The ninth year of Chongzhen passed slowly in a mess.

I don’t know when Tieshan became another important trade point after Jiangnan. Every year as the New Year Festival approaches, there will be large merchants in the capital, and many nobles and noble housekeepers boarding the boat from Dengzhou, going north to this cold water, and then getting off the boat on this land for purchase.

The annual purchasing content of these Shanxi merchants gradually became different. At the beginning, they only bought some specialties from the Northeast, such as ginseng, marten, and deer antlers, to bring them to the nobles to enjoy. Then, cigarettes, soybean wine, and Mao Jue went to the south of the Yangtze River, the voluntary sugar was sold from here.

Later, after marrying Yu Le'er, he reached cross-regional cooperation with Yu Dacheng, the governor of Denglai, and contracted tens of thousands of acres of cotton fields. The women in Dongjiang were dragged into textile factories, making Dongjiang a major textile production area without knowing it. Dongjiang Bu unknowingly defeated Shaanxi Bu and Zhejiang Bu and occupied a lot of share in the capital.

Lao Cheng is such a cloth merchant from the capital.

Since his grandfather's generation, the Lanbufang opened in the capital of his family has been selling Shaanxi cloth, which is already a century-old cloth shop. But since the end of the Apocalypse, thieves have started to storm in the other end of Shaanxi, and the trade routes are intermittent and the costs are gradually rising, forcing him to come to Tieshan.

And this is the first time he has come to Tieshan.

Two years ago, Lao Cheng's fellow villager at the Shanxi Guild Hall bought a batch of cloth from Dongjiang. Although the quality is not as good as the high-quality embroidery of Shaanxi cloth, it is more than enough to meet the bulk, especially the price is only two-thirds of the current cloth price, which is a little more expensive than in the peaceful years, and the shipping fee is much less. This price made him excited.

To be honest, the Ming Dynasty only had the bourgeoisie but could not grow into the bourgeoisie. It was worth it! Even if he was moved, he was used to selling Shaanxi cloth and had worked together for several lifetimes. Lao Cheng had no intention of changing his family. The business of Shaanxi cloth, which was increasingly expensive, was getting worse and worse, and he did not intend to return new sources of goods. But there was no way this year. He had worked with the Shanxi merchants for many years, and when he crossed the Yellow River, he let the rioters kill him!

It is not a peasant army, but the real government and military rebellion. These days, the thieves have been passing by like combs, and they have become accustomed to it. However, the partner is unlucky and the silence is one aspect. Once he dies, he really strangled his old life path to death and lost his source of goods!

What should I do? I closed my shop and returned to my hometown in Xinzhou, and opened the land to farm. Not to mention that the years of the past two years are not good, but I just came and went like flying, elusive thieves, and officers and soldiers who were like being commissioned and skinned. I felt that my old age was a little overwhelmed! I had no choice but to grit my teeth and stamp my feet, pack my luggage, and followed a few friends from the capital to embark on a sea boat in Shandong, and came to this strange journey.

The sea trip in this era is not as comfortable as later generations, especially in this season when going out to sea. Apart from just boarding the boat and facing these three masts, the boat is quite novel like a knife, the rest is to sit in the shipyard and wait wither.

And at this time, Lao Cheng was still depressed by the owner of the ship. They were so small businessmen who wanted to squeeze out a few copper plates from their teeth. They bought them naturally, and they set up a circle of big bus shops on the lower floor of the deck. Although there was a warm passage under the shop, the wind was still very cold. What was even more annoying is that Lao Cheng’s shop was next to the stern building at the back. The treatment of others was obviously more than one level higher than that of themselves. Not to mention the single room, there were beautiful women serving there, and they could often hear some indescribable sounds, such as singing a small song, and a dedicated person was telling crosstalk to a storyteller!

What's even more annoying is that every time I eavesdrop on a few words, the rough man in leather armor guarding the door would definitely stare at him with a fierce look, and then slam the aisle door and close it.

