Returning to the store, Yuan Kexin had prepared everything for departure.
Of course, wine is indispensable.
Three large wine bottles were hung next to the saddles of the three horses, as well as some dry food to satisfy their hunger on the road.
What they are going to is Lanmo Kingdom, one of the four kingdoms in the Western Region. According to Yuan Mingkong's analysis, the final destination of the batch of feather arrows should be here.
There are many roads from the Merchant Alliance to Lan Mo Country, and the farthest one will take more than half a month.
No one could tell which way the people who snatched the feather arrows would go, so they decided to rush to Lan Mo's country first, calm down and wait for the enemy.
Zhao Rang could easily tell from Yuan Mingkong's tone that he should have some influence in the Lan Mo Kingdom, and at the worst, there would be a character similar to the old man in the merchant alliance to protect Zhou Quan.
They were a group of three, relying on their light body and fast horse, they took the fastest road.
Of course, this is only for them.
Because the shortest road is often the most difficult to take.
This road has to climb over several sand ridges and bypass a quicksand field, and there are often horse bandits.
Yuan Mingkong told Zhao Rang that the horse bandits who haunt this generation are not ordinary characters. Even Xifeng Lie, who could summon hundreds of Blood Eagle swordsmen with a wave of his hand, was unwilling to conflict with them unless absolutely necessary. One can imagine his strength.
Zhao Rang became interested in these horse bandits. He felt that if these horse bandits could be used or cooperated with each other, they might one day become the "east wind" that could overwhelm the "west wind".
He does not mean that.
Zhao Rang's words really made Yuan Mingkong think about it for a long time.
Unfortunately, the three of them didn't see any trace of the horse bandits until they crossed the quicksand, and arrived at their destination peacefully.
"This is the royal city of Lan Mo Kingdom. It seems that the upper four kingdoms are not doing well either!"
Zhao Rang said while standing at the gate of Lan Mo Kingdom.
The city gate is barely impressive, but it is far away from other large cities in the northern reaches of Dawei, let alone the imperial capital.
Looking at the wall tiles again, each one has pits.
The further west you go, the stronger the sandstorm becomes.
The city wall stands here and is attacked by wind and sand day and night, causing much greater wear and tear than in the Central Plains.
Many places were completely damaged, so they used stones of similar size mixed with mud and splendens to fill them up.
No matter how you look at it, it gives off a shabby atmosphere, not at all like the great power that Zhao Rang thought it was.
"Don't just focus on other people's shortcomings!"
Yuan Mingkong said.
Zhao Rang asked back:
"Then what are their strengths?"
Yuan Mingkong couldn't explain this question clearly for a while. He pursed his lips and asked Zhao Rang to pay attention to the Lan Mo people who were also queuing up to enter the customs with the three of them.
Based on appearance alone, not only Lan Mo, but all the people from the Western Regions have much stronger bodies and bones than the people in Dawei.
In terms of size, the people from the north can be considered similar, but there is no comparison at all from the south.
The harsh natural environment makes the living conditions of the people of the Western Regions much more difficult than that of the people of Dawei, but it gives them a strong body and a tenacious will.
In the past several border conflicts, although they all ended in great victory, they often had to mobilize several times the manpower to win.
The reason is firstly because there are many people and cavalry in the Western Regions, they are flexible and move around like the wind, and secondly because their physique and spirit are much stronger than the Dawei frontier army.
Zhao Rang calmed down and carefully observed his surroundings, and found that he was indeed a bit of a frog in the well just now.
He found that even the porters hired by the merchants, according to Dawei's martial arts classification, had a cultivation level of about ninth grade, which was enough to meet the requirements of a sergeant.
The harsh geographical environment and the toughness passed down from generation to generation have made almost everyone in the Western Region into soldiers.
Even an ordinary herdsman can become a strong cavalry immediately after being properly dressed!
"Where did you come from? What are you doing here?"
After waiting for about half an hour, the line finally reached the three of them.
Yuan Mingkong had already told Yuan Mingkong that when he was questioned or provoked, he must not talk or draw a sword, and he would deal with it on his own.
At this moment, the sergeant on duty at the pass asked, but Zhao Rang remained silent and listened to Yuan Mingkong reply in extremely skilled Western dialect:
"We are businessmen from Dawei, here to do business!"
The sergeant glanced at Zhao Rang coldly, and when he looked at Yuan Kexin, there was a hint of lust in his eyes, but he quickly looked away and said to Yuan Kongming with a straight face:
"You are a businessman from Dawei. Why do you speak so well in the Western Regions? Are you a spy?"
The sergeant's voice was loud, as if he was trying to attract the attention of others.
For a moment, everyone around them looked at the three of them.
Only Zhao Rang couldn't understand a word and didn't know what was going on, but his right hand slowly reached for the knife at his waist.
Although Yuan Mingkong reminded him not to take action, if he accepts death in this hellish place, the grass on the grave will change again and again, so he must adapt to changes!
The atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point.
Yuan Kexin quickly walked forward with a coquettish smile, holding a bottle of wine in her hand.
