As the sun went down, Chu Yuanwai finished moving all the goods and found a hotel to stay at. Shen Duan, Lin Shengyuan and Huang Yuanwai left the goods yard together and found a clean liquor store nearby, where they went in to drink and chat.
Food and drinks were served and we had a few drinks. Huang Yuanwai said: "Yu Hou, there may be forbidden items hidden in the goods outside the first member's room today. Your convoy belongs to the Yamen, don't you care?"
Shen Duan smiled and said: "You are also a businessman outside the Yuan Dynasty. We have goods to be transported by us. Would you be willing if we inspected the goods halfway? Although we are also from the Yamen, the most important thing is to make money by transporting goods. . If you piss off the customers and have no business, what can you do!"
Huang Yuanwai nodded. Then he asked: "You know clearly that the car is carrying prohibited items, but you don't care?"
Shen Duan said: "There are special officials to check prohibited items, and there are patrols on the road, so it's not our turn."
After hearing this, Lin Shengyuan said: "This sounds strange. You belong to the Yamen, but you don't care about the Yamen's affairs."
Shen Duan just laughed: "There is nothing strange. Different yamen are responsible for different things. We are just transporters, and we don't care about checking prohibited items or fugitives. Of course, just like ordinary people, we are specially assigned to it, and Different."
Seeing that Huang Yuanwai and Lin Shengyuan still looked reluctant, Shen Duan said: "Both Yuanwai, we are in charge of transporting goods. If we make more money, I and my soldiers will also make more money. In this world, , who would have trouble with money?"
Speaking of money, Huang Yuanwai and Lin Shengyuan understood what Shen Duan meant. Whether to transport prohibited goods or not is a matter for the yamen. No one said that the people who transport the goods should be in charge of it, so of course they don't care. The most important thing is to have a good relationship with the customers, have work to do every day, and make money every day.
Several people were drinking and chatting. Shen Duan has been doing this business for several months and can be said to be well-informed. He told Huang Yuanwai and Lin Shengyuan what he had learned. Huang Yuanwai was worried about his business and kept asking about the situation in Xiangcheng.
Shen Duan said: "The market for trade between the north and the south is in Xiangcheng County, where merchants gather now and it is extremely prosperous. I heard people from the north say that Xiangcheng is not weaker than Kaifeng Prefecture in the past and is a metropolis."
Lin Shengyuan shook his head after hearing this: "How can we compare with Kaifeng Mansion? Before Jin Lunan invaded, it was the largest metropolis in the world. Today's Xiangyang is probably not even a tenth of it! Is there anyone who can say this? Only after seeing a big place can you talk like this!"
Huang Yuanwai sighed: "Kaifeng was like that back then. But now, it is no longer as prosperous as it was back then. The merchants in the North said so after seeing what Kaifeng Mansion is like now."
Shen Duan said: "I think so. The city in Xiangcheng County was originally north of Ru River. The Jin people invaded from the south. Now they built a city in the south. We merchants in the south only transport goods to Nancheng. After the delivery, from the north Merchants from the area transported the goods across Ru River. There was a grazing market outside the North City, and there was a Jin general there. There were not many soldiers, and the Jin people only collected taxes."
Lin Shengyuan said: "If there are not many soldiers, why doesn't Wang Zhuan attack them?"
Shen Duan smiled and said: "Observation wants to do business with the Jin people, so naturally they will not fight there. The Jin people understand and do not station large groups of troops."
Part of the reason for the small number of Jin soldiers is supply difficulties. Yingchang Prefecture, Zhengzhou Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture are now sparsely populated and cannot collect food to support large armies. As long as Jin Jun receives taxes, he doesn't care about other things.
Huang Yuanwai sighed: "The big trouble is after you cross the Ruhe River. There are so many bandits in the north, and robberies with sticks happen every day. Without a large team of people to escort you, it will be really difficult to do business."
Lin Shengyuan asked hurriedly: "How are the preparations outside the army? Cloth cannot be sold in Xiangcheng!"
Huang Yuanwai said: "I and several businessmen have hired people. Otherwise, how can we dare to do this business? However, hiring people is expensive."
Huang Yuanwai became upset when he talked about this matter. How much money can be made from selling cloth? The expenses on the road are quite high.
A few of them were slightly drunk and walked out of the wine shop. At this time, the moon had just risen, and with the stars in the sky, the world seemed to cool down.
