North and South groceries

The price of mutton is still falling day by day. In the past two days, it can be sold for two or three pennies a catty, and in another two days, it only costs one or two pennies. Dou is only three to five Wen.

I heard that it was the same in previous years. Many people in the city took advantage of this time to buy mutton and go back to make jerky. Some people made a lot of meat last year, but this year they haven't finished eating it yet.

In Changle County, mutton has always been cheap and food is expensive.Since the cashmere trade has flourished, most of the sheep farmers here only kill sheep in winter, so mutton is especially cheap in winter, and the price will go up again after the beginning of spring.

Some poor families in the city heard that they hadn’t bought fresh meat since the beginning of spring this year, and they endured it until winter. Then they often went to the streets to check and ask the price of mutton. The price had not dropped to the lowest level. When it's cheap, they don't buy much either.

Recently, almost every household in this city eats meat. Those with better conditions will buy good meat to eat, and those with poor conditions will buy poorer meat.

Luo Yong and his county government also ate meat every day, and they ate it mixed with grain. After a long time, they felt a little tired and panicked, so they bought some broken tea cakes from those tea shops and brought them home every day. They all cooked a large vat in the front yard, and whoever wanted to eat took a ladle to scoop it out.

In front of Mawang's tea shops, most of them built stoves and placed pottery pots to cook hot tea all day long. People in the city often went to them to scoop tea and eat it, and they didn't ask for money.

After drinking this bowl of tea, it relieves greasy and oily skin, and the whole day afterwards, I feel comfortable in my stomach, and I don't feel panicked in my stomach.

The Zhao family came back to Changle County mainly for the tea and liquor.

In addition, I also want to buy some bacon, and I plan to take it back and sell it to the merchants in Liangzhou City, mainly those who came from the Central Plains.

Zhao Chen has also been staying in the area of ​​Changle County during this time. He went to Dunhuang some time ago, and came back these two days. The Zhao family opened a shop there earlier, and the business is doing very well. .

The Zhao family bought goods from the Central Plains merchants in Liangzhou City, and then shipped them to Dunhuang, sold them to some local Hu merchants, and then collected some goods from Dunhuang Hu merchants, and shipped them to Liangzhou City to sell. Come back, the benefits are quite rich.

Zhao Chen personally came to Changle County this time, besides purchasing goods, he also had another purpose.

The Zhao family got the news from those Central Plains merchants, saying that the saint sent a group of clan children to Changle County to learn the language of the Hu people and understand the situation in the Western Regions, and planned to let them go out in the future.

The Zhao family in Shuo Prefecture, Hedong Road, originally made their fortune by doing business with the herdsmen on the grasslands outside the pass. There are many courageous sons in the family. Follow along for a share.

Zhao Chen said that they wanted to send the young people in their family to Luo Yong's side to attend classes with those gentry gentlemen. On the one hand, they wanted to learn, and on the other hand, they naturally wanted to make friends.

Luo Yong agreed, and agreed to let Zhao's family send one or two people over here. If there are too many people, it will not work. After all, Luo Yong is still in the groping stage. There are too many people, and he may not be able to handle it.

Regarding the establishment of a college to teach classes, Luo Yong has basically been focusing on building houses recently, and Tang Jian is mainly responsible for hiring teachers.

The last time Tang Jian’s book was sent to Chang’an City, it was said that the court would send some young people to Changle County to learn the culture of the Western Regions. One is naturally Tang Jian, and Luo Yong has to be in the back row.

On the one hand, Tang Jian has recently been visiting capable people in Guazhou and Shazhou, and on the other hand, he is also actively contacting Hu merchants who have settled in the local area, especially those who can write.

Tang Jian is not a simple person. Don't look at how he has been doing well in Chang'an City these years. In the past, he was a person who could represent the country and meet and talk with the Turkic Khan. The people of the Central Plains may not have much feeling about this matter. No one has even heard of him, but these frontier men admire him a lot, and the Hu people also respect him.

Generally speaking, Tang Jian's recent work has been carried out relatively smoothly. As long as it is someone he likes, it is rare that he can't get it.

But he also encountered a hard nail. There was a Hu merchant who settled in Datang in Dunhuang. I heard that he led a very famous caravan in the past, traveled all the commercial roads in the Western Regions, visited many places, and was very knowledgeable. Guang, now that he is old, he has made himself a guest in Dunhuang, planning to retire there.

When Tang Jian approached him, he also received him politely. Tang Jian said that he would invite him to teach those gentry students, but he refused, saying that because of his low status and shallow knowledge, he did not dare to be in front of the gentry lord. rash.

