just concentrating on looking at the pedestrians. She saw that those who walked into the city before were not charged entry fee if they were empty-handed. If they were pushing a cart or carrying a load, they would be charged a penny if there was something on it. .
Like the man who carried the children and vegetables before, he paid a penny.
The man said that he went to the village to buy vegetables and returned to his home to eat, but he was still charged. It seemed that the soldiers were afraid that the other party would lie and that he was doing business.
The man paid it quite happily. I thought that even if he really ate it at home, he should be able to save that penny. Food in the city must be more expensive than in the village.
Qingyan was thinking wildly and drove into the city. As soon as she entered the city, she felt that it was much more lively, and she could also see the difference between this city and the previous Hancheng and Xingtang Mansion.
After entering the city, there is a place that looks like a patio. After another city gate building, there is the main street. The distance is very close, that is, only a few dozen meters away. It is not like the previous separate inner and outer cities.
The city wall here is higher. Of course, it is compared with that in Handcheng. It is also understandable that the city there is connected in all directions, so the city wall can only protect the people inside the city.
This city wall is obviously more important, because this city directly blocks both ends of the official road.
Let's just call it an official road for now. Anyway, it's just a big road and it's the main road. Qingyan thinks it's right to call it an official road.
There are mountains on one side and water on the other. It feels a bit like Shanhaiguan.
Of course, there is the sea on the other side and a river on the other side. Of course, we can also bypass it from the mountains or the water. This should only block large-scale troops. A few scattered people have not been of much use in the past. .
There were obviously many more shops in the county than in the town, so she was not in a hurry to go shopping. She planned to see if there were any that sold ready-made clothes, and then find an inn to rest for the night and take a hot bath or something.
You must know that she hasn't taken a shower since she came out of Xue's house. She just wiped it casually at the cottage before. After coming here, the season suddenly changed and she couldn't take a shower. She felt like she smelled all over her body.
Before that, she must buy some changes of clothes. Except for the sportswear and down jacket she brought herself, Chou Chou's space was all summer clothes. Even if she wore a few layers, it would still be cold.
So she had a very clear goal of finding a ready-made clothing store first.
After asking around with people passing by, I found out that the clothing store was in the center, so I drove the carriage in that direction.
The county town is better than the town in this regard. There are no ready-made clothing shops in the town. There is at most one cloth shop, and the business is not very good.
Most of the women in the village can weave, weave themselves, and make their own clothes. If they really don't know how, or if there are no women at home, they will go to the town to buy them, so no one will open such a shop at all.
During this period, we passed a grocery store, a pastry shop, and a china shop.
Qingyan glanced at it curiously and did not stop, thinking that she could come over tomorrow and take a look around, of course there would be a leather goods shop and a tea shop.
When I reached the middle, I saw a quite large restaurant with the four characters "Mi's Restaurant" written on the signboard.
Qingyan raised her eyebrows. It seemed that this was the main store of Mijia Tavern. It was indeed the main store, it was grand.
This restaurant has three floors, one or two floors higher than the shops next to it. It looks well decorated. The windows and doors are all made of fine carved wood.
The entire door in the front is open, and there are windows in the back. The inside of the store looks very bright.
She decided to finish dinner here later. She thought that Shopkeeper Na Mi was a good person and that his master couldn't be too cunning. It is said that every master has his servants.
Of course, this is Qingyan's own wishful thinking, and I don't know if it is true or not.
After passing the Mijia Restaurant and passing by a shochu shop, we arrived at the clothing store. The name of the store is very elegant, Linlang Pavilion.
Before entering, Qingyan looked around at the shops around her. Next to it was a dessert shop, opposite was a jewelry shop, and next to the jewelry shop was an embroidery shop.
If these three shops are not run by one person, they really know how to find places. In this way, the three shops can be linked to each other, and people who need something can buy everything in just two steps, saving them the hassle of wandering around. .
It’s normal to buy matching jewelry for ready-made clothes and an embroidered handkerchief or something.
I parked the carriage as close as possible without blocking other people's doors, and then entered the shop.
I saw that the shopkeeper inside was a middle-aged woman. She was round and pretty, relatively fair in the northwest. There was a mole on the right side of her forehead, which made her look very wealthy.
Seeing Qingyan come in, he hurriedly welcomed her out. He did not show any contempt for Qingyan's coarse clothes and greeted her warmly: "What clothes do you want to buy, girl? My Linlang Pavilion is the largest ready-to-wear store in Yunling County." Shops are available in any style you want.
Even if there is nothing you like, you can still customize it and choose the material. If you are not satisfied with the embroidery on the clothes, we can also help find the embroidery shop opposite to re-embroider it for you. "
Qingyan raised her eyebrows. It seemed that even if this shop and that embroidery shop were not the same owner, they must have a close relationship, otherwise they wouldn't be doing business with each other like this.
Qingyan said politely: "Then I'll ask the shopkeeper to help me find two sets of thick clothes that I'm wearing now, as well as a jacket and a thick cotton coat. It's going to be cold today, so I'll be able to wear the thick cotton coat soon."
The shopkeeper laughed even more sincerely when he heard this. This is a big customer!
Although the other party didn't say they wanted any good materials, these four or five sets of clothes, including cotton-padded clothes, were not a small sum.
"Come on, come on, girl, I'm here with you and I'm wearing whatever you want right now. See if there's anything you like."
He led Qingyan to the large wooden shelf nearby and pointed to the neatly folded sets of clothes on it.
Qingyan looked at it and saw that the colors were all very common, including cigarette ash, navy blue, indigo, black, khaki, etc., but there were no white ones.
In ancient times, white was a taboo, especially outer clothing and hats, which could only be worn during funerals. If you saw someone wearing it, it must be a sign of filial piety.
The shopkeeper introduced: "These are suitable for wearing now. There is a sandwich in the middle, which can be regarded as a jacket. There are diagonal and double-breasted styles. You can decide which one you like."
Qingyan reached out and touched the clothes. Sure enough, they were made of three layers. They were made of cotton inside and outside, with a layer in the middle. She didn't know what kind of cloth it was made of. It felt quite firm. It would be perfect to wear in this weather. If it gets colder, , it is necessary to wear a thin cotton-padded jacket with thin cotton inside.
Qingyan pointed at the navy blue and cigarette gray ones and said: "These two colors should be slanted. This one is suitable for now. It will definitely be colder in ten days and a half. Is there any kind of thinner one? Cotton jacket and skirt?”
The shopkeeper: "Yes, yes, it's right next to it. Take a look."
He said and pointed to the side.
Qingyan walked in and took a look, hey, this is a bit like the thermal underwear of later generations, but it is looser than that, the thickness is the same, and there are threads in the middle. Of course, it is not the diamond pattern of later generations. It's the kind that's not very regular, it just looks like small concave dots one by one, but overall it looks pretty good.
The shopkeeper must have seen her driving a carriage and knew that she was walking outside, so the styles he introduced to her were not complicated ones, but simple, neat and strong ones.
Qingyan thought it was very good, so she chose two sets, one black and one dark gray. They looked warm.
"These four suits all suit my body shape. Are there any thicker cotton clothes?"
I saw the shopkeeper take down a big bulging bundle from the big cabinet at the back, put it on the counter and opened it.
Then she took a shirt and shook it open. Qingyan's eyes twitched, why did this look so like what a monk wore?
