Dayan's commodity economy was the most developed in the history of the dynasty. Cuiyun Corridor was an important transportation road, and tea shops along the way were indispensable. Especially tea shops are the most popular.
The tea shop is a necessity on Guanma Avenue.
Toward Yidu, the further you go, the more you get.
These tea shops not only provide a place to rest and drink water, but some also provide simple meals, which is better than the dry food you bring. There are also different levels of tea provided. The lowest level is plain water with salt, which tastes a little like tea. If you pay more, you can also drink boiled tea sold in the city. As for the taste, it depends on the craftsmanship and conscience of the store. .
Song You didn't go far when he saw a tea shop in front of him. There were quite a few people there. The steam rising from the steamer was a big temptation for mountain travelers, so he went over and sat down and ordered a bowl of tea and two steamed cakes. , and then opened the money bags that the merchants gave themselves.
There were broken pieces of silver inside, and I couldn't tell how much they weighed.
At a rough estimate, it's about ten taels.
Silver as a universal currency in this world has only just begun in this dynasty. Before that, people rarely used silver to do business. This is quite convenient for people like Song You who travel far away. However, at present, people still mostly use Dayan Tongbao, which is copper coins, and convert them into money when using silver.
The last time I went down the mountain, one tael of silver was worth nearly one thousand and two dollars.
Yesterday I almost emptied all my savings in Guanli when I went out. I brought a total of nineteen taels of silver, which is always a lot of copper coins. The old Taoist will not be able to go down the mountain to buy meat for a while.
It seems to add up to quite a bit of money.
However, Dayan's business is prosperous, there are many things to buy, there are many places to spend money, there are many rich people, there are many jobs, and even the average salary is higher. After leaving the Taoist mountains and the small villages and towns under the mountains, this money It won't take long.
Song You didn't bring much with him when he left. Everything had to be prepared on the road. Once there were too many things, he would probably have to buy another horse and mule.
Song You plans to buy it again when he gets to Yidu.
Although the tea and horse trading market in Yizhou is controlled by the government and cannot be traded privately according to regulations, buying horses and mules in Yidu is still cheaper than other places. I heard that a good-quality southwestern horse only costs about 20,000. Mules would be cheaper.
It would also be a good idea to buy a horse and mule...
While I was thinking about it, tea was served.
A bowl of the best tea in the shop, with everything in it, two steamed cakes, bigger than fists, original light yellow dough, steaming.
Song You took a sip of the steamed cake and a sip of tea while looking at the other guests.
Most of the people sitting here are merchants and pedestrians, as well as some people from the world. They may be silent when they are on their way, but they will chat when they sit down.
Some people talked about the recent tea horse market, some people talked about the upcoming autumn, some people talked about which temple showed ghosts, which mountain road has demons, some people talked about temple fairs, and people in the world talked about the grand gatherings in the world and this bowl of tea. The same mess, outlining a corner of the world.
Song You ate and drank slowly and listened quietly.
The tea table is covered with starch and contains speckled sunlight.
The tea at this time was not clear tea, but thick tea soup. With these two steamed cakes, Song You was almost full after eating, so he asked the store to pay.
It costs more than ten books in total, and tea is more expensive than steamed cakes.
Song You counted the money and asked by the way: "Shopkeeper, how far is it from Yidu?"
"It's nearly four hundred miles and has to pass through four counties."
"Four hundred miles..."
According to Song You's own feeling, one mile in Dayan was not as long as one mile in his previous life. It was 400 meters long and reached the sky. If his legs were strong, it would not be a big problem to walk 180 miles a day.
"Is there a hotel ahead?"
"Let's go to Yidu. The nearest carriage shop is sixty miles away. We can catch up with it on foot." The shopkeeper took the money from his hand and watched him count it, so he stopped counting and put it away. " But there are two temples on the road, both of which are empty. If you ask me, you may not sleep better in the carriage shop than in the temple."
"I see."
In this era, many temples accepted overnight stays, especially Buddhist temples, which were extremely functional and went far beyond simply worshiping Buddha and offering incense.
But as for the empty temple on the roadside...
Song You glanced at the two tables of people next to him.
It should be their first choice, right?
After thanking the store, Song You continued on his way.
The sun has gradually passed three poles, and the weather today is as good as yesterday. The green cloud corridor under the sun is incredibly beautiful.
If you have a leisurely mind, walking among them is actually a kind of enjoyment.
Song You followed several porters for a while, walking as fast as they walked. With someone leading the way, walking can save a lot of mental energy.
Sometimes he would follow them to find a small stream or mountain spring beside the ancient road, and he would see them drinking water with their hands, and he would drink the water with his hands. Sometimes he would see them stop and rest, and he would use his robes to chat with them and ask for directions. Long, listening to the customs and dialects of other places is a reward.
The sun continued to scorch in the afternoon, and the cicadas chirped noisily. It was completely impossible to tell that there had been heavy rain and fog yesterday, and that there had been ghosts in the fog.
When Song You stopped to rest, he couldn't help it and took another nap.
When I woke up, the group of dark and skinny porters had long disappeared, leaving only the empty bluestone road, light spots in the shade, and a series of small pits in the middle of the bluestone slabs, extending to the depths of the ancient tree-lined road. Those porters were there. The direction you are going, you can’t see the end.
Song You had no choice but to pack his bags and walk alone again along these small pits.
