After a long winter waiting, the spring on the grassland finally came, but spring was very short. I haven’t felt it yet, but summer has arrived again. All kinds of wild flowers are blooming on the grassland, colorful.

The grassland at the foot of Helan Mountain is gloomy.

But the shepherd was very happy because a heavy rain was coming.

Rain water dominates all living things on the grassland. It is a necessary condition for the grassland to be beautiful and sheep to be fat. Only when the rain is sufficient can the grassland become green and the grassland be beautiful and sheep be fat.

Wool cashmere sheepskin will be better.

To the east of Helan Mountain is a grassland with lush water and grass, while to the west of a mountain is a undulating sand dunes and grassland.

In May, the grassland is not green enough, and the scenery is not Qingchuan. Many places are exposed, and the horses and camels pass by, and dust is flying.

After several hours of trekking, the camel caravan finally saw a tent camp.

This is a family camp of about twenty tents, with a population of more than a hundred, and thirty or forty young and strong herdsmen. There are horses tied in front of the tent, and there is a fire made of cow dung next to it, and a simple grill is built on it.

The Aries were scattered at the boundary of their vision. The wind on the block was mixed with the smell of sand, cow dung and goat milk. The sound of the flock bleating in the wind was faintly heard.

The patriarch of this family is an old man with a gray beard. He welcomes guests from afar with a water bag.

He sent clear water and goat milk to the guests. He pointed to the distance and said proudly, "Look, there is the flock of our family, with more than 10,000 sheep, more than 1,000 cows, more than 500 camels, and more than 100 horses."

Their cattle and sheep are all stocked. There is a large area here, which is the pasture of their family. The nearest neighbors have to ride horses for a day. The job of the family men is to drive cattle and sheep to grazing every day, while the job of the women is to squeeze cattle and sheep milk in the morning and evening, make cream, fetch water, pick up cow dung, cook, textiles, etc. The old man with the cow is responsible for taking care of the children and caring for the calves and lambs.

Their lives are very quiet. As long as there is no white disaster in winter, they will be very rich in one year. They usually eat cattle and sheep milk products, and occasionally eat sheep. They will trade camels and cattle for some needed saddles, knife bows, etc., and they will also exchange sheep and sheep skin for salt.

This is a simple life.

A goat was receiving a comb in the tent, and the lamb was lying there obediently, with its snow-white fluff long and thin.

This family mainly raises sheep, which shears wool every year, but also raises goats. Although goats have less wool, they are much more expensive than wool. A goat can only comb velvet once a year, about five or six taels of velvet, and these velvets are very popular among merchants. After being sold to the Central Plains, they can be sold at an excellent price. After combing and spinning, they can be processed into extremely expensive clothes.

The sheep in this family usually do not shear the wool until autumn begins, but cashmere is often combed in April and May.

Every time this time comes, there will always be merchants coming to collect cashmere.

"The velvet this year is very good. Mr. Hagen, your velvet is always so good."

"When the sheep are full and fat, the cashmere will be better. When the grass is yellow, you will come and collect our wool, and it will be the same."

Hagen said proudly.

It's dark and it's going to rain.

Hagen called the caravan into the tent to rest, called the women in the family to prepare food, and asked his son to choose a few fattest rams to kill and treat the guests.

The Hagen family has been looking forward to the caravan for a long time. At this time, it is not only a cashmere sale, but also a good opportunity for them to shop. When the caravan comes to collect the velvet, they always bring a lot of goods, all kinds of which they can choose, and it will be cheaper, which is much more cost-effective than riding a horse to the tribal nobles for a few days.

The host and the guest sit in the big tent.

Hu Shang asked, "Old Hagen, how much sheepskin and cream can your family take out to sell this year? Are there any other skins? Are there cattle, sheep, and camels? Will they sell them?"

A pit was dug in the tent and there was cow dung burning inside. The cow dung was very dry, and there was no smoke when burned, and there was no smell.

Old Hagen took out a pottery jar like a treasure, put it on the fire, then poured fresh milk into it, then took out a piece of black tea wrapped in sheepskin, knocked it down with a knife, put it in a wooden bowl, and then added it to the milk.

Cooking milk tea to entertain guests is a very polite way to treat guests.

"It's just summer now, and the grass hasn't grown yet. How can cattle and sheep be sold at this time?" Old Hagen was a little surprised. This caravan has been dealing with their family for many years and is very familiar with each other.

Shepherds rarely sell cattle and sheep in early summer because the grass is growing at this time, and cattle and sheep are the time when they lose weight after winter and spring.

Now selling cattle and sheep is a loss. The cattle and sheep are still very thin and have no meat.

When selling cattle and sheep, you always have to eat the grass that has grown fat in the summer in autumn, and then you will sell it.

Every year this season, they sell cashmere, some skins saved by killing sheep in winter, some medicinal materials they have dug, and some prey fur they have hunted before, such as fox, wolf, marmot, deer skin, and marmot oil.

The leader of the caravan Deli is not tall, with small eyes, single eyelids, and a lot of beard. He always wears a fur hat and smiles anytime and anywhere.

