In Daming, there were two domestic trade routes from Zhejiang to Fujian.
One line enters the upper reaches of the Qiantang River from various waterways in South Zhili, then turns to Changshan in Zhejiang and Yushan in Jiangxi, passes through Fenshuiguanhekou Town in Chong'an, Fujian, and enters Fujian. The other line enters Jiangshan County in Zhejiang from the Qiantang River and connects to Xianxia Ridge in Pucheng.
Both trade routes rotated between water and land. Northern Fujian, eastern Jiangxi, and western Zhejiang were mountainous, and the Daopoqi District was in the Daopoqi District. When Zheng Haizhu took his nephew north to the south of the Yangtze River to make a living, he experienced various customs and customs along the way and gained a lot of knowledge. , but also suffered a lot from traveling across mountains and rivers.
Fortunately, this time I was following Eunuch Liu south, so I could choose a third way.
sea route.
…
The thick wooden walls of the Fuchuan block the biting cold wind on the sea in winter.
An expensive East China Sea crystal window fills the cabin with daylight.
Zheng Haizhu sat in front of the window, holding a long dress in her hands, inspecting the details.
"Sister Azhu, I heard that Mr. Shu told "Journey to the West" that the palace of the Dragon King of the East China Sea is made of crystal. Now, I feel like I am in a crystal palace."
Tailor Fan's daughter, Fan Polu, put her nose against the crystal window and stared, trying to see clearly the majestic appearance of the sergeants on the deck outside, while expressing her excitement to Zheng Haizhu.
Zheng Haizhu went with Eunuch Liu's fleet to Yuegang this time, and took Fan Polu with her as a female companion. Not only was her daily life more convenient, but she also had to use the twenty days on board with her to complete some special clothing samples.
The little girl Fan Polu felt that her luck this winter was as good as a dream.
Sister Azhu is not only a new customer of her family, but she will also take her out and follow the imperial official ship to Yuegang to expand her horizons.
When he first boarded this big ship, which was even more gorgeous than the pavilions of many wealthy people in Songjiang, Fan Polu was still a little trepidatious because he heard that women would be looked down upon if they went on board the ship.
Unexpectedly, after walking a few steps on the deck with Sister Azhu, I saw several women, either carrying vegetable baskets or holding clean mattresses, swarming around like bees.
Sister Azhu told her at that time that as early as two hundred years ago, on the treasure ships that the Sanbao eunuchs sailed to the West, there were dozens of women who were responsible for cooking, washing, and mending things.
The general named Ma who was walking in front of them also turned his head and told her with a kind smile that in his hometown in Sichuan, women could not only board ships, but also fight in the water. Although his mother specializes in cavalry, archery and spears, she has an army of women under her command who are good at jumping and fighting between warships on the river.
Fan Polu breathed a sigh of relief, but soon became embarrassed again.
She was almost in her prime, and when she saw an outstanding man, she admired and was shy, so she simply lowered her head.
General Ma is so young and good-looking, and as a military general, he is not fierce at all. When he heard her name, he praised the word "Polu" for its pleasantness.
Well, although, he seems to smile only in front of Sister Azhu. When facing other people on the boat, including the kind-hearted Eunuch Liu, General Ma's mouth was flat.
In the cabin at this moment, Zheng Haizhu looked at Fan Polu. Just now, he seemed to be thinking about something like an adult. When he studied the crystal window, he showed a naive and curious look like a little daughter. It was really cute and endearing.
Zheng Haizhu then smiled and said: "This East China Sea crystal has always been a tribute. Nowadays, the craftsmen are becoming more and more skillful. They can not only make windows, but also grind reading glasses. I heard that the crystal reading glasses used by the pavilion elders are... They cost twenty taels of silver a pair."
"Ah?" Fan Polu was speechless, stretched out his hand to gesture for a moment, and sighed, "Wouldn't such a big window cost hundreds of taels of silver?"