Grandma’s, what’s so great about it? I’ll buy this top class cabin when my grandfather makes a fortune!

He tightened his cotton jacket and coat tightly, thinking sourly.

Later generations of Shandong Province went to Dalian and Dandong, and it took eight or nine hours to arrive. But in this era, it took two or three days to go to Lushun Wei. Lao Cheng thought it had arrived. It was desolate and almost made him go home. Listening to the ridicule of the fellow Shanxi people who came with him, he sat back in disappointment and waited for more than half an hour.

The sails were full of down, making a rustling sound. The whole journey was the only benefit. Then, along the copper trumpet connected to various parts of the cabin, a sweet sound spread throughout the huge sea ship.

"This trip has arrived at the end. Welcome to Tieshan and wish you a happy journey!"

The voice made Lao Cheng feel itchy.

Not to mention, there are quite a lot of people getting off the boat in Tieshan, with three boats in total. As soon as he walked out of the cabin, the smell of coal hit his mature nose, making him sneeze, but then he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

The boat ladder made of steel bars and made of wood was crowded with more than a thousand passengers. As soon as they got off the boat, the heads of a group of people immediately squatted underneath, curiously snatching. To be honest, they had never seen such a big and complete "big rock". Lao Cheng also wanted to squat down and sniff, but the fellow villagers on the same boat looked disdainful, just like the ones who had seen the country bumpkins who had entered the capital for the first time. They looked like they looked at the country bumpkins who had been in the capital for the first time. They walked over with their heads raised and didn't really pull their faces down. They had to walk past the side with a mold they had eaten and saw with curiosity.

You can't just walk around just by getting off the boat. There are a row of large walls outside the outer port. There are also a circle of iron railings on the "huge stone" that is nailed to the "huge stone", leaving only five passageways. On the other end, there is an exquisite wooden building built on the other side of the wall. The wooden staircase is painted red and carved with fine patterns. I don't know what it is for.

From the high cabin at the stern of the boat, Lao Cheng looked at the twenty or young people, wearing sable furs, and shaking his fan in the winter, walking slowly towards the small building, and following behind him, he was about to go over, but the fellow villager next to him grabbed the collar of his clothes and pulled him back quickly.

"Hyper, what are you going to do?"

"What are they doing on that side?"

"He is in a high-class cabin, and he is walking in Dongjiang where he is struck by lightning. What are you doing?"

When he heard this, Lao Cheng became angry and shouted angrily.

"Why? I have to line up here and they can leave first. I don't care, I have to walk through this passage!"

Seeing that the old man had a bad temper, his fellow villager was helpless, so he simply let go and pushed him.

"Then you go! I don't care about you anymore! One hundred taels of silver, walk this aisle, if you have money, go!"

Humph, and after a slump, the fellow villager turned around and returned to the line and continued line up, leaving Lao Cheng there to stare at him.

Not to mention, he really had a hundred taels of silver, just in his pocket, but in order to pretend to be a fool, he spent all the money on the goods. When he went back, he could pack up and go home to farm. His mouth twitched for more than ten seconds. As others laughed, Lao Cheng muttered in disappointment and plunged into the team.

"Grandma, sooner or later, I will get rich and will be in the cabin. I will also walk through this passage to be struck by lightning!"

However, the blood of the sperm has not been finished yet. I will line up honestly, waiting for the soldiers who looked as if they were ashen and asked him one by one. As they asked, the family with luggage and accents in Henan and Shaanxi were all pulled out of the queue. While Lao Cheng was looking around, more than a dozen military men pressed the three men in the family to the ground and slashed them.

It was really a big electric cannon that hit the face, and it was all cut into pandas in a few moments. The child was so scared that he cried loudly, and the man was beaten and screamed. However, the four female relatives seemed to be not like the man who beat him, holding the child and watching coldly from the side.

After a few minutes of fighting, the family was dragged away again. The three men were almost unable to stand up. Looking at the blood beads ticking on the ground, Lao Cheng was so scared that he was frightened and did not dare to come out.

