Standing on the wall of the village, looking down, the flat area on the bank of the Guan River was crowded with people and was very lively. Some vendors carried loads and baskets to sell all kinds of food. Several bonfires were lit in the open space, reflecting half of the sky.

Today is New Year's Eve, tomorrow is New Year's Day, and the new year is coming. This year, the volcanic army has been doing good things, the population has increased, and the business has become more prosperous. As the Song army advanced to Tanglong Town and Biedouzhai, the conquests between the foreign tribes were controlled. With the prosperity of the market, the small foreign tribes in the mountains could exchange their cattle and sheep for urgently needed food to survive the cold winter.

After the war, with the establishment of some small fortresses, some small unofficial tribes began to gather near Bitouzhai and slowly formed settlements. Bitouzhai has a wide river valley that is rare in hundreds of miles around, and rivers flowing through it, which should have been a densely populated place.

With a whistle, a firecracker broke into the air and suddenly exploded, leaving a fire. Then a few fireworks set off in the crowd and rushed into the air, dotting the night sky in colorful places, which was particularly beautiful. The crowd outside the village cheered together and danced around the bonfire.

Gao's slave looked at the fireworks in the air and said to Du Zhongxiao beside him: "There are many strange skills in the south, and it is really not a fool. It is rare to see such fireworks in the Northern Dynasties. I didn't expect that there could be a few in the remote place of Bitouzhai."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Do you have the New Year? You should have fun with the people. Tomorrow, go to Dongjiazhai with your envoys to see the fun."

The New Year's Day of this era refers to the first day of the Lunar New Year, when all the people are happy together.

The negotiations with Gao Jianu have ended, the official documents of the Jingliu Department have returned, and the business has been completed. The relationship between Khitan and Dangxiang was tense, and they were defeated too badly before the New Year, and they were eager to calm the border. In particular, the Khitan has decided to use troops to Dangxiang after the ice melted in the spring, and made some concessions to Dangxiang for the sake of stabilizing the rear. In addition to some details, they basically agreed to Du Zhongxiao's proposal.

When the war between the Song Dynasty and Dangxiang was fierce, the Khitan mediated and gained a lot of benefits, such as adding coins. Now the Khitan fought with Dangxiang endlessly, and it was the Song Dynasty's turn to take advantage, so the Gao family slave who came to negotiate was helpless.

The nearby foreign people gathered outside the city. The Song Dynasty rebuilt forces nearby, which meant that the previous turmoil ended and the carnival was all night.

After a few fireworks were set outside, there was no movement. Yelu Buhua was a little unsatisfied. He wanted to buy some back, but the flames were a forbidden item in the Song Dynasty and did not sell them at all. I remembered Tang Long Town, which would open free trade in a few months, and I couldn't help but feel excited. He was a businessman and knew the tricks here better than Gao's slaves. Why free trade? Duty exemption is second, and the most important thing is that these goods prohibited by various countries will be smuggled to Tang Long Town. The Song Dynasty urgently needed horses and would definitely find ways to open the smuggling channel. Correspondingly, once the smuggling channel was opened, some goods that the Song Dynasty banned takeout would be sold outside, which could not be stopped no matter what.

Du Zhongxiao of course knew that the free trade in Tanglong Town was a double-edged sword. The Song Dynasty must have strategic materials outflows, and the first thing that was borne out was iron and food. This was impossible, and we could only try our best to make up for it. Food was actually not important. As long as the surrounding area was widespread, it could support it. The most important thing was iron. The Khitan did not lack iron, but Dangxiang, and the two countries could only cooperate to prevent smuggling from Dangxiang. As for the grasslands further north, iron and weapons flowed in to increase the strength of the nomadic peoples, and the chaos caused was the Khitan. When it was the Song Dynasty's turn to be a headache, the battlefield was compared with guns and cannons.