Zheng Haizhu pursed her lips and pushed the skirt in her hand: "Eunuch Liu is so kind to us that he allows us to live in such a nice cabin. Little girl, you have to be more upbeat and learn from other crystal craftsmen's skills and diligence. Come on, put the This row of woven gold edges can be dismantled and then sewn to give the feeling of waves, don’t be so rigid.”
Fan Polu obediently took the skirt and played with it for a while. Just when he was wondering what the "feeling of waves" would be like, he saw Sister Azhu already standing up and squatting towards the hatch.
"Eunuch Liu, General Ma."
Liu Shimin and Ma Xianglin stood outside the cabin with their hands behind their backs, their expressions gentle and gentle, but their bodies did not move.
Zheng Haizhu guessed that the two of them came for the progress that he reported on the deck today, but it was not convenient for them to enter the woman's cabin.
She then carried another smaller piece of textile and called Fan Polu out of the cabin.
Liu Shimin stared at the woman's dress that looked like a palace curtain in Fan Polu's hand, not hiding his surprise.
"Miss Zheng, is this what you said that Thai and Western businessmen would like?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded very confidently and said: "Yes, this is called a dress."
Then he guided Fan Polu to hold the shoulder sleeves and lift up the skirt, while he leaned over and spread out the gorgeous skirt.
"Eunuch Liu, please see, this kind of skirt is different from the skirts and coats of our Ming women. Its upper skirt and lower skirt are sewn together, so it is called a dress. When our country was in the Han Dynasty, there was a kind of deep skirt with a deep skirt like this. Generally, the top and bottom are connected, but the dresses that Thai and Western women like, the tops are as narrow and short as Hufu, but the skirts are fluffy like curtains, and they are somewhat like the felt tents that Mongolian people live in the grasslands."
Liu Shimin looked at it for a while, then nodded and said: "I said it looked familiar. I remembered that when Matteo Ricci, a missionary from Spain to Spain, presented Western treasures to Lord Long Live, Lord Long Live asked him about the scenery of Xifan. Matthew took out some paintings, and the French women on them seemed to be wearing this kind of skirt."
Zheng Haizhu thought, great, Matteo Ricci is Italian. Since you have seen Western post-Renaissance oil paintings, it will not be so difficult for me to explain Baroque skirts.
She then freed up one hand, lifted up the sleeves of her dress, and explained: "The people over there in Taixi used to wear gloomy dark robes in the middle of winter more than two hundred years ago, but now they are different. They are civilians." Common people, as long as they could afford it, would also wear brighter colors, and the skirts should be sewn with layers of lace on the front and back like waves crashing on the shore, and the sleeves below the elbows should also be sewn to look like trumpet flowers. of."
Liu Shimin stared at Zheng Haizhu: "Young lady knows a lot."
Zheng Haizhu looked calm: "It's all thanks to God's grace that Yuegang can be opened and closed at the time of Lord Longqing. My hometown is not far from Yuegang Haicheng County. When my brother was alive, he sometimes went to Zhangzhou Fucheng Cultural Club and sometimes to Haicheng County to visit friends. When I returned to Longxi, I often talked to my sister-in-law and me about what we had learned from the missionaries. Moreover, my father-in-law also knew that Xu Hanlin’s family opened a Ci’en Hall in Songjiang, and my daughter’s husband’s family was related to the Xu family’s daughter-in-law. Sometimes I am sent to Ci En Tang to help, and I also see some foreign paintings."
The deep meaning in Liu Shimin's eyes flashed past, and he smiled, picked up the large cotton skirt held by Fan Polu, and commented: "You don't necessarily take it to heart when you see it. You like to think about it, yes. Don't tell me, this water red color The cotton cloth is piled with the lace you mentioned. Not only does it not look wrinkled after being worn for a long time, but it is indeed very colorful and lively. Well, we Ming scribes may sneer at it, but it is quite popular with those Western monkeys."
Zheng Haizhu continued: "Taiwanese people say that this kind of piled up shape like a lantern festival in Aoshan is called Baroque there. Not only women, but men also like to add patterns to their clothes."
As she spoke, she spread out the moon-white fabric in her hand and walked towards Ma Xianglin with a smile.