Later, Tang Jian went to Dunhuang several times, met many people, and had contact with this Hu businessman many times, but he still refused to let go.

In this era of no maps and no Internet, all the experience and knowledge of this Hu businessman are priceless. He walked out step by step. People who have never followed in his footsteps and been to many places are It is impossible to understand those things.

It is also human nature that he is unwilling to teach these knowledge to those gentry gentlemen who have never met before. After all, he also has his own children, his own hometown and compatriots.

Tang Jian couldn't convince this person several times, but he was unwilling to give up, so he talked to Luo Yong about it.

Luo Yong stayed in Changle County for so long, and drank and joked with the Hu merchants all day long. He had heard about the Hu merchant mentioned by Tang Jian before. The desert is gone, but among the oases in the desert, there are still legends about him. Many leaders of large caravans will visit him after they arrive in Dunhuang.

Tang Jian wanted this person to come and tell those gentry gentlemen what he had seen and heard in the countries of the Western Regions, and Luo Yong thought it would be perfect.

For this matter, Luo Yong also went to Dunhuang. This time he went there with Tang Jian. answer.

"It's not urgent." After being rejected many times by the other party, Tang Jian didn't show any anger or dissatisfaction at all, and smiled so friendlyly:

"Those boys haven't arrived in Changle County yet, so it's too early to mention this matter. The two of us came here today for another matter."

"I don't know what it is for?" This old Hu Shanghan also spoke quite well, and his etiquette was also very good.

"Thinking about it, I should have heard about it. Recently, when I was in Changle County, I often ate wine with merchants from various countries. I also heard a lot of things, gained a lot of knowledge, and even drew a rough map. I don't know any mistakes or omissions. Geometric, please help me pass the eyes." Luo Yong said, took out a scroll from his sleeve, and handed it to the other party with both hands.

The man's face seemed to be moved, but he didn't say anything. He took the scroll, opened it and looked at it.

At first, he didn’t have any expectations. After all, a young man like Luo Yong who had never been to the Western Regions, just drank and joked with those merchants, heard rumors, and randomly drew a map that praised how many mountains and rivers in the Western Regions. I can't tell the difference between this mountain and that mountain, and what kind of map is drawn, it's probably like a child's play house.

After a quick glance, he realized that it was not what he expected. Although the map was rough, he had drawn the locations of the mountains, rivers and rivers in the Western Regions correctly.

There are also places where land and sea meet, deserts and grasslands, and snow-capped mountains. Upon closer inspection, many places can match the pictures in his memory. Besides, there are many places that he has never even been to. After the big eclipse, there is still such a vast world, and the prairie in the Northland is as wide as Si...

"I don't know where this picture came from?" Hu Shang put down the map in his hand, but he didn't believe that it was drawn by Luo Yong himself.

People who have never really been to the Western Regions and have no relevant knowledge want to draw a map of the Western Regions, but in the end they often end up with the wrong lips, and the map Luo Sanlang took out this time, it first shows the The author has an extraordinary macroscopic understanding of this continent, which is not something ordinary people can do.

"The source of this map, but I can't explain it to you." Luo Yong smiled, stepped forward to put the map away, rolled it up carefully, and put it in his sleeve.

Hu Shang's eyes seemed to be glued to the map, and he couldn't pull them out. Until Luo Yong put them away, he couldn't help staring at Luo Yong's sleeves.

"I think it must be from the Central Plains Palace?" This Hu merchant had also heard about Pei Ju's drawing of "Illustrated Records of the Western Regions".

If this is the case, then the emperor of the Central Plains probably attached great importance to what Tang Jian and the others were going to do in Changle County now.

"I don't know what you think of this picture?" Tang Jian asked again at this time.

"It's not like ordinary products." Hu Shang said.

"Haha, this is just a rough map. We have to do this this time, so naturally we have a lot of preparations. Regarding the teaching, please think carefully." Tang Jian persuaded again at this time.

"Naturally." The Hu businessman said solemnly.

They even brought out such a good thing, how could they not think about it carefully? This is not just a matter of status and fame. What Luo Sanlang showed him this time was exactly what he yearned for the most in his heart. About this There are many unknown places on this continent that he has not yet set foot on.

As long as he can find more answers and understand a wider world, even if he loses his life, he will not hesitate to lose his life. He is already in such a dying age. What is he afraid of? Let alone just teaching.

Being able to unravel the confusion in his heart while he was alive was probably the last gift that God gave him in pity for him before his life came to an end.