While opening the lid of the pot, he said to the sergeant in Western dialect:
"Master, we are really businessmen! Look, this is the wine we brewed ourselves!"
The sergeant came closer and smelled it, and it was indeed fragrant.
Most people in the Western Regions are greedy for drinking, and they can't walk when they see good wine. The sergeant's expression softened slightly and he said:
"Are you going to sell this wine to Xiang Tengju?"
Yuan Kexin nodded quickly and said:
"Exactly! What do you think, Master Jun? If it tastes good, you can keep it and drink it slowly. If you don't think it tastes good, my brother and sister will make a better one next time and bring it to you!"
He is worthy of being someone who can open a store in the Western Region Business Alliance.
If Zhao Rang could understand what Yuan Kexin said, he would definitely feel that her speaking skills were much better than those of Jin Sanliang and Xifeng Lie!
In just two short back-and-forths, not only did he give the sergeant enough face, he also gave him a gift quietly, and finally revealed his identity as brother and sister with Yuan Mingkong, completely dispelling the sergeant's suspicion.
"Well, the wine is good! Come in!"
The sergeant followed the current and accepted the pot of wine. When Yuan Kexin handed over the wine bottle, he squeezed her Hao wrist hard, and then he was satisfied.
After walking for a long time after entering the city, Zhao Rang asked:
"What kind of place is Xiangtengju? It sounds like a restaurant!"
When Sergeant Cai spoke to Yuan Kexin just now, this word was the only word spoken in Dawei.
Yuan Mingkong stretched out his hand and pointed forward:
"Isn't it already here?"
Xiang Teng Ju is not the biggest restaurant in Lan Mo Country, but it has the best business.
If a restaurant wants to have good business and have many customers, it is simply because the dishes have a wide variety of dishes and taste good, and Xiangtengju happens to have both of them.
No matter you are from the south, the north, Dawei or the Western Regions, any dish you can name can be made here, and it will taste just like you want to eat.
With these two hard skills at his side, Xiang Tengju will be able to remain invincible in Lan Mo Country. It even attracted nobles from the other three of the Upper Four Kingdoms to flock to him. As for ordinary people, naturally they don't have this blessing.
Because in places with good business, prices are not cheap.
"Isn't this driven by people from the Western Regions?"
The plaque on Zhao Rang's Jianxiangteng residence is written in Dawei script, and the line of small characters at the bottom is written in Western Regions script.
Yuan Mingkong deliberately let it slip and did not answer Zhao Rang's question.
The three of them handed the reins and whips to the waiter in front of the door, told him to feed him the best fodder, and then walked into the noble gate of Xiangtengju.
From the outside, Xiangtengju has three floors.
It actually has five floors, but the other two floors are underground.
There are no shady secrets underground here, it's all because some of the games are too noisy, especially in the dead of night. In order not to disturb other customers, the boss had no choice but to think of a solution underground.
The first and second floors are separate terraces, while the third floor is a private room.
It is an unwritten rule of Xiangtengju that if you go up a floor, the price will double.
There are scattered terraces on the first and second floors.
Ordering a pot of Dawei Nandi's Mingqian Longjing on the first floor costs five taels of silver. The exact same tea leaves are available on the second floor.
As for the private room, it was where the nobles of the Western Regions and the big business men discussed business.
No one who enters the elegant room cares how much a pot of tea costs, because they all only drink wine, which is Dawei liquor that can only be drunk in Xiangtengju.
"Sir, how many of you are there in total?"
A very smart-looking, well-dressed waiter stepped forward and asked the three of them as soon as they crossed the threshold.
"Three."
Yuan Mingkong said calmly, glancing toward the hall on the first floor on the left.
"Then you three are sitting..."
The waiter spoke in a very long voice.
After all, Xiangtengju has three floors, and the prices on each floor are different. If the guest doesn't make it clear, the waiter won't dare to take the seat indiscriminately.
Xiang Teng Ju not only has many dishes and good taste, but also has first-class service. Unless the guests intend to cause trouble, the waiters here will not conflict with the guests under any circumstances, let alone rip off the guests.
However, with Xiang Tengju's status here and the reputation of Mr. Wang San, no one here has dared to cause trouble for a long, long time.
"Sit on the first floor. Please help me find a quiet seat, preferably by the window!"
Zhao Rang grinned.
He saw that there was only one window seat left in the lobby on the first floor.
There was only one person sitting on the table next to this seat.
This man is already quite old, with fat on his left and right cheeks, and the skin on the back of his hands is also a little loose. But his spirit was shining, and his eyes were as bright as cold stars, making people dare not look into them.
There is no doubt that this person is Master Wang San. Yuan Mingkong did not ask the waiter to arrange such a position casually. Whatever Lan Mo Country needs to do here will most likely fall on this person.
After hearing Yuan Mingkong's request, the waiter immediately agreed without any delay.
After the three of them sat down, the waiter brought three orders, which were for tea, food and wine.
After Yuan Mingkong took it, he asked Zhao Rang:
"What kind of tea would you like to drink?"
Zhao Rang didn't even look at the list, put the wine gourd he brought on the table and said:
"This is not a good wine!"
Not only do you not have to drink tea, but you also save wine.