He just saw it——
The porters were carrying bamboo and wooden sticks, as if they were passed down from generation to generation, and they hit the pits accurately every time. It seemed that they not only walked the same path as their porter ancestors thousands of years ago, but even took the same steps. big.
Thousands of years of hard work have created an indelible mark on this road. Isn't this a kind of inheritance?
Walking like this, I feel that every stone slab and every ancient cypress under my feet is a witness of time. As Song You's eyes flashed, he remembered the words of his master the day before yesterday:
"Do you think that meditating, reading, and practicing in this mountain is called spiritual practice?"
Song You knew as soon as she heard this that she wanted to go down the mountain.
When she was young, this old Taoist had walked all over the river and traveled all over the world, so she had a good Taoist practice. She never believed that sitting still was equivalent to practicing. In addition, Song You had known for a long time that generations of people in Fulongguan had to travel down the mountain. There were long and short journeys, but there were no exceptions.
Sure enough, I soon heard her say again:
"You should go down the mountain, travel across the mountains, lakes and seas, see things in the world, visit famous mountain immortals, encounter monsters and ghosts, and see the real world that you can't see on the mountain. In the thousands of miles of road, both With your practice, you may be able to find something that interests you."
It turns out she knew everything...
Just go down the mountain. Song You also wants to see how many interesting things there are in this world besides monsters and ghosts.
Before I knew it, it was getting to dusk.
Song You stood in front of a temple on the roadside, shook his bag, raised his head and looked at the couplets on both sides of the temple gate, and couldn't help but read out in a low voice:
“Who wouldn’t take this road?
"I advise you not to do anything about that!"
This is a self-built village temple in a nearby village. It is a room with many gods and goddesses in it, including Buddhism and Taoism, as well as local gods. They are roughly the incarnations of people with good reputation in the past after their death. There are names and taboos written behind each statue, and some also have life stories written on them.
The village temple is not far from Cuiyun Corridor, and travelers often spend the night here.
Song You has decided to stay here tonight.
Stepping into the door, with incense still burning, Song You bowed to the statues and said "Excuse me," then found a corner far away from the door, bent down and blew off the ashes on the ground, and sat down cross-legged against the wall. .
The ground was icy and cold, gradually becoming warmer.
Later in the evening, seven or eight more people arrived one after another. As Song You guessed, almost all of them were Jianghu people, armed with knives and swords.
There is no other way for them to stay here.
In order to restrict population movement in the past dynasties, people were usually not allowed to walk around as they pleased. However, these regulations were only effective for honest people. Businessmen Jianghu and ascetics like Song You each had their own methods.
The merchants who come and go have legitimate needs and are guided by roads approved by the government.
Some Jianghu people have guides, some don't, and they all have their own methods. It's just that it's hard to stay in a hotel halfway, so they have to think of their own methods.
Fortunately, there are many temples in Dayan. No matter whether there are people or no people, you can stay in most of them. Just don't find those obscene temples and evil worshippers. There are many warriors with strong martial arts skills and courage, who dare to sleep in a ghostly temple for a night.
The temple next to the official road is naturally serious.
Maybe they are both disliked by the government, or maybe they value human connections and sophistication. When these people from the world meet, no matter whether they know each other or have heard of them before, they say hello to each other, and they can quickly chat together. . Even if you have a quiet personality, when someone comes to greet you, you will immediately return the greeting politely, without daring to be slow at all, for fear that word will spread and your reputation will be ruined.
These people were very noisy and chatted until very late.
There were still people who came to disturb Song You, but after discovering that Song You was not from the same group as them, they stopped caring about him.
Song You was not afraid.
Although these Jianghu people seem to be fierce, they are actually very particular in their behavior. In this world, even if bandits encounter monks and Taoists, most of them will not be embarrassed.
Not only that, if Song You passes by a tea shop during the day and he really has no money, and only asks for a bowl of crude tea with his clothes, the success rate is also very high. These Jianghu people are particularly concerned about reputation and face. When you meet them, say a few words. If you're good, you'll probably get a steamed pancake to eat.
After struggling like this until midnight, I finally went to sleep.
The night in the mountains is extremely quiet, with only the wind blowing on the door and the snoring of strangers not far away.
Unknowingly, Song You had a dream.
It was still the same temple in the dream. The statues and layout were roughly the same, except that there were no more people lying around. Looking carefully, there was one less statue on the altar. It was a relatively marginal local god.
Instead, there was one more person in front of him.
This man was dressed as a merchant, but his colors were colorful. He had an honest face, as red as a jujube. His figure seemed to be clearly visible, but he seemed not to be able to see clearly. His appearance and attire were similar to the missing statue.
Song You carefully looked at these statues before going to bed, especially the local gods, and knew that this man called Wang Shanggong was the local Yin God.
Wang Shanggong was originally a member of the former dynasty and his family was wealthy. At that time, there was a famine in the country and people died of hunger all over the country. Wang Shangong put grain in the open warehouse and helped the refugees. In the end, he may have misjudged the intensity of the famine. He also ran out of food and was killed. starve. Later, the local people were grateful for his kindness and built a temple in his statue. Even after the court found out about it, he was canonized and he is now a serious deity.
Before he could think about it, Wang Shanggong saluted him:
"It's polite to bother you, your Majesty."
"Why did the good Lord come to your place late at night?"
