Sun Baoyao suddenly had the idea of forming a sworn brotherhood with him, which was certainly not as good as what he said.
But for the sake of profit.
Selling illegal salt was a crime that would lead to beheading. Sun Baoyao wanted to make money, but he also didn't want to leave any worries. Nowadays, everyone pays attention to loyalty. Xu Ling became sworn brother with him, and the possibility of betraying his brother was much smaller.
Only in this way can two people who only have a relationship of interest be firmly tied to the same battleship.
Xu Ling understood Sun Baoyao's thoughts, but for him, he also needed a guarantee.
Sun Baoyao immediately sent someone to prepare things and went into the house to change clothes.
Generally speaking, there are a lot of steps for brothers to become sworn brothers, but the two of them took the initiative and simply decorated it with the red silk and red rope incense candles at home. There was no shortage of drinks at Sun Baoyao's house. The two went to the snow in the backyard forest and knelt down to the gods of heaven and earth again and again. , finally raised his fingers to the sky and made an oath.
"I am Sun Baoyao."
"I am Xu Ling."
"From now on, I would like to become sworn brothers with Sun Baoyao/Xu Ling. I don't want to be born in the same year, the same month and the same day, but I want to die in the same year, the same month and the same day. If I break my oath, I will be struck by lightning and I will not die a happy death!"
"Brother!"
"Second brother!"
Xu Ling quickly helped Sun Baoyao stand up, and Sun Baoyao patted his shoulder cheerfully, seeming to be much more intimate than before.
With this relationship, Sun Baoyao spoke more unscrupulously.
If Xu Ling could provide a steady supply of private salt, the magistrate of Erfang Town might have to be replaced within two years.
The Yong Dynasty government did not allow people to make salt privately, and all salt wells in the country were under the control of the government. However, there were policies and countermeasures, and private salt production among the people has always existed.
As long as the profits are high enough, there will be businessmen who are not afraid of death one after another.
Although everyone knows that private salt can make huge profits, not everyone has access to private salt.
Sun Baoyao didn't ask Xu Ling where he got the salt, just like Xu Ling wouldn't ask who he wanted to sell the salt to.
"Second brother, you can just leave the salt sales to me. We will split the sale price 60-40, you 6-4 and I will 4-4. It's all thanks to you."
Xu Ling was surprised. He did not expect that Sun Baoyao would take the initiative to give him benefits.
"Hey, big brother, we two brothers are now one body, so why worry about who has more and who has less? It's 50-50, and each of us has half!"
Being able to sell salt was Sun Baoyao's ability, and Xu Ling didn't want to get involved.
"Second brother, I really saw you right!" Sun Baoyao was so moved by Xu Ling's generosity that he burst into tears.
The two had a barbecue and a chat around the fire at noon. They ate until the sun set in the afternoon, so Xu Ling was naturally left to rest at Sun Baoyao's house for a while.
However, he did not stay in the guest room like last time. Instead, at Sun Baoyao's request, the two of them slept together.
The two chatted freely, wherever they thought, and Xu Ling and Sun Baoyao got to know each other much better.
Sun Baoyao's father died early, and his mother died a few years ago. He had no brothers in his family, only two sisters, who had already married and started a family.
His wife is the niece of Master Yang Tao, and she has a son and a daughter. The older son is now eight years old, and the younger daughter is only three years old.
I met Xu Ling during dinner. Yang was gentle and kind, and her two children were also cute and sensible.
Sun Baoyao also had two concubines. Xu Ling had only seen one before, but he had not seen the newly admitted concubine.
All in all, Xu Ling looked at Sun Baoyao from a woman's perspective and thought he was a playboy and a womanizer.
We can look at Sun Baoyao from a man's perspective. No matter how many wives and concubines he has at home, it has nothing to do with him. Apart from the level of love, Sun Baoyao is ambitious, courageous, and relatively calm, making him a very good partner.
Xu Ling naturally told him about his own affairs. His father died young and he led his mother and a pair of younger siblings to live a miserable life.
Regarding his changes, Xu Ling only said: "I used to be stubborn and ignorant of suffering. Last year, I was beaten up by my father-in-law and I felt that I wasted a lot of time."
The two chatted all night, and their relationship became much deeper.
On the second day, Xu Ling left Sun Baoyao's home, taking the meat cakes made by Yang for him. He planned to go to Lingbao Town and was not in a hurry to return to the village.
Sun Baoyao thought he was looking for a way out, so he naturally didn't stop him.
When Xu Ling went to Qinghe Town, he passed by Lijiazhuang and went to visit Mrs. Li at her home. Seeing him coming, Li Dayong felt guilty. He originally wanted to take his son to Lianhuawanzi to pay Xu Ling a New Year greeting, but the road was blocked by heavy snow, so he decided to go there. I plan to go there after the snow melts in two days.
Who knew that Xu Ling would come to his home first?
Xu Ling didn't care about this. He left a cart of cabbage with a few words and took a boat to Lingbao Town without eating.
The river surface at the pier was frozen before, but as soon as the ice melted, merchant ships were opened for navigation. Xu Ling took a two-day boat ride to arrive at Lingbao Town. He was not in a hurry to deliver food to Deyuelou, but went to the second restaurant near the pier. We had a meal together, and before leaving, we tied a red string to the window near the river.
As soon as he left the restaurant, beggars with thin clothes and stinky bodies gathered around him, begging in a hoarse and weak voice: "Please be kind and give me something to eat."
Xu Ling looked unbearable. Along the way, he had heard and seen with his own eyes that there was a frozen corpse a few steps away from the wall on the roadside. During the day, someone used a cart to collect the corpses and send them all to Yizhuang.
The phenomenon of bowing one's head and inserting bids, selling one's body and burying one's relatives can also be seen everywhere.
On the streets and alleys, there are people selling firewood and charcoal everywhere. The prices are high, but the people selling charcoal are wearing thin clothes.
The tiles in the distance were still very lively, exuding noisy heat, the sound of bells, and the sound of pipa. The sound did not stop. There were thugs standing outside, driving nearby beggars away.
Is the scenery here beautiful?
beautiful.
Linjiang Street, which is not polluted by industry, is bustling and lively after dark, like a flower boat floating on the vast sea in the silence of the night.
But in a corner where no one is paying attention, someone is curled up, slowly dying of cold and hunger...
"Get up! Wake up!"
Xu Ling finally couldn't bear it anymore and picked up a fallen boy from the frozen snow. He pinched him and rubbed his chest to wake him up from his coma.
Then he threw him on the cart. Along the way, he would pick up someone who fell down, and throw him onto the cart after picking him up.
Three scholars passed by and saw Xu Ling turning over and rubbing his body one by one under the wall. They were so frightened that they asked, "What is this man doing?"
The next second he was frightened and ran away.
Xu Ling turned a deaf ear to it. If there was anyone alive, he would pick it up and send it to Chai Yanjun of Yongchun Hall.
In the middle of the night, the wooden door of Yongchun Hall was banged by someone. Hetong, wearing single clothes and holding a lantern, opened the door. As soon as he recognized Xu Linglai, someone broke into the medicine hall.
"Hurry and heat some hot water and ask your master to get up and save people!"
Soon, Chai Yanjun's loud voice rang out shrilly: "Damn Xu Ling! You picked up some people who are about to die again!"
