From Langyuan City to the north, follow the official road for five days and you will enter the boundary of Xiangkou. After another day of walking, you can see the city wall.
Compared with Langyuan City, the city wall at Xiangkou is higher and thicker, and there are more official roads guarded. The geographical location is called a "hub". It is also the largest and most prosperous place in the entire Beijiang County, and the Beijiang County Sheriff's Mansion is also here.
This is the first time Zhang Yan comes to Xiangkou. They were following a carriage and horse racing company from Langyuan City, and they were accompanied by Luo Changshan, his master and his apprentice. Because this time Zhang Yan came to Xiangkou not only to collect the shop that Zhou Cang had given him, but also to go to the annual tea party of the miscellaneous school lineage that Luo Changshan mentioned before.
As soon as they entered the city, Luo Changshan took Zhang Yan to his residence to stay. Then let Zeng Hao take Zhang Yan to look for shops. He himself was tired from the long journey and went back to his room to lie down and rest.
"Sir, there are a lot of people here, and there are also a lot of thieves. You'd better be careful, especially those beggars who come to ask for money. Ten or eight of them are not good people." Zeng Hao said to the other party. They were very familiar with each other, so while leading the way, they introduced Zhang Yan’s precautions here.
In fact, it is the same everywhere. Where there are many people, there are more thieves. The reason why those beggars become more thieves is not because they want to, but because they have no choice. Even many times they are just tools of some evil people behind the scenes.
"What? From what you're saying, have you ever had your bag taken out here?"
"Yeah! I've been ripped off three times!" Zeng Hao also didn't shy away from the losses he suffered here.
"Then how did you hide the money this time? Aren't you afraid of being pocketed again?"
Zeng Hao smiled, looked at Zhang Yan and replied, "I didn't bring any money with me this time. Anyway, my husband is here, so I don't need to spend money."
What have the poor babies been forced to do? Zhang Yan smiled and shook his head.
The journey was uneventful. It's not that Zhang Yan looks poor and no one is paying attention. But when someone stares at him, he will look over. As soon as his eyes meet, he confirms that he is not someone who can catch the eye, so there is no need to come over.
"Sir, that's the family."
Following Zeng Hao's instructions, Zhang Yan saw from a distance a large five-bay shop facing the street. The door was covered with only a small door, which was in sharp contrast to the prosperous business going in and out around it.
Seeing such a location, Zhang Yan couldn't help but say "magnificent" to Zhou Cang in his heart. This kind of location, such a large shop, it is not for sale and will never be easily resold by anyone who puts it in its hands. Zhou Cang's willingness to take it out shows his sincerity.
If you think about putting the semicolon of Zhang Ji Woodware Shop here, it will definitely elevate things like wheelchairs to a new level of popularity. After that, spreading it to all parts of Nanyuan Kingdom will be able to provide some protection.
Entering through the open door, you can see that there is only one man dozing on a chair in the spacious and empty shop. He opened his eyes only when he heard Zhang Yan's voice.
"The shop here is not open for rent!" The clerk glanced at Zhang Yan and Zeng Hao, and without asking anything else, he spoke directly as if he wanted to drive them away. It was probably because so many people came to inquire about the leasing of this shop that they annoyed him.
Zhang Yan didn't care and said with a smile: "My name is Zhang Yan. I am the owner of this shop. I am here to close the shop. What about you? Who are you?"
"What? Dong, boss?! Zhang, Mr. Zhang is here?!" The waiter blinked and was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening. He quickly stood up from his chair, put on a smile, walked a few steps closer, and bowed. Say hello personally.
"Hello, Mr. Zhang! I am the former clerk of this shop, and I work with the Zhou family. Later, this shop came into your hands, and I was assigned to guard it. Hehe, Rong Xiaoxiao will introduce it to you. ?" He spoke very humbly, but this guy wasn't careless at all when it came to checking the house deed. After carefully looking at it, he led Zhang Yan to visit the front and back of the shop.
The business area outside is what you see after entering the door. It is a large and regular shop with five bays. But there is also a warehouse in the back, as well as rooms for cooking and temporary living. There is even a counting room and a small reception hall.
Zhang Yan is absolutely satisfied with the shop. Then he directly retained the storekeeper, paid him a salary, and asked him to continue to look after the store, waiting for the next person to come and start decorating and decorating.
After closing the shop, Zhang Yan and Zeng Zeng were just about to return to the inn when they saw a large cavalry troop coming from the north on the street, so crowded that many pedestrians on the street had to move to the side of the street. Although those who were riding in the team did not ride their horses according to the rules, none of them had any intention of narrowing the team, and they were still walking with four horses abreast. The expression on his face even contained a cheerful smile. He seemed to be very happy that he was crowding around and causing passers-by to scurry away.
"Bah! Beiwu's dead barbarian!"
Zhang Yan was still wondering where the cavalry team was that could enter the city with so many horses and block the road so arrogantly. It looks like we are going through the city to the horse farm in the south. When he arrived, Zhang Yan entered through the south gate and passed by a large horse farm. Is it necessary to cross the city like this? Wouldn't it be better to go around the city? Or are these people doing this on purpose?
As a result, before Zhang Yan could think about his doubts, Zeng Hao had already cursed him.
"Beiwu barbarians? Are they from Beiwu Kingdom?" Zhang Yan reacted and found that although the robes of those people were generally similar to those of Nanyuan Kingdom, the details were also different. For example, the cuffs should be larger and the collar should stand up more. Moreover, no one of these people, male or female, wears their hair in a bun. They just comb it casually and tie it up at the back, like a ponytail. No one has short hair.
"Yes, sir, these people are all from the Beiwu Kingdom. They come to Xiangkou to do business. They mainly buy tea bricks and some spices. They also sell some gelded horses."
"A horse that has been gelded? Is this... afraid of breeding?"
"Well! The barbarians of Beiwu are very thieves. But their horses are indeed the best. Especially when used as war horses, even if they are gelding, they are still much better than our own horses. If it weren't for their horses, they would How dare you be so arrogant here? Bah!" Zeng Hao said while looking at the passing cavalry angrily.
Zhang Yan nodded. He had read about horses in many miscellaneous journals. In fact, Nanyuan Kingdom does not lack horses, it just lacks war horses with good endurance, strength and size. And Beiwu Country happens to be a place that specializes in high-quality war horses. Coupled with the origins of the two countries and the contradictory status quo that they have always been hostile to each other and have to unite. This makes it understandable why these people from the Beiwu Kingdom are looking for trouble in these inexplicable places. I also understand why Zeng Hao is so disdainful and dissatisfied with the other party.
After waiting a full incense stick for the cavalry to pass, the crowd behind them was like a pot of porridge. Even people like Zhang Yan, who originally had no opinion of Beiwu Kingdom, had a very bad impression of them. It seems that the "barbarians" mentioned by Zeng Hao are suitable to describe them.