The boy sent the three of them out of the door, said "slow down", and turned around to go back.
Huang Yuanwai said: "Rufen Town is on the north-south trade road, so it must be prosperous. But although this place is close to the Ru River, why does the name have the word grave? Seeing that there is a large population here, why not change the name?"
The boy laughed after hearing this and said: "Yuan Wei said that someone in the local area also mentioned it. After someone mentioned it, I realized that the name Rufen has a great origin. How can it be changed casually? There is a poem in the Book of Songs called "Zhou Nanru" "Grave", we can see how old this place name is. Later, King Ping of Zhou Dynasty granted his son here, and it has been passed down for 19 generations! Later, Rufen County was established here during the Qi Dynasty, and it was abolished during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty. There was a great official in this dynasty. The wise man Mei Yaochen wrote a poem called "The Poor Girl in Ru Tomb" when he was the magistrate of Xiangcheng County in the north."
Huang Yuanwai couldn't help but was stunned. Asked: "You work as a boy in a shop, but you actually know so much?"
The boy said: "Because this matter was discussed not long ago, and I have heard it talked about a lot."
Lin Shengyuan said: "There is a reason for the name of this place, and the old man must know it. Why would anyone suggest changing the name?"
"Old man, there are no old people in this town for a long time." The boy shook his head. "In the past two years, the Jin army came here twice, and all the men, women, and children in the town were killed. I heard that when the Jin captives came, several women in the village refused to be humiliated and fled to the Zhennan River. A few Jin soldiers forced them to When they got close, they threw themselves into the river and died. The golden captives were like animals, so they killed all the men, women, and children in the village, leaving not even a cat or dog alive."
After hearing this, the three people were stunned. Wang Xiaolie returned to his hometown, but within two years, many people felt that the war-torn days seemed like a long time ago. Suddenly I heard someone mention it, and I couldn't help but recall the scene of the Jin Army's raging.
Lin Shengyuan thought of the difficult days when he escaped from Kaifeng Mansion and wandered around in nearby counties. Looking back at Mr. Huang, he suddenly felt a little chilly. Yes, isn't it because the Jin people invaded the south that I am in such a mess today? Huang Yuanwai is a businessman from the north. If he helps him do business and make money, who does he think he is?
A slanting moon hangs in the sky, like a pair of eyes, looking coldly at the world.
In the goods yard on the east side of the town, a junior member picked up a wine flask and took a swig of wine. He said loudly: "Zhi Niang, the goods are all on the Yamen's car these days, and my heart is in my throat! Well, I finally returned to Rufen Town. I'm back safely!"
Cao Jian said at the same time: "Exceptor, Rufen Town is under the control of Wang Kuan, and Inspector Liu has nearly a hundred soldiers! If you are accidentally caught by Inspector Liu, you will lose both your life and property!"
The junior member said: "Of course I know! But this place is very close to Wuyang, and we can't force it in time. We can pick up our swords and guns and force our way out! As long as we succeed this time, we will find a new path!" "
Cao Jian nodded. Said: "It's strange that these fleets that Wang observed are so honest? When I was moving the goods just now, I saw that the loquats and plums in many baskets were rotten, and some even had the tea inside exposed, but they didn't care!"
The junior member said: "I asked. Yu Hou, the team leader, said that they only care about making money and don't care about the things they transport as long as they are loaded into the truck! Whether it is true or false, as long as we are careful, we will not make a mistake!"
Xinyang Tea Farm has been converted by Wang Xiaolie into making loose tea, which is not suitable for long-distance transportation. What I bought in Xiangyang was Ezhou brick tea. Wang Xiaolie sent tea merchants to the mountains of Ezhou, and instead of making group tea, they changed to making brick tea. Brick tea is durable and can be stored for a long time, making it especially suitable for long-distance trafficking. For Dong Ping, this is a big deal.
What is gratifying is that when buying brick tea at the Xiangyang Supply and Marketing Cooperative, there is no strict inspection. As long as you have cash, you can buy in bulk. For these smugglers, there is no obstacle. Sometimes they all suspected that Wang Xiaolie did this on purpose.
The brick tea was originally intended to be trafficked to the north, so of course Wang Xiaolie would not investigate it strictly. The most important thing is to have money. What Wang Xiaolie needs is money. As long as he was willing to spend money, Wang Xiaolie would naturally sell these non-military supplies.