Seeing the foreigners carnival outside, Du Zhongxiao said to Gao Jianu and Yelu Buhua: "There is a wine banquet in the village, and we go back and have a drink. According to the custom, it is called "Shouqing". I wonder if the Northern Dynasties are the same?"

Yelu Buhua said: "There are also some, but not everyone is like this."

The Gao family's ancestors were Han slaves from the Khitan. After they became rich, they learned from the Khitans in everything, and they just pretended that these topics were not heard.

After entering the village hall, several people sat down with guests and hosts, and a few pots of charcoal fires were lit around. The soldiers served wine and food, and brought a few plates of dumplings.

Du Zhongxiao pointed to the dumplings and said to Gao Jianu and Yelu Buhua: "This thing is called a horn in the middle, and it is the most delicious. Tonight, the old and new year will change in the middle of the year. Eating this thing happens to be homophonic to "Jiaozi", take a pickled head. I wonder if there is this thing in the north?"

Gao Jianu nodded honestly: "There are also some, but they don't need to be boiled in water, and they don't eat them during the New Year. It's not as common as in the south."

Many common foods in later generations matured in this era, such as dumplings, noodles, buns, etc. However, the way to eat them is different from that in later generations. The most popular dumplings in this era were fried, followed by steaming, and most boiled wontons. Boiled dumplings were not popular, and the most popular was wontons. Because in history, the eating and living habits of the Central Plains at this time were more similar to those in Jiangnan in Du Zhongxiao's previous life. For example, houses, including the imperial palace, were all black tiles and white walls, not the style of red and rhubarb in the Forbidden City. The clothes advocate gracefulness and the food is also exquisite.

The so-called homophonic "Jiaozi" is just a casual compilation based on later generations. The real reason is that in the cold winter in the north, dumplings are indeed a rare delicacy. This kind of border area is not as luxurious as the capital, so it is so luxurious that it is fried with sesame oil to make snacks. To make the volcanic army the center of this area and make everyone yearn for it, they have to start with these details of food, clothing, housing and transportation.

In the shabby era of life, the secret to attracting dumplings is the filling with fat and thin inside, and the unique taste formed after cooking. The popular flavors in this era are very different from those in later generations when they were used to eating big fish and meat. For example, vegetarian dumplings and mutton dumplings are not popular. The fillings in the dumplings in Tonight are the selected pork, with green onions and ginger added, and some blanched cabbage. The famous cabbage at this time has no cabbage varieties, but it is a rare green leafy vegetable in winter after all, and it tastes particularly fresh in this season.

Yelu Buhua ate one and his eyes lit up: "It's really delicious! I wonder what stuffing is inside?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "The selected pork is finely chopped into sauce, and some vegetables are added to it to make this taste."

Yelu Buhua praised him repeatedly and ate several times in a row. The Khitan also raised pigs on a large scale, but Yelu Buhua was used to eating large pieces of meat, but he rarely ate so finely. Especially since the flavors were all complete, it was something I had never tasted before.

The advantage of the food of dumplings is that it is troublesome to prepare the skin and stuffing, but cooking is very simple. In the weather in the Volcanic Army, when packaged in winter, it will be frozen dumplings, which can be stored for a long time. Du Zhongxiao also thought about waiting for Tanglong Town to become lively and selling these foods from this area in winter. A free trade city will have a lot of money there in the future. The Volcanic Army is going to find a way to make money back.

The next day, several people were drowsy and escorted by soldiers to Dongjiazhai. Gao's slaves knew from Yelu Buhua that there was sugar sold here, so they went out together early in the morning to purchase the gifts they brought back.

Du Zhongxiao took out all the documents from the Ministry of Commerce and the court and the court in the village city, and carefully sorted them out according to the documents agreed with Gao Jianu. This is a big event and will not end there. Until now, the court has not raised any objections because Zheng Jian took the lead and the Song Dynasty took advantage. The negotiations with the Khitan were over, and many questions will arise, waiting for Du Zhongxiao to answer.
Chapter completed!