"Old Hagen, the situation this year is no longer as good as in previous years. On the east side of the mountain, the Liang army was destroyed by the Tang Kingdom, and the Tang people occupied Lingzhou again. Our Khan also married the Tang people and signed a friendly treaty, and just opened a border market not long ago. Now we don't have war anymore, we trade with each other. As long as we have cattle, sheep, fur, horses, and camels, we can exchange the goods we want in the Central Plains. Whatever we want is much cheaper than before."

Hagen was a little puzzled. He was still far from Helan Mountain, and the situation on the other side of the mountain was even less clear. However, in his early years, he took his tribe members to be summoned by the heads, rode his horse across the desert and crossed the mountains, and went to the riverside there to fight a war.

But he hasn't left here again for years.

Liang Shidu, he seemed to have heard of Yu Sheshe, who seemed to be the son of Luo Khan before.

"Are you not going to fight? It's better not to fight." As old as Hagen has no longer had the thoughts of his youth.

It's pretty good to live in this place.

"Yes, there is no war anymore. Now you don't have to go to the Central Plains to grab it. If you want to trade, change whatever you want. Old Hagen, I just came over there and brought you some good things. Do you want to take a look first?"

"Okay, see what good things you brought."

Deli brought a lot of things. After trading goods from Ningyuan, he went west and sold them to his old customers.

A few iron pots, both large and small, are relatively deep, and are suitable for stewing. They can be hung on the fire or cooked on the fire pit. Deli beats the pot with his hands.

"This is an iron pot. Look, the sound of knocking is different. It cooks much faster than a pot and is stronger. It won't burn and break if you accidentally. It cooks faster!"

Deli took out the tea again, including brick tea and loose tea. It seemed that the smell was much better than the original ones of Hagen's house.

Of course, there are a lot of goods.

There are tea, wine, sugar, and green salt of good quality. In addition, cloth, hemp rope, wooden barrels, basins, bowls, cloth bags, and even some medicines for curing diseases, as well as corn, flour, etc.

Hagen was dazzled by the sight.

Hagen met his son, brothers, and nephews, and they knew some of them, but many of them didn't.

Deli is a businessman, so he demonstrates to everyone, and even gives you some things to try.

"This wine is delicious, delicious, and my whole body is so hot and warm. A bottle only costs a piece of sheepskin, it turns out that it is more than this price, right?"

"It turns out that I have to exchange for a bottle of this wine for another sheep, but now it has been opened in Ningyuan City. There are more goods and the prices have also been reduced. The cost is a little lower. I will naturally give you some cheaper."

Hagen also paid for it, and the wine was really delicious. He went to the tribe head to gather last year, and heard an old friend from his neighbor brag about how good he had drunk the wine.

“Then buy some.”

"Old Hagen, why do you plan to buy it? I can give you a discount. I will buy ten bottles and I will give you one. Who said we have been old friends for many years?"

"Then ten bottles, no, twenty bottles."

"Okay, twenty bottles, twenty sheepskins, I'll give you two more bottles."

I bought wine, and there is no reason to miss many other things.

This iron pot is a good thing.

"A camel is a pot, you can see how good this pot is. It is made of iron. This craft is useless. Even in the Central Plains, the blacksmith among the Han people must be specialized iron pot makers, and it must be a pot maker who has been learning for at least ten years to make such a good pot. If you change a camel, you won't suffer any loss."

"You see, this flour is a good thing. The wheat knows. After the wheat is harvested and dried, it will be crushed into a shell and ground, and it will also have to sieve it to filter. In short, it is very troublesome, so the wheat is made into such a fine white flour. This flour tastes much better than wheat. You mix it with water and cook noodles, but it is delicious. If you add some mutton oil or just add some mutton, it will be delicious. I have eaten it in Ningyuan City, and I want to eat two bowls of it. We drink milk and eat meat every day, so it's good to eat some noodles. If a relative of a guest comes, you cook a pot of noodles and take a bottle of wine, you will be very proud."

I bought a pot, a lot of wine, and a lot of flour and corn.

In the end, of course I had to buy some of this cloth, as well as a lot of shearing shears and small knife for cutting meat.

I bought a lot of salt.

Anyway, I think it's good, and that's good. Under Deli's sharp mouth, Hagen took the family to pick the left and right, and finally chose a lot of things.

Deli was very happy.

I kept saying that this offer is cheap, that one is free, that one is free, that one is free, and that one is free.

But in the end, he still scared the old man Hagen.

The fur and medicinal materials saved at home are not enough to pay the bill.

"Old Hagen, if you like it, buy it. There are not many cattle and sheep in your family. Just get some payment. Don't worry, although your cattle and sheep are thin now, I will pay for it at a higher price, which is not less than what you sold in previous years!"

After all, Hagen was reluctant to return some of the selected items, and finally, as Deli said, the insufficient part was paid for some of his cattle, sheep, and camels.

The business ended up not going well, and everyone was very happy.

The sheep there have been slaughtered as well.
Chapter completed!