I fought back after reselling my engagement

Lu Yan said: "We will arrive at Baihua Wharf tomorrow."

Zhen Su was surprised. "Most of the docks we passed along the way were named Changping, Dashun, Da'an, Daxing, but there is actually a Baihua Dock."

Lu Yan said: "Baihua Wharf is located in Baihua County. Every household in this county knows how to make and blend incense. All clothes are fumigated with incense before being worn."

When he was in the army, there were several soldiers from this place. Even the men were obsessed with spices and scented powders. When they had free time, they would pick strange herbs and boil water for bathing, and they would also make scented powders from the leaves of herbs and plants to use for fumigating clothes.

The three men lived in the same tent, and even the tent they lived in was filled with various fragrances all year round. One liked pine scent, so he used pine leaves to make incense; one liked cypress scent, so he used cypress leaves; and the other liked bamboo scent, so he used bamboo leaves to make incense.

Zhen Su said: "The famous Concubine Rui of the previous dynasty was originally from Baihua County. After Concubine Rui, the previous dynasty would select beauties from Baihua County to enter the palace, ranging from three to nine people each time. This tradition was not broken until the Great Qi Dynasty."

Lu Yan used to be very disdainful of the three soldiers in the army who loved to smell good, but after a long time, he realized that this was the custom in their hometown. Having a bad smell on the body is very rude, and one must wear clean and fragrant clothes before going out.

Zhen Su said, "Girls in Baihua County learn how to make rouge and powder when they are six or seven years old. The spices and rouge and powder here are the most famous. When we get to Baihua Wharf tomorrow, I must go down and take a look."

After the meal, Lu Yan picked up the dishes and returned them to the large wooden basin of the housekeeper.

When he came back, Zhen Su was still in her room. He had never been to her guest room. He always ate in Lu Yan's room.

Zhen Su took out two silver notes and said, "Brother Lu, take these two hundred taels of silver notes first. When you arrive at the dock tomorrow, buy yourself a change of clothes."

Because he decided to leave at the last minute, he had no money and no change of clothes.

Lu Yan wanted to refuse, but he really had no money. He couldn't do such a thing as pretending to be rich. But he still felt uncomfortable taking money from a girl. "I'll lend you this money."

"You're welcome." Zhen Su said with a smile.

I was on the boat for six days and went to the dock once. The local customs and habits there were different from those in the capital. There were also boat girls, married women and unmarried girls. They covered their faces with scarves, bound their hair, wore short-sleeved shirts, and trouser legs that were six or seven points wide. The skin that was exposed all year round was healthy and dark.

*

In late May, time passed slowly. Many memorable moments finally became blurred like smoke in fresh water. What can be remembered are only the scenes in life that must not be forgotten. In fact, the most beautiful thing in the world is the changing of the four seasons, enjoying the gorgeous spring flowers and the hazy autumn moon.

For Zhen Su, this trip away from home was the greatest gain in her past and present life. Every day when she opened her eyes, she could see the different scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and also experience the different human natures on both sides.

Although they were limited to the back house, among ordinary people, women supported the family just like men. They worked as boat girls, they were good at water, and they made a living by their skills on the water.

When we arrived at Baihua Wharf, the boatwoman in the superior room said loudly: "We are almost at Baihua Wharf. The boat will leave in one hour. Guests who need to get off the boat to shop, please board the boat within one hour with the Yueyang room card. Please carry valuables with you as much as possible. If you cannot carry them, please come to me to get a copper lock and close the doors and windows before getting off the boat!"

Zhen Su always felt an inexplicable familiarity when he heard the boatwoman's voice, as if he had heard it somewhere before, "Dear guests, please take your valuables with you! If you cannot carry them, the shopkeeper has a safe for rent."

The old woman's voice was obviously the most ordinary, but how could there be such a beautiful female voice in his memory? What is a safe? Zhen Su had never heard of it, but it was also strange that she suggested to the beggars in Beijing to establish a "Beggar Gang". It was as if he had heard of the "Beggar Gang" somewhere, and also heard about the origins of the Clean Clothes Sect and the Dirty Clothes Sect.

Zhen Su rented a copper lock from the boatwoman and locked the baggage in Lu Yan's room.

She picked up a light pink handkerchief, covered her face, and got off the boat with Lu Yan one after the other. The guests in the guest room got off the boat one by one. Lu Yansheng was afraid that Zhen Su would get lost, so he held her arm with his hand and said, "Second Miss, don't run around."

Looking up, I saw an endless stream of people selling goods and watching the fun on the way to the dock. There were noble young men in light clothes, noble ladies in gorgeous clothes, passers-by with a look of fireworks on their faces, peddlers carrying light carts and loads on their shoulders, veiled girls carrying exquisite baskets and selling perfume and rouge, and villagers carrying baskets full of fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition to the goods for sale, a little head would occasionally appear in the basket on one side, with its big, round eyes, curiously looking at the people passing by.

Zhen Su slowed down his pace and looked around. He felt that everything was so new and interesting, and he looked full of energy.

“Homemade incense, cheap and affordable!”

"Baihua County's top-quality rouge! Snow cream!"

When people at the dock saw the big ship approaching, they immediately lined up outside to set up small stalls and kept shouting out their wares, selling everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to rouge and powder and small jewelry.

Zhen Su wanted to take a look, but was held back by Lu Yan, as if he was afraid of being swept away by the crowd.

"Second Miss, we have to go to the market, and you have to buy a new set of clothes."

Buy a new outfit...

She had originally wanted to dress up as a man, so she brought two sets of youth clothes, and only had the casual clothes she was wearing. Her favorite clothes had already been sent to her grandfather through the escort agency, so she should have received the clothes by the time she arrived in Yueyang Prefecture.

Zhen Su only felt that Baihua Wharf was very prosperous and lively, and it was overwhelming.

Lu Yan had been to Baihua County in his previous life. The Wan family was originally from Baihua County. He went with his second wife, Mrs. Wan, and their three children to celebrate the birthday of the old lady of the Wan family. It was exactly the same as now, with the same streets and the same shops. Half of the shops at Baihua Wharf were opened by the father and brothers of Concubine Wan's natal family, who controlled almost 40% of the spices, rouge and powder business in the entire Baihua County. The remaining 60% was owned by individual traders, and the remaining 50% of the business was controlled by the Bai and Hua families in Baihua County.

The Bai and Hua families are also old friends and in-laws of the Wan family, but they are secretly competing with each other. The Wan and Hua families have formed an alliance to exclude and suppress the Bai family. According to the time calculation, now is the time when the Bai family's business is undergoing a bleak transformation. The Bai family began to transform into cloth merchants and tea merchants. The cloth merchant failed, but after a few years, the Bai family will directly abandon the business of spices and rouge and start the tea business directly, and also produce a unique "white tea".

Because of the business war among the three families, the Second Prince later ascended the throne and the defeated Fourth Prince was convicted of being a "traitor". The entire Wan and Hua families were uprooted. The daughter of the Bai family became the new emperor's concubine, and in the blink of an eye, they became the most powerful family in Baihua County.

Lu Yan was almost familiar with the road. He drove around a corner and entered an alley. The street here was obviously much narrower than the previous one. The previous street was four meters wide, but now this one was less than two meters wide at most.