He was really afraid of anything he was going to get. He actually ranked him in this kung fu. The Dongjiang soldier wearing an iron helmet and carrying a knife on his waist asked coldly.

"Name, hometown, why are you here in Dongjiang? How many days are you staying?"

"I..., I..., villain..., grass people..."

Sweat beads were on his forehead. He looked at the Dongjiang soldiers standing guard at the port and seemed to be smiling at him, as if they were going to drag him out to beat him in the next second. But the more anxious he was, the less he could not speak, which made the Dongjiang soldiers become more impatient and shouted in anger.

"What the hell did you do?"

"He is my fellow townsman, his name is: Cheng Yaojin, a native of the capital. He came to Tieshan to buy goods and buy cloth. He stayed here for seven days!"

"Jiang Ye is in a good mood recently. Now he can stay for fifteen days. If you want to buy more, buy more. Dongjiang is affordable!"

His tone suddenly improved a lot. As he spoke, he quickly wrote it with a brush and stamped two more seals. In Lao Cheng's dazed, a small card was stuffed into his hand. Then the Dongjiang sergeant shouted impatiently again.

"Next!"

After following the trough, as soon as I left the port, the bustling dock area suddenly appeared in front of me. The streets seemed to be more spacious and neat than those in the capital. The four-wheeled carriage that I had never seen before was galloping rapidly, and the bustling small restaurants were crowded and crowded. This scene was almost caught up with the eight great alleys in the capital.

But at this moment, Lao Cheng didn't have the heart to praise the prosperity here. He patted his chest with lingering fear and shook his head with emotion.

"Oh my god! We're so old!"

As he said that, he slapped himself in the face and shouted in anger: "I have no one to keep the door when you open your mouth!"

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

His fellow villager was simply confused and inexplicably, thinking that he had suddenly suffered from hysteria, so he reached out and touched his head, but he didn't bother to open him anymore. Lao Cheng bowed with great gratitude.

"Brother, I will never forget my life-saving grace!"

"Why did you help me?"

I couldn't help but be curious, and the fellow villager was sadly waving a lot of question marks on his forehead, but the mature man waved his hands even more eagerly.

"Didn't you know that Jun Ye just now? We were making trouble just now. If it weren't for you, we would have been dragged out and beaten!"

He looked at him three or four times, and finally, his fellow villager covered his stomach and burst into laughter, making his waist almost unable to straighten.

"My brother, you said that! Hahahaha~ I'm so happy, oh..."

"Brother, I'm going to be scared to death, you're still laughing!"

I couldn't help laughing for a long time. My fellow villager was supported by Lao Cheng and sat down at a small restaurant on the street. He asked for a pot of tea. The fellow villager, who finally breathed, pointed to another group outside and was kicked on the ground and said.

"That's the rule of Mao Jiangye. Those who were beaten are all vagrants who escaped from the mud. Originally, Mao Jiangye was very generous and the towns of Dakai accepted these vagrants. As a result, you don't know, these bastards are so arrogant that they occupy Mao Jiangye's port and ask for this and that. Mao Jiangye was angry and waved his hand and beat him!"

"There is a saying that military orders are like mountains. With the order of our Mao General, our Mao family army let go. In an instant, the refugee who was still raving and cheating there, Shalalala was beaten so hard that she couldn't kowtow. Her forehead was swollen. Only then did the general forgive them!"

"After this, refugees who fled to Dongjiang will have to have a meal first. This is called knowing the rules!"

The expression was as if he waved his hand and more than 100,000 refugees were beaten to death. However, what he learned was really like. There was applause in this tavern. The bold words of the northerner were undoubtedly revealed. A strong man with neat short stubble on his chin seemed to be much stronger than ordinary people. While slapped his hands, he shook his head at the shopkeeper.

"This guy said it well. Our master is so generous. He will give the pot of wine and plate of beef on the table, and settle the accounts for me!"

