After Liang Chuan and others settled down in Baijia Village, the most important thing was to start their salt selling business.
I thought it would be as smooth as buying and selling, but when Liang Chuan woke up the next day, he discovered that there was nothing in the village.
To purify fine salt, they need raw materials, but let alone salt here, there is not even a decent shop. The village is a traditional rural area, and every household only knows how to farm and not do business.
Bai Baozheng's wine is really good. Although most of it went into Liang Chuan's stomach, it really doesn't make people feel uncomfortable. There is no alcohol smell when you wake up, let alone dizziness and thirst. It is really a rare real wine. !
It's not the fault of Liang Chuan's lack of knowledge, it's just that there are too many fake wines in later generations. Even real wines have many additives, which are far different from pure grain wines brewed by ancient methods!
"There is no salt seller in the village!"
Liang Chuan couldn't find any place to buy salt, so Nong Yao rode his horse around the village early in the morning. Not to mention the salt seller, he couldn't even find the vegetable seller!
The village is pitifully small, and every household is self-sufficient. They close their doors after dark and plant some crops at dawn. Some go into the mountains to hunt. Business here is even rarer than protecting animals!
After listening to Nong Yao's report, Liang Chuan made the decision to go find Baiyun Mountain.
When I came to Dali, I immediately brought a lot of fine salt with me. This batch of salt was definitely going to be sold.
But Liang Chuan is not in a hurry to take action, he is concerned about how to open source!
If there is no place to buy coarse salt for purification, then they have no choice but to go back to Guangyuan Prefecture to buy salt. Autumn may be here every time, so what else can they do?
You can only see where there is a market in Dali and use local materials.
Liang Chuan entered Bai Baozheng's house. There were not many young people in the old man's family. They had gone into the mountains early in the morning to collect herbs. Only Baiyunshan had trouble with his legs and feet and stayed at home.
"Where can I buy salt here, Lord Baozheng?"
The Bai ethnic group is more sinicized than other ethnic groups such as the Nong, Dong, Miao, Yao and Yi, perhaps because they are under the jurisdiction of the Dali Kingdom. In addition to being the Tibetan kingdom of Tubo, Dali's other rules and regulations are basically inherited from the Tang Dynasty and have been used since the Tang Dynasty. The costumes are different, and everything else is completely Han Chinese.
The Duan family of Dali themselves are members of the Bai ethnic group, and except for the word "白", they are no different from the Han people.
The Duan family does not dare to allow these ethnic minority people to become overly independent. Once their independence reaches a certain level, they will separate. This is a scene that no ruler wants to see.
After hearing Liang Chuan's inquiry, Bai Baozheng asked hurriedly: "Is the food and wine last night too bland and not to your taste?"
The people in Baijiacun are really honest!
Not only do you let people stay at home and eat and drink for free, but you are actually worried that their food is not tasty enough!
The Bai people have simple folk customs. It should be said that the people nearby are so simple. They know the hardships of going out and have never been deceived by outsiders. Naturally, they have a good impression of these outsiders.
In comparison, people in Guangnan are different.
Most of the people traveling from south to north were from the Han family. First, they were severely cheated by those unscrupulous female businessmen of the Han family, and then the South Vietnamese from the south also came. The South Vietnamese did not lie, they just robbed! The people from Guangnan become someone else's meal every time they come and go. They are all in a position of being bullied. Who would have a good impression of outsiders?
Dongxi Liangchuan didn't eat much last night. Most of the Bai people ate ordinary home-cooked food, including a lot of game in the mountains.
And one thing, Liang Chuan discovered that there were a lot of fungi in their dishes, including matsutake mushrooms and cordyceps. .
The locals in Baijia Village regard it as a very common dish and just add it to it! Liang Chuan discovered these good things in the dish at a glance. Others would remove their chopsticks when they saw these things, but Liang Chuan kept staring and eating. .
"It tastes good, but we just wanted to buy some salt when we came here. My family needs it urgently!"
Salt? Bai Baozheng glanced at several people suspiciously, with a trace of disbelief flashing in his eyes, but his tone was as if he was feeling the same, and he said anxiously: "What's going on? Is the price of salt in Guangnan so expensive now?"
The implication is that you
Is salt in Guangnan so expensive? Do you have to come here to Dali to buy it? Too full?
Lao Baozheng understood clearly that these people said they were here to sell some small things, but they didn't see anything they were carrying, which aroused his suspicion.
Now he understood without having to explain what these people were here for.
Before Liang Chuan could say anything, Lao Baozheng began to recall the past events.
"When we were young, let alone whether salt was expensive in our place, there was no place to buy it. At that time, when Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty was in Xinding, the price of salt was really conscientious. There were many People from Dali secretly went to Song Dynasty to buy it, but the road you took over the snowy mountains was taken by us Bai people!"
Many years have passed, but the old man still remembers the past events, with infinite emotion in his expression when talking about them.