"Don't let it go, Master, you are also bleating with Master Jiang. Waiter, serve wine and meat, and you will be in the store!"

I really didn't expect that after vernacular, I could still eat wine and meat. This Shanxi fellow villager was excited and made a bow: "Oh, thank you all!"

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Jiang! If it weren't for Mr. Jiang, how could he have this one?"

Listening to the enthusiastic voices around him, Lao Cheng was really surprised to look around for a few more times, and then couldn't help but lower his head.

The second reason why he was unwilling to come to Dongjiang was because this was a military town. Nowadays, no one in the army was reasonable, especially a military general. He was even more disagreeable. Otherwise, how could his old friend who had worked with him for decades die?

This is the first time Lao Cheng has seen that a place can support the town general like this. This is definitely not exaggeration, it is definitely from the heart, and he is definitely proud of being a native of Dongjiang.

We are old and dignified people in the capital, but we are not proud. You are a remote countryside, how can you be proud?

While thinking, he picked up a piece of meat and subconsciously filled it into his mouth. However, after chewing it for a few bites, he suddenly vomited it out like he had eaten poison.

Wait, what kind of meat? Beef!

Nowadays, cows are protected like giant pandas. In the pass, killing a cow is a serious crime of exile. Even if you eat a piece, you will still be sued. Otherwise, why did the heroes of Liangshan slam the table and give me two kilograms of cooked beef? How dare this store sell beef openly?

But in front of him, his fellow villagers were all at ease, and there were many people eating various parts of the beef around him. There were no trouble for so many people, so he wouldn't be in trouble, right? I really didn't want to embarrass the people of the capital. I picked up the beef I spit out, and Lao Cheng stuffed it back into his mouth, and chewed it hard for him to chew it for a few bites.

Not to mention, it’s really delicious when I eat beef for the first time in my life!

The tavern was an episode, and unexpectedly filled the two of them. With the help of the generous vacation soldier, they successfully found the hotel to stay. It turned out that the small paper card given by the port was for staying in the hotel. After registering, Lao Cheng quickly stuffed the small card back into his arms.

But the most important thing for this trip is to purchase goods! Just now I put my luggage away and pulled the fellow villager to the street. Lao Cheng was impatient to go to the street.

After all, I have been here twice, and this fellow villager is really not built. He took Lao Cheng to a public carriage in the complex street area of ​​Tieshan Port. Lao Cheng was confused. He was still looking around with great enthusiasm and said that there was nothing here last year, but this year it was available. After half an hour of hard work, the cloth shop was brushed and suddenly came into view.

Grasping the mature sleeve, the fellow villager went straight into the first shop at the entrance of the street.

Here, Lao Cheng finally found a lot of familiarity. The neat cloth was stacked on the shelves, and the stacked boards were neat, red, green, blue, and all kinds of cloth patterns. As soon as he entered the door, a big cloth dealer with a face full of fat and chubby face came up with a smile, and enthusiastically hugged his fists and bowed his hand.

"Oh, isn't this Mr. Xu? It's been a long time since I saw you. You've become a lot of energy again. You've made a fortune last year! Ha, and this master, you're a rich man at first glance. You're here and you'll be shining with a glory!"

"Okay, Mr. Zhao, don't slap me. Our little quarrels are no match for you, the big boss!"

This fellow villager was obviously sincere in his words. Compared with these nouveau riche, they were really a little shrimp! However, when people got rich, they did not have the aura of getting rich, which made people feel comfortable! His old face was almost smiling, and this shopkeeper Zhao from Dongjiang quickly called the kitchen again.

"Take tea!"

It is enjoyable to drink hot tea in the cold weather, but even so, I will never see a rabbit or a hawk. He has seen many ways to go around the world. If you come up and give you a candied date, you may hit you with a big stick when you look back. After taking a sip, he will be impatient to hug his fists again.

"Boss Zhao, my brothers are here this time, but I have to prepare the goods for the second half of the year. I wonder if I can go and see the goods!"
To be continued...