"At that time, we secretly went to Suining Prefecture to buy soil, then transported it to Guangnan with horses and mules, and finally exchanged it for money to transport the salt back!"
Buy land?
What is this operation?
"Will the Song Dynasty still be short of soil? If you transport the soil, will someone buy it?"
Bai Baozheng smiled proudly and sighed in his tone: "We don't understand this. Anyway, it was very popular at that time, and ordinary people couldn't buy it. Only the chieftains and people from the government in Guangnan could take over and transport it to us. soil!"
Liang Chuan became more and more confused after hearing this. He had never heard of this business in ancient times.
"I didn't expect that the Song Dynasty would be so chaotic now. The price of salt is so high in troubled times, and it has forced you people into this situation!"
Lao Baozheng was filled with emotion again.
Liang Chuan was about to explain, but after thinking about it, he decided to forget it.
These people don't understand their own intentions and purposes, which is what's best for them, so they won't have any undue thoughts about themselves!
"Some of the animals at home eat a lot of salt. If we don't prepare more, I might not survive this winter."
In winter, people come to climb this snow-capped mountain. Not only people can't bear it, even the Yunnan horses they ride over can't stand it. In winter, the climate on the mountain is terrible. The low temperature will kill people. The mountain will freeze due to the accumulation of water, and the mountain will collapse. The cracks in the rocks can lead to rockfalls and avalanches, which are also fatal dangers for travelers.
No one thought it was worth it to climb this snow-capped mountain for the salt for livestock.
Bai Baozheng is not a fool. Why would he come so far to buy food for his animals? It must be salt for people to eat!
An old man who has lived his whole life knows best that buying salt and then taking it back home is a serious crime even though it is not a shocking thing.
Whether it's Dali or the Song Dynasty in the south, anyone with private knowledge can beheaded.
People from Nong come to Dali to buy cheap salt. This is smuggling.
How many people risked beheading for a mouthful of salt? That was how they walked all the way back then, for no other reason than to survive!
Bai Baozheng didn't say much. He looked at Liang Chuan and the others. Although Liang Chuan had a good drinking capacity, the others were crooked. One of his eyes could only look at the sky, and he couldn't beat a stuffy fart with three sticks. They also had a small child. Baby, what bad things can you do?
Bai Baozheng was even thinking that it would not be easy for this group of people. They have to travel thousands of miles to pour salt. .
"It must be gone in our village. If you want to buy it, you can only go to the nearest Suining Mansion. It is available there!"
A good man will fight to the end. Baiyunshan thought of the hard days back then. Now that the situation has changed, the people of the Song Dynasty have to suffer the same hardship. Unable to bear it, he pointed out this path to Liang Chuan.
"Zining Mansion, is it far away or not? Is it okay to go?"
"Start from here and walk northeast for two days. You can see the most peaceful mansion there. Otherwise, you have to go to Dali City. It's a long way and it's not easy to buy what you want. salt.."
What we want!
Liang Chuan and Bai Baozheng exchanged glances, and they laughed tacitly.
"Thank you Mr. Baozheng for your advice, we'll set off now!"
Before leaving, Liang Chuan left a little money and said, "By the way, Mr. Baozheng, if it's convenient, I'll rent the house we live in now with you."
Here we are, maybe we will pass by again in a few days, and then we will bother Mr. Baozheng again. "
Master Baozheng was a little unhappy when he heard this and said: "What are you talking about? It's not easy to go out. When I was your age, I slept in countless wild places. The bones in my body are all caused by that time. Let's eat You can understand what it’s like to live through hardship, there’s no need to make things difficult for each other!”
"This is necessary! Don't be polite to us!" Liang Chuan resolutely kept the money.
Baozheng pushed a few times and stopped being polite.
"Di Qing, if you want to go to Zuining Town, there is a herdsman from the Ayue tribe there, who is also a Bai ethnic group. He is an old friend of mine for decades. It might be useful if you tell me my name then!"
When Liang Chuan heard this, a warm feeling surged into his heart.
This is the first time he has arrived in Dali, coming to this unfamiliar world. He has seen the brutal South Vietnamese and the Nong people who are enjoying themselves in hardship. Now that he meets this group of Bai people, he feels what it means to There is true love in the world, and Bai Baozheng and he are neither relatives nor friends. In the past two days, he has received a lot of kindness from others!
How can I repay this favor in the future?
Bai Baozheng pondered for a few moments and murmured: "My name is Bai Rong. It has been so many years and I have almost forgotten this old guy's name!"
Liang Chuan was startled and responded: "I will never forget Master Baozheng's kindness in my life. I dare to ask, how could He De allow Master Baozheng to be so kind to us!"
Baozheng smiled bitterly: "When I see you, I think of us back then. It was not easy for us. For no other reason than we are all people who are looking for a living. Old man, I can't stand seeing you working so hard for life!"
He sighed and said, "Back then, we Bai people went to Guangnan to buy salt, and many of our human bones were buried under the snow-capped mountains. Without the help of you Guangnan people, we might not be alive now!"
